On the Flipside

Obama's CASA NOIR

2008-11-11T13:57:00.013+08:00

Prior to the recent US Presidential Election, there was a widespread skepticism of a black candidate becoming the most powerful person on the globe. I had my share of reservations too. But the US has shown that being black is no hindrance to being elected to the highest office in the land. Congratulations to the ordinary citizens of the US, black, white & coloured, and Barrack Hussein Obama for this history-making epoch. I, however, took Obama's victory as the resultant electorate rejection of George Bush's trigger-happy foreign policy particularly that towards Iraq and Afghanistan.
Would Obama turn the White House (to be read as Casa Blanca) into a Black House (Casa Noir) now ? No, not likely ! Having appointed Rahm (Rahem) Emanuel as his Chief of Staff is inferential enough of things to come. This could have been a political deal Obama has made with the US jewish lobby and AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) during the campaign period to secure his ascendancy. Hussein Obama would not stand a strand of a chance of winning the election had he not projected himself as being pro-Israel. In his campaigns, he addressed the AIPAC and visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to seek the jewish endorsement of his candidacy. At least that way he would not be deprived of receiving campaign funds from the wealthy jewish organisations or individuals. But those campaign donors don't contribute for nothing, but for some considerations only Obama knows what. Is appointing Rahem Emanuel one of them ?
Rahem is an active member of Anshe Shalom, a modern orthodox jewish congregation, and a son of Dr. Benjamin M. Emanuel, a practising paedetrician in Chicago who was once a member of Irgun Zvi Leumi, a zionist terrorist movement in Palestine during the British Mandate. During the 1991 Gulf War, Rahem was a volunteer at an army base in Israel.

You ARE shooting blanks, Anwar !!!

2008-10-28T13:41:00.003+08:00

I was rather excited at the prospects of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) under Anwar Ibrahim taking over the Federal Government of Malaysia from Abdullah Badawi of the incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN). The much-hyped 16th September did not produce the regime change promised by Anwar. The Parliament was not in session during the fasting month of Ramadhan but Anwar drummed up a roar demanding for a special seating of Parliament to debate a motion of no-confidence against Badawi, the Prime Minister. Badawi, however, did not entertain such rhetorical idea.
When Parliament re-convened immediately after Ramadhan, no such motion was moved by PR or Anwar to the despair of the people who have rallied behind PR in the March 2008 General Elections.
I don't think I could believe Anwar again.

The NEOCONS : One Tentacle of the Jewish Lobby in the US

2008-10-28T11:07:00.013+08:00

One of the key tenets of neoconservatism is the vigorous support for Israel and a tendency to favour its more hardline elements. It is the Jewish Americans who form the core of the neoconservative movement which is a microcosm of the larger pro-Israel movement. Neoconservatism is also widely supported by Christian Zionists which is a subset of the politically-inclined Christian Right.
Some of the notable neoconservatives (or neocons) include Elliot Abrams, Kenneth Adelman, William Bennett, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Jeane Kirkpatrick (dec.), I. Lewis Libby, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, James Woolsey, David Wurmser, Robert Bartley, David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol, Bret Stephens, Norman Podhoretz, Fouad Ajami, Eliot Cohen, Aaron Friedberg, Bernard Lewis, Ruth Wedgwood, Max Boot, David Frum, Reuel Marc Gerecht, Robert Kagan, Michael Ledeen, Joshua Muravchik, Daniel Pipes, Danielle Pletka, Michael Rubin, and Meyrav Wurmser.
The leading neoconservative magazines & newspapers are the Commentary, the New York Sun, the Wall Street Journal and the Weekly Standard. The think-tanks and advocacy groups that are closely aligned to the neocons are the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Centre for Security Policy (CSP), the Heritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), the Middle East Forum (MEF), the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), and to a lesser extent, the Bradley Foundation and the Henry Jackson Society.
The neocons occupy influential positions at a variety of organisations and institutions and have been prominent in shaping the Bush Administration's unilateralist foreign policy, and especially the ill-fated decision to invade Iraq in March, 2003.
Neoconservatism is essentially a political ideology which mostly extols the virtues of US hegemony, and sometimes even the idea of an American Empire, and they believe US power should be used to encourage the spread of (western) democracy and discourage potential rivals from even trying to compete with the United States.

Source : The Israel Lobby & the US Foreign Policy

Hey, I am Home

2008-10-17T15:18:00.010+08:00

It's great to be home again and more strikingly I got my mobile phone back ! I was without the phone for the whole duration that I was away from home. I had unwarily dropped it in the car on the way to the KLIA on the day of my departure. Luckily my vacation retreat on a man-made Palm Jumeirah island was adequately connected to the internet. I could have gone bonkers without it ! Thank you Nazrah & Anwar for the good time I had on my recent retreat and for being such great hosts. I am already missing you, Sofea Aishah and Arzaqel, hehehe....

Flying Kuwait Airways (KU) on my return journey wholly negated the adverse impression I first had of the airline. To my complete disbelief, the cabin service was excellent. I had an aircrew named Wadi to thank who exactly knew what service quality was all about. On disembarking at KLIA, I congratulated the Asst. Chief Cabin Crew named Nasser for the excellent service rendered. Landing of the aircraft by the pilot was perfect. I don't mind taking a KU flight again on my next trip anywhere on the globe.

Currently I have a number of serious issues to blog about but I need a little more time to decide which is relatively more imperative and expedient. Also I need to catch up with my chilling-out buddies at the cafe around the corner of my present house.
To Bujai particularly, I am ready to meet up whenever you have a free time to chat on certain issues of mutual interests over a 'teh tarik' in one fine afternoon.

SNIPPETS from the MIDDLE-EAST (Part III) : All Is Not Bed of Roses

2008-10-12T12:19:00.025+08:00

Walking around in this region has forced me to grapple with stinking body odour of foreigners from certain countries of the South Asian sub-continent. Even the locals have to hold their breath when those dark-complexioned people are passing by them. Who cares to tell them that they need to do something about their extremely repulsive body odour ?

Housemaids here are simply treated almost like 'no thing'. The maid would tag along with the family she works for on a shopping trip either pushing a trolley or baby-stroller. When comes the time for meal in the foodcourt or restaurant, the maid would be allowed to sit together at the same table with the family, but never would she be offered to eat something with them nor a cup of plain water for her to sip. She would just sit there watching until they finish eating. Such is a respect for humanity ! Is it a cross-cultural thing ?

In the hypermarkets or huge departmental stores in town, racial discrimination is conspicuously rampant. I wanted to buy some fresh fish from an international hypermaket at a famous shopping mall but felt somewhat ignored by the store assistants manning the fish section. I waved at them for attention as they would still need to pick the fish for you anyway. They looked at you fleetingly and didn't care a hoot. They instead attended to their own kind who was in fact behind me in the queue. When shopping for a unique straw hat at a store, I was already ahead in the queue to make payment at the cashier when a local just jumped the queue to my absolute astonishment. You wouldn't see that happening in Kuala Lumpur !

I had a chance to visit a compatriot who worked in one of the airlines on the occassion of the Eid. He was one of the most senior pilots who had grown with the airline until what it had become today. He was working under contract with the airline and had his contract revised or amended 3 times unilaterally by the so-called 'first-world management' expatriates who hailed from either the UK or Australia. They were pure racists to the core as they would choose only those of their skin-colour to fill expatriate job vacancies at the expense of other more qualified and experienced candidates. Even post-Apartheid Afrikaaners were more amicable. First-world managers practising third-world management standards, huh... !! And these #$^&*+% racists were fully aware that the same standards would be wrong and illegal when applied back in their home countries. It was a blatant hypocrisy against Asians, plain and pure. But there was nothing that he could do about it. He could not complain through his pilots' union because unionism was non-existent in this part of the world.

SNIPPETS from the MIDDLE-EAST (Part II) : The Glorious Towers of the Emirate

2008-10-07T23:32:00.016+08:00

Malaysia can still be proud of retaining the Petronas Tower as being the tallest twin-tower ever constructed anywhere in the whole wide world standing at 452 metres in height. But by international comparison of singular monolithic towers in general, it is ranked as the 7th tallest after Burj Dubai (807m), Chicago Spare (609m), Makkah Abraj al-Bajt Towers (595m), New York Freedom Tower (541m), China 557 Tower (520m), and Shanghai WFC (492m). The landmark Burj al-Arab, the tallest hotel on the Planet, only stands at 321 metres ASL (above sea level).

