BAD MANNERS MAKE A JOURNALIST?

I witnessed the Wong Family, YB Wong Ho Leng, his wife Irene Chang, eldest daughter Suzanne work tirelessly during the Sibu by-elections in which YB Ho Leng won the Parliamentary seat after an embarrassing delay by the Election Commission. I met Irene again during the Sarawak State Elections. She trained Election Agents during the run-up to polling day whilst Suzanne ran the father’s operation centre in Sibu. Recently YB Wong, was taken ill. The following article below appeared in New Straits Times online:

KUALA LUMPUR: Irene Chang, the wife of Sibu DAP member of parliament Wong Ho Leng, who is also Sarawak DAP chairman, is said to have criticised the party for failing to provide or offer financial support to her husband, who has a brain tumour.

A news portal reported that Chang was incensed after reading a media statement on Jan 13, issued by secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who had merely expressed the party's support for Wong.

She was quoted as saying that the party's leadership was heartless.         

"Wong is only 53 and we have five children -- four of them are in school, college and universities -- and, hence, our financial resources are strained."

She said Wong's legal practice had suffered after he was elected as MP.

"As a DAP MP, he is expected to contribute a portion of his allowance to the party and, more often than not, the allowance is not sufficient to pay for all the expenses of serving the people as an MP.

"Every month, we have to top up another RM10,000 as additional expenses for serving the people and maintaining our service centres.

"And now Wong is sick and we need money for his treatment and all that Guan Eng can say or do is that the party will support us morally and help service the constituency

"Where is the humanitarian support to us in this time of difficulty? Not a single sen coming from the party, after all that we have done and achieved for the party. Shame on you, Guan Eng." 

Could this be the reason why Oscar Wilde said this: Bad manners make a journalist. This prompted Kit Siang to ask: What unethical depths and bottomless pits are going to be plumbed by UMNO/BN leaders and their mainstream media (MSM) before the 13GE?

You might remember that I announced that come January, the GOM and their newly hired Oglivy would unleash a torrent of spins to drown PAS and DAP. This could be it, yah? Yellow gutter journalism! These press-releases by the government controlled mainstream media belong in the gutter because that is where the ruling classes throw their putrid trash. This is the lowest form of popular yellow culture -- lack of information, misinformation and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives -- has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Malaysians are being stuffed with this garbage.

Journalism as practiced by the government media rags has transformed journalism into organized gossip. Wasn’t it one Karl Kraus who said that if the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies. Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible. Of course I do not agree with a friend who said that if a person is not talented enough to be a novelist, not smart enough to be a lawyer, and his hands are too shaky to perform operations, he becomes a journalist. I see journalists as the manual workers, the laborers of the word. In my time I had journalist friends whose blood and convictions flowed from  their pens or through their portable typewriters. The likes of Norman Siebel, Cheryl Doral, David Tambayah, Musa Scully, Francis Emmaneul,  Maurice Khoo, Tony Francis, Boey Kok Choy, Terence Netto, Kee Thuan Chye, Fauzi Omar, Lazarus Rokk and William D’Cruz. These I believe walked away when editorial police stifled  personal convictions and as such they have moved on. Fortunately we still have the likes of Frankie D’Cru, Zainon Ahmad, Terence Fernendez, Nadeswaran and P Gunsegaran  All the above named wrote with PASSION. Journalism can only be literature when it is passionate I remember reading somewhere.

We need a press that stresses opinions; not the current sycophant press, radio, and television that emphasize news only on the powers that be. It is no surprise then that Malaysia records worst-ever ranking on press freedom HERE  whilst Malaysiakini is still most trusted HERE

Below, Irene Chang rebuts the nasty bit by the NaSTy tabloid:

Irene Chang on her Facebook:

I have been made aware of a certain article posted online and which reported me as having complained against our party leadership. I am absolutely furious. There is absolutely no truth in this article. I did not give any interview nor did I ever complain against our party or against anyone. More importantly, never did I ever feel, for a second that I have a cause to complain against our party or anyone in specific. In fact, since my husband's medical condition was diagnosed, I have been too worried and concerned about his medical condition than to worry whether the party is providing any financial support or otherwise. But having said this, I put on record that since our party leaders have been told of my husband's condition, each and everyone of them, have been unbelievably supportive and caring. Both my husband and I have, in fact felt that we have been very blessed to know these people, who have somehow, crossed over the line from being political comrades to being very caring friends. And my family and I have been very touched by the call for support for my husband by our Secretary General, YAB Lim Guan Eng, an appreciation of which was posted by our eldest daughter, Suzanne Gail Wong, in her facebook on 14th January 2013. Therefore, it would be very unfair and unjust to let this article be passed around for people to pass judgment on our party leaders, our party and me, without any basis at all. I therefore strongly condemn this article for each and every sentence therein is a lie.

