My Anthem

Monday, May 31, 2010

Trust in Selangor MB, says PKR chief

Trust in Khalid Ibrahim, says Anwar Ibrahim

Quantcast


May 30, 2010

www.themalaysianinsider.com

Anwar: Trust in Khalid Ibrahim

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani (in Kota Bharu)

Trust this clean and sincere Menteri Besar, says Anwar

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged PKR members to have patience and confidence in Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who faced criticism for mishandling the state.

Khalid has been under heavy scrutiny from his own party congress here after PKR’s loss in the Hulu Selangor by-election and a sand mining scandal. Several delegates have said that Khalid should be replaced if he is not capable of managing the country’s most industrialised state.

Anwar defended his close ally and said that Khalid was a “sincere and clean” leader. “When someone asked me how do I measure someone’s credibility? I said that it is very hard to some a leader who is sincere and clean. Where his record is clean and not corrupt,” the PKR de facto leader said when closing the congress.

He did admit that the state was plagued with problems. “I invited Tan Sri Khalid to join the party, two year later we see problems. What you don’t know is that he does not have the absolute power as the mentri besar. Every step taken there is problems from the University to government agencies.

“We still have problems with religious council. I do not want to use this as an excuse for our not performing because to the rakyat, we cannot say that we have problems. The people want solution. That is why the problem has to be solved,” he said.

Anwar said that slow implementation of policies in Selangor was due to the country’s stagnant economy. “The main problem is the slow implementation of the economic policies because the country’s dismal economy, investments is not coming in. Therefore Selangor must be more aggressive to ensure that projects approval will be expedited,” he said.

The former deputy prime minister also admitted that he needs to perform better as the state’s economic advisor. However he said that the Selangor government has fulfilled its promise of clean government.

“If someone asks me how to evaluate the performance of Tan Sri Khalid or Pakatan Rakyat, what we will say is that the first thing that we promised is a clean and transparent government. With that we defend that Khalid has been successful.

“This is the most important issue because the country is broken due to corruption. This country is broken because ministers and mentri besar take people’s money, shares, land and timber. This is our war because of corrupted leaders that steal from the people. This is will not happen under Tan Sri Khalid. We must explain this matter to the public,” he said.

Anwar also agreed with the delegates demands that the state appoint party members to local government. “I agree with the delegates but the candidate must be qualified. The candidate must only be a professional but have a clean track record. And we must be confident with the candidate because when he is at the helm of any GLCs, he would not be corrupt. We must give space to Tan Sri Khalid to ensure the right candidate,” he said.

Earlier, party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail reiterated the need for the members to patient with Khaild.

“Like any renovation, we must do it slowly. If we want to do a proper renovation then we have to do many things. So give him time, please be patient,” she said.

Dr Wan Azizah also warned that party should not be blinded with Putrajaya and not forget the root of their struggle. “I want to give one message that we all have a stake in this party, you are not mere audience. How are you going to contribute to our struggle? Allah can’t change our fate, only we can” she said.

She also had a light moment with the delegates and joked about Anwar. “Syamsul Iskandar earlier said that Anwar belongs to party. Anwar belongs to the people. Hey, he is my man lah,” she said.

Later during a press conference, Anwar said that the party will be looking to strengthening its leadership. “I will discuss with President and deputy president on how we could strengthen the party leadership with new appointments. We will discuss on certain duties in several committees. We will decide on this matter in the next few days,” he said.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Join me in quest4 The Lost Horizon, anywan?

I was with a buddy who wanna become a BUMmer like YL, the journo, or Desi the blogger.
I *gas/guess BUM2010 did win one/wan convert, so it was worth my THREE MONTHS' **bumMY/balmy efforts with loss of sleep, loss of aMore white hair, et al. Okay, wrong phrase, et cetera (etc) for "et al". (I once wrote a weeklynewspaper column named Desiderata.English promoting Queen's English; want a glimpse, please see my first year's entries.:)

NB which is short for Nota Bene, which translates into "Note": The* and ** are examples of what I call DDC -- Da Desi Code, a term of endearment bestowed/levied on YL, the knotty poet-aSspirnt which I described myself in my profile. Go see, you raise the number of unique log-ins to my five-year-old Blog by one, which enhances my value on Google.com by at least one dollar, if not, one ringgit, otherwise/vice, OneRupiah also ***can/cun.

I don't exactly know the meaning of ***cun, but I see a lot on Bloggers, mostly femail/female and
to be contended, usually unemployed; actually a past UMNO -- oh, no! -- minister did say that: these busy-bodied mostly of the fairER sex don't hold a paying job, hence they have the time/dime to blog!:) OR :(

For newbies to symbols,:) means a smile; :( means s scowl, and being a true blood democrat, Desi likes to leave the cjoice tomy ER. Okay, you Ignoramuses, ER is not that TV episode you weekly glue thy eyes on revolving around the General's emergency Room, it's Desi's short for "esteemed readers" which the blardy writHer confesses he sometimes/mosttimes doesn't mean it! :) OR :(:(

To be continued for mGf freshie BUMmer's sake later, when I feel like it, or InsyaAllah, I am moved by that eboy offer of 20million...I look at my Marketing Manager/ress' direction; he/she didn't wave...or show that international road/rude sign, so there's hope. (Pause) "Nyet!"

Thursday, May 27, 2010

PKR treasurer Will Leong has a message for all Malaysians...

This message below is directed to All Malaysians.
If you are not a Malaysian, then take it for information sake.
Politics itself is not dirty, but it's people who
make it dirty....so it depends on which side of the fence you are in..



PLEASE READ IF YOU CARE ENOUGH FOR YOUR KIDS' FUTURE

All Malaysians are duty bound to help each other to
achieve a better life in our country. With the performance of the
UMNO/BN for the last 52 years, especially the last 28 years, the
country has been raped by politicians and their cronies. You know how
arrogant they are, let us have a good look at:

1. They are extending the APs to 2015 ! They are
giving themselves free money. This is daylight robbery. We are talking
big bucks,billions/year from the rakyat (including common Malays)

2. The taxes and duties on cars continue to be
high to protect Proton but we the public pay through our nose. If the
PR government comes into power we can expect prices to drop by at
least 50% for imported cars. Why are we paying these cronies our hard
earned money so that they can drive around in their new and latest
Ferraris, BMWs etc.

3. Have you noticed that they appoint themselves to
high paying jobs and positions where they can also earn additional
side income. Again these side income run into billions.

4. The Accountant General reported that RM 28B was
wasted by you know who and for who. These figures probably do not
involve the highly secretive arms contracts which run into another
many billions.

5. Look at the way they snatche d the Perak State government.

6. Look at the way they treated Teoh Beng Hock.

7. Look at the way t hey are trying to get Anwar.

8. Look at the Lingam case. No action taken even
after 's Royal Commission had confirmed his wrong doing.

9. Look at the PKFZ delaying tactics, get one report
after another, and then another and if necessary another and then only
the small fish get caught and hauled to Court.
What a way to fool us? Either they are stupid or we
are stupid. The abuse and cheating has been going on for far too long.
Only you and I and together with all Malaysians who care can stop
them. Between now and the next General Elections we have to campaign
now as if the GE is just 6 months from now. Not only do we campaign,
we must get our friends to get others and others to do the same. Let
us not be fooled again and again.


Please start now, if 10 of us can each get 10 we
will have 100 and if each of the hundred gets 10 we will have 1000. If
we keep going, we will reach more than 10M active Malaysians to force
a change. This is a legacy we must give our children/grandchild ren,
they deserve better. The alternative is too
horrendous to look at.


Look at Indonesia , Japan , S. Korea and Taiwan ,
all their old and corrupt parties have been replaced, Malaysia
should be the next.

What Independence ? On this August 31st, we shall
celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the British leaving our country. I
did not say we are celebrating the 52nd anniversary of our
independence. This is because our people have not enjoyed real
liberty, democracy or justice. Without liberty,democracy or justice
there is no independence. . In these 52 years the oppressive rule of a
foreign colonial master has been replaced
by the oppressive rule of a local master... The rule
with an iron fist.

