CSM: Listen to what Dr Lim TG has to say about the Burning Issue

From cpiasia.net:) -- The long fuse leading to the church fire bombings

The long fuse leading to the church fire bombings

Press Statements

Written by Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Sunday, 10 January 2010 22:04

A long lighted fuse led to the fire bombings. These were not isolated events done on sudden impulse. This was a part of the political calculus of racist and religiously bigoted leaders to drive home to their opponents that they can at any time incite their followers to whatever actions necessary to demonstrate their might and power. This was a result of the long time pandering by Umno leaders to the extreme religious right wing. This was a predictable outcome given the mantra fed by some of the country’s leaders to the Malays Muslims that they are a privileged and protected community, not subject to the laws and norms of our country when their ‘interests come under threat’. This will continue to be a burning fuse kept alight by extremists feeding the public the delusion that Islam in Malaysia is faced by all kinds of imaginary enemies. In the next few days and weeks, I have no doubt that the Umno and Government spin machinery will move into overdrive. At one level there will be public denials of any Umno involvement and responsibility for these acts of religious intolerance and hostility against Christians. Appeals for calm and reassurances will follow prominently in the non-Malay papers. In the Malay vernacular press and Malay electronic media though, other messages will be subtly and not so subtly articulated. Among these that no one s hould mess around with the Malay guardians of the Muslim faith and the primacy of Islam and that no one should question the special position of the Malays and Islam – these are sensitive issues best left to Umno and its proxies to implement as they see reasonable. The art of doublespeak will undoubtedly be raised to higher levels. This time though, Umno and its minions will not get away so easily. The long reach of the Internet and its indestructible memory power enables us to construct this roll of dishonour of those leaders who through their individual or collective acts – knowingly or unknowingly – are bringing the country to the brink. In Roll of Dishonour Dr Mahathir for shifting the political goal posts in 2001 by pronouncing Malaysia as an Islamic state at Gerakan’s 30th National Conference in September 2001 Dollah Badawi for his empty Islamic Hadhari rhetoric and spurning of the inter-faith dialogue Minister Syed Hamid Albar for signing a directive on March 1, 2009 prohibiting the use of the word ‘Allah’ in Christian publications and withholding Herald’s publishing permit to gain political points for himself and Umno Home Affairs Minister Hishammddin Hussein for lowering the bar further in applying the rule of law equally Mukhriz Mahathir for following in his father's footsteps of opportunism on race and religion when it suits his political agenda Khairy Jamaluddin for being a keris-waving copycat and generally following in his father-in-law’s footsteps of promising much and delivering little AG Gani Patail for exemplary political sycophancy in support of Umno’s agenda whatever the costs to the country Awang Selamat, Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah and Utusan Malaysia propagandists for driving a wedge between the various races Umno Youth’s New Media unit Facebook administrators and cybertroopers for attempting to poison the minds of young Malays and Muslims about the threat to the Malays and Islam Various notable Islamic intellectuals for their deafening silence which has allowed the rabble rousers to dominate the religious discourse Barisan Nasional Cabinet members and leaders who have turned the other cheek not because they believe in the pacifist doctrine of responding to an aggressor without violence but simply for political opportunism and self-gain The Star, New Straits Times and other mainstream papers for lack of journalistic ethics in the failure to draw attention to the rise of political party-related religious and right wing extremism In Roll of Honour On the bright side, we have good leaders and many good people who have tried to promote harmonious and equitable relations between the various religions. In this list below, we pay tribute to some for their courage in standing up and speaking out on behalf of the rights and freedoms of all religions and the universal values that bind them. Moderate Muslim leaders such as Khalid Samad, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Dr Mohd Nur Manuty and others who have spoken out individually or have lent their support to various parties and civil society groups in decrying Islamic intolerance and extremism Allah says: “Had not Allah Check and Balance the aggression and excesses of one set or group of people by means of another, there would surely have been destruction of monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundance….” (Hajj, Chapter 22, verse 40). "PAS must hold on to its Islamic principles to stand for ‘Justice for All’ and now fight to defend the sanctity of places of worship as demanded in the above quoted Chapter of Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj), verse 40. Rather than championing the exclusive usage of the name of ‘Allah’ for Malay-Muslims, PAS together with her Pakatan component parties must wage an all-out attack on Umno on the narrow racial approach of Malay hegemony, perversion of power, the spread of corruption, the plunder of the nation’s wealth and the repression of the people’s rights, which are all in total contradiction with and diametrically opposed to Islam." -- Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad Herald editor Father Andrew Lawrence and publishers of the newsletter for holding firm to the freedom of worship for all Malaysians through their refusal to knuckle under despite enormous pressure from the state and its extremist allies Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism for refusing to give up on their efforts to establish an inter-faith dialogue Marina Mahathir for her constant advocacy of religious good sense and tolerance Sisters of Islam who have not been intimidated by the numerous police reports made against them by religious extremists bent on pushing their rigid and intolerant version of Islam PKR and PAS leaders for refusing to put political expediency ahead of higher principles of morality and ethics