Right ON, Pete!! Welcome, MCLM!!!

The MCLM (Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement) has been officially launched in London - many thanks to RPK, Haris Ibrahim & guys.
Latest entry on MCLM in MT is as follows:-

The MCLM membership is now open. If you have registered earlier we hope you can register again. Unfortunately there was a computer glitch and we were not able to capture your application earlier.

Please go here to register: http://mclm.org.uk/join-us.html

MCLM's First KL Public Forum will be as follows:-

Date : 21st December, 2010

Time : 7.30pm

Venue : First Floor, KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

Speakers :

1. Haris Ibrahim

2. Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

3. Andrew Yong (Malaysian Overseas Votes)

4. The second independent candidate

Allow me to state here that I support this noble endeavor - simply because it provides for a better Malaysia should it work. I'll be registering myself as a member as soon as I manage to finish reading up on it- becos I have had the fortune to speak to Haris Ibrahim personally to discuss about the plan they have, and therefore understand what they wish to achieve.
(Actually, I myself didn't understand it all too well initially, until my questions were answered by Haris personally-although some doubts do remain). My confidence has been boosted further by the announcement that Malik Imtiaz is the first candidate to offer himself for "National Service".

The question remains though, if it is really "workable" considering the "hostile" environment around in Malaysia.

While I definitely agree that it is a brilliant idea, I'm a little sceptical about the workability of the idea among a very "politically primitive" (for lack of a better word right now) electorate & politicians (yes- our politicians are nothing but "Neanderthals", especially when they spout "Ketuanan Melayu" to the detriment of the nation). Politically- they're all the same (that's a generalization, okay- don't charge me for sedition or insulting someone okay ...). As I said earlier - Malaysians are really political simpletons - right from the PhDs to the Alam Flora guy, to the clerics, to the doctors, engineers & lawyers, to the to the kiasu fella who wants to make a fast buck. The "awakening" didn't happen until 308 - and now they're still in a blur. (Evidence of that abounds all around us - even in the MT comments section- and I'd say that they're still better than many on the street).
Since they have only started thinking about politics & the nation, all the misinformation & spin in the media is beginning to "overwhelm" them. Malaysians are generally easily manipulated by the media and lack faith in their power to change things for the better- even though they have actually started to think. Many are confused, some fed-up, others frustrated.

Our politicians- as RPK put it, high-school students would put our parliamentarians to shame. Most of them are fit to be street hawkers - but instead, are today hawking away the nation's resources by their sheer stupidity. Many cringe in shame when their antics are mentioned by foreigners- while the politicians accuse "non-Malays" of being unpatriotic or accuse others of shaming the country abroad.

When our politicians appeal to the lowest denominator to seek support among insecure racists, or make vulgar signs in signs, or spout vulgar language in parliament, preach bigotry, support child marriages .... When the media proudly publishes Muhyiddin passing stupid remarks like "we will not provide federal allocations to opposition held constituencies" while they collect taxes (that's daylight extortion/blackmail!!), or death in Police custody is covered up, or the Chief Justice Tun Zaki announces laws which offer "discounts" on sentences to those who plead guilty disregarding the Executive and other "leaders" remain silent about it - it is difficult to blame the "average joe" for being confused, frustrated, disgusted, angry or losing faith.

Many still don't understand that the purpose of these MCLM "sponsored" candidates is to change this very disease perpetuated by an UMNO which is corrupt to the core- not that PKR isn't learning real fast from them. Many don't understand that to change to political culture, we need "quality" in parliament - those who can be "Wakil Rakyat" instead of "Wakil Parti" as RPK put it. We need to have pool of intellects who are capable of articulating ideas that can prevent the same rot from setting in to Pakatan Rakyat - more specifically, PKR.

[Nobody can be blamed for being sceptical of PKR's ability to govern when they are "small" & is practically chaotic (of course- fueled by the negative publicity and the many bushfire created by the "Umno-ites"). Although they fight on a more palatable platform, it would be safe to say that PKR hasn't left the UMNO/BN mold- and after the long lasting euphoria of success on 308, the rot is beginning to set in. It is a known fact that there still are the much cliched "trojans" within- simply because the leadership "let the cat out of the bag" before they surfaced. Even if they weren't, they are actually disillusioned "hard-core" Umno-ites in heart & mind - and they need to be weeded out.]

Here is a comment I got on FB from a friend:

"but I still see some people think that Barisan Rakyat is still a THREAT to PR!!!
They do not understand the whole idea of MCLM and think it is juz
"RPK got nothing to do, so he started this". I really don't understand.
Why they do not know how to THINK? Why, why, why.."
~SanJiun 善君 , on Facebook

SanJiun- don't be so harsh. I really don't blame them la .... to vote for a "non-partisan & independent" candidate on a Pakatan Rakyat (or maybe even BN) ticket- it is a "very complex" concept for people to understand, when they don't even understand their own rights, and believe that much of the exploitation by political/bureaucratic warlords are perfectly fine.
Some people think MCLM is a political party meant to "throw PR out". Politicians with self-interests view it as a threat to their political future- more so the corrupt ones.
Y'see- as RPK says, our YBs think their job is to be "wakil parti" as opposed to being the "wakil rakyat" they're elected to be- and the people too have come to believe that.
Let's hope that will change, with the advent of MCLM.

Maybe Haris & RPK didn't quite articulate themselves well, to allow people to understand. As it is, Malaysians are politically naive- to make matters worse, our political scene is pretty chaotic & confusing to the average man on the street. Now you throw in a new concept of civil society speaking for itself, and people will go "WHAAT?!".
Maybe the ideas need to be stripped of the "hi-fi" concepts, and made clear to the average joe/pakcik/makcik/Muthu/AhBeng/Ali in simple terms. Or else, with the power of the party machinery & media, opposing forces (on both sides) can easily twist things to complicate matters from a legal perspective .... that is my only concern.

But still- this is a very bold effort by our patriots, and they deserve our full participartion and support.

Response to Waytha ....

"We in Hindraf/HRP are in no hurry. We are prepared to wait another 53 years if it means ultimately getting a true democratic country. After all, the blacks in America fought a “war” for more than 200 years to be recognised as equal citizens. The Indians fought another 250 years to gain independence. It took centuries for the French to be rid of the monarchy."
- Waythamoorthy

Dear Waytha,
This letter I write is in respose to the letter "WILL PAKATAN COMMIT TO A ROADMAP FOR TRUE DEMOCRACY" which you wrote.
It is really touching to note that you are so much into human rights. It is also touching to note that you wish to have all that you speak of through PR, despite not coming out in support of it.

Yes, yes- we know all this crap you speak of when you need the spotlight.
I can do the same too.
Firstly, I wish to ask of you to stop blowing your horn about HINDRAF's past "flash in the pan" - which came after the Bersih rally which was attended by Malaysian from all walks of life (as opposed to your HINDRAF) rally.
These delusions of grandeur you have isn't helping you one bit, mate!!!

How is it that you claim that the "tsunami" of 308 is because of the Hindraf Rally?
Are you saying that the people of Malaysia were in awe of the "courage" of Hindrafians, and so "fell in line"?
If that was the case, I'm Abraham Lincoln.

