This Has NOTHING To Do With Religion! (reprise)

First published 14 January 2009, but it warrants reposting in view of Kartika Seri Dewi Shukarno's intriguing masochism in requesting to be publicly caned. Is she, apart from being partial to beer, also somewhat kinky?
From Malaysiakini, 13 Jan 2009

I was absolutely flabbergasted when I read this report in Malaysiakini. This can't be happening, I thought. It's certainly one of the most absurd - nay, insane - things I've come across thus far outside of Nigeria, Somalia, and Saudi Arabia.

Don't these blithering idiots realize: CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IS A MILLION TIMES MORE "SINFUL" THAN DRINKING BEER?

Can't stand the taste of beer myself but I have lots of friends of all colors and creeds who drink - and not one of them is remotely a "bad" person just because they enjoy a couple of beers.

What's going on here is the ugly face of a dying patriarchy, trying to scare people into obedience to benighted, irrelevant, meaningless and barbaric laws invented by the falsely pious for the sole purpose of controlling others.

The question that springs to mind is this: if we're going to practise "tough love" in the interest of running "a tight ship" - then why not cane those found guilty of wilfully destroying the environment for private profit? Or those who have been caught demanding kickbacks and bribes? These are far more serious crimes, with long-term negative consequences that affect the entire nation.

Beer-swigging Muslims are in the same category as pot-smoking teenagers. They number in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. There aren't enough canes to go around if we're going to start caning every "offender." The National Fatwa Council could advise all Muslims who prefer to imbibe Al-Kohol rather than Al-Koran to keep a cane handy with which to flagellate themselves when they go home. Nevertheless, I think the hangover from overindulgence suffices as punishment.

Every Muslim on this planet has a sacred duty to speak out and defend the honor and integrity of his or her faith from being so hideously besmirched by fundamentalist bigots and time-warped fanatics such as those who advocate corporal punishment for activities some people deem pleasurable and which don't actually cause any harm to anybody (except to their own health if done in excess).

The worst disease plaguing humanity has always been the deformed consciousness of rabid control freaks who hide behind the façade of "morality" in their obscene lust for power over others.

I'd rather be in the company of a boisterous platoon of beer-drinkers than spend even one minute with any human whose worldview resembles that of a Spanish Inquisitor.

May God in her wisdom terminate once and for all the bloodlines of these hypocritical killjoys - unless their children end up marrying Germans. So be it!


I know it's another two months to Oktoberfest but after reading that ludicrous news report I just have to soothe my nerves with some gratuitous images of buxom beer-swilling Bavarian beauties. Prost!

English translation of Mystery Letter from MACC Officers

Plaza Masalam, headquarters of MACC Selangor

With thanks to Airkosong.com and Malaysia Today

CORRUPT PRACTICES, MISCONDUCT AND ABUSE OF POWER BY SENIOR OFFICER OF MACC SELANGOR

Respectfully, we would like to refer to the matter above.

We, officers in MACC, feel duty-bound to expose the wrongdoing and corrupt practices by a senior officer of MACC – Deputy Director (DD) of MACC Selangor, PKPj I Hishamuddin Bin Hashim. He is involved with the case of Teoh Beng Hock and a bungalow house at Section 17, Shah Alam, owned by Dato’ Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Bin Toyo.

2. For the information of YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan, DD is indeed involved directly with the investigation of misappropriation cases involving Selangor exco YB Ean (Adun Seri Kembangan). DD’s involvement is not only at the level of official instruction, but he actually instructed specifically MACC officers to try to uncover any possible wrongdoings by the current Selangor state government. He acted so because of his collaboration with Khir Toyo to bring down the Selangor state government. His overzealous approach resulted in the death of Teoh Beng Hock. There are a few questions arising from the circumstances of Teoh Beng Hock’s death that concern us MACC officers. We all suspect DD to be responsible for the death of Teoh Beng Hock based on the following facts:


i) DD has instructed all MACC officers involved in the operation not to implicate his direct involvement in the case. In fact, he is the one giving direct orders in the operation and other operations in MACC Selangor. Actually he fears his involvement will compromise his conspiracy with Khir Toyo.

