Heaven knows Malaysia has suffered more than her fair share of pustulent bigots, but Bukit Bendera UMNO chief Ahmad Ismail takes the definition of ‘pustulent bigot’ to even more putrid depths, first with his racist tirade against ‘Chinese squatters’ during the Permatang Pauh campaign, and now his equally fetid defiance in the face of public outrage.
The delicious irony is that this inbred, racist thug has done far more damage to UMNO than to anyone else, really. Even better, he’s actually managed to insult his own UMNO leadership as well in the process. It takes real talent to be be able to do all that. Of course, this festering sac of pus pretending to be a human being rationalises that he is doing a great service to bigotkind.
So, the question is: will Badawi and Najib make an example of Ahmad Ismail to stamp out the growing UMNO mutiny (no one expects them to disown the statement and make a real apology to the Chinese and minorities), or will they quietly appease the extremist faction represented by this rabid dog, who after all was only reiterating the racist sentiments so often uttered in the past by UMNO leaders – including Najib himself?
Below: the Seminator ain’t gettin’ the love this Christmas but he did get his own reality TV show on live ASTRO broadcast at the Aatam 100 Vagai talent show in Penang on Sunday night (23 Dec). A salute to the audience who finally decided they’d had enough, and told Samy to vamoose in no uncertain (and I hear, some unprintable) terms.
So much for continuing to fool the people regarding the real status of MIC. I’m guessing it’s no presents for Minister for Misinformation Lord Zam Zam Alakazam bin Maidin either, because this is one he didn’t see coming and it was live.
This was originally posted as my comment in response to the post “Are the Chinese Short-sighted and Selfish? Pt. 1” on Sagaladoola‘s blog. Sagaladoola hits the nail on the head with his frustrated post, making reference to this article. I strongly recommend reading Sagaladoola’s post before this to better understand the difficulties facing the Malaysian opposition and civil society in overcoming the paranoia, inertia and apathy of Malaysian society in general.
The following is my reply to Sagaladoola (with a few new insertions):
I’m Chinese myself, and with much frustration, I’d have to agree with you: the Chinese community are by and large, fundamentally selfish and shortsighted. More than any other community, the majority of Chinese are driven more by personal fears and incentives than by the greater issues – the result of pragmatism tending towards the mercenary.
The Malaysian Chinese are basically divided into 3 camps: the dedicated opposition camp; the BN government sycophants and mercenaries; and the kiasi/kiasu/kiachenghu/bochap (afraid to die/afraid to lose/afraid of the govt/just don’t care about anything outside their ricebowl) paranoid-apathetic camp – which makes up the majority.
As the article mentions: while there is widespread discontent amongst the Chinese, it is still an open question whether this will translate into opposition votes at the next election, especially if there is a danger that some foolish auntie’s shopping trip might be jeopardised by ‘instability’. This chronic myopia (willingness to sacrifice their rights for false short-term promises of stability) is what allows UMNO to keep playing the race card to bully the docile Chinese back in line.
I run into enormous resistance in the form of paranoia, inertia and apathy when trying to raise political awareness even amongst my own family and friends (who mostly fall into the paranoid-apathetic camp).
In this coming election, I believe the Chinese vote will be decisive. From my observations: PAS and Keadilan together will be able to secure a significant block of the Malay vote – at least 33% = 20% of total votes by proportion. The Indian vote is gone to the opposition I’m sure, which gives another 8%. That’s a min. 28% in the bag, with potentially more from the Malay bloc.
That leaves the Chinese with a critical 25% vote block. From this, at least 5% are hardcore opposition and can be relied on to deliver the votes. 5% are mercenaries and will vote BN.
The remaining 15% will decide the popular vote. Unfortunately, this is the paranoid-apathetic camp.
The Chinese vote will be decisive in the upcoming election. We must capture this block, or risk losing the reform momentum built up so far.
