> Heart Attacks and drinking warm water....
>
> This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your
> meal, but about heart attacks. This makes sense.. the
> Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals...not cold
> water...maybe
> it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!!
>
> Nothing to lose, everything to gain...
>
> For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to
> you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the

> cold
> water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It
will
> slow
> down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will
break
> down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It
will
> line the intestine.
> Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to
> drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
>
> A serious note about heart attacks: You should know that not every
heart
> attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of
intense
> pain
> in the jaw line.
>
> You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart
> attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of
> people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
> Pain
> in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be
aware.
> The more we know, the better chance we could survive...
>
> A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10
> people,
> you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. Read this...It
could
> save
> your life!!

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REMINDER for the people who forgot their sorry condition ...

THE MALAYSIAN MALAY
by Dr Syed Alwi of Singapore
Dear Editor,

As you know, I am an avid watcher of Malaysian affairs. I must confess
that
lately, Malaysia appears to be failing. Not a day passes by without more
events that clearly highlight Malaysia 's race-religion fault-line. If
things keep going this way, I fear for Malaysia 's future.

Today, schools in Singapore celebra Racial Harmony Day. I can visibly see
the joy in the children's faces as they wear their ethnic costumes and
have
fun together at school. But in Malaysia - even the right t! o choose a
religion has become a sensitive, national issue. No doubt, there are many
in
Malaysia who hate my liberal views on Islam, family included. But I will
say
what I must say openly. I have come to the conclusion that Malaysia cannot
progress any further without first addressing fundamental questions
regarding its identity and soul.

I remember the days when we can laugh at Lat's cartoons on everyday
Malaysian life. But sadly, the Islamic tide has polarised Malaysians. Some
people ask why I should bother about Malaysian affairs since I am a
Singaporean. May I remind Malaysians that it was Tan Siew Sin who once
said
that Singapore and Malaysia are Siamese Twins. Should Malaysia go down -
it
would hurt the region tremendously. Especially Singapore .

Where do you think Malay apostates would head for if Lina Joy loses her
case? Singapore of course! I find the Malaysian Malay to be very
under-exposed. For them, it's all Islam and the NEP and everything under
the
sun would sort it self out. I am sorry to say this - but Islam and the NEP
may be the cause of the undoing of the Malaysian Malay.

There is nothing wrong with religion or affirmative action. But, like
everything else in life, they must be taken in moderation and with a pinch
of salt. A little doubt is good. Unfortunately in Malaysia , emotions over
Islam have overcome reason. What we see today is the result of the NEP and
Islamisation policies of the past thirty years or so.

No one owes Malaysian Malays a living. Let me assure you that should
Malaysia fail - the Malaysian Malay will suffer enormously. And rightly
so.
After all - they have been pampered with all sorts of goodies over the
years. They cannot now expect more goodies. Perhaps the day of reckoning
for
them, is near. Whatever it is, Malaysia had better wake up to the
realities
around her. The globalised world of the 21st century has no NEP to offer
the
Malaysian Malay. And humans ! cannot live by religion alone.

Regards,
Dr Syed Alwi

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Politicians linked to Malaysia's May 13 riots

Politicians linked to Malaysia's May 13 riots
1969 violence aimed at Chinese: academic

BARADAN KUPPUSAMY in Kuala Lumpur
South China Morning Post

Declassified British embassy despatches suggest Malaysia's May 13 riots of
1969, in which hundreds of ethnic Chinese were killed, were organised by
Malay political leaders and were not a spontaneous reaction to
provocation,
as conventional wisdom claims.

"It was a coup d'etat against Tunku," said academic Kua Kia Soong,
referring
to independent Malaya's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, a Malay
aristocrat accused of being pro-Chinese.

Dr Kua released his findings yesterday on the anniversary of the riots
after
spending three months going over the documents at the Public Record Office
in London.

He also released a 136-page book titled May 13: Declassified Documents on
the Malaysian Riots of 1969 .

The riots remain a hugely sensitive issue for Malaysia's ethnic Chinese
community, which makes up about 30 per cent of the population. Dr Kua, the
director of the Centre for Ethnic Studies, blamed then-deputy prime
minister
Abdul Razak and others for engineering the May 13 violence and subsequent
coup which brought down Malaysia's old order.

"The riot was just a backdrop to seize power," he said.

The documents reveal that Malay hoodlums were taken into Kuala Lumpur and
allowed to rampage through Chinese areas, burning and killing non-Malays,
said Dr Kua.

He said the despatches, between the mission in Kuala Lumpur and London,
also
showed that the multi-ethnic police force was impartial when putting down
the riot - but the all-Malay army units stood by and let the mayhem
happen.

Local Malays, the despatches said, were incensed and angered by the
"invasion of the Malay hoodlums" but were unable to stop the killing.

Officially about 260 people, mostly Chinese, were killed, with many
suffering gunshot wounds. About 6,000 were injured and hundreds of
buildings
were burnt down.

One British Foreign Office document dated May 15, 1969, succinctly
concludes
that the riots were organised to "formalise Malay dominance, sideline the
Chinese and shelve the Tunku" government.

Another document dated May 17 from the High Commission to London said:
"The
tragedy is immense. >From our windows we see burning, destruction on a
wide
scale and bodies in rivers, fighting, machine-gun fire on crowds and above
all a sense of fear in what a week ago was a relatively happy city."

Within days Abdul Rahman had been stripped of all powers and he resigned a
year later. Razak took immediate control, suspended parliament, set up a
National Operations Council and took full charge. He restored
parliamentary
rule in 1974, however.

Most Malaysians reject the official version of the events, that non-Malay
politicians who won big in the 1969 general election had provoked Malays
into rioting.

"We all knew that the riots were engineered but now we have the evidence
...
the documents to prove it," said academic Syed Husin Ali.

"The government should allow a formal independent inquiry into the event
and
let the people know what really happened," he said. "We don't even know
the
names of the victims or where they are buried. How do we honour them?" he
said.

Yap Swee Seng, executive director of the Suaram human rights NGO, said:
"This event has been hanging over us like a dagger ... it's time the
people
are told the truth."

His calls were echoed by rights activist Elizabeth Wong. "We are all
Malaysians, we need closure of this sad event. Let us all learn the truth
and carry forward." The "May 13 incident", as school text books refer to
it,
is rarely discussed publicly.

Periodically, government officials raise the spectre of May 13 as a
warning
of what could happen if "Malay tolerance" collapses.

Dr Kua's revelations come at a low point in Malay-Chinese relations, after
Chinese academics questioned the need to continue "Malays-first"
affirmative
action policies.

Ironically, the government also chose yesterday's 38th anniversary of the
riots to launch a comprehensive five-year plan to close the race gap and
end
racial enmity. The National Action Plan for Unity and Integration was
launched by the Malay king.

The government has promised to promote respect for the law, racial
tolerance, religious understanding and fairness and justice.

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Opposition muzzled - here's black and white proof
Jun 29, 07 7:19pm Malaysiakini

It's an open secret that the government issues directives to state-
owned television and radio stations to black out the opposition. But
it now appears that private stations also receive similar directives.

Malaysiakini has obtained a copy of the letter from the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) ordering all private
TV and radio stations to stop airing speeches by opposition leaders.
[See original letter]

"The government has noted that several private TV and radio stations
have been airing speeches by opposition party leaders," wrote MCMC
chairman Dr Halim Shafie in the June 7 letter.

"Your station is requested not to broadcast such speeches in future."

The one-page letter added that the directive should be implemented
immediately.

Halim could not be reached for comment.

MCMC, a government agency under the Energy, Water and Communications
Ministry, is empowered to regulate matters relating to communications
and multimedia activities, including private TV and radio stations as
well as Internet websites.

The licencing of private TV and radio stations comes under its purview.

The letter was carbon-copied to Energy, Water and Communications
Ministry's secretary general Dr Halim Man.

No such directive

Yesterday, private station ntv7 denied opposition party claims that
it had received a directive ordering it to censor opposition comments
in news broadcasts.

Opposition member of parliament Tan Kok Wai told a press conference
on Wednesday that he had received information from a reliable source
of a directive to the media to stop airing comments from opposition
parties.

The DAP parliamentarian said the directive tantamount to political
discrimination against opposition parties.

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Shocking' Jakim raids on restaurants
Malaysiakini
Jun 29, 07 11:42am

"I'm Muslim too, I'm Muslim too," says Mohammad Jehapar Ali Hussaien
Kader, who is still in shock and disbelief that his restaurant was
raided by religous officials on Tuesday.

Twenty-five officials from the government religious department Jakim
(Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia) pulled up in front of his Restoran
Aiswaria, in Lorong Maarof, Bangsar, during lunch hour on Tuesday,
asking to see certification that the eatery was halal.

After finding out that Aiswaria had no official halal documentation,
the officials proceeded to take down Quranic verses and a framed
picture of the Kaabah from the restaurant's walls.

According to Mohammed Dhasthasir, one of Aiswaria's workers,
officials took down the verses and picture because they were
"misleading".

He said the officers implied that since the restaurant was not
certified halal, Islamic paraphernalia could not be placed on its walls.

The picture and verses were taken by the officials and not returned
to the owner.

The officers filed a report (left) stating that Aiswaria had
committed several offences, including not having halal certification,
displaying Quranic verses not "certified" by Jawi and not hiring
Muslim workers.

However, Aiswaria has seven Muslim workers out of a total of 12,
including Mohammed Dhasthasir himself.

"I told them I was Muslim, and I signed the report with my full
name!" said an indignant Dhasthasir. "My name is Mohammed, how could
they not know my religion?"

No proper explanation

Dhasthasir and Ali are also frustrated that the officials took away
the restaurant decorations without proper explanation.