God forbid the day

when journalists can't write,

interview people who can't talk,

for people who can't read.

THE WEEK'S GUEST BLOGGER: ZAID IBRAHIM

If we follow the actions and thinking of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his supporters, then we must rectify the “errors’ of the past, even if it means violating established principles of the Constitution, laws and good governance.

According to them, bringing in more Muslims into Sabah in the 1990s and making them citizens was not a cynical move to help the ruling coalition win elections (although that was the immediate benefit), but to correct the mistakes of history. Simply put, the country needed to have more Muslims – even if they were foreigners from the Philippines, Pakistan or Indonesia – because Tunku Abdul Rahman “gave away” citizenship to the Chinese and Indians as part of the Merdeka agreement. Dr M somehow blames the Tunku for making citizenship “easier” for non-Malays, which he believes justifies his call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Tunku’s decision 60 years ago.

His ranting could be ignored if it weren’t for the fact that it’s dangerous. Dr M destroyed UMNO when it did his bidding and we must not allow him to destroy the country too. To advocate reviewing all past policies and disowning our former leaders’ great sacrifices is highly irresponsible. The country’s design and constitutional make-up is not like the latest Proton model for him to change at whim. Our heritage and history are ours, not his. He has lost all sense of proportion in trying to gain traction for his wayward political views to change the outcome of the General Election.

Dr M was a member of the Alliance, which agreed to adopt the principle of “jus soli” in granting citizenship to non-Malays. It was a social contract that the Malay Rulers agreed to, and which the rakyat also supported, as evidenced by the Alliance’s overwhelming victories in the 1955 and 1959 elections. Yet Dr M has no compunction ridiculing our pioneering leaders’ great effort to forge a nation. He is bent on making race a divisive issue in this General Election and he will destroy this country if his views are not accepted.

So let’s make this General Election a referendum on the man himself. If we reject him, as we must, then we can only do so by rejecting the Barisan Nasional. The eunuchs in the BN are all scared of him. I urge Malaysians to show their revulsion for this man and his ideas by rejecting the BN once and for all.   We cannot solve today’s problems by harping on the past. We have to live with the past, and not find excuses when we are unable to govern well now. We solve problems by working together, by adopting peaceful means and by having big-hearted leaders like the Tunku. The revisionists of our history have to be put in their proper places.

NO WHITE ANGPOW PLEASE, ITS FROG CAKE NOW.

I was mischievously, but reliably informed that the Perdana Foundation, Ibrahim Ali’s premium sponsor, has ordered this cake for the Perkasa Chairman to present to the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christians, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) who are expected to take part in the HARMONY WALK in Brickfields.

 This cake in the shape of a frog is made out of buttercream icing and features an icing that is a nice  green frog with various shades of green to help accent the frog to make him look cute. Call Perkasas today for  frog themed birthday cakes at 03-41428291 (Tel./Fax)

This, it was hinted to me, is Perkasa’s answer “that anything you can do I can do better”. Of course, this is the toad’s way to counter THIS.

RELIGION IS AS EFFECTUALLY DESTROYED BY BIGOTRY AS BY INDIFFERENCE.

“Bigotry dwarfs the soul by shutting out the truth.”  

E.H. Chapin

"It doesn't matter if it is a Malay Bible, an English Bible, a Kadazan Bible or a Tamil Bible, the issue is he incited the burning of bibles," said Human Rights lawyer

Siti Zabedah Kasim.

Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria today reminded Muslims in the country that they will become infidels if they allow non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah'.

He explained that if the Muslims allowed the word Allah to be used by non-Muslims, it meant that they condoned the acts of the non-Muslims to associate Allah with lesser beings.

"Thus, this consent also makes us (Muslims) to be infidels. We must be united in defending our faith," he told reporters.

