The "Brains" of Bolehland ...

"I feel offended ...

(Such trend) was influenced by 

the theories of liberalisation 

and human rights, 

to the extent that 

Bahasa was sidelined...
 Gapena will also be producing 
a 30-minute drama entitled 
'Tolol Bahasa' .... 
to poke fun at Malaysians”

~Prof Datuk Wira Dr Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar, Ketua II Gapena 

Gapena: Human rights causes decay in BM

Gapena expresses dismay over declining use of Malay language

 “Yang dipertua, yang dipertua, yang dipertua. 

I am a disciplined citizen. My party is disciplined” 

~Umno MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz, 
Umno MP withdraws ‘hang Ambiga’ remark

“I cannot confirm yet because 
Lynas has not submitted 
(its disposal plans) actually, 
because 
they are not required to do so until 
the temporary operating license (TOL) 
has been issued,” 

Dr Noor Hasnah Mohamed Khairullah, 

special adviser to the AELB director-general.

AELB can't confirm Lynas wastes will be shipped out

"If we have men marrying men, 

and women marrying women,
there will be no children.
One generation and the whole 

human race will be wiped out."

~Mahathir, on democracy/freedom

Dr M: Our democracy less false than US 

Treason? No! T’reason why she has stepped forward to lead BERSIH is to selflessly serve the people « The People's Parliament

"Hang Ambiga?

Hang us all then.

And for each of us hanged, 

another 100 will arise."
- Haris Ibrahim

Treason? No! T’reason why she has stepped forward to lead BERSIH is to selflessly serve the people « The People's Parliament

Animal Welfare Bill

********************

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress 

can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated."

~Gandhi

*************************

Last Tuesday, I had the privilege to attend a forum organised by the DVS on the proposed Animal Welfare Bill (please participate in the survey).
So while I congratulate the DVS for organizing this very healthy development, I have to apologize if I'm being cynical (after all the things we have seen in the recent past)- my concern was if was simply a talk-shop organized as a public relations exercise. Nevertheless- I attended, hoping for the best possible outcome.


The event began with the explanation of the draft of proposed bill by Dr. Quaza, after which the Q & A session started.
Truth be told, much of the concerns were addressed by the proposed bill- including the issue of abandonment, strays management, proper guidelines on pet/animal ownership, euthanasia, surgical mutilation of animals, slaughter, health etc.

Councillor Anthony from MBPJ (and also President of Pet Positive) queried if the enforcement agencies would be subject prosecution should they themselves violate the laws on animal cruelty. The reply seemed a little ambiguous ("they are all with the government"- so how?) although they affirmed that enforcers are definitely bound by the same laws.
IMO, a reply saying that an "ombudsman" can be appointed to oversee operations- would have been more constructive. After all, many contracted "dog-catchers" aren't exactly the sharpest minds around, nor are many of the local pounds 5-star Dog Hotels.

One another point- The proposed bill suggests that the animal has the right to shelter, food etc- but we have situations wherein dogs are abandoned by owners (creating strays) because certain developments forbid dog ownership based on the misinterpration of Pt II (d) of the Third Schedule of the "Strata Titles Act" (STA), which states that 

"A parcel proprietor shall not:- 

(d) keep any animal in his parcel or on the common property 

which may cause any annoyance to other proprietor"

Strangely, this above law seems to be applied only to dogs (there seems to be no issue with other straying animals, even if they scratched your cars, stole food from your kitchen, carried diseases or even pissed/ poo-ed in your house). I do not understand how "health authorities" (or the DVS) do not see straying cats which are known vectors, as a nuisance or health menace- and so not have licencing laws or guidelines for them.


Many councils in urban areas these days have chosen to have a "lazy" interpretation of the above prohibition (by conveniently neglecting the second half of the sentence- in bold above), and denying licences to dogs  in these communities- even if they weren't a nuisance to the neighbours in any way.
Some "enforcers" have even dragged animals away from their owners into pounds, and subjected them to the cruel fate of spending time in the very dirty/unhealthy local pounds. This has led to abandonment of dogs- which in turn compounds the problem of strays (which this law incidentally wants to address), which in turn becomes a social/health problem.
Do enforcers have a right to take a dog away from its master- even if the master complies with all the guidelines? I think not.
How does this law address such violations?
This is in fact, also partly what Councillor Anthony has queried of the Animal Welfare Bill.

