Bible desecration shows puerile insensitivity

by NH Chan
(loyarburok.com )

In the Sun on Monday, March 21, 2011 I read with dismay about how insensitive the Barisan Nasional government is of the religion of other people. It reads:

Stamping desecrates Bible, say Christian federation

By Karen Arukesamy

PETALING JAYA: As far as the Christian community is concerned, they will not accept the 35,100 Bahasa Malaysia Bibles after the government imposed new conditions for their release from Port Klang and Kuching port.

Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing said in a statement that the new requirement that the Malay language Bibles are stamped means they have been desecrated [meaning ‘to treat something sacred with violent disrespect’].

He said Christians could not accept the released Bibles which have now been stamped with a serial number, official seal and the words ‘… for the use of Christians only, by order of the Home Ministry’.

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander is a well known proverb. So how would the minister feel if someone were to desecrate the Quran? The desecration of the Bible clearly shows that our government does not respect the religions of others in multi-racial Malaysia.

Are the rest of us — who are not born a Muslim because we are not Malays — second class citizens? It certainly looks that way to us who are the rest of the people of this nation.

This should be a warning to all of us that the Barisan Nasional government has been in power for much too long, so much so that they think they are not answerable to the people of this country. For sure this is definitely not a government for the people.

They have shown by their deed in desecrating the Bible that they are a government for themselves only. It is so because of self-interest and it is also blatantly clear that they do not respect the feelings of others who are not of their ilk.

In the next election, the people will know what to do. For the sake of the country, so that we do not sink further into the abyss of a dictatorship, we must all do our duty — indeed it is our patriotic duty — to vote the Barisan National out of office thus removing the people’s mandate from such selfish despots to govern this nation, and to replace them with a government for the people.

I am sure the opposition will gladly accede to the people’s request.

However, if the opposition can’t deliver, we will exercise the power of the people’s vote again at every election until there comes a time when we can all live in a truly democratic Malaysia.

We do not want totalitarianism being forced down our throat by a dictatorship because we are smart enough to know that any government, even a democratic one, would inexorably metamorphose into a dictatorship if allowed to overstay its hold on power.

I am not a Christian but I have read the Bible for my enlightenment. I also find it to be great literature. In order to allay some misconceptions about the Bible, I give below my insight on it which I hope may help those who are not Christians to understand and appreciate Christianity’s point of view.

Lord Denning in his book Landmarks in the Law, on page 313, tells us how the Old Testament in the King James Bible was translated into English:

The Old Testament was originally in Hebrew. It was translated into Greek. The Greek was translated into English by William Tyndale. It takes up three-quarters of the Authorised Version of the Bible.

I wonder why Denning said that. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of manuscripts in Hebrew and Aramaic found in caves near the Dead Sea (between 1946 and 1956) and believed to have been written between about 100 BC and 68 AD, provide biblical evidence that the scriptures the Old Testament and the New Testament were originally written in Hebrew.

I suppose Denning must have known that the New Testament were already translated by the Protestants who belong to the Churches of Western Christendom that are separated from the Roman Catholic Church and who adhere to principles established by Luther, Calvin, etc. in the Reformation. The British Protestants must have the English translation, albeit in Old English, of the New Testament.

At page 314, Lord Denning went on to say:

The New Testament is not accepted by the Jews. It is rejected by them. It has had even greater influence than the Old Testament. It contains the life and teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ who was a Jew and of all the 12 apostles who were Jews and the Letters of Paul who was a Jew.

The Authorised Version, an English translation of the Bible published in 1611 under James I who was king of England and Ireland (1603-25) in succession to Elizabeth I of England. He was also James VI, king of Scotland (1567-1625) in succession to his mother, Mary Queen of Scots.

This version is also called King James Version, King James Bible. This is the version commonly used by English speaking Christians. But there are other translations of the Bible in modern English and other languages as well.

The Authorised Version of King James is printed in old English which most Malaysians cannot understand. This explains why the Bahasa Malaysia Bible is popular because of the educational system of this country where most of our people can read and understand the National Language but not the English language especially when it is in the English of the time of James I in the seventeenth century.

REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad | Protesters hold placards that read "Don't Challenge Islam" in a protest against the "Conversion to Islam" forum held by Malaysian Bar Council in KL August 9, 2008.
But what really riles me is for the Home Minister to say that the Bible is “for the use of Christians only”. What business is it of him to fear for my conversion to Christianity?

In a democracy I should have the right to choose the faith I want to believe in or not at all — I have freedom of choice and I will not stand for any pipsqueak bully, for that is what a dictator really is, to tell me what faith to believe in. What business is it of him to tell me what Bible I can read or cannot read?

Reading is knowledge and it also gives me a great understanding of the religious beliefs of others. That is the trouble with the puerile mentality of the composite Barisan National party. They cannot even tell the difference between what is right and wrong; they even relish in their own wrongdoings as in the Perak takeover of a legitimately elected state government.

It is because of the BN that we even have an animal farm system of government — all animals are equal but the pigs under Napoleon the head pig are more equal than others.

But I am digressing. The Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had the gall to add insult to injury when he said:

The practice of stamping was standard protocol and not done to “deface” the Bibles. He said the need for serial numbers was to identify the specific Bibles which were held back.

After he mentioned that the act of stamping and serialisation was standard protocol, he said; see The Star, Wednesday March 23, 2011:

For example, Qurans imported into the country are also checked to ensure they are authorised, and are stamped with serial numbers before they are released.

And now (in the Star, March 23, 2011) they say:

The BM Bibles currently impounded in Kuching and Port Klang will be released with the words ‘For Christianity’ stamped clearly in Ariel font, size 16, in bold. No other words or serial numbers will be stamped on the Bibles.

Whether it is stamped “For the use of Christians only” or “For Christianity”, it is still desecration of a Holy Book. The dictionary meaning of a Christian is “a person who follows the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ” and Christianity means “the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ”. Therefore, this is a false argument and the dictionary word for “a false argument” is sophism.

The home minister is not even a Christian and he wants to ensure that the Bibles we read are the authorised ones. Did he think he is King James I of England but does he know that James I was a bad king who alienated Parliament by his assertion of the divine right of kings? But Christians the world over have never had their Bibles censored by Big Brother. There are myriad translations of the Bible acceptable by Christian society.

Anyway, the word “authorise” means “to allow someone to do something with official sanction’. When James I came to the throne of England there was no English translation of the “Old Testament”. The Bible of the Church of Rome i.e. the Roman Catholic Church during the Roman Empire was in Latin.

The Pope spoke in Latin and the language of the Church then was Latin. Nowadays the Bible of the Catholic Church can be in any language, although at the Vatican, I think they still use Latin.

The desecration of the Bible is insensitivity of the highest order. It should be enough to bring down the Barisan Nasional government in the next General Election. He forgets that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

It is not that, I think, Christians would return the desecration of their Holy Book in kind. I know they would not do that. They would not demean themselves. Modern Christianity is a religion of love and forgiveness.

Not since the Crusades in the Middle Ages (between 1000 and 1450) have Christian nations waged holy wars. Not even Napoleon or Hitler who were described the Antichrist by Nostradamus nor those who fought against their evil or the warring factions in the First World War had ever called their conflict a holy war.

To cap it all, the Home Minister showed his true colours when he reveals the true reason for the desecration of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia. He refers to:

… the use of “Allah” in non-Muslim publications …
Catholic newspaper banned from using the word "Allah"
Can anyone claim proprietorship to the use of the English word “Allah” where English is a foreign language in Malaysia?

I have said this before. The word “Allah” is an English word since the 16th century. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Edited by C.T. Onions, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1979 reprint, says this:

Allah the deity among the Mohammedans. XVI – Arab. Allah, for al-ilah, i.e. al AL, ilah god = Aram. elah, Heb.eloah (Early forms in Eng. Writers are Alla, Allah, Ala, allough, Alha.)

“XVI” stands for “the sixteenth century”. So that this tells us that the etymology of the word “Allah” in English had been used in the English language since the sixteenth century. In Arabic it is “al-ilah” meaning “The God”. In Aramaic, it is “elah”. In Hebrew, it is “eloah”.

In the Collins English Dictionary for the word Allah, it gives the etymology of the Arabic word for God:

[C16: from Arabic, from al the + Ilah god; compare Hebrew eloah]

“C16” means “the sixteenth century”. The word “Allah” in the dictionary is from the Arabic al the + ilah god, so that in Arabic al ilah means “The god”. In Hebrew “God” is “eloah”.