ii) The chemistry department has detected finger prints and DNA traces of a mysterious male at the two frontal sides of Teoh Beng Hock’s waist belt. According to our knowledge, DD has his own unique interrogation technique, i.e., he would hold the belt of the person under interrogation, lift him/her a few times and shake him/her.

iii) The process to extract DNA samples from MACC Selangor officers was conducted in two sessions. In the first session, DD ran away to avoid having his sample taken. However, DD was said to have given his DNA sample in the second session under dubious circumstances, i.e., he gave his sample in his room while all other MACC officers, including the MACC Director, gave their samples in the meeting room together openly. Why did DD give his DNA sample behind closed doors? Does the sample given by him belong to him? We the MACC officers are curious because none of the DNA samples collected matches that of the mysterious male. We suggest that DNA sample of DD be taken again under the watchful eyes of trustworthy people.

iv) We have received information that DD has instructed his subordinates to erase fingerprints found at the window where Teoh fell to his death. This is proven as the police have failed to find any traces of fingerprints, new or old, at that window. The question is, why did DD give that instruction?

v) Based on the information we obtained, we suspect DD did not punch out when he left office on 16 July 2009 at 6.10am. This is crucial because it would be evidence that DD was the last person to have seen Teoh. The question is, why did he not punch out when he usually does so? For the record, he is a person who pays attention to his punch card.


3. For the information of YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan, DD is very influential in the investigation operations in Selangor, or even the whole Malaysia. In MACC Selangor alone, he is the most important person to decide whether or not a case is to be prosecuted, even though such power is supposed to be in the hand of the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP). Decisions made by him favour his own interests or his cronies’. It is no surprise that he has been helming the investigation unit of ACA/MACC Selangor for more than ten years, i.e., since the Selangor state government under Barisan Nasional (Khir Toyo) and until the current Selangor state government. He has been promoted in quick succession from Grade 41 to Grade 54 within 16 years without reassignment and remained in MACC Selangor until now. According to ACA/MACC department policy, an officer who has been promoted or served for more than 5 years in a state will be reassigned to another location to prevent him from being involved in local corruption issues. One of the reasons that he has not been reassigned elsewhere is that he has been tasked to “take care” of interests of Dato’s Seri Khir Toyo in Selangor. Because of this, to reciprocate, Khir Toyo has to “take care” of DD’s interests in Selangor.

4. Due to his comfortable position in ACA/MACC Selangor from then till now, he has been involved with various corrupt acts and abuse of power. Among the corrupt acts and abuse of power by DD that we have detected/investigated are as follows:

i) Closing the case of Khir Toyo involving approval of a road construction project, which is the most expensive boundary spanning link at Sekinchan, for a distance of 20.5km, at a price of RM92.5 million to the contractor who was almost blacklisted – Meram Holdings. According to JKR assessment, the cost of the road should not exceed RM50 million. The subcontractor running the project is Cabaran Wangsa, owned by Pua Kim An, who was once the landlord of Khir, while the other director of the company, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury, is Khir’s crony, and he received 100 acres of land giving him a profit of RM20 million.

ii) In possession of assets beyond his means, including:

a. Owns a few houses for rental, including one two-storey luxurious terrace house which was purchased at a very attractive price from Pemaju Kumpulan Lebar Daun Development Sdn Bhd, as a result of closing the case of investigation against Group Executive Chairman, Dato' Noor Azman @ Noor Hizam bin Mohd Nurdin. This case was investigated by ACA Selangor a few years ago along with a few other houses he owned. As a smokescreen to the public and his subordinates, he moved to the government quarters at Kg. Atap, Kuala Lumpur.


b. Owns a Petronas petrol station located at the left side of Federal Highway at Km 8.6 – Km 8.7, Section 1, Federal Highway, Shah Alam 40000 Selangor (near the Melati roundabout, in the direction of Klang from Shah Alam), registered under the name of his elder brother. The petrol station has just started operation this year (2009), and it is built on part of the land of a Chinese cemetery. He managed to obtain the land to build the petrol station as a result of his power as well as due to the Khir Toyo administration in Selangor.