Activist bloggers including those who have stepped into the lion’s den of Islamic activist mobilizers using the Facebook to correct the misinformation about Christianity and Islam posted there Hindraf for its path-breaking efforts in mobilizing the Indian community and other Malaysians in standing up for religious and minority freedoms and rights What next PM Najib Razak may have been accused of many failings but he has not in the past been faulted for religious intolerance or for hiding behind a false religious front to mobilize political support. One of the cornerstones of 1Malaysia if it is to survive has to be religious peace and harmony. This requires him not only to reassure all Malaysians that the government does not practice double standards in the nation’s religious rights and freedoms but also to act immediately to purge extremist and intolerant religious and racist hardliners and opportunistic leaders who are engaged in torching his vision for the country. ____________________________________ Another perspective by fellow Blogger academician Dr Farish Noor, republished here with presumed permit granted, from othermalaysia.org:) A Cold Look At The State Of Malaysia Today By Farish A. Noor ~ January 12th, 2010. Filed under: The Other Malaysia. At a time when tempers are rising and we are being treated to a rather crude and vulgar display of verbal pyrotechnics and hammy acting on the part of pundits and politicians alike, it would pay to take some objective distance from the current sad state of Malaysian politics in order to stare at ourselves in the face and ask the important question: Why are we in the present state we find ourselves in today, and how did we get here? As of last week Malaysia has entered the inglorious list of countries where inter-religious tensions have risen to the point where places of worship have been attacked. Notwithstanding the identity of the attackers concerned, and what could have possibly motivated their actions, the cost of these developments are high and perhaps even permanent, as Malaysia is now being unfavourably compared to countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia where temples, mosques and churches have been put to the torch. An appalling start to a new year and a new decade if there ever was one, and one that bodes ill for Malaysia’s ambitions to be regarded as a nation-state with some pretense of civility and development. Nonetheless other commentators have reminded us to look beyond the fiery discourse and to identify the real economic-structural issues that continue to bedevil the nation. Others have called on Malaysians to remain steadfast in adhering to our principles of belief and not to show fear in the face of violent sectarian bigotry and hate-mongering. Beyond these moot points however remain also real structural and material concerns that ought to be brought to our attention, and which make themselves readily visible as soon as we turn off our emotional buttons and analyse these developments with some degree of cold objectivity. For a start, we need to look at the state of this nation-in-the-making and seriously ask ourselves if the Malaysian project can even be sustained in the face of such pressures. Now any historian will tell you that nations are neither historically determined nor are their existential status guaranteed or necessitated by the vagaries of history. There is nothing that determines the existential status of a nation save the wilfull desire on the part of its members to deliberately put it together and to collectively sustain the notion of a shared identity. No essentialist premises are there to serve as solid ground, no primordial attachments that can be defended by recourse to itself. Nations are composite and accidental entities and can only be sustained by those who are its members. Yet looking at the state of Malaysian politics and society today, we see that all the feeble attempts to cobble together a Malaysian nation - be it in the name of ‘1Malaysia’, ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ or what have you, are being dashed against the hard rocks of sectarian communitarian interests that are short-sighted and being articulated by those who do not even believe that there can or should be a Malaysian nation that is complex and diverse in the first place. And to cap it off, our febrile attempts at injecting some degree of pluralism and complexity into the Malaysian story is one that stops short of narrow essentialist claims of communal solidarity and difference instead, be it on the basis of race/ethnicity, culture, language or religion. Thus is ought to come as no surprise to us if the debate over the use of the word Allah soon turned into a polemic, then a controversy and ultimately to violence. For a cursory look at the events of 2008-2009 have demonstrated that Malaysian society remains fragmented along the lines of sectarian exclusive claims that oddly enough mirror each other while in no way compliments the process of nation-building in the broadest, inclusive sense. What point is there of talking about a Malaysian nation when almost all political parties in the country promote some form of educational segregation or another, be it along vernacular/linguistic-cultural lines or religious lines? And what point is there of talking about a nation when the parties in the country cannot even agree if there is to be one or two legal systems? Malaysia must be the only country in the world deluded enough to think that a complex nation can emerge out of five parallel educational streams and two legal systems. And to compound matters further after half a century of confused existence, this is still a country whose political parties remain bound to their respective ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious constituencies. It is this utter lack (or even contempt) of/for consistency that has led us to witnessing the sordid spectacle of the past week or so; when communitarian leaders openly preach conspiracy theories and weave tales of plots in full public view. And when right-wing ethno-nationalist leaders condemn acts of violence and violent rhetoric when they themselves have been involved in violent acts, campaigns and gestures in the past. Forgive me for being picky here, but I would argue that politicians who have waved weapons in public, or led demonstrations calling for the ‘death of traitors’, have no credibility to stand in solidarity with victims of violent intimidation. Putting aside the