 We have seen Malaysian in custody beaten to death by our police who pledged to protect us. We are aware of foreigners given citizenship A young teenager is shot to death because in guilt of not having a driving licence, he drove away from the police.  We have men and women who are turned away from jobs because of their sexual orientation. We have children born out of wedlock deprived of basic education. We have seen Malays, Chinese, Indians and natives discriminated against because of who they are …… they are not the elite….they are not UMNO members. This is not the Malaysian way. We must draw the line. Without delay, we must pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and a Non-Discrimination Act. And we should implement the Royal Commission approved IPCMC and vehemently institute the Violence Against Women Act. We must dismantle the hate machines like the BTN that indoctrinates racism and instill hate on young minds. Above all we must flush out those bigoted zealots like  Harusanni Zakaria, Ibrahim Ali, Hassan Ali and the re-threaded Riduan Tee, all draped in flowing santimony and drag out their dark convictions. Wasn’t it  George Gordon Byron who cautioned that those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves. The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract. Haven’t we been reminded by the more sensible muslims in our midst that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think. Indeed bigotry dwarfs the soul by shutting out the truth. As such all our silences in the face of bigoted, racist and prejudice assaults are acts of complicity.

let the jihad begin today

the jihad against bigotry……

if Egyptians can

Malaysians can too……

we are created from

the same

GOD.

WATCH THIS ON WIDESCREEN

A JUST JUSTUS DESPATCH: WILL THE CHRISTIAN SHEPHERDS TOO ABANDON THEIR FLOCKS FOR HARMONY WALK?

Dear Uncle Bernard,

Allow me to follow up from your posting of 24 January “The Tan Sri Shepherd Has Abandoned His Flock?”:

The World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) celebrated worldwide, since its inception, will take place in early February. The Committee To Promote Understanding and Harmony Among Religious Adherents (Interfaith Committee) formed under the auspices of the National Unity and Integration Department, that comes under the Prime Minister’s Department, has scheduled a series of programmes to mark the event.

Amongst the events scheduled to be held are:

a. 1st February,2013 @ 4pm---Launch of WIHW at the Summit, USJ with Muhibbah buses flagged off on journeys to the North and South  (free rides as compared to the Himpunan Hijau walk from Kuantan to KL)

b.  2^nd February,2013 @ 4pm---Harmony walkabout with the PM at 4pm

     to 6pm  Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

We can be sure that Najib and other BN leaders WILL capitalise on the event and probably be waving 1Malaysia flags to attempt to portray their supposed caring attitude to Malaysians of all faiths, particularly with the General Elections just around the corner. And you can bet that the media and television crew will be in full attendance to highlight to all and sundry what supposedly caring leaders we have. Undoubtedly the Utusan, Harian, NST, Star, Sun (why not?) and even, yes, even the Malay Mail may front-page these events on 2^nd and 3^rd February.

Representing the non-Muslims in the Interfaith Committee are representatives of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST).

Considering the current  fuss over the use of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims and the inaction of Government leaders, particularly the Prime Minister, in dealing with the blatant provocation by Perkasa and others to the non-Muslims including the threat to burn copies of the Bible, should not the representatives of the MCCBCHST totally boycott all activities of the Interfaith Committee including the programme for the World Interfaith Harmony Week until Perkasa and the like are made an example of and adequately and suitably dealt with? Or will we witness, as so often seen before, that these non-Muslim religious leaders will wilt under their perceived need to ‘rub shoulders’ with the powers-that-be and swallow their pride and sacrifice their principles in partaking of the event? Will they be willing parties to the false impression Najib and gang hope to create that they are for all Malaysians?

Let us wait for an announcement by these non-Muslim religious leaders about the stand they will take on the matter. If we fail to hear anything from them by 31^st January, 2013, then it will be safe to assume that they have chosen to swallow their pride and to sacrifice the interest of their flock of followers and it is then left to each of us to choose whether to attend the programme to let them know what you think of their participation.

To the likes of Reverend Herman Shastri, Reverend Thomas Philips, Bishop Bolly Lapok, Elder Tan Kong Beng, Archbishop John Ha, Jagir Singh, Harcharan Singh, Mohan Shan, Tan Hoe Chieow and others, it is your call…to serve God and your faithful or to serve mammon!