They use the same instruments of oppression as the
British did. They use the ISA, the Sedition Act, the Printing Press &
Publications Act and detention without trial. The freedom of assembly,
the freedom of expression and the freedom to live a life of dignity
free from fear and oppression are illusions. In these 52 years the
yoke of a foreign colonial master has been replaced by the yoke of a
local master. They use the same policy of "divide and rule". They
survive by feeding off racialism. They survive by fostering
divisiveness. They survive by preaching religious intolerance.

What Teoh Beng Hock died for?
Malaysians will not know real independence, will not
be free and will not enjoy democracy unless this
oppressive regime is thrown out. They must be thrown out and pay for
what they have done to Teoh Beng Hock. We must not forget what he
stood for. More importantly, we must not forget what he died for. He
lived to help Malaysians in the struggle against corruption and
oppression. He died so that our struggle can live. He died fighting
for justice.

What Justice? Without justice we cannot say we have liberty or
democracy or equal rights. We cannot say we have
liberty or freedom when Tamil schools have no tables and chairs.
When in Sabah and Sarawak , schools have no
electricity. A child that is illiterate is not free. We cannot say we
have democracy or equal rights for women, when a Chinese girl with
9A1s cannot enter a university.. A girl without a job has no rights.
We cannot say we have freedom of choice when a man cannot feed his
family.

A starving man has no choice. Liberty , democracy
and freedom are meaningless words when there is no justice. Justice is
political liberty. Justice is economic independence. Justice is
equality. There is no political liberty when you vote out of fear.
There is no economic independence when you give your support out of
fear your son's scholarship will be withdrawn or your license will be
withdrawn.

There is no freedom of choice when you elect a party
out of fear for your contract or your business. This is what has been
happening in these 52 years and this will continue if we do not act.
There will be many more Teoh Beng Hocks and many more Port Klang Free
Zones if we do not stop them.

What One Malaysia ? Najib says he wants One Malaysia.
Teoh Beng Hock's death has shocked us back to reality.
We cannot just listen to rhetoric. We must look at the deeds.
When we look, we see what has been done, is a far
cry from what has been said. The Perak government has been stolen from
its people. Najib has now declared his intention to grab the Selangor
government.

The MACC is a tool. It is used to de-stabilize the
Pakatan Rakyat government. Teoh Beng Hock was interrogated throughout
the night.

He was grilled for buying RM2,400 worth of Malaysian
flags. No one has been grilled when PKFZ loss RM12.6 billion.

The MACC officers are raiding the Pakatan Exco
members'office so often they are becoming fixtures. Cars and cows and
Malaysian flags have become a fixation of the MACC.

MACC has not shown the same enthusiasm when it comes
to BN assemblymen who used up their annual allocation of RM500,000 in
2 months before the general elections. The MACC has also not shown any
interest in the trips by the former chief minister and his family to
study the river system in Disney Land .
There is no investigation into how the former chief
minister can afford to purchase a multi-million ringgit mansion that
is beyond the means of a chief minister's salary. Barisan Nasional
machinery is now on the move.

Books attacking Anwar Ibrahim and Khalid Ibrahim are
being distributed.

The authors of these books are sowing the seeds of
hatred and contempt. They desecrate the Hindu's sacred cow in a
protest filled with bigotry. They protest against a Hindu temple built
150 years ago when the area was a plantation that today, just like its
devotees, the estate workers, had been left behind by development.

They have forgotten Muslims were invited to practice
their religion
amongst the people of Yathrib. They are beating the
drums of race and religion and the tone is becoming harsher with each
beat.

The people must now decide. There cannot be any fence sitters.
There is no middle ground.

When Teoh Beng Hock was thrown out of the window on
14th Floor, the people of Malaysia was thrown together with him into
the sea of political troubles.

Whether Malaysia will sink or swim is now up to the
people. The people must decide once and for all what is right and what
is wrong.There cannot be a neutral ground.

Dante said: "The hottest place in Hell is reserved
for those who
remain neutral in times of moral crisis."

Today in Malaysia there is no place for neutrality.
Malaysians must make their choice now. If we want to know what is evil
and what is right, we must use our moral compass. It is only when we
know the direction where justice lies can we know where we must stand.
Do we want to choose liberty and justice which are always right or do
we want to choose corruption, hatred, arrogance and oppression which
are always wrong?

The choice is clear.

Every Malaysian must make his stand.

When you stand for liberty we stand with you.
I want to tell you that when you stand for liberty,
we will stand with you. When you defend democracy, we will be your
shield.

When you fight for justice, we will be your sword.

We will always be with you.

They assaulted *Anwar Ibrahim.
*They threw him in jail for 6 long years..
They call him a traitor and worse. But Anwar will
always be here to fight for you.
They hounded and harassed *Lim Kit Siang. *They
detained him in Kamunting.. But Lim Kit Siang will always be here to
stand by you.
They attacked *Tok Guru Nik Aziz *and tried to
humiliate him. But Tok Guru Nik Aziz will always be here to protect
you.

We have been tested. They have thrown everything
they have at us but we are still standing and we are still here.

We were here in November 2007 when a sea of yellow
marched for a free and fair election. This was *BERSIH*. We were here
in December when thousands in orange marched for equality. This was
*Makal Sakthi*.This was the ripple that started the tsunami.

Barisan Nasional was swept out of 5 states. Since then Barisan
Nasional has become more extreme in their policies.
They have become more brutal with the people. When we Hope So on 1st
August, the lovers of justice and liberty marched again.. Again
Barisan Nasional responded with violence and brutality. 638 people
including women and children were arrested. Despite the police
shutting down the city, despite the many road blocks and barricades,
despite the arrest of those wearing black, the number who succeeded in
gathering far exceeded my expectations.

But the size of the gathering cannot be bigger than
my hope for Malaysia .

My hope is for every one that braved the tear gas
and water cannons there will be many thousands more.

We want hundreds of thousands to march with us.
We will march from under the shadow of fear into the
light of justice. My hope is that the flame burning in each who
gathered that day will kindle the hearts and minds of many thousands
more.

Malaysians will find the courage to standup for
principles and convictions.

We must stand up for what is right.

This is my hope and this is the hope of all Malaysians.

Truth, love and justice will prevail over the forces
of hate and
oppression. This will only happen when the silent
majority refuses to remain silent anymore. This will only happen when
the voice of the majority is finally heard.

We must be confident that oppression and corruption
cannot endure. We must take comfort that truth and justice will always
prevail. But this can only be achieved if we fight for it.

We must fight today for a better tomorrow.

Looking Back in the Future Do not let our children
look back and say that these are dark days. Let them say that these
are great days. These are the most glorious days that our country ever
had. These days will be remembered as the days when we were called, we
answered. We stood up. We stood together shoulder to shoulder
irrespective of race or religion. We fought and we prevailed. Each of
us played our part according to our strengths.

Our children and their children will look back on
these days and
celebrate it as the days we became *ONE NATION*..

These days will be etched in our Nation's history as
the days we won over injustice and oppression. These will be the days
we celebrate *THE TRUE MERDEKA.*

Thank you, Xie xie , vanakam...

Have a blessed day.
............ ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
......... ......... ......... ......... .........
......... .........

William Leong

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

BUM2010: another take, aVOICE from civilsociety

Home Dr. Lim Teck Ghee Dialogue, out from the virtual world and into real life
Dialogue, out from the virtual world and into real life Print E-mail
CPI Writings
Sunday, 23 May 2010 17:18

Dr. Lim Teck Ghee presenting souvenir to Selangor MB, Khalid Ibrahim @ BUM2010

Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being, Dato Raja Nong Chik @ BUM2010

Below is the text of the speech delivered at the Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM) 2010 gathering on May 22.

Firstly, let me welcome our honoured guests – the honorable Menteri Besar [of Selangor] and the Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing for gracing the occasion and providing the keynote speeches.

I want to thank the various speakers and moderators who are here to provide their points of view and insights for what promises to be a very intense dialogue – a dialogue over contentious issues which are important to all of us but which has largely taken place over the internet. Now we are going to have it here in real life and not in the virtual world.

I also wish to thank everyone who has worked or contributed to make this event take place – the organizing committee; the MB’s office of the Selangor state government; the FT Ministry and last but not least, my small CPI team that has worked hard to make this event a special one in several ways.