"I am Muslim, so why can't I display Quranic verses? I have them in
my car as well." says Ali. "Just because we have no halal
certification, is that a reason for them to take away my religious
decoratives?"

He also lamented the officers' hardline actions. "They should have
given us a three-day notice. I understand if you come to check my
halal certification, but something like the pictures - they should
have let us know and we would have taken them down ourselves." Ali
said. "They shouldn't have taken them away."

"It's akin to legalised robbery." he added.

Dhasthasir says that the officers came in a large pack, although 15
actually walked into the cafe while the others milled around outside.
For 20 minutes, the officers questioned the workers, looked around
the restaurant, took the pictures and left.

The New Straits Times today also said that the same officers had also
confiscated pictures of Hindu deities from Restaurant Seetharam, an
Indian restaurant on the same block as Aiswaria.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said in a press statement
that the religious authorities should stop their "reign of terror"
and called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to put them in check.

Referring to the Lorong Maarof raids, he accused them having "little
Napoleons" complex of "not understanding the Merdeka social contract"
and having "contempt for the constitutional rights of all Malaysians".

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Is Islam a Bad Religion - A BIG NO

*Amit Pyakurel - **4/23/2007** *
*http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=2667&cid=2&sid=2*

*What if we call for a fair distinction between the concept of Islam and
some of its unfair practices? May be, this is highly essential and also
reasonable, regarding the elevating prejudice against Islam, from the
world,
especially from the Western or European societies, who, consciously or
unconsciously, fear Islam as a threat to the modern--peaceful, tolerant,
and
open-minded societies. *

*Similarly, viewing the other way round, the newly bred term
"Islamophobia,"
is feared to be infiltrating the mentality of the Western, European and
other societies. It may be putting forth unnecessary prejudice and
negative
speculation against the Islam by the non-Muslims, so we need to ascertain
how relevant the term is in itself. Is it about fearing all aspects of
Islam, or fearing only some of its distorted or misinterpreted values,
which
are perceived to lead to radicalism, fundamentalism, discrimination or
even
terrorism?
*
There is one adage that the term "Islamophobia" is deceptive and the
phobia
(fear) is illogical. Perceivably, what is to be feared is the Political
Islam, or some practices in it that sound ethically wrong.

*The world media is saturated with the terms Islamic Fundamentalism,
Islamic
Radicalism and Islamic Terrorism, causing all the havoc or negative
backlash
against believers of the religion. We need to separate "Islamic" out of
these generally unwelcome terms. Maybe the discontent is not with the
Islam,
but with the very bad aspects associated with the religion. Negative
stereotypes abound because the majority of those perpetrating world
terrorism, such as al Qaeda, are Muslims. *
*
**But does it mean that all the people in Islam have to bear the
responsibility for the unruly characteristics of some of the people in the
religion, who have nothing to do with the moderate lots? Certainly not! It
may be only a coincidence that the majority of world terrorists are
Muslims.
It **'**s not ethical to associate Islam with the unruly characteristics
followed by some of its less moderate believers. *
*
It**'** s of course not reasonable for the West, and the rest of us, to
fear
Islam as a religion, its genuinely humanistic teachings or its deference
to
the lord, Allah. While criticizing bad practices of Islam, it** '**s
extremely essential not to impose any hatred or contempt against ordinary
and moderate Muslims. And it would be more genuine if, not only
non-Muslims,
but all the intellectual and moderate believers of Islam come forward to
refute and discourage the wrong practices in Islam as well as to uphold
the
good practices in it and to highlight Islam as being an equally good
religion as others. *
Some call this distinguishing and questioning by non-Muslims "intruding"
in
Islamic norms. Though I am not a stern believer or blindly faithful, I
happen to be a Hindu by religion. And I certainly don 't mind if anyone
criticizes the unfair norms or distorted or misinterpreted practices of
any
doctrine in my religion. Criticisms could help provoke changes for good.
Couldn 't it be viewed just from the humanist point of view rather than
from
any religious or cultural phenomenon? Arguably, we could.

*We could be right to question the "unfair practices." But what if the
Muslims in their country and living abroad, especially in the Western or
European countries, are misunderstood, annoyed, and intimidated, simply
because they are from the religion? It **'**s definitely unethical and we
can** '**t refrain to deem that such belief resembles inadequate knowledge
about the religion. *

*The Vienna-based **European** **Monitoring** **Center** on Racism and
Xenophobia, which tracks ethnic and religious bias across the 25-nation
EU,
has cautioned in a recent report that Muslims routinely suffer acts
ranging
from physical attacks to discrimination in the job and housing markets.
Beate Winkler, the group **'**s director said that the key word is
"respect." "People need to feel respected and included. We need to
highlight
the common ground that we have." Winkler said that since the **September
11,
2001** attacks, many of **Europe**'**s nearly 13 million Muslims feel "put
under a general suspicion of terrorism." The 117-page report underpins the
increasing urgency of dealing with the religious tensions in **Europe**. *

*For instance, especially in Western or European nations, it **'**s
certainly ironic and unfair that if a crime is committed by a Muslim,
chances are high that it may be linked with "terrorism" or "Jihad." This
highly reflects a prejudiced notion and, as the scholars in Islam argues,
that "Jihad" doesn **'**t encourages terrorism or nonsensical murders,
here
the accusers must need to rethink their claimings. Such crimes could have
been solely committed by a criminal, and it may have nothing to do with
Islam or Jihad. As there is no significance to criticize if the unfair
practices or some cultural aspects in Islam are questioned, it **'**s
equally refutable that many Muslims are subjected to prejudiced
discrimination and intimidation simply due to their adherence or
recognition
with the religion. *

All religions and customs are made by humans, and we can 't deny that
there
could be some flaws in them. This is relevant in speaking about Islam,
Hinduism, Christianity and so on. Any cultural idea or practice deserves
to
be analyzed and examined. Our nationalism, culture and religion are our
dignity. We should be ready to prevent and uphold our identity, but this
doesn 't mean we are exempt from having moral criticisms against our
practices, no matter which religion or culture we belong to.

*Amit Pyakurel is a freelance journalist from **Nepal** .*
*AB - withheld62@yahoo.com

First They Came for the EXTREMIST, FUNDAMENTALIST & MODERATE Muslims. And
I
DIDN'T Speak Out Because I Wasn**'**t An Extremist, Fundamentalist or a
Moderate Muslim. Then FINALLY They Came for Me the NON-PRACTICING Muslim
And
NO Muslims Were Left to Speak Out for ME. *

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**Azaan a miracle? Yes!*

*Amazing as it sounds, but fortunately, for the Muslims of the world, it
is*
an established fact.

Have a look at a map of the world
*And** you will find Indonesia on the eastern side of the earth. The major
cities of Indonesia are Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Saibil. As soon as dawn
breaks on the eastern side of Saibil, at approximately 5:30 am local time,
Fajar Azaan begins. *
*Thousands of Muazzins in Indonesia begin reciting the Azaan. The process
advances towards West Indonesia . One and a half hours after the Azaan has
been completed in Saibil, it echoes in Jakarta .. Sumatra then follows
suit
and before this auspicious process of calling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it
has already begun in Malaysia ...

Burma is next in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it
reaches Dacca, the capital city of Bangladesh . After Bangladesh , it has
already prevailed in western India , from Calcutta to Srinagar . It then
advances towards Bombay and the environment of entire India resounds with
this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a north city in Pakistan ) have
thesame timing for Azaan. The time difference between Sialkot , Quetta ,
and
Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time, Fajar Aazaan is heard
throughout Pakistan .. Before it ends there, it has already begun in
Afghanistan and Muscat .

The time difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resounds
during this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holycities
of
Makkah and Madinah), Yemen , United Arab Emirates , Kuwait and Iraq .

The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again one
hour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan during
this hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is one
and
a half hours, and during this Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya )
are
located at one hour's difference. The process of calling Azaan thus
continues throughout the whole of Africa . Therefore, the proclamation of
the Tawheed" and "Risaalat" that had begun in Indonesia reaches the
Eastern
Shore of the Atlantic Ocean after nine and half hours.

Prior to the Aazaan reaching the shores of the Atlantic, the process of
"Zohar Azaan" has already started in east Indonesia , and before it
reaches
Dacca , Asr Azaan" has started. This has hardly reached Jakarta one and
half
hours later, the time of "Maghrib" becomes due, and no sooner has
"Maghrib"
time reached Sumatra , the time for calling "Isha Aazaan" has commenced in
Saibil! When the Muazzins of Indonesia are calling out "Fajar Azaan", the
African Muazzins are calling the Azaan for Isha.
*
*If we were to ponder over this phenomenon thoughtfully, we would conclude
the amazing fact that there is not even a single moment when hundreds of
thousands of Muazzins around the world are not reciting the Azaan on the
surface of this earth. Subhaan Allah !!!

Even as you read this material right now, you can be sure there is Azaan
somewhere !!!
*

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M. Bakri Musa
Malaysiakini.com

Old Versus New (Promised) Malaysia

Two school events, both widely reported, took place last week. One was
the Speech Day at Malay College Kuala Kangsar, and the other, the
graduation exercise at Kolej Yayasan UEM. The difference in the two
events serves as a good metaphor distinguishing the old Malaysia from
what I hope is the promise of a new one.
The ceremony at Kuala Kangsar was graced by no less than the
King, the Raja Muda of Perak (the school's Governing Board Chair), and
the Minister of Education. You could not get a more distinguished
company of visitors than that. Meanwhile KYUEM had such nondescript
corporate figures as UEM Chairman Ahmad Tajuddin Ali and its Foundation
Trustee, Sheriff Kassim, in attendance.
At Malay College's Speech Day, there was no mention of the
achievements of the graduating students, specifically which great
universities they would be attending. There was a reason for this
noticeable absence. None of the students qualified for university
admission directly. They would first have to go to a "finishing school"
elsewhere.
The headmaster at KYUEM proudly announced that 11 of his 183 graduates
would be heading for either Oxford or Cambridge. In the preceding year,
a fourth of his students secured admissions to Oxford, Cambridge,
Imperial College, and London School of Economics, an achievement any
British grammar school would be very proud of. In the area where it
counts, in fact the only valid currency for a school - the quality of its
graduates - KYUEM easily trumps the venerable MCKK.
It is revealing that the item that received the biggest applause
(according to a news report) was the King's announcement that the
minister had approved a new hall for MCKK! In his speech, the King
suggested that other schools emulate MCKK. I respectfully suggest to His
Majesty that Malay College should instead emulate KYUEM.

