Sunday, November 30, 2008

Men's Single Finals won by China's Chen Jin .Malaysiakini.

Hong Kong Super series Men's Single Finals just came to an end. One of the best and exciting finals i've seen. Great play between Lin Dan and Chen Jin. Chen Jin won the Men's Finals. So the next would be at YONEX-SUNRISE BWF World Super Series Masters Finals will be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia for 18 – 21 December 2008. At Stadium Tertutup Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Malaysian womens double lost to China. Malaysiakini

Malaysian Womens double Chin and Wong lost at semi final just moments ago in Hong Kong Badminton Open. Sadly they were no competition to the China.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Political Cartoons. Malaysiakini







Pic Source: kertoon and mowadoha

Melaka Tourism wants to attract neighbouring countries. Malaysiakini


Friday November 28, 9:59 AM
Melaka Plans to Build Tourism Gallery in Singapore
AAP MEDIANET

MELAKA (Malaysia), Nov 28 Asia Pulse - The government of Malaysia's southern state of Melaka plans to build a gallery in Singapore to showcase its tourism products aimed at attracting tourists to the state.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam said the state government was looking for a suitable site and expect construction of the gallery to start in January or February.
"With the uncertain economic situation, I believe Singaporeans will choose to visit nearby destinations. Melaka wants to seize this opportunity," he told reporters at the Istana Kampung Gelam Malay Heritage Centre in Singapore Tuesday.
Mohd Ali, who was leading a tourism promotion delegation to Singapore, said Melaka chose the republic to start the promotion as it was a major contributor of tourists to the state.

Similar tourism promotions would be made in Thailand and Indonesia.
He was confident that Melaka's new tourism product "Duck Tours" which had received a hot reception in Singapore would be a hit among tourists to the state.

"Duck Tours is a mode of transportation that functions in the air, on land and on the water. It will be the first of its kind in Malaysia when operational next month.
Melaka's other new tourism products are Eye On Malaysia at Sungai Melaka and Menara Taming Sari (tower) at Bandar Hilir.

(BERNAMA-OANA)

1,300-year-old Islamic note may solve mystery. Malaysiakini


Inscription could answer Qur'an question vexing historians for centuries
By Jennifer Viegas
Discovery
updated 1:11 p.m. ET Nov. 18, 2008
An Arabic traveler who engraved his name on a block of red sandstone over 1,300 years ago may help solve a question about the Qur'an that has vexed historians for hundreds of years: Why was the text seemingly written without diacritical marks?

Diacritical marks, which include accent marks, tildes, umlauts and other notations, help to distinguish one letter from another and aid in pronunciation. When added or removed, they can completely change the meaning of a word or sentence.

Analysis of the recently found sandstone inscription, which predates the earliest known copies of the Qur'an, determined that it reads: "In the name of Allah/ I, Zuhayr, wrote (this) at the time 'Umar died/year four/And twenty."


According to researcher Ali ibn Ibrahim Ghabban, who, with his wife, discovered the 644 A.D. inscription northwest of Saudi Arabia, "It is an immensely important find, since it is our earliest dated Arabic inscription."

Ghabban, a member of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, added that it also "shows evidence of a fully-fledged system of diacritical marks."

A paper describing the find appears in the latest issue of the journal Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy.

Robert Hoyland, a professor of Arabic and Middle East Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, explained the significance of Ghabban's determination to Discovery News.

"Whether the Qur'an was originally written in a script that contained diacritical marks is very important because Western Qur'an scholars generally say that it wasn't and therefore feel free to make some amendments to the Qur'anic text by changing the diacritical marks to give it a different meaning, which is, of course, very unpopular with modern Muslim scholars and Muslims in general, who mostly feel that the Qur'anic text they use is the original text revealed to Muhammad by God," he said.


Ali ibn Ibrahim Ghabban and Robert Hoyland
A tracing of the inscription, which reads, "In the name of Allah/ I, Zuhayr, wrote (this) at the time 'Umar died/year four/And twenty."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Although the earliest Islamic inscription, which is also the world's second oldest evidence for written Arabic, does not include punctuation or vowel marks, it does contain markings to distinguish consonants that are identical in shape. This proves such a marking system was already in place before the earliest known copies of the Qur'an, which date to sometime between 652 and 680 A.D., Hoyland indicated.

Ghabban now believes Muhammad's close associates and early followers "stripped Qur'ans of diacritical marks" in order to permit "Muslims to read the Qur'an as it was revealed to Muhammad in the various dialects of the Arabs, and allowing the skeleton of the word to bear all the meanings which appear in it."

Hoyland added that, "this would mean that Western scholars would have less excuse to change the text as we have it now."

Without diacritical marks, for example, a sentence such as, "I took with my whole hands," can also be interpreted as, "I took with my fingertips."

The first known Islamic inscription, whose carver might have made his own mark while walking down a Syrian pilgrimage road, may solve yet another Arabic history mystery: When did noted Islamic leader Umar ibn al-Khattab die?

According to tradition and other historical accounts, a Persian soldier assassin stabbed Umar in public as the caliph was leading prayers in a mosque. Zuhayr, who may have witnessed the violent crime, recorded that Umar died in "four and twenty," which means 644 A.D.

© 2008 Discovery Channel

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Obama's Interactive government. Malaysiakini


Obama steps into Democracy 2.0 future
US President-elect Barack Obama has taken his boldest step yet to usher in a new era of interactive government, opening a public forum for suggestions on the website of his transition team.
Change.gov, Obama's official website until he takes office on January 20, invited users late Tuesday to submit their views on health care, drawing an immediate barrage of hundreds of comments and triggering a lively debate.
The new feature, called "Join the Discussion," asked users to answer the question "What worries you most about the healthcare system in our country?"
To jumpstart the debate, the website displayed a video from two members of Obama's Health Policy Transition Team soliciting suggestions about an issue the Democratic candidate identified as a priority during his presidential campaign.
Users were asked to conduct a "respectful dialogue" and refrain from personal attacks, profanity and aggressive behavior. Unlike on government websites, comments were appearing on the site unfiltered.
Twenty-four hours after the launch, there had been more than 2,000 comments on the forum, which also allows registered users to give a thumb's up or thumb's down to each post, voting it up or down according to popularity.
One of the top-rated comments, with a score of plus 58, is from a user identified as "kllmt" who calls for a shift to more preventative care.
"We're trying out a new feature on our website that will allow us to get instant feedback from you about our top priorities," said a posting on the Change.gov blog announcing the creation of the forum.
"We also hope it will allow you to form communities around these issues -- with the best ideas and most interesting discussions floating to the top."
"Join the Discussion" is the first foray by the transition team into hosting a public forum and an attempt to follow through on a pledge made by Obama to increase the involvement of the public in the political process.
When Change.gov was launched on November 6 following Obama's election victory it included an appeal to users to share their ideas by email.
But the site did not provide a public forum to display the submissions, a move which prompted some criticism among supporters of more transparency.
More grumbling ensued when Obama posted his weekly addresses to the nation on YouTube -- drawing one million and half-a-million views respectively -- but with the comments thread disabled. Comments were enabled on Wednesday.
The "Join the Discussion" forum got a thumb's up on Wednesday from Micah Sifry, co-founder of TechPresident, a blog about politics and the Web.
"This is a terrific start on fulfilling Obama's promise to make government more open and participatory," Sifry wrote on techpresident.com. "This is a big deal.
"When you consider that for the last eight years, the occupant of the White House has essentially told the public 'you get input once every four years, after that I'm the decider,' this is huge.
"Before our eyes, we are witnessing the beginning of a rebooting of the American political system," Sifry said.
In an interview with ABC News to be broadcast Wednesday, Obama spoke about staying in touch with the public.
"One of the things that I'm going to have to work through is how to break through the isolation -- the bubble that exists around the president," he said.
"I'm in the process of negotiating with the Secret Service, with lawyers, with White House staff... to figure out how can I get information from outside of the 10 or 12 people who surround my office in the White House.
"One of the worst things I think that could happen to a president is losing touch with what people are going through day to day," he said.
"I want to make sure that I keep my finger on the pulse of the struggles that people are going through every day."