particularlities and differences between the parties and their respective egoistic leaders, let us remind ourselves of the fact that almost all of the parties in the country have, to some extent, championed one communitarian and/or sectarian cause or another, be it vernacular education for their community, religious education for their community, linguistic rights for their community, cultural rights for their community etc. How rare it is for us today to find a Malaysian politician who can think outside the narrow confines of his/her own respective ethnic/cultural/religious group, and adopt the notion of a common universal citizenship as the basis of their politics. And in the absence of Malaysian-minded politicians, how can we honestly expect to have anything that resembles a Malaysian politics? It is this fundamental political culture of sectarian narrow politics that continues to blight almost everything and anything that comes under the rubric of the Malaysian national project today, and renders hollow all these vainglorious claims to a ‘1Malaysia’, ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ etc, while also accounting for the phenomenal expansion of a new public domain made up and dominated by NGOs of a different ilk altogether: namely the communitarian NGOs, mass movements and lobby groups that mirror the communitarian landscape of our politics and advance its communitarian agenda further. Set against this backdrop of a country that is no longer singular but plural and not speaking to itself, one ought not to be surprised by the developments of recent days, weeks or months. The Malaysian project has been laboured on and talked about at length, but we seem to be further from it than ever before. The demographic factor that accounts for this is simply that while communal feeling and identity have been strengthened more than ever by our politicians and political parties, true Malaysians seem to be few and far between. Romantically-inclined individuals may find some cause for lament in all this, but sadly for a political historian like me, all I can say is that I have seen it all before, in all the broken, tattered, dysfunctional states I have had the misfortune to visit and study. ______________________________________ Another perspective from a fellow-journalist:) Questionmark on Malaysia's stability after church attacks, protests GUEST COLUMNISTS Saturday, 09 January 2010 admin-s In the aftermath of one of the worst outbursts of religious bigotry in plural Malaysia’s history, society leaders and analysts are still shaking their heads in shock but their prognosis about what it means for the country, in terms of its stability and its economy, is not good. By Wong Choon Mei (Harakah) Firstly, the sense of betrayal among non-Muslims is hardening that Prime Minister Najib Razak failed to protect their rights. This is an ominous development and can be borne out by a quick check on the mountain of comments posted on blogs over the incident. The feedback shows that most blame him for not even trying. “How could a PM say he is powerless when the buck stops with him” was one comment. Others include “We were not on his radar at all” and “He completely ignored our rights and shut us out”. Pressuring the Church, spooking investors Secondly, there is also fear that pressure will now be piled on Catholic magazine, the Herald, to back off from a landmark court ruling that allowed it to use the word Allah, so that Najib and his Umno party can save face. They have been blamed for instigating the Black Friday incident, where churches were attacked, with their inflammatory rhetoric over the Allah ruling. If the Church opted not to stand down to them, the tussle would be prolonged and public unrest may continue. This would not be good for the economy although civil society leaders warn any approach that is not seen as being completely transparent, fair and above-the-belt would anger Malaysians even more. "Certainly, the incident will spook investors. Stability is a key pillar in investment considerations and Malaysia is a multi-racial country. After this incident, it may hard for anyone to take for granted that we have a stable business environment because for that you need peace and harmony amongst the people," Azrul Azwa, economist at Bank Islam told Harakahdaily. “Until the PM takes firm action, sets in motion dialogue between the various religious groups and makes it clear that this is the way forward for everyone including Umno, the Allah row will not just continue, but it may even escalate,” said Ramon Navaratnam, chairman of the Centre for Public Policies. “DAP and Pakatan Rakyat had right from beginning advocated that the Allah controversy should be resolved through an inter-religious conference. Malaysians, both Muslim and non-Muslims, should remain cool, calm and collected, stay steadfast on their fundamental rights to help resolve differences in our plural society by dialogue and discourse and should not be provoked into any rash or irrational responses,” said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang. When you don't do the right thing After prayers on Friday, Muslim extremists - angered by the court ruling because they believe the word Allah should be exclusive to them - attacked five churches. One was badly gutted, Molotov cocktails were hurled at two, while the others received phone threats. Protests were also held at 10 mosques. But although these were poorly attended, those who did carried huge placards bearing hate-filled words like “Do No Test Our Patience”, “Don’t Challenge Islam” and “Allah Is Only For Us”. Images of them, frenzied and hollering on loud hailers, along with pictures of the gutted churches were flashed across the world by foreign TV networks such as CNN and Al-Jazeera. Asked Kit Siang : “Why is this happening in Malaysia when we have always held ourselves as the exemplar of multi-religious living and inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony for the world? “The answer must be found in the failure of leadership by the Prime Minister and Home Minister and the exploitation and manipulation of the issue by extremist and irresponsible elements to serve their political ends.” Said Tian Chua, PKR strategic director : “The fact that Umno could not bring more than a few hundred people to support their call shows that the majority of Muslims in Malaysia do not share Umno’s provocative approach. PM Najib failed to demonstrate moral courage and leadership to do the right thing.”

