Taib: Hero or hypocrite?

 

Mariam Mokhtar | November7, 2013 | The Ant Daily

OUTSPOKEN: If Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud can sound like the voice of reason, then it is clear that Umno-Baru is in terminal decline.

When the verdict on the Allah word issue was announced last month, Taib’s speech resonated with many Malaysians when he said, “To us (Sarawakians) there is no issue. We have lived with people of different races and different religions for many decades, even before Malaysia.”

Taib is a shrewd politician who has the benefit of age and experience. He appears to be more in touch with his grassroots supporters, unlike Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who panders to extremists.

Taib waxed lyrical about Sarawakians being tolerant, and he dismissed the Allah ruling when he declared that it would not be binding on Sabah and Sarawak.

In a deliberate snub to the three judges of the Court of Appeal, he said, “We cannot alter the status quo in Sarawak.” He maintained that the “spirit of tolerance” among the Sarawak people was high and that the multi-racial state represented stability and harmony.

On visits to the longhouse, Taib said he would source a Muslim cook to prepare his dishes using the ingredients which the longhouse residents had bought. His childhood at the mission school had prepared him for being with Christians and he was not perturbed when they made the sign of the cross, or prayed.

Taib may have been disloyal by having a dig at Najib, and dishing out snide, patronising comments about tolerance. Najib had just opened the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) convention when Taib made his remarks.

Sarawak is the fourth most populous state in Malaysia. The Ibans form the biggest ethnic grouping with 30% and the Chinese, Malays and Melanau represent 24%, 23% and 6% respectively.

In terms of religion, Sarawak is the only country in Malaysia with a Christian majority (44%), with the Muslims in second place (30%).

Taib is a Melanau of Muslim descent and he has performed a minor miracle keeping Umno-Baru at bay, preventing the importation into Sarawak of Umno-Baru’s religious intolerance, their bigotries and their Ketuanan superiority. Taib has seen the deleterious effects of the mass Malayanisation and Islamicisation on the peninsula.

Najib only dreams of “1Malaysia”, but Sarawak has managed to display racial unity with its unique “1Sarawak” version.

Taib is dependent on the support of the Christians of Sarawak; so is Taib a hero or just another hypocrite? Are his remarks about the Allah ruling just the means to an end, and yet another charade?

Taib implied that the West Malaysians were an intolerant lot. If tolerance is a virtue, then Sarawakians must be extremely forgiving and tolerant, as they seem able to excuse Taib’s corruption, nepotism and cronyism. Or is Taib mocking the people of Sarawak?

Taib insinuated that Muslims in Sarawak are smarter than their West Malaysian peers, because they are not easily confused or enraged by Christians using the word Allah.

This Allah debacle started in 1986, when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his Cabinet ruled that several words could not be used by Malaysian Christians.

To keep Christians in check and to whip the conservative Muslims into a frenzy to defend Islam, the word Allah is brought out every few years, either before the Umno-Baru internal elections or the Sarawak state election, when Taib would suddenly be very vocal about protecting the rights of Sarawak Christians.

If Sarawak were to declare its independence from the union of Malaysia, Taib would be able to keep all of the oil wealth. He could revoke previous agreements and nationalise the oil industry. The neglected communities could be rebuilt with the replenished coffers. Putrajaya need not be blamed for withholding payment.

So, what is stopping Taib from branching out on his own?

Is he worried about the security and defence of Sarawak? Aid should not be a worry as many foreign nations will rush to invest in Sarawak. He already enjoys many ties with Singapore and developed countries.

Taib is wary about independence because he will suddenly find that as a Muslim-Melanau he would be part of a minority group. The other ethnic communities would make heavy demands on him. Despite the lack of interference from Putrajaya, he must wonder if he could survive as easily.

The downside for Putrajaya of an independent Sarawak would be the loss of the large block of MPs which enables the federal government to retain power in perpetuity. Development in peninsular Malaysia would be curtailed if income from oil-rich Sarawak were no longer available.

By 2016, Sarawak must hold its state elections, but before that day approaches, Taib must consider his retirement plans. He would like to make his influence complete and official, perhaps by becoming the Governor of Sarawak. So, we must ask ourselves if Taib is sincere in his defence of the Christians in Sarawak, or only protecting his political interests?

Mariam Mokhtar is "a Malaysian who dares to speak the truth."

The Ugly 1Malaysian Muslim Woman

Umno women, like Sharifah, Norhayati Saiddin, Raja Ropiah Raja Abdullah, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Rosmah Mansor, are poor role models for Malaysian women.