No more sitting on the fence, my Chinese compatriots. Wake up, it’s time to make a choice.
The activists and citizens out there on the streets are fighting for the rights of all Malaysian citizens. Last I checked, ‘Malaysian citizens’ means you and me too. The street protests are happening because there is simply no other way to get through to a regime so bloated on its own corruption and hubris that it cannot or will not hear any dissenting voices. And I will point out that every single recent street protest has been well-disciplined and peaceful right up to the point when the police initiated unprovoked attacks on the peaceful protestors. The real criminals and ‘terrorists’ are the ones in uniform, not the civil protestors.
Statements like ‘Indian grievances are none of my business’ and ‘the BERSIH protests are inconveniencing me’ are criminally stupid and selfish things to say. Nobody WANTS to protest on the streets; they protest because they have no choice. If you truly believe the BN propaganda then you deserve to live under the boot of UMNO-BN.
You can decide to vote for the BN menagerie and live on under the false pretence of stability, hoping every day that your UMNO masters will deign to throw you another table scrap, while your rights are slowly torn away from you and cancerous corruption consumes the country;
OR, you can decide to throw out the whole festering, irredeemable mess that is the UMNO-BN regime. Cut down the BN regime at the next election, and rebuild a country where all are equal, and the institutions of the country exist to protect, not oppress, the people. Bring in fresh, honest blood to rebuild and reinvent the country. Malaysia is a country rich with talent, it’s just not in UMNO-BN;
The choice is literally in your hands, and you need to decide, NOW.
Malaysiakini reports that the police are cordoning off Dataran Merdeka and have issued warnings to prevent citizens from attending the above silent, peaceful candlelight vigil for the 5 HINDRAF leaders now under ISA detention. The vigil is scheduled for tonight, at 8 pm.
The UMNO-BN government’s response was to be expected, of course.
Well, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, this is what I have to say. Make sure you pass the message to your attack dog Musa Hassan and your lapdog Johari Baharom.
It is our fundamental and inalienable RIGHT as free citizens to peaceably assemble and to voice our concerns without interference from the state. We as citizens have never relinquished the right to public assembly; instead, the state has illegally misappropriated our right by ‘giving’ the police the power to ‘approve’ public assembly.
Listen well, Abdullah.
I do not recognise the authority of the police or the state in this respect. And neither do an increasing number of citizens in Malaysia.
In every single one of the previous civil protests, the violence was instigated and initiated by the police, not the citizens who participated in the protest. In fact, I am glad to see how disciplined the civil protestors have been, whether they be from HINDRAF, BERSIH, the Bar Council or otherwise. It is the PDRM that has proven to be lacking in discipline and professionalism, shirking their professional code to act as the thugs and enforcers of your shoddy regime.
And now you send your attack dogs in uniform to once again bar the people from peacefully assembling in solidarity with the HINDRAF leaders you unjustly detained under the ISA, an obsolete and draconian law that should have been expunged from the Constitution decades ago.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, I have no respect whatsoever left for you. To address you by your birth name is a courtesy I do not intend to maintain much longer.
You are a failed leader of a failed government, trying desperately to protect a festering mess of failed policies.
I no longer recognise you as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. You are not fit hold the post. Nor do I recognise your Cabinet of fools, imbeciles and bigots.
You forget, Abdullah, that *I* am your boss. I am one of the rakyat, and the rakyat are very angry.
Seen on Elizabeth Wong’s blog: photos and videos of opposition leader Tian Chua being assaulted, dragged out of his car and taken away by PDRM-Gestapo thugs near Parliament this morning. According to (independent) reports, the car he was in was later found torched. Draw your own conclusions from that.
You must have seen the heavy police presence on the streets of KL this morning.
You may even have seen the ‘news’ on Rangkaian Televisen BN (RTBN, a.k.a. ‘RTM’, ‘TV3’, etc) or God forbid, the New Straits Times or The Star.