SILhouette SS Writing *CoNtest...upDATE:)

FROM jason evans at http://clarityofnight.blogspot.com/2010/01/silhouette-short-fiction-contest.html
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
"Silhouette" Short Fiction Contest

* stands for ClarityOfNight, C?

Picture courtesy of Jason Evans

Welcome to the 12th Clarity of Night Contest!! Before the post-holiday doldrums gain a foothold, let's get a little juiced up, shall we?

Here's how the contest works. Using the photograph above for inspiration, compose a short fiction (or poetry) piece of no more than 250 words in any genre or style. Send your entry to me by email at jevanswriter at yahoo dot com before 11:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 13th (Eastern Time, United States). I'd prefer attachments formatted in Microsoft Word (please see the format request below), but if you have something more exotic, you can paste the text into the body of an email (no docx formats, please). Each entry will be posted and indexed.

Now for the goodies. The following prizes are up for grabs:

* 1st Place: $50 Amazon gift certificate
* 2nd Place: $30 Amazon gift certificate
* 3rd Place: $25 Amazon gift certificate
* 4th Place: $20 Amazon gift certificate
* 5th Place: $15 Amazon gift certificate
* Readers' Choice Award 1st Place: $25 Amazon Gift certificate


But this is about more than prizes. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity to meet and interact with your fellow writers. Our different perspectives, styles, and skills shine when we all start at the same place. It's a great opportunity to learn from each other.

Rules:

1. 250 words maximum.
2. Titles are optional, but encouraged. Titles do not count toward your word count.
3. One entry per person.
4. Any genre or style is welcome. If you choose to submit poetry, you must have narrative movement within the poem if you wish to compete with the prose pieces for the prizes.
5. The copyright remains with you, the author; however, you grant me worldwide first electronic publishing rights to post your entry on this blog indefinitely.
6. Judging will be conducted by me, Jason Evans. For an explanation of the judging criteria and scoring system, see A Note on Judging. You can also read the winning entries from past contests.
7. Please provide a name for your byline. If you have a website or a blog, I'd be happy to link your site to your byline. If you don't have a website or blog, feel free to include a short bio. A bio does not count towards your word count.
8. At the close of the contest, I will give the date and time for the announcement of winners.
9. After the winners are announced, I will post what I liked most about each entry in the comments.
10. The Readers' Choice Award is awarded by vote of the contest participants. The entry with the highest number of votes wins. The rules for this portion of the contest will be posted after the entry period closes.
11. Public critiques in comments are encouraged, but must remain respectful. I reserve the right to delete comments and ban participants who do not abide by the collegial spirit of Clarity of Night contests.
12. For prior contests and their results, see the links on the sidebar.


Format Request:
These are not rules, and I will not reject an entry which does not conform, but if you follow them, my work in running the contest is much less. For that, I will be eternally grateful!

1. Single space lines, and double space paragraph breaks.
2. No tabs or indents for new paragraphs.
3. If you have italics in your text, please code it for html by putting a begin italics code <> where it starts and an end italics code < /i > where it ends.
4. Although it's rarely used, handle bold <>< /b > and underline <>< /u > the same way.
5. Write your title at the top of the document left justified in title case (first letters capitalized). On the next line write your byline left justified (example, by Jason Evans). Add two blank lines, then begin your story.


Welcome to this latest contest! Entries will be posted starting January 6th.

Help spread the word!
Posted by jason evans

**********************************UPdated Jan 12, 2010**************

Whispering Pine for a Silhouette

by Chong Yen Long

My body feels warm tonight although there is a breeze entering the room. I descend the lonely mansion onto the Port Dickson beach to seek solace of twilight and twinkle, winking stars.

Thirty years is a long time by human reckoning, but it seems like only yesterday. My body from waist up trembles -- at the thought of caressing a sixteen-year-old body sublime, me some seven years senior but not any wiser, in a fruity encounter I think subconsciously fostered by reading DH Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's :Lover" at the tender age of 13!

I look up to the study in the bungalow my rich aunt bequeathed me instead of to her children because she found me more adorable as I could paint and write adult poetry in childhood. I am also romantic; otherwise, who would imagine bringing a young neighbourhood gal to a rendezvous in this gods' forbidden territory?

A black bird suddenly takes off from a whispering pine tree as I approach a bench underneath its arching fronds. And as I look up that window, I can see the silhouette -- maybe this crow's granduncle had once stood at that window-sill peeping at two other "birds" locked in embrace?


I could still sign my lover's name in a thousand variations -- Chinese calligraphy style -- in the sands.

Tonight I celebrate the return of my first-love silhouette in a hallowed study. I can feel the electrifying sensation of a climax being scaled as we entwine in a Kamasutra pose.

DAP adviser Dr Chen Man Hin writes...