Where was Hindraf when BN sold the Kg Buah Pala land?
Where was Hindraf when civil society was fighting for a fairer election?
Get off your high horse, and come down to earth and face reality- You cannot fight this war alone!!!
If it was not for PR- Uthayakumar would probably be in jail.....
If it was not for PR, all your Kg Buah Pala folks would probably have been sitting quietly like church mice in some nook or cranny, while BN was selling out on them (as they did, when THEY sold the land!!).
While you come around pointing fingers at PR, bear in mind Waytha- that you wouldn't have had the publicity and the voice you seek- IF IT WAS NOT FOR PR!!

I would also like to remind you that HINDRAF had issued a statement in support of the UMNO/BN government (but only disapproves of the MIC leadership!!!)- even immediately after being blasted with chemically laced water, and whacked silly by the FRU on November 25, 2007.
Yes- you guys did that- hoping that you'll get some lollipops from the BN/UMNO Govt to serve your narrow and myopic sectarian agenda.What happened to all these litany of demands you make of PR today, back then when you were "supportive of the Govt, but protest the "Indian" leadership in Govt?

Suddenly, after the Hindraf rally, your balls swelled up so big after getting kicked by UMNO, that you cannot see if your feet are on the ground, is it?
You complain and whine like a child about how PR is "coalition without adequate mutual understanding"- but what have you done to make things any better?
What have you done to wrest power away from UMNO which has been persecuting a whole generation of the people you claim to represent?
Your hypocrisy here, is at best nauseating- just as your sectarian agenda.

You Waytha- don't understand that you play the game UMNO wants you to- the sectarian platform.
You Waytha- are so myopic, that you do not see how you can achieve what you ask of from PR (and probably more), IF ONLY you stood with them and understood the working of the system.
You Waytha- know that the State govts cannot do much when certain matters were decided by the previous govt or the federal govt.
You Waytha- should know that PR- warts and all - can only do the things you ask of it if it gets to Putrajaya.
You Waytha- should come down to Malaysia and tell us whether you wish for an UMNO Govt in perpetuity, or wish to ride on a hope for change through civil society & PR.
Of course- you also have the option of waiting for 200-300 yrs (as the African Americans, French or Indians you mentioned) for the "struggle" you wage from afar, while your countrymen suffer as a result of being convinced that they're "Indians" in Malaysia ....

Waytha- get one thing straight- those who fight for reform, know that we are in it for the long haul, and don't expect changes overnight. In fact, I think I can safely say that I do not belive that the changes can be fully implemented in our lifetime. The damage done to the very fabric of society over the yrs of Mahathir rule will take a generation to repair (if at all).
But we can try- for the sake of our children ..... nothing more.

Waytha- are you with us? Or against us?
Make your stand now, UTHAYA- or forever stop the hogwash!!!

Azmi Sharom- The Man with the Tochang and His Ideas ....

(He once mentioned at an anti-ISA gathering at MBPJ (at the height of the "Free RPK" movement, that he hopes that the new complex being built in Kamunting for "Hotel Kamunting" will have a gym ......)

Azmi Sharom, human being
Written by straits-mongrel

Dr Azmi Sharom will speak this evening (Sat, Oct 30) at this month's SABM Dinner Lecture, an event that is sold out. A couple of months earlier, we met the man in his office at Universiti Malaya in the hope of uncovering what makes this soul tick

Candid: A scowl begins to escape when Azmi talks about racism.

YOU know him as the law academic with the semi-tochang hairstyle, those piercing eyes framed in black plastic; eyes that can burn a bigot in a flash. You probably remember his bold pieces in Brave New World, his fortnightly column in The Star (The Real Social Contract, We must never allow the mob to rule, Under Threat? What Threat?).

One of academia's few good men, many say. He's a brave one, echo others.

The man rolls his eyes. "What's so extreme about what I do anyway? Look, the stuff that matter to me - human rights, equality, fundamental liberties - these are values of a human being. I'm just being human. Being human! I don't carry a bomb, I'm not plotting a coup, I don't come anywhere near being a threat to national security."

Welcome to the world of Azmi Sharom, where in crisp humour-laced lines, it's a given that a spade is called a spade. The main question is what are you going to do about it.

"All too often we hear racists stepping up to make announcements - tuntutan ni, tuntutan tu - and we get all flustered," he observes in a frown. "We can't let these types dictate how we feel. If some bigot says 'Go back to where you belong', a whole bunch of us end up moping in one corner and feel all hurt.

"But why should we care?" he asks incredulously, his head slightly cocked.

"It should be 'We're born here. We belong here, equally as much as you. Equal, geddit?' That's how it oughta be. There's just not enough of standing up to these people. Take charge of your lives, folks.

"Sure it's not easy - there're two tiers where racism is perpetuated. One, it's in the institutions - it's embedded in government policies; you've read all about them especially in the alternative news. I needn't elaborate on that; it's boring. Two, personal attitude. This one's insidious. It lurks inside so many of us. The very same people who cry out against racism bear racist tendencies themselves. You just need to listen to conversations to know what I mean.

"We can fight both, and we should. We need to take possession of our lives again. And mean what we say, for crying out loud."

Inspiration for a good fight: Bruce Lee memorabilia tells quite a bit about the man:).

Azmi's office in the Law Faculty of University Malaya reveals an organised person - books and folders have their place yet they sit in spontaneous fashion, not ordered like soldiers. Looking about, you also catch the man's sense of humour and his life's pace - there's a South Park 60's-style alarm clock that shows 11:36 and 46 sec. It's stopped. On the wall above the door hangs another clock. It's stopped too. And Azmi doesn't wear a watch. Time has ceased being a linear arrow, it seems; what's to hurriedly measure about time anyway?

"These changes we seek, they're not going to happen overnight. But as more and more citizens get informed about human rights and equality, we will see that ethnicity doesn't matter any more.

"In my own case, it took me years to burn that away," says the Environmental Law specialist. "Today I don't give a hoot about it anymore. But it took time. I grew up in Penang. My parents are apolitical - there was no politics on the dinner table - but, you know, ethnicity is everywhere. It's always at the back of the mind, a bothersome bug.

"Of course, the good thing about growing up in Penang is you cannot date if you're a racist. I mean, Chinese girls were everywhere," his mischievous side shows.

Just souvenirs: "Hey, they are wrongful only if I use them. Nothing wrong in owning them. You got to know your rights."

The dare-to-think side of Azmi we know today was forged on foreign soil.

"My dad sent me to the UK to do my 6th Form - his personal funds by the way. Two key lessons I learned. I remember the teachers being openly critical of government policies. We were in Economics class, and the teacher was rationally ripping apart Thatcher's tax policies. I learned that there was nothing wrong with being critical. When rational it is, in fact, constructive.

"The second was getting engaged in honest conversations with other Malaysians of different background. A friend, half-Indian ethnicity, basically told me this: 'We just want to be equal'."

Sheffield University, where Azmi would go on to read Law, was also a plough to the young man's newly-tilled mind. "Sheffield was left-wing. There was a lot of discussion about fundamental justice and human rights issues. I was very exposed to different 'right' views with regards to the law. Generally, the premise was there has to be a strong sense of Justice. This I try to apply in my own teaching."

More than an education, Azmi also borrowed other aspects of Sheffield U's bohemian lifestyle. ("Guys, you got to have a life.") He jams in a band.

Loyal buddy: The guitar sits close by his desk, and there's no dust on it too.