The Old Malay of MCKK

MCKK, established over 100 years ago, had pretensions of being the "Eton
of the East." It is formal, resistant to change, and slavishly hanging
on to "traditions." Even the school motto is in affected Latin, Fiat
Sapienta Virtus. Query the school's alumni, students and teachers; few
would know what it means. In short, Malay College epitomizes the old
Malay ethos, obsessed with symbols and pretensions but devoid of
substance.
KYUEM on the other hand is less than a decade old. Its mission statement,
or motto if you will, is elegant in its simplicity and clarity, "To
Educate, Not Simply Teach." No pompous Latin phrases. And they -
trustees, teachers, and students - have done an excellent job at it.
They embody the good and the promise of a new Malaysia. Specifically,
those Malays at KYUEM are my model of Melayu Baru (New Malay).
Before elucidating further the differences between MCKK and KYUEM, it is
important to note that despite their "college" labels, both institutions
are basically residential secondary schools. In case of Malay College,
it is not even that. Since its graduates cannot enter university
directly, MCKK is essentially a glorified middle school.
The foremost difference is that MCKK is a public institution, totally
dependent on the allocations from the ministry. Despite its roster of
luminaries as "old boys," their contributions to the school are miniscule
to nonexistent. The only time they visit their alma mater is to harass
the headmaster for decisions they do not like.
KYUEM is a private institution, dependent on tuition and donations for its
survival. As such, it has to produce to satisfy its customers - students
and their parents. The school is not interested how many sultans,
ministers and other luminaries it counts among its alumni rather which
university will accept its students next year. Malay College is fixated
with its past, Kolej UEM is confidently poised for the future.
Malay College is an all-Malay institution; KYUEM's student body reflects
the rich diversity of Malaysian society. Malay College students would
carry their cultural insularity into their adult life. KYUEM's students
on the other hand have a much richer and more meaningful learning and
living environment because of the diversified enrollment. They would
definitely be better prepared for this globalized world.

Examine the Leadership

While everyone in an organization contributes to its success, the crucial
differentiating point is leadership. KYUEM trustees are from the
business world, individuals attuned to recognizing a need in society and
then fulfilling it. In contrast, the Minister of Education appoints
MCKK's governing board. They are thus men with the mindset that there is
no problem that a government cannot solve. The sinister corollary to this
is that the government must control everything; it knows what is best for
you and me, and our children.
Consequently, MCKK's curriculum follows that the ministry's rigid
prescription, right down to the textbooks. KYUEM opted for global
standards and chose the best traditions of British grammar schools. When
there are no locals with sufficient experience with such a system, the
trustees do not hesitate in hiring an expatriate. They do not have any
negative lingering anti-colonial hang ups, or fear that the hiring of a
foreigner would be viewed as a slight on the abilities of the natives.
Those trustees are interested only in what is best for their students.
KYUEM's outgoing headmaster, Richard Small, is an Oxford graduate; his
successor, John Horsfall, is a product of Cambridge and a PhD-holder to
boot. I gleaned these facts from the news reports of the graduation
exercise. In contrast, at Malay College's Speech Day there was no
mention of who was the headmaster. That was the degree of respect the
headmaster commanded, or was accorded. The King and the other
distinguished visitors hogged the limelight. They were obviously more
important than the headmaster, teachers, or students.
I am certain that the MCKK's headmaster must glow in having the King, Raja
Muda and the Minister grace his school's function. Richard Small on the
hand could hardly contain his pride in his students' achievements. How
revealing of the different priorities at the two institutions!
Leadership alone is not enough. The students do not see the trustees and
headmaster every day in the classrooms. It is the teachers who are there
for the students. "The most important learner in the classroom," noted
Headmaster Small, "is the teacher, because if the teacher is not
constantly learning and changing, how can he be a competent role model
for student learners."
The caliber of the faculty at KYUEM is impressive, many with graduate
degrees including PhDs. Its biology teacher, Norhayati Zainudin, is a
graduate in Veterinary Medicine from a local university.
Impressive degrees mean nothing if the teacher cannot teach. My biology
teacher at Malay College had a PhD from a Punjabi university. He was
next to useless. Fortunately, my physics and chemistry teachers in the
persons of Mr. Malhotra and Mr. Norton more than took up the slack in
teaching and guiding us.
Readers might be puzzled to know where I garner these facts about KYUEM.
Easy, from its website (www.kyuem.edu.my). It has a wealth of
information useful not only for potential students but also for web
visitors like me.
I tried to surf Malay College's website. The operative word there is
"tried." There are many such sites claiming to be the "official"
website, many hosted by "freebie" server and consequently cluttered with
advertising banners. On one site, tts "Students Achievements" page was
last updated in 1999!
Malay College is embarking on its "Sayong Project," billed to take it into
the new century. MCKK is also eagerly seeking ties with residential
schools in other countries. I humbly suggest that MCKK looked closer to
home, just a few miles south at Lembah Beringin.
Malay College epitomizes the feudal Malay system still very much alive
under the veneer of modernity. Meanwhile those folks at Lembah Beringin
represent the new Malaysia, confident of their heritage and at ease with
the modern world.

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Lina Joy's mother: Let me speak to her
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz
Jul 20, 07

Kalthum Omar, the 71-year-old mother of Lina Joy is now hoping that
certain
quarters will not come between her and her daughter but allow them
unimpeded
access to speak to each other.

"For those trying to influence her, we plead that you understand the
suffering of Azalina's mother and family members and not to obstruct
relations between a mother and her child," said Kalthum in a statement
read
out by her brother, Mat Kandar, at a press conference this morning.

Kalthum said the last time she spoke to her daughter was before she left
on
her *umrah* pilgrimage to Mecca last August.

Joy, who was Azalina Jailani before she converted to Christianity in 1998,
is believed to be overseas and has not been in contact with any of her
family members for nearly a year.

Last May, Joy's nine-year effort to have her conversion recognised by the
civil court was *quashed <http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/67952>*by the
country's apex Federal Court. In a majority judgement, the court said Joy
has to apply to the Syariah courts to be declared a non-Muslim.

*Path pleasing to God*

Kalthum's sister Sabariah was also present with several family members and
friends at the media conference which was organised by Islamic coalition
Pembela.

Apart from highlighting the break in communication between Joy and her
mother, the press conference was also held to address claims that the
family
had accepted her decision to embrace Christianity.

"Truly there is nothing stronger than the bond of love between a mother
and
her child. In a mother's pure bond of love, there is nothing higher than
her
wish that her child follow the path that is pleasing to God Almighty,"
said
Kalthum, shedding tears as the words were spoken.

"Every Muslim surely hopes that every family member is united in the
hereafter in God's heaven," she added.

Kalthum said while she used to speak to and receive visits from Joy before
she relocated to Sarawak last year, she has not heard from her daughter
since. She was also informed that Joy's lawyers do not know of her
whereabouts too.

When it was suggested that Joy may be reached through her lawyers, Kalthum
said she had never tried to contact her daughter in that way.

"Why should I have to go through a lawyer to speak to my daughter? What
right does he have for me to speak through him?" she said.

Chairing the press confernce, Pembela head Yusri Mohamad said a lot of
attention had so far focused on the suffering of Muslim - non-Muslim
couples
who are prevented by law from having their marriages recognised.

*Different relationship*

The case of Kalthum and her mother, however, illustrates the suffering of
parents who are separated from their children due to the insistence of
certain quarters to go against the Islamic and civil legal processes and
regulations.

"A root cause as to why such incidents occur is because some quarters do
not
want to abide by and recognise the steps and the relevant procedures that
should be taken in relation to Muslim matters, particularly when it
concerns
marriage," said Yusri (*right*).

He urged Muslims and non-Muslims, including churches and temples, to abide
by the rules and regulations.

"We feel that, if from the beginning there had not been disrespect towards
(family) relations, the going against of Islamic laws, the sensitivities
and
customs of the community, this would not have occurred," said Yusri.

Speaking to reporters later, Kalthum said she would still accept her
daughter if she came back to her family, although the relationship would
be
different on account of her apostasy from Islam.

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Siaran Media Keluarga Azalina Jailani

20 JULAI 2007| 5 Rejab 1428H
Keluarga Azlina Jailani

Bagi pihak seluruh ahli keluarga Azlina Jailani kami mengucapkan jutaan
terima kasih di atas segala doa, bantuan dan sokongan seluruh warga Islam
yang prihatin kepada cubaan yang menimpa kami sekeluarga. Sesungguhnya
kami telah banyak mengalami pelbagai bentuk kesusahan dalam mengharungi
ujian getir ini dan sokongan yang diberikan sedikit sebanyak telah
meringankan beban yang kami tanggung.

Azlina Jailani telah kami besarkan dengan penuh kasih sayang dan
diberikan pendidikan sewajarnya termasuk pendidikan agama yang mencukupi.
Beliau merupakan seorang anak yang taat dalam menjalani kewajipannya
terhadap Ilahi sehinggalah episod yang menyedihkan ini berlaku.

