bobjots : redux

2 elected officials assaulted; 1 an MP and the other a member of the Selangor state cabinet. Four residents arrested in what many believe is police collusion with the civil engineering developer and highway concessionaire in putting up a concrete barrier on state land even after the state gave its approval for the removal of the barrier.

More on this story at Malaysiakini including a report on the hospitalisation of Segambut MP, Lim Lip Eng (DAP - Segambut) after he was assaulted by uniformed police officers.

Today is the launch of The Micah Mandate, a news portal initiated by five Malaysians. To visit the site, click on the logo above or go to www.themicahmandate.org.

The Micah Mandate is the "result of the concerns and aspirations of a group of Christians who are praying that all Malaysians in general and Christian Malaysians in particular will be more constructively engaged in matters of social conscience, public service and nation building rather than to only remain in comfortable armchairs criticising other people and institutions". Their own description reads :

Continue reading "Introducing The Micah Mandate" »

Sivin's post reminded me of this ..

It takes its' name from Micah 6:8 which reads :

He has shown all you people what is good.
    And what does the LORD require of you?
    To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

The press has been going to town with how the conduct of the various Parliamentarians (read Opposition) has cast aspersion on the sanctity of the House. They were, of course, referring to a very specific period of time that somehow coincided with the live telecast of the Parliament's Q & A session on national television.

Since the press found it necessary to track the Information Minister to Bidor just to get his opinion on what happened, perhaps it'd be fair to have the Parliamentary Opposition Whip, Azmin Ali (KeADILan - Gombak), have his say :

Continue reading "Parliamentary Opposition Whip Responds" »

This is a recording of the live telecast in the Parliament proceedings today when some MPs took the Speaker to task, for perhaps what I believe are justifiable reasons, but rather badly executed :

A comparison to a disagreement with the Speaker in the House of Commons in November 2006 (about 6 minutes in to the recording) should perhaps be something we can learn from :

How does our Speaker say "Order" anyway? I'm sure its not "Duduk".

And here's how the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition confront each other .. kecoh jugak .. but it lacks the same sickening head-shaking frustration ..

Tanggal 28 April 2008, sejarah tercipta di Malaysia apabila rakyat menyaksikan pengambilan sumpah 81 wakil rakyat barisan pembangkang di badan perundangan yang tertinggi di negara kita ini. Nampaknya, segala tohmahan dan ancaman bahawa negara akan huru-hara dan rusuhan antara kaum akan melanda jikalau sesebuah parti pemerintah kehilangan majoriti 2/3 tinggal kerak sahaja.

Sejarah juga tercipta dengan lantikan YB Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (KeADILan - Permatang Pauh) sebagai Ketua Pembangkang dari kalangan kaum hawa yang pertama di Malaysia. Ternampak jelas daripada perkembangan ini bahawa rakyat Malaysia memang sedia maju ke hadapan walaupun masih ada sekerat-dua yang ingin mengekalkan sikap neo-feudal demi memelihara kepentingan rakus mereka sendiri.

Continue reading "Perjuangan Di Peringkat Perundangan Bermula" »

I finally made it to the Raja Tun Uda Library around 4.00 pm yesterday after getting a little lost in Shah Alam for the launching of the two books written by the late Rustam Sani; The Social Roots of the Malay Left and Failed Nation: Concerns of a Malaysian Nationalist. The event also doubled as a memorial for the late Rustam Sani who died three days before his two latest books were due to be launched.

The seminar hall was packed to the brim with only standing room available and people overflowing into the elevator lobby. A conservative estimate of the attendance put the numbers at a minimum of 500 people, representing a vast array of ethniticities. Some familiar faces that I saw included A. Samad Said (National Literary Laureate), quite a few of the new YBs (including R. Sivarasa, Gan Pei Nei, Elizabeth Wong), Dr Sanusi Osman, Josh Hong, Ivy Josiah and much more.

Continue reading "Remembering Rustam Sani" »

NYANYI BUDAYA PEMBEBASAN
oleh Sanggar Satu Bumi

Kepalkan tinjumu ke awan
Nyanyi budaya pembebasan
Rapatkan barisanmu kawan
Hancurkan segala penindasan

Yo semua turun ke jalan
Lantang suarakan segala tuntutan
Hancurkan feudalisme, militarisme dan kapitalisme
Jangan ragu, ayoh bersatu
Yakinlah rakyat pasti menang
Yakinlah rakyat pasti menang!