Pic source:tsevis'
_________________________________________________________________________________
Maybe Pakatan Rakyat should try this while we wait for you to come into power. Atleast we can be part of the developing our nations future. I'm sure this can create alot of interesting ideas and possibilities.
We should stop talking about Multimedia Super Corridor and start working towards a more modern government. Since Malaysia has plenty of bloggers. It's time to use all this brains to your advantage.
My personal experiance, when my younger was in intensive care at Selayang Hospital 2 years ago. It's known as the paper-less hospital. The nurses were to busy to attend the patients because their were busy typing the report. The doctors couldn't update us on his condition because they haven't read the report or waiting for it. Basicly it was a mess. They might have all the equipment in that hospital but it was more for furnishing than anything else.
Pathmanck

Hindraf pictures that started a Revolution. Malaysiakini

It all started here, 25th Nov 2007. I'm sure every single Indian in this country will never forget how the Government treated the Indians that day. That day left a scar on every Indians soul. If BN thinks the March 8 GE was the worst we could do to them. Then god bless their souls. Hindraf is still very much alive. Nobody has forgotten that day. Nobody can forgive this government for it's atrocities for the past 51 years. For generations to come this story will be told.
Hindraf are Indians. You cannot separate this two anymore. Maybe who knows one day Malaysia will have an Indian PM. Since Mahathir is considered a Malay so he doesn't count.

Pathmanck









pic source:alfred89, horngyih, gilarider and abinesh.com

Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat needs to be elected. Malaysiakini


It looks like we wont be seeing a Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government any time soon. Disappointing as it sounds it might be the best for now. We don't really need PR to be in power to destroy BN. Umno is killing itself. Mahathir, Najib and Badawi with Khairy and Mukhriz and Taib lost in the middle. It's all totally messed up.
Najib cant get rid of the money politics in UMNO. How can he when then is so many complaints about himself? None of the members of UMNO are going to buy his story. If Najib doesn't listen to Mahathir then his head is going to roll next. There is no real successor for UMNO. If UMNO and BN are alive today it's only going to be short lived till the next general election. I'm not Anwar but i think he is letting the fire burn deeper. MCA and MIC has lost it's direction totally. This is 50 years of typical mentality. You cant change it overnight.

With Anwar constantly talking about take over of the government has actually had a very bad impact on our economy. For instance with my company. A very big British company that has a stake in everything in Hong Kong have pulled out of a nearly done major joint venture deal with a Malaysian company based in sepang because of our countries uncertain future direction. As well as all the black holes they found in the companies accounts audit. Typical Malaysians unfortunately. This are one of the reasons the BN government has to go. After all it's all a Chain Reaction.

Teagarajan who is vying for the post of deputy president in MIC said that a weak management was to be blamed for the financial woes of Maika. He also proposed that the government pumped in RM150 million to bail out Maika??? Is he Crazy???Put more money into this corrupted organisations hands?
Maika Holdings chief executive officer S Vell Paari today said that Maika board had proposed resolutions to sell off all assets of Maika and distribute the surplus to the shareholders.
They sure do know how to choose the best time to sell their assets. When the economy is at it's lowest. They are so lucky not to be arrested for this MAIKA scandal. So many Indians in Malaysia trusted and invested their life savings in this and never saw a sen after that. I read sometime ago they got something like a RM1,000 after 15 or 20 years.
The Deputy and the President of MCA are having "cold war". PPP wants to leave BN and Sabah and Sarawak wants their share of the pie or they are threatening to walk out.
Anwar doesn't have to do anything. BN is destroying itself. They are in Cruise Control to destruction. Once things get out of hand the King would step in and announce a new General Election. By that time Pakatan Rakyat will already have enough candidate's to stand everywhere. Pakatan Rakyat is slowly growing and opening up branches everywhere.
But the guys who really started the domino effect are still in jail. The 5 Hindraf guys. They were the first guys to brace them self for the first crackdown that started the volcanic eruption that swallowed Malaysia during the 12th General Election.
Some criticised Hindraf for not accomplishing anything for the past one year. I say all this people are wrong. If it wasn't for Hindraf you wont be having Pakatan Rakyat at all. They say you need a tragedy to get the family together. And that is what the indians did. I proud that Hindraf still champions their cause even after so many barriers were put on their path and Their biggest achievement is not that they still put a brave face and challenge the government but to keep to their words and never resorted to violence. I honour your struggle HINDRAF.

I just hope our friends in Pakatan Rakyat hasn't forgotten their pledge to the Indians.

Pathmanck

The Bomb Anwar dropped on Malaysians.

By Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 – Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appeared to stop short today of saying his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance will have to wait until the next general election to make a serious bid for power.
He told reporters that he would not explain why the PR alliance has not yet taken power at this weekend’s PKR party congress.
“There is nothing to explain. It will happen,” Anwar said in Parliament. He did not set another deadline.
His self-imposed deadline of Sept 16 for PR to topple the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government passed without incident and his credibility has taken a knock, while the opposition’s momentum has stalled, since then.
Increasingly, Malaysians are focused on economic worries and many are turning away from an almost obsessive fixation with politics since the March 8 elections.
Anwar had been widely expected to address this point at this weekend’s PKR congress, but he looks to be trying to put Sept 16 behind him.
He said today that it did not matter when the PR alliance takes over the government.
The widely held view that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will take power as prime minister next March under an Umno transition plan hammered out with Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi was also premature, Anwar said.
“What makes you so sure?” he asked reporters.
According to Anwar, his message to party delegates this weekend will include a call for them to continue to be committed and to concentrate on ruling well the five states under PR control.
He said PKR had also recently started a nationwide campaign to hold ceramahs to communicate with the Malay ground across the country in an attempt to make headway into the hearts and minds of the community.
The opposition ranks continue to enjoy good support among non-Malays but rural Malays continue to harbour distrust of the PR coalition.
He said this move was necessary as the mainstream media, especially the Malay media, continues to sideline the coalition to propogate the Barisan Nasional agenda.


Hindraf Pic by malaysiakini and adilphoto

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Origins of the Malays - Malaysiakini

I read this sometime back. You guys might find this as an interesting read. This piece was prepared By Michael Chick. It appeared in MalaysiaToday early this year.

It's been interesting to read such free-flowing comments on the subject of the Origins of the Malays. While we are on the subject, how many of you have read the book entitled "Contesting Malayness - Malay Identity Across Boundaries" Edited by Timothy P. Barnard published by Singapore University Press?

Written by a Professor of National University of Singapore. It reflects the Anthropologists views that there is no such race as the "Malays" to begin with. If we follow the original migration of the Southern Chinese of 6,000yrs ago, they moved into Taiwan, (now the Alisan), then into the Phillipines (now the Aeta) and moved into Borneo (4,500yrs ago) (Dayak). They also split into Sulawesi and progressed into Jawa, and Sumatera. The final migration was to the Malayan Peninsular 3,000yrs ago. A sub-group from Borneo also moved to Champa in Vietnam at 4,500yrs ago.

Interestingly, the Champa deviant group moved back to present day Kelantan. There are also traces of the Dong Song and HoaBinh migration from Vietnam and Cambodia. To confuse the issue, there was also the Southern Thai migration, from what we know as Pattani today. (see also "Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsular")

Of course, we also have the Minangkabau's which come from the descendants of Alexander the Great and a West Indian Princess. (Sejarah Melayu page 1-3)

So the million Dollar Question... Is there really a race called the "Malays"?

All anthropologists DO NOT SEEM TO THINK SO. (strangely, this includes all Malay Malaysian Anthropologists who are of the same opinion.)

Neither do the "Malays" who live on the West Coast of Johor. They'd rather be called Javanese. What about the west coast Kedah inhabitants who prefer to be known as "Achenese"? or the Ibans who simply want to be known as IBANS. Try calling a Kelabit a "Malay" and see what response you get... you’ll be so glad that their Head-Hunting days are over.

In an article in the Star, dated: Dec 3rd 2006

available for on-line viewing at:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/3/focus/16212814&sec=focus

An excerp is reproduced here below:

"The Malays – taken as an aggregation of people of different ethnic backgrounds but who speak the same language or family of languages and share common cultural and traditional ties – are essentially a new race, compared to the Chinese, Indians and the Arabs with their long histories of quests and conquests.

The Malay nation, therefore, covers people of various ethnic stock, including Javanese, Bugis, Bawean, Achehnese, Thai, Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak and descendants of Indian Muslims who had married local women.

Beneath these variations, however, there is a common steely core that is bent on changing the Malay persona from its perceived lethargic character to one that is brave, bold and ready to take on the world. "

The definition of “Malay” is therefore simply a collection of people's who speak a similar type language. With what is meant by a similar type language does not mean that the words are similar. (A native Kelantanese native speaker has no clue whatsoever what his Iban native brother is talking about; if both speak their own dialect) Linguists however, call this the "Lego-Type" language, where words are added on to the root word to make meaning and give tenses and such. Somehow, the Indonesians disagree with this "Malay" classification and insist instead on being called "Indonesians" even though the majority of "Malays" have their roots in parts of Indonesia. They refuse to be called "Malay"…. Anyhow you may define it.

