Saturday, August 23, 2008

The Epic Battle of Permatang Pauh


Astonishing that a tiny place like Permatang Pauh has become the battlefield that will decide the destiny of the entire nation. One is reminded of the Battle of Kurukshetra that constitutes a large part of the Mahabharata narrative - where generations of accumulated karma are resolved over the span of 18 days.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Pandava Arjuna is troubled on the eve of the Battle of Kurukshetra by the moral dilemma of having to slaughter his own relatives.


Lord Krishna, disguised as Arjuna’s charioteer, explains the karmic and cosmic ramifications of physical warfare, and reveals to Arjuna his divine form, thereby reassuring the warrior king that his actions are just and integral to clearing the way for the ongoing evolution of human consciousness.

These are some of the mythic resonances surrounding this pivotal by-election, and I just wanted to provide a larger metaphorical context for the battle royale that began on 31 July 2008, with Wan Azizah resigning her parliamentary seat to make way for her husband, Anwar Ibrahim - and culminating on August 26th, 2008, when the voters of Permatang Pauh shall decide the fate of the nation.


I feel a profound gladness that so many good, decent human beings are out there right now - honest Malaysians like Anil Netto, Lucia Lai, Susan Loone, Haris Ibrahim, Isham Rais, Bernard Khoo (Zorro), even Raja Petra (the one-man demolition squad behind Malaysia Today) - camped out in Permatang Pauh to offer support and report on this watershed political event.

Thank you and bless you all for contributing so much to a glorious outcome for the forces of necessary change.

RPK just farted in their faces again.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER | Malaysia Today
22 Aug 2008

Datuk K.S. Nallakaruppan and Dato’ Muhammad Shafee Abdullah were behind the conspiracy to frame Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges back in 1998. This was confirmed by Nalla’s driver, Thagarajoo a/l Thangavelu, in a Statutory Declaration signed on 21 August 2008.

STATUTORY DECLARATION

I, THAGARAJOO A/L THANGAVELU (NRIC No. 590821-10-6033) a Malaysian citizen of legal age and residing at No. 20, Jalan BK 4/1F, Bandar Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Darul Ehsan do solemnly and sincerely affirm and say as follows:-

(1) I am a Driver by profession.

(2) Sometime in 1995, I commenced employment with one Datuk K.S. Nallakaruppan (“Datuk Nalla”) as his driver. During the course of my employment with him, over a period of about five (5) years, I became privy to many events and incidents involving Datuk Nalla, primarily that involving his friendship with Datuk Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim (“DSAI”). They were close personal friends.

(3) During my initial years of employment with Datuk Nalla, I frequented a house in Jalan Tunku, Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur, which was tenanted by Datuk Nalla. The owner of the said house was Dato’ Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (“Dato’ Shafee”). Datuk Nalla kept the said house as a guesthouse for his friends to use. This house was tenanted for about 1½ years. Later, Datuk Nalla tenanted a condominium at Tivoli Villa.

(4) Sometime in 1998, I was called by Dato’ Shafee to his office. It was a one-to-one meeting which lasted about an hour. Dato’ Shafee asked me to relate the happenings at the said tenanted house. I did so, as I was instructed by my boss, Datuk Nalla, to cooperate in every manner possible. My conversation with Dato’ Shafee was tape-recorded. During the course of the meeting, Dato’ Shafee stopped the tape-recording on four (4) to five (5) occasions. With the tape-recorder switched off, I would be told to say things to implicate DSAI in sex scandals with various women. Upon resumption of the recording, I narrated to Dato’ Shafee as instructed.

(5) On 21st August, 1998 (I remember the date vividly as it was my birthday) I was called to Bukit Aman by Tan Sri Musa Hassan (now the IGP) and thereafter two (2) police officers brought me to meet Tun (then Dato’ Seri) Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia. The meeting lasted about one (1) hour. I was asked to relate to Dr Mahathir of what I knew of DSAI’s movements and doings. I did so as I was assured I would be protected and financially rewarded. On no occasion did I say anything about DSAI’s private meetings with any male acquaintance as there were none.

(6) I make this Statutory Declaration as there now appears to be a sinister attempt by some parties to conspire against DSAI on similar allegations as in 1998 which I strongly and firmly believe are not true at all.

And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act, 1960

SUBSCRIBED and SOLEMNLY DECLARED
by the abovenamed THAGARAJOO A/L
THANGAVELU at Kuala Lumpur in the
State of Wilayah Persekutuan
This 21st day of August 2008





[READ THE FULL REPORT AT MALAYSIA TODAY]
Thanks, RPK! I don't know what this country would do without you.

More Grist For The Kill-BN Mill

Bits and pieces of titillating information for the discerning voter, gathered from miscellaneous sources...


Flashback to 17 May 2005. An item in the International Herald Tribune. The report is well worth revisiting!

Reuters report on the Permatang Pauh by-election.

AH SO... ARIF SHAH ALMOST GOT HIS DOCTORATE FROM THE EDISION UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY...

Arif drops out of 'bogus' PhD study

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng & Wong Teck Chi | Malaysiakini | Aug 22, 08 10:51am

Barisan Nasional Permatang Pauh candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah has stopped pursuing his PhD degree after questions were raised over his academic credentials.

“The PhD is not recognised, so I have quit. I am finding a paper that is recognised,” he told Malaysiakini when met at the sidelines of his election campaign on Tuesday.

He was asked to respond to questions raised on the Internet, asking how he could pursue a doctorate degree when he possessed only a diploma and no other intermediating qualification.

An English daily had carried a profile of Arif Shah’s educational background, reporting that he was a diploma holder in civil engineering and currently pursuing a PhD at the ‘Edison University of Technology (off-campus programme).'

