Rasa not-so Sayang

Update: Rais says Jakarta's suit threat "unrealistic".
He said "Rasa Sayange", like other folk songs such as "Jauh Di Mata", "Burung Pungguk" and "Terang Bulan", were songs of the Malay archipelago inherited by the people from their ancestors.
"I think Indonesia or other parties will not be able to prove who was the composer of the song."

Original posting:
Indonesia to sue us for using song in campaign. The issue has been brought to Indonesia's Parliament and the MPs there want their government to take action.

From Malaysian blogger in Jakarta called Unspun (who also has a posting on Beyonce Malaysia Boleh):

The House on Monday urged an immediate response from the government to Malaysia’s use of the traditional Indonesian song Rasa Sayange in its “Truly Asia” tourism campaign.

House of Representatives member Hakam Naja of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said if the government could prove the song belonged to Indonesia, Indonesia should sue the Malaysian government.

“The government needs to check on its origins, whether it’s from Indonesia or not,” the deputy chairman of House Commission X overseeing education and tourism was quoted as saying by detik.com newsportal.

Rasa Sayange is believed to have originated in Maluku, where it has been sung for generations by people to express their love for the environment. (rst of story here)

Bernama has filed a story Indonesia lawmaker accuses Malaysia of heritage theft.

Hey, have you signed up?

We need 5000 names. Haris Ibrahim said as of last night, the People's Parliament had 885 names.
Read the petition here.
And send your name and ID here.

Lingam tape: The correct, correct way to go

The ONLY way to go. Malik Imtiaz Sarwar explains in very simple terms (I have a feeling it's more for Nazri's benefit than ours) why a Royal Commission - and not the Investigative Panel set up by the Government - is the ONLY way to go to resolve the judiciary crisis.

1. A Royal Commission has powers conferred on it by law to take all necessary fact finding steps in order to achieve its purpose. This is important as the Commission would have to otherwise depend on the largesse of parties concerned.

2. The special Investigative Panel has no powers in law to compel the surrendering of documents, the attendance of witnesses and so on. The Investigative Panel is appointed by the Government. The Government is implicated and CANNOT be involved in the investigation.

"It is not enough that the Government declares that the Investigative Panel will be left to do what it has to do. The mere fact of an association with the Government already undermines the process. The aim is to restore public confidence in the Judiciary. The public will not be confident if the Government is involved."

Read the lawyer's latest posting Why a Royal Commission is the ONLY way to go to understand the issue and get a grasp on what's at stake for our future.

Making profits from our rising crime rate?

A letter to the Blogger: Who needs this billion-ringgit e-Cop system?

Click here to read the entire article.

Dear Rocky,
I'm Tehsin Begum Mukhtar Ahamd, just a work- from- home mum/translator. I'm getting increasingly sickened with the state of our country and the people who run it like their own private fiefdom/khazanah to loot and plunder.

Today's headlines set me off really bad. The Top Cop, Musa Hassan, announcing the billion-dollar e-system for policing. Who is going to profit from the increasing crime rate and increasing lawlessness, and the rakyat's misery??? "Them" again.

Do we really need this billion-dollar system??? Or do we need the money spent on proper training of our cops, increased salaries and benefits to reduce corruption risks and an increased police force commensurate with our population numbers??? Don't we need to deal with the massive corruption within our police forces too?

Please highlight this question in your blog as it is read by many. Make people question and question and push for sanity and reason and proper governance!

Our armed forces personnel die /suffer for days before being found, and someone's solution is new contracts for helicopters (to benefit a few), and not basic GPS equipment requirements.

Our rakyat die on speeding buses aka coffins, and someone benefits from some overpriced e-system, which was highlighted recently.

The ones in power KEEP benefiting blatantly from our misery.

We must put a stop to this!!!

You can quote me, I want those in power to make note. My name is TEHSIN BEGUM MUKHTAR AHMAD. STOP PLUNDERING MY COUNTRY AND MALAYSIANS....PLEASE WAKE UP AND FIGHT FOR OUR NATION BEFORE ITS TOTAL COLLAPSE!!!!

WASSALAM,

Tehsin