Kongolia on MT

This is one of the best things I read all day in Malaysia Today

Malaysia on aggressive tourism promotion in Kongolia

A real Riot!

Of Disclaimers, Political Correctness and Daddy's New Rules.

I was watching the stand-up comedians on You Tube a few days back and Russel Peters was truly hilarious – his jokes about Whites, Indians, Koreans, Vietnamese and Chinese were fantastic. If he had performed in Malaysia, he might just have been charged for "incitement" or whatever, going by the trend.

Then again, there are the debates about religion ....

There is a multitude of clips on YouTube that speaks for and against every single thing about every single religion/ idea that claims to have a monopoly of the " whole truth" (whatever that is!).

Well, one thing's for sure – there are no riots, murder, lawsuits, mayhem, or whatever in world or the net, the bcos of YouTube. They are definitely not labeled as a danger to society – in fact, it has become the focus of debates, ranging from utterly idiotic to highly intelligent and philosophical. It is left to the thinking public to think and decide, with the multitude of ideas accessible to them. There is Freedom to think, without undue interference as long as you can respect the "golden rule".

And yet, I do not see any "disorder" or "chaos". (Not so sure if the "fundamentalist/ extremist" Muslim or Christian leaders are aware of these things on YouTube - I dunno, they may scream for blood as usual, had they been aware).

It appears that the people at the forefront of civilization realize that there is no need to be petty and defensive, if you are right.

Laws are meant to protect the rakyat from those pedophiles, rapists, thugs, murderers and theives who cause misery, with the boldly voiced out threats that they pose to the rakyat. In some places though, the Law is meant to protect the lawmakers. (Hmmm....... something to ponder on indeed).

There was a time things were much simpler in Malaysia .......

A joke was just a joke. An opinion was just an opinion. A viewpoint was just a viewpoint. Differences were respected and accepted.

No more - we are today, a "proud people" (in line with our "amazing bin hairan achievements" under the "guidance" of certain illustrious leaders), whichever social group we belong to. What was once (long ago) deemed to be a harmless comment, joke or opinion, may today be considered tasteless, harmful or seditious or even considered as "racist", anti-this or that!

When did we start taking ourselves so seriously? Are we so insecure, that we need "big daddy" to make rules so that "we know what is right or wrong"? Have we lost that capacity to think and decide for ourselves? Aren't old enough to do away with the "rotan", stop squabbling about who is the best child and gets the biggest pie?

I recollect an incident/ argument/ debate that I had with Raja Petra, in the comments section - the article was about the ISA ....

Somehow, things got a little "heated", and I disagreed with RPK on a certain point, and decided to "bail-out" (as I saw no point in me further expressing my opinion). Of course, RPK wasn't too pleased, thinking that I had "merajuk", which made me reply explaining myself.

In the "debate", I had taken no offense. But I needed to "have a break" ("have a kit-kat" - as I usually say it) to accept the difference in opinion, and agree to disagree, though .........

However, I received a call from a friend, saying that "he was with me", and that RPK was extremely rude. Despite the fact that I wanted to speak about the issue that was debated, this friend of mine was so totally fixated on the fact that RPK had addressed me as "Thamby"!! He went on and on about it, like RPK was the devil himself! In the end, I just changed the topic and found some reason to hang up.

The same occurred in another discussion, when a commenter had mentioned this very incident, as a means to "discredit" me in some form.

Hell ( ... I wanted to say WTF!) man, I call some of my friends things far worse than that, for issues far less "sensitive"! Why this obsession with political correctness?

Now - what's so "insulting" about "thamby"? Since when did it come to be perceived as a slur? I just don't get it! I mean, okay - so he did use a Tamil word for kid brother (and I'm no Tamilian in the first place) to address me while banging away on the keyboards, in the heat of the moment - so what? There are even Malay Leaders with such a word for a name for
gottsakes! It wasn't like it was a derogatory term or something ....

Alright, I agree that sometimes, "it is not what you do, but how you do it" that matters - but come on ..... I wouldn't jump on something as petty as this. In fact, I know that RPK has "endured" far worse slurs to his person than this, in the spirit of tolerance for the sake of a vibrant discussion. I do realize also that he gives just as hard as he takes.