If you do not already know, Arabic is the language of the Arabs who is one of a branch of the Semitic race. Aramaic pertains to the northern Semitic languages, the biblical name for ancient Syria. And Hebrew is a person belonging to the Semitic race descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Jewish is their language. Source: The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.

Also in the same Dictionary of English Etymology you will find:

Semite Hebrew, Arab, Assyrian or Aramaean, regarded as a descendent of Shem (Gen. X): see The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.

So that we now know that neither Arabs nor Jews would pronounce the word for their God as “Allah”. The Arabs would pronounce the name for their God as “al-ilah”. The Jews would pronounce the name for their God as “eloah”.

The word “Allah” is an English word (as seen in any English dictionary) and is a mispronunciation of both the Arabic and the Hebrew word for God. The pronunciation and spelling of this word “Allah” is distinctly English because it is a word accidentally invented by the British people because they have mispronounced a Semitic word.

Before Bahasa Malaya, now Malaysia, there was no national language. The Malay language is the language of the Malay race. They could have used the Arabic word for God with the correct Arabic pronunciation and make this a word in the National Language for the God of Islam. Instead they plagiarized the English Word “Allah” into the National Language.

Now they say we cannot use the English word “Allah” because the National Language has now claimed proprietorship of the English word “Allah” and, therefore, it is now the Nation’s word for the God of Islam which only Muslims can use.

But why must they insist that they must use an English word for the Islamic God when there is always available an Arabic word for the Islamic God as understood by all Muslims?

NH Chan, a much respected former Court of Appeal Judge, is a gavel of justice that has no hesitation in pounding on Federal Court judges with wooden desks for heads. Retired from the Judiciary to become the People?s Judge. Wrote the explosive "Judging The Judges", now in its 2nd edition as "How To Judge The Judges". Once famously hinted at a possible "case match" between lawyer and judge by remarking that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (see Ayer Molek Rubber Company Berhad & Ors v Insas Berhad & Anor [1995] 3 CLJ 359). We need more people like NH Chan. That’s why you should buyPASOC and his book.

MCCBCHST – Utter horror and sheer disgust over scandalous sex video

By Reverend Dr. Thomas Philips | MCCBCHST President

It is with great disgust and disbelief that we Malaysians were regaled over the last few days with the graphic narration of the existence and viewing of a 21-minute sex video to a select few masterminded and acknowledged by a trio under the pseudonym ‘Datuk T’.

The Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism wishes to register its utter horror and sheer disgust at the despicable methodology devised by the unscrupulous and disgruntled trio. Their aim in publicly humiliating our elected Opposition Leader of Parliament offends the sensitivities
of decent people no matter to what race or religion they belong to.

This sad sordid episode, once again, brings the nation to prominence for the wrong reasons. Over the last few decades we have been treated to and numbed by numerous financial scandals, social scandals and political scandals committed by those supposedly dedicated to leading our citizens through ‘leadership by example’. This latest blue video clip to slander a fellow Malaysian, albeit a Muslim MP, is viewed by our members with great concern and revulsion. This particular exposure at this juncture of our developing history, now, has the rare honour of achieving the coveted “Mother of all Moral Scandals” perpetrated by titled personalities and so-called leaders.

Since the involvement of the 3, code named ‘Datuk T’, has surfaced, the Malaysian public are once again feted with disgusting material that begs the question, “Where is all this leading to?” in spite of the many seasonal national slogans that challenge us to greater heights of achievement and harmony.

It does not inspire the younger generation to trust in the political process nor to observe cultural, religious, social and moral norms. The violation of basic decency and privacy is abhorrent and despicable not only to the mature adult but more importantly to the vulnerable and impressionable young in our midst and communities.

Our Consultative Council that represents non-Muslims is disheartened and uncomfortable with the whole episode. It does not bode well for the future political and cultural landscape of this multi-cultural and multi-religious nation. The longer this issue drags on, the greater the damage to Malaysia’s image internationally. It does no good to the
oft heard and repeated phrase ‘Malaysia is a moderate Islamic Country’ in international discourses, corridors and cafeterias. No one is fooled anymore. Malaysia’s image is further tarnished by irresponsible and selfish leaders like those who acknowledged their shameless involvement.

We call on the Government to take swift and firm action against all those behind this scandal and begin determinedly to usher in a new era of self-respect, pride, trust and hope for the general well-being of all citizens of this rich land of beautiful people and plentiful resources.

We further urge the government to distance itself from all forms of deceit and cunning and bring the perpetrators of this latest mischief to face the full extent of the law.

Further, the Government should employ every means to quell the rising anger, disquiet and dismay over this uncalled for sordid and despicable attempt, by an unscrupulous few, to achieve their own personal disgusting agenda.

PKR The TIME BOMB In Pakatan Rakyat (updated)

WARNING: This post is rated very vulgar and explosive. Please leave if you cannot take it.

Update: For those thick skull bigots, old politics are out. You are where you are now is on the pleasure of the rakyat. Don't ever think that you are indispensable, don't threaten the rakyat, don't ever show your arrogant. Without the rakyat support you are a nobody!

Who the fuck is PKR?

PKR = Parti Keadilan Rakyat = People Justice Party

Well fine, I am a rakyat so I have the right to seek justice in the party, no?

Since 2009 I have been hearing all sorts of comment about PKR's leadership, how the party is actually functioning in total reverse of people justice. I brushed aside all these rumors and talks and committed myself in trusting and believe in Pakatan Rakyat.

Surprise after surprise that all those talks are showing sign of some truth and in 2011 I begin to believe when one fuck up PKR leader starts to claim that certain areas are PKR turf. What the fuck is this, there is no turf that belongs to any political party but the rakyat.

It seems that the rakyat can be wrong most of the time but they cannot be wrong all the time.

I do not want to go into PKR party election as I am not a member nor involved in any way. But still you can see and hear of injustice here and there.

What totally breaks me down is the seats grabbing in the coming Sarawak state election. Again here I asked, who the fuck is PKR to demand this and that and not willing to compromise.

PKR wanted 52 seats and they think they can win 52 seats, then what the fuck they are in Pakatan Rakyat for, they have won more than two thirds and can govern the state on their own, is it not?

Pakatan Rakyat is here today because of Anwar Ibrahim, this we cannot deny. He is one of the pillar that withhold PR together that saw the 308 tsunami. But today, his few right hand men and maybe himself will be the main cause of Pakatan Rakyat's downfall. Believe it or not, you decide.

My advise advice to DAP and PAS, be prepared to leave PKR PR if they want to continue to be arrogant, greedy and power crazy. To me now they looks like an umno clone. If DAP and PAS leaders cannot see through where PKR is heading to, it shows that you all are also not touching ground with the rakyat sentiment. If you knew and have no guts or balls to chastise PKR and bring them down to earth, I feel that your dreams of Putrajaya is all but a dream.

13th General Election is a make or break for everyone of us. If PKR continues to behave like it is now you can bet that they will be the spoiler for the 13th GE. Out of the 222 parliamentary seats they would want to contest in 150 seats, take my word for it.

This is not a threat to anybody, if the Sarawak problems cannot be resolved because of PKR greed, arrogant and power craziness, I will totally stop my support and help for any party and sit and watch the 13th GE results at the comfort of my home unless DAP and PAS kick PKR out. It is alright for you to think that I am the only sole voter that are not happy with PKR or PR, that's fine with me.

The warning sign is very clear PKR IS THE TIME BOMB waiting to explode and destroy Pakatan Rakyat if DAP and PAS are not going to do anything about it.

Has "Section 292 of the Penal Code" Repealed?

The government especially the Prime Minister have been calling the rakyat to " TRUST THEM" without even blinking an eye. You have ministers talking about rule of law, nobody big or small is above the law and yet you can see daily how the rule of law has turned into Rule Of 2Laws, one for them and the other for those who opposes them.

The latest sex video scandal had umno leaders denying that they have anything to do with it. They need not have to come out in the open and deny if they really have nothing to do with it. Whether they are involved or not, the rakyat will judge from the way the government and the police acted against the trio.

Many are asking why the trio have yet to be arrested and charged for the offense they committed under "Section 292 of the Penal Code".

Maybe "Section 292 of the Penal Code" had been repealed? Only the home ministry, AG and the IGP can provide you with the answer.

Why are sex video trio not charged?

By Kee Thuan Chye

So, those who surmised that the sex video revealed by ‘Datuk T’ was a political ploy have been proven right. The people behind it – three of them – have confessed to it.