I use the word special event perhaps in a biased way seeing that the CPI is the co-organizer but on reflection, you may agree. Firstly, this is one of the larger, if not largest gatherings of bloggers and blog supporters held in the country – at least in terms of the coming together of a community on a serious programme that focuses on the major divide of religion (and the associated divide of race) in the country.

Secondly, we have a formidable list of speakers drawn from various political parties, the media and civil society. We have no political agenda or axe to grind in the group of speakers assembled today. We tried especially hard to ensure a good balance. No names need be mentioned but various speakers that we approached to ensure the better representation of all spectrums of views failed to respond or turned us down.

Still I am not disappointed – we have an outstanding cast of speakers – and I hope they will not disappoint us.

RTM does not belong to BN

Let me remind you that this event is intended to commemorate World Press Freedom day. Press or media freedom, and the larger context of the freedom of expression is a cause which I believe is very close to the hearts of many if not all of us gathered here today – regardless of whether we are supporters of the BN or the opposition; or whether we are unconvinced of the virtues of both.

Now this cause which is at the heart of a liberal democratic system has been systematically undermined. Even as I speak, there are hundreds if not thousands of media professionals working in the country who are engaged in self-censorship or state-directed censorship to ensure that what may be perceived as negative or sensitive materials, content or views are not put out in the public sphere. Or if put out, are spun and manipulated to present the government’s point of view and to demonize those the BN perceives as its enemies.

This atmosphere – even culture of fear and intimidation – is supplemented on the other hand by the enormous rewards given out to the editors and senior management in media outfits by the state and the private sector owners for ensuring that we have sanitized or castrated news and views that do not question the system.

Today, we have two cases of media professionals, who for living up to the ideals of ethical and independent journalism, for daring to improve the quality of our public discourse on contentious issues, have been punished. I refer to the cases of Chou Z Lam from RTM and Joshua Wong from ntv7.

Let me quote from Chou’s blog:

    “Instead of reevaluating their self-censorship and decreased credibility, after I disclosed the Bakun documentary off-the-air incident, [the] RTM management had chosen to increase their control over the authority and professionalism of 3 Mandarin units, i.e Galeri Mandarin Nasional, the TV2 Mandarin news unit and Mandarin programmed by radio RTM. They had officially appointed an MCA member Yap, who has no experience with journalism to oversee programmes and news produced by these 3 units. Whoever has given the instruction to carry this surveillance, I would say this act will only erode the credibility of RTM, jeopardizing the rights of information of its audience and humiliate the pride of [the] journalist, as well as insulting the profession of journalism. Those in power in RTM, [it] seems, don’t understand a single fact, that these broadcasting stations are not owned by BN, but the peoples and the communities. I hereby urge those who had humiliated the profession of journalism to resign their post in RTM and apology to RTM’s audience as well as those who had contributed their time and effort for the success of production of Rawang documentary and Bakun documentary series”.

Since writing this piece in his blog, Chou has received marching orders from RTM.

As for Joshua who quit his job at ntv7 on 20th April, let me read out what he has to say in the recent interview that Shahnon Shah conducted with him which has appeared in The Nut Graph.

Extracts:

[Quote] What was different this time round that you decided you needed to quit? What was the thing that made you decide, ‘This is it’?

It really was self-censorship, and also the external interference this time was just too obvious. I have to be fair to the external actors, though. I really do not know if the Prime Minister's Office merely forwarded third party concerns to us, or if they were actually instructing us. There’s a gap here that I cannot explain and I have no evidence to point either way. But top management should have conducted a thorough investigation of these matters before jumping into self-censorship….If the top management had just bothered to find out the facts and defended me, I don’t think I would have resigned.

Have you been receiving many messages of support for your decision to quit ntv7? Who have they been from? What have they been telling you?

Yes, mostly from old friends and my church members. Mostly the messages are, “You’re very brave.” Or, “You must be very careful, because the people you have taken to task are quite high-level.” But I had to take this risk, especially when I called the press conference to expose these things. I don’t think of it as brave — I think these are principles every journalist should hold.

You see, if we were to talk about political directives and so on, two Chinese dailies — Sin Chew and China Press — did not report on my resignation on the day it happened. They only published follow-up responses from different leaders later, even then with little prominence. But Nanyang Siang Pau and Oriental Daily reported on my resignation. How come these two papers could do it? Was there a possibility of self-censorship in the other papers?

Have you been receiving criticisms, including from fellow journalists? What’s their point of view?

Yes, they say since I held such a high-profile press conference, I would be affecting the show Editor’s Time and so on. But I wasn’t condemning my team members…. I was just saying, stop political interference and self-censorship. Some of them also consider what I did as … showing off. It’s up to them to judge me. To me, time will be the best judge of my actions. If I had continued to work within the system, it would actually be easier for me. More importantly, if we care about good journalism, I would rather we gather more journalists to fight for press freedom and against political interference, instead of dismissing individuals. [Unquote]

I wish to end by urging all here not only to rally to – but to fight for – the cause of media freedom and the larger freedom of expression. Being able to voice our views on the internet should not be enough. We need to reform the larger authoritarian system that has made it difficult for Malaysians to distinguish between facts, lies and opinions.

Freedom for the independence and integrity of the mainstream media and its practitioners must not be forgotten or consigned to the wayside. It must remain our collective and urgent resolve and objective.

Finally, let me end with a reminder from the advertiser. Please visit us at

www.cpiasia.net where you can post your views and comments on what has transpired today.

Home Dr. Lim Teck Ghee Dialogue, out from the virtual world and into real life
Dialogue, out from the virtual world and into real life Print E-mail
CPI Writings
Sunday, 23 May 2010 17:18

Dr. Lim Teck Ghee presenting souvenir to Selangor MB, Khalid Ibrahim @ BUM2010

Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being, Dato Raja Nong Chik @ BUM2010

Below is the text of the speech delivered at the Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM) 2010 gathering on May 22.

Firstly, let me welcome our honoured guests – the honorable Menteri Besar [of Selangor] and the Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing for gracing the occasion and providing the keynote speeches.

I want to thank the various speakers and moderators who are here to provide their points of view and insights for what promises to be a very intense dialogue – a dialogue over contentious issues which are important to all of us but which has largely taken place over the internet. Now we are going to have it here in real life and not in the virtual world.

I also wish to thank everyone who has worked or contributed to make this event take place – the organizing committee; the MB’s office of the Selangor state government; the FT Ministry and last but not least, my small CPI team that has worked hard to make this event a special one in several ways.

I use the word special event perhaps in a biased way seeing that the CPI is the co-organizer but on reflection, you may agree. Firstly, this is one of the larger, if not largest gatherings of bloggers and blog supporters held in the country – at least in terms of the coming together of a community on a serious programme that focuses on the major divide of religion (and the associated divide of race) in the country.

Secondly, we have a formidable list of speakers drawn from various political parties, the media and civil society. We have no political agenda or axe to grind in the group of speakers assembled today. We tried especially hard to ensure a good balance. No names need be mentioned but various speakers that we approached to ensure the better representation of all spectrums of views failed to respond or turned us down.

Still I am not disappointed – we have an outstanding cast of speakers – and I hope they will not disappoint us.

RTM does not belong to BN

Let me remind you that this event is intended to commemorate World Press Freedom day. Press or media freedom, and the larger context of the freedom of expression is a cause which I believe is very close to the hearts of many if not all of us gathered here today – regardless of whether we are supporters of the BN or the opposition; or whether we are unconvinced of the virtues of both.

Now this cause which is at the heart of a liberal democratic system has been systematically undermined. Even as I speak, there are hundreds if not thousands of media professionals working in the country who are engaged in self-censorship or state-directed censorship to ensure that what may be perceived as negative or sensitive materials, content or views are not put out in the public sphere. Or if put out, are spun and manipulated to present the government’s point of view and to demonize those the BN perceives as its enemies.

This atmosphere – even culture of fear and intimidation – is supplemented on the other hand by the enormous rewards given out to the editors and senior management in media outfits by the state and the private sector owners for ensuring that we have sanitized or castrated news and views that do not question the system.