RPK, please note that no "buttering" is intended here, [okay, I confess - I'm a cheapskate and would appreciate the MT sticker at a discount or FOC! ;-)]. I only wish that all readers and commenters understand the spirit with which articles and discussions are carried out in Malaysia Today.

It must be noted though, that "No Holds Barred" blog is definitely not for the faint-hearted (YouTube too, I should add). This was something I realized long ago, and I had sent a letter to RPK touching on the language of the commenters. In reply, I was told that, that's how we debate - we apparently haven't "matured" yet. In fact I think, RPK appreciates the openness if it isn't too gross(my apologies if I'm wrong - anyway "grossness" is relative to your upbringing, education, thinking, beliefs, culture and maybe "class").

How true. Guilty as charged – we are so full of 4letter words, when we "articulate" are feelings and ideas so well – it is a truly global blogging phenomenon.

Hey, what do you know – we are now truly Glokal, in an era of Globalisation!

However, I'd hate to see our parliamentarians adopting the same culture in our august house. As much as I can stretch my imagination, it is truly beyond me, how a noted columnist lately, had equated our Parliament to the Blogs.

Now, that's an insult to bloggers ..... I wonder if he was actually trying to flatter them. What have they done to earn such an honor? I'll try to figure it out, and save it for another time.

A recent "disclaimer" that was put up in Malaysia Today was indeed hilarious - yeah man, why would you wanna come into my house, and tell me how to behave myself within the confines of my privacy? When I disagreed, I just made myself scarce where the topic was concerned.

If there was something that I perceived to be insulting, extreme or whatever you call it, I either tried to make a point thru writing comments, or just "bail-out" if I feel that it is pointless. Some readers/ commenters are extremely "passionate" about certain issues, that they could "go on and on in circles" about certain topics. Some would expose their "perceived opponents" by tracing the IP address, to reveal personal info. Some would take it a notch higher, and call for a duel or threaten to send goons. Then again, there are some who would up the ante and threaten with legal action or lodge police reports!

Take a break, guys ..... have a Kit-Kat. If you can't take the heat, just turn it off and .... voila! – no need for daddy to make new rules of conduct!

Have a heart, guys ..... Daddy's growing old, gets erratic, emotional and inconsistent with decision making. He often doesn't know what's going on when he makes those rules that you cry for. Haven't you noticed?

Let's just spare him the trouble, huh ...... let him rest or sleep or take a holiday.


cruzeiro
http://cruzinthots.blogspot.com/

p.s.
Opinion/ ideas mentioned above isn't meant to offend anybody in particular.
The writer is willing to retract anything deemed seditious, provocative or
offensive.
To those offended by anything (please inform me), I apologise.

They would've been charged in Malaysia!

I was just wondering - what if these guys wanted to do a show in Malaysia?
They would definitely be charged with racial intolerance or "incitement".

God help us, man .... where is our sense of "tolerance".
Have we lost our sense of humor?
Have we forgotten how to laugh at ourselves for our idiosyncracies or idiocy(as the case may be)?
Do we have to scream for mummy or daddy who are the authority, to make new rules/ laws so that little pee wee's "sensitivities" isn't offended?
Are we a nation of cry babies?
One thing for sure- "SOMEBODY" is out there making police reports becos he can't tolerate what he perceives as insults ....... it's a shame that some people label these guys as "big brother"!

American Pie

Don McLean - American Pie

"Buy Buy" American Pie - Pun Intended!

There is another post with American Pie video ( check 19/01/07 post)- it illustrates the meaning of this lovely number - oh, man this number really gets me all so nostalgic ..... really reminds me of the "good ol' days".

Somehow, I feel all cultures should have song like this, which can paint a picture of an era, speak of culture, disappointments and achievements to "crystalize" the spirit of a generation.

It is sad that this sort of music is quite rare these days.

30/07: Raja Petra seditious? Hogwash!