They were forced to reveal themselves because PKR’s MP Johari Abdul had earlier spilled the beans on them. It all unravelled like a cheap soap opera.

Former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and Shuib Lazim, treasurer-general of Perkasa, have come out to say they are ‘Datuk T’. And they have the cheek to call for a royal commission of inquiry into the sex video.

In the first place, they have transgressed Section 292 of the Penal Code for possessing and distributing pornographic material. Regardless of who the person in the video is, the trio are culpable. Exposing a politician’s sexual activity does not protect them from the law.

After their intended target, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, had lodged a police report, the inspector-general of police, Ismail Omar, announced that the case would be investigated under Section 292.

That being so, the police should now logically arrest all three for possession and distribution of pornographic material and have them charged in court. They should have moved in right after the trio gave their press conference to reveal themselves.

If the trio were the authors of the statement given out to the media calling on the politician (said to be in the video) and his wife to quit politics, they should also be charged for blackmail.

So what’s holding the police back? Are they awaiting further instructions from Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein?

If so, Hishammuddin should observe the rule of law. He should not protect these people because they are Umno members or pro-Umno. This is where the public can judge how sincere the government really is.

If the trio go scot-free, it will be a sure sign that the government practises double standards.

The trio’s call for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the sex video is unwarrantable. Why should there be one? In the case of VK Lingam in 2007, there was ample cause for an RCI – the issue of the fixing of judges was of immense public concern as it affected one of our country’s institutions.

Where is the public concern for a case involving a man, even though he may be a public figure, visiting a prostitute? How does that affect the public? It’s his own private concern, and the public is no worse for it.

In calling for an RCI, the trio appear to be trying to distract us from the offence they have actually committed. In fact, if they were also the ones who masterminded the videotaping, it would mean they are far more immoral than anyone who merely visits a prostitute. They would have no moral right to cast stones at others.

Their actions would have to be seen to be nothing less than repulsive. Even inhuman. For what kind of human being would do something as despicable as this to destroy another human being?

A larger force at work?

But for now, they have not said they were behind the videotaping. They maintain that Shazryl discovered the four cameras and recorder in the hotel room where the sexual liaison took place when he was asked by the politician to go back there and retrieve his Omega watch.

If that is so, who set up the cameras and recorder? Who wanted to catch the politician in the act? And why? There might be a larger force at work here. Finding out who or what it is would be finding the key to the mystery that surrounds the whole drama.

Another key question is why, after discovering the video, Shazryl hooked up with Rahim and Shuib to expose the politician. Why did Shazryl not ascertain the source of the videotaping before deciding to go public with the video?

He admits he was also in the tape but refuses to say why he was at the hotel where the sexual liaison took place. Does this mean he was caught on tape unknowingly or was he in on the taping as well? From his saying that he had felt “used by Anwar for far too long”, could it imply that he wanted to get back at the man by setting the whole thing up?

The association with Rahim is most intriguing. He was the Malacca chief minister who had to resign in 1994 over allegations of his sexual relations with an underaged girl.

At yesterday’s press conference, he indicated he had a score to settle with Anwar by accusing the latter of lying to him. He urged Anwar to take responsibility for his actions by stepping down, like he himself did in 1994.

Did Shazryl go to Rahim after discovering the video, or was Rahim also in it from the beginning? Is all this part of a plot to exact revenge?

Onus now is on the police

Is the sex video also aimed at luring PKR MPs to defect? As PKR’s Johari Abdul (far right in photo) has revealed to the media, he was invited to privately view the sex video on Monday by the trio, after which they made him offers of financial incentives, suggesting that he defect.

He says they also offered to take him to meet Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak, and asked him to bring more Pakatan Rakyat MPs to see the video. He inferred that the trio wanted to also turn them against Anwar.

If all this is true, we are seeing yet another instance of gutter politics being practised. The sort that is as dirty as that perpetrated in the Perak coup of 2008.

As it has turned out, the soap opera has apparently not unfolded as it was scripted, and this whole ugly and sordid drama could actually hurt Umno and BN. Even if Rahim and gang were acting on their own, we have now managed to see further evidence of what Umno (and Perkasa) people can resort to.

Besides, we still don’t know who actually masterminded the videotaping. There could be deeper and more sinister implications. There could even be a larger conspiracy. This is a mystery the police must solve.

But first, the police must also do what’s right. Already, the public has lost much faith in them. If they don’t act against the trio in accordance with the law now, they will be seen to be mere puppets of the BN.

Who’s the fool?

The Lord Jesus himself has said that “anyone who says, `You fool!’ (meaning calling others fools) will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:22)


By Thomas Lee

Although the April Fool’s Day is still a week away, a deputy federal minister from Sarawak has already come out with a “foolish” statement.

Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum was reported as saying that the Christians in Sarawak are “foolish” to hold protest prayer vigils against the way the Barisan Nasional regime is violating the rights to freedom of religion with its detention of thousands of copies of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Bible, and imposing certain conditions for their release.

Joseph, who calls himself a Christian, has said that if the Christians “come out and say that we want the Bibles, they will get it” and that “If they want to make fools of themselves, we will not respond,” whatever that means.

Joseph, the federal deputy minister for information communication and culture, was commenting critically on a series of prayer vigils that the Sarawak Christians are holding to seek divine help and intervention in facing the constitutional violation of their religious rights.

It is certainly flabbergasting that a person of Joseph’s standing as a veteran politician and a well-versed Christian (I heard he did some theological studies in Australia) should react in such a manner to the united reverent prayer vigils held by the churches.

The Malay Bible and Allah controversies are not partisan political in nature per se, but fundamentally concerned with the human, civil and constitutional rights of the Christians in Malaysia to practice and propagate their faith in their own national language without restrain and restrictions on the use of all the words in its vocabulary.

The Church, hence, remains non-partisan in its perspective on politics, and all it does is to protest against the repressive, oppressive and unconstitutional treatment of its Bible and the unilateral restriction on the use of certain Bahasa Malaysia words in its publications.

Although the Church is, for all intent and purpose, non-partisan in the political arena, it certainly needs to provide some vital principles and guidelines for its members in exercising their role and duties as loyal and responsible citizens of the nation.

The fundamental basis on which the Church bases its principles and guidelines is of course, the theological, doctrinal, moral and ethical teachings of the Bible. And it is on the underlying theological and philosophical idealism deduced from the careful study and exegeses of the Bible that the Church formulates its perspective on life and thoughts, including in the area of politics.

Hence, it is certainly the height of folly to suggest that the Church in Malaysia is aligned to the opposition or alternative political front.

As an organized assembly of followers of the Lord Jesus, the Church is a non-partisan, neutral and impartial body, so far as the matters of state and politics are concerned.

Individual Christians, however, are free to exercise their personal choice of political ideologies and practices, so long as they do not violate the basic core teachings of the Bible, such as the ethical values prescribed in the Ten Commandments, and enjoined in the Sermon of the Mount.

Meanwhile, as a fellow Christian, I want to draw Joseph’s attention to what the Bible has to say concerning “fools”.

The Apostle Paul said that “If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” (1st Corinthians 3:18). And in 2nd Corinthians 11: 16 & 17, he said: “Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool.”

In the Old Testament, the Prophet Hosea quoted God as saying: “Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac.” (Hosea 9:7).

The Lord Jesus himself has said that “anyone who says, `You fool!’ (meaning calling others fools) will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:22)

I rest my case.

[Thomas is a veteran newspaper editor and socio-political analyst of 35-year standing. He has two master’s degrees, including one in theological studies.]

Was it a big fat lie, Mr PM?

By P Ramakrishnan | Aliran President

Was Anwar’s bid to takeover Putrajaya on 16 September 2008 a “big fat lie” as Najib has claimed? P Ramakrishnan reminds us about a certain trip to Taiwan.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was reported by The Sunday Star (20 March 2011) as having said that PKR had gone to the extent of telling the ‘biggest political lie of the century’ when it announced it would take over the government on 16 September 2008.

“We have to keep repeating this because human memory is short and they forget, but we must remind the people that it was the biggest political lie of the century,’ he said.

He said PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had made the Barisan Nasional worried when he claimed that more than 30 of the coalition’s elected representatives would cross over, “But in the end, it was all a big fat lie’ he added.

I must thank the PM for jogging my memory. The only truth in his statement was that “Datuk Anwar Ibrahim had made the Barisan Nasional worried when he claimed that more than 30 of the coalition’s elected representatives would cross over”. That was a fact. The rest of Najib’s claims about what transpired cannot be said to be the “biggest political lie of the century”. They are Najib’s claims of what happened and they are his lies.