The report sparked debate among bloggers who could not verify his academic credentials as they could not find his university name on the Internet.

The 52-year-old Seberang Jaya state assemblyperson clarified the university should be ‘Edision University of Technology’, a university registered in the British Virgin Islands offering distance learning courses.

Registered in British Virgin Islands

After checking the Internet and a local industry expert, Malaysiakini found the university has been accused of being a bogus diploma mill.

The local expert, who asked for anonymity, pointed out that the address of the university’s international distance learning centre is shared by hundreds of other companies.

It is believed the address belongs to a company secretary.

[Read the rest here. "Bagus/Bogus" graphics from Zorro Unmasked.]

GOOD REASONS FOR NOT VOTING ARIF SHAH

From MarGeeMar (22 August 2008)

MALAYSIAKINI reported that PERMATANG PAUH by election candidate from BN, Arif Shah Omar Shah has stopped pursuing his PhD degree after questions were raised over his academic credentials.

The big question here is if Arif still continued to pursue this bogus Phd. up till April 21, when did he stop then? Did he decide to stop because of the heat coming from Bloggers? First and foremost, how can someone with just a Diploma go on and pursue a Phd. The so-called International Distance Learning Centre of Edision University of Technology is a mailbox office:

International Distance Learning Centre
2nd Floor, 145-157, St. John Street
London EC1V 4PY, UK. / Tel:0845-8790040

If you do a Google search on the above address, you will find hundreds of companies using the same mailbox address.

This clearly proves that it is a Bogus University.

Edision University of Technology is accredited by WORLD ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES (WAUC). The WAUC is global accreditation association founded to establish and promote global standards in higher education among colleges and universities worldwide."

The "accreditor," WAUC, is owned by Dr. Maxine Klein Asher. (Her own degrees are real.) She also owns American World University, which, according to Wikipedia, sells degrees.

You can also find some "ripoff report" articles if you Google her name or WAUC. With just US$1,699 anyone can register a business entity in the British Virgin Islands under the name of university.

Two things bother me about this guy Arif Shah: one, if he knew the PhD from Edision was bogus but yet continued to pursue it, he must be a person of the lowest level of integrity who would be willing to deceive the Rakyat (People) with his phony Phd. If Arif Shah got into the PhD program without checking the University's background (remember, you have to pay a lot of money to get a PhD), then, he must be the biggest oxymoron around. In other words, he is not fit for public office, i.e. State Assemblyman or Member of Parliament.

However, The Scribe has other reasons why Arif Shah should never be voted in as Permatang Pauh MP let alone be the Seberang Jaya Assemblyman for the following reasons:

1. He was the most notable Indian Muslim who claimed himself Malay and participated in the illegal protest at Komtar against YAB Lim Guan Eng and the newly installed Pakatan Rakyat State Government in support of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy). A man who forgets his origin just because of his religion, calling himself another can never impress me and any right minded person. The Permatang Pauh Indians need to take note of this.

2. The BN had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to put up Arif Shah as the BN candidate because Arif Shah is the ‘least-hated’ of the five warlords of Umno Permatang Pauh so they hope that with him as the candidate this would reduce the possibility of internal sabotage. Never before had Umno needed to have an Assemblyman to stand for elections as an MP as well.

3. Arif Shah is the brother of Tan Sri Amin Shah Omar Shah who is in now in self-imposed exile in the UK. He shuttles between London and Dubai but would never dare come close to Malaysia because there are criminal breaches of trust (CBT) allegations he may have to answer to. Amin Shah’s company, PSC Industries Berhad, was awarded more than RM24 billion in naval contracts around 1998 at the time Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was already the Defence Minister. The government paid him billions in upfront money but Amin Shah’s company never fulfilled its side of the bargain. Billions of Ringgit of Malaysian taxpayers’ money went down the drain in the biggest fraud in Malaysian history. Amin Shah’s brother, Azlan Shah Omar Shah, was the Managing Director of the company.This guy (Arif Shah) is obviously lying when he says that he did not know his university is a bogus one. If he can lie about this, can you believe him when he says that he has no interests in his corrupt brother's business? In other mature democracies, Arif Shah would not even be considered as a candidate.

4. Arif Shah was the Indian Muslim Malay wannabe who made the call as Seberang Jaya state assemblyman to rename George Town “Bandar Datuk Abdullah Fahim”.

5. The BN controlled MSM keeps on spinning that Arif speaks Mandarin and Hokkien and can read and write in Chinese as well. I hope the Permatang Pauh Chinese will remember that this same Arif Shah marched to Komtar with the rest of the Umno racists chanting "Ketuanan Melayu" with the perceived fear that the Chinese have taken over the State. Do you want this racist as your MP? Don't fall for the pictures of Arif Shah reading Chinese newspaper and speaking in Chinese in the local BN controlled MSM.

6. Arif Shah joined the rest of his racist pals from Umno to pressure the Federal Government to scrap all Mega Projects in Penang as punishment to Penangites for voting Pakatan Rakyat. Do we need to add another Umno racist who punishes Penangites to Parliament.

This Scribe hopes that whoever reads this will print and pass this blog posting around. This Scribe gives consent to fellow Bloggers to reproduce this Blog Posting in their own Blogs. If possible, share this by word of mouth with those who have no access to the Internet. Let's expose Arif Shah for what he really is!


Friday, August 22, 2008

When RPK becomes the IGP...


... all the top cops will kena potong gaji... or potong kepala!


Raja Petra’s house was raided by the police at about 8.00am this morning, Friday, 22 August 2008.

The police said they were looking for documents and any evidence related to the Statutory Declaration signed by the Burmese Doctor from Pusrawi.