A Dubai company announced yesterday that it was constructing the world's tallest tower yet, to be known as Nakheel Harbour Tower standing at a height of more than 1 km (rumoured to be 1.4 km) into the sky on a plot adjacent to the present Ibnu Battuta Shopping Mall not far from a man-made island of Palm Jumeirah where I stayed. The tower would have more than 200 floors to house around 19,000 residential units accomodating about 55,000 people.

Another local company was rumoured to be planning to construct a more dizzying 2.4 km high tower in the same vicinity.

The Nakheel Tower project is largely Islamic in design drawing architectural inspirations from the gardens of Alhambra in Spain, the Alexandria Harbour in Egypt, the Tangier Promenade in Morocco and the bridges of Esfahan in Iran.

The Nakheel project is expected to be completed in 10 years.

SNIPPETS from the MIDDLE-EAST ( Part I ) : Flying on Kuwait Airways

2008-10-06T13:16:00.015+08:00

Wishing everybody a joyous Eid Mubarak.

I took Kuwait Airways (KU) to join my daughter in Dubai flying via Kuwait on the 3rd Day of Eid. As I took off late at 3.15am from KLIA, there was nothing much to endure except for my new experience of flying on KU. The flight had earlier started off from Jakarta with some European and Indonesian passengers already on board though not even half-full laden. I was allotted a window seat when I checked-in and was quite happy with the help of a ground crew at the check-in counter who suggested that I could sleep undisturbed on flight. Never did I realise that all the aisle seats were already taken up and monopolised by the European passengers who each filled the improvised sofas to sleep on. My reclining seat had to be manually operated to make it upright.

Shortly after take-off, we were served with some delicious meal, more like a light middle-eastern savoury, which was too short on quantity ! I was quite hungry then and whispered to the stewardess, who happened to be a Malaysian named Win Nee, asking for a double portion of same but it never came. The flight was not full, remember ? There were still so much food on-board the flight to go round with. I didn't see them serving liquors or beer on flight, but the pineapple juice given to me was simply a disaster; it tasted as if a cockroach has swum in it. I asked for an orange juice for a substitute. For Heaven's sake, don't they check the quality before it is served ?

I have brought along 2 books with me for my in-flight reading but after the cabin lights-out I found that the reading light above me did not work. In fact only 2 or 3 lights did I see working in the whole cabin I was seated. What was even worse, from my quick count, less than 10% of the video screens available in the cabin were functional. And no one seemed to wanting to complain. It didn't seem to matter the passenggers for being deprived of the in-flight movies. For me, there was no reading nor movies to enjoy on the 9-hour or so flight. I managed to perform my Fajr prayers from my seat in between my numerous forty-winks when I saw an awesome streak of some red-orange dawn light over the horizon.

We touched down in Kuwait at 6.15am which was already broad daylight, but there was a heavy overcast in the sky. The weather was very cool upon our arrival. The airport, against my fanciful expectation, was just mediocre. I now had the impression that Kuwait was not as vibrant as it was hyped to be.

The good thing about KU flight, they served complimentary breakfast to all transit passengers upon arrival. May be MAS could take heed to enhance its passenger services to a higher quality level.

A Threat to the Economic Stability & National Security

2008-09-18T14:01:00.005+08:00

I am the least disturbed by the ministerial swap in Finance and Defence portfolios as announced by Abdullah Badawi yesterday. Abdullah is taking over the Defence Ministry from Najib Abdul Razak, his deputy, and handing over the Finance Ministry to the latter in exchange. Whether or not the move is an implicit confidence in Najib's ability to managing the nation's economy is anyone's guess. Abdullah has even inferred that the transition of power to Najib would be sooner than 2010 if the latter performs.
But I am overwhelmingly disturbed by Abdullah's accusation of Anwar Ibrahim being a threat to the economic stability and the national security of Malaysia. Is this a way to prepare the minds of the people at large that Anwar would soon be detained under the ISA ? Is this a credible pretext to silence Anwar politically forever ?
Anwar has failed miserably in his claim of wresting power from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) on 16th September which despairingly went by uneventful. But he still maintains that he has the numbers to effect the change in government anytime soon. His persistent claim of having the support of at least 31 MPs from the BN must have pricked Abdullah's conscience to acting immediately in response. Is detention under ISA the answer to frustrate Anwar in his quest to become the next prime minister ?

Definition of Terrorism

2008-09-18T10:17:00.009+08:00

The eminent Dr. Yusuf al-Qardhawi defines a terrorist as one who intendedly kills human beings without regards to whether they are ordinary citizens or military personnel, without considering whether they are guilty or innocent, without distinguishing the oppressed from the oppressors.

A US Army Manual defines 'terrorism' as the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature.... through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear.
The British Government defines it as the use, or threat, of action which is violent, damaging or disrupting, and is intended to influence the government or intimidate the public and is for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, or ideological cause.
Going by the US and the British definitions, no reference is made to the legitimate struggles for freedom, independence, or resistance to occupation, oppression.
It follows that the resistance movements in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the freedom-fighters in Kashmir, Kurdistan, Southern Philippines, Chechnya, Southern Thailand & Xinjiang are therefore NOT terrorists.

Cracks in UMNO

2008-09-15T15:05:00.000+08:00

Muhyiddin Yasin, the Minister of International Trade & Industry, has called upon Abdullah Badawi, the Prime Minister, to hasten the transfer of power to someone else instead of waiting for 2010 to effect his Succession Plan. Abdullah has retorted that he would stick to the original plan and it was improper for Muhyiddin to raise the issue now after it has been endorsed by UMNO Supreme Council. Najib Abdul Razak, the heir-apparent, has advocated that the succession plan should be decided by grassroot members of UMNO inferring that he is NOT fully committed to such plan. Tengku Razaleigh, a former cabinet member, pointed out that there was no legal provisions under the UMNO Constitution to deal with leadership succession plan. Zaid Ibrahim, the apparent Law Minister, has challenged Abdullah on the recent use of the Internal Security Act to detain journalists and politicians without trial. Both Muhyiddin and Zaid have indicated that they are ready to face the music for what they have advocated against Abdullah.
Are these events supposed to be the preamble to the much-anticipated political crossovers of BN MPs to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) tomorrow ?

Al-Quran, Surah Ali Imran : 69 ~ 74

2008-09-11T12:34:00.000+08:00

In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

69. It is the wish of a section of the People of the Book to lead you astray. But they lead astray (not you) but themselves, and they do not perceive.

70. You People of the Book ! Why do you reject the Signs of Allah of which you are (yourselves) witnesses ?

71. You People of the Book ! Why do you clothe Truth with falsehood and conceal the Truth while you have knowledge ?

72. A section of the People of the Book say : 'Believe in the morning what is revealed to the Believers but reject it at the end of the day; perchance they may (themselves) turn back.

73. And believe no one unless he follows your religion. Say : 'True guidance is the Guidance of Allah. (Do you fear) lest a revelation be sent to someone (else) like that which was sent unto you ? or that those (receiving such revelation) should engage you in argument before your Lord ?' Say : 'All bounties are in the hand of Allah; He grants them to whom He pleases; and Allah cares for all, and He knows all things'.

74. For His Mercy He specially chooses whom He pleases, for Allah is the Lord of bounties unbounded.

Sadaqallah ul 'Azeem.

What Sedition ?

2008-09-10T13:17:00.000+08:00

I read from the History of Islam that following the exodus of the Muslims from Makkah to Madinah on the Hijrah led by the exalted Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., the hosts in Madinah were referred to as the 'ansar' whilst the migrating group from Makkah the 'muhajirin'. It was a way of identifying the people between the two groups.