Namun kasih sayang keluarga kepada Azlina tidak pernah pudar. Dari awal
lagi apabila keluarga mengetahui kecenderungan Azlina, keluarga telah
berusaha dengan pelbagai cara untuk memujuk Azlina kembali. Ini termasuk
meminta bantuan para alim ulama agar menasihati Azlina. Mak Som, Ibu
Azlina sendiri telah berusaha ke Mekah mengerjakan umrah semata-mata
untuk mendoakan agar Azlina kembali ke pangkal jalan. Sesungguhnya tidak
ada ikatan yang lebih kukuh selain ikatan kasih antara seorang ibu dengan
anaknya. Dalam ikatan kasih suci ibu pula, tidak ada yang lebih utama
selain memastikan anaknya sentiasa mengikuti jalan yang diredhai Allah
swt. Setiap Muslim tentunya mengharapkan seluruh ahli keluarganya dapat
berhimpun di akhirat kelak di syurga Allah.

Kami sekeluarga tetap mendoakan Azlina dapat kembali ke pangkuan
keluarga. Kami tidak menyalahkan beliau dalam hal ini. Bagi pihak yang
cuba untuk mempengaruhi beliau, kami memohon agar memahami penderitaan
ibu dan keluarga Azlina dan janganlah terus menghalang hubungan ibu dan
anaknya.

Sekali lagi kami mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada semua yang telah
membantu. Kami berharap semua agensi dan organisasi yang selama ini
membantu kami akan terus mempergiatkan usaha dan terus berdoa agar
penderitaan kami ini dapat diakhiri.

HAJAH KALTHUM OMAR
Ibu kepada saudari Azlina Jailani

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Malaysia jails the messenger
By Baradan Kuppusamy, 20 July 2007

KUALA LUMPUR - The recent arrest of a prominent Malaysian blogger and
senior aide to chief opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim has shaken
the fast-growing blogging community in this country, which has long
been dominated by docile, state-controlled mainstream media.

Harvard-educated Nathaniel Tan was detained on July 13 under the
Official Secrets Act (OSA) for posting information on the Internet
the government considered sensitive. His arrest was apparently part
of a new government campaign to combat what officials allege to be
inaccurate information being spreading by bloggers and other Internet-
based writers.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum said he had
instructed police to ferret out who was writing what in the Malaysian
blogsphere. Baharum told the official Bernama wire service on Sunday
that police had arrested Tan as part of an investigation into "lies
and slander against national leaders" posted on the Internet.

"We want the police to investigate and trace writers spreading lies
through websites and to bring the culprits to book," he said. "The
police must act to prevent those [bloggers] from tarnishing the image
of the country," Baharum told Bernama.

Police arrested Tan, who also manages the website of Anwar's
opposition National People's Party, and took away his laptop and
desktop computers. Tan was released on Tuesday after four days of
questioning by police and said he was constantly asked by a relay
team of officers over postings in his blog. "I have to report to
police later and am not sure how the case will progress," he told
Inter Press Service after his release on Tuesday.

Although Tan has been released, he potentially faces a heavy fine and
a mandatory one-year jail sentence if charged and found guilty under
the OSA. According to international rights group Amnesty
International, the OSA is a particularly draconian law which provides
"vaguely worded definitions" of what constitutes an official secret.

"It gives the authorities wide powers to curb and impose penalties on
the unauthorized publication of any information in the hands of the
government, no matter how insignificant or whether such information
is already in the public domain," Amnesty said on its website.

The arrest sent shock waves through the closely-knit blogger
community, sparking fear on one hand and outrage on the other. "The
arrest of Tan has shaken up the blogging community," said human-
rights activist Elizabeth Wong, herself a blogger. "We are all asking
who is next?"

The fear is palpable because Tan is widely seen as a "mover and
shaker" in the blogging community, who is noted for his unvarnished
criticism of government leaders. He had previously criticized
minister Baharum and asked readers to "vote this guy out" on his
website www.jelas.info. Baharum was investigated and cleared of all
wrongdoing last week after Internet postings surfaced alleging he had
received 5.5 million ringgit (US$1.6 million) in bribes to release
three convicted criminals from prison.

Political analysts said Tan was not the only target, but that other
bloggers who had openly criticized politicians and pushed the
boundaries of press freedom in cyberspace were also at risk. Oriental
Daily News, a Chinese vernacular daily, best described the mood when
it headlined its front-page arrest story on Tan as a "white terror"
striking down bloggers. The daily asked, "Is the campaign against
bloggers started?"

Political analysts see the government's campaign as an attempt to
instill fear and also curb unrestrained attacks on national leaders,
especially on Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in advance of a general
election widely expected to be held later this year.

Officials have said they fear that "too many Malaysians" were being
taken in by the alternative blogs and websites, some of which offer
an explosive mix of gossip, hard opinions and debatable facts,
capturing the imagination of millions of readers. The government has
admitted that it likely won't repeat its sterling performance at the
2004 polls, when voter hopes for a clean start under Abdullah ran high.

That said, it isn't clear whether the public fascination with
Internet-based writings will necessarily translate into votes for the
opposition. What is clear is that the ruling National Front coalition
also does not want to see a major swing in voter support for the
Anwar-led opposition, which is promising more transparent and
accountable government, affirmative action to help all needy
Malaysians, not just Malays, and an end to all racially
discriminatory policies.

The arrest sparked widespread condemnation both in Malaysia and
abroad, with Anwar, opposition lawmakers and various rights non-
governmental organizations demanding Tan's immediate release and an
end to the campaign against bloggers. Anwar, who spent six years in
prison on trumped-up charges of which he was later acquitted,
condemned Tan's arrest and described it as "unprofessional and high-
handed".

Anwar said the police did not present a warrant of arrest, nor did
they tell Tan's relatives the reason for his arrest. "It is to
intimidate and threaten the opposition political parties," he said.
"We have taken to the Internet to push our agenda for change and the
government is getting worried at the huge Internet following bloggers
have earned for themselves."

Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, meanwhile, urged
Abdullah to stop the government's policy of "arrest [first] and then
investigate". "Abdullah should spell out that his administration is
for human rights and freedom of publication as he had promised the
people he would do," Lim said in an interview. "There is a clear
ulterior motive in arresting the blogger."

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and Reporters without
Borders both urged Abdullah to respect human rights and restrain the
police. "By arresting [Tan], the authorities are trying to intimidate
Malaysian Internet users and get them to censor themselves," SEAPA
said in a statement. "Until now, they had limited themselves to
threats and abusive prosecutions. Now they have gone further and
adopted a more radical form of repression."

(Inter Press Service)

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MKINI Letters -Is there cause for celebration?

Is there cause for celebration?
KJ John Jul 17, 07 3:53pm

Malacca is a major historical town in Malaysia which has a truly mixed
background. It was Hindu, Portuguese, Dutch, English, Chinese, Malayan and
finally Malaysian. Development in Malacca has meant many and different
things to all concerned; stakeholders past and present.

For the Portuguese Malaysians it has meant not destroying their
traditional
and religious heritage. To the other original Malaccans like the Babas or
the Chitis, it has meant sustainability of their culture and way of life;
in
spite of modernity and all other challenges. The Malaccans are a truly
unique people, among all other Malayans. They do not have a Sultan to pay
homage to; unlike the other nine Federated and Unfederated Malay States.
From there arise both the heros and crooks like Hang Jebat and Hang Tuah.

Like Penang, she was historically a Straits Settlement. This actually
meant
some special and extra privileges; including the bumiputera status to some
of the ethnic communities in Malacca. Although, even many tenth generation
Chinese in Peninsular Malaya like, the dependents of Yap Ah Loy, are not
even so recognized. Today, if I am not wrong, the Malacca Portuguese even
have a very senior deputy secretary general, and bumiputera in the public
services; even as they probably have had many others before.

History aside, in the 50th year of our independence from colonization and
political patronage of paying homage to others, we may still have
colonialist mindsets operating right in our midst; as we celebrate our
so-called independence and our Visit Malaysia Year when a visit to Malacca
is a must! Really? To see what? To find out about the truth of how we
"manage local cultures and traditions of faith and practice?" This is
neo-colonial exploitation of a new kind which we usually accuse the West
for. The quote below from Dr Farish Noor says everything, to me:

"In short, what we are witnessing today is the destruction of Malaysian
temples, and that is why we Malaysians should be concerned. It doesn't
matter what religion you may or may not choose to profess: this is an
issue
that needs to be addressed by us collectively. To recognise that these
temples are Malaysian temples means locating them here, at home, as part
of
our collective identity and what defines us as what we are. I grew up in a
neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpur where at dawn I could hear the sound of the
azan from the mosque and the chimes of the Hindu temple nearby. Today the
temple bells are being silenced; and my world - and yours - is poorer as a
result." - Dr Farish Noor, The Other Malaysia.

The story of the Hindu temple in Tambak Paya has broken into the news but
the real under-currents are still fanning anger and hatred. I mean it:
anger
and hatred. I hope the National Unity and Integration Department have
their
feelers on the ground in Malacca before it is too late. Too many things
are
happening in Malacca which has upset the local Hindu population to no end.
Malaysiakini carried a photograph of an Umno-linked poster "warning the
adherents that the Malay limits have been reached." But does Umno speak
for
the government on all matters, and especially so on matters related to the
religion of another race or another ethnic community?

Surely the local council president does not take orders from Umno but
instead, from the chief minister or ketua menteri of Malacca (note that he
is not an MB like the 9 others). In fact, if I were the housing and local
government minister, I would definitely find some legal basis to intervene
to stop this abuse of Federal Constitutional rights of other communities
to
have their places of worship. The religious rights and liberties of the
non-Muslim communities are found in the Federal Constitution and not from
State Enactments.