We do know that people have dogs which are part of their family, disabled have service dogs, and many have dogs just as watchdogs. Many dogs are single master animals and are attached to their master/family for life. Just as man has the right to own an animal- dogs (in this case) in turn become attached their owners as their master. 
Aren't these animals entitled to have their master (wherever they may live) if the master complies with the guidelines? To deprive these animals of their master based on a "lazy" interpretation of the law, in my POV amounts to cruelty.

Gandhi once said, 

"The more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is 

to protection by man from the cruelty of man."

Therefore, this proposed "Animal Welfare Bill" not only should one to cover the proper conduct of man in owning/handling animals- but should also be able to educate and help man understand the animals he owns.
If it fails to protect the animal's right to be owned by its master- the law fails in this very fundamental role to protect the animal from the shortcomings of glib-minded humans.
I certainly hope the DVS would look into this matter seriously.

Lastly- I would like to once again congratulate the DVS for an excellent job at organizing the very constructive forum, to get feedback from the public. 

More such public consultations should be held from all departments/ministries before tabling of Bills in Parliament.
It is only in such a manner can we be called a progressive and participatory democracy.

The Custodians of ... "Our" Culture.

**********************

“It is not necessarily (our) culture; you have to look at the situation.

“What is important is that enough access to information,” 

~ Najib
*******************

It probably started with back when Mahathir was "the man" of Bolehsia. He regularly bandied about what he called "eastern values" which he defined in his authoritarian style of government. By his standards, the things he did were all, "Our Culture", and they were "noble values" which we had to abide by, whether we liked it or not. 

Of late, I have somehow been hearing it quite a bit- "... it is not in our culture to bla bla bla" (..... and here I was thinking all the while that "culture" is something which is fluid- not static as the politicians seem to think it is- and evolved perpetually with time due to various factors such as environment/ influences/ economy/ education). Every other person seems to know what is and isn't supposed to be - "OUR" culture.
Maybe it is a medical condition called "The Custodian Syndrome"- maybe there's a virus in the air or something .... I wouldn't know. Maybe they want to engineer a "new culture" of unthinking dullards in Malaysia (which they incidentally, have partially achieved with their "NEP" policies since Mahathir's time).

You get them in many different circles- from the man on the street, to the religious bigots, the moral police, the evangelists, the old folks, teachers, to the political elite (don't forget Mr. Yorais, himself).
And I wonder- just when did these people become the experts of "our culture". The word "OUR" here, is I believe, quite dangerous- because it lumps all of us together into one big group. It is not like all of us believe and practice the same things.

So, just what gives these "custodians of culture" the right to claim or determine what is, and what isn't "our culture".
Just what exactly are the determinants of "our" culture.
Can anybody define this so-called "our" culture on a national scale?
So once again- politicians have staked their claim to being the experts and "defenders" of "OUR Culture".

Now I'm beginning to wonder what exactly IS "our culture" ...
banning books/concerts/people/rallies/skirts?
Unquestioning loyalty/allegience to the buffoons who are apparently our political elite? Indoctrination of minors? The siege-mentality? 

Persecution of minorities? Racism? Religious Bigotry?
"Tongkat Ali"? Gender segregation?

Obsession with sex or polygamy or "skirts & what lies beneath"? 

Thuggery? A Police State? Fear? Fascism?

"Kugan-ising" suspects in custody? Bombing Mongolians?

Crony Capitalism? Corruption? Financial Scandals?
A lying media? Censorship? 

Having a screwed up EC?