"Please, to begin with, I don't have a band. Rather, my friends tolerate me in the group. But yes, music is a good outlet. I still play futsal too," says the man who tried one year of law practice and hated it. "I make space for recreation. Maybe it's easier for me as an academician to find the time, but hey, the lawyers have faster cars. They can get to places faster."

And as an academic in a public institution, might there be boundaries where he's prevented from venturing? "Honestly, I haven't been in a situation where I have to hold back. Of course, you need to know your rights. And your parameters. You need to stay informed."

And a parting advice for the concerned citizen: "Internalise. Really internalise the good stuff. All those questions about equality, they can only be answered by someone who truly lives by it. It's as simple as this, 'If I am a human being, how can I be treated otherwise? Equally so, how can I treat others otherwise?'."

And you realise there's really nothing extreme in what Azmi Sharom is saying. It's all fundamental.

Human being stuff.

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Now what, Anwar/PKR/Azmin?

Will Azmin dare lead the PKR charge in Batu Sapi?
~ The People’s Parliament

October 25, 2010

Anwar’s blog carries a post entitled ‘Ansari bawa harapan rakyat Batu Sapi’.

I’m hearing differently from my sources in Sabah.

I’m hearing that on the ground, Ansari is perceived as handpicked to serve, not the people of Batu Sapi, but Azmin’s agenda in Sabah.

What’s that agenda?

“Let Azmin come and tell Sabahans what his plans are for Sabah when he campaign in Batu Sapi, if he dares to.
Many PKR members are going to use this by-election to let PKR HQ know what we think of Azmin. Let him come”, I was told over the phone.

Posted by Haris Ibrahim

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PKR is Begging For a Spanking?

What does Anwar think he's doing?
Does he think he can walk into Sabah and put whomsoever he pleases, wherever he pleases to pusue the PR agenda- when Sabahans don't give a fig about him?
More so, after his actions upon entry of UMNO into Sabah & "Project M"?

Maybe what Zaid said has some truth in it- Anwar seems to be thinking that this whole anti-BN sentiment is about him .... he seems to think that people willrally around him at every turn!!
PKR is fielding Ansari from Tuaran in Batu Sapi, hoping that Sabahans would clamour for his leadership. To say that Sabahans are disappointed would be an understatement. Maybe they're just dumbfounded with the stupidity shown by PKR in Sabah. They seem to be no different from Umno in their early days in Sabah, pushing their weight wherever possible..... and he hopes that people take him in with open arms. WTH- If he was so hard up for a Bumiputra Muslim to contest in that seat, the least he could've done was field Thamrin ....

This time around, I don't think BN needs to do much "buying"- they'll win hands down in both Batu Sapi & Galas (thanks to the destruction of the Orang Asal church).

RPK mooted the idea of a third force- well maybe not exactly, but he has been pushing for it hard lately. Earlier, I thought it may not be a good idea, as it could pull the rug from under the PR agenda to "March to PutraJaya" to displace UMNO.
While I used to be sceptical about the need for a "Third Force" in the past, looking at the way PKR is destabilizing the PR "electoral pact"- I now think that it is imperative that we have this "third force".
If DAP cannot sort out the mess in their own house, if PAS cannot be more consciences in dealing with those who aren't Muslims (more so, the poor Orang Asal), if PKR cannot get rid of their old UMNO ways- let let Anwar's agenda be damned (barring the issue about Saifool's ass), let PKR's agenda be damned, let PR be damned let Malaysians be damned .....
- it wouldn't make a difference anyways!!

Maybe something positive may rise out of the ashes left behind, after UMNO has sapu-bersih this country!!

So Raja Petra Kamarudin/ RPK/ Pete - Go for it!!

The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM)

NO HOLDS BARRED

Monday, 25 October 2010

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

Here's something from Simon Templer:-

"Anwar, ......... Don't you get it?
The East Malaysians do not trust us West Malaysians
(seriously, can anyone blame them when we have been ripping them off since 1963?)
Let the Sabahans fight their own battle.
Let them keep their own state. "

Anwar, Pack Up And Leave Batu Sapi

Posted by Simon Templar On Monday, October 25, 2010

We rakyat are real suckers.

At least that's what most of our Malaysian politicians seem to think.

The entire Barisan Nasional politicians think that we are idiots who cannot think. (Ok... Truth is I actually know quite a few people out there who can't think. But... Some other time...)

Then we have our not-so-beloved-anymore PKR who thinks that we enjoy watching their year-round circus acts. Yup, definitely not so loved anymore. And I don't think I am an isolated case. We shall leave DAP and PAS out for now as they are not the subject of discussion here. But mind you, they have their own shit-load pile of dung too.

Now what's with the Batu Sapi fight? Isn't PKR the one who first brought DAP and PAS to the table to discuss how to prevent a 3-corner (or more) fight. Isn't the objective of the entire 'opposition' coalition that to fight the single common enemy i.e. BN? So what is PKR now blardie doing in the Batu Sapi fight?

Some of you may say that why can't SAPP not fight and let PKR field their candidate?

Or some of you may say that well SAPP is not part of the coalition, so why should PR even need to talk to them in the first place.

That will be to miss the whole point of the rakyat's fight. The rakyat is not fighting for Anwar (please imprint this in your mind, Anwar). The rakyat is not fighting for PKR or DAP or PAS. You will be dammed if you think that we really love you. What we want is CHANGE. And you political parties are nothing but our tool to get BN out of power. Well that's how things are. You guys are using us to get to power. So don't complain or call us ungrateful.

It doesn't matter to us if SAPP is fighting BN or PKR is fighting BN. As long as someone is there to fight BN, then we'll be on your side. But if you have PKR, SAPP and BN in the fight, what do you want us to do? To choose who we love more between SAPP and PKR? What are you guys trying to do? Eh wankers... The common enemy is BN. Let's keep it that simple.

Now that we have establish that line of thought, PKR or SAPP for Batu Sapi? SAPP la. Look at the name - Sabah Progressive Party. Sabah dei, Sabah... Let the Sabahans fight their fight. This is why East Malaysians do not like West Malaysians. The West Malaysians are always thinking that they are better and more superior than the East Malaysians. What on earth is PKR trying to do fighting the Sabahan fight? You don't see UMNO (Penang based) Gerakan fielding their candidate in Sabah or Sarawak do you?

Seriously, I cannot understand PKR's objective in the Sabah fight. Do you see Ford aggressively selling cars in Japan? No, they do not. They acquire Mazda and let Mazda do the fighting. The profits still ultimately land on their laps.

Anwar, similarly, you do not need to penetrate Sabah via PKR. Neither will the Sabahans accept that. Don't you get it? The East Malaysians do not trust us West Malaysians (seriously, can anyone blame them when we have been ripping them off since 1963?) Let the Sabahans fight their own battle. Let them keep their own state. But while at that, get them to work together with us to form the ultimate central government. I mean, can you imagine PBS recruiting a Wan Kelantan and field him as a candidate in Galas? Ridiculous isn't it. That's exactly what PKR is doing right now at Batu Sapi.

Continue reading at Anwar, Pack Up And Leave Batu Sapi

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Islamist Politics: The Making of Fascists?