 

By : Mariam Mokhtar

 

COMMENT

Umno seems to have a lot of people who open their mouths and put their feet straight into them. That is why few will sympathise with Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, the president of Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) who has gone into hiding and is attempting to restore her reputation after she delivered a knockout blow to Umno.

Perhaps, she deserves a tinge of sympathy for having an out-of-body experience; the moment she opened her mouth, all credibility left her body.

Incidentally, from where does SW1M get its funding? Is it the taxpayer or does the money come from abroad?

Incredibly, the other members of her little known organisation are just as blind, and do not think Sharifah’s behavior was appalling. Can anything be clearer?

It is Sharifah’s snobbery and aggression which the rakyat identifies with Umno. Her lack of humility prevented her from apologising for her poor conduct. She is too arrogant to admit that she was wrong and her decision to go into hiding because she says she is being “blackmailed”, shows her cowardice and guilt. Her decision to prolong the issue and not deal decisively and immediately with it, has made her look even more conceited.

Sharifah’s tirade against KS Bawani the law student couldn’t have come at a worse time. The day before, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had tried to take the credit for the incident-free People’s Uprising rally dubbed KL112, but Sharifah’s outburst, has again focused our minds on Umno’s arrogance. Najib was again eclipsed by an arrogant woman.

Umno women, like Sharifah, Norhayati Saiddin, Raja Ropiah Raja Abdullah, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Rosmah Mansor, are poor role models for Malaysian women.

The video clip of the incident was around 24 minutes long, but in that short episode, we witnessed a snapshot of Malaysia as it really is. In real life, we have Umno, the bully party. In the university hall, Umno is personified by Sharifah.

Sharifah talks down to us and tells the students that she has respect for Bawani, despite giving her a public tongue-lashing. Her behaviour is just like Umno which tells us that the reforms are working, that there are low levels of crime in the country, that our education in the best in the world, but at the same time steals from us.

After several hours of listening to the panel members, only two questions were allowed from the floor. Even then, one wonders if the questions had been selected before the talk and did not come from the students themselves.

Drug dealer’s pitbull

Concerned that the students were unable to provide feedback on the talk, Bawani felt compelled to ask some questions. She quoted the High Court ruling on Bersih and corrected SW1M’s assertion that S Ambiga was an anarchist. She then asked for the panel’s opinion on the provision of free education for Malaysian students.

Sharifah, like a drug dealer’s pitbull, was ready to sink her fangs into Bawani, to prevent the other students from “thinking” about greater issues. Perhaps, the only difference between Sharifah and a pitbull is that eventually a pitbull will let go.

Sharifah, in typical Umno fashion, sidestepped Bawani’s questions and prattled on about animals and other unrelated matters – an Umno trick which has been honed to perfection in parliament.

Another similarity with Umno is the way Sharifah held the galaxy lucky draw after the talk. This is just like Umno offering bags of rice and Milo after canvassing.

The fact that the video-clip took one month to surface showed that the university was afraid of the backlash. When only one student appeared to show support for Bawani, the quality of our students, at least in that hall, is questioned. The panel members who failed to stop Sharifah from making a fool of herself, are themselves weak. What is Sharifah to them?

Most of us, despite our racial origins, have been brought up to respect others, but the school of respect Sharifah attended does things differently.

She sees nothing wrong in verbally abusing others in public. She claims she is being respectful, by virtue of shaking their hands first.

When Sharifah talked about respecting elders, did she want us to have respect for leaders who steal from us and take away our dignity?

Perhaps, this is another symptom of an education system gone wrong. Muslim children are given religious education at school and are barred from Moral Studies, when they should be learning alongside their non-Muslim peers, about manners, courtesy and consideration to others.

Sharifah’s SW1M cannot claim to speak for Malaysian women; she certainly does not speak for me.

For all her intellectual snobbery, the mangled English on Sharifah’s SW1M website brought howls of laughter, thus attracting more ridicule on the president, who had sought to browbeat Bawani with boasts about her degree.

Divisive doctrines

Are animals in an animal testing laboratory, which have been conditioned by scientists cleverer than animals in the wild? Sharifah should realise that the attainment of a degree is not as important as the use to which one puts it. A degree is not a badge of honour with which to belittle others.

We are all products of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s divisive doctrines. Whilst many of us try to overturn his racism and look forward to a country with can be proud of its varied population, people like Sharifah feel it convenient to prolong Mahathir’s legacy.