The writer failed to identify (probably didn't know), that the "Malay" definition also includes, the Champa, Dong Song, HoabinHian, The Taiwanese Alisan and the Philippino Aetas. He also did not identify that the "Orang Asli" are (for lack of a better term) ex-Africans. If you try to call any one of our East Malaysian brothers an "Orang Asli", they WILL BEAT YOU UP! I had to repeat this because almost all West Malaysians make the same mistake when we cross the South China Sea. Worse, somehow, they feel even more insulted when you call them “Malay”. Somehow, “kurang ajar” is uttered below their breath as if “Malay” was a really bad word for them. I’m still trying to figure this one out.

Watch “Malays in Africa”; a Museum Negara produced DVD. Also, the “Champa Malays” by the same.

With this classification, they MUST also include the Phillipinos, the Papua New Guineans, the Australian Aboroginies, as well as the Polynesian Aboroginies. These are of the Australo Melanesians who migrated out of Africa 60,000yrs ago.

Getting interesting? Read on...

"Malay" should also include the Taiwanese singer "Ah Mei" who is Alisan as her tribe are the anscestors of the "Malays". And finally, you will need to define the Southern Chinese (Southern Province) as Malay also, since they are from the same stock 6,000yrs ago.

Try calling the Bugis a "Malay". Interestingly, the Bugis, who predominantly live on Sulawesi are not even Indonesians. Neither do they fall into the same group as the migrating Southern Chinese of 6,000yrs ago nor the Australo Melanesian group from Africa.

Ready for this?

The Bugis are the cross-breed between the Mongolian Chinese and the marauding Arab Pirates. Interestingly, the Bugis, (just like their Arabic ancestors) were career Pirates in the Johor-Riau Island areas. Now the nephew of Daeng Kemboja was appointed as the First Sultan of Selangor. That makes the entire Selangor Sultanate part Arab, part Chinese! Try talking to the Bugis Museum curator near Kukup in Johor. Kukup is located near the most south-western tip of Johor. (Due south of Pontian Kechil) He is more than willing to expound on the Bugis heritage. Buy him lunch and he can talk for days on end.

Let's not even get into the Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekiu, and Hang Lekir, who shared the same family last name as the other super famous "Hang" family member... Hang Li Poh. And who was she? Legend tells us that she is the Princess of a Ming Dynasty Emperor who was sent to marry the Sultan of Malacca. Won't that make the entire Malacca Sultanate downline "Baba"? Since the older son of the collapsed Malaccan Sultanate got killed in Johor, (the current Sultanate is the downline of the then, Bendahara) the only other son became the Sultan of Perak. Do we see any Chinese-ness in Raja Azlan? Is he the descendant of Hang Li Poh? But wait a minute....

That's what legend says. Let's look at the proof. The solid evidence. There is a well next to the Zheng He Temple in Malacca which is supposed to be the well built by the Sultan of Malacca for Hang Li Poh. According to legend, anyone who drinks of it shall re-visit Malacca before they die. Hmmm smells like a romantic fairy tale already. But let's look at who Hang Li Poh actually is. Which Ming Emperor was she a daughter to? So I got into researching the entire list of Ming Emperors. Guess what? Not a single Ming Emperor's last name begins with Hang. In fact, all their last names begin with Tzu (pronounced Choo). So who is Hang Li Poh? An Extra Concubine? A Spare Handmaiden? Who knows? But one thing for certain, is that she was no daughter of any of the Ming Emperors. Gone is the romantic notion of the Sultan of Malacca marrying an exotic Chinese Princess. Sorry guys, the Sultan married an unidentified Chinese commoner.

Next question. If the Baba’s are part Malay, why have they been marginalized by NOT BEING BUMIPUTERA? Which part of “Malay” are they not? Whatever the answer, why then are the Portugese of Malacca BUMIPUTERA? Did they not come 100yrs AFTER the arrival of the first Baba’s? Parameswara founded Malacca in 1411. The Portugese came in 1511, and the Dutch in the 1600’s. Strangely, the Baba’s were in fact once classified a Bumiputera, but some Prime Minister decreed that they were to be strangely “declassified” in the 1960’s. WHY? How can a "native son of the soil" degenerate into an "un-son"? The new classification is "pendatang" meaning a migrant to describe the Baba's and Nyonyas. Wait a minute, isn't EVERYONE on the Peninsular a migrant to begin with? How can the government discriminate? Does the Malaysian Government have amnesia?

The Sultan of Kelantan had similar roots to the Pattani Kingdom making him of Thai origin. And what is this "coffee table book" by the Sultan of Perlis claiming to be the direct descendant of the prophet Muhammed? Somehow we see Prof Khoo Khay Khim’s signature name on the book. I’ll pay good money to own a copy of it myself. Anyone has a spare?

In pursuing this thread, and having looked at the history of Prophet Muhammed (BTW, real name Ahmad) we couldn't figure out which descendant line The Sultan of Perlis was. Perhaps it was by the name Syed, which transcended. Then we tried to locate which downline did the Sultan descend from of the 13 Official Wives of Prophet Muhammad named in the Holy Koran? Or was the Sultan of Perlis a descendant from the other 23 non-wives? Of the 13 Official Wives were (at least known) 3 Israeli women. Then you should come to this instant revelation, isn't Prophet Muhammad an Israeli himself? Yes, the answer is clear. All descendants of Moses are Israeli. In fact, the Holy Koran teaches that Moses was the First Muslim. Thus confirming all the descendants of Moses to be Israeli, including Jesus and Prophet Muhammad. But since this is not a Religious or a Theological discussion, let's move on to a more anthropological approach.

So, how many of you have met with the Orang Asli’s (Malaysian Natives)? The more northern you go, the more African they look. Why are they called Negrito’s? It is a Spanish word, from which directly transalates “mini Negros”. The more southern you go, the more “Indonesian” they look. And the ones who live at Cameron Highlands kinda look 50-50. You can see the Batek at Taman Negara, who really look like Eddie Murphy to a certain degree. Or the Negritos who live at the Thai border near Temenggor Lake (north Perak). The Mah Meri in Carrie Island look almost like the Jakuns in Endau Rompin. Half African, half Indonesian.

Strangely the natives in Borneo all look rather Chinese in terms of features and facial characteristics especially the Kelabits in Bario.

By definition, (this is super eye-opening) there was a Hindu-Malay Empire in Kedah. Yes, I said right… The Malays were Hindu (just like the gentle Balinese of today). It was known by its’ old name, Langkasuka. Today known as Lembah Bujang. This Hindu-Malay Empire was 2,000yrs old. Pre-dating Borrobudor AND Angkor Watt. Who came about around 500-600yrs later. Lembah Bujang was THE mighty trading Empire, and its biggest influence was by the Indians who were here to help start it. By definition, this should make the Indians BUMIPUTERAS too since they were here 2,000yrs ago! Why are they marginalized?

The Malaysian Government now has a serious case of Alzheimer's. Why? Simply because, they would accord the next Indonesian who tomorrow swims across the Straits of Malacca and bestow upon him with the apparently "prestigious title" of the Bumiputra status alongside others who imply have inhabited this land for hundreds of centuries. (prestigious, at least perceived by Malays) They also have a strange saying called "Ketuanan Melayu" which literally transalates into "The Lordship of Malays" The Malays still cannot identify till this day "who" or "what" the Malays have "Lordship" over. And they celebrate it gallantly and triumphantly by waving the Keris (wavy knife which has Hindu origins in Borrobudor. Ganesan is seen brandishing the Keris in a bass-relief sculpture.) during public meetings over National TV much like a Pagan Wicca Ceremony on Steroids. Let's all wait for that official press release to see who the "Malays" have Lordship over, shall we?

Of the 3 books listed, "Contesting Malayness" (about S$32 for soft cover) is "banned” in Malaysia; you will need to "smuggle" it into Malaysia; for very obvious reasons.... :( or read it in Singapore if you don’t feel like breaking the law. Incidentally, the Professor (Author) was invited to speak on this very subject circa 2 yrs ago, in KL, invited by the MBRAS. You can imagine the "chaos" this seminar created... :( Fortunately the FRU was not called in.