Today, we have two cases of media professionals, who for living up to the ideals of ethical and independent journalism, for daring to improve the quality of our public discourse on contentious issues, have been punished. I refer to the cases of Chou Z Lam from RTM and Joshua Wong from ntv7.

Let me quote from Chou’s blog:

    “Instead of reevaluating their self-censorship and decreased credibility, after I disclosed the Bakun documentary off-the-air incident, [the] RTM management had chosen to increase their control over the authority and professionalism of 3 Mandarin units, i.e Galeri Mandarin Nasional, the TV2 Mandarin news unit and Mandarin programmed by radio RTM. They had officially appointed an MCA member Yap, who has no experience with journalism to oversee programmes and news produced by these 3 units. Whoever has given the instruction to carry this surveillance, I would say this act will only erode the credibility of RTM, jeopardizing the rights of information of its audience and humiliate the pride of [the] journalist, as well as insulting the profession of journalism. Those in power in RTM, [it] seems, don’t understand a single fact, that these broadcasting stations are not owned by BN, but the peoples and the communities. I hereby urge those who had humiliated the profession of journalism to resign their post in RTM and apology to RTM’s audience as well as those who had contributed their time and effort for the success of production of Rawang documentary and Bakun documentary series”.

Since writing this piece in his blog, Chou has received marching orders from RTM.

As for Joshua who quit his job at ntv7 on 20th April, let me read out what he has to say in the recent interview that Shahnon Shah conducted with him which has appeared in The Nut Graph.

Extracts:

[Quote] What was different this time round that you decided you needed to quit? What was the thing that made you decide, ‘This is it’?

It really was self-censorship, and also the external interference this time was just too obvious. I have to be fair to the external actors, though. I really do not know if the Prime Minister's Office merely forwarded third party concerns to us, or if they were actually instructing us. There’s a gap here that I cannot explain and I have no evidence to point either way. But top management should have conducted a thorough investigation of these matters before jumping into self-censorship….If the top management had just bothered to find out the facts and defended me, I don’t think I would have resigned.

Have you been receiving many messages of support for your decision to quit ntv7? Who have they been from? What have they been telling you?

Yes, mostly from old friends and my church members. Mostly the messages are, “You’re very brave.” Or, “You must be very careful, because the people you have taken to task are quite high-level.” But I had to take this risk, especially when I called the press conference to expose these things. I don’t think of it as brave — I think these are principles every journalist should hold.

You see, if we were to talk about political directives and so on, two Chinese dailies — Sin Chew and China Press — did not report on my resignation on the day it happened. They only published follow-up responses from different leaders later, even then with little prominence. But Nanyang Siang Pau and Oriental Daily reported on my resignation. How come these two papers could do it? Was there a possibility of self-censorship in the other papers?

Have you been receiving criticisms, including from fellow journalists? What’s their point of view?

Yes, they say since I held such a high-profile press conference, I would be affecting the show Editor’s Time and so on. But I wasn’t condemning my team members…. I was just saying, stop political interference and self-censorship. Some of them also consider what I did as … showing off. It’s up to them to judge me. To me, time will be the best judge of my actions. If I had continued to work within the system, it would actually be easier for me. More importantly, if we care about good journalism, I would rather we gather more journalists to fight for press freedom and against political interference, instead of dismissing individuals. [Unquote]

I wish to end by urging all here not only to rally to – but to fight for – the cause of media freedom and the larger freedom of expression. Being able to voice our views on the internet should not be enough. We need to reform the larger authoritarian system that has made it difficult for Malaysians to distinguish between facts, lies and opinions.

Freedom for the independence and integrity of the mainstream media and its practitioners must not be forgotten or consigned to the wayside. It must remain our collective and urgent resolve and objective.

Finally, let me end with a reminder from the advertiser. Please visit us at

www.cpiasia.net where you can post your views and comments on what has transpired today.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Reflections on BUM, past and present...

and for the future, please go to rockybru.com.my. Somewhere in the deep recesses of Interim Committee of All-Blogs Prez Datuk Ahirudin Attan I hear echoes of reaching the higher realms of dreamland within striking distance of Putrajaya for BUM2011, and all Desi can see in his surreal world the past weeks was/is/will be accompanied by the theme song from Dr Zhivago's : "Somewhere my love there will be songs to sing, Although the snow covers the hopes of spring..." I don't know why...

At BUM2010 (see aMore at bum2010.wordpress.com...) at a homey abode, a tribe of Bloggers, both socio-political like Desi and DonPlayPuks, and non-, like adapted handles aweOFhelen, "princess" Primrose, et al (a short often used by lawyers -- and I read somewhere you make an excellent Blogger if you also sit near the Bar! -- often undertake an annual challenge, but in my eyes more a pilgrimage to refresh ourselves in wells of hope and idealism for a one-day outing named Bloggers Universe Malaysia, evolved from virginal Bloggers United Malaysia. It's oft said that as individuals, we are weak, but when banded together, we can make a substantive difference, hopefully, to make Malaysia a better place. Hence, the "Theme: Bloggers - Moving Malaysia Forward". That as chair for four years, I believe my fellow organising committee members come back, like little Oliver and Olivia, "asking for more", though I add one members had dared voice her pastry thought allowed, ala Malaysian blogospheric taiko Jeff Ooi: "I think Desi you have a masochistic streak taking on such a stressful assignment."

It all started when Howsy, then a PhD student based in London, floated the idea of a social gathering -- throw in tehtarik, some e-roti-c canai and steaks of satay, and satu lagi tt, kurang manis! -- the gathering bloomed and balloooned into more than 100 tables for ten each. Mainly because that guy called Desi, full of ignoramus gung-ho spirit, and half drunk on rut bir, got diverted into a dreamland named Lake View Club. And a media crony named Lee CH and his Boss of more than a decade -- won't name him here, but he has been extremely supportive and generous to throw in one lamb for the inaugural because they must have heard we grew up humming Mary had a little lamb, who unfortunately in the neighbourhood of "rogue" Bloggers -- more like blogheads! -- misled the poor animal astray to Warren Buffet's table. The gerosity flowed to two for BUM2008 and three for BUM2009, and some sour grapes made an issue of "three lambs" marching to Subang Jaya from a neighbouring country. And virginal commenter at bum4msia.wordpress.com revived Desi's nightmare, posing the challenge, unspoken:
++++ "'Sei'" check, izzzzit?"

+++plus+: in Kantonis represent the numeral "four" and the traditionalists believe it's "bad" fortune. But blardy writHers like Desi -- poet-aSspirant summore, as stated in his hi-profile! -- continue to challenge feng (the wind) and sui (the water) because as a BUMmer, you must be a contrarian, like Mary-lah,always going against the grain. Otherwise, life is so boring, rite? And dear esteemed readers, that's a rhetorical question; I picture myself back at the rostrum wreaking havoc at the audience of100 to 200 -- sorry I ain't no mathematician or reporter yesterday, when all my troubles luckily Beatles inspired went so far away! -- some who weren't even present and dared ask: "Why-lah you have mostly speakers who ain't qualified, and cannot deliver?"

Yeah, one insight I meant to share as Organising Committee (OC) chair, but did not because I feared my time over-running was: Did you know that even one day before D-day (Friday, May 21) and two days prior (Thursday), I still had to amend the panellists, by deleting one, and not including wan, respectively? And my great regret was just thee days before May 22, my good and reliable and constant speaker who never said "no" for the past three outings, had to take leave because of an "urgent outstation assignment". Thanks Citizen Nadeswaran anway for your constant support; I must thank a newshound buddy Ms Wng Choon Mei for coming to my rescue at short notice to join the panel; and also more thanks to "Big Dog" who answered my SOS call just 30minutes before the Media session started -- it became a sort of "fifth estater" enhancing the input-value about the MSM, the 4th estate!