Curiously there was another event in Brickfields recently. A group of Indian NGOs protested against Mahathir for having raised the matter of the granting of citizenship for Indians during Independence. I wonder whether they will make a similar appearance during the Harmony walkabout by Najib on 2^nd February to make known their distaste of the matter to him.

ooooOoooo

Dear JJ,

Would it be asking too much if the MCCBCHST insist that Ibrahim Ali

 and all his state Perkasa leaders to link arms with our reverends in the Harmony Walk. That would be walking the talk, yah? That would really beat any Barnum or Ringling Brothers Circus Clowns marching into Brickfields, to the beat of Najib’s 1Malaysia beat-up 1M4U doggerel.

THE EARLY TREASON: SABAH’S SILENT RIOT.

HERE

Please VIEW on wide screen

Also HERE

OF BALU AND KEAT.

Remember my two bullheaded friends, Balu and Keat. They are registered voters but are put off by the needless and ill-timed happenings within Pakatan. They had earlier threatened to sit out GE13! I even gave them each a new year gift, HERE, hoping against hope to win them over. I decided to forgo lunch after the feast last night at Sri Nonya with Zaid and his former colleagues at ZICO, But that was not to be when I was called to join Banu and Keat for brunch. They announced that they will put the X for any Pakatan candidate……all because of the slimy Katak Ib Ali! Dang! Allah works in wondrous ways, yah?

THE TAN SRI SHEPHERD ABANDONED HIS FLOCK?

Who says I must respect Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam just because he was anointed Archbishop? Najib too was anointed by UMNO to be Prime Minister but he has not earned my respect. Yesterday the sycophant rag, the STAR,  front-paged “UNITY PLANS FOR GAZA”! An apt headline would be “UNITE  TATTERED 1MALAYSIA”! This is one “shepherd” who strayed from his priority, to allow Mahathir’s proxy Ibrahim Ali to besmirch his motto/slogan: 1 Malaysia.

The Sun also front-paged Najib’s who pledged solidarity with the Palestinians and backed reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. In the name of Allah, even the OIC cannot bring these two fractious muslim groups together, fat chance the scandal-strapped PM of a corrupted country can bridge this gulf between the factions HERE. There is in town a homegrown NGO that goes by the name of COMPLETE, admittedly striving to champion the Palestinians. Even this group has two factions, one siding Fatah, the other Hamas as a fund raising event recently proved. Perhaps, Najib could do well to unite COMPLETE before venturing into Gaza.  

Now, back to Murphy Pakiam. If my uncle, Datuk Tan Cheng Or, was not bedridden he would give two tight slaps to his former student Murphy Pakiam!  In 2007, The Herald and Pakiam, as its publisher, filed for a judicial review after it was ordered to stop using the Arabic word "Allah" in its publication by the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs. On the last day of 2009, HE was not in court when the High Court Judge allowed for the use of Allah in the Bahasa version of the Bible. The government appealed against judgement and Murphy dutifully followed Najib to the Vatican!

Within two months of Pakatan taking Selangor, the parish priest of St Paul the Hermit was granted permission from the Selangor Government to build a new church. The priest of this poor parish approached the Tan Sri Archbishop for funds to initiate proceedings. The Bishop told the priest to get his parishioners to raise funds. The parishioners are by majority, poor estate workers. And the Right Honorable Pakiam’s motto is: Mercy and Peace.

A group of Catholic doctors on their own time collected medicine and made nocturnal visits to  Mynmarese immigrants hiding in the jungle. The Tan Sri heard about this and stopped the doctors from their “clandestine” trips to give aid to the disadvantaged. Mercy?

And now Ibrahim Ali wants to burn the Alkitab and our SHEPHERD continues to pray(????) for guidance amidst an embarrassing silence? Thank God a national group representing the evangelical Christian community has stepped up to the plate to tell Najib to practice what he preaches! Tan Sri Murphy continues to twiddle his thumbs! Impeachment is a secular penalty. Is there an ecclesiastical equivalent or should the shepherd go to pasture to bring back some dignity to the office! 

TIME TO HUSTLE PEOPLE!

READ ON HERE

SUCH HYPOCRISY!

MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO

LANCHEOW!

“seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term Allah and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them.”

AND OUR 1M4U HERO IS SILENT!

UPDATED

SARAWAK & SABAH TEMPTED TO SECEED BECAUSE OF IBRAHIM ALI?

HERE

Maybe Ibrahim Ali should read Syed Akbar Ali’s “Malaysia and the Club of Doom”….some insulting bits are found HERE (later half of article)

SPEAKING OUT WITH CLOUT.