Yes, therefore, if no proper places are officially allocated, then their
worldview dictates that from the alignment of the stars and the full
appreciation of the universe, different places and locations are
considered
more suitable for the setting up of temples. Therefore, the adherents
build
where they find such "spiritually aligned locations." Technically it may
be
state land or even other forms of private property, like estate lands, but
that becomes incidental when "the principle of occupation legitimizes
existence." After all, I think it was the Foreign Minister of Israel,
Moshe
Dayan who once said, "Occupation is 90% of ownership."

50 years on

Let me now relate to what happens elsewhere, almost in identical form but
wherein double standards prevail. There was a 40 year old green lung in my
neighborhood. Many children in our neighborhood who are parents today
"grew
up in this neighborhood green lung and park." The park had sepak takraw
courts, a skating ring and badminton courts and a dilapidated playground
for
younger children. More importantly it had some huge and large trees which
looked more than half a century old.

The neighborhood Muslim community had been asking for a new mosque because
their old surau was bursting at it seems. The housing developer, made many
verbal promises and even had proposed plans to build a mosque which were
publicly presented. Then, slowly but surely, the developer forgot their
promises, after the houses were sold. Then in 1999, just two weeks before
the general elections, earthmovers came and cleared our 30-year-old green
lung and ark. Nobody but the government knew what was happening and I
suspect that government involved some state exco members (read Umno) who
sanctioned and colluded to rape our green lung.

My many AR registered letters to the president of MPPJ went unreplied. The
only ones that replied were two minister's offices, one was the DPM's
(then
deputy premier Pak Lah to whom I personally handed my letter of appeal to
stop it) and the other Minister Dr Rais Yatim's (then minister of law). No
one else bothered or cared. In fact, a current Umno exco member of the
Selangor government even lied to us about his concerns, at a meeting
arranged by friendly parties.

Today, the green lung is gone and in its place stands a huge "illegal
mosque" which started as a local masjid committee project but then stopped
because of corruption, and was finally "bailed out and completed by the
government." It was completed partially with the people's money on illegal
land, which rightly belonged to the people of Kampung Tunku, based on the
costs they paid for the housing development. Such rape continues before
our
very eyes.

Therefore when attending the parliamentary hearing at MBPJ recently I
registered this complain as "one type of crime happening which the police
should not ignore!" All criminal activites like these ones and others, are
seeking to destroy legitimate rights of other Malaysians must be seen as
crime and fought with a vengeance; otherwise we participate in propagating
double standards of governance - one standard for the "migrant non-Malays"
and another for the Muslim Malays.

But, this is the year we are celebrating 50 years of independence and what
does it really mean if we cannot view ourselves as Malaysians. I pray that
the Constitutional rights of the Hindus in Malacca will be justly
preserved
and protected, otherwise, as I have written before, maybe we should review
whether we can and should really celebrate independence of 50 years from
the
colonial governance of the past. Maybe neo-colonialism is right here with
us! God Bless Malaysia.

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PKFZ scandal – Liong Sik telling the truth or just a pack of lies?

*Lim Kit Siang*
Aug 28, 07

Firstly, I am very disappointed that my motion for an urgent debate of the
RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and a government bailout
has been denied, casting not only a dark shadow on the 50th Merdeka
Anniversary celebrations on Friday by raising grave questions about good
governance, an accountable and honest Cabinet and an effective
"First-World
Parliament".

It would appear that no Barisan Nasional MP is prepared to take a
principled
stand demanding full parliamentary accountability of the RM4.6 billion
PKFZ
scandal and that there should be no government bail-out unless there is
prior Parliamentary sanction, especially as the government had earlier
been
giving an assurance that the PKFZ was feasible and self-financing which
would not require a single ringgit of government funding.

Although the rejection by the Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah of my urgent
motion on the PKFZ is a setback in the campaign to hold the government to
the National Integrity Plan launched by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, I will continue to demand full and proper
accountability for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal in the current budget
meeting of Parliament.

Yesterday, former MCA President and Transport Minister, Tun Dr. Ling Liong
Sik broke his silence on the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ)
scandal which was initiated when he helmed the Transport Ministry but what
he said raised the question whether Ling was telling the truth or just a
pack of lies.

How can Ling hide his head under the sand and claim that the PKFZ plan to
"emulate Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone was a good strategic idea" when it
has
become a national calamity, which is the candidate for a RM4.6 billion
bail-out – the biggest financial scandal for the start of any Prime
Minister
in the nation's 50-year history?

Ling said yesterday that the intention of PKFZ was to copy Jebel Ali Free
Zone, which had 4,500 factories supplying to the whole of the Gulf, by
combining port trade with Jebel Ali and bring at least half the factories
to
PKFZ to supply to Asean.

After spawning the monster of a RM4.6 billion mega-financial scandal, what
has PKFZ to show in terms of achieving the target of attracting 2,250
factories from Jebel Ali Free Zone to Port Klang? Has it achieved 10, five
or even one per cent of this target so far?

What is worse, the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) which originally had a
15-year contract to be management consultants of PKFZ to tap into Jafza's
expertise in this field had been driven out of the country because of
hanky-panky in the administration and management of PKFZ.

It is intriguing why Ling had brought out the name of the former Prime
Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, specifically saying that the Cabinet
meeting chaired by Mahathir had approved his (Ling) recommendation "to
acquire the land" for the PKFZ project.

Is Ling trying to pass the buck by implying that it was Mahathir who must
bear full and final responsibility for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal?

However, Ling seems to have a very selective memory about the Cabinet
decision on the acquisition of the 1,000 acres of land for PKFZ, claiming
that he could not remember the actual price paid for the land. Is this
credible?

As revealed in various media reports, the Treasury and the
Attorney-General
Chambers had proposed that the 1,000 acres be acquired by the government
under the Land Acquisition Act at the market price of about RM10 psf but
it
was the Transport Ministry which insisted that the land be bought at RM25
psf for the PKFZ on the ground that it was feasible and self-financing and
would not require a single ringgit of public funding.

Wasn't Ling the Minister who was the strongest advocate in Cabinet for the
purchase of the 1,000 acres for PKFZ for RM1.8 billion when the land had
been bought by Kuala Dimensi Sdn. For RM95 million or RM3 psq in 1999?

Ling should explain why he could remember that it was Mahathir who chaired
the Cabinet meeting which approved the acquisition of 1,000 acres of land
for PKFZ but could not remember the price of the land acquisition?

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Isu Rasuah Tidak Untungkan Pembangkang?
*Fathi Aris Omar*
Sep 01, 07

ISU-ISU rasuah sering muncul termasuk melibatkan pegawai tinggi kerajaan
serta tokoh politik negara dan menjadi perdebatan umum tetapi ia tidak
akan
berjaya mengalih undi kepada pembangkang dalam pilihan raya umum akan
datang, kata pengamat-pengamat politik.

Rustam A. Sani, seorang cendekiawan yang dekat dengan parti-parti
pembangkang, menyalahkan masyarakat yang tidak mempunyai "keberangan
moral"
sehingga isu-isu rasuah gagal menjadi tema utama politik berbanding
isu-isu
seks, agama atau perkauman.

"Tidak ada kesan. Kalau ada, sedikit sahaja," katanya kepada mStar Online
apabila diminta mengulas dampak isu rasuah terhadap pengundi.

"Perasaan marah masyarakat tidak kuat. Orang ramai anggap rasuah isu
biasa.
Orang fikir, 'kalau saya ada peluang, saya akan ambil juga'."

*Isu seks lebih memeranjatkan*

Menurutnya, amalan rasuah sudah terinstitusi dan "tidak memeranjatkan"
orang
ramai berbanding skandal seks pemimpin, misalnya tuduhan liwat terhadap
bekas timbalan perdana menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menjelang pilihan
raya umum 1999.

"Isu liwat itu memeranjatkan. Tetapi isu korupsi sudah tidak
memeranjatkan,"
tambahnya.

Mengulas gerakan anti-rasuah Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi sebagai satu strategi politik menjelang pilihan raya umum 2004,
Rustam berkata:

"Bagi saya, Abdullah tidak mahu dianggap sebagai penerus dasar-dasar Dr
Mahathir Mohamad. Bekas perdana menteri itu sering dituduh mengamalkan
rasuah dan kronisme, khususnya oleh kumpulan reformasi.

"Mungkin gerakan ini berkesan, Dr Mahathir sudah hilang kredibiliti dalam
menangani isu rasuah. Abdullah mahu divert daripada citra Dr Mahathir.
Apabila wujud pertukaran kepemimpinan, maka pemimpin-pemimpin Barisan
Nasional fikir perlunya mereka menekankan kempen anti-rasuah."

*Harapan baru*

Pada waktu itu, katanya, wujud harapan baru di kalangan pengundi untuk
menyaksikan perubahan politik di negara ini melalui Perdana Menteri
termasuk
usaha membanteras rasuah, khususnya melibatkan kes-kes berprofil tinggi.

"Perdana Menteri dianggap 'Mr Clean'. Malah di kalangan sesetengah
pengundi,
Abdullah dianggap sebagai seorang ulama," katanya.

Pandangannya ini dikongsi ketua pengarang Harakah, Ahmad Lufti Othman.
Bagaimanapun beliau mempersoalkan sejauh mana imej 'Mr Clean' Abdullah
sekarang dan kempen anti-rasuahnya boleh menguntungkan BN dalam pilihan
raya
umum ke-12.

Menurutnya, pengundi-pengundi lebih mudah digerakkan oleh sentimen dan
kegemparan, misalnya isu sigah Kadazan yang dipakai Tengku Razaleigh
Hamzah,
waktu itu sebagai presiden Parti Melayu Semangat 46, di saat-saat akhir
tempoh kempen pilihan raya 1990.

