Saturday, February 27, 2010

So you wanted a Malay Counter-Movement?

Majlis Perunding NGO Melayu (MPM). Just a fortnight ago, Lim Kit Siang promoted on his widely-read blog a commentary that first appeared in the anti-Najib Malaysian Insider news portal entitled Time for a Malay Counter-Movement?

The writer's idea is to push for the creation of a movement that opposes the so-called Ketuanan Melayu concept (Kit Siang would read it as "a movement that opposes Umno").

The problem with the writer and those who promote this idea is that they fail or simply do not wish to realize that Ketuanan Melayu as they've defined and as they so fear does not exist. Except in their minds.

And they blame Umno for Ketuanan Melayu when Umno, like Kit Siang and Guan Eng's DAP, is just a political party. The difference is Umno champions the Malays and DAP champions the Chinese.

But since these people dream of such a counter-movement, here we are, hot from the politcial oven, brought by YB Ibrahim Ali himself ... a counter-movement of 76 Malay NGOs, including the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services.

Happy now?



General February 27, 2010 20:44 PM
Malay NGOs Form Consultative Council To Defend Malay Rights, Islam


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Seventy-six Malay non-governmental organisations Saturday joined forces to form a consultative council, Majlis Perundingan NGO Melayu (MPM), to defend Malays rights and Islam in the country.

Among them were Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Negara (Perkasa), Majlis Bekas Wakil Rakyat Malaysia (Mubarak), Federation of Malay Students Association of Peninsular Malaysia (GPMS), Malay Professional Thinkers Association of Malaysia and Cuepacs, the umbrella union for civil servants.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, who acted as the council's spokesman, said the council's role was to act as a shield against those who tried to question Malay rights and privileges, the position of Islam and the institution of the Malay rulers.

"At the same time, we will also be a polite pressure group to the government not to shirk from its responsibility in upholding fundamental matters as enshrined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution," he told reporters at the launching ceremony of MPM at the Sultan Sulaiman Club here.

He said MPM members would hold a roundtable on March 7 to discuss the economic direction of the Malays following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's announcing of the new economic model for the nation.

"We also hope to meet the prime minister before the new economic model is announced because we do not want Malay NGOs to be "making noise" to voice their dissatisfaction over it...we want any policy made by the government to get support from all quarters.

"However, the government should also be proactive to Malay NGOs...meaning there should be give and take...if the government wants the support of NGOs, the government should also give due consideration to our views and feelings," said the Member of Parliament for Pasir Mas.

In MPM's statement circulated to media members present, the council asserted that its members must scrutinise each issue that had a bearing on the interest of the Malays, Islam, the Malay rulers and security and harmony in the country irrespective of who raised or questioned them and that they must also highlight matters that are dear to the Malays.

Besides this, MPM said it would also prepare and implement an action plan to counter any provocation on matters that touch on the interests of Malays and Islam if they were construed as efforts by irresponsible parties to spread hatred.

-- BERNAMA

Friday, February 26, 2010

Maulidur Rasul

Selawat bagi Rasulullah.

Growing up in Singapore, we'd start the maulidur Rasul celebration with a small morning procession around the Madrasah in Batu 8, West Coast Road. There would be nasyids, the recital of the Quran and prayers. In the evening, we'd eat alfresco, four or five of us sharing a dulang of nasi minyak and condiments under the stars and the moon. The boys, most in their madrasah uniform of white baju Melayu and red samping, would eat from the same dulang as the male adults.

That was when Singapore still had kampungs.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Leaving recession, in Malaysia

Good times, at last? The PM said the economy performed "beyond our expectations" during the last quarter of 2009. The economy contracted by 1.2% for July-Sept 09 and -3.9% for April-May.

Najib is expected to announce the full results of the economic performance tomorrow. Read the Bernama report here.

MACC in Kelantan pro-PAS?


Suara Rakyat, a new socio-political blog, claims to have documents that should have been enough for the anti-corruption agency and cops in the state of Kelantan to nab the Menteri Besar. These documents are published in its latest posting SPRM pro-PAS.