So as the Bard -- were he to sit as chair, would smile: "All's well that ends wellA!" Desi once a w'ile would like to show off he can quote from the greatest writer ever lived -- did I say more than once that sometimes the lessermortals claimfame by association. If I fell back on my DDC -- which stands for Da Desi Code, using lots of tongue and blogspeak only desiphered by these blogheads -- I would use "aRsEsciaton" but many BUM attendees hail from civil society, so this host'd refrain. (BTW, which is 'by the way' for Blog novices hear/here!, I trained for more than a decade at a diplomatic mission in KL:)

I must thank the Selangor MB's office and the Ministry of FT and Urban Wellbeing for their RM10,000 each as a gesture of support for BUM2010, and also helped the organisers achieve that "balance" many critics have been lambasting the OC about previous BUM affairs, accusing us of lacking "the balance" in terms of representation from both sides of the political divide. The sponsirship also partly explains the generosity of the BUM OC's gift of a free T-shirt which was of limited edition at BUM2009 and became a collector's item. Just a whisper **here/hear: I fopped off on a DPP last year's T, for 300, but he handed me the dough in an envelope, and I later discovered the currency was in Rupiah! Did I digress too ***much/mush?

NB: *** mush and **hear would qualify as DDC. I'm educating my expected tsumic arrival of new readers as a result of BUM2010; then I can fop off my Midnight Voices blog for 20million. I was told that there's a sucker born every nano-scond, no more every day, since the advent of the Internet.

I had urged the audience to take up blogging because one privilege you can always abuse is to "digress"from the subject.You are king on home turf, yes! So you B2B -- which stands for BUMmer or Blogger To Be, or not to be, that's your question...)

So back to yesterday, I must thank all the esteemed speakers who volunteered the time, and more importantly their ideas and thoughts with fellow countrymen and women, so that we can banter and debate with no malice, but in candour. I quote from panellist Sdr Dr Dzul A, and methinks he's paraphrasing VOLTAIRE's credo which without fail I had prefaced my chair's parting: "I may disagree with what you say but I will defend, to the death, your right to say it." I shall engage the Islamist democrat more, and aMore,on a topic based on a knotty question I had asked of him relating to religion-based political parties. Always an optimist, dare I challenge -- at BUM2011 maybe? That challenge is actually meant for brother Rocky who was referred to by our VIP minister-guest as a"millionaire-blogger". I did not have the op at tea time -- or more likely the lack of guts -- to ask the esteemed Menteri to elaborate on what he wanted to mean!

Chow!

Which can mean~~~

See you again later,

OR

Come, let's eat,
I had quietly tapau-ed *one/wan leg/kaki of the lamb!

PS: Lust night I intimated maybe next May for BUM2011 we may meet in the Bahamas, rimes wit' BUMmers ma and pa! Actually I originally wished for CASABLANCA, but that would be too nostalgic for Desi, and mGf KimQ says his BUD-get doesn't allow it!; afterwards we jom at Ricks cafe, K. But on immediate basis,Desi's invite to the supporters who parted wit' RM60 each to make the event highly successful -- by my standdard OK! -- within this FurongKnight's budGET, let's jom so-ON at Temiang Corner, then Jom2 to Butterfry Varrey...

Thursday, May 20, 2010

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP 4 BUM2010 YET?...


If you haven't, you gonna miss the Malaysian Bloggers' Event of The Year! You don't want that to happen, so go right, left or middle-of-de-roag to register at bum4msia.wordpress.com...

Or CLICK at that attractive LF column's POSTER designed by mob1900,or BUMmy resident artist:)

And because BennyLoh dared aRsk for it, you have got ONE plus One whole lamb waiting for you patient folks at the Warren Buffet's table at Lake View Club, Subang Jaya on May 22, 2010!

So hurry, before Desi runs off with Mary and all the kakis of her marry little lambs...YL, Desi, who masochistically assepted the Chair's job because Rockybru said a shy "no" when I "shouted" in his direction at BUM2009 close. Sext, I will "whisper", K!:)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sleepless in Seremban, Dreams about Casablanca

ixixiprinceixixi — August 14, 2008 —
I fell in love with you watching Casablanca
Back row of the drive in show in the flickering light
Popcorn and cokes beneath the stars became champagne and caviar
Making love on a long hot summers night

I thought you fell in love with me watching Casablance
Holding hands 'neath the paddle fans in Rick's Candle lit cafe
Hiding in the shadows from the spies. Moroccan moonlight in your eyes
Making magic at the movies in my old chevrolet

Oh! A kiss is still a kiss in Casablanca
But a kiss is not a kiss without your sigh

Please come back to me in Casablanca
I love you more and more each day as time goes by

I guess there're many broken hearts in Casablanca
You know I've never really been there. so, I don't know

I guess our love story will never be seen on the big wide silver screen
But it hurt just as bad when I had to watch you go

Oh! A kiss is still a kiss in Casablanca
But a kiss is not a kiss without your sigh

Please come back to me in Casablanca
I love you more and more each day as time goes by
Oh! A kiss is still a kiss in Casablanca
But a kiss is not a kiss without your sigh

Please come back to me in Casablanca

I love you more and more each day as time goes by
I love you more and more each day as time goes by
Category: Music
Tags:
Casablanca prince jj bd

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

DESIDERATA:
One gOod friend from Kajang,Huat, brought another Gf from KL down to Seremban where I was sleepless, and we adjourned to Butterfly Valley, where sometimes DREAMS seem to come through. Ah, I shan't tell you the dtails -- and "d" can stand for dark, you don't know? -- so if you wanna no, come down to FuRong dressed as a cowboi or a spy, and we'll go hunting in Casablance,

where a kiss is still a kiss
Ah, a*sigh is steal another miss...

G'nite! Desi @11.47Am:)

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Solomonesque wisdom from Nik Aziz:)

I have often nodded my head whenever I hear or read Nik Aziz's thoughts on current issues.I may not agree with his standpoints -- it's more the Solomon in him that attracts my attention and this buds my reflection. Hear him out on party-hoppers like Ibrahim Ali and Wee Choo Keong, who respectively stood on PAS and PKR tickets in Match 2008, and now reneged on their pledges to the elctorate. The voters havre all reached adulthood, but these law-makers are still wondering why their breasts are beginning to grow in size and heat. Maybe they should do it with the bitches and learn some, if they learn from wiseman that's PAS spiritual head.
-- Desi, knottyaSsusual?

********************************* From Bernama by way of MI:)

Nik Aziz: Party-hoppers yet to reach political puberty
May 15, 2010

KOTA BARU, May 15 — Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has described party-hopping politicians as those yet to reach political puberty.

He, however, admitted that party-hopping had become the norm in politics, including among PAS leaders, during the early years.

“Puberty isn’t just about a child reaching a certain age. In politics, there is a puberty stage, too. Those who like to hop parties are those who have yet to reach political puberty,” he told reporters after opening the JPM Super Drive Challenge KB 2010 at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium here today.

Nik Aziz (picture), who is also PAS spiritual leader, was commenting on the decision by Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong to quit Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) yesterday.

Wee quit over disappointment with the party and the opposition-led Selangor government’s manner of addressing the sand scandal in the state.

The mentri besar, however, refused to elaborate on Wee’s decision to become an independent MP.

On a move by PAS to set up a new wing known as the PAS Supporters Movement (DHPP), Nik Aziz said it (wing) was not to sideline DAP from the opposition pact.

“Instead, we are trying to reach out to non-Muslims, via DAP, and our efforts have been fruitful so far as many non-Muslims, especially the Chinese, can now accept Islam as the basis of PAS’s struggle,” he said.

DHPP will be launched by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on May 23. — Bernama

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Why art thou in Sibu, not...

in *** where Desi WisHedIS?

Wordsmith.org The Magic of Words

May 12, 2010
This week's theme
Words derived after mythical places

This week's words
utopia
cockaigne
shangri-la

Shangri-Law in the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Shangri-la, a still from the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Discuss
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

***Shangri-la

PRONUNCIATION:
(shang-gri-LAH)

MEANING:
noun: An imaginary, idyllic place that is remote and secluded.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Shangri-La, a Tibetan utopia in the novel Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton (1900-1954). From Shangri (a coined name) + Tibetan la (mountain pass).

USAGE:
"For just one hour you think you are living in dreamland, a Shangri-La, where if life is not yet quite perfect, it will be very soon."
Simon Hoggart; Budget 2010; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 25, 2010.

Explore "Shangri-la" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If the world ever advances beyond what it is today, it must be led by men who express their real opinions. -Robert G. Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899)

KimQ has something to say to Sibu peeps!


Will Sibu Make History?