On the order of The High Hypocrite Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, roadblocks were set up and several top opposition leaders and human rights lawyers and civil society activists were arrested while trying to exercise their democratic rights: attempting to submit a memorandum to Parliament opposing the term extension of the current Election Commission chief, Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, who doesn’t even try to pretend he isn’t an UMNO lapdog.
Over 20 BERSIH leaders have been detained this morning (some have been released), plus 8 lawyers arrested on Sunday (Human Rights Day), plus several opposition and civil rights lawyers arrested yesterday in a nationwide sweep.
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If, confused by the propaganda mill of the UMNO-BN regime, you still don’t know what BERSIH is, or believe govt propaganda and think that BERSIH is a terrorist organisation linked to Al-Qaeda, the CIA, Mossad, Tamil Tigers, etc, let me tell you:
BERSIH is a coalition of over 70 NGO’s and civil rights organisations campaigning for free and fair elections in Malaysia, for we all know that UMNO-BN is such a good government, even dead people come back to vote for UMNO in this wonderful country.
HINDRAF is a group speaking for the Indian people, who have been sold down the river by Samy Vellu and the MIC for decades.
See the video of the lawyers’ march and subsequent arrest on Human Rights Day last Sunday near the Central Market.
We want our rights back. As citizens, as human beings.
The past month has seen an unprecedented and increasingly desperate assault by the Badawi administration on the civil liberties of the people of Malaysia.
If by now we still cannot see, or worse, refuse to see the ugly truth of what is happening in this country NOW; the fact that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, UMNO and the PDRM-Gestapo are turning Malaysia into a fascist state, where the slightest dissent is tantamount to ‘treason’, then we may as well go to North Korea and start singing praises for Dear Leader Kim Jong-il, for that is what we will become if we do not make a stand now.
Of course, the very fact that we refuse to subscribe to UMNO-BN’s ‘reality’ and Rangkaian Televisyen BN’s ‘truth’ makes us ‘criminals and terrorists’ in the feeble mind of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a gentle monster who is well on his way to becoming the next Nikolai Ceausescu and Kim Jong-il.
Contrary to the propaganda mill, in every instance of the past few street protests, the violence was instigated and initiated by the Polis diRaja Malaysia and the FRU, firing tear gas and chemical sprays without provocation into a gathering of peaceful protestors who wanted nothing more than to demonstrate their discontent at the inequalities and discrimination they have suffered for decades.
You don’t need to to take my word for it; If you haven’t already seen it, just go and see the evidence on YouTube and search for ‘BERSIH rally 10 Nov’, ‘HINDRAF rally 25 Nov’, ‘Al-Jazeera HINDRAF report’, ‘Human Rights March Malaysia’ etc.
The judiciary is such a joke that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail (another unapologetic UMNO lapdog) was mockingly laughed down at a press conference packed with lawyers. The fact is that the government has declared war on the Bar Council, along with all of us who refuse to submit.
How much more abuse must we suffer before we say that “Enough is enough!”?
The government serves us — the people — not the other way around. When the government of the day fails, it is our right to throw it out and replace it. When the government manipulates elections and suppresses the media, it tramples on the rights of the people.
Exercise your democratic right. Reclaim those rights that the govt has taken away from you. Throw out this rotten government.
There comes a time when silence is betrayal.
I’ve made my choice.
Make your choice. Now.
Take back the streets, take back the government and take back the country from the criminals that run it. Or, submit quietly and live as slaves of a fascist regime.
I received word on this case a few days ago and was supposed to post on it when the violent crackdown in Burma began and displaced everything else.
The case concerns a young teacher who recently attended his annual review at the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Pelajaran (SPP – Education Services Commission). The teacher involved (let’s call him ‘Teacher A‘, or ‘A‘) attended the interview, but instead of undergoing a proper interview, he was subjected to a vindictive, baseless, completely uncalled-for and humiliating dressing down by the senior officer who interviewed him.