The people who run Suara Rakyat said there will be a police report lodged on this matter (against MACC or against Nik Aziz, I'm not sure).

Monday, February 22, 2010

Road rage Down Under


updates:

"Now he will return home for good .... in a coffin." - Saemin Mongjin, the dad of Malaysian-born Australian Mohd Shah Saemin, 43, (pic) battered with a hammer and knifed to death by two men who chased him along a Sydney street in what the cops said could be a case of road rage.

NST has the story He promised his mom to return for Raya.

Original article:




No, it's not hate crime. But if you have to travel to Australia now, avoid driving when you are there. Read the story here.

Ministers and corrupt officials


Should the Minister pay for the aide's sins?
I agree with the IIM president's assertion here that a Minister should be held responsible if his officials are proven to be corrupt and that he had knowledge of their corruption.

But before that can happen, the MACC has to prove that there's corruption in the first place. After that, the MACC has to prove that the political aide is corrupt with the knowledge of his boss the Minister.

Easier said than done.

"Why they should not lodge the police report against The Star"

"I hear that some folks want to make a Police Report over a Press article about this caning of the three women. I will not say which newspaper and who the people are. But my advise is dont take ownership of anything that is confusing and will only cause more confusion. Just leave it to the ‘confusionists’." - Syed Akbar Ali's The Case of Caning Women, 21 Feb 2010

A police report is expected to be lodged against The Star and its managing editor P. Gunasegaran in Kuala Lumpur this morning (Monday 22 Feb 2010) re the article Persuasion, not compulsion which is seen as insulting the way of Islam [read What are you talking, Guna?].

Read H E R E why Syed Akbar Ali has advised against the lodging of the police report.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Pantai sale

5 years later. So now Pantai Holdings Bhd, the Malaysian healthcare group run by Singaporeans since 2005, plans to sell its Malaysian government concession businesses "as it seeks to focus on growing its hospital business". Or so according to the Business Times here.

I'm not going to venture too deep into Pantai this time. Back in 2005, the front-page reports run by The Malay Mail back then were a major reason for my eventual departure from the NSTP group. When I started Bru mid 2006, I was able to give this debacle the space it deserved (click here here here here for samples of my past postings on this subject). Wasn't enough to save it, though.

Still, I'm obliged now to ask some pertinent questions:
1. What?! They only realised after 5 years that the 2 government concessions were under foreign hands?

2. Isn't the sale of Fomema and Medivest (both profitable) is an ominous sign that the hospitals are not doing well?

3. What's not mentioned anywhere in the article is that although Parkway owns 40% of Pantai, this Singapore group has total management control and is paid a handsome fee to run Pantai. Why?
Nor Mohamed Yakcob was the Finance Minister 2 then, boleh tolong jawab? Or Chua Soi Lek, the then Health Minister? Someone, please shed some light.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Not Homicide

Read The Malay Mail's article here.

Teoh Beng Hock wasn't murdered, according to 2nd autopsy. Our pathologist Dr Shahidan Mohd Noor, who conducted a second autopsy on TBH last Nov after Thai pathologist Dr Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan said that there was an 80% chance that TBH's death was homicide, quashed that theory at the Inquest into TBH's death this morning.

At the High Court this morning, Dr Shahidan, from Sungai Buloh hospital, said his findings from the autopsy concluded that Teoh's death was caused by a fall from a high place with the injuries sustained consistent with the result of a fall.

He also disputed Dr Pornthip's testimony that the bruises on Teoh's neck was a result of strangulation as there was no evidence of asphyxiation or that his anal injury was a penetrative wound.

The 2nd autopsy was conducted on 22 Nov 2009 at 12.45pm at the mortuary of Hospital Sungai Buloh. Other forensic pathologists present during the autopsy were Dr Porntip, Professor Dr Peter Vanezis of the UK, Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim, Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar, and Dr Rohayu Shahar Adnan.

Teoh was found dead on July 16 last year at Plaza Masalam the morning after he was interviewed for 10 hours by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), whose office is on the 14th floor of the building. The political secretary of Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah was reported to have been a witness in an MACC investigation into alleged irregularities in the disbursement of constituency development funds.