Again, Najib is correct in stating, “We have to keep repeating this because human memory is short and they forget…”

Indeed we have to repeat the past incidents and recall what actually happened so that people can remember the truth.

If the cross over on 16 September 2008 was deemed to be a lie, why did the BN take this lie so seriously by sending some 50 MPs to Taiwan? They were sent, we were then told, on an agricultural tour of Taiwan. But the truth was that the BN was running scared of the possibility of its own MPs switching sides. It did not trust its MPs absolutely.

That was the only reason why the BN wanted to keep these 50-over MPs away from Malaysia. It desperately wanted them to be away from Anwar who was trying to entice some 30 over BN MPs to defect to his side in his campaign to unseat the BN government.

The BN knew that there was this real possibility that its MPs could have provided Anwar the majority that was required to topple the BN government.

There was no other convincing reason why these MPs had to be kept away from Malaysia on 16 September. They could have been sent to Taiwan or to Timbaktu on any other date for whatever course but the BN wasn’t prepared to take any chances by keeping them in Malaysia on 16 September!

So on 8 September – 8 days before 16 September – these MPs were packed off to Taiwan on a “blur blur” tour. One BN MP mentioned that this trip was planned months ago while another contradicted him by claiming it was all so sudden!

Lim Kit Siang alluded to this as “a national shame that BN MPs should be treated like delinquent children who have to be packed off overseas and secluded from mischief – treating BN MPs as no better than chattel. Poor BN MPs!”

John Roberts in an article entitled, “Political power struggle in Malaysia continues unabated” had this to say:

In the lead up to September 16, the government took the extraordinary step of sending nearly 50 BN parliamentarians on a paid trip to Taiwan to study farming techniques. Few believe that farming issues were the reason behind the trip. Among those sent were parliamentarians regarded as most susceptible to being courted by the opposition. PKR secretary general Salehuddin Hashim described the expedition as “kidnapping,” saying it was “a very clear sign of the anxieties and insecurities inside Barisan”.

If the BN had not taken this extraordinary precaution by sending its own MPs away to Taiwan, and on 16 September if Anwar’s bid for power had failed, only then Najib could boast that “it was all a big fat lie”.

Since the BN did not dare take that chance to test the integrity of its own MPs, Najib’s story is nothing but a “big fat lie”.

Sex Video: Who Is the More Immoral?

By Kee Thuan Chye

OH no! Not again! They’re gunning for Anwar Ibrahim over another alleged sex scandal. The video revealed by the mysterious “Datuk T” showing a man resembling an Opposition party leader having sex with a woman, said to be a prostitute, is obviously targeted at him.

But the timing of its revelation to the media on March 21 suspiciously coincides with the dissolution of the Sarawak State Assembly, paving the way for state elections. Not to mention the part in Mahathir Mohamad’s recently launched memoir, A Doctor in the House, that claims Anwar arranged to have sex with four girls when he was deputy prime minister in 1998.

What has Malaysia turned into? The sordid sex opera capital of the world? What are we showing the world? That we are a nation of sex maniacs? Or, worse, that our politics is so dirty that we turn to sex to discredit our enemies?

We have done it to Chua Soi Lek, and now we are doing it to Anwar – for the third time. Who will be next in the near future?

On the other hand, the case in which a minister was alleged to have raped his Indonesian maid seems to have been adeptly swept aside.

Rape is certainly serious because it causes harm to another person. But if a politician visits a prostitute, what’s the beef? Isn’t it his private matter?

When Soi Lek had sex with the woman with whom he was caught on video, that was also his private matter. But what is more despicable in that case – and the current one – is that the videotaping was arranged.

If we want to accuse Soi Lek (and now, apparently, Anwar) of being immoral, what about the morals of the person or persons who masterminded the videotaping? Aren’t such individuals more devious – and therefore more worthy of our contempt – for conniving to destroy another human being? Aren’t such people cowardly for resorting to such covert acts?

Isn’t “Datuk T” cowardly for not revealing his identity? He claims he was not the one who set up the videotaping, that he actually discovered it, so why is he afraid to come forward and show who he is?

He says he was shocked when he discovered the four cameras and a recorder in the hotel room where the sexual tryst took place, and decided to take the recorder with him. As someone who was presumably close to and trusted by the politician concerned, why did he not show the video to the latter? Why was he keeping it to himself? Did he there and then plan to use it at some point in the future?

If he wasn’t the one behind the videotaping, who was? Why did he not investigate it further? Especially since he was at the time an “insider” in the politician’s camp? Why is he now allowing himself to be a pawn of some other person or persons without finding out who they are? How can he simply take over the product of someone else’s handiwork and use it for his own purpose?

Why is he now turning against the politician who had trusted him? Why does he now call on the politician – and even the latter’s wife – to quit politics? What has she got to do with this?

Is he even sure about the authenticity of the video? If he is, why does he write in the statement given to the press: “If it is true… [the couple] must step down from politics” (my italics)? He says if they did not accede to his demand, he would call on several NGOs to set up an independent panel to investigate and study the authenticity of the video. Does that connote that he’s not sure?

It’s interesting that the set-up of the press conference to reveal the video smacks of an organized and sophisticated backing to it. The security checks on the journalists attending it were reportedly done with metal scanners, and the journalists were provided with jackets to wear to prevent them from touching their pockets. The event was held in the luxurious Carcosa Seri Negara. Who sponsored all that?

As for the video itself, it is reported to have been recorded with high quality equipment which rendered clear and sharp images. It’s “professionally done”, Datuk T reportedly commented. This again smacks of organized and sophisticated backing. Why aren’t we asking who was behind it? Why did Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein initially dismiss it as something that could not be investigated because no one had yet lodged a police report? Now that Anwar has made such a report, let’s see what proceeds from there.

This could be a case not only of invasion of privacy but, more seriously, one of conspiracy. It is also possible that the entire sexual liaison was staged, with a look-alike being employed to pass off for the politician – as is done in movies.

Why was the woman not brought along to vouch for the video’s authenticity? Datuk T says when he went back to the hotel room to look for the politician’s Omega watch and found it not there, he confronted her about it and she gave it back to him. This indicates that he knows how to contact her directly. So wouldn’t he be able to produce her if her testimony is required?

A lot of intriguing questions have arisen from this drama, raising a lot of suspicion. In light of that, the quintessential detective might well say, “I smell a rat.”

Ironically, this episode could turn out in Anwar’s favor as people begin to be disgusted by how low his enemies will go to try and destroy him. Many would no doubt have already been put off by the front page of The Star of March 22 carrying a huge picture of him next to the headline ‘Sex Video Shocker’.

The visual impact is clear – in the picture, both his index fingers are pointing at himself as if to say, “I’m the one”. Considering that no one, not even Datuk T, has been reported to name the politician in the video, it is distasteful to run a picture of Anwar on the front page, and especially in such a pose.

The Sarawak state elections may be coming up and the stakes may be high for Barisan Nasional to score a big victory, but this is a blatant spin that speaks poorly of a national newspaper.

All these underhanded tactics must cease. Politics may be a dirty game, but let’s not make it more dirty than it already is. The general consensus among the public is that there are national problems that need to be urgently solved. Energy should be concentrated on these priorities, instead of spent on distracting us from them.

Your Support "Sarawak4Change" Are Much Needed

The Sarawak general elections will be held within a few weeks in April. It is time for the people of Sarawak to voice their choice of government for the next 5 years. The election will also serve as a pre-cursor to the upcoming 13th Malaysia General Elections.

The DAP, as a member of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition will be playing a major role to fight the Barisan Nasional hegemony in Sarawak, especially to end the autocratic rule of Malaysia's longest serving Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The DAP hopes to bring change to Sarawak by fighting the rampant abuse of power, cronysim and corruption by the BN leaders, which enriched themselves while impoverishing the people over the past 50 years.

However, we need your help to make change happen. As we need funds to print leaflets, hold campaign rallies, run operating centres and access remote regions of Sarawak, we call upon you to donate generously to help our cause.

You can donate using credit card, internet-banking here or you can also bank funds directly with TT, cash or cheque (details here).

All the monies donated now till the end of elections will be used for the Sarawak campaign. On behalf of the people of Sarawak, thank you so much for your support to make change possible.

Why, Malaysia?