If people would dare to speak unreservedly, there would be a good deal less mistrust and apprehensions in Malaysia. Wise men like Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi speak because they have something to say; Fools, aka Ibrahim Ali and his mentor, because they have to say something.

MOHAMAD TAJUDDIN MOHAMAD RASDI is professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's School of Architecture. A much-read writer, he has authored over 30 books, including his latest, ‘Why Listen to the Vice-Chancellor?'

In his comment article in Malaysiakini he asked: Whither 'kesopanan dan kesusilaan' on 'Allah' issue? HERE

FIENDISH MONOMANIACAL COCKROACHES IN OUR MIDST.

In July 2010, Terry Jones, the pastor of the 30 members flock, Christian Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, U.S., announced he would burn 200 Qurans on the 2010 anniversary of the September 11 attacks. He gained media coverage, resulting in international outrage over his plans and pleas from world leaders to cancel the event. In early September 2010, Jones cancelled and pledged never to burn a Quran. Jones's threat sparked protests in the Middle East and Asia, in which at least 20 people were killed.

"Meanwhile, reports emerged of Jones's mission in Germany, where he established the Christian Community of Cologne in 1982 ... When Jones left Cologne 26 years later, it was as a disgraced preacher who had allegedly forced members to give him a percentage of their earnings, made them work for little or no money and caused the breakup of families and friendships. He reportedly also faked a title as doctor of theology, for which he was fined, and was eventually dismissed by the church board in 2008," the Guardian reported.

So what is the difference between Terry Jones and Ibrahim Ali? Whereas Terry Jones was determined to burn the Koran himself, Ibrahim Ali asked his followers to “seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term Allah and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them.” Would he call a press conference to burn the Alkitab himself? Dare he?

What similarity does these two share? Both are bigots. We cannot allow these fiendish monomaniacal cockroaches to contaminate the Holy Koran and the Holy Bible. Period! 

UPDATE: Whither 'kesopanan dan kesusilaan' on 'Allah' issue?

HERE

HOSTAGE TO MAHATHIR: LIVING WITH OPEN WOUNDS.

Today, I kick off the first of a series of Pre GE13 reminders WHAT HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN TO REMEMBER. They are a collection of documented happenings I have achieved over the years. Hopefully, these reminders will knock off the fence-sitters from their discomforting and complacent perch.  

Dr. Munawar Anees was one of Anwar's friends who was unjustly treated by Dr. Mahathir.

This is his story :

A large inscription on the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington -- "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny upon the mind of man" -- impressed me deeply on my first visit to the United States as a student nearly a quarter of a century ago. Recently, with the tears of experience welling in my eyes, I revisited that site. My arbitrary arrest and torture in Malaysia had engraved Jefferson's inscription on my heart.

As a student I knew of the horrors of the Holocaust and other human tragedies, but merely as a distant thunder: The violation of human rights and crimes against humanity were only an abstract notion.

That was all fated to change with my arrest last year under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) of Malaysia, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. My crime? I had known Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, as a close personal friend for many years. We shared and strove for a vision of life firmly rooted in human dignity. We struggled for building an intellectual and political milieu for free expression. Together, we subscribed to the idea of economic prosperity, gender and racial equality and a civil society.

Alas, the Malaysian dictator, Mahathir, under the growing burden of corruption and cronyism, conspired to halt the march of freedom. In order to build his fraudulent case against Anwar, Mahathir himself ordered my arrest.

My kidnapping and detention by the infamous Malaysian Special Branch taught me how it feels to be forcibly separated from one's wife and children. How it feels to be searched and seized, disallowed to make phone calls, handcuffed, blindfolded, stripped naked, driven in an animal cage, shaven bald, endlessly interrogated, humiliated, drugged, deprived of sleep, physically abused. What it's like to be threatened, blackmailed, tormented by police lawyers, brutalized to make a totally false confession, hospitalized for a consequent heart ailment, and treated as a psychiatric patient with symptoms of Stockholm syndrome.

Barely surviving on a meager diet of rancid rice and chicken along with 12 medicines a day, I spent nearly four months handcuffed around the clock to my hospital bed, under the watchful eyes of the prison guards.

Thereafter, my ability to speak, read and write took a considerable time to show signs of recovery. Short-term memory lapses were frequent. I existed in a fluid state in which suicidal tendencies, depression and despair were punctuated by fits of rage and indignation.