The Inquest has been postponed to March 1, at which time Dr Shahidan should be cross-examined and after which the Inquest will also listen to Porntip and Vanezis.

I'm most interested to see how Porntip is going to defend her 80 percent homicide theory. Remember, the Thai forensic expert had formed this theory after examining the first post-mortem photographs, one set of scene of incident reports, X-rays, and transcripts of Dr Khairul's and Dr Prashant's testimony. She was not given 3 DNA reports, toxicology report and two important sets of photographs and, therefore, was not aware of the negative DNA reports and toxicology report. Dr Porntip had agreed that it was important that she be given these reports before coming to an opinion, especially as she did not perform the autopsy, did not inspect the body and scene of the incident.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

We walked and waltzed, "Australia ... Mind Your Own Business"


Not for Anwar, Not for Saiful. This morning a group of so-po bloggers walked with other NGOs and political parties peeved with the 50 so-called nosy Australian lawmakers who wanted Malaysia to stop an on-going trial in the name of justice.


The bulk of the hundreds of protesters came from Umno Youth led by KJ and Ibrahim Ali's Perkasa.


Bloggers who walked this morning included the anti-KJ champion Parpukari, Umno-diehard Big Dog, author Syed Akbar Ali, journos Shamsul Yunus of Marahku and an angry Bujai, Anonymous bloggers including the widely-followed A Voice, and columnist Rusdi Mustapha.



A couple of Chinese blogger friends and a group of Indian bloggers led by MIC's Kamalanathan were also present. The FRU and the cops were there but it was a peaceful protest, as promised.

A stray dog also came to bark at the OZs.


In an interview after KJ had submitted the memorandums on behalf of the BN, Perkasa and the bloggers, I was asked what we bloggers were trying to achieve.

Basically, I said:
"The bloggers are not here to support BN, Perkasa or other political entities, we are here because we want to convey a message to the Australian people that what their lawmakers are asking us to do is to compromise the integrity of our courts and rule of law.

"We are a sovereign nation just like Australia is. We are not barbarians. We don't kill the native people of this country and we don't murder foreigners and get away with it."
I was not there to support Anwar Ibrahim or Saiful Bukhary. I was there to express my disgust at the Australian MPs who have asked us to stop our process of justice and democracy in the name of their justice and democracy.

Imagine if we bow to those MPs and stop the trial, we'll be a real pariah nation.

The reporter asked me if the bloggers were expecting an apology from Australia. I said:
"No we're not interested in that. We just want to let the Australian people know that we don't appreciate what their lawmakers are asking us to do".
Some of our lawmakers suck but they don't come nowhere near the 50 Australian YBs.

Read also AP's Malaysian protesters rally FOR Anwar's sodomy charge

and 42 pics of rally at Minaq Jinggo's

Monday, February 15, 2010

DSAI, Nor Mohamed Yakcop and a USD8 billion question Down Under

Updated
The article that appeared on Merdeka Review last Friday (Feb 12) on Anwar-NMY-Abrar and US$8 b Aussie-Labuan firm is loosely translated here.

Original Article


My "Bugger off ..." posting got me this email from Australia this morning:
You migh want to publicise the fact that these Aussie MPs have all chosen to ignore this report on the ir very own ABC Radio-http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2006/1754286.htm
Follow the links from that ABC interview and end up asking the US$8 billion Question: Who are these Aussie MPs protecting?

Names like Rahim Ghousse, Anwar Ibrahim, Nor Mohamed Yakcop keep cropping up. Also Abrar, the Free Anwar Campaign, and a few Arabic names as well as an Islamic finance outfit run by Catholics.

Excerpts:

Ganesh Sahathevan: I was immediately attacked on the Free Anwar campaign website.

Peter Martin: The Free Anwar campaign attacked you for your work on the Commercial IBT story?

Ganesh Sahathevan: Yes. In fact a director of the Free Anwar campaign, on a related Anwar website, a Malaysia Today website said, this is still on their website: 'Any investigation into Commercial IBT will reflect badly on Anwar Ibrahim.'