By Kim Quek


May 12, 2010



Amidst the intense election campaigns of the Sibu parliamentary by-election, there is one way to help the beseeched electorate making a sound decision. And that is by asking the following question:



Which political coalition – Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) – is more likely to fulfill the wishes of the Sibu people, if given the chance to run the Federal government and the Sarawak state government?



The simple reason for asking the question is that only the Federal government has the power and resources, and to a lesser extent, the Sarawak state government, to solve their problems and fulfill their aspirations. And Sibu is now placed in the unique position to tip the political balance that may result in either one coalition assuming federal power come next general election, as will be explained later.



To begin, let us look at the problems Sibuans are facing. These are:



Perennial flooding, lack of basic infrastructures for the rural areas, deprivation of Customary Land Right, problems of land lease renewal, abject poverty and prolonged economic malaise that have caused the mass exodus of youth from their homeland.



Can a member of parliament, whoever he is, solve these problems? No way, not even the state government, as much of these can only be overcome through changes of national policies and utilization of large sums of money that only the central government can provide.



ECONOMY IN BAD SHAPE



Take the sluggish economy. This is a national phenomenon. Sibu or even Sarawak cannot boom in a stagnant Malaysian economy, which has been in the doldrums for more than a decade. The World Bank, in its recent economic report on Malaysia (dubbed ‘The Malaysian Economic Monitor’), described this phenomenon as ‘the middle-income trap’ – unable to remain competitive as a low-cost producer, and yet incapable of moving up the economic ladder to a high-value economy, which is knowledge and innovation based. As rightly pointed out by the World Bank, this is due to the collapse of private investment (foreign and local) which has been hovering around 10% of GDP since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis – a far cry from its pre-crisis height of 37%. This stands in contrast to our regional neighbours which have rebounded healthily in private investment rate, leaving Malaysia as the laggard.



Malaysia ’s loss of competitiveness is rooted in politics – the inevitable consequence of an increasingly corrupt and authoritarian government. The name of Malaysia has virtually disappeared from the radar screen of foreign investors, as none would be interested to invest in a country where rule of law is openly and unabashedly flouted, law-enforcing institutions reduced to political stooges, and the economy semi-paralysed by racist protectionism and cronyism.



Malaysia ’s loss of grace with investors is most vividly illustrated in its massive capital flight - its 2008 FDI outflow of USD14.1 billion exceeds its FDI inflow of USD8.1 billion by by a whopping 70%. Which other developing country in the world has such dubious distinction!?



IRRESPONSIBLE SQUANDERING




Compounding this economic morass is the Barisan Nasional government’s atrocious financial management. Despite the country’s fabulous petroleum income – which now finances more than 40% of the government’s annual recurring expenditure – the country has been running heavy budget deficits every year for the past 13 years. Such recurring expenditure virtually exploded during Abdullah Badawi’s reign when it doubled within 4 years. And there is every indication that this trend will continue unabated despite promises to the contrary by Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Najib Razak.



These hefty budget deficits are mainly caused by massive leakages through corrupt procurement practices and reckless spending for political expediency and personal gratifications, in addition to poor revenue collection from a lackluster economy. This huge income-expenditure gap is expected to widen in the days ahead as Petronas’ ability to foot the bill will decline in tandem with shrinking reserves and escalating costs.



With the federal treasury in such dire straights, the people of Sibu must take it with a bit of salt when BN leaders promise voluminous funds for infrastructure projects, including the flood-prevention scheme for Sibu, which will cost RM1 billion, according to DPM Muhyiddin Yassin.



SARAWAK IMPOVERISHED BY CORRUPTION




In fact, the masses of Sarawak should not be suffering in its present state of poverty and neglect if not for the gross mismanagement by one of the most corrupt state governments in the country. Blessed with abundant gas and oil, and owners of one of the richest rainforests of the world, Sarawakians should have been enjoying a standard of living second to none. But instead, the state now ranks among the poorest in Malaysia , thanks to the seemingly never-ending rule of Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. Disparagingly known as ‘Peh Moh’ (white hair), this autocrat has during his 29 year-rule massively misappropriated the state’s timber wealth to himself, his family, political associates and business cronies, to the point that the once richest natural asset of the state is now near depletion. In addition, his family’s financial empire under flagship CMS, which extends its interests to every aspect of the state’s economy, has virtually monopolized business opportunities offered by public spending through sweet-heart deals.



The cruelest cut of Taib’s corrupt rule is perhaps the marginalization of the indigenous population spread over the far flung interior of this vast territory. In addition to suffering the destruction of the natural habitat upon which they depend for their livelihood (due to reckless logging), they have been forcibly removed from their ancestral land without proper compensation so as to make way for the big logging and plantation corporations favoured by the Taib-led government.



There is not the slightest doubt that Sarawakians would have been wealthier and the interior population living in more civilized conditions, if the state had not been subjected to such corrupt authoritarian rule, under which only the ruling elite and their cronies prosper.



PAKATAN’S NEW POLITICS



In sharp contrast to the aged and decadent rule of BN was the refreshingly new politics of Pakatan Rakyat which was swept into power over five key states in the Peninsula in the last general election. Pakatan’s administration was marked by transparency and accountability as exemplified by its no-nonsense public procurement policy through open tenders. This new style of administration is attested to by none other than the Auditor General who in his last annual report has exceptionally commended the PR-controlled states for their prudent financial management. This again stands in contrast with the BN-controlled federal and state governments which have been ritualistically chided in every annual AG report for umpteen years for widespread squandering, negligence and corruption over the spending of public funds.



That Pakatan Rakyat’s electoral success in the 2008 election was no fluke and its popularity has been growing is verified by the series of by-election victories won by Pakatan against overwhelming handicap of strongly pro-BN public institutions and completely one-sided mass media favouring BN.



The political tsunami swept in by the 2008 election has demonstrated beyond doubt that the people in Peninsula have woken up to the folly and deceit of the BN regime. In fact, if not for BN’s monopolistic hold on Sabah and Sarawak , Pakatan would have captured Putrajaya, considering the fact that many BN members of parliament would have supported the new politics of Pakatan in a delicately balanced parliament.



SIBU ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE?



This is where Sibu can come in to play its historical role. A Pakatan win in a traditional BN fortress like Sibu would embolden the indigenous population to vote for change, as these impoverished people have been casting votes for BN in the past more out of fear than out of love. Sibu could then trigger off a domino effect that would enable Pakatan to score significant electoral success in the imminent state elections – enough to cause the tsunami to also hit Sabah , thereby precipitating a change of regime and the ushering of a new era for the country come next general election.

Will Sibuans rise to the occasion to be the maker of history for a new Malaysia?





Kim Quek.

Monday, May 10, 2010

News ketchUP, courtesy of AFP, via malaysianmirror.com...


Malaysia on trial, says Anwar
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KUALA LUMPUR, May 9, 2010 : Sunday, 09 May 2010 14:45

KUALA LUMPUROpposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who returns to court Monday to face sodomy charges, said Malaysia's reputation is on trial in a case aimed at destroying his political career.

Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts a decade ago, said Malaysian justice had deteriorated under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who came to power a year ago.

anwar-saiful-4"It is not Anwar's case. It is the institution of governance -- the police, the judiciary and certain media -- which have all got worse under Prime Minister Najib Razak. They are the real ones on trial," Anwar told AFP.

Anwar said he would not be cowed by the fact he could again end up behind bars if convicted of the charges that carry a penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

"I am committed to political and economic reforms. There is no turning back," he said.

"Of course I am a political threat. They have been trying for 12 years to kill my political career. I leave it to my supporters and Allah to believe in me."

Severely disadvantaged position

Anwar, a 62-year-old father of six, is accused of having illicit sexual relations with a young man who worked in his office. Sodomy remains a crime in Malaysia, a conservative Muslim-majority nation.

The trial opened briefly in February with explicit evidence from his accuser, 24-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, but has been suspended since then as the defence pursued a number of unsuccessful legal manoeuvres.

They were knocked back in attempts to have the presiding judge disqualified, complaining he had refused to rein in biased media coverage, and also failed to win access to key prosecution evidence such as video footage and medical tests.