What I do know is that I’m looking for is a book that will give me a sense of what Islam is, the real version as opposed to one that has been unjustly hijacked by extremism and media alike.
-Abby Wong, Seeking the truth, BOOK NOOK WITH ABBY WONG

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

The above is a very compassionate perspective of a "revolutionary" philosophy from the time of Mohamed. Well written, by a searcher, I must say.

(Frankly - I'm not so kind to the "religious world" ..... even where the Christian doctrines/dogma are concerned). However, I do believe that the prophets of old were real visionaries, were geniuses in their own right and really did have some "divine inspiration" - just as many of our modern "prophets" in politics, philosophy & the sciences of today. In their time, they were all, nothing short of radical and revolutionary - and had to be "guided by some force", considering the absence of "education as we know it.

There is obviously a spiritual aspect of religion - but religion per se doesn't need spirituality to condition men to its dictates. Beyond spirituality, they tend to raise more questions instead of providing answers - and it is these unanswerable questions that evoke fear in the hearts of the ignorant and gullible, and render them ripe for psychological manipulation by "religious predators". As such, what I wish to address here isn't the spiritual aspect of it, but rather the religiosity advocated by the clerics.

Religion to me is simply a guideline on morality and ethics, meant to create a proper social order - other than that, they are excellent tools of exploitation when politics is added to its "divine flavour". The evolution of every religion has to be understood within the historical context in which they evolved - or else, we tend to misinterpret the meaning of the words used to narrate the incidences, or decisions that were made into laws. Much of what Mohamed preached was in response to the cultural & socio-political trappings of the time. What is practiced today however, often don't take these factors into consideration - and hence the literal interpretations we get. The Quran is indeed a magnificent book (revealed or not) which reflects much of the Judeo-Christian ideas/philosophy in creating social order out of the chaos of pagan Arabia.

********************************************
"Where is the life we have lost in the living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information ?
The cycles of heaven in twenty centuries
bring us farther from God and nearer to dust."
- T.S. Elliot
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However, the sad fact is that what may be true academically (as you & I may see it), is far from the reality that is practiced by our religious brothers/sisters in their attempt to "out-do" one another. More often than not, they advocate political authority for the clerics who haven't the faintest clue about statecraft. Meanwhile, we of course, have the more intellectual & rational ones cowering at the sight of the imbeciles who make up the clerical hierarchy and dish out edicts like they were the word of God him/herself. Scant regard is payed to the fact that they are usually less than educated or intellectual, and have an inherent inability to think beyond the confines of their skullcaps. - it was what led to the dark ages of the "Holy Roman Empire".

There are many parallels that we can draw between the Christianity of the middle ages and the Islam of today. Nations in the "east" which are "Muslim" today, IMHO, are doomed to regress, due to their psychological subservience to the Arab-Muslim mindset. The "enlightenment" of the Muslim ummah will come from the "evil west", who are more "innovative and creative" in their thinking, due to their lack of reverence for the clerics in their "fashionably pious outfits". Any religion that depends on the clerics for its philosophical evolution is doomed to fail socially, economically and politically. We can only wait to see how our Malaysian intellectuals react to the mindless clerics, who seek to stifle society in their straight-jacket of religiosity.

Lately we had the son of the late Yusof Rawa from PAS (pretending to be very intellectual -while telling all others to "use your brains"), trying to give his perspective of the Islamic State in "Islamic state debate, revisited and revised" and "Islamic State 2: Revised and Revisited". He claims that Islam is "a way of life" (like as if all other religion aren't!!) and thus, inseparable from politics. He makes it sound like with what he proposes, he could create for us a heavenly Malaysia - just as we saw in all the Islamic states of the past (and present, too).
In all their arguments for an Islamic state, never will they articulate how the rights of citizens (as per Universal Declaration of Human Rights) will not be trampled upon. The philosophy of "Liberty" and "Legitimacy" are the farthest things from their minds. Their arguments are usually quite simplistic - that these laws are "God-ordained", even if they were made by man "based on study of the scriptures". There used to be plenty of debate on this matter (those days) in Malaysia Today, and RPK did come out with an article (after March 8, 2008) saying that he isn't for an "Islamic State". (The article on "Islamic state" in TNG did draw some interesting perspectives).

To many "Islamist" politicians, the proof of their Islamic credentials lie in their ability to persecute (legally or otherwise) those who do not share their convictions. They take potshots at those who do not agree, as being "kafirs", "munafiqs", "liberals" or "secularists" (like it is such a bad thing). But of course - we have proponents of an imaginary "Islamic State" in PAS who will go on saying that Islam cannot be separated from politics, and hence should be able to govern (despite all the historical evidence to the contrary).
Yes - in the Islamist's vocabulary, these are "four letter words" which are supposed to translate to being "unIslamic" - when it is the secular and liberal states that are progressive and practice human rights - which are more "Islamic" than many an Islamic nation worldwide.

What many readers who agree with these "Islamist" views don't realize is that these apologists for the "Islamic State" often support the Fascist state in a very subtle way - but of course, it will be in the name of "God". It means that they have to do away with the Federal Constitution and Democracy as we know it. They also forget that under the medieval "Islamic State" concept, they strive to create a tiered society that advocates "apartheid". This is definitely not the the end - and these voices advocating "Islamist" dominance of the Malaysian political landscape would only grow louder as time goes by (especially when corruptions permeates the system and the intellectuals seek to hide themselves - lest they face the religious edicts of unthinking clerics).

There is a very real possibility of Malaysia descending into the world of mediocrity and orthodoxy, should the poor governance and hypocrisy advocated by our "leaders" be perpetuated. We will without doubt see the rise of the Fascists & extremists within Umno and the likes of Hadi, Nasha & Hassan Ali in PAS. Until and unless PAS refuses to play the "trojan" for Umno (in advocating the "Islamic State"), the Malaysian political landscape is bound to be very divisive and unstable - and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition is doomed to be shaky at best.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed ....

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

"Guilt that is expressed in irreverence is unliveable,
Guilt smothered by pride is unjustifiable and,
Guilt smothered by fear is unbearable"
- Ravi Zacharias, "The Haunting Spectre of Guilt"

Indifference, Anticipation, Frustration....

**********************************
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual,
it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master.
The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects
a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual."
- Frank Herbert

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

What is it that I speak of here? Nothing new, really - just a rehash of among the first things I wrote about Malaysian society in general. Nothing more than rephrasing what I wrote a long time back, when I wrote A Malaysian Disease of Fear and Apathy so, so long ago.

There is a sense of "despair" too - seeing how the Umno government uses all the dirty tricks in the book to sabotage the proper functioning of a democracy. Not just that - the imbecility of the so-called "opposition" politicians, and NGOs who seem to exhibit some weird form of "political masochism" - they just relish the opportunity to flog themselves and each other to death, when the people have given them a mandate to talk to each other and rule with accountability.
RPK on his part, has confessed that he is for once speechless, watching the antics of the clowns in Pakatan Rakyat who aspire to be leaders - and we thought, only BN/Umno was bad ....