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin



Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak once told TV3 in 2004 that if I have insulted Islam or the Rulers then I can be charged under the Sedition Act. And if there are no laws that I can be charged under, added Najib, then the government can always use the Internal Security Act (ISA) against me. Not long after that, they brought me in for interrogation under Section 112 for a crime under the Sedition Act. A week later, they raided my house and confiscated my computer as evidence.

This, we must remember, was after they had done the same about three years before that in 2001. On Hari Raya Haji Day of March 2001, they arrested me under no specific charge. (“Kita akan pikir kemudian,” they said, as they handcuffed me.) And, the next day, they raided my house to confiscate my computer. A month later, on 11 April 2001, they detained me under the ISA.

Well, it’s now three years since that 2004 episode, which, in turn, was also three years after the 2001 episode. It looks like every three years they need to come to my house to confiscate my computer and detain me under a charge they will ‘pikir kemudian’. I suppose, therefore, this time around it should be no different. So expect them to come to my house soon to confiscate my computer and probably arrest me and charge me under the Sedition Act -- or maybe take the easy way out and use the ISA on me again.

The fact that my matter has been raised and heavily debated in the Lower House of Parliament, plus every Umno man and his dog (metaphorically speaking of course) has whacked me (and all bloggers in general), while Nazri Aziz and a horde of others have urged the government to use the ISA against me, probably means that the end is very near. (Not sure yet whether it is my end or theirs though).

Anyway, my reply to them is sharp and simple. Raja Petra seditious? Hogwash! If anyone is seditious it is Umno and until today those propagating a blood-bath have not been made accountable for their actions. Was it not Najib, that ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name, and all those others calling for my detention under the ISA who raised their keris above their heads at the TPCA padang in 1987 and threatened to bathe it in Chinese blood? Was it not Umno in November 1999 during the ceremony to launch Barisan Nasional’s election machinery in the Bukit Jalil Stadium that warned the Chinese if Barisan Nasional was to lose its two-thirds majority in the 29 November general election, just like on 11 May 1969, then another May 13 may erupt?

Yes, who in heaven’s name is seditious? (I was going to say ‘who the fuck’ but changed my mind so that I can keep this piece decent and suitable for minors). Is it I or Umno? I am alleged to have raised racial tension by allowing comments in Malaysia Today’s blogs that may rub some races the wrong way. Me? Me who has Malay, English, Welsh, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Filipino, etc., relatives who are Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, atheists, etc? Hey, if there was a medal for being the most ‘global’ family I would be he who is most eligible to receive it. My family is almost like a mini-United Nations. And I have not even started dissecting the ‘Malay’ side of my family into sub-groups such as Bugis, Javanese, Minangkabau, etc.

Hey Umno! Yes, you, Umno! You, who accuse me of being seditious and who should be detained under the ISA. I, Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin, is not only accusing you of being seditious, I am also accusing you, Umno, of being the cause of an unknown number of deaths suffered in the 13 May 1969 race riots. And I make this allegation with God as my witness and the testimony of the First Prime Minister of Malaya/Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bapa Merdeka, who went to his grave an extremely sad man and who grievingly said he wished he had died and never lived to see the day that Malaysians would murder Malaysians.

Learning the truth about May 13

The Sun, 27 July 2007

Thank you for your feature on the 1969 riots. This was the first informative article about the event that I have read in my 24 years of life. Never before have I encountered such a revealing account of that episode.

I didn't get it in primary school, neither in secondary school, nor in university either. And all this while I have studied locally. I think somebody somewhere thought that by not exposing young Malaysians to this chapter of the nation's past, we would be better off.

But they should realise that history has a tendency to repeat itself. Thank you for printing the truth. Now we all know what really happened and can learn to avoid it.

The May 13 incident as personally related by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the First Prime Minister of Malaya/Malaysia and Bapa Merdeka

At his residence in Penang, 1972

“It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually, he was in my house as I was preparing to return to Kedah and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection. Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action. After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

RPK's Reply

The following is Raja Petra's reply to those who make unfounded allegations against him and bloggers.

