The Space Judiciary System

Tony Pua, one of the columnist in Eastern Press and a famous blogger, wrote an interesting satire column titled "Space Judiciary System". It's in Chinese but I have provided a translation for the benefit of those who do not read Chinese.

哗！马来西亚耗数百亿令吉终把国人送上太空了。好骄傲哦！

大家都通过电视亲眼看到我国首相阿都拉及副首相纳吉，通过电话跟我们的太空人联系。然而，这到底是真还是假呢？首相、副首相及太空人是否有真正沟通？

我们应该立刻召来大名鼎鼎的反贪污局展开调查吧！为了保持政府的形象，我们顺便设独立调查委员会来写一份报告。

然而，为了避免出现负面效应，这个独立委员会不能调查首相、副首相跟太空人谈话的内容。这个委员会也不能传召证人协助调查。

独立委员会也没有权力给证人任何法理或者人身安全保障。更重要的是，为了保持其独立性，委员会只能向首相及内阁负责任。

当然，若独立委员会没接到任何投诉者报告，他们也可要求首相署控制的反贪污局协助调查。

通过这种安排，应可以很快就把问题解决。我们大名鼎鼎的反贪污局只需要调查首相、副首相及太空人，在某个时段是否有通过话。

更精确来说，他们只需检查本地电讯公司跟太空站的卫星系统到底有无接通，就能证明首相及副首相是否真的跟太空人通过话。

哦，等一等，这种调查岂不是太简单了？很抱歉，我一时大意，把重点给忘了。为了证明首相、副首相及太空人有通过话，反贪污局一定要找到录影片段的来源。

首先，反贪污局一定要拿到原本的录影片段。通过裁剪的版本绝不被接受。要是证人不同意交出原本的录影片段，就必须把他们控上法庭、送进监牢。

要不然，若这个片段不幸落入总检察长手上，就很有可能像前任下议院副议长维占德兰的色情录影带，面对被总检察长毁灭的下场。

整个案件最重要的关键，就是反贪污局必须找出摄录首相、副首相及太空人正在沟通的片段。要是媒体公司不肯交出在场的录影师，或者没有人肯承认拍了这个片断，整个调查工作就要告一段落。就像首相署部长纳兹里所说：“没有告密者，就没有根据！(No source, no case)”

在这种情况下，我们就永远不知道马来西亚是否真把航天员送上了太空，以及首相、副首相及太空人是否真有通过话！

Translation:

Wow! After spending hundreds of millions of ringgit, Malaysia finally sent an astronaut into space. Aren't we proud?!

We all witnessed through TV how our PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, DPM Najib got into contact with our astronaut. However, was it true or false? Did our PM, DPM and the astronaut really communicate through the phone?

We should immediately call for an investigation from our famous Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)! In order to maintain the government's image, we might also set up an independent commission of inquiry to write a report.

However, in order to avoid a negative impact, the independent commission will not be investigating the content of the speech between the PM, the DPM and the astronaut. The commission is also not entitled to summon witnesses to assist in the investigation.

The independent commission also does not have the power to provide any legal assurance or personal security to the witness. More importantly, in order to maintain its independence, the Commission can only be responsible to the PM and Cabinet.

Of course, if the independent commission does not receive any complaints, they may also request the PM's Department subordinate ACA to assist in the investigation.

Through this arrangement, we should be able to solve the problem quickly. After all, our famous ACA will only need to investigate whether the PM, the DPM and the astronaut has communicated at all.

More accurately, they only need to check whether there has been a connection between the local telecommunications company and ISS satellite system, and then we can prove that the PM and DPM have indeed talked to the astronaut.

Oh, wait, isn't such an investigation too simple? I am sorry, I was careless and forgot the most important point. In order to prove that there has been a conversation between the PM, DPM and the astronaut, the ACA must find out the source of the video.

First, the ACA must get the original videotape. An edited version cannot be accepted. If the witnesses do not agree to hand over the original video, it is necessary to prosecute and imprison them.

On the other hand, if the videotape unfortunately falls into the hands of the Attorney General, it is very likely to suffer the same fate as the sex tape of the former vice speaker of Dewan Rakyat Vijandran - destroyed by the AG.

The most important point of the entire case is that the ACA must find out the video source of the communication between PM, DPM and the astronaut. If the media refuse to hand over the video, or no one is willing to admit to be have captured the video, the entire investigation will come to an end. "No source, no case,” just like what the PM's Department Minister Nazri said.

In such circumstances, we will never know really whether we have really sent an astronaut to space, and whether PM, DPM and the astronaut really talked over the phone!

p/s: Sorry TAL, haven't got the chance to write good things yet. This is just an interesting piece that I found online.

That's Stupid

There was another demonstration in KL a few days ago, this time organised by HINDRAF and intended to send a petition to the British High Commission, highlighting the plight faced by the Indians as a minority ethnic group in Malaysia.

