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.

May 13 more accurately ‘genocidal’ than racial riots

May 13 more accurately ‘genocidal’ than racial riots

TIME magazine (May 23, 1969) cited Western diplomatic sources as believing the death toll was closer to 600, with most of the victims Chinese. It also wrote that "...By the time the four days of race war and strife had run their course, the General Hospital's morgue was so crowded that bodies were put into plastic bags and hung on hooks."

REMOVE GANI PATAIL, NAJIB- HE'S A LIABILITY!!

PRESS STATEMENT BY TAN SRI DATUK ROBERT PHANG MIOW SIN.

Justice of Peace

Chairman – Social Care Foundation

Supporting the Prime Minister’s reminder to BN and all Malaysians

On Tuesday 30th November, I gave a Press Conference touching on the public perception of the MACC and A-G Chambers especially about selective prosecution. I mentioned the failure, at that time, to take action in Dato’Seri Khir Toyo’s case and in the Malaysian Airlines case which involved losses of RM 8 billion. I also expressed concern about public outcry over the conduct of A-G Gani Patail consorting with En Shahidan Shafie in a manner that give rise to grave suspicion. There has been public exposure that En Shahidan is the proxy of former Malaysia Airlines Chairman, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli.

My statement was received badly by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Y.B. Dato‘ Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz who blasted me for raising the concerns of the lay public. The Senior Minister had used very harsh words on me and called me “a man in the street”.

My response on Thursday 2nd December reminded YB Dato Seri Nazri to be circumspect and not to be arrogant.

As God would have willed it, on Sunday 5th December, Prime Minister Dato‘ Seri Najib Tun Razak cautioned the 13 BN party components about the four “political diseases” – delusion, amnesia, inertia and arrogance – which he said could crush the ruling coalition.

The PM’s reminder that Ministers and BN leaders must not be ARROGANT is very timely. Government leaders who feel they are not accountable to the ordinary man in the street would make the citizenry have not only disdain for the government but that would also sow the seeds of hatred towards the BN Government. In the end the BN Government will be alienated from the people and that can only spell disaster at the ballot box.

On Monday 6th December, former Selangor Menter Besar, Dato Seri Khir Toyo, was charged by the MACC for an offence under s. 165 of the Penal Code. The public saw that none less than the AG Tan Sri Gani Patail himself turned up in court. This public display of firmness in taking action without fear or favour is certainly commendable.

On Thursday 9/12/2010, the Prime Minister assured the public that the prosecution of Dato Seri Khir Toyo is not just a public gimmick (sandiwara). As Chairman of Social Care Foundation and Panel Adviser to the MACC, I fully support the Prime Minister’s assurance. I urge the public not to doubt the government’s seriousness in combatting corruption. I urge the opposition not to play pollitics in such matters. The public must have faith that the MACC is doing its best in eradicating corruption against the big fish and the small fry. The public must therefore support the MACC’s efforts instead of running them down. I commend the MACC Chief Commissioner, Dato‘ Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed, who has shown resolve and consistency in this regard.

Unfortunately, public perception is also important. I am therefore compelled to voice out the public skepticisim why Khir Toyo was charged under the Penal Code and not under the MACC Act, since the investigation was made by the MACC and not the Police. The public has not forgotten that the MACC Act was passed specifically to facilitate easier investigation and prosecution for corruption offences. Foremost in the public’s mind is why was Khir Toyo not charged for corruption.

The public must not be left with a lingering mind especially since the MACC and the AG Chambers had invoked the more draconian corruption provisions in the predecessor act to the MACC Act when charging Dato‘ Ramli Yusuff and Lawyer Rosli Dahlan. Dato‘ Ramli has since been acquitted. It is now shown that En Rosli was just a laywer needed as a witness. Strange enough, it is an open secret tht MACC’s recomendation to withdraw the charge against Rosli Dahlan, yet the A-G has not responded. The public is asking - Why is that the case? There is widespread public suspicion that Rosli is being persecuted for his role in the Malaysia Airlines case.

This is fuelled by the reluctance of AG Gani Patail to institute prosecution for the RM8 billion losses suffered by Malaysia Airlines during the time of Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli. The public is concerned with allegations surrounding A-G Tan Sri Gani Patail’s personal conduct in consorting with the proxy of Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli during a recent Haj pilgrimage. The photographs and documents that have been in the public domain seem very convincing. The AG’s silence has further fuelled this suspicion. The AG cannot continuously stonewall the public. The consequences can be adverse on the Government.

