40 Reasons why the Sodomy Charge against Anwar is too Ridiculous to Believe

Read them, then google about them, and draw your own conclusions.

Google Buzz

Plurk is already losing out to Twitter in sheer number of users. And now we have Google Buzz, taking advantage of the sheer number of users who have gmail accounts.

ISA, where art thou?

Racism hinders Najib’s 1 Malaysia. Read it. Disgusting.

You get a three-year suspension for labeling an entire race of people as squatters (and having the suspension lifted after only 1 year), yet you get arrested under ISA for reporting the incident... In that same article, you get arrested for rumours and suspicions (no proof or witnesses whatsoever) for a matter relating to a single mosque, yet the man who publicly insults the people of TWO races is just forced to resign (not even fired or kicked out, just resign...).

More? How about the fella who got arrested for allegedly insulting the Sultan? That was quick. Shouldn't there be at least some sort of police action for insulting the peoples of TWO races? No?

Call me pessimistic or hard to please, but that 1Malaysia slogan is going to just be nothing more than a slogan to me.

UPDATE: More proof that the 1Malaysia idea is mere propaganda. Read the third paragraph very carefully, reproduced below:

“Datuk Nasir never intended to make any derogatory remarks. He spoke at length on the contributions made by all races in developing the country.

“Nevertheless, Datuk Nasir apologises for any offence caused,” it added

Are they serious?! Never intended to?! How exactly do you "not intend to insult people" when there are at least four reported derogatory remarks? How insincere can PM Najib's administration be to just say "Nevertheless"... as if it was a very small issue and as if they were being so magnanimous in asking that racist to resign. Remember how they threatened Wee Meng Chee (a university student at the time) with police action for using the national anthem to make his grouses known? Disgusting. Really disgusting.

UPDATE 2: Sadly, there's more. Folks, we now have a "mature" man, defending his fellow "immature" man, by giving very "mature" reasons and very "intellectual" arguments.

Immense organisation running this Umno-linked Facebook group!

Read this and draw your own conclusions:

Immense organisation running this Umno-linked Facebook group!

The Malays are cowards, says Utusan

The Malaysian Insider has published an article titled The Malays are cowards, says Utusan. The article apparently is a highly racist article that again wields the race issue as its weapon. Why does Utusan play up racial agendas so often? As usual, there's the standard set of accusations of usurpation of power and erosion of rights -- all very glaringly devoid of specific instances and of course, conveniently ignoring the "vice versa" part. Sad.

What's sadder is that our Deputy Prime Minister apparently supports the racist article. You wonder where he was when the infamous Ahmad Ismail uttered the racist remark that the Chinese in the country are immigrants and squatters (notice how, at the end of that section, Utusan Malaysia is yet again involved). Yuck. And for those who didn't know, the journalist who reported the remark was arrested and detained under ISA rather than the person who made the remark. Incredible no? Again, you wonder where our DPM was at that time, since he's supportive of the media's "right".

Why do Malaysians march?

Read the Sun's Why do Malaysians march?

Kematian Teoh timbulkan pelbagai spekulasi politik

I would suggest people read the article entitled "Kematian Teoh timbulkan pelbagai spekulasi politik" published by Berita Harian and gather their own impressions.

I just find it really baffling that Teoh Beng Hock's death under mysterious circumstances while under MACC custody (for an interview no less) can be insidiously written and turned into an anti-Malay affair. It's fine to accuse the opposition parties of trying to capitalise on the issue in an attempt to undermine the present government, but why mention race? Why must a major newspaper and supposed source of intellectual information in Malaysia fan racial sentiments? The irony is that the article is seemingly decrying racial sentiments - unfortunately, it's by being anti-anti-Malay.

It's also strange that when the whole country doesn't know exactly what happened to cause Teoh Beng Hock to fall out a window, the writer actually seems to imply that it was indeed just an accident (quote: Apabila mangsa kemalangan pula orang bukan Melayu, yang sebelumnya disiasat orang Melayu, bertambah hebatlah spekulasinya.).