While I don't agree with petitions and problem-solving along the racial line (will talk about this in future posts), I do salute their effort and sympathize with the people who are suppressed in economy, religion and culture.

Anyway, this post is not about the HINDRAF protest itself. You can read more about it in Jeff Ooi's blog linked to above, or in any other major opinion blog out there. This post is about the stupidity and shortsightedness in some people, in their response to the HINDRAF rally:

Traders and taxi drivers lament losses due to Nov 10 rally

KUALA LUMPUR: On weekends and public holidays, Beh Hock Heng’s dim sum restaurant on Jalan Alor is always packed but last Saturday’s illegal gathering caused him to lose thousands of ringgit as customers stayed away.

The 65-year-old owner is furious, saying some customers could not come because of the massive traffic jam while others chose to stay indoors.

“Even tourists, who often frequent my restaurant from the nearby hotels, refused to come out as they feared for their safety because of the demonstration,” he said.

Beh was among a group of businessmen and representatives from 80 non-governmental organisations who attended a press conference yesterday in protest against the gathering.

The NGOs included the Kuala Lumpur Taxi Drivers Association, Federation of Malaysia Entertainment Associations, Jalan Alor Hawkers Association and Rukun Tetangga Pudu.

Holding up placards, written in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil, the group complained that their businesses had been affected by the gathering.

Taxi operator Leong Aw said taxi drivers lost much business because of the illegal gathering, saying it drove tourists away when they saw thousands of demonstrators in the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

“The Government is promoting Visit Malaysia 2007 which will help us make money, especially during this festive season. Such a gathering is not part of the Malaysian culture,” he said.

Bukit Bintang MCA division chairman Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng said he was informed by hoteliers that many tour groups, especially from China, had cancelled their visit because of media reports on the protest.

“We hope there will be no more protests because in the run-up to Hari Raya Haji, Christmas and Chinese New Year, a lot of activities are being planned in Bukit Bintang. We cannot afford to suffer any more losses,” he said.

I sympathize the people who are affected by the rally, but seriously, why blame the protesters? In Australia, you see protests and rallies on virtually every other week, does that mean that all the people here spend everyday complaining and holding press conferences complaining about the effects on the business? Of course not.

The reason you have people who fear for their safety, and also businesses affected by the rally, is because we have police who kowtow to their bosses and refuse to allow a peaceful rally. In a democratic country, you would have police who direct the traffic, who ensure the safety and peacefulness of the rally (not the other way round), and who make sure that the rally doesn't affect the operation of businesses.

So now, you are blaming the rally instead of the police? So if someone throws you in an air-tight room together with a few other people, as the oxygen runs out, do you blame the other people for breathing instead of the person who threw you in the first place?

That's some astounding stupidity.

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.

Albert Einstein

Afterthought: In fact, in a truly democratic country, I am guessing that businesses in the vicinity of a demonstration would benefit instead of incur a loss from the event - with so many people around your area, when the demonstration is over, surely everyone will go around to eat and shop. It's hard to have such a surge of customer number in a single day, you know.

Of Jokes and Racism

There are some racist jokes which I don't approve.

When racism is sugar-coated by saying "It's just a joke", does it mean that it's not racism anymore? Does it mean that we are at large even when we provoke unrest?

Of course we might think that in between friends who are having nonsense conversation, a light-hearted and benign racial slur is acceptable. However, given the prevalence of racial joke in the public, and the lack of meaning in producing generalisation, I think that a call should be made that we police our own conversation. Some racist jokes might be poking fun at stereotypes but are relatively harmless; but some others show so much bigotry that they hurt my eyes.

Just an example from the article on Malaysia in Uncyclopedia (a comedic "encyclopedia"):

"Malays also practice racism, they are so racist, that they even have their own name for racism, called Ketuanan Melayu. Malays generally feel that they are better than the entire world, because they don't eat pork, ride around on motorcycles thinking they are so cool and rape their daughters. The truth is, Malays are retarded ass holes that can't do anything properly."

This paragraph shows not humour but teenage naivety.

By the way, unless this paragraph is intended as a pun, the writer has made a fool of himself. As I wrote about it last time, calling Malay racist is in iself a display of racism.

What other racist jokes have you heard of, and what do you think about them?

A Trip to Heaven

Once upon a time, an Indian man died and went to heaven. When he arrived at the heaven Gate

Lord Siva said, “Come on in. I’ll show you around. You’ll like it here.”

Walking through the gates, the man noticed clocks everywhere.

There were grandfather clocks, wall clocks, watches, and clocks in every corner. It appeared that heaven was nothing more than a giant clock warehouse.

Surprised at how heaven looked, the man asked, “Lord Siva, what’s the deal? Why are all these clocks here in heaven?” Lord Siva replied, “The clocks keep track of things on earth. There is one clock for each person. Every time the person on earth tells a lie, his clock moves one minute. For instance, this clock is for Aru, the used car salesman. If you watch it closely, it will move.”

