Friday, October 3, 2008

TRULY, YBs, THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT


Open letter to the politicians who have pledged to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat

Farida Jivamalar Ibrahim | October 2, 2008

Dear Yang Berkhidmats,

I know you have your own reasons for holding back but I ask you to search your hearts and your conscience.

Ask yourselves whether there is justice in this land.

Ask yourselves whether BN is a people’s government or a government that oppresses its own people.

Ask yourselves where BN will take this country to in the next one year, the next six months.

The way it is going – allowing the Ahmad Ismails, the Molotov-cocktail culprit and other law-breaking individuals to go free but incarcerating RPK, Hindraf and others who speak up for a better Malaysia – it is clear we have little hope for better change.

Ask yourselves how you can get this regime to repent and make good and go beyond paying lip-service to the tenet of ‘Maaf Zahir dan Batin’.

Ask yourselves, if it was your father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, offspring, relative or friend, would you not be outraged that the fairness of a trial is denied them?

If you are honest with yourselves, you would have to say without a shadow of a doubt that BN has already brought Malaysia to the edge of a precipice and it will take very, very little to push this country over and into the abyss of final destruction below.

YBs, never again may we have the chance to escape the dictatorship of the unjust.

Never again may we be able to wrest this country away from the stranglehold of the corrupt, the bigoted, the self-serving, the wicked and the ones whose hearts have turned to stone.

Never again may we be able to protect ourselves from those who seek revenge but not righteousness, who take so much for themselves but serve little.

None of us has any right to let this situation continue. We have a responsibility to our children and children’s children to hand over to them a nation whose government will not divide and rule, will not pollute minds and destroy identities, and will not reduce people to helpless individuals who think they can do nothing without government help.

Buying into BN propaganda and believing the MSM lies have been detrimental. What Malays and all others need is an untainted education that teaches values, that teaches an abiding respect and acceptance of one another in a land that has so much to offer but whose future is being hijacked.

Truly, YBs, the ball is in your court.

None of us can get you to come out of the shadows. Not Anwar. Not Pakatan Rakyat. Not RPK. Not Marina. Not Hindraf . Not any of the bloggers. And not civil society. No, not even God for God doesn’t use force but gives all men free will.

It is not betrayal to cross over for your very own party has betrayed the cause for which you entered politics.

Your party has betrayed the trust and goodwill of the people of Malaysia. Billions that belong to the rakyat have gone astray. The rights of indigenous people have been whittled away. Corporations have siphoned off the land of the poor.

How did it come about that so much of Malaysia belongs to so few?

It has taken me a long while to come to this position of accepting crossovers because all along I have decried such moves as acts of convenience without consultation and the consent of constituents.

But I realise now that if the motive is right and noble, not for self but for society, a responsible constituency should stand by you and forgive that you acted first and asked for consent later.

YBs, I appeal to that finest part of you. Let your highest thoughts, your noblest efforts be to uphold justice and for the betterment of all Malaysians.

The abolishing of the ISA and the release of RPK and 63 other detainees - this has become the pivotal point at this moment in our history.

This nation will either go down because the detainees are in OR this nation will rise up because the detainees are out.

For us to have the one and not the other, we have to have you on our side now.

So YBs, please, step forward and show yourselves.


Cross over for the release of the detainees. Cross over so that sanity and sanctity will return again to Parliament, so that the Federal Constitution will regain its rightful position, and so that we shall live in peace again.

[Click HERE for complete & unabridged version of this impassioned plea.]

Thursday, October 2, 2008

They Kicked De Fella Sheih & Now He's Kicking Back

KOTA BHARU (20 Sept 2008): Blogger Syed Azidi Syed Aziz - better known as Sheih Kickdefella - was released from custody at about 4.30pm on Saturday. Syed Azidi, 38, an employee of Kelantan Mentri Besar Incorporated, was detained on Wednesday for posting alleged seditious statements on his blogsite.

It is believed that the investigations revolved around his posting calling for people to fly the national flag upside down as a sign that the nation was “in distress.”

