Color Revolutions behind our "yellow" culture

"Apakah pencapaian PAS sebagai pembangkang?" - www.urusmerbuk.blogspot.com

                                                                             

If you, like me, have always wondered why "yellow" is associated with Bersih and "red" with the massive street demos that overthrow the government in Thailand, try Tajul Urus' ...The Truth Revealed.

The politician from Merbuk has been quite busy on this new blog: nine postings so far this week, including three political analyses. I await his analysis on the achievements of Umno in his state! Jangan hangat2 tahi ayam, brooo ..

The taming of Malaysia's new media

Mkini apologizes but its columnist fires another salvo...
Read Taib protects loggers who raped Penan girls ..

Sorry, Sir. Malaysiakini's apology to Taib Mahmud read out in open court this morning confirms a bad start for the alternative media. It came just days after RPK, the force behind Malaysia Today, the portal that supported Anwar Ibrahim openly during the last general election, had lashed out at Anwar and called him irrelevant. RPK has since been accused of having "sold out" his soul to the BN. Free Malaysia Today's Pendedahan Seorang Ikon Palsu: RPK akan pulang! which was given prominet space in Anwar's blog basically represents the feelings of pro-Opposition supporters towards the man who was once their hero.

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In October last year, another major news portal, The Malaysian Insider, admitted to severe wrong-reporting about Tajudin Ramli, the former MAS chief.

The Malaysian Insider is satisfied that the above statement is defamatory, is wholly unfounded and is without any factual basis and therefore desires to express its regret to Tan Sri Dato’ Tajudin bin Ramli and apologize to him for all embarrassment and inconvenience which has been caused to him by the publication of the defamatory allegations.

The TMI escaped having to eat humble pie in open court but the apology-advertisements it had to buy in pro-BN papers NST and Berita Harian on October 7 were unprecedented. 

Both Mkini and TMI, whose editorial views are anti-BN when they are not pro-Pakatan Rakyat, could have faced heavy penalties if found guilty of the charges brought to them. Taib had been wrongly perceived as a potential chink in BN's armor and was the new media's "punching bag" because of this (until he unexpectedly delivered Sarawak in the last state elections) while Tajudin is still linked closely to the ruling coalition through his dealings with Dr Mahathir and former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin.

It's not a good start for bloggers, either. The DAP strongman from Perak, Nga Kor Ming, has filed a lawsuit against a pro-Umno blogger. Read Nga RM10 million suit. I just heard lawsuits will be served this week on a couple more prominent bloggers.

So, portal or blogs, you gotta watch what you write. Stick to the truth.

p.s. January does look like a month to sue. The lawsuit against me was filed in January 2007 by NST and The Four. NST has dropped the suit but Kalimullah, Brenden, Hishmmuddin and Syed Feisal are still after my ass. The case comes up again middle this month in the KL High Court.

What's the big deal?

Aspan, Kit Siang and Sakmongkol

If Ariff Sabri aka blogger Sakmongkol, a former BN Adun from a sleepy era, and Aspan Alias, a known Ku Li loyalist from Negri Sembilan, were to leave UMNO and join the DAP, a predominantly Chinese political party and UMNO's main rival, who stands to gain and who will lose? I don't know the answer and I still don't see what's the fuss about. Maybe that's because I'm not a member of UMNO and neither am I a DAP cadre (not that I've not been invited to join). But if UMNO thinks the two were indispensable, then UMNO would have done everything in its power to make them stay. Like give them multimillion ringgit projects, maybe? If the two really can't stand UMNO anymore, it would be cowardly of them to stay and enjoy whatever benefits they get for being associated with the party.

I know both Aspan and Sakmongkol personally, and virtually. When I read the tweets about Sak joining DAP from Jakarta yesterday, I wrote: "Why would DAP want to (accept)?". What I meant was: Look, we know Sak's writings, he is very critical of UMNO and Najib. Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong but most times, he is more critical - and makes more sense - than even Kit Siang. Can DAP tolerate someone like him?

In any case, whatever they choose to do, it's their right as citizens of this great democracy. I think we can respect that.

 Postings I've read on this:
The Malays of DAP by Bujai, Jan 4
Hutan Umno pada budi Melayu & Malays should not fear the DAP by Sakmongkol, Jan 3 and Jan 1
Sakmongkol and Aspan Alias to join DAP by Uppercaise, Jan 2
DAP merekrut Melayu yang bangkrap politik oleh Big Dog, Dec 29 2011

RPK's nail on Anwar Ibrahim's coffin

New Sunday Times, Jan 1 2012

Updated: 

The response from Anwaristas (a term RPK said he coined back in 98) is diarrhea.

Original posting
Bumped into Mr B, a political operative you might know at Bangsar Vill
age this morning. He had a copy of NST and an array of Tamil newspapers on his table at Starbucks, and I had just bought my NST and Utusan Malaysia from the Grocers'. We ordered coffee and talked about (what else?) the front page story: RPK calling Anwar Ibrahim irrelevant and saying things like "In Malaysia, you can't be a PM and a gay at the same time".

"What's up with RPK, you think they paid him?" Mr B asked me.

I said that's what they (the other "they") had said of RPK when in 2006 he was rendering his services to Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the former PM was being demonized by Kalimullah Hassan and other aides of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. I remember helping Zorro organised a meeting for a group of bloggers with Anwar at his office in PJ late that year. When someone (Big Dog, if I'm not mistaken) asked about his parting of ways with RPK, Anwar nonchalantly spoke of some people who thought he had stashed away tonnes of money after Dr M had sacked him and now that he was out of jail, released by Pak Lah, were hounding him for their share. Go figure what Anwar was trying to say about RPK! But politicians are like that, just before PRU12, Anwar and RPK patched up and the latter left Dr Mahathir to campaign for Pakatan Rakyat in the March 2008 general election.

And now RPK is saying these things about Anwar in BN-friendly newspapers. Under normal circumstances, it would have been an eye-opener but with the judgement of Anwar's sodomy trial due in just over a week, the interview RPK gave and published on the same day by NST, Berita Harian and Utusan Malayia is sensational.

Mr B thought (and I agreed with him) that it was one more nail in Anwar's coffin.

Excerpts from RPK's interview with NST h e r e.

Dan dari Utusan Malaysia di s i n i.