c. Owns a few plots of land around Shah Alam, where one of them is believed to be beside the new SACC Mall, registered under the name of the wife of a driver in MACC Selangor, Abdullah b Azim, she being a full-time housewife in her late 30s.

iii) Caught in adultery with a junior officer of the rank of Investigator called Nor Azlina bt Mustafa beside Shah Alam Lake in early 2009 by two police officers. He in turn showed his authority card and informed the police officers that he and the Investigator were in an operation and hence let off by the police. After a few intimate incidents with the Investigator, the affair is known by many, including his wife. The action taken by the department is to reassign the Investigator to MACC HQ at Putrajaya. This action is not effective as Azlina is still seen with DD at the Selangor office.

5. This letter was writen to uphold integrity and challenge injustice, in the MACC specifically and Malaysia as a whole. We at the MACC can no longer stand to observe this behaviour which is approved by higher-ups. We at the MACC have exhausted our options in looking for a department/institution/NGO which can bring forward this issue so that appropriate action can be taken.

6. We the officers in MACC are greatly appreciative and thankful to you all for bringing up this matter to the people and the relevant authorities so that there will be an organisation/NGO that can take the appropriate action or independent investigation until the matter can be brought to the cabinet. The matter is very important because it involves the integrity of an officer serving in a department charged with enforcing law on crimes related to human integrity. DD is now working very hard by instructing his subordinates to do a witch-hunt on PKR which governs Selangor state now, with the hope that PKR will fall in Selangor and his secrets will be safe. For your information, DD is fearful whenever news of Dato’ Seri Khir Toyo appears in the media and he is fearful that Khir’s problems will expose his own.


7. Our hope is, there will be a party courageous enough to give voice to our information herein, and that our action attracts the attention of the highest authority so that just action can be taken against him. We ourselves do not have the power of taking action against him because he has “cable” (connections) to the top.

8. The cooperation of YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan is very much appreciated and hopefully your action will bring out more information exposing people without integrity so that MACC and its officers can be cleared of corruption.

Thank you very much.

“IN SERVICE OF MACC/OUR BELOVED COUNTRY”

We who are obedient servants,
MACC Officers

When The Shit Hits The Fan...

THE SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN!

Letter reveals top MACC man, politician collusion

K Kabilan Aug 20, 09 1:49pm

The mystery letter which emerged at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest yesterday is believed to contain claims connecting a top ranking MACC officer to the interrogation of the political aide, which could have led to his death.

Believed to be written by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission insider, the letter alleged how the top officer and an influential politician (pictured left) had worked together to start investigations into alleged corrupt practises by Selangor's Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

And it was on this understanding that Teoh was called up for questioning.

The unsigned letter, which carried the MACC official letterhead and written in Bahasa Malaysia, also stated the top officer's modus of interrogation - which involves pulling the suspects by the belt.

It further alleged that the top official was questioning Teoh on the day the DAP man was found dead. However the letter did not state on how Teoh died or if the officer was directly involved in his death.

Further claims made in the letter include:

• The officer did not punch out from work when he left Plaza Masalam where the Selangor MACC is located on that day. However, the letter stated the time of him leaving the office. This is important as it could show that this officer was the last person to have seen Toeh on that day, alleged the letter.

• The officer did not provide his DNA samples along with his other colleagues. He only gave a sample privately at a later day.

• That he ordered his officers to wipe clean the window from where Teoh had apparently fallen from.

• His alleged corrupt practices while investigating previous cases and that he is generally corrupt.

• He had helped close an investigation on the politician.

The letter also stated that the top officer had been serving in the state for a long time, well beyond the usual five-year term for high ranking officials.
The letter also claimed that he was living beyond his means by having several houses, a petrol station in Shah Alam and several plots of land, courtesy of the politician's goodwill.
He was also allegedly caught for khalwat with his junior officer at the Shah Alam lake early this year.
When contacted, the politician denied all the claims made in the letter and said he will be lodging a police report as soon as he is back from his overseas trip. The MACC officer could not be contacted.