The following phrases might seem quite familiar to all of us:-
"I don't like Politics", "Politicians are crooks", "Politics is not for me", "I just wanna go on with my life", "it's useless", "You not afraid, ah?", "It is so sick....",
"I've got a family/business/job to think of ...", "I've got loans ....", "Let them do it..."
"I don't know anything about politics, and don't want to know anything about politics"

Yes- these are the excuses they'll use to avoid making a stand for their dignity or the future of their children. They'd rather sacrifice it all at the "altar of prosperity", for the little pleasures they can enjoy today, at the expense of Rule of Law and good governance. They don't mind it the least bit if they are the very ones who feed the cancer that rots the fabric of the nation. These are the cowards who will cry the most when they or their children go hungry or die of the consequences of the corruption prevalent in our society.
These are the people who cling to the cause of the disease in society, and hope to wish the results away. It is precisely what makes UMNO tick and smile - that sense of helplessness.

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

We do not err because truth is difficult to see.
It is visible at a glance.
We err because this is more comfortable.

--Alexander Solzhenitsyn

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

And that reminds me of a conversation I had with a "Facebook friend", wherein he actually implied that he doesn't give a damn about the "Rape of Perak" or the "stealing of elections" as in most despotic regimes. The reason for this was just that the "government has to function".
He went on to say that, "Legal or illegal. Just stop it. Perak must not become the platform to examine the essence of the Constitutional Law or Parliamentary Democracy. Enough is enough....Do you know that economy must function? Daily activities must continue." (He was however quite quick to claim that he was no fan of BN, though!!!)
It is the language of despair and powerlessness that speaks out from this friend of ours - not that he doesn't care. It doesn't matter to him that the country has been robbed, and he'd rather work with the devil who holds his balls and plays with it, than have his rice bowl threatened. It is what Frank Herbert described in the above quote - but such people rather not see that ..... as ignorance is indeed bliss.

R. Shan (aka "Human Being"), had a letter published (on MT) in which he appeared to deplore this "Malaysia Boleh" spirit of malaise, which he saw on MT. He thought it was possibly "escapism" among readers/commenter. Well, to that, I can only say- Yes and No. And he probably suffers from a little frustration, due to the pace of what little changes that are taking place. Although I believe that there are "other reasons" for this creeping malaise that has set in in MT (despite the plethora of news overload) where "expression" is concerned, much of what he said is quite true - and I thought I was the only one who felt it, until I started getting calls asking me "what's with MT, these days?".
He concluded his article by saying, "I am not preaching, but fail to understand why every action that we do or embark in is for ourselves rather that for the community that we live in....What ever the theory it can be, nothing happens if you can only think of yourself."

True, what Shan said- the reason being, for many it was like a "hard-on" which withers after the heat of action. They are too comfortable in their comfort zones, expect quick-fix results, and do not have the stomach for a "struggle". They'd rather live a life that is "drugged into a stupor", and enjoy the delusional matrix created for them by their ruling elite.
What matters to them is that they can make their money, have their fun, and go about without thinking about the ramifications of their fear and apathy. That's life, and being Malaysian is all about, for them. It does not matter to them if they are actually feeding the "cancer" that's eating into the system that will destroy the future for their children. What matters is that they have their fill of the scraps that fall of the table of the pirates who rape the nation.

**************************
"He that is conscious of guilt cannot bear the innocence of others:
So they will try to reduce all others to their own level. "
-Fox, Charles James
**************************

Anyways - there definitely is a growing malaise and frustration that is setting in with the people - with all the "injustice, incompetence, news, dirt and controversy overload" in the media (MSM or Online), created by those with vested interests. Then we have the gullible Pakatan Rakyat Aduns & MPs who out of sheer inferiority complex, megalomania or disillusionment at their own failures, are taking to controversy and squabbles like ducks to water .... like big, hot, dickheads - instead of talking and planning a future for Malaysia together..... while on the sidelines, we have the BN/Umno wringing their hands in glee - hoping for PR to self destruct.
Despite all the opportunities that we may have at our doorstep to renew our faith in the political system, we and the politicians still, unwittingly support pirates (or at least their ways), and prefer to point fingers and despair at the sideshows.
So despite all the facts thrown at and spat at our faces, by the ruling elite from BN/Umno, still -
many among us choose to, cling to the cause of our malaise, and hope to wish the results away .....

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

"There is a kind of dictatorship that can come about
through a creeping paralysis of thought,
readiness to accept paternalistic measures by government,
and along with those measures
comes a surrender of our own responsibilities
and therefore a surrender of our own thought
over our own lives and our own right to exercise the vote."
- Dwight Eisenhower
************************************

P.S.
It is my opinion that MT should publish articles that help the people learn to think & discern. There has been too many updates- unlike no other website, and as such has lost its "soul". They need to be more selective in their publishing, and slow down their updates so as to allow the readers time to digest and understand the messages in many articles, and debate them rationally.
There was a time when reading comments on MT was a delight.....
On another note - someone came up with the theory that DSAI is probably creating bushfires (through the PAS-Umno talks/ Kedah issue) to distract BN's agenda to destroy PR -I don't buy that, though.

Related
Cry my beloved Malay soul [From MalaysiaKini (Opinions)]
Where is the Spirit of Merdeka?
Some Umno myths young Malaysians should know.
A Malaysian Disease of Fear and Apathy
Clinging to the Cause .... Wishing the Results Away
The "Social Contract" - A Malaysian "Cold War"?

Hey There - Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman Raus!

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

"Yes Boss - We can Dance..."

PUTRAJAYA, June 26 (Bernama) -- Sultan Azlan Shah was right in not dissolving the Perak State Legislative Assembly in February because it was barely one year old, Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Md Raus Sharif said.

-'Sultan Was Right Not To Dissolve Perak Assembly'

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

There have been numerous apologists for the rape of Perak by Mr. 1-Malaysia, in February - from Mr. Shad Saleem Faruqi (who initially claimed that by virtue of the Interpretations Act, the power to "hire" includes the power to "fire"), to the various spin doctors in the MSM and among the intellectually bankrupt BN politicos.
Just when we thought that "spinning" was the forte of propagandists in the media and "legal education" industry, the Judiciary has now stepped in to challenge that monopoly, by "legalizing" a travesty of justice. In effect, they have rendered themselves, nothing more than glorified postmen of the pirates who launched the coup d'etat in Perak.
It appears to me as a layman (where the Law is concerned), that the "judges" seem to be a highly twisted bunch of despatch clerks bent on doing the bidding of their political masters. It almost seems that they have redefined the word "judgement" in legal-speak, to mean " to appease those who wield power".

Pardon my ignorance should there be any in the following, wherein I might have erred - but I intend to attempt to dissect what was given by Bernama, before I read the full text of the 49-page spin doctoring by Rauf (or was it just Bernama shaming him??).

In his 49-page judgement dated June 2 released Friday, Justice Raus said that in order for a dissolution of the assembly to take effect under Article 36(2) of the Perak State Constitution as requested by the then Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the assembly must be in the conclusion of the five-year term when a general election was contemplated.

It certainly beats me, how Rauf (bending over backwards) had come to this conclusion that "that in order for a dissolution of the assembly to take effect... as requested, the assembly must be in the conclusion of the five-year term", when the very next sentence, in article 36(3), it is "screaming out" that :
"The Legislative Assembly unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date of its first sitting, and shall then stand dissolved."

I wonder if this Rauf knows anything about how a parliament is supposed to work ......
Although the following aren't exactly in the order of the press release, the message within really takes the cake - Rauf has explicitly denied the role of the Legislative Assembly in determining the majority, and unwittingly approved of a coup d'etat!!
What he has effectively said is, that the parliament is irrelevant, and that all that is required to prove the majority is a piece of paper, with signatures - without any consideration for the manner in which these signatures were obtained, and so rendering a vote of confidence unnecessary/insignificant!!!