Anwar last week lost his final bid to strike out the sodomy charges, as the Federal Court rejected an appeal and paved the way for his trial to resume at the High Court on Monday.

sankara-nairHis counsel Sankara Nair said the prosecution's refusal to release information such as its witness list and key documents on forensic and DNA evidence was problematic.

"Anwar is put in a very severely disadvantaged position. The defence faces an uphill task as vital documents in relation to Anwar's defence have not been given to us by the prosecution," he said.

"We intend to grill Saiful'

Human Rights Watch has urged Malaysia to drop the charges against Anwar, condemning the case as a "charade of justice" and saying his lawyers had been blocked from preparing a thorough defence.

Sankara said the defence team would cross-examine Mohamad Saiful when the hearing opens Monday.

"We intend to grill this witness," Nair said. "The court has set four days for this hearing." Hearing dates have been set until August but Sankara said he did not know when the trial would end.

Anwar's earlier sexual misconduct conviction was quashed in 2004 and he was released from jail. After a period of recuperation he reinvented himself as the leader of an opposition alliance.

Against all expectations, it made huge strides in 2008 elections, depriving the ruling coalition of its crucial two-thirds majority and redrawing Malaysia's political landscape.

After suffering its worst polls results in half a century, the shell-shocked Barisan Nasional coalition ousted the serving prime minister and drafted in Najib, who has unveiled reforms aimed at winning back support. — AFP

12 DAYS' COUNTDOWN TO BUM2010 begins...


This year’s “Bloggers’ Event of The Year” will take flight on Saturday May 22; yes, again at the Lake View Club, Subang Jaya, now quite a homey nest to Socio-political (SoPo) Bloggers, B2B (4bloggers-to-be) and also, Blog interactors. All are welcome to take flight with a pride of Speakers who have made a mark on the Malaysian landscape, so here’s your chance to meet them in person! Of course, if you have been thinking all along Rockybru is a long-haired bandboy from Bangsar, you are going to be surprised he’s now Datuk Ahirudin Attan, first a Blogger, then an MSM editor, or vice versa; and the bigger surprise that Desiderata is not a sweet-young-thing, but a writHer from Jurassick Park!

BUM stands for Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM). BUM2010 is the fourth in a series of annual gatherings of Malaysian bloggers and bloggers-to-be, and is being organized by a group of mainly Socio-political (SoPo) Bloggers in their individual capacities in association with the Protem Committee of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs), and the Centre for Policy Initiatives (cpiasia.net).

1. THEME: Bloggers: Moving Malaysia Forward

Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010

Venue: Lake View Club, Subang Jaya

2. May 22, 2010 at Lake View Club, Reception Counter

10.00 – 10.30am: REGISTRATION of participants:

10.30—11.00am: Welcoming addresses by

Rocky Bru, All-Blogs Interim Committee President

YL Chong, BUM 2010 OC Chairman

2. KEYNOTE ADDRESS:

Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim

11.00am –11.20am:

Topic: “Selangor Government’s use of the Internet to improve good governance and service delivery, and the State’s efforts to bridge the Internet divide”

Moderator: Helen Ang

11.20 am – 11.45 am: Q and A

3. Bahasa Malaysia Forum

11.45am – 1.30pm:

Topic: The Allah Issue: Various Perspectives

Moderator: Sakmongkol

Speakers are:

Haris Ibrahim, People’s Parliament

YB Khalid Samad, MP for Shah Alam

Zaid Ibrahim, lawyer

*** one more speaker to confirm..

********************** BUFFET LUNCH ************************

4. Media Session:

2.30pm –3.30pm:

Topic: Coverage by Mainstream Media — Insights and Perspectives

Moderator: to be announced…

Speakers to be announced…

5. Special Address: Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing,

Datuk Raja Nong Chik bin Raja Zainal Abidin

From 3.30pm – 4.30pm :

Topic: “Engaging the Urban Rakyat via Internet . Experiences from Facebook and Blog4FT”

************************** HI-TEA *************************

6. Bloggers Forum in English

Topic: Bloggers’ Role in Bridging the Religious Divide

Moderator: to be announced

Speakers:

YB Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, MP for Kuala Selangor

YB Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh

P.Uthayakumar

From 6.00pm – 7.30pm

********************** BUFFET DINNER from 7.45PM **************

Note from BUM2010 Organisers:

BUM2010 is a non-profit initiative, and any fees received go towards defraying the costs of organizing the one-day “Bloggers Event of The Year” to mark World Press Freedom Day which falls on May 3.

The previous BUMmers outings had seen rising attendance, starting from 150 for BUM2007, to 180 for BUM2008 and to 200 for last year’s BUM2009 (REF: bum2009.wordpress.com).

The Event is open to all comers, even non-Bloggers, on a first-come-first served basis. OFFICIAL REGISTRATION PLUS FEES PAYABLE DETAILS please go here.

BUM2010 Organising Committee

Sunday, May 09, 2010

1MEGA and wanMINOR Tragedies

Da BIG One from cpiasia.net:


Home Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

Malaysian tragedy


Written by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
Friday, 07 May 2010 17:49



An editorial to be written in year 2013

Three years since implementing the New Economic Model, the party’s over in Malaysia. To be sure, it had been quite a party. With a long-entrenched propensity to base its domestic economy on consumption and spending, the low interest rates of the Asean region helped galvanise borrowings and mortgages to the point of Malaysia’s national debt exceeding gross domestic product by 115 percent. The more than US$100 billion (RM350 billion) bailout package agreed to by Malaysia’s Asean partners and the International Monetary Fund, with primus inter pares Indonesia insisting on stringent conditions, will temporarily ease but not permanently solve the strapped nation’s financial problems.

And with US$8.5 billion in bond payments due in just two weeks’ time, Prime Minister Najib Razak’s proposed domestic austerity policies seem tragically pathetic. Angry public protests have greeted such measures as raising the retirement age from 55 to 65 and hiking value-added tax from 21 per cent to 25 per cent to help reduce a budget deficit that last year stood at nearly four times the limit permitted in the Asean region. The Malaysian-in-the-street seems to put the blame squarely on the country's administration, reputedly so loose on fiscal integrity as to have made corruption a normal, ordinary, commonplace fact of life in Malaysia. One Transparency International study suggests that 13.5 percent of Malaysian households paid bribes exceeding US$1,000 last year, and tax evasion is so rampant that improbably fewer than 150,000 of 26 million citizens pay more than a total of RM1 million in taxes annually.

This entrenched cynicism of Malaysia’s citizenry feeds rapaciously on the perceived corruption of their state administrative machinery, leading to even greater anger over the Najib’s administration's exhortations to the common folk to tighten their belts and suck up these new deprivations and hardships to save their mismanaged national economy. The Asean bailout, they sneer, will only throw good money after bad, and disappear down the same black hole of graft and corner-cutting avarice that has sucked up Malaysia’s prosperity and promise.

It remains to be seen what miracles of fiscal and political management might help Malaysia survive the decade the IMF expects it will take to recover from this collapse. With other Asean countries also struggling on the slippery lower rungs of the Asean region, this will undoubtedly prove to be an invaluable experience for Asean’s brave but obviously still tentative experiment in financial union.

CPI note


The above half-parody, half-prognosis by Dr Lim Teck Ghee reproduces almost in toto the New Straits Times’ May 3 editorial headlined ‘Greek tragedy’ (which we’ve also taken the liberty to republish below).

The leader writer of the NST piece would have done better to deploy his analytical and obvious literary skills on developments in Malaysia.

Since he has not done so, or has possibly been ‘discouraged’ from casting an eye on home ground, we are replicating his concerns – so well put in eloquent English – on the unfolding Grecian tragedy and applying them to our fair country.

What we’d done above is merely to substitute ‘Malaysia’ for ‘Greece’, ‘Asean’ for ‘European Union’, ‘ringgit for ‘drachma’, and so on.