At this crucial time before GE-13, other BN groups have distanced themselves from Sharifah.

Is Sharifah a Malaysian or someone who was put on the fastrack to citizenship?

The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA) has denounced Sharifah for being difficult. Perhaps, her overbearing nature hides insecurities about her origins. Is this a trait which she shares with another Indian who calls himself a Malay?

In the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) sessions, students are told that all Muslims are considered Malays whatever their racial origins. Thus, any Chinese or Indians who embrace Islam become Malay.

When Sharifah locked eyes with Bawani, in the university hall, did she realise that the only difference between them was religion? These two women could have been twins who were separated at birth, but by virtue of being brought up a Muslim, Sharifah was entitled to all the perks of the bumiputera.

Did she feel morally, intellectually and spiritually superior to Bawani and decide to bully her? Was it fear that made Sharifah lash out? In Bavani, Sharifah saw herself as she might have been, if she or her family had not converted.

If a Malay had posed Bawani’s questions, would Sharifah’s tongue-lashing have been as severe and would she have suggested the questioner go to another country?

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

From : Free Malaysia Today

Allah is not the problem. Mankind is.

FMT LETTER: From Lembu Susu, via e-mail

I wish to share my thoughts to laypersons and have intentionally omitted quoting scriptures from both the Quran and the Bible, so as to make it easy reading for both divide.

1 The word ‘Allah’ is meant only for Muslims and for all who hold the view that there is only one God, according to the PAS Majlis Syura. This view resonates well with the majority of Muslims in Malaysia. The non-Muslims and the Christians must understand that the reason PAS does not allow the word ‘Allah’ in the Bible translation was because of theological reason.

Christians hold the view that God is a Trinity; that is, the belief in a Triune God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Though the Christians maintained that they believe in One God, but the concept of Trinity was unacceptable in Islam. Hence, if the Christians were to use the word ‘Allah’ for their God, then, it will not represent correctly the ‘Allah’ of the Muslim God.

2 The Christians, on the other hand, have a problem if they use the word ‘Allah’ without qualification. The problem is that the ‘Allah’ of the Bible is not the same as the ‘Allah’ of the Quran. For example, the Christians believe the Bible teaches monogamous marriages, but in the Quran, polygamy is allowed, albeit with certain conditions.

Moreover, in the Quran, jihad also involves wiping out infidels, which is not advocate at all in the New Testament of the Bible. Hence, when the Christians use the word ‘Allah’ for God, they have to clarify, that though the word ‘Allah’ is the same word being used for ‘God’ by both the Christians and the Muslims, yet, the ‘Allah’ revealed in the Bible is different from the ‘Allah’ in the Quran.

3 The bottom line is this: ‘Allah’ is just a word to denote ‘God’. It is how you will fill that word with meaning. This is where the teachings in the Quran and in the Bible gives meaning to the word  ‘Allah’ by each religion.

4 But if we were to look it in another angle, actually, Allah is greater than any human words can express. Allah cannot be confined to a word. The word is only necessary to help man connect to Him, but He is greater than a word. In fact, there is no word that is sufficient to address Him. He is beyond words. He cannot be reduced to just a word, ‘Allah’. He is greater than any words mankind can call Him.

5 So, on ‘Allah’s side, there is no issue for the Muslims and there is no issue for the Christians. He will never be confused by the Christians or by the Muslims.

6 As for Muslims and Christians, there were also no confusion with the word ‘Allah’, as the years has proven. It is how you fill the meaning of the word ‘Allah’ with. The teachings from the Quran and the Bible will give understanding and meaning to that word, by each one’s religion accordingly.

7 Every person will believe his or her religion is the correct and right one. Malaysia has existed in harmony all these years because of the mutual respect shown towards another’s religion and faith.

8 In each religion, it is only normal for their religion to tell them that theirs is the only and correct religion. Others are not. In fact, they are false. This is alright, because the constitution allow freedom of religion. But what a person believes must only be confined to himself or herself. They are not to extend what they believe onto others. If that is done, it will cause war.

9 Though Islam is the religion of the Federation, the Constitution allows freedom of religion. Hence, to stretch one’s believe and impose it on others infringes on the rights of a citizen.

10 The non-Muslims cannot impose on Muslims their beliefs, neither can the Muslims beliefs be imposed onto non-Muslims. Instead, there must be mutual respect for one another’s beliefs.