*Kurang kuat menyentuh pengundi*

"Isu seumpama ini lebih kuat menyentuh pengundi, berbanding isu rasuah,"
tambah Ahmad Lutfi, yang pernah menulis dan berkempen tentang isu dakwaan
rasuah dalam kerajaan negeri Selangor menjelang pilihan raya umum lalu.

"Kita tidak pasti (tentang isu rasuah). Yang nyata hari ini belum tentu
nyata dalam tempoh berkempen. Kalau kita membaca blog atau artikel di
Internet, kita memang rasa nyata isu rasuah (dan dakwaan penyelewengan
kerajaan) tetapi kita tidak pasti bagaimana pengundi melihatnya."

Seperti juga Rustam, pengarang buku-buku politik ini meletakkan kegagalan
kempen isu rasuah untuk mempengaruhi pengundi di tangan parti-parti
pembangkang.

"Ada jurang maklumat antara jentera parti dengan orang ramai, khususnya
pengundi tradisional (yang tidak terdedah kepada teknologi maklumat),"
kata
Ahmad Lutfi, sambil memberi contoh, akhbar tabloid PAS yang diketuainya
tidak menunjukkan sebarang peningkatan jualan walaupun cakap-cakap tentang
pilihan raya umum semakin hangat.

"Misalnya dalam isu kos pembinaan Istana Negara yang baru. Harakah yang
pertama membongkarnya. Daripada peruntukan RM400 juta kepada RM1.2 bilion.

*Perlu dipakejkan untuk lebih menarik*

"Isu-isu rasuah yang ada sudah cukup untuk mempengaruhi pengundi. Tetapi
perlu dipakejkan. Kalau ada pembongkaran baru (ketika tempoh kempen), itu
(kita anggap) bonus sahaja," katanya, sambil menggesa parti-parti
pembangkang melihat rasuah sebagai strategi utama kempen supaya ia dekat
di
hati pengundi.

"Selalunya ketika kempen pilihan raya umum, bukan pembangkang yang
menyerang. BN yang menyerang, pembangkang terpaksa menjawab dan menepis.
Misalnya Anwar, mungkin banyak isu yang beliau kena jawab, daripada
menyerang BN."

Rustam pula berkata: "Pembangkang belum bertemu satu cara mempakej isu
rasuah. Ceramah-ceramahnya (tentang rasuah) sekadar menimbulkan kesedaran,
belum sampai di peringkat kebencian. Orang ramai tidak marah. Pembangkang
sekarang ini masih gagal."

Bahayanya, tambah kolumnis terkenal ini, rasuah yang terinstitusi
menjadikan
masyarakat tidak kisah lagi. "Malah ada orang merasakan memang sudah
menjadi
ganjaran untuk orang politik, apabila berkuasa, mereka boleh mengambil
rasuah," katanya.

Ditanya tentang dakwaan rasuah yang dilaporkan melibatkan pegawai tinggi
polis, Badan Pencegah Rasuah dan beberapa ahli politik BN, Rustam berkata
pengundi tidak melihat isu-isu itu melibatkan Perdana Menteri atau
kerajaan
pimpinan Umno, sebaliknya kelemahan birokrasi dan individu tertentu
sahaja.

"Kerajaan pimpinan Abdullah kelihatan neutral dalam soal rasuah
pihak-pihak
ini. Ia tidak endorse (menggalakkan), tidak pula bertindak keras,"
katanya.

*Sikap berbeza pengundi Cina, Melayu*

Tentang perbezaan sikap pengundi-pengundi Cina dan Melayu terhadap isu
ini,
kedua-dua pengamat bersetuju orang Cina sebagai peniaga dan pembayar cukai
lebih serius menolak rasuah berbanding orang Melayu.

"Lagipun, orang Cina sering menganggap kerajaan itu suatu kuasa yang
dipaksakan ke atas mereka. Jika kerajaan baik, mereka bertolak-ansur. Jika
kerajaan itu korup, mereka akan tolak.

"Orang Melayu tidak fikir begitu, mereka anggap kerajaan BN itu 'kerajaan
kita'. Sejak zaman penjajahan Inggeris, orang Melayu rasa kerajaan mereka
diketuai oleh Sultan-sultan, bukannya suatu penjajahan asing melalui
residen
Inggeris," kata Rustam.

Ahmad Lutfi pula berhujah: "Pengundi Melayu umumnya bukan pembayar cukai.
Mereka tidak rasa duit mereka dibazirkan (akibat penyelewengan dana
negara).

"Orang Cina pula peniaga, mereka terpaksa membayar (rasuah) untuk
melicinkan
perniagaan. Jadi, isu rasuah dekat dengan mereka. Pengundi Melayu tidak
(rasa begitu)."

- *Dipetik dari mstar.com*

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Judicial promotions: Seniority, anomalies
Malaysiakini, Aug 29, 07 6:53pm

'Lazy judges' and 'leapfrogging' have become common terms when
describing the appointment and elevation of judges in the country.

The current allegations that Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul
Halim had promoted incompetent judges who have bypassed more senior
judges adds fuel to the debate that the judiciary is in a spiral of
decline.

Fairuz had argued that promotions and appointments were based on
meritocracy but not necessarily work-related.

Other factors taken into consideration include people whom judges
socialised with, their personal life, how they presented themselves
in public and their judicial temperament.

With this, malaysiakini decided to delve into the Current Law Journal
- the authoritative journal which publishes court judgments - to look
at the seniority and the number of written judgments made by current
and previous judges appointed by the CJ.

Leapfrogged into Federal Court

In terms of seniority, Court of Appeal Judge Gopal Sri Ram is the
most senior in the two appellate courts as he began his duties in the
country's second highest court in August 1994, exactly 13 years ago.

Gopal is known for his well-written but controversial judgments
including the Metramac judgment in which he stated that high profile
businessman Halim Saad had siphoned RM32.5 million from the toll
operator, and that he had enjoyed former finance minister Daim
Zainuddin's patronage.

In May 2006, he ordered former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's adopted
brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja to be re-tried for a sodomy
offence.

In 1994, then a senior lawyer, Gopal was appointed directly into the
appellate court - bypassing the High Court - by then chief justice
Eusoff Chin.

Since then, the country had seen 14 junior judges promoted over Gopal
to the Federal Court - the nation's highest court.

This included Justice Augustine Paul, who had sentenced Anwar to nine
years' jail for corrupt practices.

Another was Pajan Singh Gill (who has since retired), who had upheld
Anwar's sodomy conviction, which was later overturned by the Federal
Court.

These promotions were labelled as 'golden handshakes' by former
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and
Lawyers Param Cumaraswamy in a letter which he wrote to Ahmad Fairuz.

"Their promotions supercede other more senior judges in the (courts)
[...] they will be perceived as being rewards for having 'delivered'
in the Anwar trials and appeals," he wrote in 2003.

While most judges averaged three to seven years for promotion into
the Federal Court, two judges took one year each before being elevated.

Justice Gill entered the Court of Appeal in August 2002 and was
elevated to the highest court exactly a year later.

Also promoted to the apex court after a year in the Court of Appeal
was Azmel Haji Maamor who presided notably in the appeal of business
tycoon Eric Chia.

All 10 judges currently sitting in the apex court were promoted
before Gopal during Ahmad Fairuz's reign as CJ.

Written judgments don't matter

Malaysiakini also looked into the number of written judgments listed
in the Current Law Journal (CLJ) by existing and recently retired
judges to see if it is a factor as far as promotions are concerned in
light of recent allegations that Federal Court judge Hashim Yusoff
failed to write judgments.

Hashim has been accused for failing to write judgments in 35 cases,
including four in which the convicted are languishing in jail despite
being sentenced to death seven years ago.

Malaysiakini's research showed that Hashim's name appeared only 13
judgments in the High Court. However, CLJ listed only seven High
Court judgments under Ahmad Fairuz name between 1990 to 1999.

Despite deciding on a small number of High Court cases, Ahmad Fairuz
clocked in the most Court of Appeal cases at 157, followed by
Alauddin Mohd Sheriff with 103 (these are combined figures on the
number of cases sat before and after being promoted to the Federal
Court). [See chart]

Alauddin is today tapped as the Chief Judge of Malaya - the
judiciary's No 3 post.

Meanwhile, judges with the least number of Court of Appeal cases
listed Paul with 34 cases and Azmel Maamor with 43 cases.

The research also revealed a major discrepancy in the number of cases
decided in the High Court by the current Court of Appeal judges
before promotion. [See chart]

CLJ listed Justice Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud as the judge
with the least number of cases with seven written judgments between
1998 to 2003.

He is followed by Hasan Lah (14 judgments) and Ahmad Haji Maarop (26
judgments). Both sat in the High Court for five to six years.

Meanwhile Low Hop Bing presided in a whopping 543 High Court cases
before being promoted in July last year. He's followed by Abdul Malik
Ishak with 448 cases listed.

From the quantitative analysis, it shows that there is no set
formula when promoting judges whereby the number of judgments and
seniority are not persuasive criteria.

Seniority should be first criteria

Malaysian Bar president S Ambiga stressed that seniority must be the
first criteria that the CJ must consider when promoting judges.

"Seniority means experience and experience means ability. We see
seniority as a starting point and of course other factors can be
taken into account.

"But there must be certain guidelines to such promotions like
competence, legal ability, intellectual honesty, impartiality,
judicial temperament, diligence in judgment writing and
independence," she said.

She opined that problems surrounding appointment and promotions of
judges can be solved by setting up a judicial commission.

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A plural peninsula or Tanah Melayu?

http://www.malaysia kini.com/ opinionsfeatures /71764

A plural peninsula or Tanah Melayu?
Helen Ting Aug 29, 07 5:45pm

The other day, as I brought a group of Indonesian friends to visit Kuala
Lumpur by train, I explained to them that KTM stood for Keretapi Tanah
Melayu. They were quite amused by the term Tanah Melayu, hearing it for
the
first time in their life.