The other, "Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago, and the Malay Peninsular" (about RM84) are openly sold at all leading bookshops; Kinokuniya, MPH, Borders, Popular, Times, etc. You should be able to find a fair bit of what I’ve been quoting in this book too, but mind you, it is extremely heavy reading material, and you will find yourself struggling through the initial 200+ pages. It is extremely technical in nature. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t been banned (yet)…coz our authorities couldn’t make head or tail of it? (FYI, if I weren’t doing research for my film, I wouldn’t have read it in its entirety)

The "Sejarah Melayu" (about RM 50) however, is freely available at the University Malaya bookshop. I have both the English and Royal Malay version published by MBRAS. Alternatively, you could try reading the Jawi (Arabic Script) version if you are truly a sucker for unimaginable pain...... (may feel like circumcision)

There are actually many sources for these Origins of Malays findings. Any older Philippino Museum Journal also carries these migration stories. This migration is also on display at the Philippines National Museum in Luzon. However, they end with the Aeta, and only briefly mention that the migration continued to Indonesia and Malaysia, but fully acknowledge that all Philippinos came from Taiwan. And before Taiwan, China. There is another book (part of a series) called the "Archipelago Series" endorsed by Tun Mahatir and Marina Mohammad, which states the very same thing right at the introduction on page one. “… that the Malays migrated out of Southern China some 6,000yrs ago…”. I believe it is called the “Pre-History of Malaysia” Hard Cover, about RM99 found in (mostly) MPH. They also carry “Pre-History of Indonesia” by the same authors for the same price.

It is most interesting to note that the Malaysian Museum officials gallantly invented brand new unheard-of terms such as "Proto-Malay" and "Deutero-Malay", to replace the accepted Scientific Term, Australo-Melanesians (African descent) and Austronesians (Chinese Descent, or Mongoloid to be precise) in keeping in line with creating this new “Malay” term.. They also created the new term called the Melayu-Polynesian. (Which Melayu exists in the Polynesian Islands?) Maybe they were just trying to be “Patriotic” and “Nationalistic”… who knows…? After all, we also invented the term, “Malaysian Time”. While the rest of the world calls it “Tardy” and “Late”. It’s quite an embarrassment actually…. Singaporeans crossing the border are asked to set their watches back by about a 100yrs, to adjust to “Malaysian Time”…

In a nutshell, the British Colonial Masters, who, for lack of a better description, needed a “blanket” category for ease of classification, used the term “Malay”.

The only other logical explanation, which I have heard, was that “Malaya” came as a derivative of “Himalaya”, where at Langkasuka, or Lembah Bujang today was where the Indians were describing the locals as “Malai” which means “Hill People” in Tamil. This made perfect sense as the focal point at that time was at Gunung Jerai, and the entire Peninsular had a “Mountain Range” “Banjaran Titiwangsa”, as we call it.

The Mandarin and Cantonese accurately maintain the accurate pronunciation of “Malai Ren” and “Malai Yun” respectively till this very day. Where “ren” and “yun” both mean “peoples”.

Interestingly, “Kadar” and “Kidara”, Hindi and Sanskrit words accurately describe “Kedah” of today. They both mean “fertile Land for Rice cultivation. Again, a name given by the Indians 2,000yrs ago during the “Golden Hindu Era” for a duration of 1,500yrs.

It was during this “Golden Hindu Era” that the new term which the Hindu Malay leaders also adopted the titles, “Sultan” and “Raja”. The Malay Royalty were Hindu at that time, as all of Southeast Asia was under strong Indian influence, including Borrobudor, and Angkor Watt. Bali today still practices devout Hindu Beliefs. The snake amulet worn by the Sultans of today, The Royal Dias, and even the “Pelamin” for weddings are tell-tale signs of these strong Indian influences. So, it was NOT Parameswara who was the first Sultan in Malaya. Sultanage existed approximately 1,500yrs in Kedah before he set foot on the Peninsular during the "Golden Hindu Era" of Malaysia. And they were all Hindu.

“PreHistory of Malaysia” also talks about the “Lost Kingdom” of the “Chi-Tu” where the local Malay Kingdom were Buddhists. The rest of the “Malays” were Animistic Pagans.

But you may say, "Sejarah Melayu" calls it "Melayu"? Yes, it does. Read it again; is it trying to describe the 200-odd population hamlet near Palembang by the name "Melayu"?(Google Earth will show this village).

By that same definition, then, the Achehnese should be considered a “race”. So should the Bugis and the Bataks, to be fair. Orang Acheh, Orang Bugis, Orang Laut, Orang Melayu now mean the same… descriptions of ethnic tribes, at best. So some apparently Patriotic peron decided to upgrade the Malays from Orang Melayu (Malay People) to Bangsa Melayu (Malay Race) Good job in helping perpetuate the confusion. And since the “Malays” of today are not all descendants of the “Melayu” kampung in Jambi (if I remember correctly), the term Melayu has been wrongly termed. From Day One. Maybe this is why the Johoreans still insist on calling themselves either Bugis, or Javanese til today (except when it comes to receiving Government Handouts). So do the Achehnese on the West coast of Kedah & Perlis and the Kelantanese insist that they came from Champa, Vietnam.

Moreover, the fact that the first 3 pages of "Sejarah Melayu" claim that "Melayu" comes from Alexander the Great and the West Indian Princess doesn't help. More importantly, it was written in 1623. By then, the Indians had been calling the locals “Malai” for 1,500 yrs already. So the name stuck….

And with the Sejarah Melayu (The Malay Annals in page 1-3) naming the grandson of Iskandar Zulkarnain, and the West Indian Princess forming the Minangkabau. Whenever a Malay is asked about it, he usually says it is "Karut" (bullshit), but all Malayan based historians insist on using Sejarah Melayu as THE main reference book for which "Malay" history is based upon. The only other books are “Misa Melayu”, "Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa", "Hikayat Pasai", "Hikayat Raja-Raja Siak" and “Hikayat Hang Tuah” among others; which sometimes brings up long and “heated” discussions.

Interesting to note is one of the great "Malay" writers is called Munsyi Abdullah; who penned "Hikayat Abdullah" He was an Indian Muslim. Let's re-read that little bit. He was an Indian Muslim. How can an Indian change his race to be a Malay? He can change his shirt, his car, his religion and even his underwear, but how can anyone change his race? This must be The New Trick of the Century, which even David Copperfield will pay lots of money to watch (and perhaps learn).

"Mysterious Race Changing Trick"- created by The Malaysian Government.

Still, Malaysians are still only second to the Jews (who by the way, are the only other people in the world who are defined by a religion) So perhaps David Copperfield has yet to learn a few tricks on the mass deception skills of the Malaysian Government?

Malaysia Boleh...

I find this strange.

I also find, that it is strange that the "Chitti's" (Indian+Malay) of Malacca are categorized as Bumiputera, while their Baba brothers are not. Why? Both existed during the Parameswara days. Which part of the “Malay” side of the Baba’s is not good enough for Bumiputera classification? Re-instate them. They used to be Bumiputera pre 1960’s anyway.

Instead of "Malay", I believe that "Maphilindo" (circa 1963) would have been the closest in accurately trying to describe the Malays. However, going by that definition, it should most accurately be "MaphilindoThaiChinDiaVietWanGreekCamfrica". And it is because of this; even our University Malaya Anthropology professors cannot look at you in the eye and truthfully say that the word "Malay" technically and accurately defines a race.

This is most unfortunate.

So, in a nutshell, the “Malays” (anthropologists will disagree with this “race” definition) are TRULY ASIA !!! For once the Tourism Ministry got it right….

We should stop calling this country “Tanah Melayu” instead call it, “Tanah Truly Asia”

You must understand now, why I was "tickled pink" when I found out that the Visit Malaysia slogan for 2007 was "Truly Asia". They are so correct... (even though they missed out Greece, and Africa)

BTW, the name UMNO should be changed to UTANO the new official acronym for “United Truly Asia National Organization” . After all, they started out as a Bugis club in Johor anyway….

I told you all that I hate race classifications…. This is so depressing. Even more depressing is that the "malays" are not even a race; not since day one.

“Truly Asia Boleh”

Why did the issue of Islam and Yoga surfaced. Malaysiakini.


People,
Why would the non-Muslim argue about something that does not have anything to do with them? I'm a non-Muslim, I studied Yoga for many years and still practice it. It doesn't bothered me if a Muslim can't do Yoga. Yoga is good for the mind, body and soul. Do you think we have millions of Muslims in Malaysia doing Yoga? The numbers are too small to take this issue so seriously but knowing this why should the FATWA make in Haram so the discussion begins.

It is not only the Hindu that are objecting to it but also the christian and Muslims them self. Why? Because, Malaysia is a country compromised of so many races and religion. Many of us have a Malay breakfast, an Indian lunch and a Chinese dinner and maybe a mamak stall supper. We visit each others houses for parties, functions and celebrations. So when you start to segregate certain cultural bonding with other culture's you start to become non Malaysian. My friends in China and Hong Kong cannot believe we cook and eat other races food. I myself can cook many kinds of dishes. Chinese, Malay and English. That is what that makes us unique and proud to be Malaysians.

