The Ku Li Declaration

Note: I still get a lot of comments by Anonymous. Which I had to delete, as promised. Dear Readers, if you wish to comment, please leave a nickname, pen name, moniker at least. Your real ID/handle preferred, of course.

And an unforgiving Kak Wan speaks out: IIt's Dr M who needs us

"It does not change the views of Pakatan and the main agenda for us is to free Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from prison. He is a political victim and he needs to be freed. It does not matter what (Mahathir) thinks about it. This has always been our agenda ...."

8 March 2016:

It does look like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad might have underestiated the response from his admirers and the people towards his chummy collaboration with old foe Lim Kit Siang and Gang. A young reporter from Mahathir's home state Kedah, whose entire family is was a die hard fan of the ex PM, immediately put up the #respectmyPM symbol onto his Facebook profile. But while the young man's opinion may not count much to many, Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's stand that "I did not go, I do not support, and I didn't even know about (the pact)" is a mega setback. For talk by the Mahathir-Azmin-Muhyiddin-Ambiga-Kit Siang camp since Friday was that Ku Li, always the potential alternative PM since when Mahathir himself was the PM, was solidly with them. 

Ku Li isn't the only one disputing claims by the organisers of the so-called Citizens Declaration (Netizens are calling it the Mahathir Declaration) about the support they had. The other day Zaman Khan, a respected retired top cop, denied involvement in the pact. “I deny as strongly as possible, to say I am on the side of those who signed the declaration and will march to oppose the government. I am not involved,” said Zaman Khan, here

Sex and Saving Malaysia

With updates 

"We are not having sex. We are saving Malaysia." - A. Kadir Jasin on not-so-complimentary FB response towards Dr Mahathir's Save Malaysia alliance with the Opposition and Opposition-friendly civil society movement. 

Puchong, the morning after (1 something a.m.):

So it has come down to this. In his great desire to see Najib Razak fall, Tun Mahathir Mohamad finally brought himself down to the level of his political foes in a so-called civil society movement to bring down the Prime Minister. 

"I would regard this as the most bizarre day in all the years that I have been a journalist," a scribe who's not particularly fond of Mahathir or Najib told me.
"There is nothing left to shock me," he said.

I said I agreed with him. It was also sickening. The doughnut I had just gulped down was restless in my tummy. 

Later, a YB asked me if I was in town.

"I am not feeling too well, YB, especially after seeing what has become of the Tun," I told him.

"Sad," he texted back. "Never thought I'd see the day. Rest well, Sir. We'll mourn this shame of one whom we once revered ever so dearly."

Journalist Nuraina Samad, in her FB posting after the Save Malaysia special h e r e, chooses not to say too much. 

She didn't have to. 

Strange bedfellows, indeed.
It was all there for everyone to see.

I was following Awani's "live" coverage of the so-called Save Malaysia campaign with two former editors of the New Straits Times, a government-friendly daily once ruled by Kadir. None of us were proud to see Kadir there with the politicians, although we understand his loyalty to Dr Mahathir and Tun Daim Zainuddin.
It was strange to see our ex boss lined up as one of the signatories of this Citizens' Declaration to oust Najib Razak. I thought The Scribe looked uncomfortable, as if he'd rather be elsewhere.

He was seated next to Tian Chua during the signing, if I'm not mistaken. What was my ex boss thinking, I did wonder ...

"We are not having sex. We are saving Malaysia. Wallahualam". - Kadir, in response to Nuraina's posting h e r e

"Did anyone talk about sex? Hmmm ... strange." - Anwardi Jamil, the film producer son of a legendary film producer, replies immediately to Kadir 

"What's wrong with sex? Sex is good." - Hasnah Abd Rahman, PR practitioner and not-so-Opposition-friendly civil movement activist, and a former journalist with the NST when it was under Kadir.

p.s. I won't be signing the so-called Citizens' Declaration. Sex or no sex (if they were having sex yesterday, it would have been an orgy!), I don't wish to be part of this unholy unholiest marriage of convenience.  

Updates:
Why Life of Annie won't sign it, either: Staying neutral and away from creepy people
This strange group of people by Zakiah Koya
Mahathir-led motley crew an't decide who should lead by The Mole

The trials of reading the Quran in Malaysia

Spanish, anyone?

Taman Tun, 4 March 2016:

Read this in the Mole today ...

PUTRAJAYA — March 3, 2016: The Quran Printing, Control and Licensing Board (LPPPQ) today declared that writing and reading the Quran in languages other than Arabic is prohibited.

A statement by its chairman Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria reasoned that this is because the text of the Quran in other languages not accompanied by the Arabic text cannot be considered as Quran.

He said such an act is punishable under the Printing of Quran Text Act (APTQ) and the Printing Presses and Publications Act.

Harussani, who is also the mufti of Perak, was commenting on the “Let’s Read The Quran” campaign to write and read the Quran in languages other than Arabic.

According to him, as the body responsible for the monitoring of the printing, publication and import of Quran texts under APTQ, the board views the campaign seriously.

He stressed that the board and the respective state Islamic authorities would take stern action to stop the movement and campaign.

Harussani said a Quran which has been translated into other languages for the benefit of those who do not understanding Arabic cannot be considered Quranic texts but are translations of the Quran or interpretations of the

Quran.

“Translations of the Quran which are not accompanied by the original text in Arabic are prohibited as it is feared they could cause confusion,” he said. — Bernama

So what now, let's NOT read the Quran?

This is the kind of statements that shouldn't see print because 

1. it makes the person being quoted, in this case Harussani, sound shallow and moronic when I'm sure he's not 

2. it makes Islam look so rigid, uncompromising, archaic, prohibitive when it sure is not

Having said that, what are we doing to learn Arabic, the language of our RM2.6 billion donor? I know our primary schools TRY to teach some basic Arabic to our kids but you and I know that hasn't gone very far. I can read, I can recite but I won't understand most of it without translation. When we were riding through the Muslim civilisations in China, I met a young Iman who was astounded that most of us in the group could not speak or understand Arabic. "But you are a Muslim, and the Quran is in Arabic, so how can you not know the language?" he had asked me via an interpreter.

Well, there's a lot that we don't know. But one thing I know, if someone wants to read the Quran, you should encourage him/her to read. If there's a campaign like Let's read the Quran, the Board should send over an officer to facilitate.

Read also: Anas Zubedy seeks meeting with Harussani over no-translation-only rule