11 No one can tell another religion what word they can use and what word they cannot use. If this is allowed, it will breakdown the peace and harmony that was built and cherished all these the years. It will be the same as telling them, ‘you cannot practice your own religion, because your religion violates my religious beliefs’, and we all know that it is common for almost every religion, if adhered to fully, will violate against another. If this happens, then, there will be provocation and war.

So, in conclusion, may the one in authority not use their authority to impose one’s beliefs onto another, just because this is what they believe in. Instead, the call for restrain and respect for one another’s faith and belief should be paramount and upheld. Let the Muslims respect the non-Muslims’ faith and beliefs, and vice-versa, the non-Muslims respect the Muslims’ faith and beliefs.

If ‘Allah’ is consider a sacred word to the Muslims, then, keep in within the context of own religion. Don’t impose it on another, who may not share the same beliefs. The Christians have no intention to hurt or to confuse the Muslims. They are only asking for their right to practice their own religion, using a word that has been there and used all these years

From : Free Malaysia Today

The Curse Of The Nation

I have always said Dr Mahathir is a menace to his own people. Now only you can see the effects of his foolishness when the ringgit has halved its value overnight and your economy goes kaput.

Single handedly you have caused hardship to millions of your own people. You have built useless mega projects at tremendous cost to the country.

The telecoms tower in Kuala Lumpur and the highest building in the world show how stupid you are. Not only does it cause massive traffic jam, it has totally no purpose. If you need high ground for telecoms antennae a nearby mountain is there for free. This tower has no purpose from the ground up to 300 metres. The satellites make this totally unnecessary.

A fool and his money are soon parted. The only thing is you are the fool and the money belongs to Malaysians. You make 20% in every project, you have real estate in Japan and billions of shares corruptly acquired.

Your 3 sons are worth 8 billion US$. Where do they get this money? Of course, corruption.

You are known as the Marcos of Malaysia, having enriched yourself to the tune of billions.

You dare to shed crocodile tears during UMNO delegates meeting about the ills of corruption.

Yet you are the most corrupt of all the prime ministers before you. A thief is crying thief and hopes people look the other way. Who dares to say anything when the chief is caught with his hands in the candy jar?

You said wisdom is not the monopoly of the West. So is foolishness. You have more foolishness than most people would believe. Billions are used to build two high rise Petronas buildings that benefit nobody. They now stand tall, a symbol of stupidity and irresponsibility. Instead they just add on to traffic jams.. 

What is this reclamation of 10 islands off Kedah? Totally absurd and stupid. Of course your benefit is 20%. 

And the bridge across from Malacca to Sumatra across international waters? Why not build a bridge to the moon? I am sure you still can get your 20%. You called me a Moron. How can a Moron make so much money. By allowing short selling and borrowing millions of shares from your banks we fund managers made millions out of your
inexperience and poor regulations.

You lose all Malaysians' money, therefore you are the Moron.. Now you know too late and start crying over spilt milk.

In Australia you are known as the recalcitrant ego maniac; in UK the corrupt bastard because of your stupid purchase of our movie studio and the 290 million ringgit Lotus racing car plant and the shady Pergau dam loans from the UK. They are useless to us and you still want to buy them.

What about buying British reject submarines through your agent, of course. The agent/ broker is designed to make millions out of the Malaysian government..

Your purchase of our battleships is at least 50% more than others are paying. Your purchase of 9 hospitals from UK lock, stock and barrel does not support your local architects or your industry and the British send you obsolete medical equipment. The design is atrocious, one end to the other is half a kilometer and there is no CT-scan, an absolute necessity.

In the UK your face appears in no less than 17 newspapers as a corrupt dictator. In Malaysia you are known as the (IBM) International Big Mouth. In Japan they call you the 'smallest one' (brain size).

In Pacific islands, the Santa Claus (giving advice left and right). In south America they call you the parrot (he talks a lot but does not know what it is about). In Manila the living Marcos.

In Malaysia they are spending millions to lure tourists and you talk rubbish scaring every foreigner away. When he is dumb he is doubted a fool, when he opens his mouth it removes all doubt."

While I agree the West does not have the monopoly to wisdom, your actions are not the wisest either. Your EAEC has totally no support even in Asean. Your South-South dialogue meets with the same fate and what is this I hear of the Bridge from Peninsula Malaysia to Sumatra covering 20 miles across International shipping lane?

How crazy can one get? Even the Japanese don't have the money.

This world's stupidity seems to be concentrated in one man's mind - yours.