Peter Martin: Anwar Ibrahim is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Malaysia. He was jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy in April 1999. Behind the charges was his Prime Minister, Dr Mohammad Mahathir.

Anwar's supporters say the charges were trumped up. He was eventually released from prison in 2004.

There's an interesting cast of characters in the story you are about to hear. One of them is Dr Rahim Ghouse. He ran the worldwide campaign to have Anwar released, and was a political ally of Anwar's from student days in Malaysia and then a factional ally of Anwar's within Malaysia's ruling party.

Rahim Ghouse fled Malaysia for Perth on Anwar's arrest and then moved to Melbourne, where he set up the international Free Anwar campaign. He was the owner of the Free Anwar campaign website at the time it attacked the SBS program.

The ABC radio interview that the Australian MPs chose to ignore was aired in Oct 2006. Last week, a Malaysian Chinese language daily picked up the pieces and made the issue current again. If someone can translate the Merdeka Review's 12 Feb 2010 report here.


Since Nor Mohamed Yakcop is being implicated in these reports, perhaps the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission may want to ask Hasbie Satar, NMY's political secretary, where he got the cash from and what is the money REALLY for? RM2 million is a lot of RM50 bills ....
And here's another reason why the Australian MPs should bugger off:
Mass murder of Aborigines and foreign students

p.s. The Peaceful Protest against the OZ lawmakers has been moved to 10am on the same day (Wednesday 17 Feb) and same venue (Australian High Commission in KL).

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Bugger off, lawmakers Down Under!

Protest against interfering Aussie lawmakers

Wednesday 17 Feb 2010, 10 am

at the Australian High Commission, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur


Who should attend?
Any bugger may attend.

Peaceful Protest. In the land of OZ, buggery was a crime once upon a time, but now it's OK for consenting adults to bugger each other Down Under. Mind you, though, this was a recent phenomenon - Tasmania was the last state to de-criminalize sodomy in 1997, just before Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy Part I trial. Tasmania went on to become the first jurisdiction to recognize same-sex couples.

The action of the 50-or-so Australian lawmakers last week demanding Malaysia stop the Anwar vs Saiful sodomy trial could be seen as a show of support for Anwar or - and I think this is more the case - a collective effort to put pressure on a country where sodomy is "shamefully" (says the Washington Post here) still a crime.

I'm not sure who the organisers of this Wednesday's "peaceful protest" is but Bujai was the first to blog about it h e r e. Malaysian lawmakers have also expressed their objection to the the Aussie MPs' interference.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Raya Cina


Kong Hee Fatt Choy.
Selamat Tahun Baru Cina saya ucapkan kepada semua pembaca yang budiman dan juga sahabat handai serta sedara-mara Cina saya, moga Tahun Harimau membawa ngauman yang lebih besar dan bersepadu kepada semua, sihat walfiat jua hendaknya.




Friday, February 12, 2010

Zahrain's ang pow for Guan Eng

"I Quit"! The decision by Zahrain Mohd Hashim, a strong Anwar Ibrahim ally for the last 3 decades, to leave PKR did not come as a surprise. He made it no secret that he has lost confidence in Anwar and "communist-minded" Lim Guan Eng and so the most logical thing in order for him to still serve the people as Bayan Baru MP is to quit the fragile coalition.

No, he did not quit to join Umno and BN. Which is a good thing. For Umno/BN, I mean, but that's my view as someone who's not an Umno member.

Read a pro-Umno blogger's take on Zahrin's decision to quit here.

Jobs in Malaysia

BM not needed here. If you don't speak and write fluent Chinese, forget about applying for this job in Malaysia. Some will say this is proof of how important English is. English and Chinese. Some may see as blatant discrimination.

Source here.

Finance Advisory - Manager and Senior Manager

  • Company

    Ernst & Young
  • Location

    Malaysia
  • Remuneration

    To be discussed
  • Position Type

    Permanent
  • Employment type

    Full time
  • Updated

    20-Jan-2010
  • eFC Ref no

    606859
Finance Advisory has a broad range of capabilities to assist clients in improving and transforming finance operations. Such initiatives include finance operational improvement, performance management, cost/profitability management (including ABC, ABM, cost reduction. cost innovation), planning, budgeting and forecasting, shared services/outsourcing, and finance strategy.