In Malaysia (Tanah Melayu or Malaya previously) the Malays and the aborigines have usually been all along identified collectively as the 'indigineous' people, and the other races would therefore fittingly be called the 'non-indigineous' in order to distinguish a former from the latter. But such other races as Chinese and Indians were not identified as such but was instead referred to as the 'migrant races' at one time or another in the recent past.
As part of the terms for the Independence of Malaya imposed by the British colonialists upon the Malay leaders, the Malays ought to grant citizenship to the migrant Chinese and Indians, and in return those migrant races should recognise certain rights & privileges of the Malays under what is known as the 'Social Contract' of Malaya.
I find it extremely enigmatic when reference to the Chinese community as a 'migrant race' by an UMNO divisional head recently became a big controversy among the Chinese political leaders in the MCA and Gerakan (both BN components) calling it seditious (which is severely punishable under the Law).
It appears to me that the Chinese now refuse themselves to be recognised as a 'migrant race'. Are they now demanding to be classified as the 'indigineous people' just like the Malays or the aborigines ? Are we going to see a Malaysian History re-written subsequently ?

Current Parliamentary Composition before 16th September

2008-09-08T15:43:00.000+08:00

BN, the current ruling party, only holds 63.06% (140) of the total 222 seats in Parliament while the Opposition PR commands the balance at 36.94% (82). In order to wrest control of Parliament, hence the Federal Government, the People's Front (PR) would need a defection of at least 30 MPs from the ruling BN party to reconstitute the composition to 112 seats (50.45%) of PR against 110 (49.55%) of BN for a simple majority.
Short of the required two-thirds majority (148 seats), the new PR government, if ever formed, shall NOT be in a luxury to revoke or amend existing laws nor legislate new ones. So what would be the benefits of the planned "regime change" by Anwar Ibrahim to the ordinary people at large ?
Under the collective PR banner, PKR currently has 31 seats, DAP has 28, PAS 22 and Independent 1. Going by an ethno-religious classification, the PR is represented by 43 Muslims and 39 non-Muslims while the BN at 89 and 51 respectively. Will the composition change drastically as a result of the defections after 16th September so as to substantially misalign or unshackle the Malaysian power structure for good ? Is that what Anwar wants in his political adventurism vis-a-vis the Malay-Muslim majority in the long terms ?

Winds of Change in Malaysia's Political Landscape

2008-09-08T10:31:00.000+08:00

According to a local poll conducted a few days ago, 86% of the respondents believed that Anwar Ibrahim could unseat Abdullah Badawi and the ruling National Front (BN) from the reigns of power on Malaysia Day, 16th September. While I would welcome the 'regime change' from BN to PR (the People's Front), deep inside me I have overwhelming apprehensions about Anwar's real political orientation and allegiance of his premiership as he is purported to have stricken well-endowed acquaintances with US heavyweights such as Al Gore, a former US Vice President, and Paul Wolfowitz, a former Chief of the World Bank, among others. Wolfowitz, if you would recall, was the US State Department Chief for Asia Desk during the Reaganite administration. Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the US from 1981 through 1989. Surely Anwar was no stranger to Wolfowitz then as Malaysia , being part of Asia, was directly under the latter's 'thumb'.
If Anwar eventually turns out to be the new Prime Minister of Malaysia, I am eager to see whether Anwar would, upon his elevation, immediately scramble to fly to Washington to pay his personal homage to George W Bush, and subsequently ratify the Free Trade Agreement with the US soon after.
My big question is whether Anwar will be instrumental to expanding US hegemony to Malaysia wholesale, or what ?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INTAN....

2008-09-05T10:40:00.000+08:00

It's 5th September. Happy Birthday, Intan.... May Allah bestow you with His utmost Grace and Compassion. Though alone by myself, I will not want to miss this occasion for anything else. I love you and will not stop loving you despite your absence.
It has been a year and a half now since you departed from this world, leaving me groping in the dark without a candle. You were the candle enlightening me in the streaks of darkness. Life seems almost empty without you as I don't have you to come home to. May Allah provide you with everything pleasant in the Barzah.

Who Killed Benazir Bhutto ?

2008-09-04T14:52:00.000+08:00

An assasination attempt was made today on Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister of Pakistan and the Taliban immediately claimed responsibility. Did the same group kill Benazir ? I tend to believe so. But why did they kill her ?
Benazir was a longtime US lackey and so is Pervez Musharraf, the recently deposed president of Pakistan. Soon after being made the prime minister, Gilani went to Washington to pay homage to George W. Bush continuing Benazir's legacy of being staunchly pro-US. Gilani must have made deals with Washington to renege on the re-instatement of the judges sacked during Musharraf's rule. He must have also agreed with Washington not to prosecute Musharraf after his (Musharraf) political departure. And these have led Nawab Sharif to withdraw from the coalition government under Gilani. Now that Zardari, late Benazir's husband, is pursuing to become the next president of Pakistan.
Whether it is Musharraf, Benazir, Gilani or Zardari, they are all American proxies in the Sub-Continent, including Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. But Hamid Karzai is a real US puppet. No wonder the Taliban is going after their blood.
Do we have the likes of Musharraf or Benazir in our midst ? I believe we do.

Will You Please Shut Up, Khir Toyo !

2008-09-03T13:26:00.000+08:00

Khir Toyo is unhappy about the appointment of village heads in the State of Selangor where he was previously the Chief Minister. The new State Government under Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is said to have picked up members from PKR and PAS to be the new heads.
What's wrong with that ? Surely, when government changes so will ministers. Khir Toyo, you had done a lot worse than that when you were the Chief Minister. Did you ever appoint PAS or PKR members as village heads when you were in power previously ? You installed your own people to be members of mosque committees in the state dismissing the choice made by local congregants. You even removed Imams of mosques who were seen to be not on your side, not to mention restrictions imposed on respected Islamic scholars against giving tazkirah (discourse) at the mosques. You even forcefully closed down 'surau' (musalla) whose congregation was of different political affiliation than yours.
As Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly now, your time and energy should be better spent on other major issues befalling the State. Please don't stoop that low by championing matters deemed to be "red herrings". Don't be petty. You are certainly more worthy than that.

Which Heads Will Roll ?

2008-09-02T12:22:00.000+08:00

Confidence is mounting each day among PKR supporters of Anwar Ibrahim in toppling the BN Government of Abdullah Badawi on 16th September, which is about 2 weeks away. Anwar has declared that upon his elevation as the new premier, he would immediately release all detainees now being incarcerated in detention centres under the Internal Security Act (ISA) which legalizes detention without trial. I would rather urge Anwar to abolish the draconian ISA altogether.

What else ? I think all the group editors, chief editors, and editors of the mainstream media who have served diligently as the mouthpiece of the ruling parties shall have to go unconditionally. Next would be the vice-chancellors or rectors of the public institutes of higher learning who have shown to be working for the ruling party instead of protecting academic freedom in public universities or colleges. What about the chiefs of the Government-Linked Corporations (GLCs) who have been handpicked by a certain minister ? We shall see.

Would we see an early retirement of the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General when Anwar comes into power ? I hope not.

Will Anwar Make It Comes 16th September ?

2008-08-31T15:30:00.000+08:00

All opinions I have sought from friends and foes seem to be optimistic that Anwar Ibrahim will be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia when some 30 MPs from the ruling National Front (BN) are expected to defect to the People's Front (PR) by 16th September. This would lead to the downfall of Abdullah Badawi as a premier and the collapse of the BN government. Anwar himself re-affirmed the plan was still on track when he was speaking at the Parliament House recently.

Mathematically speaking, I find the target of getting 30 MPs to cross over to PR seems to be quite a tall order. May be he could get 13 from Sabah and possibly 7 from Sarawak. There may be 2 more from Gerakan (BN's component party) from the Peninsula. But that only makes 22, which is short by 8, certainly not enough to unseat the incumbent goverment. Where else possible defections could come from ? It is said that there will MP's from UMNO joing the PR ranks, but will they make the numbers ?

If PR could unseat BN comes 16th September, let's see whether Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang of PAS would be made the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Notable Jews in History : Past & Present

2008-08-29T13:53:00.000+08:00

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Winston Churchill
Christopher Columbus
Benjamin Disraeli
Dwight David Eisenhower
Albert Einstein
Sigmund Freud
Alan Greenspan
Theodore Hertzl
Henry Kissinger
Nikolai Lenin
Karl Marx
Nancy Pelosi
Joseph Pulitzer
Rockefellers
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Rothschilds
Joseph Stalin
Leon Trotsky

Source : James Stenzel : Jew Watch

Kudos to the Election Commission

2008-08-28T12:25:00.000+08:00

I have never had respects for the Election Commission for its apparent subservience to the ruling parties. But this time I shall make it an exception for the speed it has taken to advise the Speaker of Parliament on Anwar Ibrahim's victory in a Tuesday by-election to enable Anwar to take oath as a Member of Parliament and become the new Opposition Leader the following Thursday. Job well done, Election Commission !