By Lisa Ng | Loyar Burok

As we bring #WhyMalaysia week to a close, Lisa Ng writes a heartfelt customer complaint letter to our tanah tumpah darah, our beloved Bolehland, Malaysia.

My dear Malaysia, it doesn’t get more melodramatic than this, does it? “This” being about whether to stick with you till “death do us part” or to walk away, even if for a little while, especially if there is evidence of ill-treatment.

You see, for Christians, marriage is an unbreakable covenant between God and the couple. Some people would call it a “contractual promise” of sorts. Others would say that, however we term it, the general principle of faithfulness applies to Man and Motherland. The only difference is, even Christians are not so cruel that they insist we stick with our hurtful spouse (or even parent in some cases) if our wellbeing is at stake.

That is why my Conscience was clear when my family decided to depart from your bosom to—not necessarily greener—but relatively safer pastures. At least for now.

You may label me a traitor. Or you may accuse me of cowardice. Perhaps you may also venture so far as to call me an unfilial daughter. But loyalty is not a blind man. And I believe that loyalty to you isn’t meant to be at the expense of some measure of fairness owed to me and, more importantly, my dignity as a person. People may not be perfect and neither are governments. But there is a limit to what each person can tolerate. For the physically and/or mentally abused spouse, it could be the 100th punch to the face. For the oppressed Iban or Dayak, perhaps the face of a certain man they’ve seen on posters for a long time. But then, I’m no Iban or Dayak or any of the many indigenous tribes who can rightfully be called Bumiputera. I am, however, a true Malaysian. And while I am not entirely fed-up of the way you’re manipulating me, I am in need of some perspective.

I was born here. In Taman Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan, to be precise. I have a valid birth cert, MyKad, Malaysian passport and even if my Bahasa Malaysia is rusty, I was brought up learning and speaking the language and when I meet a Malay, I salam them. I love your nasi lemak, roti canai, durian, cendol, satay and sayur lodeh. I am also a Malaysian because I’ve rolled with the NEP ever since I was old enough to understand its impact on me and not held any grudge against you or my Malay friends. I know how the political parties in Malaysia were formed because I rote learnt it in high school. Outside the Dewan of my school, I memorised the names of Sultans from the time of Parameswara, through the reins of the Mahmud and Iskandar Shahs, to the era of Disco, all the while sucking on those umbrella-shaped kacang merah ice creams sold unhygienically by the roadside.

During those formative years, there was already a lot of talk about different races in school having different passing marks for their SPM exams. The news was that Kelantan and Terengganu students could pass their Advanced Maths with 30% while the mark to meet for the “others” was 40%. I remember being bothered by this rumour but I don’t recall breaking up friendships with my Malay friends over this.

When I studied in Australia, my lecturers thought I was Malay because my skin is quite tanned and I don’t look typically Chinese. The only reason why I clarified that I was Malaysian Chinese was because it helped me explain the multicultural aspect of Malaysia (and prevent them from asking why I have special concessions on homes whereas my fellow Malaysians don’t). I pay taxes to you. I eat the vegetables your farmers plant. I am comfortable excusing myself when my Malay friends are fasting and I know the difference between Ponggal and Thaipusam.

I’ve even learnt a little bit of Jawi, for goodness sake.


So why do I have to prove to you that I am Malaysian, the way I just did? Because as time goes by, it seems that non-Malays need to, more and more, defend their citizenship to you. You, who BORE us. Citizenship is NOT a favour. Your granting me a Malaysian birth certificate and MyKad may require that I abide by the Federal Constitution and the laws of this country; it’s something I believe in and do. But it does not come with a gag that I have to put on robotically when your policies affect me negatively. After all, your “managers” are working for my vote. And if they’re working for my vote, then they are essentially in the service industry—and I’m not only a daughter of your soil but also your client.

So as the saying goes, this client is NOT happy with the current service. I have honoured our contract. You have not. Instead, you have tried to hoodwink me into settling for less benefits with the promise of living a quality life in peace and harmony. But as it stands, you’re not only NOT delivering on quality life; even the peace and harmony aspects are left fraying on the side.

My ringgit is beginning to take the shape of a pisang rastali. My grocery bill looks like I shopped for Louis Vuitton vegetables and Prada pork.


Meanwhile, my mother had her handbag snatched three times in broad daylight in a span of eight months. And you conteng on my Bible while allowing a self-professed scholar to irresponsibly bullhorn his total ignorance of my religion to a wide audience, by associating Santa Claus with it.

In reality, clients get to complain. Then what ensues is a review of the business contract. Here, my vote has a tendency to get rigged. And if I try to protest, I’ll probably be arrested. If I ask why I am being arrested, you’ll probably tell me I have no permit. If I ask for a permit, you’ll likely say I can’t have one because protests are wrong. Meanwhile, as we speak, a large crowd of Malaysians will be dragging a headless cow in protest against an Indian temple being built in their vicinity.

WHY, INDEED, MALAYSIA?

Does it make me less Malaysian to want more respect? More fairness? More security? Or maybe just the opportunity to live comfortably without needing to convert to Islam? Has it occurred to you that “more”, of late, simply means returning a little closer to “equality”?

Does it make me less Malaysian that I’ve chosen to continue building my life in a different country? I don’t think so. We settle wherever we feel gives us the most value for money; nostalgia and sentiments alone are not enough if one has family. This may sound a little too businesslike, but you know, even businesspeople return home once their work is done.

I will always be a Malaysian. Even if I lose all my rights overnight. You can take away my identity cards too but I will still remain nothing but a Malaysian, because identity lives in the Consciousness of our being. It cannot be taken away once it is encrypted into one’s self-awareness.

I did not want to say Goodbye to you, Malaysia. I still don’t. The day we left in the taxi was an emotional one. Because I didn’t just leave behind corruption, crime and crooked policies. I left behind 37 years of friendship, late nights at the office to support the economy, pot-holes and school songs. I left behind countless national day parades, open houses, pasar malams, mamak stalls and yau char kwei dipped in kopi-o. And yes, I left behind all my hopes and dreams for my child to experience all these things. And more.

However, staying on would be akin to accepting that all is fine and nothing needs to change. Or standing up to challenge all that is wrong. Either situation means death to me. Death to the conscience in the first scenario, and death of freedom in the second. And neither is a position I want to take because, above all things, above being Malaysian or Chinese, I am a mother first. And mothers are supposed to put their families before everything else.

——–
Lisa Ng is a human being. She used to be a copywriter in the advertising industry. But now she just writes. For whatever helps us regain the lost art of “giving a toss” towards things that matter to the human race.

Obnoxious Phrases "Trust Me" & "If Gov't Says...We Must Accept It"

What kind of leaders are running this country. It is really frightening to see the way they present themselves in order to secure big win in elections.

A leader in a desperate moves is calling Malaysians to "Trust Him" Is there any reason to do so if the leader is honest, performing and walks his talks? Nobody in the right mind would simply call others to trust him unless he is not telling the truth all these while.

Another leader claimed that "If the government says....we must accept it" How ridiculous can that be. Is he trying to tell us that whatever the government does are always right and unquestionable?

Malaysian voters, you are all matured and can think for yourself, you have the right to vote for a government that is not corrupt, racist and arrogant. The present ruling government is desperate to cling on to power by whatever means. If they can soften you with nice words they will use all kind of plea to win you over and if they cannot they will use fear or threats to do so.

So, think wisely before you succumbed to their brain washing or threats.

Below are my tweets in response to those obnoxious phrases:

"TRUST ME"

Honest leader who kept his words & walk his talk need not have 2 use such word as "trust me" 2 lure for votes unless he lies all the time
3 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete
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A desperate person who lied too often will beg 'trust me' in order for people 2 believe his lie yet again
14 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete
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'trust me' I will return your money, is begging 2 loan sharks 4 more time 2 pay back. Normal people won't beg 4 'trust me'
15 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete
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trust me pls, trust me with your money, trust me with your land, trust me with whatever that can make me rich, no money no talk
15 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete
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VOTERS, young or old, trust own judgement there r other leaders more trustworthy than najib, trust has 2b earned not asked or beg
17 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete
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Najib asks young Malaysians to trust him: REALLY Teoh Beng Hock is a young man, he gave his life because he trusted MACC and you
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete

"If Gov't Says...We Must Accept It"

If govt says ISA will help Malaysia 2b developed nation, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says NEP must stay forever, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says we will be bankrupt by 2019, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says macc has brought down corruption, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says they can do whatever they like, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says we do not need democracy, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says nuke plants r safe, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says those opposing umno must die, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete
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If govt says umno must rule forever, we must accept it "Ongkili: If govt says Bibles must be stamped, we must accept it"
19 Mar Favorite Reply Delete

You Love Malaysia Then Help SAVE Malaysia

Prime Minister Najib is not really serious in wanting to implement what he espouses since taking over the premiership.

