ISA detainees in solidarity fast

(Courtesy of Zorro-Unmasked)

MEDIA STATEMENT

Re: Hindraf Detainee fasts in Solidarity with Jemaah Islamiah and Darul Islamiah Detainees for abolishment of ISA During Month of Ramadan.

This is the fourth week in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar (left) - currently in detention without trial and held at Kamunting - is fasting in solidarity with fellow Jemaah Islamiah (JI) and Darul Islamiah (DI) detainees for the abolishment of the obnoxious Internal Security Act (ISA).

P. Uthayakumar hopes Prime Minister Badawi will unconditionally release all ISA detainees - especially the Jemaah Islamiah suspects, some of whom have been detained for seven years now, so that they can celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri with their families.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE.

THESE ARE PUNNY TIMES WE LIVE IN...

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his enormous girth from too much pi.

2. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

3. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

16. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

18. It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it.

19. A backward poet writes inverse.

20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

21. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

22. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

23. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.




[Contributed by Vernon Cornelius]

RPK: A BIRTHDAY BEHIND BARS

Dear Pete, I join millions of truth-loving Malaysians in wishing you an auspicious and serene start to your 58th solar orbit. When the Umno/BN regime falls, we shall all be liberated!

From the Wikipedia entry on RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN:

Born in Surrey, England, 27th September 1950, Raja Petra Kamarudin was educated at the Alice Smith School. At the age of 13 he went to further his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, completing his education at the Victoria Institution. Raja Petra used to own a motorcycle dealership and was also a rice distributor. He has been fascinated with motorcycles since he was young.

On April 14, 1973, at the age of 23 years old, he married Marina Lee binti Abdullah who was then 18 years old. Marina Lee Abdullah, of Siamese-Chinese extraction, is a book publisher. Raja Petra and Marina have five children: Raja Suraya (1974), Raja Azman (1977), Raja Shahril (1978), Raja Azmir (1983), and Raja Sara (1988). They also have two grandchildren.

Raja Petra is a member of the Selangor royal family. He is the nephew of the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia and the seventh Sultan of Selangor. His mother, Che' Bariya Kamarudin (née Barbara Mabel Parnell) is Welsh.

Political involvement

Raja Petra was a leading member of Parti Keadilan Nasional (now Parti Keadilan Rakyat) — the party set up in response to the arrest of former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. On April 11, 2001, Raja Petra and 10 other opposition activists were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly plotting to overthrow then prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. He was released from the detention center 52 days later.

Malaysia Today

Raja Petra started the Malaysia Today website and his blog to facilitate open discussion on Malaysia's political and social scenes. In his online writings, he is often very witty, humorous and sometimes critical of the current political developments in Malaysia. In his Malaysia Today columns, he advocates transparency, accountability and justice in the Malaysian political system. He often denounces money politics, corruption, and ethnic polarisation that is deeply rooted in Malaysian society.

On July 2, 2008, Malaysia Today was defaced by a person known only as "Gasakdotnet," replacing the website with a superimposition of Mahathir Mohammad's face onto the poster of the film We Were Soldiers, accompanied by the tagline - "My Countrymen, My Fellow Malaysian" - alluding to Mahathir's "battle" for Malaysia as the Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003. Poor Internet connectivity affecting several areas in Malaysia hampered efforts to restore the website promptly.

Second ISA Detention

On September 12, 2008, Raja Petra was detained under the Internal Security Act. According to his wife, 10 police personnel from Bukit Aman came to their home in Sungai Buloh at about 1.10pm to arrest him. They also confiscated some books and VCDs. Prior to this on September 6, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had warned the 58-year-old editor of popular news portal Malaysia Today could be charged under the ISA for comments allegedly insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad. Several religious groups - Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim), Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) and Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) - had lodged police reports against him. The groups complained his comment in an article entitled "I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim" allegedly used sentences that insulted Muslims.

Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court here on September 16, 2008, seeking his release from detention under the Internal Security Act. The notice of motion was filed at the High Court criminal registry about 3.45pm via Messrs Mathews Hun Kandiah. In a move to counteract the probable release of Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin by the Malaysian High Court, the Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar signed an order to remand Raja Petra on Monday September 22, 2008 for up to two years at the detention facility under section 8(1) of the ISA. The move by the Malaysian goverment supports the contention that there was no reasonable cause to arrest Raja Petra and that the new order under section 8(1) was implemented to prevent Raja Petra from criticising the ruling party. Remand orders under section 8(1) cannot be challenged in court and are always ordered by a minister of the government.

Held under an archaic security law without trial, Raja Petra was incarcerated at the Kamunting Detention Center in northern Perak state, which has 60 detainees under ISA, most of whom are suspected Islamic extremists. ISA permits the government an initial detention of 2 months for investigation, followed by a 2-year jail sentence which can be renewed indefinitely. The 1948 ISA is a holdover from British colonial rule, intended for communist insurgents.

Controversies

Muhammad Muhammad Taib

On July 23, 2007, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, UMNO's Information Chief, lodged a police report against Malaysia Today at 12.57 p.m. at the Tun H.S. Lee police station, under Section 121 (B) and Section 123 of the Penal Code, Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 263 and Section 266 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for a July 11 blog entry on the website deemed to contain writing that insulted the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, degraded Islam and incited hatred and violence between ethnic groups. Raja Petra Kamarudin responded by releasing an article on Malaysia Today, lashing back at Taib with allegations of hypocrisy and corruption. A second police report against Raja Petra was believed to be lodged after the release of the article, and Raja Petra was summoned to the Dang Wangi police station on July 25, 2007, for eight hours of questioning. His wife was also questioned for an hour.

After his release from questioning, Raja Petra told the media that Muhammad Muhammad Taib lodged a police report against him on behlfof the government, to silence political bloggers in the run-up to the Malaysian general election on March 8, 2008.

Universiti Utara Malaysia

Raja Petra made headlines again at the end of March 2008 when a Malaysian High Court ordered him, the group editor-in-chief, and the editor of PKR’s organ Suara Keadilan to pay a total of RM7 million to Universiti Utara Malaysia and its vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Nordin Kardi (right) for libel.

Altantuya Shaariibuu

Najib Razak accused of involvement in gruesome murder

Raja Petra was charged on May 6, 2008, with sedition for allegedly implying that the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the sensational killing of a young Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Also charged for sedition was businessman Syed Akbar Ali, who had allegedly posted a seditious comment on Malaysia Today.

Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, who did not deny that he linked Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak to the slaying, pleaded innocent to the charge, and said he should have the right to hold the powerful accountable for wrongdoing. Raja Petra was taken to a detention center after he refused to post the bail of RM5,000. The court set the trial for October 6, 2008. If convicted, he faces up to 3 years in prison. "I am not posting bail. See you guys in October, I will be out for Christmas. Don't worry." His wife said she was "quite stunned" that Raja Petra refused to post bail, and said she thought he wanted to make a statement by not posting bail, which he reportedly felt he could not afford to. She launched a campaign to solicit donations of RM1 from the public for the RM5,000 bail, but called it off a few hours later after the campaign raised over RM35,000.

Several Members of Parliament from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition were present at Raja Petra's hearing, with one, Nurul Izzah Anwar, calling Malaysia Today "the primary source of a lot of unearthing of scandals especially corrupt practices of the leadership and the government... it has helped [open] the eyes of the nation to what is going on and what is wrong with the country. It played a huge role in the last elections." On the same day, Lim Kit Siang raised the issue of Raja Petra's sedition charges in Parliament, arguing that Najib had personally intervened to ensure the Attorney-General would charge Raja Petra with sedition, and calling it an abuse of power.

Raja Petra's wife Marina Lee Abdullah stated: "He is on a hunger strike. It is a protest. The last time he did this, his liver was damaged. I don't think he is going to last that long." Raja Petra also refused visits by family members. On his release, Raja Petra claimed that he had not, in fact, been on a hunger strike but was refusing to eat and drink for fear of being poisoned. He remarked that Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Cpl. Sirul Azhar Umar (on trial for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu) were being remanded at the same prison and had yelled threats at him.