What is Corruption ?

2008-08-24T18:39:00.000+08:00

In the run-up to the Parliamentary By-election in Permatang Pauh on Tuesday, 26th August, 2008, I could see reports in the mainstream media showing political figures involved in repairing dilapidated houses in some villages, financial contributions to the mosque and surau (musalla) committees being distributed and other imaginable acts of concerns and care by politicians. All these happen during the 10-day campaign period in efforts to woo votes in the constituency. Would this happen if there had been no by-election there ? Is this not CORRUPTION ?

It is time that the Election Commission reviews the rules of the Election to ensure clean and healthy practices.

Anwar Ibrahim's SHADOW CABINET LINE-UP

2008-08-22T15:47:00.000+08:00

Comes 26th August, Anwar Ibrahim will be declared the winner of a parliamentary by-election in Permatang Pauh constituency. Most political pundits have concurred that Anwar's victory and his imminent return to Parliament is a foregone conclusion. Some acquaintances from Permatang Pauh I have spoken to confidently claim that there is practically no need to campaign for Anwar as he is expected to win the by-election handsomely with his hands down.
We shall soon see whether Anwar's claim of having secured the support of 30 defecting BN (National Front) MPs to form the next Federal Government is really substantive or just trying to catch a rainbow.
In the war of posters in Permatang Pauh, one purportedly distributed by PKR, Anwar's party, shows a new cabinet line-up that includes Nurul Izzah, an MP from the Federal Territory of KL, who is Anwar's daughter. Huh, so much for his anti-cronyism stance !!! But I earnestly hope that the line-up was a fictitious creation. I just could not imagine nor could I accept that Ustaz Hadi Awang, PAS President, is only slotted as a senior minister in charge of Islamic Affairs, and that there is no single Malay or Muslim being designated as a Deputy Prime Minister from among the three DPM-designates. If this is supposed to be a dream team of Anwar Ibrahim's cabinet, then PAS should rethink its affiliation to Pakatan Rakyat (People's Front) coalition government.
Having full control of two State Governments in Kelantan and Kedah respectively and a respectable number of MPs in the current Parliament, PAS should be given the due respects it deserves in the distribution of cabinet posts to the component parties within Pakatan Rakyat.
With the exception of the Prime Minister, the Malays form barely 30% of the cabinet composition [PAS (4), PKR (3)]. Is this a Malay/Muslim political sell-out yet again?
I wish to imagine that the shadow line-up is just a figment of a hallucination of a creative jackass.

Curtailment of Friday Sermon in Perak

2008-08-18T15:54:00.000+08:00

Ustaz Nik Aziz and Ustaz Abdul Hadi, PAS Spiritual Leader and President respectively, were barred recently from giving Friday sermon (khutbah) in the Perak State Mosque in Ipoh purportedly by the Crown Prince of Perak (presumably representing the Sultan of Perak as the Head of Islamic Affairs in the state) on the ground that mosques should not be used for political purposes. Was the restriction decreed purely by the Perak Palace or was it done under political pressures from the local UMNO leaders ? It is a common practice of UMNO to exercise such restriction in states controlled by them, but Perak is now under the People's Front rule headed by a Chief Minister from PAS (Note : PAS also has her chief ministerialship in Kedah and Kelantan states respectively).
To my personal knowledge, these renowned religious scholars and leaders are not known to have abused the Friday sermons as political platforms.
If it is from the Palace, the Crown Prince must have been ill-advised in issuing the restriction which effectively segregates Islam from politics. But Islam is wholesome, it is a complete way of life. How could politics be separated from Islam ? Only the secularists like UMNO would subscribe to this notion of separation.

Muqabalah with DAP

2008-08-07T13:37:00.000+08:00

Now that PAS leadership has renounced any possibility of merger talks with UMNO much to the relief of anxious members of PAS at the grassroot levels. Their mission to dislodge UMNO and BN from the seat of power is not accomplished yet. In this light, the political onslaughts against UMNO/BN must be sustained more concertedly in collaboration with PKR (People's Justice Party) and DAP (Democratic Action Party) respectively under the banner of the People's Front (Pakatan Rakyat, PR). They have the resolve to get the job done.
I see this tri-partite scheme of things is an opportune window for PAS to reach out to DAP to clarify the idealisms which PAS upholds in a 'muqabalah' with DAP leadership. The People's Front shall be strengthened further if rough edges between PAS and DAP could be smoothened out cordially and amicably on the principles of the Convenant of Madinah. This 'treaty' was essentially an agreement entered into during the time of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. between the Muslims and the Jews in Madinah to govern their relationship. The Jews were identified in the Holy Quran as "the people of the Scripture".
Membership of the DAP comprises largely Chinese and, to a lesser proportion, Indians who are Buddhists and Hindus respectively by their religious affiliation, although a small number among the two communities profess Christianity. But unlike the Jews, the Buddhists and Hindus are not categorised as 'the people of the Scripture' though.
According to the Covenant of Madinah, the religion and the properties of the Jews were recognised legally and given protection. The Jews who were allied to the Muslims and entered into peace were entitled to equal treatment and assistance and they should suffer no injustice nor crime (the aggressors and the criminals were excepted). The perpetrators of such acts prejudiced themselves and their immediate relatives. Each party shall advise and counsel the other for the good as opposed to the evil. Assistance belonged to the sufferer of injustice, not its perpetrators.
The Covenant was a protection against treachery, but no protection was here implied for the perpetrator of injustice or crime. It formed the basis of a New Social (world) Order built on peace, a peace built upon reason. Under this New World Order, the non-Muslims may enjoin the Muslims as equal citizens of the State. Their religion, culture, social, economic and political institutions and properties remained intact. But they must however renounce aggressions against the State and isolationism.
It promoted peaceful interchanges on religious, intellectual and cultural levels among the people which formed the substance of freedom, the freedom to convince others of one's views as well as to be convinced of theirs. The non-Muslims were not only free to present their case but were invited to do so.
The Muslims did not give up their duty to call the non-Muslims to Islam, but their call was conducted 'with wisdom and comely presentation'. Under no case whatsoever may any human be coerced or pressured to change his religion.

" (There is) no coercion in religion. Truth and error are manifest. Whoever wishes to accept the Faith may do so at his own accord and will to his own personal credit. Whoever does not may do so to his own personal discredit (with God)" [Quran 2 : 256]

In PAS' single-minded pursuit to establish Islamic Law in the country, the concerns, fears and anxiety of the Buddhists, the Hindus and the Christians in Malaysia should not be sidelined or ignored. They should be encouraged to establish their own religious courts to hear cases of their adherents according to their own laws respectively.
Under the Covenant of Madina, the Jews were required to set up their own court of law to judge themselves by the precepts of Jewish Laws according to the Torah.

Reference : Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi : Islam and the Problem of Israel
The Other Press, Kuala Lumpur (2003)

Malaysia's WARRIORS' DAY

2008-08-06T14:47:00.000+08:00

Last week on 31st July, 2008, Malaysia celebrated this annual event to commemorate the struggles and sacrifices of our soldiers and policemen in defending against external aggressions and maintaining peace and harmony in the country. But who were these warriors ?

As a nation we seem to be unwittingly glorifying those mortals, Malays just like ourselves, who had fought under and for the British colonial power against Japanese occupation and the communist insurgency respectively. For all intent and purposes they were truly British soldiers fighting to preserve British sovereignty in Malaya and certainly they did not deserve the annual commemoration.
I would only want to celebrate the occasion to remember the sacrifices of those who had fought valiantly to liberate our country of British colonisation.