Anyway, I don't think that was a very professionally written article - maybe it started off well-meaning, but I think the way it was concluded, and the fact that it was a major publication, made it even more damaging than all the hate messages on the internet. Don't take my word for it of course, just read, and draw your own conclusions.

Justice For Beng Hock

I join the demand for answers and a detailed explanation from MACC of the death of Beng Hock.

Elizabeth Wong offer resignation

Quoted from the Star, "Selangor executive council member and Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong, whose nude photographs are being circulated, has tendered her resignation from both posts, but party leaders have yet to accept it."

A rather sad turn of events. Is this really a politically-motivated smear campaign? The sentiments these days will usually elicit a "yes" answer, even from those who normally sit on the fence. Sure, it could just be a personal revenge done by a single individual. But the fact that many big names (most especially the men) did not outright condemn such a despicable act is by itself, a politically-motivated reaction to distance themselves from the victim. By not affirming and condemning the act as despicable and trying to avoid the issue by mentioning something else, I personally feel that they have insulted all women. "It is despicable to distribute nude photos of a woman without her consent." What is so hard or so politically-incorrect for them to say that?

But these are minor infractions compared to those who seem to love faulting the victims. What? So if I choose to sleep nude and someones snaps photos without my consent and distributes them without my consent, it's still my fault? I strongly suspect that these people also blame rape victims for getting raped, and robbery victims for getting robbed. You know what's really ironic? These people brandish "moral" as their reason.

It's our fault?

Ok, I'm probably missing something here. The Bukit Antarabangsa landslide tragedy appears to be the public's fault... at least, that's what our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi thinks it is. Apparently, it's the fault of Malaysians for buying houses with good views built by developers licensed and taxed by the government on land approved by the government.



Yep. Our fault. Why the heck did those unfortunate Malaysians buy those houses? Don't they know that hillsides are dangerous? They should never trust developers who are licensed by the government who are developing on hilly areas approved by the government. I mean, you obviously can't trust them, they're just out to earn your money and can barely be held responsible for building those residential buildings in the first place, never mind the initial approval given by the government, who obviously, can't be blamed for the issue since they just approved the development, and didn't actually build it....

Wait... huh?!



It's even more confusing when you read that the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak requested that developers not to lobby or pressure the government for any building permits for hillside development. Apparently, the government issues permits for whatever you want when you pressure them enough... I want free broadband! I'll make sure to start pressuring them and see if it works.



Two days now and nobody has talked about how to reimburse the poor residents. No one talked about how to help them through their tragedy. No one talked about taking the responsible parties to court and trying them. Of course, with rescuers like these, I'm not sure if people want them to help further. Remember what happened after the collapse of the Highland Towers? No? Of course not... nothing happened! Business as usual, that's why we're having this landslide tragedy. And 5 - 10 years down the road, I bet something similar will happen again and our politicians will say the same thing again. I sincerely hope the residents will get some form compensation, but given the Highland Towers incident, I am, unfortunately, much in doubt.



LKS posts:

• Criminal negligence
• Too much resignation, too little outrage
  

Malaysian political oddities

I can't even begin to list all the obviously politically-motivated issues that's been hogging the headlines lately. It's really tiring to keep hearing stupid statements and silly explanations being offered daily.

RPK is now being forced to serve a 2-year sentence under ISA for allegedly insulting Islam in his blog, where he mostly laments the current state of affairs of the Muslim world from his perspective. Inflammatory perhaps, but I wouldn't call it insulting or threatening national security. That article states that cabinet ministers were "shocked" at seeing the contents of the blog. Strange that no one reported them being "shocked" at seeing Teresa Kok being arrested under the ISA for having allegedly told mosque officials in Kota Damansara, Sri Serdang and Puchong Jaya to tone down the call to prayer. What's really funny about that is that the mosque's involved had actually come out and stated that nothing of that sort had happened. Apparently, according to the "wise" Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, she was arrested for her protection. I've really never even thought that a law like the ISA, which was concepted for tackling communism, can be used for protection of an individual against an accusation that was based on a blog post and a newspaper article based on that blog post. Wow.