Syed Azidi took up the state government’s offer to develop its Internet media production some years ago, having been a film director before. He is regarded as among the pioneers of the Malaysian blogging scene.
[From The Star online]

PAS Vice-President Husam Musa with Sheih (Syed Azidi Syed Aziz) at a press conference (pic by Jed Yoong)


WE KNOW WHAT NAJIB & SPOUSE DID LAST RAYA
Posted by Sheih | 2 Oct 2008

When I told my readers I got more information from the Police rather than the Police get more information from me during my vacation with the PDRM, some may have taken it with scepticism.

The truth is, all sorts of new information and confirmation of my old information have flooded in and it is not just from my experience with the PDRM. Nowadays, since my brother Raja Petra Kamarudin is nowhere near his faithful PC, I have been receiving more and more information and it comes even from those within the corridors of power.

The truth is, I never trusted my informers. Yes, I never trusted them even though they told me many moons ago sometime in February that Parliament would be dissolved on February 13. So please do not trust what you read below because I never trusted my informers even though they have passed me more than a hundred photos of Dollah and family in action, some of which I published in this blog after PRU12.

I was told, a few months before my arrest, of Balasubramaniam’s whereabouts. Remember Bala? Yes, our brother Bala who had to retract the information below:

- [Razak Baginda] was introduced to Aminah (Altantuya Shariibuu) by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.

- Datuk Seri Najib informed Razak Baginda that he (Najib) had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that she was "susceptible to anal intercourse."

- Datuk Seri Najib wanted Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the Deputy Prime Minister.

I was told that Najib’s wife met Bala in the British Isles a few days after the private eye went missing and paid Bala RM5 Million. I was told that Bala and his family are seeking Indian citizenship. I truly hope this is not true and that Rosmah will make a statement to deny this. At the same time, I hope good Malaysians in certain places can check on the validity of the timing to ensure that Rosmah was actually somewhere in the British Isles during the few days after the disappearance of Mr. Bala.

After my release [from 3 days' detention], this information came rolling in again. I have at no time questioned the credibility of this information because of the position of the person who provided me which such info.

The person also confirmed to me what my Brother Raja Petra has written regarding Rosmah being there during the "blast off" of the Mongolian Beauty.

Furthermore, I was informed that, prior to Najib’s visit to a few European Countries, he had written to the Ambassadors of France and Italy, and the British High Commissioner, requesting that they provide Altantuya Shariibuu with the required visas to enter their countries from Kuala Lumpur. Najib himself, as Defence Minister, signed these letters. The British High Commissioner rejected his application but a few other countries accepted it.

Malaysian Diplomats who at the time served at the Malaysian Embassy in one of these countries have confirmed that they have seen Altantuya with Najib’s entourage.

Again, Najib has on many occasions sworn in public that he did not know the tragic and lovely Mongolian; so perhaps my source is not 100% correct. Or perhaps my hearing is not 100% perfect. Either way, I hope I will get some confirmation on the above information.

Meanwhile, it would be good if Abdullah Ahmad Badawi denies he ever received RM200 Million from the more than half-billion Ringgit commission that Razak Baginda allegedly earned from the submarine deal. My source said Rosmah paid Abdullah RM200 million from the commission of the submarine deal. He, however, said nothing about Razak Baginda though.

Well, with such a big amount of money involved, it should not be so difficult to trace it even though it would not be in the name of all the prominent figures. What we need is just somewhere to start or someone who could lead us to where it all begins. So someone somewhere out there, please lead us to it!

The plot thickens. Dollah, Najib and Rosmah and RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN are innocent until proven guilty. The only difference is our Raja Petra is in detention while the other three are running the country.

WE KNOW WHAT DOLLAH IS DOING THIS RAYA
Posted by Sheih | 30 Sept 2008

The Defense Ministry is currently undergoing negotiations with Eurocopter Malaysia Sdn Bhd for its RMAF Nuri replacement programme. Defense Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the Ministry had already sent Eurocopter a Letter of Intent (LOI).

Asked why Eurocopter was selected, Abdullah said that the Ministry would have “considered all the necessary specifications in the helicopters” before making a decision, but declined to elaborate.

What Dollah failed to tell all Malaysians was that, Kamaluddin Abdullah - yes, the son of Abdullah the PM (pictured extreme left) - is the ’secret agent’ for Eurocopter.