The raid was is in relation to the sodomy allegation against Anwar Ibrahim where the said doctor who examined the accuser, Saiful, confirmed he could not find any evidence that the young man had been sodomised by anyone.

The police confiscated a notebook computer, a scanner and some documents and left about two hours later. Raja Petra is to report to Bukit Aman for his statement to be recorded after the Permatang Pauh by-election.


What a lovely way to greet the day... to have a herd of subhumans strong-arming their way into the sanctity of your own home and rummaging around like illegal immigrants.

And all for what? To cover up the acute embarrassment of the Polis Di Rogol Mahathir for having completely bungled their desperate and idiotic sodomy plot against the inevitable ascension of Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Umno, Umno... how low can you go? A wee bit lower and you will literally be in HELL where you belong!!!

How many computers have you confiscated from RPK? I'm sorry lah, don't say you were "only carrying out orders." THAT'S NO EXCUSE! Every one of us has the power to say NO! to tyranny, Gestapo tactics, and dirty tricks. To carry out orders like obedient robots will not absolve you from acccountability for your vile and pernicious behavior.
Think about this: why are your superiors ordering you to harass individuals like Raja Petra Kamarudin and Anwar Ibrahim? Are they criminals? One is an influential and popular blogger who has served the nation for years by providing information the BN-controlled media will never release; RPK's exposés reveal the HORRORS behind the mask of respectability your so-called leaders hide behind. That's why he's a serious threat to them and must be made an example of to other would-be whistle-blowers.

Anwar Ibrahim heads a massive popular movement for radical transformation in Malaysia that promises to sweep away the self-serving corruption, greed, deceitfulness and hypocrisy of the present administration. He's extremely close to becoming the Opposition Leader, and that will be the cue for politicians with even the smallest shred of conscience to defect from BN and align themselves with Pakatan Rakyat's agenda of a people-centered, responsive, accountable, and wholesome-minded government - one that believes in honesty and justice for everybody, not just the rich. That's why Anwar is regarded as the greatest danger to the morally bankrupt BN regime and, as such, he must be stopped by the foulest means - because fair means simply will not work.

When confronted with SHEER EVIL, every HUMAN BEING has the MORAL DUTY to RESIST. If you don't understand this simple law of karma, you are a disgrace to whatever religion you pretend to practice.

Even if you call yourself "a freethinker," you're really just a bad joke - because it shows your thoughts aren't free. In fact, you don't even know your bodies have been snatched and your mind colonized by Energy Vampires addicted to power over others.

Get yourself exorcised and cleansed of this Stygian slime - or be forever gone from this or any other reality!

Come on, Permatang Pauh... do yourselves and your country a big fat favor...

ELIMINATE THE BARISAN NAZIONAL!!!


So be it.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Trawling the Malaysian Blogosphere: TWO MUST-READ ITEMS!

From The Malaysian Insider | 20 August 2008


ODDS STILL AGAINST BN DESPITE ATTACKS ON ANWAR AND PKR

By Wan Hamidi Hamidi
Political Editor, The Malaysian Insider

SEBERANG JAYA, Aug 20 — The political tsunami that swept Barisan Nasional out of Penang five months ago is still strongly felt in the state particularly in the mainland's Permatang Pauh by-election.

This means BN is about to lose 30 per cent of the votes – almost all of the Chinese and Indian votes – as the sentiment against the federal ruling coalition has yet to subside.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat insiders claim that some 17,000 non-Malay votes that were delivered to former MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail would also be given to her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

A PKR insider said the non-Malays in the state still perceive BN, particularly Umno, as neglecting their needs and pandering too much to the Malays.

They also think Gerakan, MCA and MIC had nothing much to offer after their electoral debacle on March 8.

"After five months, our assessment shows that the sentiment is still there. Not that we're over confident but that's the information we get on the ground," he said, adding that PKR continues to campaign among non-Malay voters with the help of its ally Chinese-majority DAP.

Even BN's Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah's good command of Mandarin and Hokkien does not help much as the Chinese voters have made up their mind, at least for the moment.

The five per cent Indian voters are also expected to vote for Anwar, and a number of Indian campaigners – from PKR and DAP as well as members of the Hindu Rights Action Force – have been concentrating in Indian-majority residential areas.

That leaves 70 per cent Malay votes up for grabs. With Anwar playing up the local boy's homecoming campaign, it's getting harder for BN to swing the 30,000-plus votes garnered by Wan Azizah recently.

It is understood that a lot of BN component party members voted against their own candidate in the general election.

BN chief campaigner Datuk Seri Najib Razak is adamant that his current candidate could regain the voters just by concentrating on the ruling coalition members' votes – 19,000 Umno members and 7,000 from other parties.

But is a tough call for BN. Its previous candidate Datuk Pirdaus Ismail only managed to poll 16,950 votes recently compared to 21,147 in 2004.

BN buttfuckers on Nomination Day in Permatang Pauh (photo courtesy of MAFREL)
Now BN is attempting to reduce Wan Azizah's recent majority of 13,388 votes as a victory of sorts. But Arif Shah is facing another problem which is not too peculiar for Umno.

For the past few days, he's been campaigning with his own election workers without much help from his Permatang Pauh Umno colleagues - who all lost in the general elections.

But Arif Shah was the only survivor and kept Seberang Jaya – one of the three state constituencies under the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

The Umno division chief Datuk Jalil Abdul Majid lost to PKR's Mohd Fairuz Khairuddin who is now Penang deputy chief minister while division secretary Ahmad Sahar Shuib lost to Pas incumbent Hamdan Abdul Rahman.

Permatang Pauh Umno has been rudderless - and almost winless - since its former leader Anwar was sacked from the government and party a decade ago.