The multimedia super corridor - MSC -. Well in USA its Most Stupid Concept because we Americans, would have thought of it light years before. Even if it makes money, we can copy this concept can't we?

Why do you want to spend your hard-earned money doing questionable projects? It will be like the Bakun project. Abandoned fund wasted and another white elephant. I always say politicians should not be involved in business. Your ministers are also businessmen and almost every official is enriching himself. Look at Rafidah Aziz, selling thousands of Approved Permits (APs) for cars each worth 20-30 thousand Malaysian dollars. Why not your government sell them and make the money? She has acquired millions of shares meant for bumis for free before she agrees to list them.

Look at your Selangor Chief Minister collecting millions for approving high rise buildings from businessman. He is worth a few billions. Unfortunately he was caught with a few million pocket money in Australia. Every Chief minister is awarding useless projects to his cronies then collecting secret pay offs on the side. The Land Development Boards and the Economic Development Boards are used to bail out any loses suffered by politicians. The profits they keep, the loses they force the Government bodies to absorb. How can your poor ever close the gap when every good deal is snatched by your politicians? How can your country get out of poverty if all the billions of corruption money is taken out of the country?

Look at the Sarawak Chief Minister selling billions worth of timber concessions under the table; selling every piece of state land to businessmen without tender; using his own companies to obtain lucrative government contracts; selling approval signatures for a fee 'you pay I approve'. He has 8 billion US stashed overseas. Thousands of acres of land are given to one or two companies while thousands of poor people still live in cardboard makeshift homes; have no water and shit into the river.

Thousands of acres of land are sold to companies for plantations while the natives do not have even one acre to their name. He is selling sand near the beaches to one company for earth filling and then ask the government to spend millions to protect the coastline when erosion occurs.

He lost 300 million of the Sarawak government money trying to make computer chips. He has built a port in Northern Sarawak town in water so shallow it needs dredging every year. The Prime Minister built highways without tender, your cronies get the deal and the price double. Your Langkawi airport runway was built double the cost by your own company, Ekran.

The Malaysian nation has lost at least 30 billions during your last 10 years of corrupt rule. One billion lost from the purchase of phantom Skyhawk war planes nobody has ever seen (are they still in the Nevada desert, USA?). 

3 billion lost from the London tin scandal (you thought you could corner the London tin market without knowing the Americans have a stockpile! Stupidity at its best. 

6 billion Perwaja steel mill where nobody even knows where the money goes, 3 billion bank Bumiputra scandal when George Tan bribed all the bank officials to lend him the money.

6 billion forex lost by Bank Negara (the fool and his money are soon parted) and 6 billion to build three of the world's tallest buildings (built by Japanese and Koreans and furniture imported from France - not Malaysia) and 1 billion lost from purchase of British warships including fees paid to the broker and under the table..

Add the 10 billion you stole and 5 billion taken by Ministers.

In the 1997 the World Journalists meeting voted Dr Mahathir the Prime Minister of the Decade. It sounded strange to everybody until it was revealed those who voted against are threatened by IRD officers and with losing their jobs. In New York the United Nations 1997 meeting, the most corrupt Prime Minister of the decade is President Suharto and second Dr Mahathir (Actually Dr Mahathir should take first place but bribed the Indonesians to take honour of Number One.

There are Fifty thousand of your university students not given places in Malaysia but are good enough for places overseas resulting in billions of dollars lost. The British and the Australians are thinking how stupid. Your best students are sent overseas raising their standards while as in most countries the best are kept in local universities and the rejects sent overseas..A university student in Hong Kong is much more prestigious than any Australian counterpart.

You have been colonised by the British so long you cannot even educate your own people. Look at Hong Kong or Singapore, less than 5% study overseas. All the money saved. Your country could save billions if every student overseas is recalled to a local university, and at the same time raising your own standards.

Your people are still without shoes, without land to farm, without homes, bathing in rivers shitting in holes in the ground, without water and electricity. Your cities are concrete jungles without greenery and open spaces. Your KL is jammed with traffic.

Yet you still keep on building high rises. You should come down from the clouds and stop daydreaming and firmly plant your feet in the ground.

Your schools are cramped 500 students to an acre and thousands of acres are given free to some politicians who leave them idle.

Your parks are being taken by politicians to build shophouses and every cabinet minister is a land-grabbing businessman who builds roads only to their cronies' land.

The Malaysians' Prayer, "Ya Allah, we thank you for your gifts of timber, oil and grain. But then the devil sent us corrupt Mahathir without a Brain and look we are back to square one again. So just take Dr Mahathir back to Hell And we will be alive and well."