The Bastions of Turkish Secularism : Part 3

2008-08-05T11:49:00.000+08:00

The donmeh (doenmeh, donme) refers to a group of Sabbatean Crypto-Jews of the Near East who are the followers of the Ottoman Jewish false messiah Sabbatai Zevi who in 1666 converted superficially to Islam but still covertly retained and practised Jewish beliefs and rituals. They are pseudo-Muslims for political purposes and reasons but consider themselves as some kind of Jews although not officially recognised by the Jewish authorities. Reportedly one such known living person is Ismail Cem, who was recently the Foreign Minister of Turkey before the AK Party came into power.
The donmeh, the secret Jews (Jews posing as Muslims), are also variously known as selanikli (people of Salonika), avdeti (converts), momzarim (bastards), minim (heretics), or ma'aminim (believers) depending on which side you are. Though they were socially accepted by the Muslim society unknowingly, they only married within their own community which ended in several recessive genetical traits being typical of donmeh. However at the end of 19th century they started to assimilate with the Turkish people by practising mixed-marriages, and by the end of 20th century the donmeh were fully integrated with the Turkish society. They have largely ignored the restrictions on intermarriage with Muslims since the 1960's.
The donmeh played an enormous role in the establishment of the Young Turks movement, a band of modernist revolutionaries led by young Mustafa Kemal, who brought down the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdul Hamid.
After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the donmeh strongly supported the Republican Party (CHP) in introducing pro-West reforms of Mustafa Kemal that brought restrictions of power of the religious (Islamic) establishment and modernisation of the Turkish society.

Passing the Baton

2008-08-04T17:28:00.000+08:00

Wan Azizah Ismail, the Parliamentary Opposition Leader, has resigned as an MP to pave the way for Anwar Ibrahim, her husband, to stand for a by-election in Permatang Pauh constituency much to the chagrin of UMNO leaders. This is the first step taken by Anwar in his quest to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia comes 16th September 2008. Mahathir Mohamed, a former premier, has lauded the move as a symbol of love of a wife for a husband, barely displaying any overtone of sarcasm against Wan Azizah nor Anwar.
But Syed Hamid Albar, the Minister of Home Affairs, and Noraini Ahmad, the Deputy Minister of Human Resources, both of the ruling UMNO, have slammed the resignation as a betrayal of voters' trust and a waste of public money (in running a fresh election). They must be talking through their ar*** !! Are they oblivious of the fact that the People's Front is now working hard to topple the present government of Abdullah Badawi by garnering supports from the National Front's MPs through defections ? They must be very, very naive if they are.
Any layman in the street could easily read Wan Azizah's manoeuvre as a strategic move to facilitate the path for Anwar to take over the premiership. What's wrong with that ?

Nearly Agree means Never Agree

2008-07-31T14:11:00.001+08:00

The spin-doctors are at work again. After a denial from Dr. Hasan Ali of BN's offer of chief ministerialship of Selangor to PAS, a mainstream tabloid aligned to UMNO today front-paged Ustaz Nik Aziz, PAS Spiritual Leader, as having nearly agreed to talks with UMNO on the possibility of forming a state government in Perak, another state which has been wrested by the People's Front (comprising PKR, PAS and DAP) from UMNO/BN after the March 2008 General Elections. What do they mean by 'nearly agreed' ? Is Nik Aziz is so unprincipled and fickle that he could easily be sweet-talked into changing his political stand and conviction at a moment's notice and when the sentiments and the mood of PAS grassroot members in general are not in favour of cooperating with UMNO politically ?
I think PAS should rather spend time more beneficially to hold muqabalah (or even muzakarah) with DAP stalwarts along the spirits of the Covenant of Madinah than wasting time and resources with UMNO heads who are known to be synonymous with dishonest wheelings and dealings in the past.

Viva AKP !!!

2008-07-31T12:13:00.000+08:00

I thank Allah the Almighty for sparing the ADALET ve KALKINMA PARTISI (or AKP, the Justice and Development Party) of Turkey from being banned/outlawed by the Constitutional Court. I would not dare to anticipate the turmoils it could have precipitated had the court decided otherwise, but I could imagine the faces of relief from the AKP leadership. I wish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan the best of health and be blessed with the energy and strength to continue with what AKP struggles for (I used to drive him and his wife, Amine, in my car round KL when they were on a private visit here).
It was a close call for the AKP when 6 of the 11 judges of the Constitutional Court voted for the ban, but it needed 7 to acquiesce the prosecution's case. The prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, also sought to bar Erdogan and his 69 MP's from active politics for 5 years.

Muqabalah, Not Muzakarah

2008-07-28T15:18:00.000+08:00

At the rate things are going right now, PAS should immediately cease from making any contact with UMNO in the spirits of the People's Front (Pakatan Rakyat, PR) unity. PAS should demonstrate its commitment and sincerity to its pledge of collaboration with PKR made prior to the March Elections. The pact was made in an effort to mount a concerted and formidable challenge to UMNO/BN in the elections. DAP came into the fold at the behest of PKR to consolidate popular opposition against the ruling party. PAS was not privy to the political pact between PKR and DAP. Chronologically speaking, the PAS-PKR pact came into existence before that of PKR and DAP.

The electoral pacts were essentially centred on the allocation of statal and parliamentary seats to be contested by each party respectively against the UMNO/BN. In the first round of negotiations for seats, only PAS and PKR were involved. The pact between PKR and DAP came into the picture after PAS had identified and ascertained the seats they wanted to contest. DAP was left to negotiate with PKR for the remaining seats decidedly not contested by PAS.

In the spirits of the political pact between PAS and PKR, the former should never have consented to meet up with UMNO immediately after the Elections to discuss a political alliance to form a new Selangor State Government to be led by PAS. To me it was tantamount to an act of mala fide. Very distasteful or even unIslamic to some extent.
It will not be a big surprise if DAP wants to review the role & involvement of PAS in the PR if the latter wishes to continue dialogues with UMNO under whatever pretext.
In so doing, DAP must take cognisance of the fact that the PAS-PKR pact takes precedence over the secondary PKR-DAP pact. And I don't think PKR wants to forgo PAS at the expense of immediately losing the new tri-partite State Governments of Selangor and Perak.

Why PAS Can NEVER Be Sharing the Same Bed With UMNO ?

2008-07-25T10:19:00.001+08:00

These are entirely personal observations and deductions based on my informal interactions and discourses with some UMNO members I happen to meet and be acquainted with. The observations I have made may not necessarily reflect the actual traits of UMNO members in general but they nonetheless could form some basis for judgement.
It basically goes down to divergent sets of value systems adhered to by the opposing parties. One firmly believes that in order to raise the economic status of the Malays, they must be granted licences to operate casinos while the other considers it absolutely "haram" (strictly forbidden); it is okay to invest in pig-rearing, brewery, and casino projects to derive economic benefits for the Malays, which the other party considers them abhorrent. It is okay for them to imbibe alcoholic drinks while the other detest them. They say they can use interests (usury) from their saving deposits for the purpose of performing the Hajj when the other opposes such edict. Their dress codes are distinctly different from each other. Yes, all of them perform the solat (prayers), observe the fast, pay zakat (tithes), perform the Hajj but that's where their similitudes end. Though they both believe in Allah, one of them simply rejects the Syari'ah Law dismissing it as inappropriate for a multi-racial country like Malaysia.
Given the stark differences in value systems of PAS and UMNO, certainly they make very strange bedfellows.

Pedra Branca : The White Rock Island

2008-07-24T15:50:00.000+08:00

Last May, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) handed down Pulau Batu Putih (White Rock Island, better known as Pedra Branca) to the Republic of Singapore in a legal tussle between Malaysia and the republic over the ownership of the rocky outcrop which stations a lighthouse to guide ships plying the Johore Straits. The decision was greeted with great consternation by the Malaysian people because it was historically ours and located in our own waters. The island of Singapore itself was in fact a part of the Malay Peninsula before crafty Stamford Raffles leased it from the reigning Sultan of Johore then.

It was a great boo-boo on the part of our legal team in the Hague led by Abd Ghani Patail, the controversial Attorney General. The decision is now a subject of an appeal by the Malaysian Government to the ICJ for its reversal.
It is an open secret that Singapore retains Israelis as their security advisers. Now that Singapore stakes a claim over waters around Pedra Branca that covers a 12-mile territorial sea and a 200- mile Exclusive Economic Zone. This move is no big surprise to me as it is characteristically very Jewish in manner. I see this recent move by Singapore as arrogant, belligerent and superfluous against her friendly neighbour after wresting the rocky outcrop away from Malaysia.
It vividly reminds me of the current military stand-off on the border between Thailand and Cambodia over ICJ's decision to award a religious site to Cambodia which historically belongs to Thailand. Will Malaysia resort to a similar action against Singapore ? I very much doubt it as our Government simply has no guts nor balls to stand up to the unfair ruling of the ICJ.