But that has not stopped local leaders from fighting each other to lead the division but the by-election has halted the fierce campaigning for the party polls.

Besides Jalil who wants to defend his post, Arif Shah and Pirdaus have offered to contest.

There has been serious jostling for power, and the BN candidate knows the stakes, he has made another offer – if he wins Permatang Pauh by-election he will back down from the division polls.

The signal is meant for others to help him in the campaign but some local leaders have been busy surrounding themselves around Umno deputy president Najib rather than following Arif Shah in canvassing votes.

"It seems that their mind is focused on the Permatang Pauh Umno division campaign. They are giving the impression that this by-election is a gone case and they would rather prepare for their own party polls," said a local observer who has been a Seberang Jaya resident for the past 20 years.

A Penang Umno insider confirmed the observation, claiming that the BN campaign seen on TV daily does not reflect the actual canvassing for votes and many who attended Umno ceramahs are actually party workers.

"I'm worried that if this trend continues, it will reflect badly again on Umno and BN. When I watch the TV news, our leaders are all out campaigning against Anwar but on the ground there's not much being done.

"If we lose badly again, people will get more fed up with us," he said.

PKR campaigners have also complained about the wide TV coverage for BN leaders, similar to that given to the ruling coalition during the general election, with no space provided for Anwar.

They are also upset with the timing of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's swearing on the Quran that Anwar had forcibly sodomised him.

Although Najib had denied the oath, made 24 four hours before the nomination day, was politically motivated, the deputy prime minister has been going on that issue since Saturday.

PKR campaigners are also upset with the Anti-Corruption Agency's action against two Pakatan Rakyat-led Perak state exco members today – not so much whether the graft allegation is true but rather the timing, again.

"I'm confident that the voters in Permatang Pauh are smart enough to differentiate between propaganda and the truth. We know that BN is desperate, not just about Anwar winning this by-election, but what will happen on Sept 16," said Johor PKR information chief Hasmi Hashim who is assisting the campaign in Permatang Pauh.

He was referring to Anwar's Sept 16 deadline for the crossover of BN MPs, paving the way for him to set up a new federal government.

"What BN is doing is to derail Anwar's plan although the March 8 results have indicated that the people wanted change," added Hasmi.
___________________________________________________________

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER | Malaysia Today


IN GOD WE TRUST, THE COURTS CAN GO TO HELL


There are those who can’t imagine why Anwar Ibrahim ignores the call for him to swear on the Quran in a mosque that he is innocent of the allegation of sodomy and also why Raja Petra Kamarudin ignores Malaysian courts.

On the Anwar issue, first of all, there is no such thing as swearing on the Quran in Islam and many religious scholars and leaders have said so quite explicitly. Why these people still insist that Anwar do so is perplexing. Read our lips: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SWEARING ON THE QURAN IN ISLAM. Let’s hope these sorry excuses for Muslims hear us loud and clear this time.

Secondly, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Bin Azlan, IC No: 850706-01-5687, of No. 29, Jalan BU 7/6, Selangor, swore on the Quran at 6.00pm on 15 August in the Federal Territory Mosque in front of Ramlang Bin Porigi, UMNO Member No. 03405853 of Cawangan Seri Macang, Bahagian Bukit Mertajam, Parlimen Permatang Pauh.

Ramlang Porigi (circled) the "instant imam" 
(photo courtesy of Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored)
Can you now see the comedy of the whole thing? Ramlang Porigi, the so-called ‘Imam’ who conducted Saiful’s swearing on the Quran, other than possessing a name that sounds like an illegal Indonesian immigrant who has just been given a ‘blue’ IC, is an UMNO member from Permatang Pauh. Any wonder why Anwar ‘tak layan’ this whole matter? It was all a circus show for the benefit of the Permatang Pauh voters.*

Ramlang Bin Porigi: Permatang Pauh Umno division member
Now, with regards to the Raja Petra issue, today’s story from Bloomberg says it all. Before that, however, let us reveal what happened to Raja Petra in April 2001 and why he no longer ‘layan’ Malaysian courts.

Raja Petra was detained under the Internal Security Act on 11 April 2001. The Special Branch then demanded that he hand over his international passport. But Raja Petra did not have his passport with him. It was lodged at the British High Commission and there was no way the Special Branch could get its hands on it.

The Special Branch demanded to know why his passport was not in his possession but was instead with the British High Commission. Raja Petra refused to reveal the reason. “Never mind,” the Special Branch told him. “We have other ways of blocking your passport.”

Three days later, on 14 April 2001, the day of Raja Petra’s wedding anniversary, a letter was dropped into the letterbox of his house giving him 14 days to contest a bankruptcy order. Since he was under 60 days ISA detention he certainly could not make an appearance in court within the stipulated 14 days to contest the bankruptcy order. Anyway, the bankruptcy order was not served on him but was dropped into the letterbox.

Raja Petra was released from ISA detention on 6 June 2001. A few weeks later, he went to meet Manjeet Singh of Sri Ram & Co. to try to get them to set aside the bankruptcy order. Sri Ram & Co. checked with the courts and discovered that the whole file had disappeared. There was no way they could contest the order, Manjeet told Raja Petra, since the file had disappeared. Anyway, Manjeet told him, once bankruptcy has been obtained you can’t apply to set it aside. You are supposed to contest the order within the 14 days given to you. The fact that one is under 60 days detention and there was no way one could appear in court to contest the order does not change the decision of the court.

Since then Raja Petra ‘tak layan’ Malaysian courts. Malaysian courts do not dispense justice. They serve their political masters.

