Tag: Malaysiakini

Stupid is as BN-UMNO Does


I confess to not having kept up with Malaysian news for a long time now. I thought I should have a peek, seeing my current subscription to Malaysiakini still has a few months to run. I’m contemplating using the money to subscribe to something like the Sydney Institute instead, so it was refreshing to read in Malaysiakini, that more and more people are standing up to the idiotic mob pretending to be the government of Malaysia.

Khaled Nordin is apparently the Malaysian Education Minister. An academic has basically just called him stupid. Maybe it’d take a while before Khaled realises that. Abdul Aziz Bari is the academic and good on him for saying what so many have known for so long – that ministers in the BN-UMNO led sorry bunch that makes up the government, are there only for 1 or 2 reasons. There’re Ministers either because they’re Malays or they know the right Malays, or very likely both. No grey matter or industry required.

But enough of space given to an age old issue which hasn’t changed in over 30 years – Najib Razak and his bunch of intellectually challenged mob are just living up to expectations.

See offending story here:

Aziz Bari slams minister over quit call
S Pathmawathy
12:55PM Nov 7, 2011

Pointing out the law and the constitution to members of the public is not politicking, says law professor Abdul Aziz Bari, lashing out at criticism that he should quit the academia and become a politician.

“I was just talking about the law and the constitution, which is somehow difficult to be disentangled from politics.

“Furthermore, I was talking to the ordinary people, not to an academic audience. I believe they have every right to know about the constitution and how to make it able to deliver,” the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) lecturer added.

Aziz was responding to the call by Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin that Aziz resigns as an academician if he insisted on “taking part in politics”.

Khaled’s statement, widely reported by the Malay language newspapers, came after Aziz took part in ceramah organised by the opposition PKR in the minister’s Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency over the weekend.

Aziz said Khaled’s comments were in stark contrast to the position taken by Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who constantly encourages tertiary students to be involved in politics, in spite of laws that prohibit them from doing so.

“For one thing, his deputy, Saifuddin, has been saying that it is fine for students to take part in politics. I think academicians have an even greater right, or perhaps duties, to be in politics,” Aziz said.

Noting the Court of Appeal’s declaration last Monday that Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) was unconstitutional, he added: “He (Khaled) also should be aware that university regulations are not laws, strictly speaking.

“As such, these are subject to the laws of the land, particularly to the constitution as the supreme law of the land.

‘Treat academicians as public intellectuals’

“If that (the talk) is seen as politics, then perhaps we should throw away the constitution and make this country a one-party or an authoritarian one.”

The Court of Appeal in a 2-1 landmark decision declared Section 15(5) (a) of the UUCA, which bars university students from being involved in politics, unconstitutional and as such, null and void.

Article 4 of the constitution states that the constitution is the supreme law of the federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day that is inconsistent with the constitution shall, to the extent of inconsistency, be void.

Rebuking Khaled (right) for his criticism, Aziz said if he had given the speech on an Umno platform, there would not be a problem.

The minister, he added, should explain the government’s stand on cases where academicians have been involved in party politics.

“Some academicians went around – as part of their lobbying for senior posts in the universities – saying publicly that (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim was guilty of sodomy. This is obviously a crime as the case is still on going in court. It is subjudice.

“What about those senior professors who took part in preparing the draft of the Umno president’s keynote address?

“What about those academicians and professors who have been regular speakers in Biro Tata Negara programmes or Islam Hadhari workshops (this is obviously political, as it is the policy of Umno),” Aziz asked.

Khaled, he added, should be mindful that universities “are not factories or nurseries” and that academicians should be treated as “public intellectuals”.

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Words of Weezdom from a little monarch


The Sultan of Selangor in Malaysia is perhaps thinking his little throne is getting too small and since he is perhaps too old to be gallivanting around the world in a taxpayer funded yacht or crashing through some inter-continental motor race in (probably also taxpayer funded) vintage car (or perhaps the Malaysian government is too broke to fund such royal excesses), Sharafuddin Idris Shah now wants to try being a lawyer.

His statement on the Selangor state religious department raid on a church function (“JAIS-DUMC raid”), probably illustrates or magnifies the state of confusion in Malaysia in matters of admnistration of law.

The Sultan is a constitutional monarch of a state in the Malaysian federation. Since the Sultan did not have much education, someone should whisper to him what that means. I’m pretty sure he isn’t a trained lawyer. In fact I’m pretty sure he didn’t even have any tertiary education. And since he probably never had a real job as well, someone really should make it as simple as possible but make sure he understand not just  what the role of a constitutional monarch is, but also how the legal system works.

I guess the Chinese Bishop of the Catholic church in Malaysia (Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing) has probably come as close to calling the Sultan an untrained and therefore likely misguided person in this matter, as the religious and racial bigotry in Malaysia would allow. Bishop Paul Tan spoke clearly, intelligently and bravely. That is no guarantee he would be heeded. Not so long ago he would have been taken in to be a guest of the government in Kamunting.