Oh, and what about that reporter who reported the infamous "penumpang" statement by the now-infamous Ahmad Ismail? Apparently, reporting (and being a journalist, her job) about an incendiary and insulting remark is immensely more dangerous than actually making the incendiary and insulting remark. It's like saying the reporter of a murder is more than dangerous than the murderer. I wonder why Teresa Kok was arrested for "her protection" about something she was not proven of doing but this Ahmad Ismail was not arrested for doing something he was reported to have done... confusing eh? And after Teresa Kok got released? Some are more concerned with her claims of "dog food" being served than her wrongful detention in the first place. Sad.

And there's so much more I can go about that it's depressing. Hollywood can get a lot of ideas from our politics.

Free Teresa Kok, Abolish ISA

To all Malaysians concerned about our freedom and future, and friends of other countries, please join our petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/freetkok/petition.html

UPDATE: Good news, she has been released.

Golden Boy of MAS

After reading that news article, I don't know what which I found more amusing: that the resulting ad hoc produced system sounds suspiciously like an amalgamation of open source software, or that MAS, as the national airlines, is still using a paper-based system for maintenance management!!! No wonder the national carrier has always been plagued by financial issues.

I just found it a little ridiculous that the reporter would choose to use a phrase like "design a database solution that rivals commercial systems". If that were true, don't companies around the world feel stupid to have bought all those commercial systems? And just to be helpful to many would-be programmers, try searching for inventory-related management software on Sourceforge.net. You'll be surprised. And want to manage a database? Try phpMyAdmin. Either the reporter or the subject of the feature article had been exaggerating when mentioning "zero knowledge in programming". He studied in APIIT, so come on, no knowledge at all? What exactly do they teach in an information technology-related institute of education? Of course, I'm not trying to dumb down the accomplishments of that MAS employee and his team, it is certainly a strong showing of their dedication and passion for improving their job environment. I'm just a little miffed at the exaggerations of the article.

And for MAS itself? I'm stumped as to how their management had managed to go that many years without even hitting upon the thought that maybe, just maybe, an IT solution would help reduce their cost. That feature article certainly opened up my eyes as to why MAS kept reporting losses - they seem not to have improved with the times. It's rather sad that it had fallen on an engineer of the company to take it upon himself to improve the company's competitiveness. I hope that same management would reward the man and his team handsomely for their dedication and freelance work, rather than just reap the profits. I suppose MAS is happy to know that they hired a group of people willing to sacrifice for their company without expecting remuneration.

Jokes from beyond the Bridge

This article from a Singapore news website is really really quite funny. Too bad the joke's on us. Can we blame them for making fun of us? I don't think so, since I believe that if the roles were reversed, we'd be doing the same thing, and probably in a cruder manner.

5 Years for Manslaughter

What?! Five years for manslaughter? Only? This is turning out to be another of those silly "Malaysia Boleh" thing again. What sort of justice and fairness is a simple 5 years sentence to the 5 Thais who beat one of our own countrymen to death? How can the court expect the victim's family to feel consoled by such a sentence?

Since when has the sentence for manslaughter be similar to the sentences of snatch thefts? While I do understand the point where the victim was most likely provoking the Thais and likely "digging his own grave" as they say, given the reactions of the Thais on hearing the sentence, it is obviously too light. A sentence doesn't give joy to the perpetrators, they should be dreaded of it and makes other people feel fearful, as a deterrent and lesson never to do it again. 5 years only is almost a mockery of the worth of a person's life.

English Problem

When the government decided to steamroll the decision to have all Maths and Science subjects to be taught in English back in 2003, I had anticipated alot of problems, problems like this. There was simply not enough planning and consideration for the sudden switch from the national language to English. But the government probably thought this might force people to improve their English skills.