UMNO-PAS Muzakarah

2008-07-22T16:23:00.001+08:00

The Muzakarah issue is getting hotter and hotter as the day goes by. A local tabloid has reported that PAS is skeptical of the UMNO's initiative for fear of being short-changed a second time round. Ustaz Nik Aziz, PAS Spiritual Leader, has refused to participate in such talks and urged the Islamic party to pull out altogether citing a possibility of its own internal break-up if pursued further. He expressed his concerns of the talks being used by UMNO as political gimmicks with the aim of destructing PAS. Amidst strong resistance from Nik Aziz, the Party's Ulama Shura Council has authorised PAS leadership to engage in the talks with UMNO to enhance Muslim unity. The lone dissenting voice of Nik Aziz in the Shura Council certainly signals some cracks within the PAS ranks, however minimal. Husam Musa, PAS Vice President, is also seen to be negative about the dialogue.

Ironically Khalid Samad, a PAS MP who formed the delegation to meet Abdullah Badawi of UMNO, has revealed that the key issue discussed was a possibility of PAS joining the BN to form a Selangor State Government with Dr Hasan Ali (of PAS) to be appointed as the Chief Minister. Khalid has further alleged that Abdullah was trying to undermine and subvert the People's Front's (PR) cohesiveness and to diffuse possible defections of BN's MPs to PR.

I found it interesting to note that in between the lines, Khalid declared that PAS attendance at the talks was to hear what Abdullah or UMNO has to offer to PAS. See that ? Politics is after all an art of the impossibles.

The People's Front : A Marriage of Convenience

2008-07-21T15:14:00.000+08:00

I see the formation of People's Front (PR) state governments in Selangor and Perak as a pragmatic move by the Opposition to wrest power from the ruling National Front (BN) after the March 2008 General Elections. In both states PAS actually holds the trump card without which the PR could not have garnered enough majority to form the respective state governments. If PAS withdraws from the present coalition, the PR government in the two states shall inevitably collapsed. Beside Selangor and Perak, the states of Kelantan and Kedah have come under the control of PAS ( a PR component) single-handedly while Penang comes under the rule of the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) (another PR component).

In Selangor, to say the least, I have sensed for a quite a while already that it has never been a bed of roses for PAS to be a partner in the state coalition. It is either PAS representatives not having shown enough teeth or they simply suffer from a political inferiority complex, or they are being sidelined from major issues affecting the state. And these discomforts have just been confirmed by Dr. Hasan Ali, the Selangor PAS State Commissioner, who stated that PAS is at the stage of adjusting itself in this new political set-up and that it would take time to smoothen things up.

I would venture to theorise that UMNO is closely monitoring the situation and would jump at any opportunity that shows cracks within the PR coalition. And if PAS can be lured to defect to UMNO/BN, immediately UMNO/BN shall be poised to regain control of Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan without much sweats, leaving behind Penang solely in the hands of the PR. This must be the only rationale of Abdullah Badawi, the UMNO President, for having initiated political dialogues with PAS in the interests of, supposedly, Malay and Islamic unity. Not a bad political mathematics !
But after the political debacles suffered by PAS when joining the ruling BN at the federal and state levels in the 1970's, I don't think PAS would be so naive as to allow itself to be bitten twice by UMNO from dishonest political wheelings & dealings. After all UMNO is already is a sinking ship according to some enlightened political pundits.

Muzakarah, Muzakarah Everywhere

2008-07-21T11:36:00.000+08:00

The Israelis are holding direct talks with Hamas, the US is talking to Iran and in the local scene UMNO (United Malay National Organisation) is reportedly engaging with PAS (Pan Malaysian Islamic Party). The US-Iran talks have reached a cul-de- sac, a dead end, apparently. And in no time, I expect the Israel-Hamas talks will come a grinding halt.
From the outset, I do not foresee any possible convergence of thoughts between these political giants who are diametrically opposed to one another in matters concerning Islamic issues. They are poles apart. It is rather unimaginable to think of a rapproachment between them. Though Malay-based, UMNO is secular and while PAS is Islamist in their respective political pursuits. UMNO believes in the separation of religion from politics while PAS looks at politics as an integral part of religion. UMNO will vehemently deny this on the strength of its recent advocacy for Islam Hadhari (civilised Islam) while still rejecting the integration of politics with Islam. As an ordinary layman myself, I keep on questioning whether Islam as originally propagated by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has never been "civilised" such that there is a need to introduce a fresh version of Islam when Islam has already been perfected as the true religion for all mankind during the life of the Prophet (pbuh). Clearly Islam Hadhari purportedly advocated by Abdullah Badawi, the UMNO President, does not subscribe to the principles of "enjoining the good and forbidding the evils". What kind of Islam is this when the evils are liberally tolerated ?
For the present UMNO-PAS talks to have any chance of durable sustainability, UMNO should consider the following fundamental premises : (a) to streamline it's ideology in accordance with the teachings of the Hadith and the Quran, (b) to accept politics as an integral part of Islam, i.e. to reject secularism totally, and (c) to withdraw the concept of Islam Hadhari.
PAS under the leadership of Asri has in the past had experience of being treated badly by UMNO whilst in the National Front government as well as in the Kelantan State coalition government respectively. Enough is enough. Ustaz Nik Aziz, PAS Mushidul'am (spiritual leader) is the best living mortal to be consulted with over these UMNO political overtures.
To the PAS representatives presently engaged in the talks, I just want to caution them from being gullible or politically naive.

DNA Does Not Lie ??

2008-07-18T11:23:00.000+08:00

Syed Hamid Albar, the Minister of Internal Affairs, stated that DNA samples never lie clearly referring to Anwar Ibrahim's refusal to give blood sample for DNA profiling in connection with an alleged sodomy case. I totally agree with him, scientifically speaking only that is.

Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto Opposition leader, a few days ago was arrested by police and remanded for questioning. He was released in less than 24 hours of detention after posting a bail.

Like Anwar's similar case in 1998, for which he was subsequently acquitted, the medical reports were proven to be doctored. What guarantee can one have against such manipulations not to recur ? Properly validated DNA result on its own could stand in any court of law, but to match it with the crime-scene evidence is a different card game altogether. The court shall have to be satisfied that such evidence was gathered legitimately and not planted. What stop the DNA samples being spattered where it mattered in order to corroborate with the evidence ? You may plant a sachet of illicit drugs in the pocket of someone when you want to nab him for any reasons at all.

Reflections from the Historic Public Debate

2008-07-17T09:58:00.000+08:00

The 1st Public Debate on air is over, but the people of every social stratum are still talking about it. Najib Abd Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, is seeking feedback from the masses before the government would decide on carrying on live telecast debate between the Opposition and the Government over issues of public interest. If only he could have done the same before the decision to introduce the controversial price hike of oil.
I found a post-event remark by Khairy Jamaluddin, an Oxford-trained Member of Parliament, pertaining to the oil price reduction issue to be very shallow or even moronic. I had absolutely no doubts at all of the pledge made by PKR in its Election Manifesto to reducing the oil price by 90 cents from the prevailing RM1.92 per litre then. Had PKR been returned to power in the last General Elections, the people would have seen the promise honoured. And I believe the People's Front government would not have increased the price at such high rate introduced by the ruling National Front government.
I hope the Ministry of Information would institutionalise this Public Debate-on-Air as a part of enhancing our democratic process to a higher level of respectability.

Debate on Air the Malaysian Way

2008-07-16T11:23:00.001+08:00

Kudos to the organizers of the first direct telecast of a Public Debate on TV which was much awaited by the Malaysian public. But midway through the debate I was struggling to understand whether it was an economic or a political discourse between a junior Government Minister and a seasoned political campaigner from the Opposition.

I was first very apprehensive when it was made known that Johan Jaafar, who was widely known to be biased and partial when facilitating any public forum on the air, would be the moderator. But as the debate took its course, I found that he was not that bad after all. If he could maintain his neutrality in any future public forum, I would seriously consider delisting him from my own hate-list.
On take-off Shabery Chik, the Minister, being a political greenhorn, blasted his way on a personal offensive against Anwar Ibrahim, the popular Opposition Leader, who refused to be drawn into personal issues in a magnanimous manner. Clearly Shabery was no match to Anwar.
If there was any winner in the debate, Anwar would have carried the day by a very vast margin.

