Saturday, October 17, 2009

It's the festival of lights, rights and delights!





May you be blessed with the spirit of Joy, Freedom and Love this Diwali!

Friday, October 16, 2009

BEHOLD... MACC's NEXT INCARNATION!


The worst decision the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) ever made was to haul up Teoh Beng Hock for overnight interrogation. It has become patently clear that the MACC was being used as a weapon of mass destruction against the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Selangor - just as it was used to gain political leverage in Perak by setting up, arresting and charging two PKR state assemblymen with corruption.

The PKR duo were threatened with imprisonment, cajoled, and bought over as part of Najib Razak's devious coup against the elected Perak state assembly.

I seriously doubt MACC deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim's plan was to kill Teoh Beng Hock. He only wanted Teoh to sign a false confession that would incriminate his boss, DAP assemblyman for Seri Kembangan, Ean Yong Hian Wah.

Indeed, ever since the ACA was given extra powers and renamed the MACC in January 2009, it appears to have been assigned a new mission: to target and destroy Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

But, alas, the unforeseen does happen. Teoh may have proven to be a tougher nut to crack than anticipated. His interrogators could have pushed him past breaking point and this usually gentle young man might have turned aggressive on them. In the ensuing scuffle, frayed nerves and pent-up rage could have erupted out of control.


Rumors were rife in July that ousted mentri besar and Umno warlord Khir Toyo (right) had set his sights on 16 September 2009 as the target date for a vicious and violent Selangor power grab - a tit-for-tat response to Anwar Ibrahim's 916 attempt to wrest control of the federal government through defections last year).

Selangor is, after all, the richest and most developed state in Malaysia. Umno couldn't just watch idly while billions of ringgit fell under "enemy" control. Decisive, audacious action was called for. And that's what led to the untimely death - on the eve of his wedding - of an innocent 30-year-old political secretary named Teoh Beng Hock.

As to be expected, Hishamuddin Hashim and his henchmen at the MACC have been trying every trick in the book to wriggle out of the cold glare of negative publicity. Maggots are notoriously afraid of sunlight and feed only in the dark.

With the only-too-obvious collusion of the PDRM and almost every government agency involved, the MACC is likely to get off scot-free. Few of us have any faith left in the present Umno/BN regime. From the highest to the lowest ranks, they have shown themselves to be congenital deniers, liars and utter hypocrites - and arrogantly defiant ones at that!


But where innocent blood has been shed, there is always a heavy karmic price to pay. Even if the perverts and sadists at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission manage to escape Malaysian justice (which is as rarely sighted and whose existence is as widely disputed as Bigfoot), they certainly will not escape the consequences of their evil actions.

The poster below (which I found on Patrick Teoh's Niamah blog) is perhaps a sober intimation of the hideous punishment that awaits Hishamuddin Hashim and his MACC henchmen when they get transferred to their next assignment...

CLICK TO ENLARGE!


That's right, folks... MACC will henceforth be known as the Malaysian Association of Chinese Comedians. Since nobody takes MACC seriously anyhow, they probably won't notice the difference.


RPK: TOO HOT TO HANDLE!

In case you haven't viewed the latest instalment of RPK SPEAKS HIS MIND...



RPK talks about last year's detention under the ISA and the charges of sedition made against him for various articles that appeared in his Malaysia Today website. It's obvious that the former homo minister, Syed Hamid Albar, decided to sign a two-year detention order under Section 8 of the Internal Security Act to keep RPK locked away indefinitely in Kamunting because he was deemed a grave threat to Najib Razak's chances of becoming PM.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Nut Graph cured my political hangover

I'm recovering from a political hangover. The Bagan Pinang by-election was indeed a crucial watershed. The outcome would be a fair indication of how soon Raja Petra Kamarudin would be able to return to his beloved homeland as a free man.

Not so soon, I'm afraid, if Isa Abdul Samad's impressive win is anything to go by.

In the past couple of days I've been reading almost every analysis of Pakatan Rakyat's abysmal defeat at Bagan Pinang in an attempt to understand what's really going on at this juncture.