Statutory declaration

In a statutory declaration on June 18, 2008, Raja Petra accused Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor (the wife of Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak) of being one of three individuals who were present at the crime scene when Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered on Oct 19, 2006. He wrote that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Acting Colonel Aziz Buyong and his wife, Norhayati Hasan, Rosmah’s aide-de-camp, were present at the scene of the murder and that Aziz Buyong was the individual who placed C4 plastic explosives on Altantuya’s body before blowing it up. The statutory declaration also mentioned that the information he obtained regarding the above allegations were contained in a Military Intelligence report received by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, implying knowledge on the part of the Prime Minister.

In retaliation, the two people named in Raja Petra Kamarudin’s June 18 statutory declaration, Lt-Col Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt-Col Norhayati Hasan, alleged to have been present at the murder scene of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, sued the Malaysia Today editor for defamation. Aziz is seeking an apology from Raja Petra to be published in certain websites and newspapers, the removal of the statutory declaration from his blog and damages of RM1 million.

The police recorded Raja Petra’s statement at the Sentul Police Station on Saturday, 5 July 2008. He was repeatedly asked the identity of the informer named in his statutory declaration but Raja Petra stood firm and refused to reveal the informer’s identity. He told the police he was prepared to go to jail if necessary just to protect the informer. Raja Petra revealed that he met private investigator Balasubramaniam Perumal (left) the night before the press conference of 3 July 2008, during which Balasubramaniam linked the Deputy Prime Minister to the murdered Mongolian woman. On July 4, 2008, the private investigator suddenly changed his stand and appeared very disturbed, giving the impression that someone had got to him and forced him to sign a second Statutory Declaration removing all references to the Deputy Prime Minister and claiming that the first Statutory Declaration had been made under duress.

Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy Case

On 14 August 2008, the Malaysian High court ordered Raja Petra to reveal his sources used in articles that alleged sodomy accusations against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were fabricated. Raja Petra had in three articles posted on his blog implied that lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was behind the sodomy accusations by Anwar's 23-year-old aide. Muhammad Shafee obtained a court order on 13 August against Raja Petra, ordering him to reveal the sources of the three articles and the identities of those who commented on them. The court also ordered him to remove the articles and all comments within two days and refrain from publishing similar allegations. Raja Petra said he would not reveal his sources and did not know the identity of the commenters on his website.

Police on 22 August raided the home of Raja Petra, in connection with Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's defamation suit against Malaysia Today. A computer, scanner and some documents were seized.

Feud with Najib Tun Razak

On July 16, 2008, the Malaysian police obtained a warrant of arrest against Raja Petra for criminal defamation. This was due to his statutory declaration connecting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, saying she was present when Mongolian national Altantunya Shaariibuu’s body was blown up. On July 17, Raja Petra was charged with three counts of criminal intimidation over his statutory declaration on the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. He is alleged to have defamed Deputy Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor by making a libellous statement in the declaration which he affirmed on June 18 when he knew that it would tarnish her good name. He also faced similar charges against Kolonel Norhayati Hasan and her husband Acting Kolonel Abdul Aziz Buyong. Legal sources in Malaysia have questioned why the criminal libel charge, a government offense, was filed rather than a civil action by either Najib or Rosmah. They have pointed out that Rosmah has no official government position and is just the wife of a politician, which hardly warrants state interference.

THE STORY SO FAR...

[Legends, myths and folk tales live forever in our genetic memories - because they carry great lessons that impact on our everyday lives. Look around, folks, you're living in the midst of an unfolding epic drama...]

JOHN THE BAPTIST is a prophet in the tradition of Elijah who lives a simple, ascetic life, preparing candidates for the kingdom of heaven by baptizing them in the river Jordan. He announces the coming of a great Master who will save humanity and redeem us from darkness and moral degeneracy.