Raja Petra endures 8 hour grilling

Reply To Dr. Dzul

Here is a good and brief reply that was among the comments (exactly my sentiments, so I didn't bother to post anything) to this highly hypocritical article (from an Islamist of the PAS party) in Malaysia Today, that actually fights for an Islamic state in Malaysia. It was indeed a very well written article from a smart man, with intentions to hoodwink the unsuspecting reader who doesn't understand his motives.
The reason why I had put the comment before the article, was so that the reader would be able to read the article with a proper, unbiased perspective..


creeper wrote:

Dear Dzul,

I'm quite impressed with this piece of work ..... especially the last bit :-

"Only a vibrant and genuine democratic state will ensure and provide for every citizen to partake and advocate their respective ideological commitments and defend the right of others to exercise theirs be they Secular, Islamic or Agnostic or what have you. That is truly the defining criterion of a democrat. This shall remain our enduring mission that will unite us together.
Will the true democrat please stand up!"
........................................

Allow me to begin by defining two words - OPINION and CONVICTION :-

An OPINION is a position you hold with a varied degrees of intensity, that merely voices your preference.
A CONVICTION is that which is rooted in your conscience;
.........so that if you were to toy with your opinion, you would be jostling with your preferences. If you were to toy with your conviction, you are going to deal with your conscience, before you alter it.

Now let's dissect what you have written.

Firstly, you're from PAS Research Centre (whatever that is).

Then, you do not wish to take sides, and yet have spoken for Democracy/ Democrats as it would give you the opportunity to attain power via elections.

However you speak for a party that aims for an Islamic state - and an Islamic State by Syaria, isn't compatible with Democracy, freedom and justice based on universal values!

And you have the audacity to say,"Will the true democrat please stand up!"?

Get off your high horse, man - take a good look at yourself and the principles that your party stands for!

As long as you speak in this manner for PAS, you've made yourself nothing more than a hypocrite - and it stinks to the high heavens!

Do you even realize that it is people like you (i.e. PAS supporters) that provoked NTR to come out with such seditious statements so as to play politics?

Are you so shameless, that you wanna "sidestep the debate" with the excuse that it is a lost cause?

I somehow sense a conflict, a dilemma in you - between that of your conscience and your opinion.

The only problem here is - I don't know which one speaks here!

Is it any wonder that despite all your religiosity, people don't trust you?

27/07 12:42:11

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

Now, the following is the article ......................

27/07: Islamic State or Secular State? Not Again!

Category: General

Posted by: Raja Petra

GUEST COLUMNISTS
Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad
PAS Research Centre

The pronouncement made by the DPM that Malaysia is an Islamic State has expectedly sent shock waves across the nation. Already we are measuring swords between detractors and advocates of the ‘Islamic State’. The full-blown outcome of this debate, now turning into a War of Words, has yet to be witnessed. Having frantically wrote “Dark Alley of Self-Destruction”, the writer has now to pen down this piece, in an effort to mitigate the anticipated damage that will be caused by this ‘edict’. Very sad indeed.

The DPM has chosen such an opportune time to unleash his ‘well contrived strategy’. This may very well be presumptuous. What could be better than to have it pronounced on the occasion of the “International Conference on the Role of Islamic States in a Globalised World”? If Malaysia is anything but an Islamic State, what business has she to do with that conference? Hence, his insistence that ‘we have never, never been secular...we are an Islamic State”, (Bernama, 17/0707) logically fall in place, when refuting an allegation by a pressman that Malaysia is going secular. Appropriate though it may seem, it is not as innocuous as we would like to believe so.

The writer has deliberately used the word ‘well contrived strategy’ of the DPM. Yes it could have been his knee-jerk response given the theme of the conference. To say anything less than one that is premeditated, doesn’t befit his stature as the heir to the premiership and equally debasing to his supposedly high intellectual caliber.