From cpiasia.net:)

Using Allah issue to boost fortunes of Umno backfired

Press Statements

Written by Dr Chen Man Hin

Monday, 11 January 2010 09:31

The scheme by Umno to boost its fortunes by using the ‘Allah’ controversy has backfired, and destabilised religious harmony in a multi-religious society. A campaign was launched by Umno to reverse a High Court judgment that ‘Allah’ could be used by The Herald, a Catholic weekly. It was supposed to be a brainwave – an excellent scheme to win back support for a flagging, misdirected Umno. What better than a sensitive issue like Allah? Conceive a plot to picture Umno as a saviour of Islam. Claim that the judgment by the High Court was wrong as it would confuse Muslims and make them susceptible to conversion to the Christian faith. Involve the PM and the Home Ministry to support the claim. Organise a day of protest rallies throughout the country, aided and abetted by the IGP with the police providing protection while the protests were held. All these moves were successful, too successful, so much so that emotions rose to a high among the extremists who proceeded to attack three churches. [Update: Four churches were firebombed, the fire in one of them gutted the ground floor] Now the powers that be have realised that the situation has turned dangerous. The three acts of arson were considered extreme, and the acts were condemned by the King and the Prime Minister. Condemnation is not the solution. What must be done is to undo the damage caused by willful misrepresentation of the High Court judgment. The fact is that ‘Allah’, the Arabic word for God, has been used for centuries in Arab countries by both Muslims and Christians. The other fact is that the free use of ‘Allah’ by both Muslims and Christians did not threaten the propagation of the Muslim faith nor the Christian religion. Back home, in Sarawak the term ‘Allah’ has been in use by Christian natives for over a century, long before the advent of Independence or the formation of Umno. The Muslims did not complain or protest until recently. This gives lie to the deliberately misleading claim by Umno and their supporters that the use of ‘Allah’ by the Christians in Malaysia would confuse Muslims and leading to conversions of Muslims to Christianity. How could such a fallacy be allowed to germinate and spread when the fact is that in Arab countries such a scenario never occurred over the centuries? Three churches have been torched. Umno and its followers must shoulder the blame. They must apologise. They must cease spreading false news to confuse the Muslims. A commission of enquiry should be held to get to the truth and the findings be recorded so that there will be no more repetitions of the shameful display of false propaganda and deliberate lies causing and provoking the burning of places of worship. Dr Chen is DAP adviser.

CSM: Please heed this message from Sdr William Leong

Who is Treasurer of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, also the MP for Selayang.

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 look.

1. They are extending the APs to 2015. They are giving themselves free money. This is daylight robbery. We are talking big bucks, billions

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 billions.

5. Look at the way they snatched the Perak State government.

6. Look at the way they treated Teoh Beng Hock

7. Look at the way they are trying to get Anwar

8. Look at the Lingam's Royal Commission

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 is next.

What Independence ? On this August 31st, we shall celebrate the 52^nd 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 just like Teoh Beng Hock was thrown out from the 14th floor of the MACC office. We must not forget 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, 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 f ina lly 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.

---

Windows Live Hotmail: Your friends can get your Facebook updates, right from Hotmail®.

CSM: for my socialist mate TS!

Not Eliot, but still of the literary field!:) of GERAKBUDAYA:):)

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GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd invite you to ...

2010 New Year Sale

Friday, 15 January to Sunday, 17 January 2010

9:30 am to 8:00 pm

We have High-quality, Provocative, Controversial, Inspiring Books.

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Books on Arts and Literature, Current Affairs, Development, Economincs, Environment, Globalization, Indigenous, Labour and Migrant Workers, Memoirs, Oral History, Politics and International Relations, Religions and Cultures, Social Science, Women and Gender Studies, and more

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L...icenced Malaysians

L is for Losing sight
Though bestowed with two large blue, brown or red eyes
O' Precious our two orbs of serneity
Don'tdeset me

God's gifted children have five normal senses
But Man beomes abnormal when it comes to matters of Faith

We yell we ae believers
Yet we fight over our Creator's name
Oh God
O' Allah
Oh Almighty
O' GreatOne Baove

what are we fighting over
just our human pride, oh, vanity
not just the Woman's econd name

it is man's first name
so we fight
losing sight
though still retaining our God's gifted pair of eyes

we still do not see
the folly of calling out God
but notin faith
hence we fight
over our first right to
address

I recall with quiet gratitude
Elvis's loving rendering of
"Return to Sender
Address unknown
No such number
No such zone."

I seldom praise PAS, nor MCA:(

The first because I believe Politics and Religion form an explosive mix. PAS is a political party anchored on Islam, and to me that is starting on the wrong foot, or footing.

As for the second, the MCA being the second largest component party in the 23-member or 14-member Barisan Nasional, has no balls to stand up to BIG brother UMNO. Hence its present pathetic state of affairs when the internal wrangling for the past half-a-year has been treated with disdain by UMNO -- a directive by its Deputy President no less -- that MCA must accept UMNO's proposal to end the tri-faction feud. Ah, Muhyiddin Yassin is NO Dr Mahathir! Is it good or bad? YOU my dear esteemed readers, decide. I maintain my quiet smile:); or is is a smirk?:):(

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Two news reports from tilianker.blogspot.com, quit a vocal President's man, but at least he argues his case ***quite well. And as I said many times before, "quite" can mean THREE things ... your guess?/gas??/gases???

PAS says ‘Allah’ can be used by Christians and others
Published: Tuesday January 5, 2010 MYT 12:21:00 PM
PAS says ‘Allah’ can be used by Christians and others
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/5/nation/20100105122539&sec=nation

By LESTER KONG

PETALING JAYA: PAS says that the use of “Allah” is permitted among people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism.

Its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang made the statement that also supported the High Court’s decision that allowed the Christian weekly newsletter The Herald to use the word.