John does not belong to the conservative Jewish sect known as the Pharisees, who venerate the Torah (akin to the Koran) and the Talmud (akin to the Hadith), and value outward piety in daily life; nor does he belong to the Sadduccees, an urban elite sect (akin to Mahathir's Melayu Baru) with a more sophisticated understanding of the outside world and who have embraced Hellenistic (secularist) lifestyles and values. John is more aligned with the Essenes (akin to the Sufis), a mystic sect that teaches conscious union with the Paraclete (or Holy Spirit).

As he isn't part of any institutionalized priesthood, John the Baptist answers only to himself and his God. He preaches to all who will listen and fearlessly criticizes the liars and hypocrites who compromise their ethical values in exchange for petty favors from the corrupt and decadent court of Herod Antipas (right), puppet King of Galilee and vassal of the Roman Occupation Government. John openly denounces the moral degradation that has overtaken his beloved land and accuses Herod Antipas of transgressions against the law.

As the traditional "Voice in the Wilderness," John the Baptist's rantings against the government are tolerated as the mutterings of a madman. However, after Herod Antipas abandons his official consort and marries his sister-in-law Herodias - an ambitious, heartless woman who some suspect poisoned her own husband - John the Baptist condemns their liaison as an unholy one, thereby angering the witchy Herodias. To pacify her Herod Antipas orders the arrest of the wild prophet and throws him in prison.

At the royal marriage feast, Herodia's voluptuous daughter Salome (left) dances for the court and so delightful is her performance that the King drunkenly announces that she can demand whatever reward she desires. Salome consults her mother, who suggests that she asks for the head of John the Baptist.

Nonetheless, John's earthly mission has already been accomplished. Prior to his arrest, incarceration and beheading, he had recognized and identified The One who will save the people from eternal enslavement to the forces of evil - indeed, Ha Adon Yeheshua Ha Mashi'akh or long-awaited Messiah - and baptized him in the living waters of the river Jordan. The young Master Yeshua's encounter with his shamanic initiator, John the Baptist transforms him into The Christos or Anointed King.


Yeshua emerges from his full immersion in the Jordan reborn as The Christos, awakened to his own earthly mission, even as a voice from heaven resounds in his head: "You are verily my Sun in whom I am so well pleased!"


John the Baptist is widely acknowledged as a Man of Godly Wisdom and his naming of Yeshua as The One facilitates the Master Yeshua's mission of awakening the people.

Traveling from village to village to explain his vision of humanity's New Dawn, Yeshua amasses a following that grows by the day. Few can resist his penetrating intelligence and charisma, his aura of nobility and innate leadership. The Galileans are convinced that the King has finally returned to reclaim his Heavenly Kingdom on Earth.

However, obstacles abound on the road to Glory, Kingdom and Power...


The Sadduccees fear radical change, having adapted nicely to Roman Occupation and invested their lives in mercantile activities, they cling anxiously to the Status Quo and speak of compromise, patience, reconciliation with Herod, and appeasement of Rome, lest turmoil descend upon the nation.

The Pharisees and Scribes, on the other hand, realize that the Return of the King could result in a diminution of their worldly authority and wealth; possibly total loss of their powers and privileges, gained at the expense of the ignorant masses. For generations they have toiled under the yoke of Roman Occupation, learning to serve time and their own self-interest. Now, along comes a visionary from out the blue whose impassioned talk of the Kingdom of Heaven sends shivers of incomprehension through their weakened spines. They are being asked to make a leap of faith into uncharted territory, to live by aspirations long forgotten and ideals long forsaken... never before has a crisis of such magnitude befallen the nation!

Can this Miracle Worker, this self-proclaimed Messiah, this uncrowned King be trusted? Will he lead us to the Promised Land at long last... or to Damnation and Ruin?

This is a story that has been told and retold throughout the ages. The plot remains the same, as do the key characters. What changes are the time and place, the costume and set design. And, as always, how the story ends - whether in tragedy or triumph - is entirely in our own hands.

My apologies to the canine kingdom

Those of you who have been reading recent posts on this blog will know I've been poking fun at Malaysian home minister Syed Hamid Albar by comparing him to a bullmastiff. And when MP Teresa Kok complained about being served "dog food" during her week in ISA detention, I extended the canine metaphor to the entire police force - who appear to be so limited in intelligence they can't distinguish between a political party and the government of the day.