According to A, the bully involved was Dato’ Haji Abdullah bin Haji Abdul Kadir, who according to the screen capture below holds the position of Pengarah Bahagian Pendidikan Guru (Director, Teachers’ Training Department). I’ve tried to search the SPP website to verify the identity of the officer above but like much public infrastructure in Malaysia, the website appears to be non-functional.
The arrogant and condescending behaviour of this ‘Datuk’ who abuses his position to bully subordinate officers deserves nothing but contempt, and he comes across as a crass, boorish, pompous and self-absorbed twit (an old himbo – ‘male bimbo’ – if you will).
Teacher A would very much like to fight his case but requires advice and support;
and we will help put you in touch with ‘Teacher A‘.
Also, if you know of anyone who has had a similar experience of bullying at the hands of this particular officer or other senior officers, whether in the civil service or private sector: please ask them to carefully document the events and get in touch with us. There are people who can help.
SPP Interview Expose – Interview With the Very Condescending Bigshot Rich Datuk (name of interviewee has been omitted to prevent retributive action)
I was at Jabatan Perdana Menteri yesterday, for an interview with the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Pelajaran. It was an interview to confirm my placement into the government service as DG41.
The interview letters stated that we should wear “formal berlengan panjang.”
Calon-calon dikehendaki hadir temuduga dengan berpakaian kemas dan sopan. Calon-calon lelaki dikehendaki memakai baju kemeja berlengan panjang dan bertali leher, manakala calon-calon wanita memakai pakaian yang bersopan.
I wore my grey slacks, dark blue long-sleeve shirt, and a silver tie.
Upon arrival at Bilik Temuduga 10, we were told by our room’s interviewer that we need to wear a coat.
Nobody brought any coats from our room. We went out to search for a coat. Around 5 other guys in the entire interview had coats. So we borrowed their coats and passed them around.
When my turn came, I put on the coat and went in.
Right after I said “Selamat pagi Dato,” he asked me where I got the coat from. I said I borrowed it. He said how come I don’t even own a coat. I said the letter did not state that I have to wear a coat, or else I would’ve found one before I came. He scolded me and said I did not know how to interpret the letter.
He asked what kind of pants I was wearing. I said my grey slacks. He said how can that be formal. I said only have 2 pairs of slacks. One black, one grey. The black one, I wore to school on Monday, and now it is being washed. So, today I’m wearing my grey slacks.
He chased me out of the room.
He called me in again after a very long time. It wasn’t an interview. It was a dressing-down, humiliation session. He didn’t really ask me anything much. Here’s the gist of what he said:
“Bapa kamu tahu tak, you seluar hanya ada dua? Kalau dia tahu, dia malu tak, anak dia macam ini?”
I said, hidup saya susah. I explained my family background. And why I have banyak tanggungan.
“You are wrong!! Saya pun tak pernah tanggung orang macam itu. You must change the way you live.”
He looked at my shoes, and he said:
“Kasut kamu tak gilap”
I said, I cycle to school everyday. How to gilap?
“COME ON… YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!!”
Well, if I don’t have a car, and my school is nearby, and I can’t afford to arrive in an Alfa Romeo, what’s wrong with cycling to school? “You pakai baju apa itu. Cina tak boleh pakai gelap.”
I said I’m a Christian, I don’t abide by such superstitions. I said by the way, my shirt is blue. Not black.
“Kamu bukan Cina kah? You must be proud to be Chinese… Malaysian Chinese…”
What does he know about being a Malaysian Chinese? We don’t get Datukships and awards like him. We can’t afford to be wearing designer clothes like him. We are not supported by the government’s silver spoon in our mouth from the day we were born. We have to struggle to take care of our families. What does he know?
He said, “Dalam PIPP, ada dinyatakan kita harus memartabatkan profesion keguruan. Apa yang kamu faham tentang itu?”