----
* As of 20 August 2008, RAMLANG BIN PORIGI, the Umno member who witnessed as "imam masjid" at Saiful's swearing was promoted as IMAM, according to the Directory listing of the Federal Territory Mosque. He was one of eight others who suddenly were made into "Imams." Prior to August 20th, Ramlang Porigi was listed as Pembantu Hal Ehwal Islam (Assistant for Islamic Affairs). [Source: Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored]

Although most blogs and media report that he is from Sandakan, a friend of mine who knows him personally said that Ramlang Bin Porigi originates from Balikpapan, Indonesia, a small town neighbouring Tawau. It is believed that he is one of the products of Project IC Mahathir. From Balikpapan to Sandakan, and now part of Umno's "rescue operation" in Permatang Pauh! [Source]

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

IGP OUT OF ACTION! WHO'S NEXT?

Malaysiakini, 19 Aug 2008

Remember the "controversial circumstances" under which Musa Hassan's contract as IGP was extended? Well, most of us vividly recall that Musa Hassan was head of the police prosecution team assigned to secure Anwar Ibrahim's conviction during the scandalous 1998 sodomy trial that saw a "semen-stained" mattress being carried in and out of court at least 20 times. That was perhaps the only bit of comic relief in what was a tragic example of what can happen when the independence and integrity of a nation's judiciary are undermined by political hubris.

I was raised on a diet of cartoons - my favorites being Chuck Jones and Fritz Freleng's Looney Tunes series featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester and Tweety, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn, and guest-starring the Tasmanian Devil. Perhaps that's why I often view the ongoing dramas around me as some sort of computer-generated 3D animated feature where nobody actually dies - not even when a 2-ton anvil gets dropped on their heads. Why, all that happens is that they flap around like a pancake or turn into a concertina for a few hilarious seconds before regaining their proper form.

Let's be honest and admit that all of us are inclined to cheer when we see a villain come to a horrible end or suffer some humiliating misfortune - the way Lord Farquaard gets eaten by the Dragon even as he attempts to crown himself King of Duloc. Years ago I recall letting out a whoop of joy when I read that General Zia-ul-Haq (right) had perished in a plane crash. Now here's a fellow I had never met and with whom I had no personal quarrel - but it so happens I just couldn't stand the sight of him. By most accounts the General was a tinpot despot with a cold-blooded, ruthless streak.

When John Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman on 8 December 1980, my immediate reaction was entirely different. I felt sharp pains in my stomach region and walked around in a daze for hours. It was almost as if John Lennon had been an integral part of me - and that part had been cruelly snatched away.

What has all this got to do with Musa Hassan's bypass surgery? Well, unless he's Malaysia's first Robocop, I expect he's going to be out of action for quite a spell. He can't be plotting and scheming to get Anwar in the next few weeks - and I pretty much expect that rather than return to work, he might opt for early retirement, taking this as a warning from his heart that he hasn't been listening to it for a very long while. Not that his convalescence will get him exempted from prosecution for all the dirty deeds he has done at the behest of his political masters in Umno.

I'm reminded of all the misfortunes that befell several key players in Sodomy I, starting with key prosecution witness, Azizan Abu Bakar (right), erstwhile driver to Wan Azizah, who must have been offered huge sums of money to testify that his boss had sodomized him repeatedly. Even as the trial was proceeding, Azizan lost his wife in a serious car accident; and shortly after that he was caught with a whore in a hotel by religious officers, convicted of khalwat (close proximity) and sentenced to 6 months in jail.

Then there was the mysterious death of Dr Ristina Majid who had a stroke in Jakarta while attending a conference. She was the one who goaded Azizan Abu Bakar into bearing false witness against Anwar and coached him for his role as key prosecution witness. Her father was so upset he disowned and never forgave her for what she did to Anwar.

Ristina Majid was reportedly in love with Aziz Shamsuddin (left), another key conspirator and now a member of Abdullah's cabinet. The story goes that Aziz Shamsuddin was also involved in a bad car crash in which his wife died. When her body was taken to the hospital, a RM3 million cheque was found on her, issued by a contractor to whom her husband had awarded a big project.

The Attorney-General who presided over Anwar's prosecution was Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah (right). This is what became of him shortly after he retired in 2000: "He lingered in a one-year coma after falling down and hitting his head when he suffered a stroke. The doctors at the Subang Medical Centre had to cut open his skull to relieve the swelling on the brain but they could not sew it back because of the swelling. The skull finally had to be taped with plaster to prevent the brain from falling out. When he finally died [on 8 July 2003], his head had shrunk and those who saw him at the time of his death said that his head looked like a monkey’s head. How befitting someone who did not use his brain when he was alive and who ‘monkeyed’ around with the justice system." [Source: FreeAnwar.net]

The top cop who beat a handcuffed Anwar black-and-blue while under police custody, then Inspector-General of Police, Rahim Noor, lied vigorously about his savage act of reprehensible brutishness - but when a Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up to investigate the unwarranted violence against Anwar, Rahim Noor quickly confessed and resigned on 7 January 1999. He was let off with only a 3-month jail sentence and quietly released after serving only 6 weeks. Rahim Noor may have lost his gratuity and pension, but I'm told he had a hand in quite a few businesses, including a petrol station near the Damansara Jaya exit off the NKVE. Rumor has it that the ex-IGP (who called himself Bapak Lanun or Father of Pirates) suffered a stroke some years back and can no longer play golf... or Wrathful God of Umno.

