Tag: Malaysia

BERSIH and Carbon Tax


9 July has come and gone. Tress and I were with close to a thousand others at the Federation Square on Saturday afternoon, for a rally to demand some electoral reforms in Malaysia. We went with Brian, a good mate of mine who in turn introduced us to another bloke, who was also a lot of fun. The BERSIH rally in Melbourne was no where near as eventful as the KL version, but the KL folks showed the BN government it needs to take a serious look at itself or it is going to be sitting at the opposition side of the house come the next election. At the very least, BERSIH 2.0 has stripped BN off whatever claim to legitimacy it has left. Najib Razak can barely stand with any credibility and he has his mob has come out of this looking really rubbish. Well done BERSIH, well done, Ambiga.

On the domestic front, Bob Brown, Christine Milne and their mob have flexed their muscles and Julia Gillard continues to look worse by the day. All the compensatory aspects of the scheme may sit well for now for a group of voters but how will employment and foreign investment be affected over time? I don’t think Julia Gillard will be able to make the sale to the people in that regard. I think for most Australians, compensation is only a small part of it. What we want is assurance that jobs and investments and growths of these will not be adversely impacted, especially given the minimal impact the carbon tax will have on climate change.

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Thank you Bersih Thank You Ambiga


For a while, due probably to the end of semester exams and essay submission due date, I wasn’t following events in Malaysia all too closely. I then discovered, about 2-3 weeks ago, the planned activities of Bersih 2.0 and thought “wow, this should be great”.

I haven’t been disappointed.

For over 2 weeks I have jumped on the usual websites (Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today etc) and have picked up reports concerning 9 July 2011. More importantly, I have picked up vibes about the how people feel, leading up to the event.

I haven’t been disappointed.

The responses of the authorities have been expectedly empty gong loud noises. There haven’t been any substantive responses to the cause of Bersih. The cause is very clear, and it is made up of the following:

       1.      Clean the electoral roll

       2.      Reform postal ballot

  1. Use of indelible ink
  2. Minimum 21 days campaign period
  3. Free and fair access to media
  4. Strengthen public institutions
  5. Stop corruption
  6. Stop dirty politics

 Instead of addressing the matter in substance, it has branded the movement in a number of ways, none of which demonstrate that Bersih is anything other than what it claims it is fighting for. Like I said, Ambiga Sreenevasan is fair dinkum. You cant fault her. She may be nice – after all she was a dutiful rakyat who heeded her Agong’s call – but she is also clean and has nothing to fear or lose, except her personal liberty maybe. I expected Ambiga Sreenevasan and her team to hold steadfast to the cause and I haven’t been disappointed.

It is such an exciting time to be in Malaysia, particularly in KL. It wouldn’t be pretty. It would be tense. But it is exciting, because you could sense change coming. Maybe Najib Razak did too. Maybe that is why he has run away for now. Maybe intelligence tells him (not his, Najib doesn’t have a lot of intelligence I don’t think – I meant that of the Special Branch) it isn’t safe to be in the country as this could lead to anything. Maybe the actions of the authorities, especially the police, leading up to 9 July has been such that the people would at long last, say enough is enough and they would rise and take no more of this rubbish the hopelessly finished BN government continues to dish out.

I will participate by remote presence. I will be in the Melbourne chapter. Tomorrow is expected to be a little cold, and even wet. But it is an opportunity to be part of something special. Federation Square will be Merdeka Square for me tomorrow. Thank you Bersih. Thank you Ambiga Sreenevasan. 

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Do You Hear The People Sing, Singing the Song of Angry Men


Calm, serene and beautiful

When I look at this and consider my hometown turmoil, I am grateful but also angry. Malaysia is in so many ways, as beautiful as Australia. It is however, bogged down with such corruption, bigotry, and general bloodymindedness that I can imagine how much has been lost because of greed and selfishness.

BERSIH 2.0 is all the rage in Malaysia now and well it should be. If I were still there, I would not have required much thought – it is a no brainer, the causes BERSIH is fighting for. In a sane world, no one one would have thought it strange or in any way negative, to support it. Alas, the politicians in power in Malaysia are different. They live in a world and era well past. The rest of the world has long past this brand of bigotry. It looks like the odes of Les Miserables are waiting to be recited with gusto again come 9 July. This is the Malayia Boleh I have been waiting for.

From Les Miserables:

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!


Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of Klang (France)!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes.

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Ambiga Sreenevasan stares down sorry UMNO


I was just catching up on Malaysian news this morning (given I am relatively free now) – on 9 July a big rally is planned for free and fair elections, by a movement known as “BERSIH” (Coalition for Free and Fair Elections).