Tanah Melayu was the term Umno leaders insisted as the name of the
alternative Federation which replaced the short-lived Malayan Union. At
symbolic level, it summarised aptly their nationalist sentiment, that this
is a Malay land. Just when and how the name came about?

It is actually a considerable challenge for historians to find evidence of
local consciousness of the territory as a peninsula in the Asian sources
before the entrenchment of the European influence.

In the 14th century Javanese Desawarnana, the southern part of the
peninsula
was referred to as "the territory of Pahang", while the term Malayu
referred
to Sumatra. The earliest verifiable sources generally designate Malayu to
a
location in Sumatra, the island of Sumatra itself, or a specific kingdom
there.

European cartographers of the 15th and early 16th century generally
labelled
the Peninsula as the Golden Khersonese, probably after Ptolemy's
appellation.

The 17th century Portuguese writer, de Eredia, called it Ujontana. He
explained that throughout the "continental territory of Ujontana (defined
as
covering the Malay Peninsula beneath Junk Ceylon)" the Malay language was
used by the natives who called themselves "Malayos". Until around 1800,
English, French and Dutch maps generally called the Peninsula "Melaka".

From Deli to Tanah Melayu

In early indigenous written sources, the term Tanah Melayu is not
frequently
found, and is not a specific name for the Peninsula. Among the early Malay
texts, the term Tanah Melayu designating Malaya is used almost exclusively
in Hikayat Hang Tuah. It appears to be a general term denoting places
under
the reign or suzerainty of Melaka Kingdom, or where the Melayu lived. In
Hikayat Hang Tuah, the term was used just as Tanah Terengganu, Tanah
Brunai,
Tanah Melaka; Inderapura was regarded as Tanah Melayu while Brunai was
described as negeri asing. At one point, merchants from Melaka were said
to
have changed the name of Deli to Tanah Melayu.

It was only around early 19th century that current usage of the term began
to take hold. The first book which explicitly referred to the peninsula as
"Malay peninsula" was in a map of a book by J Begbie in 1834 entitled The
Malayan Peninsula.

The idea that the Peninsula was "Malay" appears to be an exclusively
English
conception. A British administrator turned academician, Sir Richard
Winstedt, acknowledged that the word "Malaya" for the peninsula was a
European invention.

The first English usage of the term "Malaya" appeared in the writings of
Alexander Hamilton in the 1720s in the form of the phrase "Coast of
Malaya"
in his reference to the ports of Kedah and Perak.

It is notable that, contrary to the current tendency to regard racial
purity
as one indication of ethnic authenticity, the term Malayu was in all
aspects
associated with hybridity and cosmopolitanism. Sejarah Melayu claim
genealogical linkage of the Malayu origins to Indian ancestry and
Alexander
the Great. The practice of tracing royal genealogy to illustrious or even
divine origins was probably inspired by the ancient Indic kingship
tradition.

Hang Tuah as a Melakan Malay admitted famously in Hikayat Hang Tuah that
he
was also a kacukan and not "pure" Malay. Several historical indicators
point
to the possible Chinese ancestry of some of the Malayu class, the maritime
elites of the Archipelago then.

The Malay language was initially referred to more as Jawi, understood as
anything mixed or crossed (just as "anah jahui"), or Bahasa Jawi

An authoritative historian of the region, Anthony Reid, pointed out that
"foreignness" was in fact considered an asset for entrepreneurs in the
region between the 15th to 18th centuries.

A contemporary Portuguese observer, Tomé Pires, wrote that at least 61
different races and communities could be found in 15th century Melaka,
with
84 different tongues being spoken.

The inhabitants of the region exhibited their receptivity and capacity for
adaptation and innovation in the face of stimulation from outside, as well
described by Anthony Reid:

"Chinese technology, weights and coins, Indian financial methods, Islamic
commercial laws, and European technology and capital, all played a major
part in creating the character of Southeast Asian urban and commercial
life
in this period (A.D. 1400-1800)."

'Identity problem'

In a keynote lecture he gave at the Fourth Malaysian Studies Conference in
2004, Prof Reid commented that the current label "Malay" carried by the
peninsula poses an "identity problem". He thought "Plural Peninsula" would
be a more appropriate name for it.

Reid noted that when the English appellation "Malay Peninsula" was
initially
applied to the territory, the term Malay had a much wider meaning. Yet the
meaning of the term "Malay" and "Melayu" had been narrowed down in the
"nationalist century" of the 20th "to become an ethnic adjective,
increasingly used in an ethno-nationalist spirit to exclude the other
long-term inhabitants of the Plural Peninsula, now labelled Thai, Chinese,
Mon-Khmer, Indian or smaller groups".

He lamented the tendency of the 20th century nationalism "to impose the
nation backwards onto a cosmopolitan past, claiming a great trading city
such as Melaka, Brunei, Ayutthaya, Srivijaya or Majapahit as an 'empire',
ancestral to the modern nation-state. In this construct, cosmopolis is
embarrassing, and where it cannot be avoided has to be put down to
aberrant
colonial schemes to divide and rule".

Despite 50 years of political independence from the British, we are yet to
undo this epistemological colonisation.

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Malaysian Bar Council
____________________________________

No. 13, 15 & 17, Leboh Pasar Besar, 50050 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2031 3003 (Hunting Line) Fax: 03-2034 2825, 2026 1313, 2072 5818
E-mail: council@malaysianbar.org.my
Website: http://www.malaysianbar.org.my

PRESS STATEMENT

Malaysia a secular State

The statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister in this 50th year of
Merdeka that Malaysia has never been a secular state is startling as
it ignores the undisputed constitutional history of the country as
well as the social contract by which the multi racial and multi-
religious people of this nation came together.

The Federal Constitution was a carefully thought out, carefully
negotiated document that evolved after much debate and discussion.
Some historical context is necessary. In 1956, Tunku Abdul Rahman had
headed a Merdeka Mission to London to negotiate for independence. The
negotiations were conducted by 4 representatives of the Malay Rulers,
4 representatives of the then Alliance Government and representatives
of the British Government. The Reid Commission was then appointed to
draft a constitution for independent Malaya. The Reid Commission held
118 meetings in Malaya. It met a wide cross-section of people and
organisations and received 131 memoranda.

One of the striking features of the Reid Commission report and the
Federal Constitution is the inter-communal compromises. These
compromises were essentially the result of proposals set out in a
memorandum by the then Alliance party which had in turn been
vigorously debated over many months by a core group from UMNO, MCA,
and MIC under Tunku's chairmanship. The Alliance Memorandum referred
to the issue of religion as follows:

"The religion of Malaya shall be Islam. The observance of this
principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals
professing and practising their own religion, and shall not imply
that the State is not a secular State." (Emphasis added)

Subsequent to the issuance of the Reid Report, further reviews were
carried out by a Working Party that again consisted of
representatives from the Malay rulers, the Alliance party and the
British Government. The Alliance party set up its own sub-committee
chaired by its then deputy president, Datuk Abdul Razak. Again the
Alliance maintained its position that they had no intention of
creating a Muslim theocracy and that Malaya would be a secular State.
A white paper subsequently issued by the British Government in June
1957 confirmed this by stating "This will in no way affect the
present position of the Federation as a secular State".

Since then Tunku himself, respected Academics, and our own Supreme
Court in 1988 have reiterated in one way or another that we are a
secular State and not an Islamic State. Thus for more than 40 years
(until 2001), no-one had suggested that Malaysia is an Islamic State.

One has to only look at the Articles in the Federal Constitution, our
system of government and the administration of justice to know that
we are not an Islamic State. The Civil Courts set up under the
Constitution dispense secular justice on a daily basis to all the
citizens of this country. Secular law governs contracts, commerce,
international relations and trade and every aspect of the lives of a
citizen. Islamic law governs specific matters set out in the Federal
Constitution in relation to persons professing Islam.

In the context of our history and the Constitution itself that
proclaims its supremacy, it is the Bar Council's view that there is
no doubt whatsoever that Malaysia is a secular state and not an
Islamic state. It is noteworthy that the Prime Minister in his speech
delivered at the conference yesterday and in his propagating Islam
Hadhari has never referred to Malaysia as an Islamic State.

It is time that the proposition that Malaysia is not secular, (which
is a rewriting of the Constitution), be put to rest once and for all
and that there is due recognition and reaffirmation of the clear
legal and constitutional position that Malaysia is, and has always
been, a secular State.

Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar

18 July 2007

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30/08: Race clouds Malaysia's 50th

Malaysia marks 50 years of
independence on Friday with a show of national unity. Ethnic Malay,
Chinese
and Indian performers will come together in a day of colourful
celebrations.

But the parades and performances mask a country questioning its
multicultural traditions.

Today ethnic Malays make up slightly more than half of the population -
about 27 million - but control less than 20 per cent of the economy.

The minority Chinese form about 24 per cent of the population but own 40
per
cent of the nation's wealth.

In an attempt to address this divide, in 1971 the government set up its
New
Economic Policy, giving ethnic Malays preference in jobs, education and
business.

But instead of closing the economic gap, many believe the policy, known as
the Bumiputra system, has widened the rift between the races.

Colonial Malaya

The iconic Petronas Twin Towers, loomimg high over Kuala Lumpur, are a
striking reminder of how far Malaysia has come since independence.

Malaysia, known as Malaya back then, was a very different place in 1957.

The departing British empire left behind an extremely diverse infant
nation,
comprising large communities of ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indians.

More than half of the country lived below the national poverty line, the
bulk of whom were ethnic Malays.

From the very beginning, national unity was a preoccupation for Malaysia's
leaders.