Whatever he has done thus far are only on ad hoc basis with no consideration for the future. His mind, heart and soul are only concentrating on how to win big in the coming 13th GE and nothing else.

He laid out his economic plans with a string of acronyms which you and I the common layman could not understand and even more confused when they are explained by his incompetence (whether through the back door or front door) ministers. What we can understand simply is that we must have huge projects which are good for the economy and subsidies cut to sustain the economy and prevent the country from going bankrupt.

Question is, do we feel or get any benefits trickling down from these huge projects, no, but I am certain that cronies and well connected businessmen will gain a lot. We gain nothing from the huge projects but we definitely can feel the effect of the subsidy cut.

The PM has no idea at all how to run and manage the country other then to please a handful of cronies and party supporters to ensure he remain in power.

Does he knows that the whole system of running the country need to be overhauled completely and the old system of divide and rule using race and religion have to be discarded totally.

You can argue that I am wrong and that the PM had came out with "1Malaysia, People First Performance Now". Good, very good indeed, but after nearly two years what have become of it and what results have it shown, nothing, zilt, zero, instead the ethnic and religious harmony have turn for the worst.

Do I need to go on with his "People First Performance Now" rhetoric, I guess not, you can see and judge for yourselves from the complains and public dissatisfaction that are reported daily.

How can cutting of subsidies prevent the country from bankruptcy when the government is spending like nobody business. We are paying ministers to do their job, we have foreign minister to deal with foreign countries but the PM is using his wife to represent the country, touring the world and acting like a de facto PM.

Why is the PM so proud of reducing toll rate for one or two selected highways instead of studying the whole country highway toll system and work out a fair solution on whether to reduce the rate or remove the toll completely?

Why is the PM throwing millions to Felda, teachers and schools only during by-elections or approaching general election? Is there no proper planning at all how to distribute equally and fairly to the people from Perlis to Sabah on a long term basis?

All in all, as a common layman, what I can see is that you will get what is due to you only when there is an impending election. I do not see any long term planning to help the poor, revitalised the education system, stopping police abuse, practicing true democracy and revamp the justice system. Lastly, there is totally no will power to fight corruptions, I am talking about the millions and billion ringgit cases and not the 2,400 ringgit case that got an innocent man killed.

I am not a good writer, journalist, editor or expert that can explain in detail or spin about the PM rhetoric and slogans. I am just a common layman living a simple life and I am writing from my daily observation of working class people slaughtering day in day out just to survive through each month. There is totally nothing that we can see or received from the PM economic plans, all but just hot air. I am not that stupid to be fooled again by the same government that had ruled for 0ver 50 years.

My fellow Malaysians, we have live in a wooden attap house, which is fine and good initially, no leakages, strong wooden stilt and very resistant to heavy wind and rainfall. Today after 53 years we are still living in this same house, the roof have been patch until it can no longer be patched, the wooden stilt had rotten and it may collapse any day, it cannot stand any strong wind or heavy rain anymore. Don't you think its time to tear it down and rebuilt with concrete, bricks and mortar?

I am for change, that is the only way we can rebuilt our country that can hold all Malaysians together, a truly satu bangsa satu negara environment.

Time to discard the old umno/bn and go for the new Pakatan Rakyat.

Launch of Royal Commission Watch Website For Teoh Beng Hock RCI

Malaysians by now must have known that all the institutions are under the thumb of the ruling government. Justice and fairness are always questionable when it comes to the common layman, to those who have opposing views and the opposition parties.

Did Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide or was he murdered? After nearly two years the police and judiciary have yet to give his family a truthful answer.

Najib is blaming the opposition of playing politics and delaying the inquest and RCI but did he look at the mirror himself and asked who actually is trying to delay the finding? When call for an immediate RCI to be set up a few days after Teoh Beng Hock was found death, Najib rejected the call and instead an inquest was instituted.

Finally when the inquest produced an open verdict, only then Najib decided to set up the RCI but still initially it was only to look into the MACC method of investigation. He only relented for the RCI to look into how Teoh Beng Hock died after much uproar from the public.

See what kind of PM you have, blaming others for his own wrong decision.

Under such circumstances Malaysians for Beng Hock movement had launch the royal commission watch website to closely monitor the performance of Teoh Beng Hock royal commission of inquiry.

The royal commission watch panel is comprising of experts from various field : Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan, Dr. Irene Fernandez, Yeo Yang Poh, Dato’ Dr. Ronald Mccoy, Dr. Azmi Sharom, Dr. Toh Kin Woon and Dr. Wong Chin Huat.

You can follow the RCI proceeding and latest information here or click on the image below.

Religious bigotry on the rise again under Najib’s 1 Malaysia policy

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

The seizure of 30,000 Christian Bibles printed in Malay and imported into Malaysia is a serious breach of religious freedom. This is a glaring example of the failure of Najib’s promise of a better Malaysia for all, irrespective of race, culture and religion.

Reliable sources say that the Bibles do not contain any philosophy or teachings which are any different from the Bibles used in the country for centuries, since Christianity came into the country whether in the Peninsula or in Sarawak and Sabah.

It would appear that the Bibles were seized because the authorities consider the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the bibles was prohibited and therefore seditious. This is religious bigotry on the part of some fanatics in the muslim community.

ALLAH is the name of the God of the Christians and Muslims in Arab countries for centuries. They invoke the name Allah when they pray and, freely when they greet each other.

In Malaysia the Christian natives praise Allah when they pray and when saluting each other in every day life. To them Allah is part and parcel of their religion, culture and lifestyle. In the Peninsula there are also thousands of Christian workers from Sabah and Sarawak who go regularly to churches and pray to Allah regularly.

It is hard to understand why local Muslims are so conservative on the issue. It is time for Malaysian Muslims to move on, and embrace reforms like their Muslim brothers in the Arab countries of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and others.

INTERFAITH COUNCIL. This is an important issue which should be taken up by the interfaith council, and arrange for a dialogue of all the faiths to reach a common understanding.

Why 1 Malaysia has failed to promote religious understanding. It is because PM Najib announced that his 1 Malaysia does not subscribe to PLURALISM in the country. Does he imply that Islam is the big brother, and the other religions are on a lower plane.

If pluralism is not accepted, the whole concept of unity in a multiracial, multireligious society would be undermined. A united multireligious society means that the religions are equal and live together with perfect harmony and understanding.

Mr Prime Minister, please take note if you are sincere in promoting equality and unity for a better and prosperous Malaysia.

We must agree with him when he’s right (RPK)

So, how can we disagree with Dr Mahathir? What the Tun said is absolutely true and when he says something true we must agree with him. We must defend Malaysia against these enemies of the country. And there are many such enemies who we need to defeat.

By Raja Petra Kamarudin

Dr Mahathir: 'Malaysians must have fighting spirit'

(Bernama) - Malaysians must have fighting spirit and strong character to ensure that they are able to stand up and defend the country against its enemies, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former prime minister said Malaysians must also be prepared to fight for a cause, for oneself and for their families, and should not be defeated easily.

It was his principle in life that whatever happens, "we must fight, win and able to stand up again", he told reporters after launching his memoir "A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad", here Tuesday.

***************************************

The trouble with most Malaysia Today readers is that they will disagree with everything Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says even when he’s right. And in that same spirit they will agree with whatever the opposition leaders say even when they are wrong.

We must be able to agree when agreement is due and agree to disagree when disagreement is due -- or else we will be just like cattle with a herd mentality.

Take what Dr Mahathir said above: Malaysians must have fighting spirit and strong character to ensure that they are able to stand up and defend the country against its enemies.

Okay, before you get your knickers all twisted into knots, stop, take a deep breath, and reflect on what Dr Mahathir just said. And pray tell what is wrong with what he said? What he said is absolutely right. Malaysians must have fighting spirit and strong character to ensure that they are able to stand up and defend the country against its enemies.

Now, who does Dr Mahathir mean by ‘enemies of the country’? Let me list them down, although not necessarily in order of priority.

Top of the list are politicians who abuse their power, are corrupted, and steal the taxpayers’ hard-earned money. The majority of these people would be in Barisan Nasional although there are also a few in Pakatan Rakyat.