Kamaluddin too is trying to win the bid to lease helicopters to PDRM.

Two things happened prior to Hari Raya Aidil Fitri:

1. Dollah swapped portfolios with Najib, which saw Dollah become the Defense Minister.

2. The UMNO AGM was postponed till March 2009.

What Malaysians fail to see is that...

1. Among the first things done by Dollah was announcing the Eurocopter–Ministry of Defense thingy.

2. Abdullah agreed on the timing of transition of power to be flexible (and possibly earlier than planned) but asked for a 3-month extension (till March 2009) as Prime Minister.

Is it true that Dollah’s double action as mentioned above is due to the fact that:

1. The Eurocopter deal will secure Kamaluddin RM250 Million a year for the next 30 years?

2. By postponing the UMNO AGM, Dollah can make sure the deal is signed before he steps down?

Hurrah for Malaysia! Selamat Hari Raya and please ask around about this Eurocopter deal during all your Raya visits.

[Slightly edited for clarity]

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Featured in the Malay Mail!


[Unabridged version of the Malay Mail interview, 29 September 2008]

Tell us a little about yourself...


I've modeled my life after Bugs Bunny. In one episode of Looney Tunes, Bugs is having fun outsmarting Elmer Fudd; in another, Bugs works at Acme Paper Clips; in yet another, he's running circles around Marvin the Martian or taming the Tasmanian Devil; but, mostly, Bugs Bunny happily munches away on a carrot and says, "What's up, Doc?" Of course, some might think I watched too many Tarzan movies as a kid. I rather like the way Tarzan becomes Lord of the Jungle while retaining his noble heritage as Lord Greystoke.

I was passionately involved in theatre, music and literary pursuits between 1976-1992 (which already tells you I'm no spring chicken; indeed, this Old Rooster has 4 beautiful and brainy grandchildren!). Made a small splash in 1989 with the release of my first book ADOI! (now accessible online). Then I relocated from KL to KKB to get away from worsening pollution and traffic and increasing inflation - and established the Magick River community. Enjoyed years of simple living without electricity, amply compensated for with lots of fresh air, sunshine, and prana (the essence of vitality). Married into the Temuan (Orang Asli) tribe in 1995. Completed a study of Temuan folktales and cosmology in 1998 but it took 9 years for TANAH TUJUH: Close Encounters with the Temuan Mythos (Silverfishbooks, 2007) to see the light of day.

In 1998 a kind soul donated an ancient 486 computer and I discovered the Internet. The next year the Magick River website was launched, mainly in an attempt to stop the Selangor Dam project - and we put up a damn good fight too. Finally got a phone line in the new Temuan river resort village, Kampong Pertak, in May 2005 - but had to wait another 13 months for Streamyx to be available. August 2006 marks the start of my love affair with broadband.

When did you start your weblogging?

The Magick River Blog was inaugurated on 1 December 2006 and very quickly turned into almost a full-time obsession. Patrick Teoh (of Tokkok and Niamah fame) is the one to blame for inspiring me to become a blogger. Of course, a few days after I launched my blog I realized it's no point blogging unless you have a readership. So I spent weeks learning how to list my blog on directories and increase its "page ranking." Discovered the importance of tags and how to introduce myself into the burgeoning blogosphere by interacting with other bloggers. Took several months for the blog to start attracting regular traffic (I was just having fun anyway and not looking at blogging for money).

The Magick River blog began as an online repository for my literary works - but in the aftermath of the explosive murder of "the Mongolian woman" I began to focus more on local politics. Noticed that Malaysians were extremely keen on political blogposts and was thrilled to see my visitor stats peak whenever a popular newsportal like Malaysiakini or Malaysia Today featured one of my posts. From an average of 300-400, the hits would rise sharply to as many as 12,000 - and that would result in a pronounced rise in the subsequent daily average. As of this writing my blog's daily average fluctuates between 500-1,100, spiking to something like 6,000+ whenever Malaysia Today or Malaysiakini links me.

Your reasons?