The root cause of all this suspicion is the credibility of the A-G Chambers, in particular of the personal integrity of AG Gani Patail himself. As a public officer, the AG’s conduct, both public and personal, must be beyond reproach. That is the root problem. For so long as there is suspicion about the personal conduct of AG Gani Patail as described above and it is not addressed, all sincere efforts by the Government and the MACC will be futile. It will be regarded as mere public relations exercise or slogans. It will be unfortunate if the AG himself becomes a stumbling block to the Government’s and the MACC’s efforts to portray a Bersih. Cekap, Amanah Government. It is like the saying “Ketam cuba mengajar anaknya berjalan lurus”.

Therefore, AG Gani Patail must heed the PM’s call not to suffer delusion, amnesia, inertia and arrogance. In that regard, I invite the AG to respond to all my earlier calls that he respond and answer these allegations. The public needs to be satisfied in order for the Government to regain the public trust that it is serious in the eradication of corruption and in achieving Justice for All.

“HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL, THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

.....................................................................

Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin

Justice of Peace

After GE13, a hung Parliament, says RPK

After GE13, a hung Parliament, says RPK

After GE13, a hung Parliament, says RPK

By Debra Chong

December 13, 2010

Raja Petra

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Influential blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has predicted that Malaysia will go Britain’s way in the coming general election, widely speculated to be held in the next three months.

Before Election 2008, he had declared that the opposition would take 90 federal seats and five states, which was startlingly close to the final results.

“I predict it will be a hung Parliament,” the self-exiled editor of the Malaysia Today news site said last night in an Internet broadcast live from London.

A hung Parliament, also known as a balanced Parliament in a two-party system, is one in which no party has an overall majority and will need to coax support from rival party members to pass laws.

The vocal government critic was replying to a question on which political pact will form the federal government raised by a member of the audience off camera at the first Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) public forum.

The MCLM is an independent outfit Raja Petra co-founded two months ago and made up of Malaysians abroad who are lobbying for political reform by offering political parties a stable of professionals and non-partisan civil rights activists to stand as candidates in the 13th general election.

The 60-year-old this year withdrew his long-standing support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the DAP-PKR-PAS opposition pact based on his view on the growing groundswell of discontent in East Malaysia, which he observed has supplied the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition its majority support for decades.

“How Pakatan handles East Malaysia will have a very great factor in who forms government,” said the blogger popularly known as RPK.

Raja Petra noted that Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan have grown more fed-up with being treated as a “vote bank” by their countrymen across the South China Sea.

The two states and one federal territory together occupy 57 seats out of a total of 222 in the Dewan Rakyat, nearly a quarter of the members in the lawmaking hall.

Their votes have traditionally been cast in support of the BN, but Raja Petra foresees it is likely to change.

“Currently, the sentiment in Sabah and Sarawak is that Pakatan and Barisan are both totally worthless.

“My sentiment is that it’s going to be a lot of three-cornered fights in East Malaysia with lots of independents contesting,” he said.

Sporting a blue beret and Harry Potter-like round glasses at the talk yesterday, Raja Petra observed that the federal opposition pact, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), had failed to make use of the growing grassroots’ unhappiness to sway more supporters to its side.

“My view is that Pakatan is not handling East Malaysia properly… and it’s going to backfire,” he added.

He pointed to the racial-religious posturing between Umno and PKR and said the challenges over racial and religious supremacy have no traction in East Malaysia where multiculturalism is part of their lives.

But he added, it does mean the BN will win.

“If you ask me again during Chinese New Year, I can give a more accurate prediction,” Raja Petra said.

The UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand are examples of the latest round of hung Parliaments.

A hung Parliament means the party in power will need to coax its rival party members to pass laws.

Two years ago, before Malaysia went to the polls, Raja Petra had predicted the opposition pact would win 90 seats and take over five state governments – Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Perak and Pahang.

The three parties came out winning 82 seats and but failed to take over Perlis and Terengganu.

Malaysia Today also said that the opposition coalition would eventually be called Barisan Rakyat and posters of Barisan Rakyat were printed and distributed. Malaysia Today go that wrong as the opposition coalition named itself Pakatan Rakyat.

History textbooks biased, say writers

History textbooks biased, say writers

By Zakiah Koya, The Sun

History textbooks are biased and littered with errors, claim two authors and academicians. Dr Ranjit Singh Malhi and Ng How Kuen, who writes history textbooks for Chinese schools, say their experience with officialdom does not augur well for the teaching of history in our classrooms.