The main champion for this is Ambiga Sreenevasan, an ex Skrine lawyer who now has her own firm. She was the one who received the US Secretary of State‘s Award for International Women of Courage Awards presented by Hillary Clinton. She is a much respected lawyer in Malaysia.

As usual, PERKASA is making very bad noises to threaten the rally. They have organised their own march against the rally. As usual, the government warned against the BERSIH rally but police has given permit for the PERKASA march – usual rubbish by Malaysian police and government.

It doesn’t require someone of Ambiga’s stature to show up the intellectual and moral pigmies who make up UMNO, the ruling Coalition that is BN and the hangers on who line their own pockets in keeping these morons and bandits in power.

But when she does appear on the scene, the UMNO and BN look downright pathetic.

Its henchmen in PERKASA sound even more stupid and oafish, the sort of fools who are dangerous for thinking they aren’t.

I am thrilled with the efforts of Ambiga and those who stand with her, and BERSIH. I hope my friends who will be in Malaysia on 9 July, take caution but be courageous and stand against the folly, thievery and moral contempt that UMNO and BN wallow in.

That a person like Ambiga should stare down the cretins in UMNO will be particularly riling.

In this brave, intelligent and honourable woman is an amalgam of elements twerps like Ibrahim Ali and others in his pack cannot stand, and certainly do not expect to be a formidable foe.

She is an Indian, a woman and a lawyer. Together, these elements embody the definition of a nemesis for the brand of hackneyed form of bigotry which has been tiresome and should have been gotten rid off with the C4 their master is wont to resort to.

Most of us are sick of them and would sooner spit them out and flush them out of our lives altogether. My disdain for their ilk is such that when I cease to loathe them I would safely claim victory in my personal strife in my journey as a Christian. It would be a miracle of Lazarus proportions for me to cease despising this lot with utter abomination. They are my cross.

For now, I am quietly enjoying the moment when someone like Ambiga Sreenevasan quietly and with dignity, give these gnats the flick.

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Gillard and Bowen dealing with Ogres and Thieves from Malaysia


The deal being negotiated between Australia and Malaysia to process asylum seekers, is of considerable current interest. Last night we caught parts of the SBS Dateline program, with a story titled “Welcome to Malaysia”.

It really brought back very interesting memories.

For a start, we are reminded of how bloody minded ordinary Malaysians entrusted with a little bit of authority, can turn out to be. RELA officers decked out in military styled uniform are given free rein to terrorise ordinary man on the street. They’d pound on the door of citizens in the middle of the night, demanding to see your passport. They’d make you squat on walkways before hauling truckloads back to their headquarters for a long night of abuse.

In my past life, I have sat in the office of a police chief and hear him say to his subordinates “let them die”, referring to suspects being rounded up for anything you can imagine. Anyone who is an easy target – drug addicts, petty criminals and illegal immigrants – are easy game to these officers, be they police of militia personnel like RELA thugs. They’d detain, extort, abuse and exert their puny warden mentality to its full extent.

The drug addicts, petty criminals and illegal immigrants are not human beings in the eyes of these twerps. To these cowards and bullies, the drug addicts, petty criminals and illegal immigrants are vermin with money to steal from. If they are female, sexual crimes commonly follow. I have seen RELA personnel rounding these people up like they are herds of cattle.

Theresa recoiled when scenes of food being served came up. The illegal immigrants, squatting in the barb wired compounds, are served dirty rice and slivers of meats caked with grime, on trays which have never been washed. A detainee held up a tray to the camera and scraped off filthy grime and said the food was foul and stank.

The man tasked with looking after the illegal immigrant issue knew absolutely nothing. He looked and sounded exactly like your typical UMNO idiot who managed to become a deputy minister because those who appointed him are equally stupid. People like them abuse the ordinary people, steal from them, caused the most horrendous hardship on so many without batting an eyelid and then go to the mosque to pray and complain about opposition politicians committing sexual indiscretions.

The story on SBS Dateline certainly brought back memories, and reminded me why we left Malaysia. What that program showed was only a tip of the iceberg and it affected not just the less fortunate people. The mentality, attitude and value system of the powers that be cause unfortunate effect which was different to what the program showed, only in its degree and intensity. Why on earth is Julia Gillard and Chris Bowen even talking to this mob?

View the program here: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/about/id/601146/n/Welcome-to-Malaysia

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Still Submitting?