**The quote (in bold at the top) was a comment by Najib when asked about having a public debate with Anwar.

Below is an article on The Malaysian Insider on the same topic:-

What is Malaysian culture? — Othman Wahab

June 22, 2012

JUNE 22 — Prime Minister Najib Razak says that there is no need for a debate with Anwar Ibrahim because debates are not part of the Malaysian culture. He is right, of course.
The following are part and parcel of Malaysian fabric and culture, and should be emulated by all citizens.
1) Plundering the country’s wealth through inflated contracts, toll concessions and one-sided privatisations deals.
2) Allowing Umno politicians and their children sweetheart deals and unfettered access to public funds through grants and loans.
3) Selling state secrets to foreign arms companies, earning huge kickbacks in commission and then pretending that nothing is amiss.
4) Unleashing the power of the police on ordinary Malaysians, firing nearly 1,000 tear gas canisters at taxpayers’ expense, beating up journalists, and then asserting that maximum restraint was used.
5) Living beyond our means. Ministers have done this for years, living way beyond their pay scale and, now, the government is encouraging Malaysians to do so. How? By spending and spending like there is no tomorrow. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is way past the 55 per cent threshold.
6) It is part of our daily culture for women to be robbed and live in fear of snatch thieves, for crime to alter the way of life, and then have some bean counter in Pemandu to roll out some discredited crime statistic. Malaysians should just go with the flow and accept whatever Putrajaya says. After all, Idris Jala did turn around Malaysia Airlines.
7) Having to tolerate Liow Tiong Lai, M. Kayveas, Khaled Nordin, and Muhyiddin Yassin, and accept them as leaders while at the same time witnessing their displays of ineptitude.
8) Stomaching the tales spun by Utusan Malaysia, NST, TV3, the Star and other crooked media. Yes, it is part of Malaysian culture for mainstream journalists to write fiction.
* Othman Wahab reads The Malaysian Insider.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider

Riot Control- Bolehsia Style.

******************************** ********************************

Erna Mahyuni - I can see Russia from Putrajaya @ Wed Jun 20 2012

Main - Opinion - Erna Mahyuni - I can see Russia from Putrajaya @ Wed Jun 20 2012

From London with love:- A Reply to UMNO Youth

Hiu Woong-Sin
Malaysiakini
May 25, 2012

An open reply to Umno Youth’s challenge to a debate published in The
Star over my ‘heckling’ of PM Najib Razak in London:

Dear Khairun Aseh,

There is enough evidence on YouTube to substantiate my act of chanting
“Bersih” (during Najib’s event in London). I do not know what other
evidence you require from me to substantiate what I did.

If you wish to understand what Bersih is all about, there’s plenty of
information and evidence provided by the organisation’s steering
committee online.

Rather than debate with me about Bersih wouldn’t it make more sense
for you to publicly engage with its steering committee? A principled
government will engage with civil society groups like Bersih instead
of using the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 to suppress civil dissent.

I am aware that my actions have attracted numerous responses through
media and social network.
Your challenge to me is but an act of redemption for your president
and an act that avoids a loss of face for Umno.

In other words, your challenge is just another public relation stunt
for that party and it will not benefit the Malaysian taxpayers who had
already paid for the PM’s promotional stunt in London.

My actions were grounded on the moral conviction that, in a democracy
I am entitled to freedom of expression. I acted upon my obligation as
a Malaysian citizen to make reasonable demands for a free and fair
electoral system.

The Rakyat are well aware that all legitimate channels for demanding
Free and Fair Elections have been exhausted.
Yet the government continues to use the mainstream media to manipulate
the Rakyat in claiming that it has addressed Bersih’s demands.

If the government has shown any sincerity in addressing its demands,
the political blunder on the amendment to the Election Offences Act
would not have happened in the first place.

Needless to say, the government under Najib’s watch has again failed
to protect the welfare of Malaysian citizens when our heartfelt
request for ‘duduk bantah’ at Dataran Merdeka was met with extreme
police brutality.

The London 02 protest was a legitimate act of citizenship because
chanting Bersih was the only way left to get the message across to a
prime minister who shies away from dialogue, yet continues to
intimidate dissenting voices.

Civil disobedience is a non-violent act of protest and was not
intended to insult or humiliate the PM. On the question of what is
Malaysian and un-Malaysian, Umno cannot claim it is on a moral high
ground on the subject of ethical conduct.
Ethical conduct involves a fundamental respect for the law, and our
conduct at the London O2 did not contravene the legal codes in the UK
or even in Malaysia.

We voiced our discontent and it stopped there. Whereas the acts of
public humiliation that Umno and Perkasa undertook in mounting
personal attacks against other public figures of the opposition,
undermines fundamental ethics of political conduct, going as far as
invading an individual’s right to privacy.

If such public intimidation can be engineered against public figures,
what’s going to stop Umno from bullying an ordinary fellow like me?

Democracy allows dissenting voices to be heard and when we express our
discontent within the remit of the law, it becomes very undemocratic
of Umno to use the machinery of the government to bully individual
citizens.
This clearly contradicts Najib’s slogan of ‘Rakyat Didahulukan’. Umno
no longer has the moral credentials to have any say about
‘mannerisms’.

After more than five decades in power, the ruling party has choked
freedom with the politics of fear. On a final note, Najib offered to
speak to me after the event. Hence I do not want to waste my time
debating with Umno Youth.