And so they end up carrying out the criminal orders of their corrupt political masters in Umno, even when these orders are detrimental to the interests of the nation and utterly ruinous to the professional reputation of the police force itself.

Case in point: two members of the Unit Tindakan Khas (Special Action Unit) have been on trial for over a year, accused of murdering the 28-year-old Mongolian paramour of both Abdul Razak Baginda and Najib Abdul Razak. Despite the latter's vehement denials that he ever met "the Mongolian woman" (he has never dared to utter her name in public, not even when swearing in a mosque during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign), the facts indicate otherwise.

After all, Altantuya Shaariibuu was in Paris with Razak Baginda during negotiations on the French submarine deal which earned his company, Perimekar Sdn Bhd, a staggering RM534.8 million commission. It has been established beyond doubt that Najib Razak, in his capacity as defence minister, was also present in France at the time and was personally involved in the 1.4 billion euro deal. To deny that he knew Altantuya stretches the boundaries of credibility.

Especially when Najib has been caught out on more than one occasion telling a bare-faced lie: for instance, when he initially denied knowing Anwar's accuser, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and subsequently admitted to having invited Saiful to his residence several days before the police report alleging sodomy was lodged.

Now there is absolutely no way any member of the police force will undertake to murder a foreign national in cold blood - unless acting on specific instructions from their superiors. In this instance, the commanding officer could only be DSP Musa Safri, ADC in charge of security to DPM Najib Razak. In his affidavit (which has yet to be admitted in court as evidence), Razak Baginda states that Musa Safri was assigned to assist him in resolving the Altantuya "nuisance." Musa then introduced Razak Baginda to Inspector Azilah Hadri and Korporal Sirul Azhar Umar, which led to the UTK officers staking out the hotel where Altantuya Shaariibuu was staying with her cousin and friend. Altantuya was last seen alive entering a car driven by Insp. Azilah Hadri on the evening of 19 October 2006.

The fact that DSP Musa Safri, Rosmah Mansor and Najib Razak have managed to avoid being subpoenaed as key witnesses in the Altantuya murder trial incriminates the entire Umno/BN government as accessories to a cover-up of gargantuan proportions.

This is where our rebel prince Raja Petra Kamarudin comes in, both guns blazing, to blow away their cover. He puts his own neck on the chopping block by signing a statutory declaration on 18 June 2008 and publishing it on Malaysia Today for the whole world to read. Raja Petra minces no words in his SD: Rosmah Mansor, wife of deputy prime minister Najib Razak, was present at the crime scene along with others named as Lt. Col. Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt. Col. Norhayati Hasan. Both parties named are attached to Mindef's Engineering Corps and Aziz Buyong is an explosives expert, while Norhayati Hasan is reportedly a personal aide to the defence minister's wife.

What are the police doing about this explosive information? Right now they are busy grilling 25-year-old rapper Wee Meng Chee aka Namewee, producer of Negarakuku, the satirical video more than a million Malaysians have seen on YouTube. Earlier today, they were busy transferring Raja Petra to Kamunting to begin a two-year detention under Section 8(1) of the Internal Security Act.

I APOLOGIZE TO THE CANINE KINGDOM FOR HAVING ASSOCIATED DOGS WITH THE HOME MINISTER AND HIS POLICE FORCE.

Dogs are loyal and serve as watchdogs, we all know. But some dogs are capable of great courage, nobility and intelligence. They are also very lovable and make excellent companions. Such qualities, alas, appear to be completely absent from Syed Hamid Albar and the PDRM. Indeed, judging from their recent behavior, it may be more appropriate to compare them with carrion-eating, cowardly hyenas.


[Dissected hyena images from Ask Doctor Vector]

OINK OINK: A Hog Caller Named Bacon

Hog calling happens to be a popular sport in the US farming states of Idaho, Illinois, and Iowa. Until recently hog calling competitions were strictly for the guys - but this summer two women became champs in Idaho and Illinois. One of them just happens to be named Bacon...