Lawyers remain tight-lipped


Yesterday, lawyer Gobind Singh Deo submitted the letter to coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, asking him to adjourn the inquest pending an investigation into the contents of the letter.

Gobind said that he was handed the letter by an individual on Tuesday evening.

Azmil, who agreed to instruct the police to probe the letter, had then urged all lawyers involved in the case not to reveal the details of the letter to anyone. However he had not ordered a gag order on the matter.

Lawyers involved in the matter when contacted by Malaysiakini today remained tight-lipped on the content of the letter.

However, it is learnt that the letter was also sent out to several other people since last week, including some members of parliament.

One MP who spoke to Malaysiakini said that he received the letter last week and confirmed the contents of the letter.

"Some big names were mentioned in the letter and the claims are massive. If they are true, some very big people from Selangor MACC and the political circle will have to pay the price," he said, requesting anonymity.

The MP also said that the letter appeared to be "an inside job from MACC".

He added that the letterhead used was from the MACC's headquarters in Putrajaya.

Teoh (left) was found dead, with his belt snapped, at the fifth floor landing of Plaza Masalam on July 16, a day after he was summoned by the MACC for questioning in regards to their probe into an alleged misappropriation of state allocation funds. He was questioned at the 14^th floor.

The inquest is being held to determine how he died. It will continue on Monday pending the investigation into the letter.

The letter has also been posted in the Internet at various sites, including in Malaysia Today.


Last man to see Teoh left building at 6.10am, court told

APPENDIX A

This intriguing comment was found in Dr Rafick's blogpost:

Inside sources. Hishamuddin and Khir Toyo were school mates, Khir being a year or two [older]. Of course Khir approved Hisham’s application for a plot of land in Shah Alam.

Hisham has [a] strong cable with Macc Hq notably with Ahmad Said, the Macc Chief and Ahmad Said in turn is a running boy of Nazri Aziz. For the first time in the history of the ACA/MACC, a Minister seems to be talking on behalf of MACC. It never happens bf as the ACA/MACC is supposed to be independent.

Khir with the help of Hisham and the blessing of the top leadership wanted to topple S’gor PR gov’t. Hisham can’t do it without the approval of the Selangor MACC Head. So Hisham instigated his Boss removal and Ahmad Said sent a weak officer, Jaafar Mahat to head the MACC.

Soon after, the blitz on the PR gov’t by Selangor MACC begins. Hisham was in full control with the approval of Ahmad Said, another corrupt ACA/MACC officer.

UMNO: Moving all the way to the right

[First published 29 October 2008. I'm reposting it because nothing has changed and it's still perfectly relevant, even if a few ministers have been replaced with equally inept and brickheaded clones... and also, I'm feeling too lazy to generate fresh material! :-)]



Viewed these videos from Malaysiakini earlier and couldn't help getting incensed by the kurang ajar (uncouth) attitude shown by the Polis Di Raja Malaysia - little wonder so many call them the "Polis Raja Di Malaysia" and fear Malaysia has become "a police state."



Yet we can hardly put all the blame on lowly-paid personnel in uniform recruited and trained to carry out orders from their superiors without question. Were they ever told - and repeatedly reminded - that their primary task is to serve the rakyat, not the interests of a political party named Umno?

Former IGP Abdul Rahim Noor told an outright lie, denying any knowledge of how Anwar Ibrahim got so badly bruised while under police custody, when he himself assaulted the erstwhile deputy prime minister (and, according to subsequent sworn testimony, had to be held back by his colleagues or he might have beaten the helpless prisoner to death).

How does a person with so little self-control and absolutely no comprehension of the law, not to mention a sense of justice, get to be Top Cop in Bolehland?