Najib can hide behind Umno Youth; unleash his institutional prowess
through the might of youthful minions. But how long is Najib going to
hide? The prime minister needs to answer the call of Bersih and to be
sincere about this subject.

I am prepared to face the court of public opinion for my conduct, and
I leave it to the public to reflect upon the political conduct and
aims of Umno Youth for instigating an unwarranted challenge. Thank you
for listening to me.

…and then there was Paulino Miranda « The People's Parliament

…and then there was Paulino Miranda « The People's Parliament

And who is Paulino Miranda, you ask?

Read about him in the Malaysianinsider.

A man of the cloth who walks the talk.

In Bolehland, "Hurt" = "DEATH"??!!

Deaths in custody - the hurt lock-up

S Thayaparan 8:06AM Jun 16, 2012

"Jail's no home for the truth." - Carandiru


COMMENT Three years is not a long time. Here in Malaysia, it's just a year short of how long a regime can legitimately hold on to power before it needs to hold an election to get the endorsement of the voting public to remain in power.

Three years for ‘causing hurt' to A Kugan is what an officer of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) received.

The truth will never be known in this case or in the hundreds or perhaps even thousands of others who have suddenly died in police custody, immigrant detention camps, police shootouts and jails over the years. We will never know the anguish of families of those killed or who have died in custody due to negligence.

We may share their sense of outrage but our outrage is diluted with our disdain for the systemic corruption that permeates every level of government.

Our outrage in some cases is also dependent on the guilt of the parties involved. We are indifferent to the fates of convicted inmates and the unsanitary (and most often criminally negligent) conditions they are housed in when it is the responsibility of the state to administer their welfare.

Our parasitic relationship with ‘foreigners', legal or otherwise, does not leave much room for empathy when it comes to their welfare while in custody for whatever reasons.

And before anyone accuses me of conflating various issues of our penal and enforcement systems, let me remind you that to this system, everyone who died is guilty or at least that is the presumption.

And like many Malaysians of a certain class (and perhaps because of my previous professions) my interactions with the PDRM has been positive for the most part - so-called illegal rallies excluded - but personal anecdote has no place in the face of the historical and current corruption of the system.

The Kugan case like most flashpoints when it comes to the PDRM or any of the enforcement branches of the state reveals simmering race and class tensions that are so often glossed over in this country.

This case in particular is perhaps the most cogent example of the state's disdain for the rights of its citizens.


More here

WE are the cause of it all.

"It was my silence that has brought us here. 

It was your silence too. 

It is our silence that has made this land groan under our feet. 

We are the cause Malaysia suffers. 

We are the reason our rich and poor divide widens. 

We are the reason we practice a civilised, governmentally endorsed racism." 

(This is circulating around FB and turned up in my inbox)

WHAT does it mean to be Malaysian? For CW Vong, it was growing up listening to tales of corruption and racism. But  does the recent rise of civil society movements signal times are changing – as are the people?

Photo: TV Smith

Dear Malaysians,

Recently, I watched some Bersih videos on YouTube. I have been avoiding watching them and reading articles related to the rally because such news often makes me feel depressed. Perhaps I should have stuck to my habits because I found myself extraordinarily shaken after watching these videos.

I did not go to the Bersih rally here in Melbourne. I have not, in any way, ever lent support to any political organisation in Malaysia, be it those currently in office or their opposition. Admittedly, I do not know if my name and identity card number has been used to vote without my knowledge – which is always a possibility in my country. Personally, I have never seen the inside of a voting booth. I have avoided matters of a political nature regarding my country my entire life.
‘Why?’ you ask. Because, truth be told, I have never believed that my country could change and that it was worth sticking out my neck for. Mr Anwar Ibrahim is only the most famous of many who have been through the ISA. I have kept silent. And so have many of you. So why should I be so emotionally charged after watching a demonstration video?

Malaysians, let me tell you my story. Your story might not be the same as mine – I do hope it is kinder – but this is what I learned about Malaysia as I grew up:
When I was about 11-years-old, I came back to Penang after my family had lived in Glasgow, Scotland, for four years. I came back with a strong Scottish accent, a smattering of our national language, Bahasa Melayu, and I was completely unable to speak Chinese, my own mother tongue.