I was given the privilege today to share the panel table with some distinguished folks; K.J. John (Executive Director, OHMSI, Lee Swee Seng (Advocate & Solicitor) and Edward Ling (Political Secretary for Subang Jaya ADUN, Hannah Yeoh); in a round-table discussion organised by the Junior Public Speaking Club (JPSC) in Subang Jaya. Nathaniel Tan was supposed to join us but he was called away in the last minute due to a family emergency.

I was asked to give a short presentation on the Federal Constitution although I suspect I may have overdid it as far as the time limit was concerned. I must confess that I really enjoyed doing the research for the presentation. A lot of what was presented was already in my head but to dig it back out, double check the facts, and re-structure it to a proper presentation was quite a delightful exercise.

Continue reading "Eager Younglings At The Subang Jaya Junior Public Speaking Club" »

Pro bono publico is a phrase derived from Latin meaning "for the public good." The term is used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment, as a public service. And that was how the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, described the compensation model for former Gerakan Deputy Secretary General, Lee Kah Choon's tenure as director of the Penang Development Corporation and investPenang.

With Lee's recent resignation from Gerakan due to the unreasonable pressure and criticism put on him by the leadership in both Gerakan and the Barisan Nasional, the Deputy Prime Minister has apparently found it fit to accuse him of putting the job ahead of the party. And this comes from the guy who wants to be the next Prime Minister for all Malaysians. Hmm .. I reckon that if you were to do a straw poll on the average folk on the street, they'd say he put his people ahead of the party .. which really isn't such a bad thing. In fact, I'd wish more people were like that.

As the saying goes, the rice has turned to congee (nasi sudah menjadi bubur). The incumbent Barisan Nasional had a golden opportunity to demonstrate some magnanimity and prove that they exist for the people and the public good. Instead, they chose to show vindictiveness and resentment and continued to prove to Malaysians that their primary concerns are themselves, their fiscal positions and their misplaced sense of pride. Perhaps losing 2/3 majority wasn't that strong a lesson yet.

Who took the words of Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy in their hearts ..

Di atas robohan Kota Melaka;
Kita Dirikan Jiwa Merdeka;
Bersatu padulah segenap baka;
Membela hak keadilan pusaka

- Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy; Kota Melaka; December 1946

And life is colour and warmth and light
And a striving evermore for these;
And he is dead who will not fight;
And who dies fighting has increase

- Julian Grenfell; Into Battle; May 1915

I was briefly awakened this morning at around 4.30am when I received a text message via SMS from Sdr Faisal Mustaffa, a long time comrade from Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) days and currently the Secretary for the Kelana Jaya division of Parti KeADILan Rakyat. It was unhappy news as I was informed that a good comrade, Sdr Rustam Sani, passed away suddenly at 2.30 am today in his Gombak home due to a heart attack. He was 64.

Sdr Rustam; born on August 12, 1944 in Tanjung Malim, Perak of Minangkabau heritage; was both a literary figure as well as a political analyst. He was also known as a public intellectual who commented extensively and critically on Malaysian nationalism, Malay society, Malay intellectual tradition, and the importance of cultural literacy, also undertook studies and commented on the various aspects of nationbuilding, including such areas as ethnic relations, nationalism and national ideology.

What is perhaps less known is that Sdr Rustam is also the son of the late Ahmad Boestamam, the nationalist leader and a standard bearer for the Malay left who fought for Malaya's independence from the British and paid for it dearly. Sdr Rustam himself shared a poignant piece in conjunction with Father's Day last year in a tribute to his father and how, despite being the only son, most of what he knew about his own father was what others have said about him.

Continue reading "So Long, Comrade Rustam Sani (1944 - 2008)" »

Another reminder from my friendly, neighbourhood ASBO Jesus :

More from ASBO* Jesus

An apt reminder after watching an episode of Hak Kami on NTV 7 that highlighted sexual harassment.

“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

- Matthew 5:27-28

Unfortunately, this is something that we hardly can avoid. I remember being adviced quite a while ago that even if I did not fall in the income tax bracket, it was always better to file my tax returns anyway as one never knows when one might need to have the records handy.

It used to be quite a drag filling in the tax forms and I have to appreciate the effort made by the IRB / LHDN (Internal Revenue Board / Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri) in simplifying the forms and providing pretty good guide booklets over the last few years. The LHDN has also been providing an online tax returns filing system available for the last 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, they were using a very irritating PKI infrastructure for identity verification that made filing returns online a mystery for a lot of laypeople.

Continue reading "Free Help For The Income Tax Season" »