These people can be classified as ‘Enemy Number One’ whom we need to defend Malaysia against. Therefore we need to kick them out come the next election. And to do that we would need to register as voters and make sure that we come out to vote.

Next on my list would be corrupt civil/public servants, Ministers included. They are costing the country a lot of money, money that could have instead be used to improve health care, educational facilities, roads, and whatnot.

Schools, hospitals and housing for the poor could have been built with the billions that the country has wasted over the last 35 years since the mid-1970s. Malaysia has earned and spent an estimated RM2,000 billion since the mid-1970s. That is two trillion ringgit of OUR money.

Third on my list are bigots, racists, religious freaks intolerant of those not of their religious beliefs, Malaysians who judge other people according to their warped standards, hypocrites who condemn others but are devils disguised as angels, the holier than thou who think they know best the road to heaven and hell, and all those people you would never invite to your party.

Fourth would be the cakap banyak (talk too much) people who have so much bad things to say about the government but do not do their duty in changing the government.

You find many of these people getting drunk at the Long Bar in Selangor Club. They will foam at the mouth and preach to you about what is wrong with the country but have never voted in their life. Some are not even registered as voters.

Fifth are those who agree that the country is going to the dogs but will still vote for the government they condemn because of cari makan reasons (looking after their stomach).

Some of these people will argue that it is better that we support the devil we know than an angel we don’t know. They will say that at least with a corrupt government we can get things done by paying ‘under the table’. In short, corruption facilitates what would not be possible with a clean government.

Sixth on my list are judges who rule based on what is good for their careers and to ensure their promotion is not blocked and that they would not instead be sent into ‘cold storage’. These judges will do what the political masters want and not what the law stipulates.

Seventh are the corrupt police officers who serve the political masters, protect the underworld, assassinate ‘criminals’ who they can’t get enough evidence to put on trial, and put in jail on trumped up charges all those who oppose the government.

Eighth is the Election Commission that ensures Barisan Nasional will never be defeated by running a fraudulent election.

Ninth is the Anti-Corruption Commission that makes sure all corrupt Barisan Nasional politicians escape punishment while they fabricate charges against opposition politicians and send them to jail.

Tenth are the editors of the mainstream electronic and print media who turn TV/radio stations and newspapers into a propaganda arm of the ruling party.

There are or course many more enemies of the country such as BTN, VCs of universities, Chinese ‘running dogs’ of Umno, Indian ‘mandores’ of Barisan Nasional, etc., who are doing a great disservice to the country. Nevertheless, the top ten I listed above are the enemies of Malaysia whom Dr Mahathir said we must defend the country against.

So, how can we disagree with Dr Mahathir? What the Tun said is absolutely true and when he says something true we must agree with him. We must defend Malaysia against these enemies of the country. And there are many such enemies who we need to defeat.

As Dr Mahathir said: Malaysians must also be prepared to fight for a cause, for oneself and for their families, and should not be defeated easily.

Hidup Mahathir!

Answering the people’s call is the way to winning the next GE

By N H Chan

The call of the people is accountability which is the ultimate checks and balances of democracy

There is an excellent article by an astute young lady in the Sun, March 3, 2011:

Checks and balances imperative
By Yap Mun Ching

When former transport minister Chan Kong Choy was charged with … cheating amounting to RM1.9 billion … it was as though the winds of accountability sweeping across the Middle East had finally gusted over. …the former minister looks set to join his predecessor Dr Ling Liong Sik on a list of former cabinet ministers accused of less than hounourable activities while in office.

Viewing these developments against the backdrop of the events in the Middle East, several important lessons stand out. Firstly, it is never healthy to have leaders hold on to power for too long a period without proper checks and balances. It is not by coincidence that the heads of government facing the strongest opposition in the Middle East now are those who have hung on for decades by crushing all opposition. Tunisia’s deposed Ben Ali ruled for 23 years while Egypt’s Mubarak sat at the helm … for 29 years. Embattled Libyan leader Gaddafi is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders at 42 years, while … Yemen and Bahrain, the incumbents have been in power for 30 and 40 years respectively.

While Ling and Chan did not manage tenures of comparable length, both were members of a government that has ruled for 54 years … a two-thirds majority enjoyed by the ruling government in Parliament [until the 2008 general election] has resulted in a blurring of the separation of powers so important to maintaining the integrity of a democratic form of government. Without independent institutions, the ability of our system to hold leaders to account has been severely compromised.

What a superb piece of writing. She is so good at making an accurate assessment of the situation in the Middle East and about the aspirations of the people there for wanting accountability in government which is also a universal wish of all freedom loving peoples the world over. To paraphrase, the people’s wish is democracy not a dictatorship in any shape or form. It is only in a democracy could there be accountability of those who hold positions of power. It is only with a government of the people, by the people and for the people – for that is what a true democracy is – that the people’s representatives, who hold positions of power in order to govern, could be made accountable to the people who had elected them to office in government. The integrity of a democratic form of government relies on the system’s ability to hold leaders to account. And this can only be possible if our institutions of government – such as the judiciary, the civil and legal services, the police and the armed forces – are independent bodies, not minions who are always at the beck and call of an autocratic master.

In a democracy there is no such thing as the hijacking of an elected government and supplanting it with an appointed one that was made possible by the intervention of a third party in the form of a ruler or king. In the case of Perak, the sultan resorted to some vague imaginary power which some local legal experts have described as a “residual power” – as if a monarch had it before he became a powerless constitutional monarch, unless these experts are naive enough to think that there is such a thing as the divine right of kings. If you can still remember your English history you would know that King Charles the First lost his head and crown to the executioner’s axe for the belief that kings had divine powers. Indeed any form of external intervention, because such is not the choice of the people, destroys the very concept of democracy; such intervention defeats the effectiveness of accountability to the people.

But supplanting King Charles the First with another dictator – Oliver Cromwell – was just as bad because it became a case of replacing one despot for another despot. That was why Cromwell’s dictatorship died with him and upon his death England reverted back to autocratic rule by despotic kings. It was only after the last Stuart king – James II – had fled his realm that democracy started to take root in England and the monarchy became a toothless tiger as we understand it today; a constitutional monarchy without any power to interfere with the democratic process. The Perak takeover was, therefore, unconstitutional because no residual or any power was given to our rulers in our written Constitution. However, had there been such a power given to the monarchs in our written constitution then, in which case, Malaysia would not be called a democracy. It would have become a dictatorship. The English peoples took some 700 years to get rid of their tyrannical kings. It took them that long a time because they did not have a written constitution.

When a system of government had taken hold for too long a period, to use the words of Yap Mun Ching, ‘it resulted in the blurring of the separation of powers so important to maintaining the integrity of a democratic form of government. Without independent institutions, the ability of our system to hold leaders to account has been severely compromised’.

The antithesis of democracy is dictatorship. Any ruler or leader or a government, as in Malaysia, that had held on to power for too long a period – for power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely – would have inexorably transformed himself or itself into a tyrannical autocracy or regime with an animal farm syndrome; the adage is ‘all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others’. These individuals think they are more equal than others because they think they are invincible and, therefore, not accountable to the people who had elected them to office. They can feel safe from accountability because the so-called independent institutions, like the judiciary, the civil service, the police and the armed forces have been compromised. These institutions would no longer be perceived by the people to be independent because they have been serving the same master for such a long period – in this country for 53 years. Only the unfortunate ones, like Ling and Chan – we should also not forget the late Eric Chia – were made the fall guys to assuage the disgruntled masses because they were expandable.

The difference between the Middle East and Malaysia is their totally diverse system of government from ours; the difference between them and us is the difference between totalitarianism and democracy.

In the Middle East they have kings and presidents who actually rule and who had ruled their country before change was brought about through revolution by people’s power. The people there could not do otherwise because despots who have ruled for many years would not give up their power unless they are forced to do so. Hence, change could only be achieved through revolution. But, in this country we can always vote the ruling party out of office in an election.

But, if there is going to be a regime change, like what is happening in the Middle East, things could well be different as the change that was brought about by the power of the people would enable the people to demand accountability from their leaders. In this country we too can achieve change, though not by revolution as we have seen it happening in the Middle East, but by the power of the vote in a general election. This is how Yap Mun Ching puts it in her own inimitable but subtle style:

Protesters in the Middle East, while focusing their anger on a despised figurehead, also demanded the removal of the majority of members of their besieged governments. The prosecution of former cabinet ministers are welcome, but these actions cannot be considered sufficient to close the file on corrupt leaders. Active investigations must be undertaken against other leaders, former and current, to ensure accountability and to deter others from abusing their positions of power.