He also said Article 16(6) did not express mandatory requirement that there must be a motion of no confidence passed by the assembly against a mentri besar before he ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members.
"The circumstances in the present case clearly shows that on Feb 5, Nizar no longer had the confidence of the majority of members of the assembly. There were signed letters from 31 members pledging support to Barisan Nasional which were presented to the Sultan,"
"The fact that a mentri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly can be established by other means. It cannot solely be confined to the vote taken in the assembly,"

Never mind that it is not mentioned anywhere that the majority may be determined through any other means other than a vote of confidence - what Rauf says here is that, theoretically, anyone with the support of the "security forces" bent on grabbing power, may abduct the members of legislative assembly, get the signatures from them at gunpoint, show it to the head of state - to "clearly show that they have confidence of the majority" and be considered legitimate in a parliamentary democracy!!

Moving on to the issue of the appointment of the Mentri Besar ....
Bernama published the following "judgement" made by Rauf:

"The Sultan of Perak in exercise of his royal prerogative under Article 16(2) of the Perak State Constitution is at liberty to appoint another mentri besar to replace Nizar," he said.
"His refusal to tender his resignation and the resignation of the Executive Council was not merely a breach of convention and undemocratic but more importantly, it contravened the clear mandatory constitutional command under Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution and, therefore, unconstitutional.
Raus also said that the question of Perak having two mentri besar did not arise because Article 16(6) demands that once the mentri besar was made to know that he had lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly, he should take the honourable way out by tendering his resignation.

Article 16(6) states that :
If the Mentri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, then, unless at the request of His Royal Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.

While it is true that the Sultan may appoint A Mentri Besar, I fail to see where it is mentioned that the sultan may appoint "another Mentri Besar", while the current has not been proven to have lost the confidence of the majority in sitting.

As "unconventional" as it may be for the Mentri Besar to refuse to resign may be, it must be kept in mind that Article 16(7) states that
"Subject to Clause (6) a member of the Executive Council other than the Mentri Besar shall hold office at His Royal Highness' pleasure, but any member of the Council may at any time resign his office.

So, unlike the Executive Councillors, it has to be taken into consideration that the Mentri Besar DOES NOT SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF His Royal Highness
Take Note that there is no "clear mandatory constitutional command under Article 16(6)" as mentioned by Rauf in his attempt to indulge in spinning the Constitution.
(This is probably, as N.H Chan calls it - plain and simple legal "gobbledygook").
Therefore, what Nizar did was perfectly Constitutional and democratic, as it was in accordance to the principle of the holding the Parliament supreme, and the Monarchy subject to Constitution.
As to how Rauf has come to the conclusion that it is "undemocratic" is indeed mind-boggling.

After all the spinning, he then indulges in "masturbation" to flatter himself and the powers that be, that what he delivered was actually a "judgement"-
"In my judgment, the situation confronting His Royal Highness in the state of Perak was one such situation, and His Royal Highness had, in that critical situation rightly exercised his constitutional powers provided under the State Constitution, which exercise was without any doubt, solely for the best interest of the people of Perak,"

All these, Rauf as a dutiful postman has said in his so-called "judgement", while neglecting to take into consideration Article 18 (1) which states (subject to Clause 2,3 & 4) that:
"In the exercise of his functions under the Constitution of this State or any law or as a member of the Conference of Rulers, His Royal Highness SHALL ACT IN ACCORDANCE with the advice of the executive Council or of a member thereof acting under the general authority of the Council except as otherwise provided by the Federal Constitution or the State Constitution; but shall be entitled at his request, to any information concerning the Government of the State which is available to the Executive Council".
(1A) Where in the exercise of His functions under the Constitutionof this State or any Law or as a member of the the Conference of Rulers, His Highness is to act IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADVICE or on the advice of any person or body of persons, His Royal Highness SHALL ACCEPT AND ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH ADVICE.

Considering the circumstances, one cannot be blamed if he were to suspect that this verdict/ judgement was written by the likes of Shafee Abdullah (who got to sit in the DUN in the May fiasco) or even V.K. Lingam .....

Next in line of Constitutional spinning by these dispatch-boys, would be the legalization of a speaker who was appointed while the Legislative Assembly had yet to commence its sitting. It would be interesting to see how they would spin that story.

The long and short of it, those responsible for this "judgement" have taken liberties, to read the State Constitution literally and piecemeal - simply as sentences which are totally unrelated to the big picture, the message and spirit within.
This is also how the Umno media and politicians (like Mahathir) - in keeping with their culture of deceit - choose to twist and interpret the Federal Constitution, so as to justify their much hyped, non-existent "social contract", religious bigotry, racism, the NEP and corruption - while totally disregarding the long term consequences of doing so. This also means that they do not mind rendering Malaysia a failed state (while publicly deploring it) - so long as they can hold on to power to facilitate their plunder and rape of the resources we have.

What a pity that our Courts of the land no longer serve the the Law, but pervert it for usurping pirates bent on grabbing power, and are reduced to being dispatch-boys delivering letters for their masters in the corridors of power.

Cry my beloved Malay soul

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
... ...

$$$$$$$$$$$$
“It took me six months to be nice, to bribe each and every individuals to get back into their good books before our files were attended to”
-Allegedly "misinterpreted" words CJ Zaki, now head of the JAC.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

From MalaysiaKini (Opinions)

Cry my beloved Malay soul

AB Sulaiman | Feb 6, 09 10:51am

When Alan Paton wrote ‘Cry The Beloved Country’ he was lamenting over the inhumanity of man over man, of how the whites can devise, construct and implement race- and colour-based social and economic injustices over the blacks in apartheid-era South Africa.

The whole world had condemned this practice; we were among the loudest screaming against it.

South Africa has moved on since then, and today it is one shining example of an emancipated, open and progressive country, enjoying a respectable place in the community of nations. It has thrown apartheid into the bins of its history.

Here in Malaysia, yes we condemn apartheid, and quite rightly so. But in the same breath we were and are still its major proponent our version of apartheid.

We do not call it apartheid; of course not. We call it instead ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ under the guise of ‘championing Malay rights,’ and implementing it under the New Economic Policy. It’s smart, right? In none of them does the word ‘apartheid’ appear!

Yes, we are smart. We do not blatantly call it apartheid, we merely perfected the process of social separation. First of all we ensure the great majority of civil servants, the police, and the military are manned by Malays (the target benefactors). We give them good salaries, good perks and assured employment. We then devise rules and regulations, and even laws, to ensure the NEP’s easy implementation.

We then brainwash our Malay brethren with the notion ‘untuk agama bangsa dan negara’ that there is a higher ideal beyond performing a duty with professionalism and dedication, and that is doing things in the name of religion and race.

We devise rules and regulations, and even laws, to ensure the NEP’s easy implementation.

Then we design and implement social and economic policies like channeling lucrative government contracts, separate education streams, housing rebates, banking and financial support, in favour of, you guessed it, the Malays.

It does not stop there. We devise measures to prevent the people from raising too much objections to all these by introducing or continuing legislation and religiously implementing them.

The Sedition Act for example stops people from talking too much about language and religion. The Official Secrets Act prevents people from gaining access to government files.