Meet Jolee Bacon, Champion Hog Caller from Idaho.

Doris Probst wins at the Illinois State Fair - and she's actually a dairy farmer.

I DOUBT HOG CALLING WILL CATCH ON IN MALAYSIA.

THE 916 DOUBLE BLUFF (from The Dandelions)

[Found this street-savvy analysis of the political impasse posted on The Dandelions - a collective blog operated by some truly smart and funky young Malaysians with their fingers on the pulse of change.]

THE 916 DOUBLE BLUFF

Posted by jingoisticbuthornydesperado on September 18, 2008

Ok, ok, I opine that September 16 was not meant for Malaysians to take the bait, but for UMNO. September 16 was a double bluff specifically designed for UMNO to take the bait. Why the heck would Anwar want to expose his battle plan for UMNO, so that UMNO has time to defend itself? Why the hell does one play chess and then tell his opponent what his next move is going to be?

(TV Smith)

September 16 was an empty threat. UMNO took the bait (or is it Najib and his cohort, Hamid Albar, as my fellow dandelions first concurred?). UMNO began to put RPK, Teresa and Tan under ISA in the hopes of maybe instigating an all-out protest and reason to declare martial law. It would then be bye-bye, opposition. But that didn’t materialise. Instead, the past few days have successfully swung the political wind to PR’s favour.

People were appalled by the actions of UMNO. The legitimacy of cross-overs becomes less of a question even amongst PR supporters who frowned on cross-overs. I don’t like cross-overs but after the events of the past few days, hell yeah, I am for cross-overs. Anwar doesn’t have to be malicious to get his goals. Anwar forced UMNO into showing its innermost demons (we have already seen the outer demons). Many people say, inner true colours are only shown when one is tremendously stressed, an act of great goodness or great controversy……


September 16 or the recent events surrounding September 16 served to unify PR supporters, split between those for cross-overs and those against to a unanimous pro- cross-over movement. If DSAI succeeds, heck it will be a legitimate, democratically popular cross-over, the first in Malaysian history.

Heck, the September 16 event only further destroys what’s left of UMNO’s unity. As my fellow dandelions have concurred way before me, if Najib and Hamid are behind the ISA and not Abdullah, well it is a sign that Najib the backstabber is beginning to be less subtle and more desperate. Abdullah can’t tell the press that he didn’t use ISA but his minions did, as this will have disastrous consequences to the little leadership credibility that AAB has managed to retain. Najib is not going to be left unpunished.

AAB “rewarded” Najib with the post of Finance Minister 4 or 5 months before the UMNO elections (again, my fellow dandelions have concurred before me). With the recent chain of events striking US financial giants, first and foremost, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, Merill Lynch and AIG, we have not heard the last of the economic kerfuffle. Malaysia is not going to escape unscathed, and there is little Najib can do to conjure a financial miracle that will help save the US financial system and, in return, help Malaysia. The economy is going to be worse off, and Najib will bear the brunt.

September 16 was an ‘empty’ threat. UMNO made September 16 into an enemy UMNO itself feared most. If UMNO had not done anything, UMNO would not be trapped by the conundrum it is in today.

RPK took a gamble to be a willing pawn to the event leading to September 16. RPK has given UMNO a lot of ‘reasons‘ to apprehend RPK under ISA. RPK is now seen as a martyr for Malaysians who want justice, a swing in PR’s favour. Whether his martyrdom is to be converted to success in toppling UMNO remains to be seen.

I don’t know who has a better chess-playing strategy, but the set-pieces are already moving. Whatever result it may be, it will be preposterous to say that one got lucky winning. Politics is too high-stakes a game to be left to lady luck. Has anyone ever won a chess game by pure luck?

Is Syed Hamid Al-BARK and No-BITE?