Weekly visits of less than an hour by my wife, Nadia, with our young children -- Aisha and Omran -- were my only contact with the outside world and the only inspiration to live on.

In collusion with the lawyer appointed on my behalf by the police, the Malaysian authorities refused the legal assistance of my choice, coercing me not to mount an appeal against the court verdict and threatening me with greater punishment under new charges if I didn't co-operate.

Simultaneously, Nadia constantly endured police harassment, wiretapping and disruption of our e-mail and bank accounts. Some of our friends were met with the same fate and were compelled to abandon us when we needed them most.

But, in attempting to scare off and alienate my friends, how terribly mistaken were Malaysian autocrats in aping gross Gestapo tactics. How they underestimated the temper of freedom in so many places around the world, above all among friends in the West.

Floodgates of human compassion were opened when the futurist author Alvin Toffler, who Mahathir asked to advise him on a pet high-technology project, sent a message of protest to the Malaysian leader within 72 hours of my capture. In a major interview with the Western press, Mahathir even felt it necessary to make assurances -- unfulfilled, of course -- about my well being.

With every passing day, the rising tide of concern for my plight seemed to personify the words of Elie Wiesel: "Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor. Never the victim. Never the tormented."

Friends and strangers alike took a stand and support began to mushroom everywhere. Nadia related to me in the hospital how Amnesty International had declared me a "prisoner of conscience," and how Pen International adopted me as a "writer in prison." Against all odds, two prominent Malaysian lawyers, Manjeet Singh Dhillon and Balwant Singh Siddhu, offered their services unconditionally. To top it all, an international coalition -- Friends of Dr. Anees -- came into existence in defence of my rights. The core group of Naseer Ahmad, Baseer Hai, Safir Rammah, Jamal Mubarak, Anees Ahmad and Naeem Siddiqui mounted a media campaign with phenomenal success.

What touched my heart was that the person, Kamal Mubarak, who set up the Web site had never met me in person. From the depths of my confinement, I could see the magic of human compassion had begun to defeat oppression.

The pinnacle was reached after my release in the warm hug laced with watery eyes of an Amnesty friend in Toronto, Margaret John, who witnessed a pledge of solidarity between me and Devan Nair, the former president of Singapore, for we had come to share a similar fate.

My victimization at the hands of Mahathir's "Asian values" has transformed me in another way. All my adult life, like so many in the Muslim world, I have suspected under every nook and cranny some conspiracy by the West to keep us down. Yet, in this seminal experience of my life, my friends in the West succeeded in saving me, while Mahathir, a Muslim, did everything to destroy me. And he is trying to do the same to Anwar again through his obliging courts on totally fabricated charges.

Mahathir has demonstrated that, though a proclaimed Muslim, his heart is blind to compassion. Tyranny is the hallmark of his bankrupt concept of "Asian values."

My tragedy, and that of my friend Anwar, ought to make our fellow Muslims think very hard when they ponder the West and its role in the world. As we set out to shape our collective destiny in the 21st century, will the values of Mahathir or Jefferson serve us best? Mahathir himself made that choice for me. Sic semper tyrannis.

AN INTERVIEW HERE

JUSTUS ASKED.......

Uncle Bernard….that Judge being investigated….wasn’t he the former Principal Legal Officer in the Ministry of Defence who suddenly resigned to do private practice and opened up a law school. As Principal Legal Officer, wasn’t he the one who handled the collision between KD Raja Jarom and the Japanese tanker Shoyu Maru in the Singapore Strait? Was this related to his sudden resignation from the Ministry?

I replied: JJ, I really cannot answer your queries…..let me ask some Naval friends of mine but in the meantime I can contribute something about this Judge:

PUTRAJAYA: To be able to administer justice according to the law is what this retired Court of Appeal Judge described as his memorable moments during his service in the judiciary.

“It is something which is our mission in the judiciary and it is something we hold dear in the course of our work,” said the judge in an interview with Bernama.

He clocked out for the last time as a Court of Appeal judge in August after being in the judiciary for 42 years.

“It’s my mission in life to be a judge and I am happy with what I have contributed to the judiciary.”

“I am proud and delighted to say that I have written almost 1,000 judgments to leave behind in the judiciary for the benefit of the legal profession, the judiciary, the academia and law students.”

Asked to describe his life as a judge, he said that judges led a very disciplined life.