The following entry was over 3 1/2 years ago, and I wonder what my friends and relatives in Malaysia feel now about not speaking out strongly against the Malaysian government today:

http://godsmustardseed.com/2007/09/05/submitting-to-authority/

The recent independent day celebrations in Malaysia have, as one may expect, stirred a number of publications into putting out pieces on challenges facing Malaysia today. I sent one of these (from The Economist) to a number of people and it generated a little heat. That has lead to the creation of a new blog for certain family members to further talk about this and other issues. It also lead to the discussion of that age-old issue of what do we do with a government we don’t agree with?

This latter issue was raised in conjunction with obedience to Romans 13. That chapter started with a call to submit to the authority of the existing government. Of course, in a modern democracy, you fight like crazy to have your preferred candidate making the laws and no matter what the outcome of your fight, you have to remain law abiding citizens. That is an obvious starting point. Our natural instinct tells us however, that it is a relative and malleable principle. It doesn’t take much to respond, at the very next breath, with a yes-but. The holocaust jumps out in a flash in a topic like this. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, modern Serbia, Rwanda and most recently, Zimbabwe are regimes which scream out against an unqualified plain reading of Roman 13.

The problem with qualifying any part of the scriptures is it invites analyses and second guessing, based on our values which are subjective by definition. When that happens it becomes a free for all and you might as well throw away the bible. On the other hand, you have references such as Acts 5:29 in which Peter clearly qualifies Romans 13. Is that the answer then? I guess it must be. You can and must only submit to the authority of a government which has not clearly violated God’s standards. Peter himself has echoed Paul’s advice – see 1 Peter 2:17. Yet Peter in Acts 5:29 clearly said obedience to God must take precedence.

 I have made numerous entries on my feelings on the deeds (or more accurately, misdeeds) of the rulers of Malaysia. I don’t know they are clear violations against God’s laws – I suspect so but have not clearly pinned it down. I have not openly rebelled against any particular law of Malaysia. I have merely spoken up against many of its policies and practices. I guess instead of staying and chancing deterioration and prospects of actually violating Romans 13, I opted instead to avoid the issue. I simply thought it wasn’t worth it. Maybe it isn’t the issue of not being law abiding citizens so much as an issue of opting out of an unsatisfactory regime

 

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If Will Steffen is right, will $100 a tonne cut it?


Will Steffen heads up the Climate Commission. He – the Commission – has issued a report demanding urgent action to deal with the human caused climate change. Or else – sea level would rise and we’d all have to live like Kevin Costner in water world.

Julia Gillard has pointed to the report and sort of said – I told you so. But if that were the case, and given the urgency to bring emission down straight away or else, the carbon price she touted – $20 a tonne – would be like introducing Norhafiz Zamani into the Birmingham City attack to solve the Blues’ woes in front of goal. It would be toothless, a complete waste of time and may well be counter-productive. [I confess I have just only googled the current Malaysian football team striker. I also confess this is the first time in God knows how long I took an interest in NEP infected football in Malaysia]

To be responding to Will Steffen’s Climate Commission doomsday report, the carbon tax should be so prohibitive – say $100 a tonne just like the Greens said – to be of any effect unless of course, Julia is lying again.

If Julia Gillard could not be trusted and lied in saying there would be no carbon tax under a government she leads, why would we trust her to keep carbon tax to $20 a tonne, especially if she endorses the Will Steffen Climate Commission – we must act now or perish – report? The Greens are looking at a minimum of $100 per tonne and they will want to include petrol in their target. If Will Steffen and his Climate Commission report is to be taken seriously that is the bare minimum step. But that would send most of us back to the caves, wouldn’t it?

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Merry Christmas Malaysia from Australia


Malaysia has been in Australian news recently. Australia under the Labor Government has been clutching at straws to formulate a credible policy in addressing asylum seekers who arrive on boats operated by people smugglers.

 Under the previous Liberal Government, John Howard’s Pacific Solution entailed escorting boats to Nauru, where they are processed for refugee status. This was a very clear signal to people smugglers that they could never deliver effective services to their clients as they would not land in Australia. The result was that the number of boats arriving plunged. When Labor abolished this and allowed illegal arrivals to land and be processed on shore, where different rules prevail, the number of boats shot up.

 For reasons which can only be political, Nauru and the Pacific Solution ala John Howard was cut adrift and Labor has been bobbing around for a safe harbour to berth a policy. Thanks to about $300million (1 billion Malaysian Ringgit) Malaysia has agreed to be Julia Gillard’s Nauru.