Well, why do some people spend so much money buying Rottweilers? This aggressive breed of canine apparently originates from Roman times when they were used to herd and guard livestock. I read with interest what the Wikipedia has to say about Rottweilers:

The Rottweiler is a steady dog with a self-assured nature, but early socialization and exposure to as many new people, animals, and situations as possible is very important in developing these qualities. The Rottweiler also has a natural tendency to assert dominance if not properly trained. Rottweilers' large size and strength make this an important point to consider: an untrained, poorly trained, or abused Rottweiler can learn to be extremely aggressive and destructive and, if allowed to run at large, can pose a significant physical threat to humans or other animals. They can be strong-willed and should be trained in a firm and consistent manner. The owner must be perceived by the dog as the leader. If the owner fails to achieve this status the Rottweiler will readily take on the role. Aggression in Rottweilers is associated with poor breeding, poor handling, lack of socialization, natural guarding tendencies, and especially abuse. [emphases added]

Anyone can see the dangers of allowing an errant police force free rein to bully members of the public they perceive as powerless and harass those named as enemies of their political masters. If your child gets savaged by a Rottweiler, the dog's owner must be held fully responsible. I'm willing to bet money that owners of vicious dogs are themselves nasty pieces of work and have serious issues with abuse of power.

Inevitably we are forced to conclude that rightwing political parties like Umno tend to favor fascistic policing of the general populace. Simply because rightwing politics appeal to the extremely rich who realize that the social status and privileges they enjoy are usually gained at the expense of a docile and ill-informed rakyat.

Truly democratic governments tend to lean to the left, emphasizing community benefits over individual profits. America, for example, started out preaching Athenian-style democracy; but as a small segment of society began to accumulate vast amounts of wealth and property, fascism took root in the form of massive militarization and an increasingly brutal police force.

The CIA was known to recruit most of its officers from Yale University, headquarters of the secretive Skull & Bones fraternity, mainly because the Agency was primarily focused on preventing a worldwide popular uprising against tyranny (which would upset the supercapitalist apple cart). Since a large number of Yale alumni are the scion of well-heeled families, this would ensure that the Agency would always serve the vested interests of the privileged class - and not the American people in general.

We are witness to a massive awakening in Malaysia. Third and fourth generation Chinese and Indians no longer view themselves as immigrants; they have grown a deep root in Malaysian soil. Their grandparents and parents struggled hard to carve a niche for themselves - and now the young Malaysian is plugged into a fast-evolving planetary mind that transcends artificial boundaries. Even the grandchildren of native rice-farmers, fishermen and rubber tappers have been exposed to the world and will no longer tolerate being rudely addressed by public servants, no matter how high their rank - and, of course, the Polis Di Raja Malaysia are really just another branch of the civil service, entrusted with maintaining law and order - without fear, favor or prejudice.


The sort of police misbehavior we have seen in recent times - from the mishandling of public rallies like Bersih and Hindraf to the commando-style arrest of Anwar Ibrahim over a spurious accusation of sodomy - reveals the kurang ajar nature of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional.

Imagine harassing and browbeating a small group of Indian women for attempting to petition the prime minister over a perfectly legitimate grievance. They were merely hoping against hope that their menfolk detained under the ISA would be released in time to celebrate Deepavali, that's all. Why weren't they allowed to hand the Deepavali greeting to an official from the Prime Minister's Department? They would have simply turned around and gone home, mission accomplished. Can't let these Indians get too uppity, I suppose. Loyar buruk semua! Next they'll be demanding equal status as citizens!

Zorro's Fart Chamber is too merciful a punishment for Hamid Albar and his Umno colleagues. They deserve to also be vomited, urinated and defecated on. As home minister, the despicable Potatohead Gestapoman must bear full responsibility for the way his police force is further worsening the Barisan Nasional's already stinking image of arrogance compounded by stupidity. However, for Abdullah Badawi and his deputy to say and do nothing every time something like this happens implies that they are totally aligned with this damning example of Umno's unpardonable pigheadedness and dangerous jingoism.

Durian Jam @ Magick River

Just another laidback sunny Saturday afternoon spontaneous jam session among friends sitting around my scenic veranda. There were some nice moments. Glad Emanar happened to be around to document it, though she was prone to giggle and cause some camera shake...

Waiting Out The Storm...

What to do? Still waiting for Blogger to review my blog and unlock it. Apparently, the techies at Blogger have had their hands full the whole of this week with a major server breakdown and some species of virus attack that has affected Twitter and Facebook. Meanwhile, a friend sent me a truncated version of this lovely video which I greatly enjoyed because it presents a whole new perspective on wet weather.