Important as it is to remove unwanted leaders, these actions must be taken with a view to restoring justice and reparation. Too often in the past, corrupt dictators have evaded punishment by escaping abroad and living the rest of their lives in luxury with their ill-gotten gains.

In my article The People’s call for Change I wrote:

One should be in politics to serve the people, not to get rich. That is why democracy requires the representatives of the people to be accountable to the people. Look at Mr Lim Kit Siang, he has been in politics for as long as I can remember and his son is currently the Chief Minister of Penang. Another was the late Dr Lim Chong Eu. The Perakians and the Penangites know that they are not rich. It is a good thing if every member of the Cabinet and every member of the Exco are investigated as to their financial status and assets before they can assume office. And when they leave office they are to be investigated again. They are to be accountable if they are found to be richer than what they could have earned while in office when they leave.

Restoring public confidence in our institutions

Miss Yap concluded her gem of an article with this suggestion:

Therefore, when it comes to the prosecution of allegedly corrupt leaders, investigators would do well to remember that other than justice, the public would also look to see stolen money restored. RM1.9 billion may not be a large sum in the [scale] of the swindling that has been exposed in the Middle East, but it is nonetheless a sum that would go a long way to restoring public confidence in our institutions.

And I am sure all of us will agree with her unless you are one of those sycophants currying the favour of dishonest politicians.

How to answer the call for change

Now, I trust you will realize that we Malaysians are in dire straits. Don’t you think it is time for us to move on to a better Malaysia. Like the peoples of the Middle East we can use the power of the people to change from tyranny to a true democracy. Use the power of your vote to unseat the oppressors. We have been under their yoke for 53 long years. Enough is enough. Use facebook and twitter. Use your email and if every reader of this article emails it to his friends we will be able to persuade a whole generation of young people to vote out the BN and replace them with a new government. It doesn’t matter that the new is inexperienced but at least we have a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It took the English peoples 700 years to get rid of their tyrannical kings. The American peoples to what they have become today in 250 years. I don’t think we will take that long because we are resilient and we have the benefit of hindsight. And above all we have our young people whose young minds will be able to meet the challenges ahead.

But before you vote for the opposition, I think, you should demand that they should promise to repeal all oppressive laws if ever they do come to power. We do not need the Sedition Act, or any emergency law like the ISA or any legislation that would suppress freedom of speech and our fundamental liberties. Above all, demand that they will enforce accountability to all our leaders, past and current.

If you are 21 and above, register yourself as a voter now and when election time comes do your duty and exercise your right to vote out the BN for a better Malaysia without oppressive laws and accountability from all those who hold or have held positions of power or trust on behalf of the people. I think the phrase is wide enough to encompass all politicians, judges, the civil service, police and the armed forces for any misuse of power.

Don’t gamble away our children’s future

By Thomas Lee

The issue of gambling is again hogging the political limelight, following the PAS Kelantan state government decision to disallow the sales of Big Sweep lottery tickets in coffee-shops and other business premises.

The common perception at present is that since the Big Sweep lottery scheme has been given a licence to operate, the Kelantan state government has no authority and power to ban its sale of lottery tickets in the state.

On the contrary, although the licence to operate the lottery is given by the federal government, the authority responsible for issueing permits to premises to operate as lotttery outlets is the local council.

The lottery can be sold in Kelantan, but only in premises which have been specifically licensed for the purpose, i.e.legally permitted to operate as lottery outlets.

Hence, the Kota Baru Municipal Council is not intrinsically wrong per se to take action on business premises selling lottery tickets as they are not licensed as lottery outlets. A bookshop, for example, has no business selling lottery tickets.

The argument in support of the Big Sweep lottery being allowed to be freely available to the people is that it is a fundamental right enshrined and endorsed by the Social Welfare Lottery Act.

This antiquated and obsolete law was originally enacted to allow the federal government to raise funds via a lottery scheme for its welfare work among the poor and underpriviledged people.

Hence, it surely is not right to use this archaic legislation to justify the current business operation of the gambling commercial enterprises. The profits from these lottery schemes run by these companies are not specifically meant and used for welfare work, and as such, these schemes should not be covered by the provisions of the Social Welfare Lottery Act.

Having looked at the legal implication of the Kelantan action, we should also consider the religious, moral, social and ethical dimensions of the gambling issue.

Gambling is basically a games of chance, involving the wagering of money or something of value.

Currently, gambling is a major commercial activity, with a worldwide legal gambling market involving an estimated US$400 billion (RM1.2 trillion) in 2010. In Malaysia, hundreds of millions of ringgit are involved in the three weekly lottery draws operated by the three major gaming corporations — Sport Toto, Magnum, and Big Sweep. Hence, gambling is a signficant economic activity, and an avenue for the federal government to collect massive taxes.

But the moral and social consequences of the gambling habit are certainly matters of deep concern. The emergence of loan sharks, for example, is a direct consequence of the gambling culture.

In view of the moral and social consequences, almost all religions frown on gambling as an evil practice, a sin, at least the official level.

However, many countries, including Malaysia, have made allowance for those who wish to gamble, and accommodate them by regulating and limiting gambling with legal jurisdictions and taxation.

In Malaysia, gambling has been legalized with licences given to various companies to operate lottery schemes, and at the turf clubs and casinos. Legally, only the non-Muslims are allowed to purchase lottery tickets and patronise these gambling joints.

The issue PAS raised concerning the moral evil of gambling is not without merit, and we should seriously give the party a hearing on the matter, at least on the following grounds:

First of all, the most serious consequence of a legalized gambling scheme is the harmful impact it has on the poorest section of our society. Even without the benefit of extensive empirical studies, we can verify by objective observation that the largest number of gamblers come from the poorest section of our community.

Psychologically, many of these poor people have conditioned themselves to think that they could never uplift their current economic status, unless they could strike it big in a lottery draw or win big in other gambling schemes. Gambling gives them a hope of sort.

Secondly, the easily availablity of licensed gambling outlets leads to the temptation to try one’s luck, especially when the jackpot winnings nowadays can be in tens of millions ringgit. The inititate “harmless” play can eveutally develop into a habit, a bondage to the gambling demon. Many a life and family have been destroyed by the evil of addicted gambling.

Thirdly, one serious consequence of gambling is the rise of criminal activities. Desparate addicted gamblers will steal, rob, or even murder to get money to fuel their gambling habit or to repay gambling debts. Many are harassed by loan sharks who use all sorts of violent tactics against the borrowers and their innocent family members. The rise in snatch thefts, break-ins, robberies, etc is certainly one consequence of unrestrained gambling.

Finally, many families have been destroyed by a gambling father, a gambling mother, a gambling son. Lives have been lost due to gambling losses. Recently, there have been some very sad stories about housewives from Johor travelling to the casinos in Singapore, and causing break-ups of families.

While the MCA and Gerakan politicians, as usual, are trying to cash in to score political points by attacking PAS over its attempt to curb the spread of the gambling evil among the people, are they really aware and concerned about the moral-social and spiritual well-being of the citizens?

Whatever may be the theological basis of the PAS philosophy and practices, it is certainly clear on what is universally morally right and morally wrong, and as a Christian I accept and endorse its moral-ethical values as being consistent with universal moral principles. Note, I said moral-ethical values, not theology.

The promoters of Islamophobia and PASphobia in the MCA and Gerakan use every conceivable opportunity and excuse to attack the DAP for giving in to the PAS Islamic state agenda, exploiting the ignorance and fear of the theologically illiterate and politically naive in their desparate attempt to hold on to their little derived power given to them by Umno.

We should not allow ourselves to be deceived and misled by the politics of fear propagated by the promoters of Islamophobia and PASphobia in the MCA and Gerakan.

We need to understand that the essential need for our country’s survival and progress is a politically viable formula, grounded on mutual trust and respect, with compromise and cooperation based on common universal moral, social and ethical values.

There is a place for accomodation of common values, a need for adoption of a common political platform, a willingness to assimilate and integrate the good values and practices of each other, and the vision and mission too accelerate our country into a righteous, just, fair, equal, peaceful, harmonous, and prosperous nation, without the considerations of colour, creed, culture, and class.

The PAS stand on gambling is not something to be polticized, but something to be honestly, objectively and critically evaluated and reflected on, because our children’s future is at stake. It doesn’t mean that since gambling is legal, it must be morally right. The ISA is legal, but is morally evil and oppressive.