Financial Services:

As a leading provider of integrated advisory services to the banking and capital markets, insurance and asset management sectors, the Financial Services advisory professionals provide broad lifecycle advisory services to our clients, from defining strategy to assisting with implementation.

Senior Manager:

  • MBA or university graduates with a min. of 8 years experience in a business consulting role, preferably from global business consultancy organizations
  • Strong experience in selling and delivering projects that cover the full life cycle from assessment, design, structure proposals, implementation, project management, budgeting and documentation;
  • Able to interact with clients at a strategic and operational level to gain an understanding of the requirements and of the structure of their business and to guide them through a process that may be unfamiliar
  • In-depth understanding of the marketplace, as well as industry trends and issues that will create opportunities to add value to the clients business;
  • Self motivated and ambitious with ability to motivate others and lead the team effectively
  • Good problem solving and project management skills
  • Excellent command of spoken and written English and Chinese

Manager:

  • Bachelor or above degree with a mim. of 5 years experience in business consulting role, preferably from global business consultancy organizations
  • Strong experience in delivering and managing projects on time and within budget
  • Able to interact with clients at an operational level to gain an understanding of the requirements and of the structure of their business and to guide them through a process that may be unfamiliar
  • In-depth understanding of the marketplace, as well as industry trends and issues that will create opportunities to add value to the clients business
  • Self motivated and ambitious with ability to motivate others and lead the team effectively
  • Good problem solving and project management skills
  • Excellent command of spoken and written English and Chinese

** Travelling within Far East Area is required.

Pol-sec siapa kena?

Tumbuk rusuk. Saya dengar ada setiusaha politik seorang menteri yang baru kena cekup dek Suruhanjaya anti-korupsi negara. Tak tahu pol-sec yang ini atau yang itu, atau mungkin ada orang lain, tapi sah-sah siasatan sebegini semakin kerap* dan galak nampaknya di bawah pimpinan boss baru Abu Kassim. Dengar khabar kena interrogate berjam-jam pol-sec tu. Kesian.

Kes Teoh Beng Hock senyap saja. Mana keputusan autopsi kedua?

*Kat Pulau Pinang sahaja, 50 orang kena cekup tahun lepas:

General February 12, 2010 16:21 PM
15 Public Servants Among 50 Detained By MACC In 2009


PENANG, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Fifteen public servants were among 50 people detained last year by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Penang to facilitate investigations.

Most of them were allegedly linked to misuse of power and forged documents, state MACC director Latifah Md Yatim said on Friday.

She said that of the 759 leads received last year, 72 were investigated, leading to the arrest of 50 people.

At a press conference held at the state headquarters here, Latifah said: "We have recorded a 100 per cent increase in the number of arrests last year, as compared to the previous year which was 23 people.

"(However) There were 12 cases where we did not have sufficient evidence to file charges against...we forwarded letters to the related agencies for diciplinary action to be taken," she said.

-- BERNAMA

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Police reports against Nizar, Kit Siang

By now, one knows what to expect: things don't go Pakatan's way, Pakatan makes unseemly remarks and resort to unruly behavior like lying in the middle of the road, and then police reports are lodged against Pakatan.

Same old script.

If the Federal Court had ruled in favour of Nizar, none of this would have happened: Zambry would not have dared make scathing remarks against Sultan Azlan and everyone would have moved on and Kit Siang would declare that justice has prevailed and he may even kiss Sultan Azlan's hands the next time he meets the Sultan.

But the Federal Court did not make that ruling in favour of Nizar and Pakatan, and so that is the fault of Malaysian democracy and Malaysian justice yesterday, or you're made to believe. And it's an excuse for some people to hantam the Sultan and the courts.

Hence, the police report here.