As it is, it's doubtful that it's been an effective move towards raising our national standards of English, Math and Science proficiency. It's rather shocking that our public universities, UPM, UKM, and UM are actually having problems teaching in English. The rub is that it's not the students who are facing problems, it's the lecturers themselves. Maybe these lecturers should attend English classes together with the students.

Negaraku

Anyone else who read the news article "National anthem to be rearranged" published by the Star on July 31 felt as disgusted as I was? (Pelita Negara's opinion) There I was shaking my head and wondering what in the world those people are doing. Don't they have anything else to do? Don't they realise that all those songs that are being played over national television are horrible? None of the new songs could even come close to match the beauty and now classic 'Setia' (Loyalty). And here they are, trying to change our national anthem for the second time. Anyone heard of another country who changes (read: downgrade) their national anthems once every 10 years or so? Why not change the flag, our Rukun Negara, and our state names since we're at it.

A national anthem is not simply a song - it is the song that unites us all as a people, a nation. It should be a solemn and serious affair, not some marching song (currently), or a modern upbeat rhyme (probable new version). I remember back in primary days and early secondary, during assemblies, people would stand still and sing when the national anthem is played. I still remember feeling proud and patriotic singing it, especially when it was broacast at the end of transmission at around 12 mn or 1 am or so each day. I remember being impressed at the majestic song, and awe at its deep strength. When the change was effected, it was no longer deep and soulful, just another melody to be sung during assemblies, and pretty soon, only the headmaster and the prefects were singing it, and trying to cow the rest of us into joining in.

I really hope someone in authority would really stand up to this and force a change back to when it was first sung publicly during our independence. Then, and only then, would it be a national anthem that I will be truly proud to call our own.

MyKad

Ooo... before I stop, I'd better say my piece about MyKad. Just the other day, The Star reported that the Director-General of the NRD commented on the under-utilisation of MyKad. MyKad utilises the smart-card technology and, at present, provides these 7 functionality or applications:

1. As an identification card,
2. A driving license,
3. International passport,
4. Storage of health information,
5. E-Cash,
6. ATM services; and
7. Touch n' Go and Public Key encryption infrastructure.
   

While there has been extension coverage of the benefits of the usage of a MyKad by the local media, there was hardly any discussion or information regarding its security and any contingency plans for stolen cards or information access rights. What happens when my card gets stolen? Will the thief with the appropriate reader be able to illegally use or sell my personal information? Or will I face discrimination when looking for a job or trying to get insurance based on my stored health information?

Belkisa Lim recently sent a letter to Malaysiakini. In it, the author mentioned a hotel booking incident using MyKad, the very first time the author made a booking. It seems that just based on the MyKad number, the person with the right tool can find out everything about you: including your name, phone numbers (home, mobile, and office) and address.

Frightening? I for one, think so. I value my privacy, especially my whereabouts on any given day. This sort of information easily allows the government to track our daily activities. I have a feeling that when the government finally makes it mandatory for all Malaysian citizens to switch to MyKad, our situation is going to be like the Americans and their Social Security numbers. With a simple number, everything about you and all you've done from the point of having the card can be recalled with a single click. My question is: Who has access to all this information? Why doesn't the government release information on the precautions taken to prevent such things? Or was there no consideration at all, given the government's track record of reckless implementation and lack of detailed planning?

Until the government forces me to, or assures me satisfactorily of its safety, I'm sticking to cards that each perform a specialised function.

Edit
Read this one by TV Smith.

Sexual Crimes

Since I'm moody, I'm in the mood for some rant. I always write better (especially poetry) when I'm feeling like this.

I'm sure everyone who's been in this country for the past couple of days would've known about the terrible incident that occurred to Canny Ong. It is so sad that such things still happen and in such a cruel manner.

And not just this, the amount of sexual crimes has been on the increase of late, be they the 'date rape' sort or incest crimes. Why? I really wonder. What's wrong with those men? Is their urge for sexual satisfaction so great that nothing short of rape can satisfy them? Don't they realise that their mothers and sisters are also female? Would they condone rapes on them then?

My friends and I discussed this last night, and we think that the main problem is due to the accessibility of pornographic material and our education and moral system. Porn movies portray women as sex objects, since they're mostly geared towards male audiences; mainly because males tend to be more easily aroused through visual stimulation (an article carried by the Star some years ago), whereas females are more imagination-oriented.

Getting back, we think that porn stuff is the catalyst, or the 'push', that propels those men to commit those heinous crimes. The prime factor is education, or the lack of it.

Yeah, sure, we get that so-called sex education in our biology books. It teaches us about our sexual organs, physically. But there's actually no mention about how one is supposed to actually have sex. There's also no mention about how sex affects people emotionally and physiologically, not even in moral classes, where it should have been stressed, especially on the consequences of unsafe or pre-marital intercourse. Naturally, everyone's curious. And those men, being part the more aggressive sex, and still having the residual mentality of male superiority, never thought about the consequences of their actions, only the thrill of the moment.

How can we put a stop, at least a stopper, to this? I wonder what would be the sentence imposed upon the rapist and murderer of Canny Ong... death by hanging? Won't that seem too light a sentence? I'm thinking castration, then life imprisonment, or public humiliation. Barbaric? I definitely don't think so. I do recall a period of time when newspapers published readers' opinions on castration for rapists. Most said no, preferring the more slower and humane way of "educating" the people (I believe some women's group are also included, can't remember, too long ago). Well, I'd say they're too naive, and too idealistic.

The best way to deter is to instill fear. Then, after they are suffciently cowed and discouraged, start educating the younger generation. The older generation (out of schools) are mostly likely beyond re-education. You just can't change them much anymore, so ignore them, punish them, and educate the young.

I can see immediate benefits of castration (plus caning, compensation, community work, and public humiliation - muah-hah-ha!) over long prison terms:

1. It's a reciprocal punishment: they scar the victim for life, so the law must scar them for life as well.
   
2. No one has to worry about a repeat offender, since the... uhh... tool, has been removed. (To be more inhumane, take away the ability to father offspring too, in case they pass on bad genes.)
   
3. No need to waste resources on keeping them in prison, when our prisons are already bursting at the seams.
   
4. Death penalty? Why? Why give them the luxury of death when the victim has to get on with her life? Humiliate them publicly, and let them carry the shame. Should make the victim feel much better than death, imprisonment, or caning sentences.
   
5. Acts as a BIG deterrent for would-be rapists: I'm sure nothing would be more humiliating to us men than having to lose our manhood and then having that fact publicised to the nation.
   

There's my rather long two cents on rape crimes. All you rapists and would-be rapists really makes me believe in religion and wish that there's a terrible Hell where you would rot in for all eternity, plus having to go through the fear, pain, and trauma over and over again, both in life and death!!! (How's that for a curse? :P )

My Ambition... an Express Bus Driver

The Star today carried an article on the proposal to raise the speed limit of express buses. Our Transport Minister parliamentary secretary Datuk Donald Lim was reported saying:

"Companies should discourage their drivers from trying to maximise the number of trips just for additional income."

I kinda find it amusing. No offense to Datuk Lim but I think the statement was made in bad taste. Getting income is the main, if not the only, reason those drivers drive. Most assuredly it's not for love of the job. If given the opportunity, I would want extra income too. Similarly for the express bus companies, they want to maximise their profits too.

If the drivers were to drive less frequently, they would have less money to feed their families, the express bus companies would earn less profit (which in turn slightly slows economic growth), and customers will find it even harder to get tickets (less trips = less tickets), especially during peak periods (before and after no-work days i.e. Mondays, Fridays, holidays). I know, I take regular trips south. Better screening and training for careful drivers would probably be more successful in the long term.

Just had to let something out. Not a very good day today.