We trust the NST management will not mind our borrowing the paper’s editorial framework, which is just us paying humble homage to their high quality of expression in the English language. As they say – Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

__________________
Greek tragedy

New Straits Times
editorial of 3 May 2010

NINETEEN years since joining the European Union and nine years since dropping the drachma for the euro, the party's over in Greece. To be sure, it had been quite a party. With a long-entrenched propensity to base its domestic economy on consumption and spending, the low interest rates of the eurozone helped galvanise borrowings and mortgages to the point of Greece's national debt exceeding gross domestic product by 115 per cent. The more than E100 billion (RM500 billion) bailout package agreed to by Greece's European partners and the International Monetary Fund, with primus inter pares Germany insisting on stringent conditions, will temporarily ease but not permanently solve the strapped Aegean nation's financial problems.


And with E8.5 billion in bond payments due in just two weeks' time, Prime Minister George Papandreou's proposed domestic austerity policies seem tragically pathetic. Angry public protests have greeted such measures as raising the retirement age from 53 to 65 and hiking value-added tax from 21 per cent to 25 per cent to help reduce a budget deficit that last year stood at nearly four times the limit permitted in the eurozone. The Greek in the street seems to put the blame squarely on the country's administration, reputedly so loose on fiscal integrity as to have made corruption a normal, ordinary, commonplace fact of life in Greece. One Transparency International study suggests that 13.5 per cent of Greek households paid bribes exceeding E1,000 last year, and tax evasion is so rampant that improbably fewer than 15,000 of 11 million citizens pay more than E100,000 in taxes annually.

This entrenched cynicism of Greece's citizenry feeds rapaciously on the perceived corruption of their state administrative machinery, leading to even greater anger over the Papandreou administration's exhortations to the common folk to tighten their belts and suck up these new deprivations and hardships to save their mismanaged national economy. The European bailout, they sneer, will only throw good money after bad, and disappear down the same black hole of graft and corner-cutting avarice that has sucked up Greece's prosperity and promise.

It remains to be seen what miracles of fiscal and political management might help Greece survive the decade the IMF expects it will take to recover from this collapse. With Portugal, Spain, Iceland and Ireland also struggling on the slippery lower rungs of the eurozone, this will undoubtedly prove to be an invaluable experience for Europe's brave but obviously still tentative experiment in financial union.

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The small tragedy, MORE OF AN IRONY2! in YL's eye as a newwshound from Jurassick Park...

Challenge -- GUESS which paper?:( The following headline appears in a mainstream newspaper Yesterday,when many Malaysians' troubles were here/hear to stay!:)

To be continued as Desi hunts down the head ... in his RM1.50 kopi:)...


Saturday May 8, 2010
Arjunaidi: New police tagline is to work hand-in-glove with the public

In such Malaysian times, maybe the sub-editor or Editor had a sense of irony using that "wrong" idiotic -- oops, idiomatic -- expression because it's commonly perceived these +++"mata-mata" or gentlemen of the law indeed can settle any problem with some grease on their hands. So wearing a glove literally may jest work to dispell the notion that any wrongdoing or offence can be ***"Kau-DimMed"!

NB: Just to educate the mat salleh or mad sally tourist visiting Malaysia, +++"mata-mata" is common Malay/Bahasa Malaysia term for the cops or constables who walk the street...

***Kau-DimMed" derives from the Kantonis dialect which means you pay a bribe with money or any favour in kind to solve a "local" problem -- yeah,working hand-in-glove lah, as the Mat Salleh would proclaim back home in that British Empire who bequeathed me a language I'm eternally gratefool for; sometimesmy SPERRING is influenced by the way local Cinoseries pronounce Engrish, exchanging their "l"s and "r"s quite beautifoolly, and Desi writHes in DDC todie! KnottyaSsusual!:)

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Another GEM by Citizen-Nades, and Desi ain't doing it...

OUT OF ALTRUISM. You know WHY later...that is, if you care to return for another PEEP of Desiderata'shumble pies.:) YL, the lowly newsdog, Desi, da blogger knot so humble! HINT: Hit on the top RH poster reading BUM2010...

From the Sun Online:

Columnists :: Citizen Nades - By R. Nadeswaran ( Every Monday & Wednesday )
Freedom comes with responsibility

ON Monday
(May 3 -- YL), journalists around the globe celebrated World Press Freedom Day or the lack of it. The annual routine in Kuala Lumpur is to gather a group of speakers and lament over existing rules, regulations and laws which limit freedom. A week later, everything is forgotten and we wait another 51 weeks before the same thing is repeated. This has been going on for 10 years with nothing to celebrate.

If journalists had from Day One taken affirmative steps to protect their turf and profession, there would be every reason to celebrate. But alas, we chose to remain silent observers and are paying the price for it.

But the consolation is that all is not lost. There’s still a glimmer of hope that we will be given the opportunity to continue writing the truth without having to fear the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. The pronouncement by our leaders that a free press is part of the democratic system is indeed noteworthy. Furthermore, recommendations of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) headed by Datuk Seri Idris Jala can be interpreted to mean that something positive is on the way.

Every right-thinking citizen of this country will agree with its view that investigative journalism also plays a crucial role to encourage public scrutiny.

Pemandu says investigative journalism needs to be encouraged through:

» Greater editorial freedom given to mainstream media;

» Ban on direct control of media by political parties;

» Review of existing laws e.g. Printing and Publications Act, Communications and Multimedia Act and Sedition Act that will allow the media to function more independently yet responsibly; and

» Liberalisation of licensing regulations to allow for greater media freedom and participation.

Immediately after the unit’s launch in December, I told an audience at a seminar that "even if 50% of the proposals are implemented, this country’s economy will fly through the roof". Asked to explain, I remarked: "Giving us more freedom will mean that we will expose wrongdoings, leaks and rent-seekers which in turn will put an end to corruption and back-handers.

But investigative reporting only exposes the wrongdoings. Period. What happens after that? As journalists, we don’t have power to initiate prosecution of the wrongdoers. Our job stops with the publication of the alleged wrongdoings. All else is in the hands of the attorney-general who is the only one who has the power to prosecute. If he does not act, all our efforts are worthless and useless.

That’s when the frustration steps in. After all the hard work, time, effort and money put into it, you see the crooks chomping their cigars, chauffeur-driven to six-star hotels with a coterie of bodyguards where they wine and dine with the rich and powerful. They pretend as if nothing has happened and that they are above the law. The long list of exposés by this newspaper is akin to a catalogue of shame. The dossier includes ministers, past and present, and top civil servants. How does the government expect the people to have faith in the system when the wrongdoers are allowed to continue to flaunt their ill-gotten gains?

While Malaysian journalists were "marking" the occasion with a forum in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, an Australian journalist was gathering information from various Malaysian sources in his quest to get the truth over a polymer notes scandal which has rocked the country. Nick McKenzie is an award-winning journalist and with Richard Baker of the Melbourne Age, told their readers of the millions paid in commissions to agents in Malaysia, Vietnam, Nigeria and Paraguay.

The fact that such commissions were paid by subsidiaries of Australia’s central bank – the Reserve Bank of Australia – itself is demeaning to the system of good governance which it is supposed to propagate. The fact that the Melbourne Age and its journalists are allowed and encouraged to pursue the wrongdoers is an indication of the degree of accountability and transparency that is being practised.

McKenzie told me that this would be a historical case for Australia because it is the first involving commissions paid to foreigners in offshore bank accounts. More importantly, for the central bank to be giving kickbacks to get contracts is totally unacceptable to the Australian people.

A noteworthy point though. Baker is des-cribed by his newspaper as "one of the biggest users of freedom of information (FOI) laws at The Age and despite many frustrations, finds it a good way to break stories". But McKenzie notes that there are "still some stumbling blocks in FOI laws as they can give a variety of reasons to delay giving the information".

Flawed or not, FOI laws allow access to information to Joe Public who wants to know if his money has been utilised prudently. If one government department pays RM80 for a screwdriver, he need not wait to learn about it when the Auditor-General’s Report is published a year later. No one will have any qualms about restricting access to matters relating to security, law and order, but what’s the big secret on purchases of uniform, maintenance of vehicles and the lot?

Finally, it must be said that freedom comes with responsibility. Freedom does not allow one to use information maliciously or for materialistic gain. We as journalists will cherish more freedom and better laws and will continue to act in the best interests of the nation and its people.

R. Nadeswaran looks forward to the day when he is able to access the travelling and subsistence claims for the aborted Brickendonbury project. Comments: citizen-nades@thesundaily