Ranjit, author of secondary school history textbooks since 1990, and adviser to the Ministry of Education (MOE) on history textbooks, said such material were littered with factual errors and distortions. He said that when he pointed out the errors and distortions, a ministry official labelled him “anti-national”.

“Secondary school history textbooks have been used to promote political interests. It should be a scholarly pursuit and not politically-motivated,” said Ranjit who showed theSun history textbooks with errors and exaggerated facts.

“Five out of 10 chapters of the Form Four history textbook deal with Islamic history as compared to only one chapter in the earlier textbook. The intention of the earlier syllabus was to expose our students to World History,” he said when commenting on the announcement that the history syllabus is being reviewed and that the subject will be made a compulsory pass in the Sijil
Pelajaran Malaysia from 2013.

“The coverage of important historical events such as Renaissance and Industrial Revolution has been reduced by more than half,” he said.

He also said certain historical personalities, such as Yap Ah Loy (the third Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur), were not given due recognition. Yap played a major role in the development of Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and tin-mining centre, particularly after the fire of 1881,” he said, adding that the Form Two history textbook had only one sentence on Yap as “one of the persons
responsible for developing Kuala Lumpur”.

“There is also no mention of freedom fighters such as Gurchan Singh (“Lion of Malaya”) and Sybil Karthigesu who resisted the Japanese Occupation of Malaya,” he said. (Gurchan secretly distributed a newspaper during the Japanese occupation while Sybil, who was tortured by the Japanese, and her husband treated wounded guerillas of the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army).

The most glaring example of bias, he said, was related to the downfall of the Malay Sultanate of Malacca.

"The 1996 Form One textbook stated inter alia that a few Indian merchants lent their junks to the Portuguese in their attack on Malacca. I know of no historical evidence to support this fact,” said Ranjit.

“Six Chinese captains agreed to lend their junks to the Portuguese due to their hatred for Sultan Mahmud who had earlier detained them and their men to help attack Aru. The Portuguese used only one junk provided by one of the Chinese,” he said.

Ranjit pointed out that the decision to make history a must pass subject for SPM from 2013 was rooted in a wrong premise. "It is not right to assume that students will study history seriously and will be more patriotic after clearly understanding the Federal Constitution and the social contract.

“Patriotism thrives when citizens have a ‘sense of belonging’ and perceive themselves being treated equitably,” he said.

Ng, meanwhile, fears that making history a compulsory pass subject would mean one would have to subscribe to one’s version of events or risk failing the entire examination.

Ng, whose textbooks are still used in Chinese-medium primary schools, however stressed that it was timely to review the syllabus. “We always had to follow the curriculum given by the MOE and therefore the ruling parties have the upper hand in defining our history.”

As an example, he said when writing on the fight for independence, the contributions of the communists were left out.

He said history books should be written by historians and not teachers as the former were not bound by the curriculum. “Students do know the truth but as textbooks are written according to approved curriculum, students end up learning history that is skewed,” said Ng. -- theSun

"Miracle" of Jibby-nomics:- Beyond the Propaganda

A friend recently provided a link to the below info on IndexMundi.com:-

Malaysia GDP - real growth rate - Economy

GDP - real growth rate:
-1.7% (2009 est.)
4.7% (2008 est.)
6.5% (2007 est.)

Year	GDP - real growth rate	Rank	Percent Change	Date of Information
2003	4.20 %	59		2002 est.
2004	5.20 %	53	23.81 %	2003 est.
2005	7.10 %	34	36.54 %	2004 est.
2006	5.20 %	90	-26.76 %	2005 est.
2007	5.90 %	74	13.46 %	2006 est.
2008	6.30 %	72	6.78 %	2007 est.
2009	4.60 %	94	-26.98 %	2008 est.
2010	-1.70 %	143	-136.96 %	2009 est.

Definition: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent.

Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of November 3, 2010

See Also

• GDP - real growth rate rank chart
• GDP - real growth rate - comparative map
• GDP (purchasing power parity)
• GDP - per capita (PPP)
• GDP - composition by sector
• GDP (official exchange rate)

---

Equivalent Data From the International Monetary Fund

Variable: Gross domestic product, constant prices

Note: Annual percentages of constant price GDP are year-on-year changes; the base year is country-specific.

Units: Annual percent change

Country-specific Note: See notes for: Gross domestic product, constant prices (National currency).