Not too long ago I left a comment on somebody's blog comparing our clownish home minister, Syed Hamid Albar, to a bullmastiff. Turns out there may be more than a little truth in that remark made in jest. The home minister, after all, is ultimately responsible for the behavior of our police force and the way our "correctional facilities" are managed. There is absolutely no way Hamid Albar can escape being fully accountable for the thuggish tendencies of our infamous PDRM - and the bad rep the police have gained from long-standing reports of inhuman treatment of detainees. To date, these horror stories of ill-concealed sadism and various forms of psychopathological misbehavior encountered by anyone unfortunate enough to be arrested by the Malaysian police have mostly been limited to those of dark complexion, "low social standing," and those unfortunates detained without trial under the diabolical ISA.

If Teresa Kok's complaint is proven to be true - and I see no cause for her to lie about something like that, knowing her excellent track record for candor and frankness - it is evident that the level of psychosis within the home ministry has now reached alarming proportions. YB Teresa Kok is a respected and greatly admired Member of Parliament - not a snatch thief, kidnapper, rapist or bank robber. This is not to imply that it's all right to mistreat prisoners of lesser social status. Every human being deserves to be valued and treated with civility and compassion - even those suspected of serious crimes and venomous villains like that Javanese Toyol who keeps escaping from his botol and raising hell.

I shudder to think what hideous discomforts and distresses poor RPK may be enduring even as I type these words. His predilection for raw language notwithstanding, Raja Petra Kamarudin is a Yang Mulia, a member of the Selangor Royalty, albeit reputed to be a bit of a maverick. RPK has made extremely serious allegations against certain Umno warlords. Instead of investigating the truth of RPK's courageous accusations, the police have further justified public resentment against the Umno/BN government with their senseless flurry of political arrests.

Ten years ago, what police chief Rahim Noor did to sacked and arrested deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim while he was blindfolded and handcuffed was an act of unpardonable cowardice, compounded by the ugliest species of malice. Rahim Noor initially lied about the whole thing but when a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the shameful affair caught him out, the IGP said he lost his temper because Anwar called him Bapak Anjing (The Dogfather). Other witnesses present during the vicious attack testified that all they heard Anwar say was "Stop hitting me!" Rahim Noor's "Freudian slip" reveals that deep down these rabid cops are ashamed of their own canine lineage, which is why they fear and hate dogs so intensely. Think about it: what other species is so unquestioningly loyal to their masters?

As home minister as well as prime minister at the time, Mahathir Mohamad has yet to be held accountable for suggesting Anwar inflicted the black eye on himself just to gain public sympathy. It is reasonably certain that an attempt was made to kill Anwar slowly by arsenic poisoning while he was in prison. The Umno/BN government is not only corrupt and inept - it is also deplorably cruel and, occasionally, even murderous. We are morally bound to demand that the ISA be abolished and all political detainees be unconditionally released from custody with immediate effect. By extension we are also morally bound to INSIST that Umno/BN surrenders the reins of government to whoever commands the majority of seats in Parliament - without resorting to barbaric acts of sabotage, just to cling on to power misappropriated from the public.

And if the home minister refuses to heed the surging groundswell of public opinion - local as well as international - and persists in his rabid efforts to keep biting bloggers, government critics, protest organizers and opposition politicians - then we really are left with no option but to go beyond simple castration. We shall have to have him put down with a lethal injection.

Of course, we would greatly prefer that he hands in his resignation without further ado or fuss - and we can hardly expect a public apology from someone of his ilk with such poor pedigree.

This preposterous report in today's Star about the police serving dog food to an honorable Member of Parliament brings to mind a classic story I've retrieved from my blog archives...

THE PURINA DIET
by Hamid Albark

I was at the supermarket buying a large bag of Purina for my dogs and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog........Duh!

I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV's in both arms. Her eyes about bugged out of her head.

I went on and on with the bogus diet story and she was totally buying it. I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works is to load your pockets or purse with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The package said the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her.

Horrified, she asked if something in the dog food had poisoned me and was that why I ended up in the hospital.

I said no..... I'd been sitting in the street licking my butt when a car hit me.

I thought the tall guy was going to have to be carried out the door.

HAPPY EQUINOX, FOLKS!

It's the start of a new season today...

Do something kinky...

Stop and smell the flowers...

Get someone's goat...

Explore new avenues...

Get rid of the bloody garment!