In China people have been shot for embezzling one thousand dollars. With 8 billion you have stolen, therefore you would be shot 80 thousand times. Now you are leading an anti-corruption campaign. We all know what you should do. Look yourself in the mirror. You see the crooked you. Then use your left hand and handcuff your right hand.

You have put the opposition leader and his son in jail when they said in parliament you are the richest PM in the world. And his colleague Mr Karpal Singh too for 2 years.

So I get a reward or bribe if I now say you are the poorest PM in this world? Your 3 sons are sitting on the board of directors of more than 200 companies. They must have been educated in Harvard school of business and obtained distinctions? Or is it "you don't know me, you don't do business in Malaysia" law that applies. Billions of ringgit of Employee's Provident Fund and public Petronas funds are used to bail out your sons who make losses investing in every venture you thought you could make money. How unethical and corrupt. Every one of your politicians is sitting on the board of tens of companies making thousands without any effort, lending their VIP names to borrow millions from local banks without collateral.. 

Now these have become non- performing loans. Now you want 20 million Malaysians to sacrifice for the folly of ONE man? Why not the fool resign and admit he wasted and took most of the money. I could teach you how to put your economy on track but first you must apologize to the Malaysian people.

Malaysia’s striving porn & sex industry receives government’s blessing & protection

Although a Muslim country officially, many of the cabinet ministers and ruling BN MPs have sex affairs outside their marriages. Malaysia is a sex-offender Heaven, no doubt about it.

By ManaBolehMalaysia

With the world's economy heading for a tailspin after the 2008 financial disaster and in an apparent bid to keep dwindling GDP growth above 6% to achieve Mahathir's Vision 2020 objectives, word has it that the Malaysian government secretly gave its blessings and protection to the flourishing underground SEX & PORN industry. This came to light with the recent report that UMNO (the dominant ruling party) and PM Najib will protect the “Datuk T” trio who exposed the sex video involving a man resembling the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, under the Witness Protection Act and Whistle blower Act. The industry always protect its own.

It is evidently clear from the Sodomy-II trial, Chua Soi Lek's (former Health Minister and current President of MCA) sex video to which he admitted he was the “actor”, Altantuya-PM French Sorpene Corruption-murder scandal and Sodomy-I, Malaysia's sex industry (porn, prostitution, massage, human trafficking etc) has the full blessing of the sex-tainted PM, cabinet and his crony corrupted police force.

The current PM has had a string of sex scandals hanging over his head while his Information Minister accused of raping his maid is still holding on to his job. Although a Muslim country officially, many of the cabinet ministers and ruling BN MPs have sex affairs outside their marriages. Malaysia is a sex-offender Heaven, no doubt about it. Money buys everything from child prostitutes to murdering your own wife if she gets in the way of your sexual escapades. Malaysia is the land where the righteous has no rights and the criminals run free and wild.

In Malaysia it is against the law to produce, distribute, possess or promote any kind of sex video; what more to screen the sexually explicit video to invited editors and leading journalists from the mainstream media. The “Datuk T” trio openly admitted to blackmailing the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Wan Azizah (President of PKR) to step down from politics or face full exposure. In any democratic country it is unlawful to force anyone from challenging the incumbent with such blatant criminal acts. Yet all three (one a child rapist and another a known “pimp”), had not been stripped of their honorific titles, detained or charged. What other proof do you need?

It would have been a simple task to track down the producer of the illegal video, illegal production venue, the porno stars and camera crew as several permits would have to be issued in the land where an assembly of more than 3 is deemed illegal without a police permit. So far no one has been charged yet.

Instead the Bukit Aman secretariat chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Ghazali Mohd Amin said the opposition leader (Anwar Ibrahim) was not being investigated as there was no sign of criminal misconduct. In a land where even close proximity is an offense under the Syariah Laws, (resulting in frequent raids, arrests and some false arrests involving foreign tourists), should Anwar not be investigated to prove that he was indeed the actor in the illegal video?

If he is, he should be prosecuted under the Syariah laws as he is a Muslim. If he is not, should his reputation not be lawfully protected by the state from being tarnished?

Instead the PM and his whole cabinet seemed bent on promoting the video and more concerned with the authenticity of the video than investigating the real culprits. Why let a major sex scandal go to waste? This is a golden opportunity to promote 1Malaysia – a 1 stop centre for all kinds of sex (normal, perverse, anal, international you name it, you have it) and you have the choice of recording the sex session for your private pleasure.