PAS also urged the public not to misuse the word “Allah” for cheap politicking to gain mass support.

“The wrongful and irresponsible use of the word should be avoided so that it did not create an issue that jeopardises the racial and religious harmony of this country,” Abdul Hadi said in a statement read by the party information chief Idris Ahmad on Monday.

The statement was issued after a party political bureau meeting on the same day.

Abdul Hadi said the principle of freedom of religion was championed by Islam because human beings could not be forced to profess any religion except through their own free will.

“In the Malaysian context, the situation must be considered for the sake of public interest to preserve the harmony among the various races and religions,” Abdul Hadi said.

He added that the party was ready to clear the air on the issue to anyone in order to preserve the harmony based the fairness that was enshrined under article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan made the controversial decision and immediately invoked protests from some 13 Muslim non-governmental organisations against the decision.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has filed an appeal and for a stay of execution of the decision reached on Dec 31.
Posted by Ti Lian Ker at 5:01 PM 0 comments Links to this post

________________________________

MCA regards court decision as a matter of law
Tuesday January 5, 2010
MCA regards court decision as a matter of law
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/5/nation/5412737&sec=nation

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court ruling in allowing Herald to use the word “Allah” in its publication is a matter of law and should be maintained that way, says MCA.

Party spokesman and political education bureau chairman Gan Ping Sieu expressed concern over the demonstrations and police reports filed pertaining to the issue.

“The police reports lodged also suggest questioning and asserting pressure on the independence of the judiciary, should anyone disagree with any judgement made.

“This is a great cause for alarm as to whether worshippers of other faiths may profess their religion freely in accordance with the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Lauding the High Court for its bold and rational judgement, Gan said that MCA called upon all groups to respect the way of life of bumiputra Christians and Sikh Malaysians, and not remove their constitutional rights.

“Does it make sense to take punitive action against the hundreds and thousands of Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians and Sikhs, who for centuries have referred to God as ‘Allah’ in their personal prayers?” he asked.

Gan said it was a historical fact that the term “Allah” predates Islam, with Arab Christians in countries like Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Yemen referring to God as “Allah”.

“The High Court ruling is a matter of law in upholding the rights of Malaysians as provided by our Federal Constitution, and hence should be maintained as that - law,” he said, adding that it should not be stirred into a religious debate nor politicised as a racial or religious issue.

Posted by Ti Lian Ker at 4:59 PM 0 comments Links to this post

DESIDERATA:

What I am concerned about is that "vocal" parties whose acts are like wolves in sheep-clothings encouraged by their crocodile wolverine chiefs might just exploit the emotional content of this issue to create trouble for their own self-interests.

"QUO VADIS, Malaysia?" as myGOoDfriend KimQuek would say...
I add: May God save us from our 'leaders'!

I:
S:
A: men

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And let's climax with a sensible voice, always, Sdr Dr Lim TG from
The Centre for Policy Initiatives: please surf to cpiasia.net for the ORIGINAL, it tastes better!:) -- Desi

Use of the term ‘Allah’: Who is threatening whom?
Press statement by Dr Lim Teck Ghee