“Upper most in my mind is always the judges’ code of ethics,” he said.

If you cannot piece together the above, let’s wait for the gavel to call the court to order! Cheers JJ.

GUTSY STAND AGAINST DAYLIGHT BRIBERY!

HERE

BREAKING FREE…..

For 19 years of my teaching career my teenage students spent more time with me (8 hours) than with their parents. I have on many occasions shared dreams, heartaches, triumphs and failures with them. I have never turned down any request. I have harbored them when they were chased out of their homes. Thank God none went into drugs under my stewardship. Some did (at least three) when they had to leave the school to go to another school after Form Three.

  Karen and I have fed, clothed and shod many….and we still do this for the disadvantaged school kids in our neighborhood. How can you not feed a child who comes to school without breakfast?

How far can the RM100 to school children be stretched when the cheapest pinafore costs RM52 and extracurricular activities uniform can cost RM120! Some of these kids have to wait for a BN politician to present them with these RM100, only when they are free to do so! School started on 2 Jan, yah?

The kids in school today are in turmoil. Deep seated polarization distract them, distanced them and tear them apart from their peers. Religion and race are engineered to great effect on our affected youths. The recent Listen, Listen, Listen episode between one adult Sharifah Zora Jabeen public bowbeating of Bawani during a public forum is just a tip of the iceberg! The youth today want to break free from these clutches and they cry out: Give us back our Malay, Chinese and Indian friends! Such a cry comes from a 16 year old blog reader:  

BreakFreeQueens said...

Uncle Zorro,

The people of Malaysia had lived under the clutches of the UMNO/BN Govt for more than 55 long years. Some 2 generation of people were not given Blue NRIC due to many reasons not of their own but cos of poverty & ignorance.

Now this sick old man comes out with ridiculous reasons for giving out Blue NRICs for free to VOTE for UMNO/BN. Totally against established laws and conditions to getting one.

Uncle, the people now wants to 'break free' from this evil UMNO/BN control Govt. Can you please put in the song, entitled "Break Free" by Queens? This song will be very inspiring for the young people esp and heart-trumping for the older ones. It will surely be a hit for the up-coming GE13. Go to You Tube to download it. Thank you, Uncle Z. This request comes from a 16 year old...PR supporter!!

I find it hard to refuse her. HERE n HERE it is for you and your friends Break Free Queen. 

*****

HENRY DIBBLE, THANKS FOR VISITING ME AGAIN.

TREASON UNPUNISHED?

I DISTINCTLY recall one incident involving Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik. At the opening of a conference after all the pleasantries, he read a line which said that a programme his ministry had implemented had been received well by the rakyat. As soon as he finished the sentence, he blurted out the word "bullshit" which shocked the audience.

He looked at senior ministry officials and asked "Who vetted this speech?" There was silence. He said, "I disagree; let's tell the truth and not put words into the rakyat's mouth."

That episode sent a strong message to his officials that he was a no-nonsense man and that nobody could fool him as he had the facts and figures at the back of his hand.

When he walked into a room, you felt his larger-than-life presence; it was a presence that warmed the heart and was not overbearing or intimidating. The entrepreneurial spirit that oozed through his pores even as he spoke left no doubt that whatever Dr Lim put his mind to, he would die trying to accomplish.

He was certainly one of the more exciting politicians around. We will miss him and his openness.

S Paul (the Sun)

AND YET……We have that SOMEBODY who said that it is legal to give citizenship to immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia they spoke Malay! This same SOMEBODY also said:

He also claimed that the first Prime Minister….., Tunku Abdul Rahman, had done worse by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people (Chinese and Indians?) in peninsula Malaysia, and lamented that no one had made it an issue (not even this SOMEBODY!)

Of course granting citizenship after due process is acceptable…..but granting them to ensure that these new citizens would assist to vote out a majority Christian party is devious and even TREASONOUS!

Isn’t it LEGAL to give citizenship to the thousands of Indians who were born here? They were dismissed because they did not have a birth certificate! What about the thousands of children born out of wedlock scavenging around the Chow Kit area because they are not allowed into schools…..because they have no birth certificate! Did the thousands in Sabah and Sarawak received citizenship although they were not born there and did they have to produce any birth certification?  Conveniently NO!

“…..let's tell the truth and not put words into the rakyat's mouth."

TUN LIM KENG YAIK