Malaysia guarantees NO Prosecution even if you are a high level minister. Better still you get to keep your job and the ruling party ensures you get reelected everytime. Ever wonder why we call for a GENERAL ERECTION every four years with a guaranteed 2/3 majority sexual satisfaction for the last 50 years except the last time.

If this was an isolated breach of morality and legality, a moderate Muslim country like Malaysia could be excused for not wanting to prosecute the Datuk T trio; to keep away unwelcome sex publicity. But then the whole country from the Administration to the Judiciary, to the whole Police force seems quite obsessed with this sexual gross injustice complete with all the media fun-fare.

For the last 3 years, the whole cabinet was fully engrossed with Sodomy II which is still in the midst of a sham miss-trial. In SODOMY II a 65 year old Anwar with a notable spinal cord injury inflicted by the then IGP during his detention in SODOMY I was accused of sodomising (raping) a 24-year old intern (Saiful) who is physically larger and stronger than the alleged rapist.

In SODOMY I Anwar was charged with having engaged in anal sex with his driver (a Malaysian), his advisor (a Pakistani with a PhD) and his adopted brother (an Indonesian). Strangely, his driver who should have been jailed for several counts of perjury for the numerous discrepancies on the witness stand, was not.

Similarly Saiful who suffered no injuries or trauma in the alleged rape, was not charged. He was rumored to have received a large sum of money as did the Driver who mysteriously became a millionaire and a company director after the Sodomy-I trial. Did Saiful meet with the PM months before the alleged rape (for a scholarship despite being a dropout) and just 2 days after the alleged rape purportedly for advice by a traumatized rape victim?

The PM recently admitted to meeting Saiful (the rape victim?) on these two occasions before the purported rape incident after initially denying it. Now why would a deputy PM and later a full-fledged PM be spending so much time with a college dropout on such private matters? Since when does a high level PM-in-waiting meet a low level arsehole like Saiful in private for scholarship matters and for “rape victim trauma consultation”? Anyone believing this would be an arsehole himself.

And to prove public perception right, nothing came out of the scholarship meeting. It is on public record Saiful went for 2 medical examinations on his arsehole 2 days after the second meeting. Could Najib be giving the young Saiful advice based on his own sexual escapades which included the infamous French Scorpene-Mongolian Beauty Altantuya corruption-murder scandal? Definitely not. Were the meeting part of Sodomy-II scandal plot? Definitely yes. The timing cannot lie.

With all the government-sponsored publicity, high level ministerial obsession with sex and porn, and even screening of the sex video at the Parliament lobby, one could be excused for suspecting the government is promoting Malaysia as the centre of excellence for the SEX and Porn Industry. Not only in the production of SEX video itself but also in the procurement of international actors and actresses, in the study of legal and diplomatic loopholes, as political tools, as economic growth engines and as opposition control tool.

No other democratically-elected government in the world could be so badly tainted with sex scandals and still survive unscathed. Has any health minister in the world been caught on camera having illicit sex with a prostitute, resigned and returned as the President of a major political partner in the government all within 2 years?

Has any PM-in-waiting implicated in a multibillion corruption scandal, ordered government's specially trained UTK commandos to nab his pregnant Mongolian ex-lover to be shot and exploded to pieces using military supplied C4, ordered the kangaroo court to release his think-tank advisor who abetted the murder and still went on to become PM?

Yes, nowhere else except Malaysia. It is truly Malaysia Can (Malaysia Boleh).

Source : Malaysia Today

John Lennon, Bob Dylan ... and Namewee shape public conscience

An e-mail I received among many unsolicited ones caught my attention recently but this one, unlike the rest, is relevant as Malaysians celebrate their national day on 16 September and something that should arouse their national conscience. 

It is indeed sad that today's young generation suffers from the same plight that I described in an article I wrote and was published in Malaysiakini and the Centre for Policy Initiatives website a couple of weeks ago. The plight of the Merdeka Malaysian persists but for how long? 

Victimization is the 'bastardization' of every noble virtue and contradiction of everything the nation stands for. When patriotic and concerned Malaysians are persecuted (selectively) for trying to do the right thing for their country, something is drastically remiss. 

The e-mail was from Wee Meng Chee and it read, "Many accusations have been made upon me since 2007, and this time I like to defend for myself as nobody seems to be defending for me in the political arena. My name has been used on many incidents by politicians over the years, this time I am not going to let empty accusations with no basis being laid upon me again. I am only an individual with no political agenda or motives, who wishes to voice out his opinion against racism in this country." 