I have stopped following the news in Malaysia for a while now, and I guess I am reminded now why that is so.  With people like the Sultan of Selangor issuing statements like that, Malaysian news remains best unread.

Excerpts from Malaysiakini today:

DUMC-Jais: Bishop troubled by sultan’s statement
Terence Netto
6:45PM Oct 10

Catholic Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing described the statement from the Sultan of Selangor on the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) report on alleged proselytisation of Muslims by Christians at the Damansara Utama Methodist Centre last August as “dipped in the ambiguity that would make wanton accusations against Christians no more difficult in the future than it is now.”

bishop paul tan“Begging the Tuanku’s pardon, how is it possible to assert that there were attempts to deviate the faith of Muslim attendees at the dinner function at the DUMC but there is, then, not sufficient evidence to prefer charges,” queried the titular head of Catholics in the Malacca-Johor diocese, in an immediate response to a statement on the matter issued today by the sultan.

“If there is not enough evidence, there ought to be no imputation of wrongdoing – it’s as simple as that!” exclaimed Tan (left), who is concurrently president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia.

“As it stands now, the sultan’s statement paints the Christian organisers of the dinner function as having been given a discharge not amounting to acquittal from accusations that they proselytised to Muslims,” he asserted.

“I would have much preferred no statement at all to one that is neither here nor there,” offered the Jesuit-trained prelate.

“Christians have waited patiently for exoneration from false accusations by people whose intent is to grandstand on behalf of their losing causes,” said the bishop.

“It’s a good thing the general election is imminent, because there seems to be no let-up in this ugly campaign of innuendo and insinuation against Christians, so that the ballot box becomes our only recourse from persecution by vile slander,” he concluded.

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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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Inapt Words from “Prayercentral.net”


Choosing the right words to say at the right time is a virtue encouraged and praised by the Scriptures (Prov 25:11, 15:23). The converse is also true. We need to consider or have a basis for, what we say especially in the present age where both the spoken or written word can be recorded, broadcast and disseminated widely and quickly.

Which brings me to the below prayer notes, which someone kindly forwarded to me this morning. Tress and I have been watching the news of the Japan earthquake through the long weekend, on several channels – Sky, CNN, BBC, Fox and of course our very own Nine and Seven. I was on my laptop quite a bit yesterday and I intermittently jumped on BBC, New York Times and our own Herald Sun, The Age and The Australian websites. I also checked on Malaysiakini site now and then, which also had pretty up-to-date coverage of the quake, tsunami and nuclear plant tragedies in Japan.

Not one of the above sources mentioned anything about breakdown in authority and security, or about injustice or corruption. Japan is a first world/developed country. Corruption and social unrest attributable to political upheavals or despotic behaviour are traits you almost never associate with Japan. In fact the contrary is true and the images I see on the media are of an orderly – unbelievably orderly – management of the crises. Many experts are differentiating Chernobyl from Fukushima in the way each dealt/is dealing with the nuclear plant crisis. Fukushima is almost an embodiment of preparedness, discipline and orderly execution of emergency measures. The early administration of iodine to minimise the effect of radiation is a case in point. The damage we see is due largely to the tsunami and not the earthquakes as Japanese construction is probably leading the world in earthquake-proof features.

So what is it that “prayercentral.net” knows which many of us don’t, which made it write the way it did? If the basis of this writing is unsubstantiated waffle it is very likely based on prejudice – that just because this is an Asian disaster, the elements of injustice, corruption, breakdown in authority and security all abound. If this is the case, then “prayercentral.net” needs prayer itself. Lots of it.

What the Japanese need now is prayer, no one doubts that. What they also need are apt words which show mercy, compassion and love. Not rebuke and warnings. I hope “prayercentral.net” either explains itself or amend this piece.

Here’s the link and the text of what’s there now:

http://prayers.prayercentral.net/?page_id=5&target=Japanese+brothers+and+sisters&pronoun=group&cat=86

Break the Power of Corruption in Japanese brothers and sisters

Scripture: Woe to those who enact evil statutes, And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, And rob the poor of My people of their rights… -Isaiah 10:1

Prayer: Lord, You are the great judge over all the earth, watching the wicked and the good. You see the deeds and the intentions of the heart. Only You, Lord are worthy to sit on the throne of judgment.

Lord, in every crisis there is a breakdown of authority, and security. I know You hate injustice and corruption, so I bring to Your attention the corruption in Japanese brothers and sisters during this crisis, and I ask Lord, that You would hear the cries of the weak and powerless, and break the power of corruption in this place.

Lord, for the good of the people, I ask that You would swiftly judge acts of corruption today. Give no place for the wicked to think they have escaped. Leave no room for looters and others to steal away what has been provided for the needy. Make an example today Lord of someone, so that others may see and fear.

Vindicate the weak and the poor, and break the power of wickedness that oppresses them. In Jesus name, amen.

Let us know you prayed…

Regards,Ian

Sent from my iPigeon

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