I've always liked the idea of editing my own magazine. However, the magazine business is fraught with pitfalls, especially when it comes to censorship and advertisers. So many friends have started promising magazines, only to flop after a couple of years. Blogging offers a multimedia template so I can be editor & publisher of my own online journal - without anyone to censor me or advertisers to balk at my content. Thanks to Google, the Blogger platform I operate is free - which allows me to become a pro bono blogger.

I'm pleased that the blog I started quickly attained Google page rank 4 and has been blogrolled by about 70 other sites. As I don't blog for money, I'm free to keep my blog personal and eclectic - I don't have to stick to politics or whatever.

Has blogging changed your life? How?

The most obvious feature of blogging is that it swiftly becomes COMPULSIVE. It's very addictive! Even when I suffer a breakdown in telephone service, I find myself blogging from cybercafes. Indeed, when people ask me what I do these days I'm inclined to describe myself as "a bloody blogger."

Any regrets over this?

None whatsoever.

Foremost feature in the "Blogosphere" that amazes you?


Anonymous bloggers and commenters. While anonymity emboldens and creates a space for uninhibited expression of ideas and feelings, it also allows people to hide behind masks. So we have this paradox wherein a great deal more honesty flourishes while an equal amount of stealthiness and undercover sniping occurs. But overall, the free flow of information and opinions far outweighs the residual fear some bloggers carry.

If you had to choose one website/blog to interact with...


Man does not (and cannot) dine at one restaurant alone! But if only ONE blog or web portal was available, then I would have to pick Raja Petra's Malaysia Today. Why? Because, more than any other political website, MT has contributed to a mass awakening in Malaysia, thanks to Raja Petra's trademark "no holds barred" approach to reportage. Many misdeeds go unreported for want of concrete evidence or documentary proof - we only hear loose talk at the teh tarik stalls. What Raja Petra has done is to take idle gossip to a powerful new level where it simply cannot be swept under the carpet.

First, Raja Petra has the necessary connections and credentials. People know he has "reliable sources" and access to Deep Throats in every area of business and government. And Raja Petra puts his own neck on the line by using his own name. Some would consider that foolhardy, to risk putting your name to all kinds of libellous allegations - and, indeed, the fact that Raja Petra was targeted for arrest and detention under the obnoxious ISA indicates that his punches have hit home. The people in power with the most to lose have been forced to abuse the powers vested in them to defend their own reputations and positions - which is precisely what Raja Petra intends, to let these politicians hoist themselves by their own petards. Ironically, even though Raja Petra is behind bars he has become the nation's greatest hero (alongside Anwar Ibrahim, his political ally) while those who ordered his arrest have become the most despised and loathed men in the country.

Through Cyberspace communication many things can happen. What would you really like to achieve?

My activities online don't really change my personal life - apart from the positive interactions I enjoy with a widespread and constantly growing circle of virtual friends - but they certainly enhance my ability to remain plugged in while living far from the madding crowd. Between December 2006 when I began my blog and the present, there has been a quantum shift in the Malaysian political consciousness. This is how the rakyat reclaimed its voice - via the blogs and interactive news portals like Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini. And now that voice is growing into a deafening roar, demanding radical change, regime change. I was among the first to name Raja Petra as a cyberwarrior par excellence and have lavished praise on Malaysiakini for its contribution to democratizing the Malaysian psyche.

My own blogging feeds into the collective consciousness and influences how events unfold in real time and political space. It gratifies me to know I can share my own experience, insights and perspectives with the younger generation via the blogosphere.

If there were someone you could influence to take up blogging...

I suppose it would do my brother Mike a world of good to set aside his fear of computers and take up blogging. He's 66 years old and doesn't have a friend in the world on account of his idiosyncratic personality and his myriad fears. If he would only invest in a laptop and broadband connection, he would soon discover he's far from being alone in his neuropathology - indeed, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of individuals in Cyberspace far weirder than Mike whose peculiar interests are more than a match for his own. Unfortunately, my brother is now almost blind (cataracts in one eye and serious injury in the other) and that's become his latest excuse. Well, I happen to know a BLIND blogger named Alfred Ho who is also a famous singer. Alfred uses special software to convert text into voice and vice versa and maintains a very vibrant and vocal blog.