Students and lecturers are not allowed to discuss and make public any subject that would appear to be critical to government (yes, government, not political) policies and philosophies.

All publications must, first of all, get operating licences. Newspapers must not only get a licence before publishing but it must be renewed every year.

Sacrifices conveniently forgotten

The king of all of the suppressive and oppressive laws is the Internal Security Act, when a citizen can be put under detention without the benefit of any charge!

All said and done, we sacrifice the rule of law in favour of rule by private individuals. To show that we are really smart, we pooh pooh the loyalty and patriotism of the non-Malay segment of the population.

We call them pendatang or immigrants bearing the stigma that they are social discard from their original country, similar to rogues, rascals, refugees, mercenaries and scoundrels. We just ignore their proven talent and ability in wealth creation and economic productivity, as well as to their demonstrated loyalty and patriotism.

Many of such pendatangs have made the ultimate sacrifices as military personnel defending its security, during the Emergency, the Confrontation period with Indonesia and as policemen while policing the social environment.

They have contributed and are continuing to, in sport and the arts. Their record as loyal and patriotic Malaysians is quite impeccable. But we do not really care.

The perplexing thing is that despite these attributes and positive records of the non-Malays, we are still going about championing and implement apartheid principles. In this new year, perhaps we can do with a little reflection: why are we doing all this?

We do this apparently to recover our lost soul. We perceive that we have been victims of colonisation when the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisers all but butchered the Malay entity, psychology and culture. In the process we perceive that we have lost our Malay identity.

With independence, we thought we could recapture the lost glory of Malay suzerainty by

becoming masters of all facets of a nation, especially its commerce, and economy. We found out that the Chinese community had beaten us to it.

We felt the Chinese had capitalised on our weakness and captured the economic initiatives (and wealth) as well as the social characteristics of the country. We lost ‘face’.

Now we want to regain the mertabat or dignity and pride of the Malay race!

Yes, we feel that we have to recover our soul and it is here that we are reminded of Paton’s book title, but in this case suitably paraphrased to – cry my beloved Malay soul.

Our Malay soul needs to cry for doing the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason; even for the wrong thing for the wrong reason, but not for the right thing for the right reason.

To start with colonisation is really not an excuse for our psychological malaise and ineptitude.

Colonisation has been a feature of human history and felt all over the world. There are very few countries that have not been colonised in the world.

It is thus a neutral concept in human social and economic development. It is certainly not an impediment to social or economic progress as we are wont to portray it. We should dump this notion that we hold dear into the bin of history.

Rethinking our way of thinking

Just look at the records. The Koreans were once colonised by the Japanese, but today Korea is an industrial power house. Singapore was once colonised by the British and was indeed a part of us, and today we see this tiny country being a solid financial, trading and industrial entity.

Most pointedly of all, the US was once a British colony and today it is the mightiest nation in the world. Our second grouse - that the Chinese have cornered the economic sector of the country also needs re-looking into, on two counts.

First, the Chinese did not become successful based on any conscious and concerted economic programme to economically marginalise us.

We did this self-inflicted wound ourselves. As proof, we have to note that most of the Chinese came to our shores with only their feet, hands, guts and brains and perhaps a bundle of clothes, nothing more.

They become successful for their hard work, both physically and mentally and for the sacrifices they were prepared to make and had undertaken. They were successful for having the mental fortitude to seek opportunities, grab those that come along and worked extra hard to realise the potentials of these opportunities.

Secondly, we have been given a chance to be equal with them, both under numerous 'special privileges' enshrined in the Constitution, as well as under its NEP implementation programme.

The special privileges have always been in the constitution while the latter began in 1970. In short, we have been given the chance - the opportunity - many times over, to better our Malay polity.

Whereas the Chinese had to struggle just to find and identify the opportunities, in our case they were handed to us on a silver platter!

Thus far we have failed to capitalise adequately on them. It rather shameful we missing out on these chances specially created for us in the first place.

Either way the root cause of our weaknesses and the strength of the Chinese lies in two words - positive thinking. Our thinking is mired with so many dos and don’ts, so many musts and musn’ts, so many cans and cannots, may and may nots, plenty enough to created and internalise doubts and fears in our minds.

So much so that we have doubt over what we can and what we can’t do, what is allowed and what is not. We spend a lifetime looking for these highly complex cans and cannots, musts and must nots, that we have hardly any mental energy left to develop and self-confidence to get on and face the realities of life.

Let’s refer to this case as the ‘can’t don’t and won’t syndrome’. The Chinese by the way are not encumbered by such syndromes.

What appears to have happened is that this syndrome has affected our mental ability to conceptualise. We see things on the straight and narrow. We accept wisdoms handed down to us by our elders as the gospel truth.

Blinded by sentiment

We do not see that things can be seen and interpreted in many alternative ways. We feel we have the monopoly on truth; we therefore think that we are right all the time and other people are wrong all the time. Witness the way we see religion for example.

We think that we as Muslims are right and other people who profess other religions are wrong, all the time.

We need to cry for thinking that we can and have doctored the way the people think and do things. We have been intimidating the people with what they can read or write or think and do.

We seem to be saying "you can think anything, do anything, write anything so long as it does not criticise or condemn the government".

Soul-searching and resuscitating is not or should not be about pointing accusing fingers at some bogeys. That would be a most negative thing to do. It would be better for us to be open-minded and be able to identify our own strengths and weaknesses.

We improve upon our strengths and dump our weaknesses. Mainly we must be able to develop the awareness that we have both the strengths and weaknesses in the first place.

To illustrate, the NEP has proved many time over as a failed strategy for our socio-economic advancement. Let us be aware of this in the first place and move on seeking other ways with better chance of success.

How about secularising the Malay mind? It might make for a good start for we can see many of the don’ts, can’ts, musn’ts dissipating into the wind.

In the meantime, here we are in the early days of a new year. We should begin by realising that whatever 'smart’ moves we had undertaken all this while have not really been that smart after all.

The joke is on us. Everybody says so – the liberated Malays, the non-Malays, our neighbours and the rest of the international community. Only those of us basking in our closed mind and benefiting from the profits of the status quo say it’s alright.

Happy New Year all the same and here’s hoping this year we can get a good perspective as to what propagating a good mertabat really means. It’s long overdue.

In the meantime, cry my beloved Malay soul.

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

Related
Where is the Spirit of Merdeka?
Some Umno myths young Malaysians should know.
A Malaysian Disease of Fear and Apathy
Clinging to the Cause .... Wishing the Results Away.
The "Social Contract" - A Malaysian "Cold War"?

Clinging to the Cause .... Wishing the Results Away

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"O liberty! how they have played with you."
- Mme. Jeanne Roland de la Platiere, before death at the guillotine
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For a nation to come crumbling down, there are but three kinds of people in leadership, with three different characteristics that is required, namely -

• the untamed passions in a gifted man,
• the wanton power in a weak man, and
  
• the unteachable temperament in a privileged man.

How "lucky" we are, that we have all three in just one man, who I shall leave unnamed.

C.S. Lewis said, "When a ship goes out to sea, there are three things that it has to know -
First is, why it is there in the first place.
Then she has to how to keep from sinking,
and third, how to keep from bumping into other ships".