Lepas tu, bantai polis sebab polis buat siasatan. Bila kita kata perangai mangkuk-mangkuk ni macam budak-budak, mereka marah dan panggil kita anjing ...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Facebook fan club wants Saiful dead


Saiful Bukhari made his first blog posting since the start of the Sodomy II trial on Feb 2, a copy of a police report against a death threat issued by one Anaz Zahari in the comment section of the Anwar Ibrahim fanClub on Facebook.

Go to Saiful's blog for the police report here.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Zambry is the lawful MB

The country's highest court confirmed the Courts of Appeal's decision: the appointment of Zambry Abd Kadir as MB of Perak is lawful. I didn't lose a night's sleep over this. Pakatan Rakyat's government in the state where I cast my vote in March 2008 was in a disarray after its MPs 3 crossed over. The Sultan of Perak knew what he was doing (he was Lord President, he should know).

I hope Nizar and supporters will respect the Federal Court's decision and allow Zambry to administer the State of Perak to the best of his ability. Both should focus on serving the people.

p.s. Jangan lupa, YAB Zambry, the Fed Court decision confirms that the Sultan has the power to sack you! Read It's not in the Constitution, But Sultan Can Dismiss MB. And all it takes is for a few MPs to cross over to the dark side.


General February 09, 2010 12:00 PM
Federal Court Declares Dr Zambry Rightful Menteri Besar


PUTRAJAYA, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir retains the Perak menteri besar's post after the Federal Court here today declared his appointment by Sultan Azlan Shah as constitutional.

A five-man bench led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff unanimously ruled that the ruler had exercised his royal power to appoint Dr Zambry to succeed his opponent from Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, after he was satisfied that the latter had lost the majority vote of the state legislative assembly.

Alauddin sat with Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judges Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Datuk Wira Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong.

Justice Arifin read out the judgment.

The conflict over who is the rightful menteri besar arose last year after three Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen quit their parties to become independents and the fourth jumped back from PKR to Umno, thus leaving the two sides with 28 assemblymen each in the 59-seat assembly.

They were Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) who resigned from PKR on Jan 30 and declared themselves as Barisan Nasional-friendly independents. DAP assemblyman Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) followed in their footsteps four days later.

Mohammad Nizar, 52, who is Pasir Panjang state asemblyman, was appointed menteri besar after the DAP-PKR-PAS alliance won 31 seats in the 12th general election on March 8, 2008.

Sultan Azlan Shah then asked Mohammad Nizar to step down as menteri besar and swore in Dr Zambry in February last year after declaring that the Barisan Nasional had the majority in the state legislative assembly.

Mohammad Nizar did not tender his resignation as menteri besar to the ruler.

He initiated legal proceedings on Feb 13 last year seeking a declaration that he is at all material times the rightful menteri besar of Perak and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from discharging his duties as the menteri besar.

On May 11 last year, High Court judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim reinstated Mohammad Nizar as the legitimate menteri besar after he ruled that Barisan Nasional did not take a vote of no-confidence against him in the state legislative assembly despite having the majority.

However, it was back to status quo, when the Court of Appeal allowed Dr Zambry's appeal and declared that his appointment as Perak menteri besar was constitutional.

-- BERNAMA


Monday, February 08, 2010

On how to avoid an acquital by default in Anwar's favor ..


Sakmongkol explains in Dealing with Anwar why he's not tempted by Anwar Ibrahim's invitation to treat and why we - bloggers and the media - should not, either.
Why should we kick a dead horse? Anwar is doomed. His Malay power base is slowly undermined. Look at his supporters out there at the courthouse. Hardly representing the Malay heartland. His flag bearer is Tian Chua.

Anwar remains a political asset if he remains free. To the west, Anwar is the emblem of democracy. The ignorant west insults us by treating Anwar as the representative of democracy. Can we treat Louis Farakhan or Father Jeremiah Wright as the definitive emblem of American democracy?