Fifty years on, Malaysians are still struggling to find the best ways to
get
along with each other.

Images of the diverse cultures are exploited to promote tourism.

Malaysia, the slogan goes, is "truly Asia".

Tensions

Subraiman has felt the harsh side of enduring ethnic tensions

But below the surface tensions are simmering, having burst into racial
riots
in the past.

In 2001, Subramanian, an ethnic Indian handyman, was in the wrong place at
the wrong time.

"Two motorbikes with four persons suddenly attacked me. I was wounded," he
recalls.

"I saw their hand. They were holding a knife about four feet long. I ran
to
escape but they still chased me and chopped."

The New Economic Policy was designed as an economic affirmative action
programme favouring ethnic Malays, but it was at the expense of other
communities.

Expression for change

People were also not allowed to express their views on racial or religious
issues.

That has all changed now, but the issue still stirs controversy.

Last month Wee Meng Chee, an ethnic Chinese, posted a rap song on the
internet based on Negaraku, the national anthem.

In the homemade video he criticises the government for promoting the
interests of ethnic Malays.

The video caused an outcry in the Malaysian media, with demands from some
areas that he be charged under the country's sedition laws for his
perceived
disrespect.

Musa Hitam, a former Malaysian deputy prime minister, hopes the new
openness
under the current leadership will be positive.

"This sort of expression of dissatisfaction, even based on racial feelings
should and could be used in order to improve ourselves," he told Al
Jazeera.

Malaysia now is one of the richest nations in South-East Asia and is on
the
verge of ending absolute poverty.

As a resuly many people are openly asking if the affirmative action laws
favouring ethnic Malays are really still necessary.

Right approach

Many young Malaysians still do not socialise with other races [Reuters]

Chandra Muzaffar, a social scientist and former opposition politician,
says
Malaysia's greatest achievement is inter-ethnic peace, which he says is
not
the same as unity.

"It's not a question of doing this because we're in the 21st century... it
is the right approach for all times."

What is needed, he says, is "a non-ethnic approach, where the overriding
concern is by looking at a person's socio-economic situation, at the needs
and realities."

So what of Malaysia's plan to foster unity in the next 50 years?

The government has launched a national service programme aimed at bringing
together young people of all races specifically to encourage more social
mixing.

But a Saturday night out at Kuala Lumpur's hotspots does not show much
mixing between the races, something young Malaysians are aware of.

But there are possible signs of changes. One young woman said her
generation
wanted to break down the racial stereotypes - of Malays as farmers,
Chinese
as businessmen and Indians as shopkeepers.

In another 50 years time, she says, she hopes that everyone would work
together as Malaysians and not as different races.

In Malaysia, race relations have always been an issue but the question is
how the leadership will stop tensions from boiling over again.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6970134.stm

Asia's melting pot marks 50 years

By Jonathan Kent
BBC News, Kuala Lumpur

There were surely moments in the last half century when Malaysians would
not have dared dream that their country would be doing so well at 50.

After all, independence in 1957 was won amidst an occasionally vicious
civil
war with local communists.

The 60s brought turmoil; a military stand off with Indonesia, the split in
1965 with Singapore, the race riots of 1969.

There was paranoia in the 70s, recession and political repression in the
80s, a crash and unrest in the 90s, yet here Malaysia is today and it is
doing all right.

Now it is a nation of skyscrapers and microchip plants, fast highways and
sprawling cities where the government talks of Malaysia's role in biotech,
or conference hosting or Islamic finance.

It is almost unrecognisable from the independent Federation of Malaya of
31
August 1957 when its first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj
stood tall in a specially built stadium in Kuala Lumpur and raised his
right
arm as the crowd echoed his three cries of "Merdeka!" - freedom.

His was a land of impenetrable jungles, small villages of wooden houses,
rubber plantations and tin mines, genteel colonial cities with grand
administrative buildings and rows of traditional shop-houses.

"At that time 60% of Malaysians were living in poverty, below the national
poverty line," said Dr Richard Leete, head of the UN Development Programme
for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and author of "Malaysia; from Kampung
to Twin Towers".

"Over time that proportion has declined remarkably and currently there are
less than 5% of people in poverty," he said.

Dr Leete knows the country well, having been seconded from the British
government in 1980 to help Malaysia with its economic planning.

"[In 1957] the majority of the population were illiterate, now just a tiny
fraction of Malaysia's population are unable to write," he said.

Ethnic debate

Yet despite the complete transformation of Malaysia on a physical level
there is frustration that attitudes have changed less.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has said time and again that while Malaysia
has the "hardware", it lacks the "software" to be truly modern; in other
words Malaysia builds fast highways and millions of cars but people still
drive as though they are on village roads.

When Malaysians come together and act as one people success is theirs for
the taking, when they are divided failure beckons

Abdullah Ahmad, formerly an MP, Malaysia's special representative at the
UN and Editor in Chief of the New Straits Times Group, agrees.

"The remarkable thing is that during the 50 years of Merdeka... the Malay
mindset has not changed very much," he said.

The majority Malay community has long relied on patronage; in times past
from their sultans and since 1970 on government programmes aimed to help
the Malays specifically.

It has bred a culture of entitlement.

The Malay majority benefit from preferential schemes

"Everything is for them, yet they are way behind the other communities
because they are not seizing the opportunities," he said. Yet the
affirmative action policies persist and rankle with many.

And there are other eerily familiar themes as Malaysia turns 50.

In the years before independence, there was a fierce debate about whether
non Malay immigrants should be give Malayan citizenship.

In the end they were, in return for constitutional guarantees to ensure
the Malays were never marginalised in "their own country".

Now the debate has shifted and many non Malays have taken the anniversary
as an opportunity to ask what place patriotism has in a country that
classifies its people by race, treats them differently according to their
ethnicity and then when the flags come out expects them to all cheer with
equal vigour.

It seems that some are in danger of forgetting the whole lesson of
Merdeka.

Unity and equality

They could be forgiven for having done so, because from the way the story
of Malaysia's independence is told by some within the dominant United
Malays National Organisation (UMNO), you might think the Malay community
secured independence on its own; driving the perfidious British into the
sea.

It is not true.

Chin Peng, leader of the Communist Party of Malaya, did as much as anyone
to bring about Malaya's independence. Indeed the one surviving key player
from the independence struggle is not Malay at all. He is Malaysian
Chinese,
and he is not welcome in the land of his birth.

With 5-10,000 armed guerrillas he tied down tens of thousands of
Commonwealth troops in a ruinously expensive war.

"If there hadn't been a boom in rubber and tin prices in the 1950s, the
British wouldn't have been able to afford to fight him," said Khoo Kay
Kim, emeritus Professor of History at University Malaya.

What the communists did was to focus British minds on a political
settlement.

Up stepped the leaders of the Alliance, which consisted of three parties -
UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malayan Indian
Congress (MIC) - between them representing the Malay peninsula's three
main races.

Early on, the British saw a unifying force with which they could do
business.

The Alliance's broad appeal meant it all but swept the board in
pre-independence elections in 1955. The appeal of the Communists rapidly
evaporated thereafter.

"One of the things that we were concerned about was to continue in the
same spirit and to perpetuate this multi-communal understanding and
harmony that had come out in 1955," remembered Uma Sambanthan, widow of
the then MIC leader VT Sambanthan.

Professor Khoo agreed. "Before he died, Sambanthan told me that all three
parties were absolutely determined to show the British that they could
work together in order to ensure they granted independence."

And the Alliance in one form or another has governed Malaysia ever since.

Then, as now, the Merdeka lesson is the same.

When Malaysians come together and act as one people success is theirs for
the taking. When they are divided failure beckons.

If modern Malaysia's leaders remind themselves that unity does not come
through threat, discrimination and coercion but through equality and
mutual respect they may yet lay the foundations for a glorious 100th
birthday.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6970348.stm

Malaysia marks 50 years as nation

Two days of lavish celebrations have got under way in Malaysia to mark 50
years of independence from Britain.

Thousands of people enjoyed a laser light show in the capital Kuala Lumpur
before the national flag was raised at midnight, re-enacting the 1957
event.

Foreign dignitaries are attending a major National Day parade and other
events on Friday.

But the event comes at a time when debate is growing about what it means
to be Malaysian, analysts say. Some 60,000 people gathered in Kuala
Lumpur's Independence Square on Thursday evening to watch scenes of the
nation's last 50 years projected on to the capital's skyscrapers, the APF
news agency reports.

Fireworks lit up the sky and the national flag was raised in Independence
Square to mark the end of British colonial rule on the Malay peninsula.

Soul-searching

Friday's lavish National Day parade will also chart Malaysia's progress
over
the last 50 years. The parade will be led by war veterans and is reported
to involve some 10,000 participants, including secondary school students.

A fly-past by the Royal Malaysian Air Force and displays from the police
cavalry and tracker dog units will also be highlights of the occasion.

Several foreign dignitaries are attending the celebrations, including
Britain's Prince Andrew. Prime ministers from Thailand, Singapore, the
Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia arrived throughout Thursday.

Half a century of stability and development has transformed a poor
disjointed nation into an economic success story, the BBC's Asia
correspondent, Andrew Harding, says.

But this anniversary has prompted some soul-searching about Malaysia's
widening racial and religious divide, he adds. Islam has taken a more
conservative and assertive form, with Sharia courts challenging the
country's secular constitution.

The large Indian and Chinese minorities are becoming increasingly angry
about a much-abused quota system that restricts their access to education
and jobs.

With elections coming and political parties polarised along ethnic lines,
the country is struggling to cling on to its image as Asia's tolerant
melting pot, our correspondent adds.

p/s: The Non-Malays should have been very grateful since the Malay
Community has granted them the jus soli nationality. Otherwise, they will
still be who they were like in those British days.
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