Given the various debacles of the current regime including of his own of late, and with the 12th General Election looming ever closer, what could be more expedient than to distract the entire nation, nay plunge and embroil them in a fury of endless raging dispute of the ‘very nature’ of this 50 year-old nation. If it has worked well the first time it was exploited by the then PM in September 2001, it should work equally well this time round. Why? Well, the gullible (read opposition parties, the civil society and some sincere partners of the BN) are still as vulnerable as they were used to be. If the parameters are still the same and kept constant, the same approach should deliver the same result. So he thinks.

For as long as any notion of an ‘Islamic State’ is an anathema to Non-Muslims and a ‘Secular State’ equally an abhorrence or abomination to the Muslims constituency, the Umno-BN regime will continue to exploit this dichotomy as the best ‘bogey’ to keep the nation ‘torn apart’, ‘united’ and ‘subdued’ under the BN’s hegemony. This is the greatest Malaysian paradox. The perpetrators turning saviors, while the citizens of the nation relentlessly mandating them, come every election. This is truly and uniquely Malaysian.

So what should be done?

Precisely this is the reason for writing this piece.

The writer is of the strong opinion that continuing the debate in this manner is in fact totally counter-productive to every effort of reform and change towards the betterment of the nation. Already the DAP is organizing an English Forum entitled “An Islamic State After 50 Years?” parading on the panel everyone else except those representing the most ardent advocate of the ‘Islamic State’. The inclusion of a panelist from them however, will only add to the vigour and rigour of the debate. But will it provide the sanity and intellectual acumen now desperately needed to end this acrimonious contestation? God knows!

The plethora of writings by distinguished columnists and academics now abound, are no less inimical and injurious to the whole cause of reform, to say of the least. Both are waging their ‘jihad’ or ‘crusade’ and equally adamant to be defending their democratic rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. The writer could empathise and concur with most of their arguments, be it historical, legalistic, moral or intellectual in nature, from both ‘divides’. That said, he neither thinks it necessary nor finds it fruitful to comment or even prolong it. He would simply side-step the entire debate.

If at this juncture, you think that the writer is merely trying to appease everyone, you are entirely in error. That will be the last thing he intends to do. On the contrary, he is almost at war with everyone, especially those who are advocating or espousing change and reform, yet taking others on the path of self-destruction on a ‘zero-sum’ contest. What could be a greater folly?

Let it be known to all and sundry, that no amount of debate will substantively change anything in the Federal Constitution. It neither secularises nor islamises the Federal Constitution anymore than what it is. We can debate and discourse until the cows come home, but that doesn’t change anything of the very fabric of this much embattled nation. Quite on the reverse, it only deepens the various fault-line, aggravates the prejudices towards the ‘other’ and delays the renewal of a genuine nationhood further.

Let it be reiterated that this nation is a constitutional monarch supposedly practising a constitutional democracy. The Federal Constitution has evolved through the various phases of historical development, dating back to well before independence. It has provided for the various mutually exclusive constraints and demands of our very plural society. The constitutional amendments has come to witness a uniquely dual or parallel implementation of our judiciary not seen anywhere in the world, albeit without its lacuna or shortcomings unforeseen at the point of the amendments. It is far from a perfect document but nonetheless the supreme law of the land (Article 4).

However, what is obviously and grossly wrong is that, this democracy has been relentlessly raped and trampled upon by the power-that-be. It is this crisis that is now most deserving of our focus so as to enable us to redeem our lost opportunity for a genuine democratic reform and change, on the eve of the next general election.

Given the multitude of challenges at hand, from endemic corruption in government machinery to the sky-rocketing of the crime rate and all, we must not be deluded, sidetracked or distracted from standing united in addressing the real issues of the nation and swayed into the alley of self-destruction by unending debate of semantics and rhetoric created by these inept leaders.

The nation on the verge of celebrating her 50th independence, deserves a mutually respecting citizenry celebrating our multi-cultural heritage and our religious plurality, so as to enhance our effort at national unity and integration. Only a vibrant and genuine democratic state will ensure and provide for every citizen to partake and advocate their respective ideological commitments and defend the right of others to exercise theirs be they Secular, Islamic or Agnostic or what have you. That is truly the defining criterion of a democrat. This shall remain our enduring mission that will unite us together.

Will the true democrat please stand up!