Watch Your Word!

Listen to what the man said!:

"No charges have been brought against them, and this is worse than the ISA (Internal Security Act)," he said, referring to Malaysia's own internal security law, which Washington has frequently criticised. - Foreign Minister Rais Yatim commenting on the possible closing down of the Guantanamo Bay prisoner camp where two Malaysians are in custody for allegedly having close ties with terrorist groups.

Although I'm not in favour of such arbitrary arrests of anyone without hope of due court process, to put them in the same boat as people like RPK, Theresa Kok and blogger Paula Khoo is I think going a bit extreme. There is a big difference between suspected terrorists and ordinary citizens with a conscience.

Meanwhile, Penang's No.2 Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. P. Ramasamy is also getting some flak over his statement that "Umno marginalisation is so severe that non-Malays have become insignificant in public administration,". He had mentioned it at the the Penang state legislative assembly on Nov. 13.

Today, Malaysiakini reports that the Umno Bayan Baru Youth leader had made police reports on the statement. To which, Ramasamy replied that neither police reports nor Umno pressure will prevent him from speaking up for what is right.

Incidentally, while at my brother's place in Cheras last week, I found this sign on the wall:


It would be good if we all practised that a little everyday, politicians included.

EPF Housing Loan - Brickbats for PKR!

Three days ago, I received an email from a friend with this headline: Be Caution, Scam by KWSP! It goes in part like this...

This is another method for KWSP to steal our money! Remember during Budget 2008 announcement last yr, our Finance Minister (cum PM) announced that in order to assist KWSP members to reduce the burden in housing load repayment, KWSP will allow monthly withdrawal from members’ A/C II for the purpose?
Sounds like a nice goodies!

And continues with this allegation:

"Well, everything appear to be nice and good. It was indeed a noble plan until you take to close look at yr KWSP Statement! The withdrawal plan is actually a SCAM! This is how the KWSP SCAM works......

The email originated from a blogpost in the Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) M.P. for Kapar, S. Manickavasagam's website on 30th. October 2008.

Go here to read the whole story. Mind the English though!!

Which prompted EPF to issue a statement to the contrary in its website dated the same day.

The BM version goes in part like this:

"Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) ingin menjelaskan bahawa simpanan ahli yang telah dipindahkan ke akaun khas di bawah Pengeluaran Ansuran Bulanan Pinjaman Perumahan akan terus dibayar dividen. Penjelasan ini adalah sebagai menjawab emel dan laman blog yang menyatakan KWSP tidak membayar dividen ke atas simpanan tersebut".

Go here for the full version and here for the English.

Where does that leave us now?

I suppose we shouldn't be having knee jerk reactions when reporting or passing on such information as this email. If the MSM (mainstream media) has been accused of wide spread one-sided reporting in the past, then the mostly electronic alternative media must refrain from making the same mistake - albeit from the opposite side of the fence. Two wrongs don't make a right.

As for the M.P. who first broke the news, let's see what he has to say after this.

Justice Must Not Only Be Done But Also Seen To Be Done

I don't know who is credited for coming up with the principle of open justice, that "Justice must not only be done but also seen to be done", but in the context of the Razak Baginda murder abetment verdict, it sure has caused shockwaves all around the nation.

I think most Malaysians were aware from the beginning, looking at the way the prosecution was ruining its own case, that the acquital would be a foregone conclusion.

It may be a case of "justice served" for Baginda himself. He can now return to some semblance of normality. To his family and to his life.

But what about justice for Altantuya?

If Baginda didn't call the shots, who did? Surely you cannot believe that two policemen with no direct link to the victim got up one fine day and said to themselves "lets go blow someone up".

Add the disappearance of a private eye, sms messages, missing documents, etc. etc. this is another case which will continue to plague the much-maligned judiciary - one that is yet to recover from the abuses of the past 20 years.

Justice must not only be served but SEEN to be served. Justice may be delayed, but never forgotten.

I S A = I Simply Arrest (Update)

Aliran reports of the Final ISA Candle Light Vigil in front of Dewan Sri Pinang, Penang tonight at 9.00 p.m. and a special commemoration of the 21st Anniversary of Operasi Lallang 1987 on Sunday, October 19 at the open space in front of Prangin Mall, Penang (beside Starbucks) from 12 noon - 10 p.m.

Go here for more details.

Light One Candle wherever you are - for Malaysia and for peace, freedom and justice for all.