That is the Teras Kelima in the PIPP. I explained that according to the PIPP blueprint, we are supposed to upgrade the intake system of teachers and improve the working environment of teachers. I wasn’t taking rubbish. That was the textbook answer.
He said, “Tak payah, tak payah. Kalau untuk kamu saja, macam mana?”
I said, “Kena memperbaiki imej, kalau menurut dato.”
He said “Gaji satu bulan berapa? Pergilah beli seluar…”
He even stood up to show me his slacks. He said must buy a pair that costs seratus lebih. That would be a good one.
I cycle to school everyday. My shoes aren’t shined. I can’t afford a pair of slacks that cost over a hundred bucks. I don’t have a coat. I guess I’m not fit to be a teacher.
Well, if they can pay me 4 grand a month, certainly the profession guru’s martabat will be dipertingkatkan, isn’t it?
If what I wear matters so much more than how I teach, my workplace is not in a musty classroom. I should be on the catwalk runway.
above : unarmed protestors flee as police and troops open fire and baton-charge them.
above : Burmese troops firing tear gas at the demonstrators.
above : Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai, 50, of APF News Tokyo continues filming even as he lies wounded after being shot by troops. Nagai died shortly after.
2 photos above : 2,000 Burmese protestors demonstrated outside the Burmese Embassy in Jalan Ampang, KL this morning.
[ All photos above from Reuters News Agency, article here ]
9 confirmed dead, hundreds injured, hundreds arrested and missing in the ongoing violent crackdown by the Burmese military junta. But the Burmese people are resisting.
Photos and latest reports at the Democratic Voice of Burma website: http://english.dvb.no/
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[ ORIGINAL POST ]
Latest reports from Burma/Myanmar indicate that at least 9 persons have been killed, dozens injured and hundreds summarily arrested in the ongoing bloody crackdown by the Burmese military junta on unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators and Buddhist monks. Latest coverage from the BBC.
ASEAN has predictably remained (elegantly) silent over the bloody crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators and monks in Burma/Myanmar… and Malaysia has been even friendlier than most, with Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar going so far as to reassure the Burmese military junta that it was “business as usual”.
Well surprise, surprise.
But of course the UMNO-BN government sees nothing wrong with the Burmese junta shooting and beating unarmed pro-democracy protestors; we just shot two of our own a couple of weeks ago in Batu Burok! Biasalah. The people are so troublesome, always demanding their rights and marching and protesting and making us leaders look bad. Let’s shoot a few and scare them all. Show them who is boss. Tembak satu dua, yang lain tu kita tembak gas pemedih mata, belasah sikit, ha, barulah mereka faham keadaan.
Besides, there’s all that business to worry about. Industry experts estimated that in 2005, just two foreign oil-and-gas firms (France’s Total and PETRONAS) alone generated about USD 1 bil in revenues (link) for the Burmese military junta. Petronas is a major presence in the Burmese oil industry and works closely with the state run Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise for exploration and extraction of oil and gas resources, providing a major source of foreign currency revenue for the cash-strapped military junta which presides over a failed state and economy. In short, Petronas is among a number of companies whose revenues are helping to prop up the regime.
I am sorely tempted to break decorum to spit on ASEAN, possibly one of the most useless and irrelevant regional groups in history. ASEAN’s ‘Non-interventionist policy’ is just a euphemism for “I’ll cover your ass, and you cover mine.” As I mentioned in an earlier reply to a comment, the problem with ASEAN is that almost every single member nation has skeletons in its own closet, and to criticise Myanmar would be to invite unwelcome scrutiny of its own questionable policies and actions.
Dare Malaysia condemn the violence in Myanmar, having just fired on our own unarmed citizens? Dare the Thai military regime — still fresh from their latest coup d’etat and now busily slapping ‘lese majeste’ charges on every dissident in sight — speak harsh words to Myanmar? Even squeaky-clean Singapore has just avoided the problem by simply regulating civil society space virtually out of existence.