The possibility for other cultural banding's to segregated the Muslims from the other is what that worries the rest of the Non-Muslim Malaysians. Nobody intends to criticise the FATWA but it's reasoning behind the ban does not stand strongly enough. How can one worry about Yoga being the reason for a Muslim to loose direction or give up his religion. The FATWA should have given a more descriptive guidelines which part of yoga should a Muslim should not practice. Not just banned the whole entire thing.

Nobody telling the Fatwa is wrong. But taking an Indian cultural practice like Yoga which is taught not only in Asia but in Europe and America with a great deal of success and to say it is wrong for a Muslim to practice is questionable. Yoga has many sections to it. But the most commercialised one is the Exercise and Meditation. For a Muslim. It's hard for those who are already practising it and have reaped the benefit of it to just let go of it. Under the Law should not and cannot practice something that is banned by the FATWA. Under Section 9 of the Syariah Criminal Offences ( Federal Territories ) Act, 1997 provides :

Any person who acts in contempt of religious authority or defies, disobeys or disputes the orders or directions of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of the religion of Islam, the Majlis or the Mufti, expressed or given by way of fatwa, shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding three thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

section-9-syariah-criminal-offences-ft-act-1997

Section 12 of the same Act provides :

Any person who gives, propagates or disseminates any opinion concerning Islamic teachings, Islamic Law or any issue, contrary to any fatwa for the time being in force in the Federal Territories shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding three thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

section-12-syariah-criminal-offences-ft-act-1997


Modern thinking Malaysian will surely have alot to say about this. That's why we should have a fully functionable Inter Faith Committee that can discuss and correct certain decision before putting it out. It can reduce the wrong perception that it causes for the other religion groups.

By Pathmanck

Pic:grahamking

A Somali letter. Malaysiakini

An outside view from the inside. Found this by Blogger Godfather. If this letter was for Din Merican i would not know. But felt i should share it with you guys. TC.
PathmanCK

Din,

I’m a Somali living in Malaysia who follows the local scene here very much. I would have to admit that Tun Dr M’s greatest disadvantage is his pure, unadulterated hatred for anyone who disagrees with him. Never have I seen a human being whose sole motivation, drive and engine is pure hatred. Just visit his blog which is read by friends and foes, locals and foreigners and I must tell you it epitomizes him in every way.

Since he started it after complaining of UMNO media strangulation, did you see an article that he has written concerning the poor, the needy, the widows, the orphans, the handicapped, the downtrodden, the wayfarers, compassion, empathy, sharing, sacrifice, charity, morality, accountability, God’s fear and Judgement, forgiveness, patience (etc)? No.

Always it is about some people, blaming others, calling them names, dishing out unvanished, pure hatred. Blaming others for this and that and exonerating himself from all blame? Surely, at this age? You can’t build a society and a nation through hate, vengeance, intense anger and mean spirit. You would have to remind the people the higher purpose of life for them to get motivated and work harder for the less fortunate and for themselves. Finger pointing, blaming others, planting defeatist culture in the Malays, reducing them to mad people (we are sensitive, we will run amok society that makes even foreigners despise the Malays) will not help this society and nation.

My people (the Somalis) suffered from cruel leadership and when the hatred became too much, we turned to each other and till today, we the only nation with no Central govt. The Malays share with us almost every trait, very feudal, manipulated easily, territorial, misuse of Islam for expediency, rigid explanation of Islam and too much interest in outward Islam than inward Islam that strengthens the hearts, our only difference is that the Malays have the Chinese and the Indians around that make them watch out for the “enemies.”

For us, we didn’t have that and that’s why we turned to each other. If God has loved the Malays and Malaysia, it is because He brought other people here. If some Malays regret the presence of the Chinese and Indians, ask us the Somalis and you will know what it means to be an incestous (homogenous) society and you will praise the Almighty day in day out. If it was possible, I would have shipped the Chinese and Indians to Somalia to create diversity in my nation but it is wishful thinking.

The other person who makes me cringe in shame is one Curry[Khairy] Jamaluddin. Never have I seen a more uncouth, uncultured, degenerate, pugancious, ill, nefarious and utterly infantile being than this young man. I have a big heart who tries to understand everyone and put myself in their place, but I don’t think my heart can accommodate one Curry Jamaluddin. He is a primate and deserves the worst treatment (though I hate it because we are Muslims and human beings) but honestly he is too much.

Abubakar
October 25, 2008 at 5:43 pm

Unquote

Heed the warning, folks. Mahathirism must never be allowed to rise again.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

HINDRAF REMEMBERING MALAYSIAN UNITY DAY NOVEMBER 25TH. Malaysiakini

From Malaysia Today.
Hindraf sympathisers warned
Tuesday, 25 November 2008 00:20
Selangor CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, said that the police have warned any supporters or sympathizers of Hindraf not to hold any gatherings to mark their first anniversary. He said “The movement has been outlawed by the Government and we hope all parties respect that and not create any trouble. We know some of them planned to gather at Batu Caves for prayers and we hope they are there to pray and not to do anything that is against the law,"



REMEMBERING MALAYSIAN UNITY DAY NOVEMBER 25TH


HINDRAF calls for nationwide prayers to be organised to commemorate the 1st year anniversary of UNITY amongst the marginalized, oppressed and suppressed Malaysian Indians over the last 51 years.

November 25th is a day no ethnic Indian in Malaysia would ever choose to forget for it reminds them of the struggle of these marginalized community against the state which came hard to suppress the legitimate voice of democracy. No Indian would forget the fact that a peaceful gathering correctly exercised under Article 10 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution and Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 was met by state violence and aggression.

We call upon all Malaysian Indians to organise prayers in their respective Temples and light up 18 Ghee Lamps each to signify the 18 demands submitted to the Prime Minister on 12th August 2007.

The purpose of this exercise is lessen the evils that is partaking in the current scenario in Malaysia and gain faith and confidence from the almighty to overcome these evils and move forward for the goodwill of the Malaysian people in fairness to all irrespective of their color, race, religion, creed or following.

The burning of these lamps is similar to a candlelight practiced throughout ancient time and it is not sacrilegious to anyone as it seeks the omnipresent power of the almighty to strengthen and boost our faith and confidence for the spiritual and moral path that we have embarked and overcome turbulence time to lessen the evils that are prevailing for the Malaysian society.

Kindly take note that mass prayers would be organised at the Batu Caves Temple for the southern region and Butterworth Mariamman Temple for the Northern Region on the 25th November 2008.

We invite all those who are unable to attend these temples to organise prayers at their respective temples. Though HINDRAF has been unlawfully declared illegal there is nothing the UMNO regime could do to stop us from organising prayers. We welcome our fellow brothers from other faiths to organise similar prayers at their respective places of worships and seek the divine blessings for the continued struggle and success in our endeavour.

Let us unite on this day and show our oppressors we are UNITED MALAYSIAN INDIANS.


We invite all our supporters to send SMS’s to their friends to attend these prayers and be united on this day by wearing orange clothing as a mark of our unity.


P.Waytha Moorthy

Chairman

HINDRAF

14th November 2008

Monday, November 24, 2008

Why Anti- ISA movement has such a strong following. Malaysiakini



It is not the Malaysian way to risk getting in trouble with the law. So why do this people risk all they have to fight againts this unfair law.

In response to criticism that the ISA was not democratic or was too open to abuse, the first internal security minister, Ismail Abdul Rahman, stated:

“ I maintained then and I maintain now the view that the Internal Security Act is essential to the security of this country especially when democracy is interpreted the way it is interpreted in this country. To those in opposition to the government democracy is interpreted to mean absolute freedom, even the freedom to subvert the nation. When cornered by the argument that democracy in the Western sense means freedom in an ordered society and an ordered society is one in which the rule of law prevails, they seek refuge in the slogan that we should imitate Western democracy one hundred per cent.
I am convinced that the Internal Security Act as practiced in Malaysia is not contrary to the fundamentals of democracy. Abuse of the Act can be prevented by vigilant public opinion via elections, a free Press and above all the Parliament.[2]

At the moment:

Several opposition parties such as the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) have spoken out against the ISA. Many of them have leaders or prominent members who were held under the ISA, such as Muhammad Sabu of PAS, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and Lim Guan Eng of the DAP, and Anwar Ibrahim of the PKR. Previously in the 1960s, the law had been denounced by such opposition leaders as Tan Chee Khoon, who said:

“ This infernal and heinous instrument has been enacted by the Alliance Government at a time when the emergency was supposed to be over. Then it promptly proceeds to embody all the provisions of the Emergency Regulations which during the Emergency had to be re-enacted every year, but now it is written into the statute book ad infinitum...[6] ”

However, several politicians from the Barisan Nasional coalition, including its largest component party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO or Umno), that has governed Malaysia since independence have also criticised the ISA. The fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, went on the record in 1988 to state "If we want to save Malaysia and Umno, Dr Mahathir (then Prime Minister) must be removed. He uses draconian laws such as the Internal Security Act to silence his critics." The year before, he had also stated "Laws such as the Internal Security Act have no place in modern Malaysia. It is a draconian and barbaric law." In 2003 when he became Prime Minister, however, Abdullah called the ISA "a necessary law," and argued "We have never misused the Internal Security Act. All those detained under the Internal Security Act are proven threats to society." But opposition parties believe it is a threat to Umno rather than a threat to the country.

Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Mahathir had also adhered to a critical view of the ISA. In 1966, when Mahathir spoke out in support of the Internal Security (Amendment) Bill 1966 as a backbencher, he stated that "no one in his right senses like[s] the ISA. It is in fact a negation of all the principles of democracy."[6] After becoming Prime Minister however the former premier had little if any hesitation using the law to suppress what he termed racialism but was seen by some as a move against his political opponents, the most notable of events being the infamous Operasi Lalang in 1987.

The following list shows known current and former detainees under the Internal Security Act. The list is incomplete.

Year, Name, Detention Period, Role Reason for Detention
1960, 5th November, midnight Koh Pak Ngee Socialist Front (SF) Assistant Secretary General, Chief Editor of NYALA, the SF Chinese language party organ, SF Parliamentary candidate for 1959 General Election
1960, 5th November, midnight Foo Seong Foh Age 24, technician of National Electric Board, Chairman of Labour Party Malaya (LMP) Jinjang branch, elected student councillor in 1957, Chairman of Jinjang local council
1960, 5th November, midnight Chan Pin Kin Age 27, Assistant Secretary of LPM Jinjang branch, elected Jin Jang Local Councillor in April 1960
1960, 5th November, midnight chen po an Treasurer, Parti Rakyat Malaya (PRM) Ampang Branch
1960, 5th November, midnight Li Jian Xing Secretary, PRM Petaling Jaya Branch
1960, 5th November, midnight Tang Bing Ying Secretary, SF Selangor State
1960, 5th November, midnight Chen Hai Chou Exco, PRM Perak State cum Chairman, PRm Ipoh Branch
1960, 5th November, midnight Liu Xiao Houa Age 25, Secretary LPM Jinjang Branch , salesman
1960, 5th November, midnight Hu Rong Shen Treasurer, PRM Perak State cum Chairman, PRM Ipoh Branch
1960, 5th November, midnight Li Wen Qing Member,LPM Jinjang Banch
1960, 5th November, at dawn Gu Tian Fu Age 21, Worker of Serdang Vew Village Local Council, former Jonior 3 student of Chung Huwa High School Kuala Lumpur , detained on 1 October 1985 under the Emergency Ordinace 1948(EO) for almost a year.
1960, 5th November, at dawn Huang Hai Qiu Age 22, Former Junior @ student of Tsun Jin High School Kuala Lumpur, detained on 1 October 1958 for a year plus, released in December 1959, worker of the Serdang New Village Local Council
1960, 5th November, at dawn Yang Nan Xun Worker in the Serdang Vew Village Local Council, foemer Senior @ student of Confucian High School Kuala Lumpur r, detained on 1 october 1958 for a year, relased with conditions.
1960, 5th November, at dawn Liang Wen Hong Age 23,Worker of Serdang Vew Village Local Council, former Junior 2 student of Chung Hwa High School kuala Lumpur , later studied in a private English school, detained on 1 October 1958, released on conditions a year later.
1960, 5th November, midnight Ma Hui Qun Age 24, Female teache, charged in court, detained again upon payment of fine
1960, 5th November, midnight Ma Ming Xin@Ma Jin Age 22
1960, 2th November Shi Song An insurance company staff
1960, 5th November, midnight Jian Hua Yang Age 18, Senior 1 student of Han Chiang High School Penang, Discharged by court but detained again by police.
1960, 12th November, midnight Jin De Sun Age 18,Senior 1 student of Han Chiang High School Penang, Discharged by court but detained again by police.
1960, 10th November, midnight Su Zhu Tai Age 15, Junior student of Chung Hwa High school Kuala Lumpur
1960, 10th November,midnight Chen Zhang Age 15,Junior student of Chung Hwa High School Kuala Lumpur
1960, 10th November, at 5.20am Zhong De Ling (F) age 15,Senior 3 student of Chung Hwa High School Kuala Lumpur
1960, 10th November Qiu An Student
1960, 10th November Kong Me Student
1960, 10th November Kang Zi Kai Student
1960, 10th November Lin Hui Huang Teacher
1960, 10th November He Hui Fang Student
1960, 10th November Tan Xin Jie Student
1960, 10th November Fok Yee Seng Student
1960, 20th November,at 6.15am Chen Ya Xi @ Chen Yu Reng Age 17,Senior student of Hua Kiao High Shool Singapore
1960, 20th November,at 6.15am He Guang Peng St Michael Secondary English Shool
1960, 20th November,at 6.15am Liu Xing Mei (F) Senior student of Hua Kiao High School
1960, 10th November Soo Bing Choon Age 30,Secretary General, the Malayan Federation of Pineapple Workers Unions
1960, 10th November Zhen Zhong Rong Age 19, PRM member.
1961, 14th January, at dawn Chen Xiu Lian Age 21, Female Student
1961, 14th January, at dawn Zhen Shi Sheng Age 18, Rubber tapper Student
1961, 14th January, at dawn Lai Bing Zhang Age 25
1961, 14th January, at dawn Ye Guo Zhong Age 21 Senior Student of Confucian High School Kuala Lumpur
1961, 14th January, at dawn Qiu Yu Jiao (F) Age 19, Rubber tapper
1961, 14th January, at dawn Liu Guo Chang Age 19, Rubber tapper
1961, 14th January, at dawn Chen Si Ting Age 24,Treasurer, PRM Semenyih Branch, rubber tapper.
1961, 14th January, at dawn Jiang Jing Hua Age 22
1974 Anwar Ibrahim 20 months student protester
1987 Lim Kit Siang 2 Years DAP Secretary General Operation Lalang
1987 Chandra Muzaffar released either conditionally or unconditionally ALIRAN President Chandra Muzaffar Operation Lalang
1987 Chan Kit Chee released either conditionally or unconditionally MCA Vice President and Perak Operation Lalang
1987 Karpal Singh 2 Years DAP Deputy Chairman Operation Lalang
1987 Halim Arshat released either conditionally or unconditionally PAS Youth Chief Operation Lalang
1987 Ibrahim Ali released either conditionally or unconditionally UMNO MP for Pasir Mas Operation Lalang
1987 Fahmi Ibrahim released either conditionally or unconditionally UMNO Youth Education Operation Lalang
1987 Dong Jiao Zhong released either conditionally or unconditionally Chinese Education Associations Operation Lalang
1987 Lim Fong Seng released either conditionally or unconditionally Chairman Chinese Education Associations Operation Lalang
1987 Kua Kia Soong released either conditionally or unconditionally Publicity Chief of the Civil Rights Committee Operation Lalang
1987 Irene Xavier released either conditionally or unconditionally WAO Member Operation Lalang
1987 Hilmy Noor released either conditionally or unconditionally accused for "disrupting the Malay culture by being a Christian" Operation Lalang
1990-1991 Abdul Rahman Ahmad Assistant Superintendent of Police, Special Branch arrested during Operation Talkak
1990-1991 Albinus Yudah opposition party member, member of Kadazan Cultural Association arrested during Operation Talkak
1990-1991 Benedict Topin opposition party member, Executive Secretary of Kadazan Cultural Association arrested during Operation Talkak
1990-1991 Damit Undikai retired Special Branch police officer arrested during Operation Talkak
1990-1991 Jeffrey Kitingan opposition politician, director of the Institute for Development Studies arrested during Operation Talkak
1990-1991 Maximus Ongkili deputy chief director of the Institute for Development Studies arrested during Operation Talkak
1990-1991 Vincent Chung administrator, Sabah Foundation arrested during Operation Talkak
1998 Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy and corruption (Deputy Prime Minister)
2001 Yazid Sufaat Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2001 Suhaimi_Mokhtar Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2001 Raja Petra Kamarudin 52 days Blogger of Malaysia Today
2002 Dr Abdullah Daud 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2002 Shamsuddin Sulaiman 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2002 Mat Shah Mohd Satray 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2002 Abdul Murad Sudin 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2002 Zaini Zakaria 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2580/03)
2002 Zainun Rashid 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2003 Wan Amin Wan Hamat 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2003 Sulaiman Suramin 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2003 Sufian Salih 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2003 Mohd Khaider Kadran 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist (Leader) Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2003 Hasim Talib 6 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2004 Zakaria bin Samad 4 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2004 Ahmad Zakaria 4 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2004 Terhamid bin Dahalan 4 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2005 Abdul Rahman Ahmad @ Deraman Koteh 4 years Alleged militant separatist of Thailand Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2005 Mahfudi Saifuddin 4 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2005 Mulyadi 4 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2005 Arifin 4 years Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2005 Mat Tarmizi Zakaria 4 years Alleged Thai separatist Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2005 Lai Kin Choy 4 years Alleged counterfeiter Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 A Artas A Burhanuddin 2 years Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Tawau Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Francis Indanan 2 years Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Tawau Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Mohd Nazri Dollah 2 years Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Tawau Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Mohd Arasad Patangari 2 years Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Tawau Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Adzmi Pindatun 2 years Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Tawau Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Idris Lanama 2 years Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Klang Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Aboud Ghafar Shahril 2 years Indonesian; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Jeknal Adil 2 years stateless; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Binsali Omar 2 years Filipino (Malaysian PR); Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Husin Alih 2 years Filipino national; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Yussof Mohd Salam 2 years Filipino national; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Abd Jamal Azahari 2 years Filipino national; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Pakana Selama 2 years PR status; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Kasem Dayama 2 years Foreign national; Alleged foreign agent Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Shaykinar Guat 2 years stateless; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Argadi Andoyok 2 years stateless; Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Ng How Chuang 2 years Alleged document falsification Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Ng Keat Seng 2 years Alleged document falsification Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2006 Mohd Azuan b Aniffa 2 years Alleged foreign agent Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Mohd Faizol Shamsudin 2 years Alleged foreign agent Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Zulfikli Abu Bakar]] 2 years Alleged foreign agent Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Zulfikli Marzuki 2 years Alleged JI involvement Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Amir Hussain 2 years Foreign national; Alleged document falsification Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Mohd Nasir Ismail 2 years Alleged JI involvement Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Ahmad Kamil Hanafiah 2 years Alleged JI involvement Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Muh Amir Hanafiah 2 years Alleged JI involvement Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Tan Choon Chin 2 years Alleged document falsification Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Mavalavan 2 years Alleged foreign agent Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Lian Kok Heng 2 years Alleged foreign agent Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 Sundaraj Vijay 2 years Foreign national; Alleged document falsification Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 San Khaing 2 years Foreign national; Alleged document falsification Not known (Still detained at KDC)
2007 K. Kengadhadran 2 years Hindu Rights Action Force activist (Lawyer) Organize Hindraf mass rally in KL November 2007 (Still detained at KDC)
2007 M. Manoharan 2 years Hindu Rights Action Force activist (Lawyer) Organize Hindraf mass rally in KL November 2007 (Still detained at KDC)
2007 P. Uthayakumar, 2 years Hindu Rights Action Force activist (Lawyer) Organize Hindraf mass rally in KL November 2007 (Still detained at KDC)
2007 T. Vasantha Kumar 2 years Hindu Rights Action Force activist (Lawyer) Organize Hindraf mass rally in KL November 2007 (Still detained at KDC)
2007 K. Ganabathi Rao 2 years Hindu Rights Action Force activist (Lawyer) Organize Hindraf mass rally in KL November 2007 (Still detained at KDC)
2008 Muhammad Zahid Haji Zahir Shah 2 years Not known Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2703/2008)
2008 Shadul Islam 2 years Not known Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2698/2008)
2008 Abdul Sathar Mohammad Sarjoon 2 years Not known Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2699/2008)
2008 Faycal Mamdouh 2 years Not known Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2700/2008)
2008 Mahamad Nakhrakhel 2 years Not known Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2701/2008)
2008 Muhammad Shuaib Hazrat Bilal 2 years Not known Not known (Still detained at KDC - ATP 2702/2008)
2008 Raja Petra Kamarudin 56 days 2 hours 10 mins Blogger of Malaysia Today Accused of insulting islamic religion. Also charged with Sedition Act on an article titled "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell" which was published on MalaysiaToday website [[1]]
2008 Tan Hoon Cheng 18 hours Journalist, Sin Chew Jit Poh Accused of writing a fact (on Ahmad Ismail's Incendiary Racist Remarks) that may (not) incite hatred among the (open-minded) Malay and (open-minded) Chinese. The Home Minister later explained she was detained as her security was threatened, which is ironically irrelevant
2008 Teresa Kok Suh Sim 7 days Member of Parliament, Seputeh Accused of insulting islamic religion (This political motivated accusation was made with the absence of evidence)
2008 Cheng Lee Whee 2 days Suaram activist, Johor Accused of insulting police[5] (This political motivated accusation also made with the absence of evidence)