Remember ISA = I SimplyArrest

The Song Remains The Same

Yes - It's been a while. It's been a long road since March 8 2008. Since then, we the people have won a few battles - Permatang Pauh for instance. But we've also lost others - like the contiuing detention of citizens under the ISA, etc. I too got caught up in all the hullaballoo - instead of "responding", I was beginning to "react" - to people like Ahmad Ismail, Bung Mokhtar, et all. Until a friend warned me of going down the same road of racial politics while at the same time harping for peace and justice. Hence, the enforced time out. Looking back I can see where I erred. But also more importantly, it allowed me to get back to basics. Get back to what I believe in. Get back on track. I hope! It also allowed me time to go in pursuits of other pet projects that have been on hold for sometime. A bit of distraction every now and then helps.

I've come to believe that:

1. Genuine change cannot happen without express consent - it cannot just "happen";
   
2. Genuine change really cannot be "forced" upon;
3. Genuine change can really only come from inside onself;
4. Genuine change will be difficult at first - because it will take away a lot of our comforts but eventually will lead us to even better things;
5. Genuine change needs co-operation from all parties concerned - individuals, groups, society, etc.

and the list can go on and on.... you may want to continue with your own ideas here!!!!

Which leads me to this quirky email I got yesterday entitled "Karaoke Finalists 2008 Results"

• Mahathir’s favourite song …. Aasai ye Alaipole
• Pak Lah... Ponal pokatum Pooda
• Najib... Kutram Purinthaven Valkayil Nimathi Yethu
• Tengku Razaleigh …………… Nenje Un Asai Yenna
• Khairy Jamaluddin ………….. Kasethan Kadavulappa
• ANWAR IBRAHIM ………… NAAN ANNAI ITTAL ATHU NADARITHU VITTAL
• Saiful ………………………….. Satyam Ithu Satyam Ellam Valla
• Samyvellu ……………………… Satti Suttathada…. Kai Vittathada
• AND THE WINNER IS Syed Hamid Botak…..NAAN ORU MUTTALLUNGU !!
  

Apologies to thos who don't understand Tamil, but if you could, you'd be rolling down on the floor, holding your tummy! It's hilarious stuff. The song titles are the some of the most well known Tamil hits over the years, songs which the Indian community would be very familiar with. For example, K.J.'s song title means "Everything is money", Pak Lah's: "Goodbye to everything"; while Botak's is the best: "I am stupid!"

As for me, I'm listening to Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains The Same" from 1976. I remember watching the movie in the old "Eastern" cinema in Penang, and coming away with a "mind blowing rock adventure!"

Reading the news today, it does seem like the songs still sound the same, coming from the same mouths, with the same intentions. Najib and Muhyuddin. Khairy and Khir. Mahathir and Mukhriz. Divide and rule. Do as I say, don't do what I do - else you'll be under the ISA. Doesn't sound much hopeful for most ordinary Malaysians. But, I guess it will be like this, at least for another 4 years or so.... until we get another chance at changing the order. In the meantime, I guess I will have to live with these sounds ringing in my ears:

I had a dream. Crazy dream.
Anything I wanted to know, any place I needed to go

Hear my song. People won't you listen now? Sing along.
You don't know what you're missing now.
Any little song that you know
Everything that's small has to grow.
And it has to grow!

(from: The Song Remains The Same - Led Zep, 1976)

Catch a video of the same song here courtesy of Boxxet.

Free RPK; Repeal ISA Now! Update 2

Susan Loone reports that a "really good soul named Allan has designed a WEBSITE with an online protest for RPK and the other ISA detainees in Kamunting".

Click the link to access the website and sign the online petition addressed to the Minister of your choice. Yes, you have the options of sending the pre-written messages to RPK, PM Abdullah Badawi, DPM Najib and of course, Baldy a.k.a Syed Hamid Albar. So, go on, get moving if you haven't done so yet.

Btw: The first website which Allan put up for this appeal has been blocked by you know who...in case you are wondering whether this would work. A total of 25,000++ petitions so far have clearly irked the authorities.

Click here to sign the petition now.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing" - Edmund Burke.

Free RPK! Repeal ISA! Update 1

A short history lesson, especially for those who were not yet around 21 years ago.....

Coming soon is 27 October 2008 - the 21st Anniversary of the Operasi Lalang, probably one of the blackest days in the history of the nation. A total of 119 politicians, social activists, educationists and religious missionaries were rounded up under a sweeping police action code-named Operasi Lalang (Weeding Out Operation) .

Out of that, 49 were detained without trial for 2 years or more. Others were released after a few months. The detained were kept in separate cells, without adequate sunlight, given the barest rations, bare cement floors to sleep on with "attached" open baths. All of this really geared to breaking the spirit of the detainees. Which they succeeded quite well. There were those who came out of detention o.k. But there were also those who were never the same again. The interrogation and scare tactics had worked only too well. The sparkle in their eyes had gone. At least one marriage ended in divorce.