The blood of the Burmese people is on ASEAN hands… and Malaysia’s.
Ah, Malaysia’s favourite Nazi and denial artiste is back in top form.
Still got faith in the ‘independent’ inquiry panel? The half-cooked PR effort by the govt to stave off the Royal Commission has been hamstrung even before it starts by its ‘terms of reference’, which is “…to investigate if the Lingam tape is authentic”. No mention on what happens if the tape is (Heaven forbid) found to be genuine.
“…In restricting the panel to the question of the authenticity of the Lingam Tape instead of allowing full investigations into all aspects of the allegations of perversion of the course of justice and the compromising of judicial independence, impartiality and integrity raised by the video clip, the government is avoiding the imperative issue of the long-standing rot in the judiciary and the urgent need to restore national and international confidence in the system of justice with a truly independent judiciary and a just rule of law.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape would have first to address the issue of the authenticity of the video clip and there is no reason why an independent panel should be formed with the very narrow and restricted focus of deciding whether the video clip is authentic or otherwise, without the further powers of proceeding to further conduct comprehensive investigations into all the allegations of perversion of the course of justice and the compromising with judicial independence, impartiality and integrity.
In short, the government is trying to focus public attention on the technical question about the authenticity of the Lingam Tape and distract and disregard it from the urgent, imperative and substantive issue of the long-standing rot in the system of justice which must be identified and stopped…“
Extracted from Malaysiakini, below: (red highlights mine)
In solidarity with the people of Burma, who even now are braving bullets, tear gas and police batons to peacefully demand democratic change in one of the most oppressive countries in Asia.Latest reports indicate that several unarmed monks and citizens have been killed by gunfire from government troops as the Burmese military junta moves to crack down on the peaceful but growing civil protests led by the Buddhist monks in Yangon and Sittwe.
Except for the degree of violence, does any of this sound familiar?
Up to 10,000 Burmese Buddhist monks and civilians have defied police tear gas and live bullets on the ninth day of protests against the military rulers. At least one monk was killed, hospital sources in the main city of Rangoon said. The government has confirmed one death, without giving details.
Witnesses described monks with blood on their shaved heads as police charged at the Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon.
Meanwhile, the UN said it was sending a special adviser on Burma to the region.
The BBC’s James Robbins says Ibrahim Gambari’s mission – if he is allowed into Burma – will be to urge the regime to stop using force and to start moving towards full democracy. Read the rest of this entry »
In a parallel effort, Haris Ibrahim of The People’s Parliament — a prominent lawyer and one of the leading lights of the civil society and human rights movement in Malaysia — has drafted a petition to the Agong to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the judicial corruption that has been rudely brought to light by the ‘Lingam tape’.
If, like me, you think that the government’s half-cooked ‘independent’ inquiry panel is just another whitewash rubberstamp panel and have absolutely no confidence that the Badawi administration intends to take any meaningful action to properly investigate and prosecute the wrongdoers behind the ‘Lingamgate’ judicial scandal and the unbroken string of scandals before this, then:
Please go to The People’s Parliament for details and support the petition by signing it. Haris will be submitting the royal petition, but we must demonstrate meaningful support for that to happen.
Do we want change for the better? Then let’s keep the pressure on, people.
Bravo to the Bar Council, for proposing and leading this march; and
Bravo, also, to the brave civil society activists, opposition members and concerned citizens who showed up in force today at Putrajaya, and despite the inclement weather, a heavy police/FRU presence and early police interference (preventing the marchers’ buses from approaching), they cheerfully and peacefully marched on Putrajaya to submit the memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office. Read the rest of this entry »
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Unlike the Malaysian mainstream media, this blogger sees and thinks for himself, and tells it as he sees it. If it's ugly it's ugly. As long as you are prepared to debate in a civil and intelligent manner, all comments and opinions are welcome. As angry as you may be, profanity is discouraged on this site, with certain exceptions.
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