Any memorable incidents?

The best thing about blogging has been the many new friends I've made who began reading my posts and subsequently added me as a friend on Facebook or emailed me directly. I don't get much positive feedback from my family and old friends - but these new friends are unstinting in their praise, and that is so nourishing for my soul, not to mention my ego!

[Special thanks to Sheila Rahman for the great plug! :-)]

That's right... I said "ADIL~Fitri"


WAITING FOR HARI RAYA RAKYAT
Dean Johns | Sep 30, 08 3:54pm

Every day since the designated date of 16 September, I’ve been hoping against hope that Anwar Ibrahim’s long-promised Pakatan Rakyat power-play would finally happen in time for Hari Raya.

But apparently everything’s still on hold.


So, while sincerely wishing my Malaysian family, friends and all true Muslims everywhere a heartfelt Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri, I have to confess that I’m feeling less festive than I’d been looking forward to.

I’m a long way from the festivities, too, way down here in Sydney instead of balik kampung at my parents-in-laws’ house in Ipoh.

But even if I could get there I figure I’d hardly feel free to celebrate, what with Raja Petra Kamarudin, the Hindraf Five and about 60 other “suspects” incarcerated under the ISA just a few kilometres up the highway.

The thought of these people caged in Kamunting like animals, denied due legal process and, as MP Teresa Kok famously put it following her own detention, being fed “dog food” would surely have caused my festive makan to stick in my throat.

[Read the rest of Dean's straight-from-the-heart essay here!]


On Being Called A Racist


Subject: Re: [artisproactiv] Re: 'The Dark Secret Of Jewish Power'
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 22:08:52 +0800
From: Antares
Reply-To: artisproactiv@yahoogroups.com
Organization: Magick River
To: artisproactiv@yahoogroups.com

Ray Langenbach wrote:

Antares,

Perhaps you should send your articles and diatribes to Noam Chomsky. I'm sure he would be fascinated.



Dear Ray,

I assume you're being facetious. Nonetheless, I need to clear the air on this contentious thread of discussion.

First of all, I appreciate the work Noam Chomsky has done on behalf of liberal humanism and have always been a great admirer of Albert Einstein. As a kid I really wanted to be a Jew myself. I've also been smitten by a fair number of Jewish princesses.

I forwarded two posts on the question of Jewish/Zionist initiatives driving the neoconservative imperialist strategies of the Bush regime. I did not write either, but felt it was a timely issue, especially in view of the vituperous attacks launched against anyone who even dares mention the problem of Israel and Likudnik geopolitical aspirations.


The Jewish lobby is immensely powerful in Washington, and quick to castigate as "antisemitic" anyone who even says the taboo word "Zionist." This phenomenon compels dispassionate scrutiny. Why is it taboo to poke harmless fun at or question the political agenda of one specific ethnic/religious group? People share Irish, Polish, Sikh, Chinaman, Melayu Baru, Indian, Eskimo, Arab, Mamak, Eurasian, German, French, Russian, and Abominable Snowmen jokes every day.

The Jews themselves often dismiss people outside their community as Goyim - a derogatory term indeed. The Orang Asli have names for the Malays which they keep to themselves. American Bushites are gleefully attacking the French "surrender monkeys" for refusing to endorse the ongoing carnage in Iraq.

In short, the vast majority of humans are racists. Anyone with no racial bias whatsoever may be classified a mutant. I have always seen myself as such a mutant. Hence it comes as somewhat of a shock to hear myself called "racist." I half-jokingly used the word "bigot" to describe myself, to show that bigotry is indeed the normal human condition, and that it's usually not seriously intended.

Most humans, in peace times, enjoy casting mild aspersions at or labeling others with expressions designed to stereotype and belittle. But along comes an accident, natural disaster or war, and people invariably become cooperative and community-minded.

By jumping to hasty and erroneous conclusions, i.e., that I am trying to fan hatred against a specific ethnic group, and vigorously castigating me for even bringing up the topic, we have bypassed the main point: viz., is Jewish nationalism being used as a weapon to drive a permanent wedge between the tribes of Earth?