Added to this, the annual publishing permits for three newspapers - The Star, Watan and sin Chew Jit Poh were revoked. Which meant hundreds of ordinary working men and women with families to feed were out of jobs.

This is the sheer result of having a law as draconian as the I.S.A. Just to rub it in, while the ordinary man and woman detainee had to suffer, the two biggest culprits who masterminded the whole tit for tat spat before the clampdown, got away scott free. One of whom is aspiring to be the next PM. Talk about double jeopardy. The total sum of the human tragedy cannot be emphasised enough. Do we still need this kind of "law"? Especially when there are enough laws already in place to charge them under.

I don't think so. Let's put a stop to this now. Let's stand up and say "Cukup!". Enough is enough.
If we, the People are indeed the Boss, then we need to stand up and take charge. Now!

Watch this You Tube video for the full details of the ISA and how it CAN be used against anyone, including you and me!

Free RPK; Repeal ISA Now!

"Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere" - so went the opening statement of Jawaharlal Nehru's broadcast on All India Radio on 30 January 1948 after the assassination of Gandhi.

Overly dramatic maybe - comparing that tragedy with what happened to Raja Petra a couple of days ago, but it sure feels like that to me. I spent the last two days trying to comprehend the whole gamut of emotions and thoughts that were running through my head with little success. I turned to the Internet hoping for a "pick-me-up", instead all I got was similar feelings of anger, resentment, helplessness, inertia, etc. etc.

After the adrenalin pumping highs of Teresa Kok's release, together with Shieh Kickdefella and Tan Hoon Cheng, this was a monumental letdown. It hurt, dragged me down, disheartened, and made me feel lost even. The blogosphere was strangely subdued. The light had indeed seemed to have gone out of our lives, and indeed there seemed only darkness everywhere I looked.

What a difference a couple of days make. I surfed the web today and found a totally new spirit in the blogsphere. Already the lights that looked to be snuffed out have begun flickering again. Already the battle weary, pushed back into the trenches during the assault on RPK, have began marching back to take their places in the frontlines. Already the ideas, suggestions and action plans have begun filtering through to the people through the Net.

What can you do? Below are suggestions from the blogosphere with the relevant links attached. Check them out. Pick one or two but do something. Edmund Burke wrote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing". It may well be good to ponder on that as we go about our everyday lives.

Visit:

• Nathaniel Tan for some very specific individual action plans;
• Susan Loone for news on round the clock anti-ISA campaigns;
• The People's Parliament for news of the "Raya Demand Abolish ISA" campaign;
• Anil Netto for regular updates and information on ISA detainees, etc.
• Rocky's Bru for your cuppa of the latest on Malaysia from a "semi retired" journalist.

And, let's in this difficult times, to "not curse the darkness, but light one candle" wherever we are. For RPK and all ISA detainees. And for Malaysia.

LIGHT 1 CANDLE EVERY WEEK

First things first. The good news: Teresa Kok has been freed. Thanks be to God for answering all our prayers so quickly. Thanks also for the very "early" release of the journalist Tan Hoon Cheng. Now we pray for RPK's release.

What was the magic? I don't think we can simply put it down to one special thing or another. Rather, a combination of things. One - all the prayers offered by concerned Malaysians of all religious backgrounds; Second - the public vigils organised by the many individuals, citizen groups, and religious organisations. Third - the pressure exerted on the government by individuals, politicians, civic groups, media, religious organisations, etc. in the form of online and offline petitions and other ways and means.

The fact is that 2 out of the 3 are free. We must rejoice for that. But there is another unfortunate addition - blogger Kickdefella at Pudu jail under the Sedition Act. Let's remember RPK and Kickdefella and the other 60 odd ISA detainess and their loved ones specially in our prayers, along with fervent hopes that they too be released unconditionally.

In the meantime, Anil Netto reports of the Light One Candle Every Week gathering at Dewan Sri Pinang starting from today (19/9/08) at 9.00 p.m. Details here.

Lets' Continue To Keep The Lights On - for all ISA detainess.

Malaysia Power Struggle

The news:

• 1430 Hours: PM gives up Finance Minister 1 post to Najib;
• Najib trades Defence Minister with PM;
• 1655 Hours: SAPP confirms withdrawal from BN - Bernama/Astro Awani report;

Some Questions:

• Why transfer of positions now? - it weakens PM's position while Najib gains advantage;
  
• PM takes Defence - why? A prelude to ISA arrest on Anwar? Read Malaysiakini report;
• SAPP has not joined Pakatan Rakyat. Will be independent. Astro Awani report.

For reliable and regular updates, click here: www.anilnetto.com