Source: wikipedia and pic by byte.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Malaysia needs better Governance. Malaysiakini



I'm living in Hong Kong at the moment. So today on the way to work i read in Hong Kong's free newspaper about this article. Where this company Hopewell Holdings has been trying for the past 5 years to get their project approved by the Town Planning Board. If you read the article at the bottom it states how it was rejected after traffic assessment by the Transport Department, got opposed by the resident's organization and the Town Planning Board because of it's height. So the company had to cut down to size. Nearly 40%. I have highlighted the interesting bits. This is what you call good governance. Not like how things are done in Malaysia. Example Jalan Segambut they built an apartment in an already congested 2 lane road called Mandy Villa. There are so many examples to name. You'll know what I'm talking about.
Today in MalaysiaToday there is some changes to happen in Malaysia. We are going to have a Public Land Transport Commission by March 2009. The article is at the bottom. Hope things do change in Malaysia.

Cut down to size by
Timothy Chui and Alfred Liu


Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hopewell Holdings is hoping to go ahead with its long-proposed Wan Chai Mega Tower - but it has been cut down to size.
The tower's height has been cut by a third and the capacity of a planned hotel reduced by half in its proposal. Along with the cuts comes a name change: it will now be called Hopewell Centre II.

Hopewell said it plans to spend at least HK$5 billion on the project, which along with office space and a 1,024-room hotel includes a public park. The company will also spend HK$400 million on a road improvement plan.

Work could begin next year if the plan is approved, Hopewell said, with the project completed by 2014 or 2015.

The cuts in the project, which was first proposed almost 30 years ago, follow more than six months of talks between Hopewell and the government. However, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor denied the scale-back was due to government pressure.

"I am not the type of person that pressures people," Lam said. "Of course, all contractors hope to develop more but this time [Hopewell] has implemented social responsibility."

She added: "For many years, I have never seen a developer holding an approved project agreeing to such a large reduction."

Lam said because of the large cuts, the government is seeking legal advice to see if the new proposal is a class-A amendment - meaning it would not need to go before the Town Planning Board.

"The development will help rejuvenate a rather dilapidated area that has been lying i
dle for over 20, 30 years," Lam said.

Under the revised plan, the tower will be reduced from 93 stories to 55, a 40 percent drop, with the 210-meter height slightly lower than the adjacent 66-story Hopewell Centre's 222m.

The project's gross floor area will be reduced by 31 percent from Hopewell's 1994 proposal of 172,731 square meters with the plot ratio lowered from 15 to 10.3. Some 5,880 sq m of open public space will be retained. Hotel capacity will drop from 2,197 guestrooms.

The plan will be forwarded to Wan Chai District Council for approval next month, pending a review by the bureau and updated traffic analysis.

Hopewell co-managing director Thomas Wu Man-san said the project will create about 4,000 jobs with 500 initially, increasing to 1,900 at the peak of construction with another 1,100 jobs during the internal decoration stage.

There will be 900 permanent hotel jobs created and about 300 in shops.He said the company did not have to raise additional funds for the scheme. Wu also denied suggestions Hopewell had come under government pressure and said the cuts would not affect revenue.

Hopewell said 60 percent of the development area is owned by the company with the rest by the government.

However, there are still some concerns about the development.

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan said a three-week public consultation period should be granted for the public to air its views on the changes.
Wan Chai resident Sara Yin Pai-sze, meanwhile, said the project is still 55 stories too high.


While Malaysia: In todays news.
We are far away behind atleast we have started. I think. With BN you can never say. Let's Hope Datuk S K Devamany walks the talk. I knew him before he ventured into politics seriously. That was a long time back. I was his student. He is a good man. Hope he makes some good changes in governing Malaysia.