Ummi Hafilda Ali, a diehard Mahathirite and among the first to accuse Anwar of sexual misconduct, was widely rumored to have had USD2 million deposited in an Israeli bank for her role in the farcical court proceedings. I wonder if she's been able to enjoy her ill-gotten gains. At least, she's reportedly still alive, and was last sighted at an event where she publicly called for Abdullah Badawi's resignation. I suppose being described as "a small-time prostitute" by pioneer cyberjournalist Sabri Zain was punishment enough - despite her tearful, vehement claims of being a 32-year-old virgin. She must be 42 now and, presumably, still virgo intacta. Perhaps the ultimate punishment for Ummi is that her brother Azmin Ali has remained loyal to Anwar Ibrahim all these years and is, in fact, the vice-president of Parti KeADILan Rakyat.

Have we left anyone out? Oh yes... let's not forget Justice Augustine Paul (right), the infamous "irrelevant" judge who presided over the kangaroo court that sentenced Anwar Ibrahim to 15 years imprisonment - 6 for "abuse of power" plus an additional 9 for sodomy (subsequently appealed and overturned under Abdullah Badawi's administration). So what's become of Augustine Paul? I hear he was elevated to Federal Court Judge status and is due for retirement soon. Rumors abound that he took the precaution of sending his family to Australia where he owns a fair amount of property. I doubt you will ever spot Augustine Paul anywhere near a PKR ceramah.

Now let's see what destiny holds for Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail, special assistant to Mohtar Abdullah in 1998, who led the relentless prosecution against Anwar (seems to be dangerously habit-forming). Somehow I find it hard to visualize any happily ever afters for this dubious Mamak from Sabah.

What about Saiful Bukhari bin Azlan, the inconsequential asshole that would destroy Malaysia's dream of a New Dawn? Anyone care to predict this young man's future?

How about THIS old man featured below in a rare confession of abuse of power?


Will he be garlanded at the gates of paradise for turning Malaysia into Bolehland? Will our descendants gaze upon the Petronas Twin Towers and give thanks that we once had such a Great Leader, whose grandiloquent vision of development very nearly bankrupted the treasury? Or will he have to experience 2,020 incarnations as a genetically modified chicken?

Dear Haris

I read this lucid and heartfelt letter dated 18 August from Haris Ibrahim on his People's Parliament blog:

Dear Anwar

I write to you as one anak Bangsa Malaysia to another.

My friends and I were pleased to read in the Malaysiakini report of 14th August that you have forgiven your enemies for what they have done to you over the last ten years, but that you will never forget what they have done to you.

It is good that you have found it in your heart to forgive them, for otherwise you will end up bitter and vindictive like a certain ‘past the shelf-life’ politician who just simply refuses to fade away.

No, you don’t want to carry bitterness within you.

And indeed you must never forget, for it is the remembrance of what you have gone through that will serve you well in two ways.

One, to never do to others or allow to be done by others what has been inflicted upon you.

Two, so that you will not allow those who have wronged you the opportunity to do again what they have done to you before.

My sister, I like Chopin, has asked me to tell you that she has forgiven you your 16 years of involvement, at least by association and failure to dissociate, with the autocratic, dictatorial, corrupt Mahathir administration.

Yes, most of my friends and I, like my sister, have long forgiven you for your involvement in the atrocities committed by Mahathir during his reign of destruction and pillage, even if only by association and your failure to dissociate with his regime.

But like you, we, too, have not forgotten.

Just as remembrance will serve you well, so too us.

Will we ever forget?

I cannot speak for the others, but for me, I think that is really up to you.

Before I proceed further, so as to lessen the hurt, if any, of what I am about to say, let me first say that whilst I have the highest regard for YB Lim Kit Siang and YB Lim Guan Eng, yet in the matter of the politics and governance of this nation, I do not trust them implicitly and without question, because they are politicians and 50 years of BN politics has delivered a hard and painful lesson to many of us.

Don’t trust politicians completely.

Many times last year, I wrote in this blog that I wished you would give me a reason to trust you.

Whilst I have to be frank and tell you that I still do not trust you, three things have persuaded me to ‘take a chance’.

First, and this is the only rational factor of the three, this nation needs to be rid of the racist, divide and rule politics of BN. UMNO will not change, and the other component parties have shown themselves to be helplessly subservient to UMNO.

You and your party leaders, together with the leaders of DAP, have been taking policy positions or making policy statements that, by far and large, seem to be in line with the aspirations of the people.

I say ’seem’ because much still remains to be seen.

I had actually wanted to say all the Pakatan leaders but, truly, PAS has been giving us some serious concerns of late.

The second and the third factors are, in truth, ‘gut’ reactions.

[Read the rest here.]

I left a long comment on Haris's blog by way of a spontaneous response...

BRAVO, HARIS, BRAVO INDEED!!!

What took you so long to see the solid core of spiritual integrity in Anwar Ibrahim? Speaking for myself, I was just as disdainful of the man's politics... right up till 2 September 1998 when Mahathir sacked him from Umno and from both his official positions.


Anwar's fierce rebellion aroused the dormant warrior spirit in me and I began to track his moves closely. In all those years while Anwar was incarcerated in Sungai Buloh, not once did he say anything foolish or undignified. He carried himself impeccably and with astounding stoicism, forcing me to rank him alongside national heroes like Jose Rizal, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela.

And when Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah rose to the occasion like true royalty, my heart opened wide to the HUMAN dimensions of this incredible, homegrown political drama. I feel a twinge of shame now that I never made the effort to visit Anwar in Sungai Buloh or when he was warded at Hospital KL for his back pains. However, he was very much in my thoughts and I kept a clear vision of Anwar being released from prison, exonerated of all accusations, and ready to continue doing battle with injustice.