Seems to me the rightwing Christian support of a militant Jewish state is exactly what we need to ensure that humanity NEVER finds common ground.

What sinister force is behind this? Ares, the Greek god of war, known to Romans as Mars and to Babylonians as Marduk, is also known as the Divider.

Finally, the word "antisemitic" itself is fairly meaningless, because the term "semite" applies equally to the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac.

Let's hope this puts an R.I.P. to this unhelpful dispute.

We're all in the same boat, like it or not.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

No MAY 13, No "Ketuanan Melayu"


Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:41:20 +0800
From: "Antares"
Subject: Re: UNMASKING THE HORNETS

Those in power will do ANYTHING it takes to remain in power. This is a basic Machiavellian truism. Exceptions to the rule occur, of course, but all too rarely. It takes a Prince Siddhartha to turn one's back on the false and treacherous allure of earthly power and embark on a personal quest for truth and enlightenment.

Or perhaps a prince like Tunku Abdul Rahman who resigned a sad and broken man after May 13 rather than battle those within Umno who wanted him out.

Shortly before his death, the Tunku confided - in a series of intimate interviews with K. Das, former bureau chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review, who was working on the Tunku's official biography - that what happened on May 13, 1969, was really the implementation of a contingency plan to prevent the political opposition (in this instance the DAP and PAS) from forming a parliamentary majority after the 1969 general election. The Tengku actually named FIVE individuals who were the key conspirators.*

Strategies had been laid long before the general election to spark off "racial riots" - in the event of a poor showing for the ruling party in the polls - that would precipitate the declaration of a state of national emergency (temporary martial law and the hasty formation of the National Operations Council) - and the nullification of the 1969 election results. The loss of a few hundred lives was deemed a necessary sacrifice to ensure Umno's continued dominance and the political survival of the Alliance (now the Barisan Nasional).

The plan obviously worked. By declaring it a "sensitive" issue, the May 13 plot effectively acquired the status of a national taboo, thereby protecting its perpetrators from a royal commission of inquiry and charges of criminal treason. 35 years down the line, not one of the five key conspirators has ever been exposed and charged with complicity in this deadly and repugnant sandiwara.

This sort of strategem is actually standard practice - and since "winners" rewrite history as they please - it often takes ages before such skeletons are excavated from the dusty remains of political cupboards, centuries later.

Take the infamous Gulf of Tonkin "incident" which led directly to America's invasion of Vietnam... or the JFK assassination of November 22, 1963: the whole thing is still shrouded in mystery and much discussed amongst "conspiracy theorists." Despite the Freedom of Information Act in America, and a slew of well-researched books on the subject, the general public still unthinkingly accepts that JFK's assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald. Same thing with RFK (Robert F. Kennedy) and MLK (Martin Luther King).

Then there was the story (planted by PR firm Hill & Knowlton) about Saddam Hussein's troops snatching infants from their incubators in Kuwait, which swung public opinion in favor of Emperor Bush I's 1991 Operation Desert Storm. And now we have September 11, 2001 as America's very own "May 13."

Race riots, my foot. May 13 was really just "Plan B": a carefully orchestrated mengamuk.

Yup, it's Chicken Run all over!
______

* One of the five May 13 conspirators is still alive and plotting - and among the others, some of their offspring are still active in politics. So I won't name any of them without proper legal backing or documentary evidence. However, I can drop a heavy hint: two of them subsequently became prime ministers. How did I come by this info? I collaborated with K. Das in 1986 on a book of political quotes and we had a few good conversations over the years.
Vernon Emuang forwarded this Malaysiakini essay by Sim Kwang Yang:

It would seem to be a clear case of sedition when a political butterfly dressed up in hornet's armour tried to revive the ghost of May 13 in the recent Umno general assembly, to the thunderous applause of all those present.

Speeches during Umno general assemblies are more likely to be carefully orchestrated representations of their mainstream thinking, rather than the spontaneous cut and thrust of creative ideas. So we - who are excluded from the inner sanctum of Umno faithful - have to assume that their perennial call to arms is an integral part of Umno ideology. After all, May 13 was the cornerstone upon which the grand superstructure of the NEP had been erected for the past 35 years.