Source: International Monetary Fund - 2009 World Economic Outlook

Year	GDP, constant prices	Percent Change
1980	7.444
1981	6.942	-6.74 %
1982	5.941	-14.42 %
1983	6.25	5.20 %
1984	7.762	24.19 %
1985	-0.876	-111.29 %
1986	1.153	-231.62 %
1987	5.389	367.39 %
1988	9.938	84.41 %
1989	9.06	-8.83 %
1990	9.007	-0.58 %
1991	9.547	6.00 %
1992	8.886	-6.92 %
1993	9.896	11.37 %
1994	9.211	-6.92 %
1995	9.83	6.72 %
1996	10.002	1.75 %
1997	7.323	-26.78 %
1998	-7.359	-200.49 %
1999	6.138	-183.41 %
2000	8.679	41.40 %
2001	0.519	-94.02 %
2002	5.391	938.73 %
2003	5.788	7.36 %
2004	6.784	17.21 %
2005	5.332	-21.40 %
2006	5.849	9.70 %
2007	6.181	5.68 %
2008	4.633	-25.04 %
2009	-3.631	-178.37 %

Suaram has monitored Dr Mahathir’s posturing — Kua Kia Soong - The Malaysian Insider

Suaram has monitored Dr Mahathir’s posturing — Kua Kia Soong

December 10, 2010

DEC 10 — The poor form exhibited by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his outburst against Suaram — accusing us of being “lackeys of foreigners and politicians” — needs to be exposed for its Kafkaesque distortion which is reminiscent of the White Paper on Operation Lalang and other Mahathirisms.

Suaram’s principled stands on human rights violations in Malaysia as well as the rest of the world are on record. Dr Mahathir should first check his facts with the Special Branch before he speaks because it has the best record of such documents. Our support of the struggles of the East Timorese, Burmese, Palestinians and other oppressed peoples in Latin America, Africa and Asia date from the formation of Suaram in 1989.

Suaram has been part of the demonstrations against US imperialism in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as US duplicity in Palestine. I don’t recall Dr Mahathir personally taking part in these actions although PAS leaders have done that. Umno Youth leaders organised some of these protests against the US although they don’t seem to have any principled positions on other struggles outside the Middle East.

Dr Mahathir knows his record on East Timor very well. While Suaram and other Malaysian NGOs were organising the last important peace conference before East Timor’s independence, the Mahathir government tried to suppress this important initiative for peace and independence for East Timor. It was all because of the links between his government and that of the Indonesian government. And who sent the goons in to smash that peace conference? Who were the lackeys of foreigners then? And who went to jail for being victims of fascist violence?

Has Dr Mahathir or Umno been more consistent than Suaram in defending the rights of the Burmese people against the suppression by their military junta? We could go on… Human rights defenders in Suaram have been defending anti-imperialist struggles around the world for years as opposed to Dr Mahathir’s posturings.

Perhaps then-Defence Minister Najib Razak’s speech on “Malaysia-US Defence Co-operation: the Untold Story” at the US Heritage Foundation on May 3, 2002 should give us a truer picture of who the lackeys of foreigners are:

“For many years US and Malaysian forces have co-operated on a wide range of missions with virtually no fanfare or public acknowledgement. And in spite of its success, our bilateral defence relationship seems to be an all too well-kept secret… Historically, Malaysia has been a steady, reliable friend of the United States. Our multitude of common interests includes trade and investments on a sizeable scale and security co-operation across a range of fronts…

“Over the years, some in the United States have misinterpreted some of (Dr Mahathir’s) straight talk. Let me be clear: Strong friendships can withstand strong words. Malaysia and the United States have been close for decades. Our multi-faceted relationship will have its high and low points, but the core values our nations share endure…”

And who went cap-in-hand to the Iron Maiden in 1988 to sign the RM5 billion arms deal after all the posturing about “Buy British Last?” Did the “sensitive documents” on the BMF scandal in the hands of the British Foreign Office have anything to do with this volte face in Dr Mahathir’s attitude toward the British government?

On the domestic front, Suaram has been scrupulously impartial on the performance of our local politicians. Every Human Rights Report since 1998 documents our assessment of the performance of local politicians and the political parties. Since 2008, we have criticised the state governments of Pakatan Rakyat just as we have criticised the Barisan Nasional whenever they have violated human rights or exhibited bad governance.

In other words, Suaram has always scrupulously fought for justice, equality, democracy and human rights in Malaysia. Can Dr Mahathir search his conscience and declare the same?

* Dr Kua Kia Soong is a director of Suaram.

Suaram has monitored Dr Mahathir’s posturing — Kua Kia Soong - The Malaysian Insider