Linguistically, life was a challenge. In Scotland, I had faced some racism in the form of a scuffle or two with children in the playground, since I was the only yellow dot in a sea of white. But otherwise, I had been left reasonably unscathed. The form of racism I met with in Malaysia was more insidious – and possibly more harmful.

As I attended primary school, my relatives were quick to warn me about the two other major races, the Indians and the Malays. Indians were labelled as “sneaky” and “untrustworthy”. Today, I still meet the odd Chinese uncle who will quote at me possibly the most racist quote I have ever come across: “If you meet an Indian and a snake on the road, you hit the Indian first.”’
Malays, on the other hand, were labelled as the lazy bunch. Stupid and lazy. My elders told me if ever a Malay achieved anything academically, he must have either Indian or Chinese blood mixed in him somewhere. How seriously was I to take these statements? I am still unsure. As a child from a Confucian culture, you were meant to nod and accept everything your seniors told you.

I wonder how the other two races view us Chinese. I had an Indian friend confess to me once that he and his mates would share stories with each other, howling in laughter, about the Chinese they had just cheated in some recent transaction. Was it some form of vengeance?
I also once read a poem, from one of our school textbooks no less, about a Malay grandfather telling his grandchildren about Hari Raya, the Muslim new year. In the poem, the grandfather makes mention of how they would go to town and buy fireworks from Chinese traders for exorbitant prices. But, he said, it was alright to be cheated by the Chinese just that one time a year, for the sake of Hari Raya.

How strange it was to continue the next few years making friends with these two other races. In fact, because I could not speak Chinese or any of its dialects, my best friends were often either Malay or Indian, with whom I could communicate in English without shame.

Photo: Tekkaus

Why didn’t my elders ever tell me that Indians were one of the most fun races ever to be around? That if you wanted to throw a good party, invite some Indians to run it and they will show you the real meaning of a good time? Why did they never tell me that Malays have one of the most welcoming, caring and comfortable cultures I would ever come across? That if a Malay becomes your friend, you are his brother? Why did they never tell me of the wisdom you could gain by fasting with a Muslim through the month of Ramadan?

At age twelve, real tragedy struck. I became subject to the racial preferential treatment that my government had been practicing for thirty years. I scored decently for my UPSR (the end of primary school exams) with 3As and a B but was denied entry into the most prestigious secondary school in my state, Penang Free School.

Meanwhile, some of my Malay classmates were entering this school with strings of Cs and Ds on their result cards. Looking back, I realise that at 12, I did not comprehend the gravity of the situation. Nor did I fully understand the frustration of my parents. Perhaps the silent racism of the generations before me was not entirely unvalidated. Perhaps the racial preference reinforced by the government had deeper ramifications than we think. How are we to measure these things?

My story ends well though, as years later I would have the grace of academia to win an ASEAN scholarship to Singapore and be blessed to have parents who could provide me with the finances to study in Melbourne, Australia. I feel pained for those forsaken by our country’s system – those who could have received the necessary tertiary education to bolster their careers and put them in a strong position to contribute to society.
I have stayed here in Australia almost ten years now and currently work in a suburb called St. Albans. St. Albans is an interesting suburb because of its muliculturalism. There are Sudanese, Vietnamese, Albanians, Greeks, Italians, Chinese, Indians, Slovakians, Romanians, Ukrainians and many others besides.

While it might be pushing it to say they live in completely harmony, there is at least an honesty in their dealings with each other. They like and dislike openly. Could we at home in Malaysia co-exist were we to be honest with each other? Or is silence the only way we are to survive, pleasantly singing Negaraku while black marking each other behind backs?

Multicultural Malaysia? Photo: Fendy Zaidan

I learned many things growing up that I was taught never to say aloud. As mentioned, I knew that to trust or befriend any Indian or Malay too closely was seen as a foolish act. It always made me laugh, though, that the Chinese trust each other only as far as they can throw a rock.
As a student, I knew that my government would give someone else better opportunities than I on the grounds of his skin colour. Out of hours, school teachers would whisper to me that they knew for a fact exam results were doctored according to race. After all, how did a weak, recalcitrant student who had been barely scraping passes through school suddenly produce an A in an official exam?

As a student, I was told that the education system was shoddy, which is why we practiced mathematics from Singaporean work books. Many people viewed teachers as stupid and incompetent. Being a teacher was the worst career you could choose according to anyone who was not a teacher, and only those who were incapable of anything else became teachers. This was strange to toggle in my head, having an auntie who is a teacher and pretty good at what she does.