As those who may have read the full press release  of this young man better known as Namewee, it is yet another heartfelt and desperate plea of another victim of selective political persecution.

And the irony is all the victims -- from academics who exposed wrongs in the system to now patriot-in-exile Raja Petra Kamaruddin -- only wanted the best for their country, and acted openly and legally within their constitutional rights. 

Instead the real culprits escape admonition and punishment while the innocent ones suffer retribution.
 

Win by kicking the opponent 

Is the country now at a stage when those given the power to administer have lost their moral equilibrium and cannot tell the difference between right and wrong? Is political expediency the priority instead of justice for the victims and protection for the whistleblower? 

There are too many Malaysians who no longer uphold what is true and fair and virtuous but resort to animal instincts and will retaliate irrationally and unjustifiably against anyone who points out the error of their ways or oppose their ideas. 

They no longer know how to play the game but still want to be in the game. They hope to win by kicking their opponents and even the umpire! 

Namewee may be unconventional and speaks in the way he knows best through music and satire, in the tradition of protest, but it has turned out to be another instance of 'casting pearls before swines' as the saying goes, and indeed those who should know better have turned around to devour him. 

The older generation has seen it all before and many have resigned themselves to be perpetual victims of officialdom and the authorities' idea of justice, but the young generation cannot allow itself to be cowed and suffer a similar fate of their elders. 

"What to do?" the typical rhetorical retort of many pessimistic Malaysians won't do. 

"Just do it" is the approach of the young.  

Young are acting where old dither 

The future of their nation depends on their active participation and if the youth can be encouraged to play a more positive role in their country with the same passion they play the computer games, there is greater hope for change. Nothing should thwart their spirit and sense of outrage at societal wrongs. 

That is why Namewee wrote, "this time I am not going to let empty accusations with no basis being laid upon me again." And rightly so. 

You can only retreat so far, but when your back is against the wall, what you have to do is patently obvious unless grovelling like a cornered animal is a fate you choose. 

That is why more and more Malaysians from all races and walks of life are now realising that the future is in their hands and are beginning to come to life politically and taking their stand against all that is wrong and destroying their country. 

The days of Malaysian 'Nazism' -- the repugnant doctrine of racial superiority and prejudice -- must soon come to an end because there is a better way, and when Malaysians think of national day they must denounce the national shame of racism. 

Racism and corruption remain the twin foes of the nation and while every national leader has sounded the battle-cry against them, there is nothing they have done as concrete evidence of their sincerity. In fact one has even done the opposite and become an ardent supporter of the lost cause and added fuel to the fire of racial bigotry.  

I was travelling on an interstate bus a few days ago when the female Malay schoolteacher passenger sitting next to me discussed the case of the school principals who made insulting remarks to the students. She and I agreed that while some students may be mischievous, and some even arrogant, it was wrong of a school principal to use the racist language. 

Why is it so difficult for the authorities to step in and deal with something that is purely administrative and blatantly wrong, in an expeditious manner? Justice delayed is justice denied. That there is more than one glaring incident is cause for serious concern. 

The repugnant foot-dragging 

From media reports we are also told that certain groups spread the racist message in their centres of learning and coupled with politicians who major on racist policies and make wild racist threats. Such indoctrination methods are treacherous to and hijack the national agenda of racial harmony. 

It is this angst against the foot-dragging approach of the authorities against the racist school principals that prompted Namewee to do what he felt he had to do. It was the same sense of repugnance that makes others criticise the authorities when things go awry. 

No one is a proper citizen of a country who is unwilling to stand up and be counted and make the loud noise when all is disturbingly silent in the face of flagrant abuse of power. Populists and patriots may be like chalk and cheese. 

Hollow citizens do not make for a solid nation and young people like Namewee should be encouraged not discouraged from playing a significant role in shaping the public conscience and the destiny of his homeland. 

Let us not forget the late John Lennon (left) and Bob Dylan and a host of other musicians and songwriters did influence public opinion against the many wrongs they saw in their societies and while some of their antics may seem outrageous, they pale in comparison to the wrongs perpetrated by those they criticise. 

Namewee is not alone because the nation and all it stands for stands beside him. Indeed he is a true son of the nation and I hope as a passionate young citizen with a cause, he will prove his critics wrong and defend his country from those who want to harm it with their bigotry.

By: Steve Oh in Centre For Policy Initiatives