So you can imagine my great joy to see all this unfolding before my eyes in the build-up and aftermath of GE12. I have viewed almost every Anwar speech on YouTube and not once has he given me pause or caused me to wince. As an orator and public figure, the man is 100% the genuine article. Naturally, my feelings for Anwar are now more on the soul level than the mental. Indeed, I see Anwar as the person I would wish to be if I had chosen to be in politics. (My parents named me "Xie Fang" at birth, which means "Fragrant Hero" - hence the internal resonance with Anwar Ibrahim, whose name means "Inner Light" or "The Luminous One").


What's even more impressive - Anwar has earned the profound love, admiration and respect of veteran warriors and sages like Kit Siang, Karpal, Guan Eng, and Nik Aziz. Their feelings of solidarity with Anwar are tangibly real - that's why March 8th 2008 was possible. And that's exactly why Pakatan Rakyat can - and will - become the next government of Malaysia.

To me the September 16 date is Anwar's way of maintaining his focus, intention, and will-power. Setting a definite target activates and charges up the field of potentiality and probability. Ultimately it matters not if Pakatan Rakyat takes over in September, October or November (the sooner the better, of course!) - but my instincts tell me Anwar might just pull it off. His return to Permatang Pauh and Parliament is undoubtedly the important first step to Putrajaya.


Once Anwar is Opposition Leader, the momentum of transformation will accelerate. What used to take generations will be accomplished within months, weeks, days.

I know the Bumno Bunch are using big-time black magic to try and put Anwar behind bars for traumatizing that poor "innocent" catamite Saiful Bukhari. I believe RPK has once again foiled their plans by exposing Shafee Abdullah's role in the plot. To stage another balaclava terrorist-style arrest at this stage would plunge the entire country into overwhelming darkness and precipitate military rule. I doubt any of our Sultans will allow that to happen. They have wisdom enough to know it would spell the ignominious end of Malaysia as a parliamentary "democracy." If those bloody Sai-fools* in BN try to bring down Anwar by brute force, the whole ceiling will collapse and kill everybody, including the conspirators.

It has been much harder to pin anything on KJ & Co - as things stand Najib is absorbing most of the bad vibes from this ludicrously Kafkaesque plot, but that's precisely the whole wicked idea. Now let's consider this: if we can get at least 1 million Malaysians to anchor a clear vision of Anwar remaining free and Pakatan Rakyat taking over the federal government, we can all look forward to a very meaningful, glorious and wonderfully joyful destiny for Malaysia.

----
Sai - "shit" in Hokkien

Monday, August 18, 2008

A Fragrant Flower Blooms on the White Tree

ON THE PERMATANG PAUH CAMPAIGN TRAIL...

During his hour-long visit at the hawker centre this morning, Anwar was greeted by hawkers and residents. Camera & editing: Ng Kok Foong | Malaysiakini.tv

From Anil Netto's blog:
Something remarkable happened near the UiTM campus

Umno supporters unfurl a banner supporting the Malays-only status quo of the UiTM college on Nomination Day (Photo: Abang Benet)

At around 9.45 last night, Anwar bravely addressed a crowd of close to a thousand people on a service road outside the UiTM Permatang Pauh campus. Nearby apartment dwellers and students from the hostel, mainly Malay, poured out to listen to him. Some of these students must have been among the reported crowd of 5,000 who had demonstrated here against Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim’s suggestion that the university open its doors to non-bumiputeras.

Anwar stressed to the crowd the importance of multiracialism. He would be a prime minister that would be fair to all Malaysians and it would be his responsibility to make sure he took care of all ethnic groups.

“Orang Melayu anak saya… (pause) … orang Cina anak saya … (pause) …. orang India anak saya,” he said in poetic and dramatic fashion.

Applause broke out from the largely Malay crowd which included the Malay UiTM students.

“All it takes is for the right leader to tell them the right thing and they will support it,” marvelled a newspaper editor who witnessed the scene.

For the first time since Tunku Abdul Rahman proudly proclaimed Merdeka on 31 August 1957, people are experiencing a powerful surge of genuine patriotism, founded on profound love for their homeland - and not just as a state-funded flag-waving public relations exercise.

Anwar's dramatic political career spanning 40 years - with its ups and downs and its moving, human dimensions - has touched the core of our collective hearts and replenished it with fresh optimism and belief in a glorious future under a clean and just government.

This intense feeling of joy, hope, and spontaneous cooperation amongst the various races is very real. When Anwar expresses a fatherly love for the Malays, Chinese, and Indians, what he has accomplished is to restore an essential, hitherto missing, ingredient to our political life... and that is the POWER OF SOUL.

Viewing this newly uploaded video from Malaysiakini.tv, I was reminded of that poignant moment in Peter Jackson's Return of the King when a single flower is seen to bloom on the long dead White Tree in Minas Tirith, even as Aragorn son of Arathorn leads the charge against the Black Gate of Mordor, signaling the end of Sauron's evil reign in Middle Earth.

What a blessed time this is for all loyal Malaysians who truly love their country and who refuse to migrate just because the government has been infiltrated by liars, crooks, and hypocrites for so many decades. Now is the time to reclaim our birthplace from those who only know how to rape, pillage, and lay waste to our once and future paradise!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

A Letter to PAS via Malaysiakini

With reference to Malaysiakini's lead story on August 17, 2008:

PAS ABANDONS GAMBLING, ALCOHOL BAN PLANS

Conservative Islamic party PAS has shelved a proposal to ban gambling and restrict alcohol sales in the four states it rules with its political allies.

Dear brothers and sisters in PAS,

Thank you for being so reasonable, so wise, so patient, and so accommodating.

Like most Malaysians, I am determined that differences in beliefs and ethnic origins must not be allowed to cause the disintegration of our beloved nation. Far wiser to encourage open and sincere discussion amongst the various parties in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition - than for the destructive forces of racial and religious polarization to be used as an excuse for the perpetuation of BN-style authoritarian misrule.