As a teenager, the horizon darkened, as I was told that there were those who had scored straight A’s in their exams but denied entry into university because of racial quotas.
I learned that if you wanted to escape a traffic fine, you kept RM50 ready to pay the policeman a bribe. I learned that if you wanted to make sure you kept your shop lot safe from vandalism, it was a good idea that when your local police station called you up to contribute several thousand dollars for their annual dinner, you did not deny them. I learned that if you delivered the baby of a police officer, you did not charge them the surgery cost.

I learned that if you wanted to open a business you needed a Malay partner. I learned that the government was full of Malays and it was hinted that all they did all day sometimes was photocopy a few papers, and if they had to do any real work like serve you at a post office counter they would pull a long face. I learned at the post office a sign instructed you to wish the counter person good morning. But once I did wish them good morning, I was lucky to receive a grunt in response, reinforcing my low opinion of them.

I was taught that our highways were dangerous, heavily taxed and that all the bus and truck drivers were on drugs while driving. Most bus and truck drivers were Malay or Indian. I learned that you could get stolen goods that “fell” off the back of these trucks if you knew the right person. That person could be a doctor of a well established private hospital. That doctor was Chinese.

I learned that the states in the north were governed by Muslim fanatics and were being trained to get involved with the troubles of the Middle East. I knew that corruption happened and that we lost millions if not billions of dollars a year to it. I knew my country was held together by a strained tolerance and that our unity was a farce to cover up a precariously balanced economical functionality. I knew of friends and family who had suffered because of these things, unable to earn a living or cheated of money and recognition.

I was told the elections were a farce and I had many strange letters to unknown people coming into my mailbox during elections. These people were known as “phantom voters” and I suspect were already deceased. I knew that in my household, we did not bother to turn on my television to know the election results. I had learned that not only would my country not care for me, worse, it would put me down for the sake of some unknown person hoarding power and wealth somewhere up the political chain.

I knew myself and many others were fleeing the country because we were scared of these things and we wanted a better life elsewhere. I knew that my country and those not as fortunate as myself would suffer because I and others were leaving them behind, taking our talent and contribution with us.

Election posters in Little India, Malaysia. Photo: Oliver Laumann

I knew these things and I have kept silent all this while. So have many of you. Because how could these things change? How could we say anything and not receive repercussions? What and who did we owe to justify us making a stand and a sacrifice for these things? So best we let our country be.

Best we let it rot and die.
Our beautiful country of Malaysia.

Have you ever truly thought about how beautiful our country is? Have you felt the soft white sands of Langkawi and felt the breeze driving in from the Indian Ocean? Have you stood in a darkened room and heard the tropical storms thunder overhead and lash with ferocity as the clouds move in from the South China Sea? Have you ever pondered the silhouette of our mountain ranges and felt the call of the wild and ancient jungles thrum through the air? Have you felt the fragility of the species we hold in our hands, the tapir and the orang utan and the Sumatran tiger – creatures that, if we are not careful, will soon be fossils and pictures in children’s books? Do you comprehend the riches of the earth our country has been blessed with? Fertile land for farming, lush jungles for lumber, rubber and palm oil, and the black gold of the earth from our coasts.

Have you just stood in the middle of a sweaty, smoke filled hawker centre and marvelled at the banquet of smells and tastes before you? Such a fantastic palate, that I have never heard a single foreigner complain of it. Have you looked at the faces buzzing around you in our shopping malls, and known the immense weight of history and tradition we carry from the mighty civilisations that emerged from the holy Ganges River, the vast Yangtze River and the archipelago of Southeast Asia? Do you wonder at our wonderful tapestries, the gongs and chants from the temples, the smells of incense, the flash and colour of our parades, the solemn call of mosques in the evenings, hundreds of dances and song, more religious festivals than any country in the world, our languages and our rich historical inheritance?
As unpatriotic as any of us could be, how could we not love Malaysia?

The hawker centre at Gurney Drive in Penang, Malaysia. Photo: Sookie

When I watched the Bersih videos, it was not just the political movement that got me. I agree fully with the call for fair and clean elections. But what was overpowering, was seeing thousands of people, of every age, of every colour, from every segment of society, from all walks of life, come together and say, “We care. We will not let this country rot and die.”