 The problem of course, was that not only would Australia fork out a lot of moolah (not that Malaysia is an un-greedy refugee processing centre of sorts who would be willing to accept less) but Australia also needed, under the deal with Malaysia, to take 5 refugees currently housed in Malaysia for every one asylum seeker Malaysia agrees to accept to be process for refugee status.

 We have agreed to take in 4,000 refugees for the 800 asylum seekers Malaysia agrees to process, and which we may take back anyway. This works out to be about $54,000 per person – Malaysia gets $165,00 (RM) for every refugee it has probably abused for years. What a deal huh? For Malaysia I mean.

 Congratulations Najib – you have struck yourself a winner, and all because (1) Australia is a generous benefactor with loads of compassion and (2) it is governed by a egotistical idiotic and profligate Labor Government. You are a very lucky beneficiary of this stupidity.  For Malaysia, Najib teruk but nasib baik.

 So it is really a win-win scenario for Malaysia. Malaysia has well over 90,000 refugees, who are subject to constant extortion and abuse by immigration and custom officers. After exacting callous release of their gratification from these victims, Malaysians stand to benefit by appearing to do Australia a favour, at a cool pay day worth RM1billion.

 So as Muslim countries beat each other up and cause their people to flee, yet more Muslim countries abuse them en route to some ex-Christian countries with lingering Christian values who for one reason or another, agree to provide salvation for these souls. If and when some of them eventually settle down they might then gripe about Christian values and say they should be given the freedom to rile and rant against western Christian civilisation.

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Becoming an Aussie


4 years on since …

Saying goodbye

9 April 2007 Edit Leave a comment

This time it is to Malaysia, permanently and legally. About a couple of weeks ago, I had my citizenship application approved. Formally, I dont become a citizen until the ceremony, when the pledge is made and the certificate of citizenship is issued.

A couple of guys were just talking about citizenship, and severing any of our remaining legal links with Malaysia. We all thought we are probably never returning to Malaysia ever again, so why worry about giving up our citizenship there. More so when we see the continuous erosions of values which are important to us – fairness, equality, justice and social stability. I think the factor which nailed it for all of us, is the thought of our children having to cope with those issues which we had to deal with. We are all thankful our kids are spared of these issues, and they can concentrate on other matters such as building their skills and qualifications to contribute better, and to be better appreciated by their country. Malaysia is not interested in that, not unless you are a malay or a moslem, or preferably, both.

I’m now just waiting for the ceremony date to be confirmed, before I officially become a dinky di Aussie.

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Malaysian Tragedy


The recent statement by Raja Petra on the events leading up to his Statutory Declaration on Rosmah Mansor, and Din Merican’s response to that statement, really showed how things are done in Malaysia. Reliance on a couple of telephone conversations, which appeared really short on details, lead to a statements which the masses were too happy to jump on with conclusions.

Apparently a guy called Nik Nazmi Nik Daud orchestrated the whole thing. He duped Raja Petra into thinking there was an intelligence report by Lt Kol Azmi Zainal Abidin which proved Rosmah Mansor’s presence on the murder site. 

Raja Petra, for all his resourcefulness, relied on just 2 apparently quick phone calls to verify the existence of the report. He did not insist on seeing the report or even talking to the purported author of the report. He spoke to third parties on the strengths of their connections with influential people.

That unfortunately sounds all too familiar. Businesses are transacted, assets are purchased, marriages are instituted, and other major decisions are made far too frequently on the say so of someone rather than on detailed investigation of what is the substance of the matter.

“Is this speaker any good?” Yeah he is – so and so said so. There he is on the pulpit delivering hogwash based on non-existent exegesis and some snake oil theology.

“Is this company share worth buying?” Yeah it is – so and so said so. A couple of million ringgit later the buyer is cursing and swearing for losses made because some fund manager was actually trying to offload his holdings.

This reliance on “so and so said so” is mind boggling. Malaysians are just so scared, so lazy, of doing the hard yards. The investigations, the reading, the comprehension and analysis, are often all missing. The short cut is easy but often riddled with dangers. We deserved better. We had one of the best education systems in the world (had is the operative word now) – so why make ourselves look like lazy, uneducated sloths?

I know 20-20 hindsight is always 100% accurate but unless we learn to put in the hard yards by getting our eyes and hand down for some grinding work, we can only blame ourselves if things go wrong. RPK may have been well liked and trusted but despite his Welsh blood, he is as Malaysian as they come. Din Merican said Anwar said ok and John Pang said Ku Li said ok, and bang, the mother of all SD’s out there to spawn a whole saga all its own. Malaysia boleh? There’s a twist even to that stupid phrase.

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