Thursday, 20 November 2008 00:05
Datuk S K Devamany, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that the SPAD (Public Land Transport Commission) is set to be established by March 2009 and the government is currently deciding on the issues like its objectives, organization structure, scope, manpower, implementation and others. He said “SPAD would be responsible for planning and determining the policy and direction, setting the transport rates, drawing up laws and rules, licensing and enforcing the public land transport system. It would include providing an explanation, holding discussions as well getting feedback from state governments, local councils and other interested parties,”

-Zen, MalaysiaToday

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

That old man again...Mahatir. Malaysiakini



RACISM AND 2008 ELECTIONS

Posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at November 17, 2008 9:15 AM |

1. When the Barisan Nasional did badly in the March 2008 General Election, foreign observers and many in this country were jubilant because they claim that it marked the demise of racial politics and racial parties in Malaysia.
2. I did not agree with this simplistic view and I had put my thoughts on this blog. I believed that it was rather protest against the failures of the Abdullah Government that caused many Barisan Nasional members and supporters to vote for the opposition. But many still insist that race based politics is no longer relevant in Malaysia. Is it?
3. If it is because the Malaysian electorate had rejected racial politics, why did they vote for such parties as PAS, a very Malay Muslim party, and DAP, a Chinese dominated party. Even the Keadilan is made up of violently racist Hindraf Indians, Chinese dissatisfied with the MCA's representation of the Chinese in BN and self-serving Malays who could not find a place in the other Malay parties.
4. These three parties did not campaign for human rights or open Governments or even against the Internal Security Act. PAS had made no secret of their Islamic State pretensions. DAP talked of Malaysian Malaysia which was the battle cry of its very Chinese PAP antecedents of Singapore (no non-Chinese PM) and Keadilan talked about reforms etc., but the stress was on Hindu Rights and anti-Malay racism.
5. Their accredtied supporters who may really subscribe to their creeds had never been big enough to make them strong opposition parties in the past. They were never able to deny the BN a 2/3rd majority. It should be remembered that Keadilan won only one seat in the 2004 elections. The other two, DAP and PAS did not do much better either.
6. It was the defection by the BN party members which resulted in the opposition parties, regardless of the quality of their candidate getting the large number of votes to win so many more seats than they or anybody else expected.
7. Apart from the voters supporting the essentially race based opposition parties, the claim that it was the rejection of racial politics which led to the poor results by the BN has also not been borne out by the attitudes and debates by Malaysians post 2008 elections.
8. What we are witnessing today is an explosion of racial politics that is more bitter and blatant than ever before. Even the least observant cannot fail to notice how Malaysian politics now is more about racial inequities than about liberalism, human rights, openness etc.
9. True there has been quite a lot of discussion on the ISA. But most of the angry and bitter discussion is about Malay "privileges", about the Social Contract, about the Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister being Malays, about UMNO bullying, about being or not being immigrants, about Malay dominance. Even the criticisms regarding the way judges are appointed or promoted have elements of race that is hardly disguised.
10. Truly Malaysian politics have not been decoupled from racial sentiments and loyalties. And it is going to remain so for as long as the different races prefer to be separated and divided, prefer to strongly uphold their languages, cultures and their historical origins and links. All that is said about reforms and liberalism is mere lip service.


Pathmanck:

The reason why BN lost it's 2/3 majority is simple because the Indians realise that the BN was merely using and eliminating them. So 90% of the Indians voted against BN. Indians then became the king makers. It all strted with the slogan "Makkal Sakthi" If you spoke about giving importance to social contract and ketuanan melayu in Early 60's. Yes, people would have agreed. But I'm sure not a single soul would have thought that the world would become so globalised. In 50 years things have changed alot. Many things that was decided then it's relevent now. Internet revolutionized the world with Malaysia in it.

I never learned about this social contract or the ketuanan melayu or anything like that in school. To be frank most of the things I studied in History classes in school was misleaded facts. Made up lies to it's highest degree. Which one day, I'm sure the government will ask forgiveness for their mistakes. Real History will teach you this.

To state some facts and truth. If Hindraf is racist. Umno is much more worse. Most of the problem faced in Malaysia now is because of Mahatirism. And to read the comments of other senile people of his blog was much more worse. So much of racism involve from none other than the race that calls others racist. Why is that? The "non-Malays" to say in the Malaysian way. Are not fighting to destroy the Malays but the live with respect and dignity equal to the Malays. We build this country from the scratch. Before the British occupation there weren't much infrastructure in Malaysia. It was all thick jungles, hill and mountains. There weren't high tech machineries back then. Who did the work? Who help plan and build this country and it's financial institutions? We weren't Expatriates like my old friends and lecturers from UK who came to malaysia in the 50's to build our infrastructure. We work to build our country. To make a better place for them and their children to live.

My reply to one particular Chedet blog commenter. The British brought the Indians and Chinese to Malaysia because the Malays didn't want to do the work. So it was only logical for them go thru the rouble to bring them over. When they left, which they thought they wont obviously they couldn't send back all the Indians and Chinese. Surely they had to make some kind of deal with the Chinese and Indians. The Malay leaders then also understood the situation. If it wasn't the British leaving this place in proper manner. Malaysia could have been a war zone something similar to Africa. With Chinese tribe and Indian tribe and Malay tribe fighting for power. During that time Malays were only 40% of the population of Malaysia. The registration of Indian and Chines as citizen started 10 year before Merdeka. So when Malaysia achieved it's Independence from the British, it was meant for all Malaysians. I myself already the 4Th generation, will be starting the 5Th.

We lived in harmony and with respect with the Malays and the other races for many generations. UMNO is the cause of this racial spitting between each other. Because of abuse of power, corruption and miss use of power for this pass 30 years. Example like our EX, Present and Future Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Pinjaman KWSP Timbul Soal Pembaziran Dana Awam



Menteri Kewangan Datuk Seri Najib Razak telah mengumumkan dana tambahan sebanyak RM5bilion kepada syarikat pengurusan dana milik kerajaan Valuecap Sdn Bhd dua hari yang lalu kononnya untuk mengelak kegawatan ekonomi. Valuecap Sdn Bhd adalah milikan bersama oleh Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pekerja, Khazanah Nasional Bhd dan Permodalan Nasional Bhd. Semalam Menteri Kewangan mengesahkan dana tambahan tersebut akan diperoleh melalui pinjaman Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP).

Kami melihat tindakan kerajaan ini sebenarnya langkah pelaburan yang tidak memberi kesan besar dalam pertumbuhan ekonomi negara tetapi timbul pula persoalan pembaziran dana awam dan ketidaktelusan dalam proses pelaburan yang hanya membantu segelintir sahaja yang telahpun berkemampuan.

Apakah wajar kerajaan menangani krisis ekonomi dengan menyalurkan RM5bilion kepada Valuecap Sdn Bhd melalui pinjaman KWSP, sehingga rakyat terpaksa menanggung risiko kerugian, sedangkan modal KNB dan PNB adalah jauh lebih kukuh malah bukan merupakan jaringan keselamatan sosial?

Bagaimanakah pula pinjaman RM5bilion tersebut dapat membawa pulangan sepertimana yang dijanjikan oleh Timbalan Perdana Menteri memandangkan dana tersebut semata-matanya untuk melindungi pelaburan oleh syarikat milik kerajaan (GLC)? Siapakah yang harus bertanggungjawab ke atas pinjaman ini jika mengalami kerugian kelak?

Hakikatnya kerajaan tidak seharusnya menggunakan lagi dana awam tersebut sewenang-wenangnya kerana menurut kajian syarikat insuran Prudential pada Ogos 2008, 40 peratus rakyat merasakan wang saraan tidak dapat lagi menanggung kos kehidupan mereka selepas bersara disebabkan oleh kadar inflasi yang melambung tinggi saban hari.

Selain itu, dana tambahan RM5bilion sebenarnya adalah jumlah yang amat sedikit jika dibandingkan dengan jumlah pasaran di Bursa Malaysia iaitu RM689.5bilion, maka suntikan dana tambahan ini tidak akan mempunyai kesan terhadap Bursa Malaysia sepertimana yang diwar-warkan oleh Menteri Kewangan.

Sebaliknya kerajaan harus memberi keutamaan ke atas program yang dapat memberi "multiplyer effect" dengan mengadakan pelan penstabilan ekonomi untuk membantu kumpulan berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana, sepertimana disarankan oleh Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).(tamat)


SIVARASA RASIAH
Ahli Parlimen Subang
Naib Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat
23 Oktober 2008