I never believed I would see such a thing. I never believed my people, a people that did not trust each other and insulted each other in silence, could ever really unite. Yet here they were, standing together in the streets, getting beaten up and having water sprayed at them. Hurting. But united. So from their hope of a better future, from their faith in each other to stand as one over a country they love and their love for the land and its people, I too draw faith and hope and love.

Malaysians, our time is short. The world changes faster and faster everyday and as the old Chinese curse would have it, we live in interesting times. Today, Europe, that was once the mightiest power on earth, threatens to topple spectacularly. America, the world’s super power, is fearful of its own internal workings. And the Chinese dragon shifts restlessly from slumber. Our world has been globalising for decades now and that pace has simply accelerated. The world is tense and troublesome enough to navigate without our own internal strife.

Our economy has been sluggish and in recession for two decades now. While times were good, we could make up for the corruption of our country. But now there is no more leeway for such activities. Our corruption must stop. And let us not just point at our politicians, although they have much to answer for. Let us not just point at our policemen, as easy as they may be to target.

It was my silence that has brought us here. It was your silence too. It is our silence that has made this land groan under our feet. We are the cause Malaysia suffers. We are the reason our rich and poor divide widens. We are the reason we practice a civilised, governmentally endorsed racism. We are the reason our rainforests are dying and smog blankets our atmosphere. We are the reason so many of us do not return to our own country and instead hope to live in foreign lands.

Photo: Shock Tempo

Malaysians, can you change? 
It will be difficult and we are working against decades of culture and practice. There will be, and have already been, casualties in multiple arenas. There will be a price to pay for the way we have lived. May others, with more wisdom than I, find the way through to a better future.


But as long as we keep our silence, our country will suffer. 
May whatever powers that govern our universe have mercy upon us.

Yours sincerely,

Vong

"Social Contract" = The Magna Carta?? ROTFLOL- the mouth does move faster than the brain ...

"It is now a done deal, a fait accompli, something that has come to pass and cannot be reversed because it has already ended and no longer exists. The Social Contract is not there anymore. What is there is the product of that Social Contract. And that would be the government that we have, the Constitution that we have, the Constitutional Monarchy that we have, the Parliament that we have, the elections that we have, and so on.

Some of you are saying that this Social Contract is a thing of the past and something that people long gone and dead agreed upon and the present generation should not be bound by it.

Do you know what you are saying? You are saying that we abolish elections, abolish Parliament, give back absolute powers to the Rulers, cancel the citizenship of all the non-Malays, and so on. Are you utterly mad or do you not understand how Malaysia came into being?"
~RPK

===========================


Okay- so it "exists" - but only in the form of what transpired in history, in the imagination ... UMNO's "history" modified as and when they please.
However- All I know is, the closest thing we have to a "social contract" are the Reid/Cobbold Commission Report and the Federal Constitution is all there is to speak of it- nothing more.
Anything read in the Federal Constitution should be read along with these reports- because it articulated all there was in the so-called "social contract" they (UMNO/MCA/MIC) made while they partied together.
Those are the rules of engagement. Period.


So RPK is now mouthing the "Social Contract" as if it was a document!!
He speaks of it as though he knows what  exactly transpired- beyond the above mentioned documents!!

He is trying to manipulate people into believing that what UMNO (aka Tunku, Razak and other Malay elitists) discussed while drinking some Scotch, over cigars or over some Nasi Lemak, or having a piss together - constitutes a "Social Contract" equivalent to the MAGNA CARTA of England, by which we are supposed to live our lives!!!!


He is actually comparing a non-existent entity to the Magna Carta!!!
That's like comparing a wheel-barrow to a Ferrari!! 
Talk about the mouth moving faster than the brain .... *sigh*.
Here, it seems like shit flies out of RPK's mouth faster than anything else!!

*****************************

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta

Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions. The later versions excluded the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority that had been present in the 1215 charter. The charter first passed into law in 1225; the 1297 version, with the long title (originally in Latin) The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest, still remains on the statute books of England and Wales.

************************************************

Next he will be equating UMNO's "struggle/fight for independence" to India's fight for Independence or Mandela's struggle fighting Apartheid!!


Okay- so it "exists" - but only in the form of what transpired in history, in imagination ... UMNO's "history" modified as and when they please.
However- All I know is, the closest thing we have to a "social contract" are the Reid/Cobbold Commission Report and the Federal Constitution is all there is to speak of it- nothing more.
Those are the rules of engagement. Period.

Wouldn't be surprised if RPK comes around mouthing some Ketuanan Melayu sh#t very soon.