As usual, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah makes all the right noises. But why does he continue to sit on his lonely rock spouting Yoda-like aphorisms and hoping to see Umno redeem itself? And why should Umno even bother, so long as the Indian vote can be bought with just a packet of muruku flour, one kilo of Milo, and a glittering saree?

And what about the Chinese vote? Whip out the carrot of more ugly concrete structures, more contracts for contractors and developers; for good measure show them the stick of Islamic fanaticism à la Hasan Ali and PAS Youth, and they'll be weighing their fortunes on the dacing as they have done so for decades. At least with Barisan Najis you know you can buy your way out of anything, including murder.

My unfounded optimism about a PAS win at Bagan Pinang proves I'm not exactly savvy about the nitty-gritty of post-GE12 Malaysian politics. Admittedly, I've been buoyed up by a nostalgic yearning for the euphoria of 9 March 2008 when the sky seemed so much bluer and the sun shone upon the first green shoots of a bona fide Bangsa Malaysia - living in a genuine democracy, free from institutionalized prejudice and moral rot.

The Nut Graph is rarely my first option when browsing for local news. I know this alternative online journal run by former Star journo Jacqueline Ann Surin has worked hard over the past year or so to carve its own niche in the burgeoning online media scene. Just as it was reaching its goal, it ran out of funding and is now surviving on donations. I suppose I was initially put off by its highfalutin name and self-conscious political correctness. But over time I have found myself thoroughly impressed by The Nut Graph's accomplishments in terms of the generally high quality of writing and visual presentation.


This impression has been further reinforced by Shanon Shah's excellent coverage of the Bagan Pinang by-election which I had missed earlier, in the heat of the excitement. Here's an excerpt from an insightful story he filed on 7 October:

Zulkefly Omar’s dilemma
7 Oct 09 : 8.00AM

By Shanon Shah

The Nut Graph asks Zulkefly what his stand is on concert banning, as called for by central PAS Youth against both Danish soft-rock band Michael Learns to Rock and US R&B diva Beyonce Knowles. He declines comment. What is his stand on the open sale of alcohol? No comment. What is his position on the whipping sentence dropped on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor? No comment. He says, "Ask me questions about the campaign, please."

But these are not curly questions. These are questions on issues of public policy. Yet, Zulkefly declines, albeit politely and sweetly. And when he addresses the multiracial crowd at the DAP operations centre in Batu 9 on 5 Oct, it is clear to see why Zulkefly is so cautious. "A vote for PAS is a vote for the PR and its vision," he says in earnest.

And so this must be Zulkefly's dilemma in Bagan Pinang. How will he sell himself to multiracial and multireligious voters while making sure PAS's Islamist skeletons do not come jumping out of his campaign closet?

And here's another superb piece by Shanon Shah filed on 11 October:

A bizarre week in Bagan Pinang (no excerpt - just click on the link and read it at source!)

I'm sure you'll agree that the sort of quality journalism The Nut Graph has achieved is worthy of our encouragement and support. When I feel a little more flush I'm going to send them some cash so they can keep going. I hope those of you in a better financial position will ensure that The Nut Graph survives. It gives us a glimpse of what the future promises.

All images courtesy of The Nut Graph

Monday, October 12, 2009

Mas Y Mas have a new album out...

THIS IS MAS Y MAS... TWO YEARS AGO...

Dynamite trio from Nottingham give a unique twist to Latin Fiesta dance music. Captured live in concert on 13 July 2007 @ the Rainforest World Music Festival by Antares. Featuring Rikki Thomas-Martinez on guitar & vocals; Wayne D. Evans on doublebass; Richard Kensington on percussion. Visit them @ www.masymas.co.uk

THREE YEARS AGO...

Recorded at the Frog and Onion

JUST HEARD THEIR LATEST ALBUM - LA BALA - RECORDED IN CUBA - AND IT'S SIMPLY AMAZING!

Will blog about it soon...

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Can Anwar turn the tide at Bagan Pinang?

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

If only Jibby would attend one of Anwar's ceramahs. Bet he'd be yelling "Reformasi!" too... before turning himself in and confessing his crimes :-)