The Bastions of Turkish Secularism : Part 2

2008-07-15T13:40:00.000+08:00

The Turkish Parliament has recently passed a law to lift the ban on use of headscarf (hijab) by female students in university campuses. But the law was soon overturned by the Constitutional Court (CC) declaring that it undermined the secular principles of the Republic of Turkey. The CC comprises 11 judges who apparently have the absolute authority to reject any laws passed by the Parliament if such laws were deemed to be against Turkish secularism. The Parliament, supposedly the voice and the lawmakers of the nation, is obviously subservient to the CC. Who are behind this undemocratic move ? If the Parliament cannot make laws according to the wishes of the people, why have a parliament at all ? Why have parliamentary elections at all ?
Though such act appeared to be anti-Islam, I am not here to question its legitimacy. Let the Turkish people themselves provide us with an answer.
In Part 1 of this posting, I have suggested that the "donmeh" who control the Judiciary, the Army and the Universities are the guardians of secularism in Turkey. Who are these people ?
The Donmeh are Sephardic Jews who under the pastorship of Rabbi Shabbatai Zevi in December 1686 outwardly converted to Islam during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid of the last Othmaniah Caliphate. Shabbatai Zevi and his followers chose to convert to Islam for fear of being executed by the Sultan after Zevi falsely claiming himself a messiah. These converts never became true Muslims as they secretly kept and maintained their Jewish beliefs and practices which were passed on to their children. Outwardly they lived as Muslims.

Crime Against Humanity

2008-07-14T12:53:00.000+08:00

The President of Sudan is reported as being considered for indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in Den Haag (the Hague, Holland) for his alleged involvement in the current Darfur crisis. But this is still subject to approval by the Security Council of the United Nations Organization. A few days ago, an attempt was made at the Council to slam economic sanctions against Zimbabwe for Robert Mugabe's "mishandling" of the recent local Elections but was turned down when it was double-vetoed by China and Russia. Will this planned indictment be vetoed again by either Russia or China in the Security Council ? To me it will be most likely vetoed by China considering the warm relations enjoyed by Sudan with the former.

But why President Omar al-Bashir is being targetted ? Why not first indict President George W. Bush of the US who has illegally inflicted so much war casualties and destruction in both Iraq and Afghanistan ?

A Milestone for D-8 Countries

2008-07-10T14:23:00.000+08:00

The D-8 Summit held in Kuala Lumpur ended yesterday with a rather encouraging note. Member countries like Indonesia, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey are already producing cars on their own. A decision to pool the available resources of these countries to mount on a joint-project in car production is highly lauded. But why only cars ? I look forward to seeing another joint-effort by the D-8 to produce arms for defence soon.

Political Rethoricisms : D-8 and G-8 Groupings Playing to the Gallery

2008-07-08T12:31:00.000+08:00

Today sees the opening of the Developing-8 Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while a similar G-8 Summit almost at the same time taking place in Hokkaido, Japan.

At the the D-8 gathering today, Malaysia is expected to take over the chairmanship of the Grouping (comprising 8 developing Muslim countries namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey) from Indonesia for the next two years. What can the D-8 achieve for the benefits of the Muslim Ummah ?

The G-8 which is made up of 8 developed countries has proven itself to be an outing for its leaders to make promises and pledges of international aids only to dishonour them later. They are more interested in protecting their own interests than seeing a better world for everyone on the planet. It is a platform to appease each other at the expense of the rest of the world. On the environmental issue, for example, the US has stated that she would comply with the Kyoto Protocols if both China and India would toe the line. But China and India are not members of the G-8. How ironical it can be ?
At the current D-8 meeting, Iran has rejected any deliberation on the issue of oil price hike dismissing it as inappropriate, but on the sideline her Foreign Minister has advocated the use of Gold Dinar to replace the US Dollar as an international currency after the failure of the Bretto-Woods Declaration. I hope Iran Iran will pursue this issue at the next OIC gathering for adoption and subsequent implementation. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed used to advance this idea once before. We have to keep the momentum going for its eventual realisation.
The D-8 Gathering should not be made a gallery for political rethorics, tall declarations or communique. It should be a platform to coordinate international aids to less fortunate Muslim countries like Chad, Somalia, Albania, Kosova, etc. They should think of setting up a Rapid Deployment Force to spearhead rescue operations in any Muslim country facing natural calaminities such as earthquake, flood, tsunami, typhoon, famine, plague, etc, etc, or creating an international petroleum reserve for poor Muslim countries. Apart from enhancing trades among the Muslim countries, the D-8 should set up a joint-commission for arms research to enahnce military capacity of the Muslim countries, including nuclear arms capacity, as well as how to address immediately the problems of food shortages in the Muslim world.

The Bastions of Turkish Secularism : Part 1

2008-07-07T17:30:00.000+08:00

These are the Donmeh who control the Judiciary, the Army and the Universities in the Republic of Turkey under their extremely tight grips regardless of which political party is returned to power in a General Election. They can change the government of the day anytime they wish. These are the very people who had brought down the government under the premiership of Necmettin Erbakan and are currently attempting to dislodge the present which is under Recep Teyeb Erdogan. Both the premiers were alleged to be Islamists who have posed a formidable challenge to the sustainability of secularism in Turkey. The Constitutional Court shall soon decide on banning the ruling AK Party under Erdogan and restricting their members of Parliament from active politics for a specified period of time, accusing them of harboring hidden Islamic agenda. If this is carried, AKP will disappear totally from the local political scene forever. This move by the Constitutional Court is deemed to be undemocratic under whatever pretext. It is a dismissal of the wishes of the populace who elect the government they choose to have.
Why there are such close relations in military, political, economic and intelligence matters between Turkey and Israel ?
When I was in Istanbul not too long ago, I saw in the newspapers reports of Turkish Defence Minister and his top generals visiting Tel Aviv a few days before the Turkish Security Council was held. What is the connection ?

Homicide vs. Sodomy

2008-07-07T12:56:00.000+08:00

I somehow sense that the local mainstream media is attempting to sway public attention from one homicide case implicating the incumbent Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Najib Abdul Razak to focusing on a sodomy case involving the former DPM, Anwar Ibrahim. It should be no surprise to everyone as most of the mainstream press and electronic media are closely linked to the ruling elites which perpetually have the tendency to skew public opinion particularly on issues affecting the ruling parties and their stalwarts for their own benefits naturally.

Against the backdrop of the current travesties, surprisingly a handful of State Muftis have joined the fray by contradicting each other over the need for "muhabalah" (swearing by the Holy Quran) by both the accuser and the accused to settle the issue once and for all, adding further confusion among the public at large over same.
In the first case, the accuser, vide his Statutory Declaration (SD) made on 1st July, 2008, has implicated Najib in the murder of Antaltuya, a Mongolian businesswoman, whose body was detonated by the use of C4 explosives, but later retracted it within the next 24 hours of having made same. Why was the retraction so sudden ? If the accusation is not true, the accused could definitely take legal actions against the accuser for libel or slander. But this is not preferred. It is obvious that, after the retraction, the accused has no case to answer !! In an earlier related case involving Najib's wife which arose from another SD by a blogger, she too chose not to pursue any legal actions against her accuser. She may sue the blogger for defamation or libel if the accusation was a sheer fabrication.
But why the retraction ? What immediately comes to mind is whether the accuser was coerced by some threats on his life or his family members', or induced so sweetly that he could not refuse, or he was simply not sane. Is he not guilty of abusing a process of law by the retraction ?
In the second case, the accuser had the liberty of seeing Najib, the DPM, at the latter's residence for advice prior to making a Police Report against the accused. What Najib has got to do with the case ? Would you seek the opinion of a DPM concerning your personal matters if you happen to be an aggrieved party ? Why didn't the accuser go straight to the Police ?

What's Going On, Malaysia ?

2008-07-03T14:19:00.000+08:00

In this "Bolehland Malaysia", anything is possible, everything is enabled. Now that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has intended to record statements from the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General respectively over a recent police report lodged by Anwar Ibrahim against the duo.

I am not aware that the ACA has jurisdictions over criminal proceedings other than graft- or corruption-related cases when its Director General announced that the department planned to take over the investigation from the Police Department to ensure impartiality. Has ACA the authority to do that ? Is he confirming that the Police has been partial so as to merit the case being transferred to an unrelated department to conduct investigations on a criminal case which normally falls under the purview of the Police ?