A great many of my non-Muslim friends have long held a negative perception of PAS - since the party is founded on Islamic government as a core doctrine. That Anwar Ibrahim has been able to pull DAP and PAS together in a political alliance with PKR is nothing less than a miracle. Since the euphoric results of GE12 which broke BN's two-thirds majority stranglehold, the BN-controlled mass media have gone out of their way to magnify every little disagreement within the fledgling Pakatan Rakyat.

Right after the elections Umno attempted to forge an unholy power-sharing pact with PAS behind closed doors. When PAS rejected Umno's engagement ring, Khir Toyo used these clandestine meetings as a weapon to plant the seeds of doubt, mistrust and fear into the non-Muslim psyche.

Fortunately, Tok Guru Nik Aziz, spiritual leader of PAS and a wise old fox, was able to reassure his partners in Pakatan Rakyat that all was well and that there was no possibility of a PAS-Umno merger. The coalition remains strong, despite the inevitable jostling for power and influence amongst the various component parties. In any marriage, power play is part of the learning process of attaining true harmony and cooperation.

From a personal perspective, I have no fear of PAS and their Islamic agenda - at least they are completely open about it. Ironically, I am aligned with many of their "Islamic values." For example, I detest gambling and generally shun alcohol; to live in a community free of these vices would suit me fine. However, I'm also a hardcore libertarian democrat in that I would defend the right of those addicted to gambling and alcohol to indulge their chosen vices. To my mind what each of us chooses to do for pleasure is nobody's business - unless, of course, these activities come with deleterious side effects that negatively impact on others. And here we enter a fuzzy area where there are no simple formulas and pat answers.

The entire post-industrial model of economic development is largely founded on financial adventurism, speculation and risky investments - euphemisms for gambling. What is the stock market if not a 24/7 gambling den for white-collar punters playing with blue chips? Financial catastrophes are mostly the result of inveterate gambling - whether the game is called derivatives, commodity futures, sub-prime mortgages or treasury bonds. Gambling or gaming run almost as deep as our hunting and gathering instincts. The adrenaline rush of winning a game of high-stakes poker or mahjong, or breaking the bank in roulette, or flogging off a bunch of dead-horse shares in the nick of time - these are "adult" pleasures akin to a night out with the boys at a karaoke club or a pornographic interlude online when your officemates are all out to lunch.

I have never been attracted to gambling, perhaps because I grew up in a household where neither parent was a gambler. As for games, I quickly got bored with Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly, Checkers, and Scrabble. The last time I played any card game was perhaps 35 years ago. Call me a bore but I would much rather lie in a hammock with a book or a cuddly friend. Never once have I even contemplated the possibility of buying shares in any company or investing my surplus cash in some sort of tontine scheme.

Perhaps I have been saved from getting addicted to gambling by lifelong penury. Having studied the nature of the banking business, I have a pronounced negative bias towards bankers, moneylenders and loansharks - indeed, anybody who uses money to make money, because this is ultimately what widens the gap between haves and have-nots. Alas, this planet is pretty much akin to a giant casino operated by international "banksters" - but it's obvious that time is running out for them, as more humans awaken from their hypnotic trance of powerlessness and reclaim their lives from the corporate enslavers.

Certainly I tend to have a puritanical attitude towards business investors who become entrapped by sheer greed. It's difficult to understand why anyone who already owns millions or billions would continue to "cari makan." How much can anyone eat at one sitting anyhow? Uneaten food is wasteful and shows disrespect towards nature. For me, therefore, Islam's edicts against gambling and usury are eminently sensible and fully in keeping with my own values.


As for alcohol, after a 10-day Mekong binge in Phuket twenty years ago, my body became allergic to the poison. When offered alcoholic drinks at a party, I tend to refuse half the time - and when I do accept I find it difficult to finish an entire can of beer. A champagne toast at a wedding celebration can enhance one's enjoyment - and on cold evenings a shot of Irish coffee is just what the doctor ordered.

Nevertheless, living as I do in an Orang Asli community where 90% of the men are compulsive and terminal alcoholics, I have grown disdainful of drunken behavior and have little patience with the idiotic babblings of the inebriated. In effect, I wouldn't miss alcohol if it simply vanished off the face of the earth. But, please, don't you dare take away my tobacco!

The more puritanical among us, regardless of religious affiliation, will always condemn certain behaviors as "immoral" - while to others these are merely a fun way to kill time. What constitutes "morality" can be debated endlessly and inconclusively - but most of us will agree that the Golden Rule, do as you would be done by, has universal appeal and value. Indeed, once we adhere to that ethical principle, all other rules become redundant.

To my brothers and sisters in PAS I would like to convey this message: I salute your sound moral sense and agree that we would all be better off living in a vice-free environment. However, to use the law to enforce "moral behavior" often leads to abuses far worse than the vices themselves. Look at what happens when agencies like JAIS are given the power to harass courting couples or rudely raid bars and pubs. They turn into uniformed thugs, fascist brownshirts who get their kicks by pretending to be morally superior and throwing their weight around. This sort of loutish behavior is far more dangerous, in my opinion, than allowing a few Muslims the freedom of conscience to imbibe alcohol or experiment with sexual freedom.


The imposition of external discipline has the unfortunate long-term effect of infantilizing the populace, because it treats people like wayward children rather than mature and self-governing, self-improving adults.

Ultimately, the goal of all religious teachings must be to help people attain mastery over themselves (not others!)


And the only way one can become a Master is through the trial-and-error of personal experience, through internal discipline, not through legislation and enforcement.

Sincerely,
Antares
~^@^~