It insists that Malaysia must keep Anwar Ibrahim free if she is to qualify to be in the good books of the west. This unsolicited advice is similar to the insistence that we must bomb Iraq into democracy or that we must napalm Afghanistan to force it into democracy.
The blogger does have a point. Already, Anwar is using Utusan to try and win a big first round in the Sodomy 2 trial, which is to get the Judge disqualified.
General February 08, 2010 15:07 PM
Anwar's Sodomy Case Postponed To Hear Application To Recuse Judge


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial was postponed to tomorrow to hear the opposition leader's application for High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah to recuse himself.

Anwar's counsel, Karpal Singh, made the application based on the judge's decision relating to two articles published by Utusan Malaysian which he said "brings to surface an element of real danger of bias on the part of the learned trial judge".

Justice Mohamad Zabidin asked counsel when the defence wanted the court to hear the application, this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden said the trial should proceed Monday pending the prosecution's filing of the affidavit-in-reply.

The court then fixed tomorrow to hear the application to enable the prosecution to file the affidavit-in-reply.

Karpal Singh, submitting that the court must hear the application before proceeding with the trial, said the defence had no intention of delaying the trial and was prepared to cross-examine the prosecution's first witness, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

He said Anwar had a right to a fair trial under Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution.

On Monday the court was to hear Mohd Saiful's testimony under cross-examination by the defence.

Anwar, 63, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor and member of parliament for Permatang Pauh, is alleged to have sodomised Mohd Saiful, 25, his former aide, at Unit 11-5-1 Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

The charge under section 377B of the Penal Code carries a maximum 20 years jail and whipping on conviction.

The high-profile trial, which had drawn coverage from both the local and foreign media, started last Wednesday, 18 months after Anwar was first charged on Aug 7, 2008.

-- BERNAMA



Anwar 21 - Saiful 0!

Anwar's trial via blogs. Anwar Ibrahim is using his blog to the maximum.

Since the start of the Sodomy II trial on Feb 2, he has posted 21 articles. Many of these articles are commentaries and editorials cut-pasted from foreign media, including the writings by Ku Li, the RM100 billion Barry Wain, and Munawar Anees. All are supportive of Anwar or sympathetic towards him. Each one could help him win the court of public opinion.

There are cries for Reformasi! One posting today calls Anwar supporters to gather at the Jalan Duta courts when trial enters its second week to "rekindle the flames of Reformasi" and ensure that DSAI does not go to jail again (see Screenshot above).

The postings are unabashedly Malaysia-bashing. Despite the fact that this trial is between an individual (Saiful) and an another individual (DSAI), the guns are fired at Najib, the man standing in Anwar's way to become the prime minister, Najib's government and public institutions. The courts, the police, the AG's prosocutors and the mainstream media are the enemies. Anwar's postings focus on conspiracy, a cruel regime, how Malaysian democracy is on trial instead of Anwar, and that this is fitnah dan rencana jahat kerajaan.

"Homosexual sodomy .. shamefully remains a crime in Malaysia". The latest article posted on Anwar's blog is an editorial in the Washington Post headlined Why the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim matters to the West (quotes above cut-pasted from this editorial).

The editorial suggest that if Anwar were to go to jail there would be "street demonstrations that could destabilize the country" and so that is why, it adds, "the Obama administration and other Western governments interested in stability in Asia should make clear that the imprisonment of Mr. Anwar would be ... not in Malaysia's interest."

And we thought RPK and Kalimullah were bad spinmasters!

As I publish this posting, Anwar's accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan has not posted any article on his blog since the start of the trial.

Well, not yet I'm told.

p.s. I have decided to place both Anwar and Saiful's blogs under the special title "Blogs on Trial" on my blogroll and they there will remain until the hearing ends. That way, readers can easily click on accuser and accused's blogs to see what they're up to as the trial goes under way. DSAI is also active on Twitter, I'm told.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Can I sue your ass today?

Chill lah, YBs. Away from the sodomy trial, buddies are butting each other. Politics, in and out of courts, must necessarily be dirty but I wish my bros YB Jeff Ooi, the DAP MP for Jelutong, and YB Wee Choo Keong, the PKR MP for Wangsa Maju, could somehow stay out of the current political sodomy fest. It's an unrealistic thing to wish for, though: both are Pakatan Rakyat strongmen in their own way and this fest involves their comrades, their bosses, and their political future.