ERRATUM : Wife of DPM

2008-07-03T12:01:00.000+08:00

The wife of Najib Abdul Razak is Rosmah Mansur and not Rosmah Osman as previously identified. My great thanks to Miss Simplicity for pointing that out. This inadvertent error is very much regretted.

Police Report against IGP and AG

2008-07-02T14:28:00.000+08:00

Contrary to my earlier posting, the police report made by Anwar Ibrahim on 1st July, 2008, against Musa Hassan, the Inspector General of Police, and Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney General, respectively was pertaining to the latter withholding facts against Rahim Noor, the former IGP, for assaulting Anwar in the eye whilst under police detention.
Anwar claimed that both Abdul Gani and Musa were aware of the assault by Rahim against him on 20th September, 2007, at the Police Headquarters in Bukit Aman, but chose to conceal the incident from public knowledge. The public only learnt of the incident when it was brought up to the attention of the court during Anwar's trial.
Abdul Gani and Musa were also alleged to have conspired under the direction of Mokhtar Abdullah, the former AG, in preparing an undated medical report on the injury sustained by Anwar which was inconsistent with the nature of the injury.
If that could happen once before, what assurance could we have that such similar incident will not recur ?

Oh No, Not Again !!

2008-07-02T11:04:00.000+08:00

I am rather perplexed by the recent allegation of sexual impropriety against Anwar Ibrahim, the sacked Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia during the reign of Premier Mahathir Mohamed for a similar case, against the backdrop of a series of nearly simultaneous events of (a) a statutory declaration by blogger Raja Petra against Rosmah Osman, the wife of the current Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, implicating her of apparent involvement in the murder of Altantuya, a Mongolian businesswoman, (b) a police report by Anwar Ibrahim against 3 high-ranking government officials including the Attorney General, the Inspector General of Police and one other for conspiring to fabricate evidence against Anwar for his alleged earlier sexual misconduct; (c) imminent defections of Members of Parliament from the ruling National Front (BN) to the People's Front (PR) to cause a possible collapse of the present government under the premiership of Abdullah Badawi to pave the way for Anwar to be the new premier.
Many would claim that new persecution against Anwar is simply a way to distract public attention away from the high-profiled Rosmah's case. And Rosmah herself has announced yesterday that she would not initiate any legal actions against Raja Petra.
Many would still remember that Anwar was finally acquitted of the earlier sexual charges against him. This second episode apparently smacks of similar attempt to discredit Anwar so as to derail him from his pursuit to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.
I am not sure when the alleged exploit did take place. But if I were the victim, I would have lodged a police report against the alleged perpetrator within 24 hours of such assault if I were forcibly compromised. Or was it committed by mutual consent ? If the so-called victim had waited for some time before a police report was made, I have some questions of what could have taken place during the time-gap in between.
Is it probable that this is another case of a high-powered conspiracy ?

Are Most Vice Chancellors or Rectors of State-owned Universities in Malaysia Political Appointees ?

2008-06-30T17:41:00.001+08:00

There are hues and cries over the termination of service of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Selangor (Unisel) which takes effects on 31st July, 2008, labelling the decision of the newly-installed State Government of Selangor as politically motivated.

I am more inclined to believe that any such appointment to the highest executive post of a public institute of higher learning in Malaysia is based on relatively some academic credentials of the appointee though not absolutely so. It doesn't come as a complete surprise to me when the service of the current VC of Unisel is terminated by the new Chief Minister of Selangor after the People's Front (PR) took over the administration of the state from the National Front (BN) after the 2008 General Elections. The new State Government has every rights to act the way they do if the action is legally in order. It has been reported that the VC was given an initial probationary period of 6 months before he can be confirmed in the top post. For reasons best known to the previous State Government, he was never confirmed at the end of the 6-month period and his probation was further extended to another 6 months. What does this tell you ? Under our prevailing Labour Laws, an employer has the rights to terminate the service of an employee by way of notice at any time at the former's discretion if the latter is not confirmed in his post. And I am not going to dwell on the intricacy of such Laws.

Like Unisel, another institute of higher learning under the ambit of the Selangor State Government is expected to undergo some reshuffles of its top management soon purportedly because of active political involvement of particular senior staff of the institute supporting and campaigning for the BN in the last General Elections. My common sense will tell me that such staff should willingly tender their resignation immediately when there was a change of government for moral reasons. If you are opposed to the current Government, you should go at your own accord. Period.

Are the conditions surrounding the dismissal of Unisel's VC similar to that of the other establishment ?

CORRECTION OF OIL PRODUCTION FIGURE

2008-06-25T15:29:00.001+08:00

Because of my own typo error, I wish to amend the Saudi's oil output figure which was wrongly quoted by me at about 1.o millions barrels per day. I t should have been read as about 10.0 millions barrels per day.
Going by the figures released by International Petroleum Monthly for the month of May, 2008, Saudi Arabia produced an average output of 9.2 millions barrels per day for the first 3 months of 2008.
The error is very much regretted.

Another Fuel Price Hike is Looming in August

2008-06-25T03:28:00.000+08:00

When the Malaysian Government announced the increase in retail price of fuel to RM2.70/litre from RM1.92 previously we were assured that there shall not be anymore increase in the price for the remaining of this year. Previously, Rt. Hon. Shahrir Samad, the Minister of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs, had announced in May that any fuel price increase would only be considered from August 2008 onwards, but the people of Malaysia was shocked by a pre-emptive decision of the Government to increase the price much earlier than expected in stark contradiction to Shahrir's earlier pronouncement. Was Shahrir trying to hoodwink the people, or was it a blatant lie ?
Now speculations are abound that the local fuel price shall be increased again sometime in August this year against the backdrop of a recent decision by Saudi Arabia to increase her petroleum output to almost 1.0 millions barrel per day.
In my mind, if the Government decides to advocate another price increase of fuel in August, then they are just heartless given the current price of basic necessities having increased by between 40 to 50%.

Out of Political Favour

2008-06-24T10:24:00.000+08:00

The Rt. Hon. Yong Teck Lee is now being subject to an Anti-Corruption Agency's investigation over his RM5.0 millions deal during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Sabah. But what surprises me is the timing of such action following his statement on a potential withdrawal of the political party which he presides from the ruling National Front (BN) and his intention of pushing a Vote of No Confidence in the current sitting of the Parliament. Obviously this did not materialise when he, as the proponent of such motion, was absent from the parliamentary session.
The question is whether such action against him would have been triggered at all had he chose to remain a loyal member of the ruling coalition. Why now ? Wasn't the powers that be aware of such case as it happened then ? Was the 'malpractice' condoned by his political peers then when he was still a powerful BN supporter ?

Malaysian Civil Servants in Business

2008-06-23T09:34:00.000+08:00

It is a common knowledge that low-ranking staff of the public services of Malaysia have been engaged in small businesses of their own operating from their office desks. Their target customers are naturally their own colleagues at the office adopting the multi-level-marketing or direct-selling system. This has been going on knowingly by their own office peers who chose to keep both eyes closed on such illegal activities.

With the recent fuel price hike forced upon the people at large, the Government sees it fit to allow the government servants to set-up their own small business on a part-time basis in order to augment their income against the impact of the price hike of not only fuel but also their basic groceries for daily consumption. This is a part of the Government efforts to cushion the people against the spiralling prices of basic food items and all things in demand resulting the fuel price hike. It is not anticipated that the private sector will emulate this enigmatic step of the Government.
The first thing that strikes my mind is the potential effects of such move on the productivity of public servants when they are allowed to do business albeit outside their working hours when we already know that some of them have been active in business for some time right under the nose of their bosses. What worries me is that their official duties at the office would become secondary to their business enterprise. Their office duties would have to come second when they are in business. If their office hours end at 4.45pm they would then have to scramble immediately to engage with their business. As all people in the business would testify, you will have to do some thinking and planning prior to meeting the people you want to see for your business; and that means all these thinking and planning processes shall have to be done during your office hours compromising the real work you need to accomplish as a public servant.
All these efforts in alleviating the economic hardship of the people would have been unnecessary had the Government not decided to increase the price of fuel which happens to be one of the highest hikes in the world, if not the highest.