The Dec 31 High Court ruling reversing a Home Ministry ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ for the Catholic weekly newsletter Herald in its Bahasa Malaysia section appears to have given the religious hardliners the perfect New Year present to continue their crude campaign aimed at fanning Islamic religious sentiments in the country. 
Malaysians – those not religiously affiliated to Catholicism or Islam – are wondering if the extremist reaction by Utusan Malaysia and its fellow travellers serves any purpose, especially since the Prime Minister has assured that the government is aware of the sensitivities of Muslims, and called for calm and for the matter to be resolved through the court process.
Below is an example of what Utusan has been feeding the Malay public.
From Utusan Malaysia, Jan 3, 2010
Starting from the banner splashed across its front page and items filling up pages two, four and five, the paper ran headlines and opinions ranging from ‘Court does not respect sensitivities of Muslims’; to inexplicably calling for the civil case to be heard in Syariah Court; to appealing for Muslim unity; suggesting for the Religious Department to act as intervener in the court process; and beseeching intervention by the Council of Rulers.  
The tally of 16 news articles does not include other lengthy op-eds in the middle pages about the mission to defend Islam, including one by Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah.
The flagship Utusan editorial by Awang Selamat invoked Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria’s claim that “all these happen due to the weaknesses and disunity of Muslims”.
Playing Cassandra, Awang Selamat proclaimed that the Malay “discord and foolhardiness in politics, has pushed Islam to the corner”, and added “It is embarrassing that Islamic parties cannot unite in ensuring the survival of Islam”. He laid the blame at the door of “certain liberal-thinking leaders in PAS like Khalid Samad, who is a great supporter of the use of the term ‘Allah’ by other religions”.
In what is probably the single most fear mongering statement made by a newspaperman, Awang Selamat made the absolutely ridiculous claim that “status quo Islam di Malaysia boleh berubah bila-bila masa kerana angkara pemimpin Islam sendiri” (the status quo of Islam in Malaysia can change at any time because of Muslim leaders themselves).
‘Utusan Malaysia’ itching for a fight
My other distinct impression is that Utusan and the racial and religious hardliners aligned to it – and that appears to include Dr Mahathir Mohamad – are spoiling for a fight.
They should not and will not get a fight. What they are getting instead is reasoned and calm arguments on why this issue should not be blown out of proportion.
According to Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew, Christian natives in Borneo have been using ‘Allah’ for 400 years and clearly long before Sabah and Sarawak agreed to merge with the peninsula. Hence, it is quite simply a matter of language and terminology which has nothing to do whatsoever with the ridiculous suspicions and concerns of backdoor conversions and worse that are now being bandied about (for a fuller discussion, see Existential angst pertaining to ‘Allah’ use, by Dr Lim Teck Ghee and Helen Ang in www.cpiasia.net) . 
Sane and sensible Malaysians following the ugly and pugnacious words coming from the extremist side must be wondering how in God’s name could Muslims perceive that there is a threat to Islam in Malaysia, given Malay and Muslim dominance in almost all sectors of the body polity.
According to the Catholic Hierarchy organization, there are about 784,000 Catholics in our country of 24.74 million or 3.17% of the total population. Can anyone believe that such a tiny minority of the country’s population could threaten the position of Islam in Malaysia or undermine the Islamic faith? 
Dr Mahathir, from whom one would expect a higher sense of public responsibility, has been reported to have said that he is concerned that the term Allah may be used in such a way that could inflame the anger of Muslims, or in his own words, “they may use it on banners or write something that might not reflect Islam”. This is a statement that stoops so low that it is almost beyond belief that it could have come from a former Prime Minister.
Surely the ex-Prime Minister is aware that not only are there 13.37 million Muslims in the country or 52% of the population of 25.72 million if the latest CIA World Fact Book is to be believed, the primacy of the position of Islam is fully guaranteed both through Islam’s status as the religion of the Federation enshrined in the constitution, and the position of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and Malay state rulers as heads of the religion. 
If he is not, then other Muslims in the country should tell Utusan, Dr Mahathir and others of similar ilk how confident and secure they feel about their religion in the face of this ‘historic’ and ‘unprecedented’ threat from non-Muslims. 
The real threat to Islam is in the feverish minds of the extremists rushing to prove their ‘purer’ Islamic credentials. If they can purge themselves of these imagined furies, we will all be able to sleep more peacefully in Malaysia. 

A timely reprisal... and reminder2...?

Man proposes, God disposes.

In view of judge Augusttine Paul's and former Propaganda Minister Mohamed Rahmat's recent deaths, I reprise here a piece by my fave Blogger RPK. If readers can't discern the significance of the article, then you are not on the same page with Desi. It's OK ... neither are many of my ER on the same page should you read about MSM's coverage of the two referred deaths. Mourning or Celebration -- TO EACH HIS/HER/ITS OWN.:) or :(

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Monday, 07-Oct-2002 10:26 AM

Thou shalt not bear false witness

One of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” This was the Commandment sent down to Moses and “inherited” by the Christians. The Quran too, in the 24th Chapter, Al Nur, emphasises this. Therefore, all “Peoples of the Book” are unanimous on this issue. As Prophet Muhammad explained, he is not introducing a new religion but is perfecting and correcting misconceptions of the old religion so Islam’s interpretation of this Commandment should therefore be consistent and not deviate from the teachings of either the Jews or the Christians.

This Commandment not only brings to surface the current Hudud or Islamic Law controversy brought on by the introduction of the law in the State of Terengganu by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), it also raises the issue of the sodomy charge against Anwar Ibrahim which he was sentenced to nine years jail for.

The Quran is very specific about this matter. In verse 4 of chapter 24, it says:

And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations),- flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors;-

This is the Quran-stipulated punishment for accusing someone of sexual misconduct without clear evidence or witnesses -- 80 lashes.

Then, in the next verse, it says:

Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct); for God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

However, if they withdraw their false accusation and repent, then they can be forgiven for this crime and would be exempted from the 80 lashes.

In verse 6, it says:

And for those who launch a charge against their spouses, and have (in support) no evidence but their own,- their solitary evidence (can be received) if they bear witness four times (with an oath) by God that they are solemnly telling the truth;

Then there is the great ongoing Malaysian debate, “What happens if one is not able to find four witnesses to support the sexual misconduct accusation?” Verse 6 says that their “solitary evidence” can be accepted if they swear four times, in the name of God, they are telling the truth. However, they must also swear a fifth oath, and that is they would be cursed if they are lying as verse 7 below explains:

And the fifth (oath) (should be) that they solemnly invoke the curse of God on themselves if they tell a lie.

Of course, the skeptics say that this law is unfair to women -- the “great ongoing Malaysian debate”. Not quite! Verse 8 says that the woman would escape punishment if she too swears an oath four times, in the name of God, that she is innocent as explained below:

But it would avert the punishment from the wife, if she bears witness four times (with an oath) By God, that (her husband) is telling a lie;

And she too must swear a fifth oath that would bring a curse upon her if she is lying as verse 9 explains:

And the fifth (oath) should be that she solemnly invokes the wrath of God on herself if (her accuser) is telling the truth.