In life, the answer to the above three lies in ethics.
For us, Malaysia is that ship - sailing around in the high seas rudderless, and changing course as and when it pleases, without an idea as to where it's headed or why it is there doing what it is doing.

In "debating" the issues, we appear to have all our priorities and answers all wrong, or simply mixed up.
Karpal calls for DSAI's resignation after the Perak fiasco despite the fact that it was a DAP MLA's defection that triggered this crisis. Mahathir laughs at Anwar's apparent double standards at Nasarudin's re-hopping, Hamid Albar and Khairy screams "treason", and Shad Faruqi says that anti-hopping laws should solve the problem.
Of course there are many peasants among us who feel let down by the decision of a certain high office - having put them on a pedestal, after their lip service to "justice" in their high-flung speeches.

Shad Faruqi the Pakistani "constitutional expert", in his Reflecting On The Law column in The Star said, "What is worrying is that the fall-out of this crisis is sullying the reputation and credibility of many legal and constitutional institutions while the root cause – the despicable phenomenon of party hopping – remains unaddressed." (like as if they have any worthwhile reputation in the first place!)

Shad, after earlier proposing that it is the Sultan's prerogative to "Hire" and hence, by virtue of the Interpretation Act, is entitled to "fire", now makes a U-turn to suggest otherwise by saying that, "This implies that an MB cannot be dismissed except by a vote of no confidence in the assembly. If an MB who has lost confidence, and is refused dissolution, is shameless enough not to walk away, then the Sultan would be justified in dismissing him ......
The question of losing confidence was not constitutionally investigated."

He then spins to justify the extra-constitutional actions of the EC in undermining the constitutional right of the Speaker of the Assembly, by saying that - "In the light of this decision and the denial by the two defectors, the Election Commission had some basis to make up its own mind and to declare that the seats had not fallen vacant..... ".
Has he forgotten the prerogatives of the Speaker and the duties of the EC?
So much for "constitutional experts", I suppose.

Anyway, he is once again, grossly mistaken on the matter of party-hopping - it isn't in the least bit, "the root cause", as he claims it to be.
The fact remains that party hopping is legal, and justifiable, should the reasons for it be morally valid, and it reflects the people's mandate - hence not an "issue". It is the premise upon which such an action is taken, that needs scrutiny - not the act of "hopping" in itself.
It would be wrong to ban it completely - and I maintain that it is wrong for Karpal and gang to demand an anti-hopping law, or reprimand DSAI for it.
I would rather suggest that certain criteria be fulfilled and procedures be adopted - so as to reflect the people's mandate, and also to restrict the exploitation that it may be subjected to by those who wield power and money.

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

"He that is conscious of guilt cannot bear the innocence of others:
So they will try to reduce all others to their own level. "
-Fox, Charles James
**********************************

The issue here is the fact that the Nizar Government is the Constitutional Government!
The political coup d'etat which was perpetrated by the DPM, to install a Government in the State of Perak was simply through purchase of "commodity" (or so it seems), is unconstitutional and illegal - whether the Sultan swore them in or not!
The DPM mocks the very Constitution which Shad speaks of. This makes all documents, agreements and contracts drawn out by this government, "illegal"- and those who partake in their activities would be rendered criminals.
The perpetrators of this crime are however, lauded as "heroes" in a certain party which happens to rule the Nation!!! One can only speculate the level of respect these goons have, for the Federal Constitution or the rule of law .....

The question however remains -
Just what is the malady that afflicts the Malaysian leadership and the electorate, that it is so difficult for us to bring about the change we desire?

The way I look at it, it is simply a crisis of faith in our Federal Constitution (and of course, that of the states), which stems from the 600+ amendments made to it by the lawmakers of BN, starting from Tun Razak - to perpetuate the evil called the NEP.
Anything done toward this end- criminal or not- is "fair game"!
To make matters worse, we have "legal eagles" in high academic/ professional office, who try to play the apologist for these "criminals" in office, through various subtle spins in the MSM and brutal enforcement on the streets.

It isn't enough that there is content in the Federal Constitution, and one more amendment as Shad Faruqi/Karpal/Guan Eng recommends isn't going to make a difference. Nor would the resignation of DSAI, Hadi or Kit Siang cut it.
What matters more than the content, is the conviction in its purpose, which should translate into faith in the Federal Constitution - that which is absent among politicians who disregard it. It is today nothing more than a taxi - a vehicle for the elite to ride on for a fee (or free), only for convenience - beyond which, it is simply, "toilet paper".

Until and unless we are willing to admit our faults/mistakes, we are doomed to sail rudderless - while pirates help themselves, until the day we are blasted to smithereens by that one pirate who cannot find anything to rob from us.
Thus far, this is being avoided by "refilling the empty decks", so that newer pirates can still have their fill - thus the myth that we are still a prosperous ship.
But we have warlord-leaders in denial like Muhyiddin who claim that the NEP "is perfect", and it is only the delivery system that is flawed. (That's like saying that Proton is a good car, and it is only the owners/customers/drivers who don't maintain them ....)

How can we cling to the cause - namely the NEP, which perpetuates wholesale piracy and daylight robbery, and wish the results away?
It is a system that thrives on the evils it cultivates - the immoralities of corruption, greed, undeserved rewards, intellectual bankruptcy, idolatry, sloth, envy, covetousness and hatred - albeit, under cover of the veil of religiosity or blatant racist bigotry.
Therefore, the lives of many Malaysians today is ruled by a dichotomy in which, they do what they hate, so that they can wash away their sins through repeated "acts of penance", or simply indulge in their pleasures to forget their evil deeds.

It all springs from our lack of ethics in our politics & education system - we have forgotten where ethics comes from, and hence, have unwittingly subverted our Federal Constitution in the process. As a matter of fact most of our lawmakers who scream "treason", have no idea what the word means, as they trample on the Federal Constitution.
We then have an electorate with paralyzed thinking faculties, and made to believe in their powerlessness. They are given to emotional upheavals and religiosity - they'd rather scream themselves hoarse and bang their heads on the roads for an unknown Palestine, while they squander away their own rights for pittance or nothing, by subverting their own Constitution.
To top it all, we have a CJ who confessed to indulging in corruption (at least that's what the media reported), and is now appointed as the head of the JAC!!

The Federal Constitution which is supposed to be the supreme entity, is no longer the living document upon which we build our nation - it is simply the toilet paper with with we wipe away the dirt we leave behind. It is simply an instrument which "modified" and "enforced" at will by politicians, to perpetuate their agenda of greed.
It has been replaced by corrupt & vainglorious men who wield power (and not real leaders), who seek to rule - and they can only do so essentially, by bribing the electorate and their representatives.

This is a system which can only survive through the deprivation of civil liberties and the emasculation of thought - and hence in has to be enforced by an enslaved "security apparatus" and civil service of the state, through the primitive laws and bigotry that we are famed for. What we have is a dictatorship of oligarchs.

No wonder Frank Herbert (Dune) said, "If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual."

And yet, we still, cling to the cause, vote for pirates
and prefer to point fingers at the sideshows, so as to wish the results away .....

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"There is a kind of dictatorship that can come about
through a creeping paralysis of thought,
readiness to accept paternalistic measures by government,
and along with those measures
comes a surrender of our own responsibilities
and therefore a surrender of our own thought
over our own lives and our own right to exercise the vote."
- Dwight Eisenhower
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