Still ....

BUT if they insist on slugging it out, I'd like to make an appeal to Wee not to resort to legal action in his attempt to shut Jeff up or defend himself. We should use the court for more dire matters, eg in the Wee vs Mbf case. Matters between friends should be resolved through friendlier means. Wee is not Theresa Kok, Zaid Ibrahim, or Lim Guan Eng and should not be inspired to be like them.

When Jeff and I were sued for our blog posts in Jan 2007, Mr Wee Choo Keong was the first to offer to act as my lawyer on pro bono basis. Jeff and Wee weren't MPs then. Jeff was an ordinary member of Gerakan.

Read YB Wee's Politics of McCarthyism by little Napoleons must be stopped.
Jeff sms says he was misquoted by theSun? Read here

pic of YB Wee taken, I believe, by YB Jeff in Oct 2007

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

"Lim Guan Eng should be replaced!"

Tan Tee Beng is PKR Member of Parliament for Nibong Tebal, Penang. A local boy. This morning he called for a press conference in KL calling for, among other things, a Penangite to lead Penang. Apparently, he's had enough of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is from Melaka, my state.

His arrogance in many occassions made so many now start to cast a doubt” (Kesombongan beliau banyak kali kini rakyat mula meragui (keikhlasan) beliau). “He does not even listen to DAP grass root. Lim Guan Eng should be replaced!”.

“He (Lim Guan Eng) has no standard (class) for Penang!”.

“In KL, maybe they accept parachuters. Not in Penang. If we talk about changes but we ourselves are not brave enough to face changes, then we are not serving. If we are unable to change, then we will face a tough battle in PRU 13!”.

Read more here.


Detain Nasir Safar under ISA?

Some people should be detained for their stupidity, a bro told me. I agree. The politicians who are demanding ISA detention for Nasir Safar for his alleged racist remarks should be the ones detained, instead. This kind of stupidity is worse. These politicians aren't interested in unity, they just want to score some miserable points.

You may want to paint all Malays in Umno with the same brush or you may believe the theory that Anwar Ibrahim had gotten to Nasir to try and distract people from his long-delayed sodomy trial. But the fact remains that Nasir made a mistake and for that he decided he must quit.

In the end, Nasir did the most honorable thing.

So V. Mugilan, C. Sivarajah and politikus-politikus yang sewaktu dengan mereka, stop trying to prove that you guys are morons. Move on.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Tanjung Keling, Lubok Cina

Nasir Safar must resign!- Pasquale
PM's aide to resign over alleged racist remarks - The Star

Ini Melaka, kita Muhibbah. Melaka has funny names that, anywhere else, could be labeled racially insensitive. But if Nasir Safar thought he could get away with being racially insensitive in this historical state, he was terribly mistaken.

The Special Officer to the Prime Minister incurred the wrath of some Indian and Chinese delegates at a "unity" forum at the MITC this morning when he claimed that the early Indian immigrants had come to Malaysia to beg and their Chinese counterparts were here to sell their bodies.

I must say that I was not there at the forum to hear it but I happened to be at the press conference given by Ali Rustam, the Chief Minister of Melaka, who said Nasir Safar's remarks went against the spirit of the form and the spirit of 1Malaysia.

I spoke to a reporter and several other ear-witnesses who were at the forum. I found it hard to understand why anyone would say such provocative things at a forum meant to unite.

"This is Melaka, we don't say things that hurt other races," the Chief Minister said.

I'm from Melaka, from a kampong called Ramuan Cina Kecik in Lubok Cina, and I have to agree with that statement. We Malays from Melaka are said to be generous to a fault with our neighbours. I remember and old joke:
Melayu kat Melaka ni baik betul. Tanjung dia bagi Keling, Bukit dan Lubok dia bagi Cina, Alor pun dia bagi Gajah. Ada Masjid tapi buat dari Tanah saja ...
The PM is visiting Melaka this Thursday, I was told. I think he should leave Nasir Safar behind in Putrajaya, if the guy is still in his employ by then.