This, more or less, settles the issue of the accusation of adultery and what happens in the absence of the required four witnesses plus how a woman would escape a false accusation. Then there is the Anwar Ibrahim type false accusation and the Quran has addressed this matter too as explained in verse 19 of the same chapter:

Those who love (to see) scandal published broadcast among the Believers, will have a grievous Penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: God knows, and ye know not.

In this verse, it is clearly stated that one who loves to accuse someone of sexual misconduct would be punished in this life as well as the next. This is God’s promise as mentioned in the Quran and Muslims believe God will not lie. Even those who spread stories about sex scandals, sincerely believing these stories to be true, but in actual fact they are not, would also be punished in this life and the next as verse 23 explains:

Those who slander chaste women, indiscreet but believing, are cursed in this life and in the Hereafter: for them is a grievous Penalty,-

No doubt the Quran says “women”, but this would apply to man or woman who is falsely accused of sexual crimes, adultery, and so on.

Now, the purpose of bringing all this up is not to start an argument on Hudud or Islamic Law, as I am sure this is being argued feverishly enough and I do not need to add to it, nor is this an attempt to preach Islam. I have brought this up so that I can talk about some recent developments in Malaysia which would be hard to explain unless one has an understanding of the Malay mind.

First of all, it must be understood that the Malays are a very superstitious lot. Sometimes, these superstitions contradict Islamic teachings and border on blasphemy. Many of the beliefs and practices are old traditions and customs inherited from pre-Islamic days and which are frowned upon by Islam.

Malays do not believe in coincidences. Everything that happens is either “an Act of God” or of some evil power with Satanic intervention. Therefore, calamities, good fortune, and so on, have some divine or evil hand at work.

Another thing the Malays subscribe to is the Quran. The Quran is taken as the word of God and the absolute and ultimate guide for mankind. If the Quran says so, then this is so. No debate, skeptism, doubts, questions, or otherwise are tolerated. To do so would be blasphemous and result in your exit from Islam. You are considered as rejecting the Quran and therefore would be rejecting Islam.

Taking all this into consideration, the Malay mind would interpret the recent developments in Malaysia as God’s way of sending His message to mankind. And, to the Malay mind, that message God is sending is, Anwar Ibrahim is innocent of the sexual crimes he has been charged with.

I know it is hard for the Western or modern mind to come to terms with this. To the Western or modern mind, they would look at tangible evidence. Then this is no problem either as the “tangible” evidence clearly points to Anwar’s innocence as Azizan has testified three times in court while under oath that Anwar never sodomised him and Anwar too has sworn that he never sodomised Azizan -- which has been recorded on video. We are talking about those who do not understand “modern” methods of proving innocence or guilt and still rely of “God’s word” -- and Malaysia, believe it or not, still has many of these.

I mean, only in Malaysia do people still go to graveyards to obtain lottery numbers, or copy car registration numbers of fatal accidents and buy the numbers in the hope of becoming overnight millionaires as if “God” is giving them these winning numbers. Only in Malaysia do people still swear that their luck has improved since they bought the “magic ring” that adorns their finger. And this is not just Malays but Chinese and Indians as well. Therefore “signs from God” is very much an accepted Malaysian way of life.

Since Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to 15 years 7 months jail for corruption and sodomy, there have been many “signs from God” to prove his innocence. And, take it from me, this has not gone unnoticed and is being talked about and discussed at length – whatever the courts may have to say about the matter.

Yesterday, a dentist central to the sexual misconduct accusation against Anwar died while attending a seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia. She was the one who was supposed to have brainwashed Azizan, the prosecution’s prime witness, into making his sexual misconduct accusation against Anwar.

Then, awhile ago, the chief prosecutor too suffered a stroke and the latest report is he is already brain dead and a vegetable. But ask any of those who strongly believe this is “God’s punishment on earth” and God’s “confirmation” of Anwar’s innocence why the poor man cannot die even though he can be considered clinically dead?

To this there is a ready answer which no God-fearing Muslim would dispute, “He cannot die because he has not yet begged for Anwar’s forgiveness so he will linger till then.” As I said, this is the Malay mind working though this argument may sound corny to some.

Then there are the car crashes of the chief accuser as well as the chief conspirator, both of whose wives died in those crashes. Again, this is not taken as “innocent” road accidents but a sign of God’s punishment and proof that Anwar is innocent. And there have been other reports of calamities befalling others involved in the conspiracy against Anwar.

The Western or modern mind would argue that thousands of people die of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, etc., and every day at least ten people die on Malaysian roads, and none of these people have anything to do with Anwar’s trials or the conspiracy against him. These incidences involving the Anwar conspirators can therefore be viewed as mere statistics and purely coincidental.

That does not count to the Malay mind. What is important is what happens to those conspirators and accusers and it is no coincidence that they just happened to be involved in the conspiracy. They were singled out by God for retaliation for what they did to Anwar. That is the Malay mind. And this is what the Malays are talking about today.

RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN