Human beings, all born free and equal
November 9, 2009
Is it not within the grand scheme of the Divine that you and I were intended to be as free and as equal as the next two persons in New York?
Sure, the dynamics of international politics and the unequal location and distribution of natural resources favouring some over others has resulted in inequalities prevailing between individuals in different parts of Planet Earth.
Surely, though, within the boundaries of this, our nation-state that has come to be known as Malaysia, we, her inhabitants, must all be equal?
No?
Share your thoughts with us at the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Youth Workshop & Forum in Penang on Sunday, 15th November, 2009. For details, go HERE and HERE.
22 No-to-ISA vigilers go to trial tomorrow
November 9, 2009
9th November, last year, a weekly anti-ISA candlelight vigil across the road from the Amcorp Mall was to also commemorate the first anniversary of the historic BERSIH rally of 10th November, 2007.
Like the vigils that had gone on for several weeks before, this was also intended to be just as peaceful.
That night, though, the police were having none of this although in previous weeks, the vigils had proceeded in their presence, albeit in plainclothes.
Those who were at the Amcorp mall that night, having first sung the Negaraku, proceeded to disperse at about 9.30pm.
Some of those who dispersed made their way to the vicinity of the Dewan Sivik where an unplanned vigil was about to take place except that, whilst those who were present were singing, once again, the Negaraku, and without any prior order to disperse, police charged in and arrested many of those who were present, even as some started to leave the vicinity.
If you’ve forgotten the incident that night, or are hearing of it for the first time now, you can read more about that night HERE.
22 of those arrested that night were charged with an offence or offences under the Police Act, 1967, either with failing to adhere to an order to disperse or with unlawful assembly. I cannot recall the precise charge.
The trial starts tomorrow at the PJ Sessions Courtand, I am informed, is scheduled to run for three consecutive days.
I have a hearing in the KL High Court tomorrow and might not be able to be there tomorrow.
If you can, I am sure it would be comforting for the 22 if you could make it to the courts over the next three days to show solidarity with these vigilers.
Youth For Change Voters Registration Drive
November 5, 2009
A frequently cited statistic from 2006 stated that 70% of the 4.7 million Malaysians yet to register as voters are aged between 21 and 35 years. At the same time, the young people of the Klang Valley are becoming increasingly concerned about social and political issues, from the environment to education, human rights to personal safety.
Registering to vote is an important step to entering adulthood and taking responsibility for the society in which we live in. Unfortunately, voter registration is usually a dull and boring affair, making it easier for the young to brush their duty aside.
The Youth For Change Carnival aims to change that. With performances by top Malaysian independent musicians such as Bittersweet, Couple, Seven Collar T-Shirt, Liyana Fizi, Robot Asmara, Reza Salleh, Ika and many more, the Youth For Change Carnival aims to draw in thousands of youths from around the Klang Valley. At the carnival, those who have yet to register to vote will be able to do so easily at attractively designed booths, while standing a chance to win numerous prizes as well as freebies.
In addition to live music, the Youth For Change Carnival will also feature a mini flea market showcasing creative fashion and art by young designers. As part of the day’s festivities, short films made by young Malaysian filmmakers will be screened, including the popular 15Malaysia shorts that have been a hit on the Internet. Popular young actors, musicians, artists and bloggers will also be meeting their fans at the carnival.
Above all, the aim of the Youth For Change Carnival is to bring the young people of the Klang Valley together to enjoy fun, healthy and creative day that will also leave them empowered. The purpose might be to attract the young to register to vote, but we plan to do it with music, movies and fashion, not politics.
- Creative Mart
- Art Exhibition
- Lucky Draw
Date : 13th November, 2009
Time : 3.00pm
Venue : Bar Council Auditorium
Speakers : Professor Aziz Bari, Dr. Azmi Shahrom, Hj. Sulaiman Abdullah, Professor Shad Faruqi and Malik Imtiaz
For more information, please see here:
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/constitutional_law_committee/ or contact Ms Lim Ka Ea at kaea@malaysianbar.org.my (Tel No. 03-20317103).
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In March, 2009, the Bar Council formed its Constitutional Law Committee (“ConstiLC”) to promote constitutional awareness and constitutionalism, as part of the Bar’s already wide-ranging initiatives in society.
The ConstiLC comprises lawyers, academics, students, media personnel and activists. Its “Vision and Mission”, contained in its two-year Blueprint (2009-2011), is to:-
- raise awareness of, and educate, the Rakyat on the nature and contents of the Federal Constitution;
- encourage debate on, and the acceptance of, constitutionalism in national governance and in our social structure;
- document and respond to constitutional issues that arise;
- discuss and critique constitutional issues as and when they arise, and where necessary, offer our view;
- promote the inculcation of the study of the Federal Constitution in the secondary and tertiary education curriculum;
- conduct research and discussions on matters relating to the Federal or State Constitutions and where necessary, make recommendations for constitutional reform;
- assist and advice the Bar Council on constitutional matters.
MyConstitution Campaign (“Kempen PerlembagaanKu”)
Recognising the need to educate Malaysians on the role, function and content of the Federal Constitution, the focal initiative of the ConstiLC’s work is to conduct a first ever nationwide educational and awareness campaign – “MyConstitution Campaign” or “Kempen PerlembagaanKu”.
As part of the 2-year Campaign, the ConstiLC will, among others:-
- publish a series of pocket-sized, “The Rakyat Guides” booklets on key topics in the Federal Constitution;
- produce a series of “Public Service Advertisements” on different themes of the Federal Constitution; and
- host a series of awareness-raising and interest-building programmes on the Constitution through symposiums, dialogues, forums and lectures.
The goals the ConstiLC seeks to achieve include:-
- increased public awareness and understanding of the purpose, nature and content of the Constitution, specifically of the relationship of one institution of government with another, between the federation and its individual states, between the citizen and the State and between one citizen and another;
- recognition and acceptance of the role and importance of constitutionalism in national governance and in the social structure;
- promotion of the study of the Constitution amongst youths and young adults.
The ConstiLC aims to bring the message of the Campaign to at least 6 million households in the Peninsular, and in Sabah and Sarawak. We also hope to work with the Federal Government, State Governments, private and corporate sectors, academic institutions, NGOs and media organisations on this Campaign, always emphasising the collective ownership of the Constitution.
Zorro’s date with the cops
November 4, 2009
I got there late.
Round about 3.20pm, Ashok accompanied Zorro into the building to meet DSP Mahfuz.
We were all out by about 4.45pm.
Cops wanted to ask Zorro questions about a posting last year that featured an image of what looked like the PDRM logo altered with the super-imposition of an image of a dog.
They are investigating what they perceive to be a possible offence under section 4 (1) (c) of the Sedition Act.
Zorro and friends are right now putting away beers like there is no tomorrow.
This post is just to let you all know our friend is OK.
Reaching out to beyond the converted and the like-minded
November 4, 2009
Some of you have taken exception to the ‘Malay Malaysian bring along a non-Malay Malaysian friend, non-Malay Malaysian bring along a Malay Malaysian friend’ requirement to get an invitation to the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia forum in Penang on 15th November. If you’ve missed that announcement on this blog, you can read about it HERE.
I’m going to try and explain here the rationale for that stipulation.
The first, and in my view, the most important message that the SABM roadshow carries is that we are all, first and foremost, born as equal citizens of planet Earth, and, in the context of this nation-state called Malaysia, we, anak-anak Bangsa Malaysia, are all equal citizens.
Now, try to recall the standard adverse stance taken whenever the proposition that all citizens of Malaysia are equal is advanced by any quarter in public space.
Is not “Jangan cabar ketuanan Melayu” or “Jangan cabar hak-hak keistimewaan Melayu” the ugly response that we have grown accustomed to hear?
Who by?
UMNO and its legion of racist, bigoted NGOs.
No, not BN. The other BN component parties just hide in the shadows every time UMNO and its racist sloganeers go ballistic at the slightest mention of equality of citizenship.
Now, no prizes for guessing correctly who are the targets of UMNO and their race supremacist sidekicks.
We all know who they are.
Some of those targeted need no persuasion to incline to that race supremacist stance. They are themselves racists and bigots, to begin with, and beyond redemption. Thankfully, my experience on the ground leaves me convinced that these are but a small number, in comparison to the whole. I’ll call these the no-hopers.
And then there are others within the target group who are much too enlightened to fall prey to this racist call. The likes of Zaid Ibrahim, Malik Imtiaz and Dr. Azmi Sharom come to mind, to just name a few. These few speak up and are heard. Others, for a variety of reasons, mostly fear, sadly remain silent.
I am convinced that the majority within the target group are decent people, with the same concerns and aspirations of every other citizen of this nation. Most, though, may not have access to news sources other than the mainstream media, particularly Utusan and BH, which serve as the conduit to take the racist, hate messages of UMNO and their cohorts into the homes, the hearts and the minds of this majority within the target group. Decent as the people within this majority are, we should not be at all surprised if they are adversely impacted by this constant bombardment that rights guaranteed to them are under siege.
Let’s call the majority of the target group “VORS“, which stands for ‘Victims Of Racist Sloganeering”, for ease of reference.
How do we, you and I and every other anak Bangsa Malaysia who cares where this nation is headed, begin to try and undo the damage that UMNO and their hate-mongers inflict on VORS?
Speaking for myself, I truly believe that it is the responsibility of every right-thinking anak Bangsa Malaysia to reach out to every individual in VORS whom he or she knows and make every effort to undo the evil that UMNO and their racist NGOs inflict on race relations in our country.
Enter the SABM roadshow effort.
When the SABM roadshow hits Penang and the other cities and towns in the weeks and months to come, we want to take the message of equality to every single anak Bangsa Malaysia out there.
We want to meet everyone.
Except, perhaps, the no-hopers that I wrote about earlier, whose sole purpose for attending, more often than not, is to disrupt the forum.
Even if you are already sold on the idea that we are all of one race, the human race, and equal citizens of this nation, we still would like to meet you.
There’s much that we want to share with you through the forum.
Besides, my experience has been that many good people, for so long remaining silent in the face of injustice inflicted on others, derive encouragement and strength in meeting other like-minded people at forums like the one SABM is organising and discovering that there are others too who care and that they are not alone.
And yet, my friends and I in the SABM coregroup realise that we must prioritise.
Our resources are scarce, and hence we must optimise every opportunity we get to deliver this message beyond the converted and the like-minded.
The last thing we want is to preach this message of ‘One People, One Nation’ to a hall full of like-minded people.
It is my hope that with the stipulated ‘Malay Malaysian bring along a non-Malay Malaysian friend, non-Malay Malaysian bring along a Malay Malaysian friend’ requirement to get an invitation to the SABM forum, there is every likelihood that the forum will not end up as nothing more than a fellowship of the like-minded.
It also increases the odds on our being able to keep out the disruptive no-hopers that I spoke of and, with a bit of luck, help us unearth some budding ‘Malik Imtiaz’ out there who may now be emboldened to speak up at forthcoming forums.
How, you may well ask.
Let me illustrate the point with an imagined ‘Arumugam’.
Arumugam is your average, decent Penangite. He has no racist streak in him. He registers for the forum, also registering a Malay Malaysian friend, as we have asked. As Arumugam is no racist, it’s safe to assume, if not hope, that his friend, too, is not.
The converse, in theory at least, would also apply. A Malay Malaysian bringing along a non-Malay Malaysian friend gives us reason to hope that neither is an out and out racist, or no-hoper.
This, then, was the rationale for the stipulated requirement to get an invite to the forum.
The SABM coregroup is mindful that, like every other human endeavour, nothing is fool proof.
We can only try.
In stipulating the requirement in question, we had hoped that those of you who already share the aspiration of ‘One People, One Nation’ would help us to deliver our message to those who most need to hear it, by doing your part to get them into the forum hall.
Zorro’s date with the police tomorrow
November 3, 2009
Zorro called me about 6 o’clock this evening to say that he had been summoned to appear at the police commercial crime division near the Bank Negara train station tomorrow afternoon at 3pm.
Seems they want to question him on something that was posted on his blog. Don’t know what at this time
This old @*+% and I probably disagree on more things than that which we agree on.
One thing, though, that we share in common.
We will not tolerate any attempt by the authorities to silence the dissenting voices in civil society.
Ashok and I will accompany Zorro as his solicitors tomorrow when he attends at the police HQ.
Would be nice if the many of you who have urged Zorro by your comments on his blog to continue with his writings would make the time to be there to show solidarity with our friend in his hour of need.
Constitutional amendments carried through at the recently concluded UMNO assembly were touted as intended to address the problem of money politics that had long plagued the party’s elections.
Whether those amendments will in fact achieve that stated objective remains to be seen.
And if such amendments prove to be effective, one wonders if PKR, too, is up to the task of doing whatever is necessary to rid itself of the cancerous money politics that has, in recent days, become the order of the day in Sabah.
No, not vote-buying but, so my source tells me, buying acquiescence and submission, at divisional head level, of the most recent decision made at Merchant Square with regard to the state level leadership.
NSTonline reported last Saturday that new Sabah PKR state chief, Thamrin, claimed that 17 division chiefs or their representatives had attended the first meeting chaired by him the day before and were all supportive of his leadership of PKR Sabah.
Someone who was at the meeting assures me that Thamrin’s claim is pure fiction.
“Divisional heads who were in attendance were Thamrin for Libaran, Kudat’s Mursalim, Johani Abd Halim of Silam, Kalabakan’s Datuk Dr. Amir, Ghani Medeh of Kinabatangan, Tuaran’s Ansari, Datuk Kong of Tawau and Ranau’s Jonathan Yasin. Thamrin may lay claim to have the support of these seven, though that is seriously debatable”, my source disclosed over the phone.
“It would be a joke, though, to suggest that Hj. Ag Tangah of Kimanis and Jalumin Samin of Kota Belud who also attended the meeting lent their support to the new state leadership”, the source continued.
“Division chiefs who did not attend were that of Keningau, Kota Kinabalu, Tenom, Pensiangan, Beluran, Batu Sapi, Semporna, Beaufort, Papar, Penampang and Putatan. Representatives, in place of some division heads, attended for Sepanggar, Kota Kinabalu, Papar and Sipitang”, my source detailed.
Word on the ground, my source went on, is that more and more, Thamrin is seen as a mere puppet who dances to the tune played by yet another Anwar loyalist, Ansari.
“Ansari is calling the shots. Thamrin hasn’t a clue of what is going on.”, my source explained.
“During the pc after his meeting, Thamrin denied allegations that his predecessor, Azmin Ali, had been undemocratic in settling the matter of his replacement. Do you know that in earlier meetings, before his appointment, Thamrin was most critical of Azmin? Ask the other division chiefs privately, and they will tell you the same. If you’re going to ask, though, it better be soon because a lot of money is being tossed about in the hope of buying support for a decision by HQ that is beginning to turn into a nightmare that KL never imagined would happen. Papar division has already held a meeting to dissolve the division and more will follow unless the problem created by the appointment of Thamrin in total disregard of local sentiment is corrected. Buying the support of divisions will allow some people in KL to save face.”, my source went on.
I said that as far as I knew, PKR wasn’t exactly rolling in money, so who was funding this, if indeed this was true.
“A filthy rich Dato Gulam who is related to the Chief Minister is also very closely connected to Ansari. You can figure the rest yourself, I’m sure. The funny thing is that, in an attempt to discredit Jeffrey, rumours have been spread that he might be a BN plant. For many of us over here in Sabah PKR, it’s becoming more and more obvious who that plant might be.”, the source replied.
“Another rumour that appears to be coming out of KL, to try and justify bypassing Jeffrey as state chief, is that Jeffrey was in discussions with other parties in Sabah well before the decision to appoint Thamrin was made, and these people are pointing to the so-called hush-hush talks that are supposed to have taken place between Jeffrey and Yong of SAPP recently as evidence of this. For this reason, so the story goes, Jeffrey could not, in the interest of Sabah, be appointed.”
“KL must understand that Sabah politicians have long learned not to completely trust their counterparts from Semenanjung. And so Sabah politicians will continue to talk with each other, to put in contingencies, just in case KL politicians live up to their reputation. True enough, see what happened in Sabah? First, Azmin appointed without any consultation with the locals. Then the choice of the locals as replacement for Azmin completely disregarded by KL.”
“Now there’s talk that Jeffrey is either going to join PBS or one of the other parties. Not true. You wait and see. He’s going to get a new outfit off the ground. One that will definitely be able to work with the other local parties. And that will spell the end of PKR in Sabah.”, my source continued.
I suggested that if the opposition was to have any chance of knocking BN out at the federal level at the next GE, surely there would be need for some sort of real collaboration between politicians in Semenanjung and East Malaysia. Someone would have to take the lead, be it from Semenanjung or Sabah or Sarawak. Was it the case that East Malaysians were unprepared to have someone from KL lead them, I asked.
“For now, Zaid appears to have left a favourable impression with us. Mind you, he is from KL, so even Zaid we will not trust completely. Not yet, anyway.”, my source replied.
Penangites say : No more race-based politics. We want equality. We want justice. We want our country back.
November 1, 2009
SABM talks to the politicians who care
November 1, 2009
CORRECTION : I have been alerted that YB Anthony Loke had informed us that he was unable to attend the dialogue as there were floods in Seremban that morning.
YB, apologies for the error in my reporting.
_______________________________________________
Yesterday morning, the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative hosted a dialogue with political parties at the Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia.
The objective : to share with all political parties that might be interested to know our message as encapsulated in the SABM Charter, our proposed method of delivery, to get feedback from these parties and, most importantly, to find out which of these parties would go beyond the usual political talk and WALK WITH SABM.
In early October, we had sent out invitations by courier and / or fax and / or e-mail to 21 parties and 1 protem committee of a proposed political party that awaits registration.
1. DAP
2. UMNO
3. MCA
4. MIC
5. PKR
6. Parti Rakyat Malaysia
7. Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
8. Parti Bersatu Sabah
9. Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak
10. Parti Rakyat Sarawak
11. Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan)
12.Liberal Democratic Party
13. Parti Reformasi Negeri Sarawak
14. Pertubuhan Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Bersatu
15. People’s Progressive Party of Malaysia (PPP)
16. Parti Punjabi Malaysia
17. Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu Sarawak
18. Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party
19. Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)
20.Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS)
21. Malaysia Makkal Sakti Parti
22. Protem Committee of the Human Rights Party Malaysia
Only 1 party responded to the invitation without the need of any prompting from us.
SAPP responded to say that they would not be able to make the dialogue as they would not then be having anyone in KL. We want to thank SAPP for extending to us the courtesy of giving the invite a reply.
Hasbee, who works full-time for the SABM initiative, and I, have had to make calls to those we know in the some of the parties invited for confirmation if they were sending a representative.
DAP was the first to confirm attendance. YB Lim Guan Eng informed me that YB Anthony Loke would attend as DAP’s rep.
Next, Jeevindra informed me that he would be representing the Human Rights Party Malaysia protem committee.
Arul of PSM then informed me by phone that PSM would attend.
Jonson Chong of PKR sms’ed me to say that PKR would be represented by PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar and YB Zuraida.
And on the eve of the dialogue, YB Zul imformed Hasbee that he would represent PAS at the dialogue.
Hasbee’s attempts to get confirmation by phone if UMNO would send a representative drew a very rude response. Hasbee was asked to whom the invite had been addressed. When he replied that the invite had been sent to the party but for the attention of the president ( Najib ), he was told that he should therefore direct his inquiries to Najib.
I was not at all surprised that we did not get any response from the BN parties. After all, they have their 1Malaysia to TALK ABOUT!
At least the three Pakatan Rakyat parties were attedning.
Or so I thought.
The dialogue was due to start at 9.30am.
At about 815am, YB Anthony Loke sms’ed our media person, Padma, to say, without any reason given, that he could not make it.
A little before 9, YB Zul called to say he was going to be late.
When we kicked off the dialogue a little after 9.30am, only PSM reps Sri Sangkari and Sivarajini Human Rights Party rep Jeevindra were present.
There was a ‘no show’ by the PKR reps. No phone call. No sms.
Nanda kicked off the dialogue with a presentation of how the idea of anak Bangsa Malaysia was first mooted in August 2007 and the process that led to the making of the SABM Charter and its launch on Hari Malaysia this year. At this juncture, another PSM rep, Selvam, joined the dialogue.
I then shared with our friends from PSM and HRP the message that SABM is keen to take to the rakyat, our proposed mode of delivery of the same, and detailed how we expected the political parties might aid in this effort if they shared the aspirations of the SABM Charter and chose to WALK WITH SABM.
Under the stewardship of Jaya, we then began the discussion and received positive feedback from the party reps in attendance. During a short break for nicotene etc, YB Zul of PAS and Arul of PSM joined us.
As expected, the three parties who attended the dialogue have, in principle, expressed interest in working with us in taking the ‘One People, One Nation’ to the rakyat, but will have to revert to the top leadership of their respective organisations before formalising any working relationship or arrangement. Hasbee has been tasked to follow up with the reps of the three parties concerned in the coming days to finalise details of working arrangements, if any.
I remain hopeful and optimistic that much good will emerge from this dialogue. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, all three parties have also agreed to help us get their supporters and friends up in the north to attend the SABM form and youth workshop scheduled for 15th November, 2009.
We ended the dialogue with a simple lunch.
SABM's Hasbee (middle) flanked by PSM's Arul (left) and Selvam (right)
What anak Bangsa Malaysia love doing : makan
L-R : YB Zul, PSM's Selvam, SABM's Jaya, HRP's Jeevindra, SABM's Nanda & I discussing how to make 'One People, One Nation' a reality
The matters discussed were heavy but, as you can see, we found time to laugh. Jaya and PSM's Arul seen here