“Click.” The minute hand on Aru’s clock moved one minute. “Click.” It moved another minute.
“Aru must be into closing a customer right now,” said Lord Siva.
“The minute hand on his clock moves all day.”

The man and Lord Siva continued walking.

Soon, they came to a clock with cobwebs on the minute hand. “Whose clock is this?” asked the man.

“That clock belongs to the Widow Achi. She is one of the finest, God-fearing, people on earth. I bet her clock hasn’t moved in a year or two.”

They continued walking and touring heaven.

The man enjoyed watching the clocks of all his friends. When the tour was finished, the man said, “I’ve seen everyone’s clock but Mr.Samy Vellu’s. Where is his clock?

Lord Siva smiled, “Just look up. We use his clock for a ceiling fan.”

Just a blog filler. Might be a bit lame or old. :D

A Message to Everyone

This is a copy of the email I sent to all the readers.


Hi guys,

Thanks for being interested in my blog. I am really happy that quite a number of people are keen on reading this kind of rambling, or at least have a look at it.

As you know, I have been quite paranoid with the security and anonymity of the blog, because of my "risky" situation. I implemented a "semi-private" blog model, where I ask you guys to ask me if you are interested, and I tell you the URL in private. I also twiddled with all the settings to ensure that the blog is not included in the directory of blogspot.com and also in search engine's results. The reason I did those things is because I want more people to read it. Making a blog password-protected tends to decrease the readership as it adds a layer of inconvenience in the reading experience.

However, essentially this blog is still a public place - as long as someone gets the URL and type it in, anyone in the world can read it. So whenever someone links to me in their blogs, or leave my blog's URL on their address bar or history, there's always a chance for strangers to crash into it and know all about the posts. I have always estimated the risk to be small, but then I have been living in constant worry about it. Sooner or later, someone might link it to me, or some parents or friends might see my blog URL in the history, so the blog is ought to be exposed one day.

Despite my desire to promote readership, I decided that a compromise needs to be made between security and convenience. I feel that the constant worry is not worth the convenience in exchange. After all, when I turn it private, I guess readers who are really interested would still log in and read it; while uninterested people would not read it anyway whether or not the blog is easily accessible.

So, I am turning the blog to a password protected blog. What happens is, next time, you will need a Google account (@gmail.com) to sign in to my blog.

If you have and are using your gmail account ( i.e. you are reading this email in Gmail), then you should receive another email from me inviting you to read that particular blog.

If you do not receive this email in Gmail, then please do either of the following:

• If you have a Google account, reply this email and tell me your gmail address so that I can send the invitation.
• If you don't already have a Google account, sorry but you would need to register for a new Google account in order to read my blog. Just go to www.gmail.com and register for a new one. Anyway Gmail is actually one of the best email service, so it's good to get an account there.

I am sorry for the inconvenience, but hopefully with this change, we will enjoy a better place for discussion and reading. :)

Announcement

To readers who subscribed to this blog with RSS reader (e.g. Google Reader, Bloglines, Firefox Live Bookmark etc), I am sorry to inform you that I have just disabled the RSS feature. The RSS feed actually shows my nickname so it's exposing my identity.

So in the future you will be unable to read my posts with RSS reader. However, I will still keep you updated about new posts in my main blog.

Sorry about the inconvenience!

Of Anger, Emotion and Opinions

I am not sure whether others feel it this way, but I hate reading political blogs.

Yea, you read it right, I hate reading stuff that is similar to what I am writing in this very blog. I have some sort of emotional fatigue when I am reading political stuff online.

You might be intrigued. You might think that I am an enthusiastic / passionate / fanatic young guy who would go read and shout and whine in all the political blog out there. But let me assure you that I am not. Although I read blogs written by Jeff Ooi, Lim Kit Siang, Tony Pua etc; I am not a blind, "brainwashed" supporter who agrees with and parrots everything they says. I read them, and I doubt, and I think.

But anyway, you see, I am tired of reading those blogs.

While it's good to read the latest news from an alternative angle, and learn about the scandals they expose on a weekly basis; I am exhausted from the anger that I read in the posts and the comments. I am exhausted from reading thousands of posts and comments which are basically cut-and-paste of things like

• Go to hell Barisan Nasional!
• Wake up idiotic people who vote for BN!
• Vote Barisan Nasional out of power now, they are idiotic!
• Throw away your tongkat my fellow Malays!
  

Every time I read new posts complaining about the government's unfairness or corruption or incompetence, I don't feel like reading the comments at all. Because the same few commentators are always repeating the same comments on each and every post. It's like reading an old, uninteresting story book.

I understand that people are angry when they talk about angry issues; but I don't like listening to angry people - they are not friendly and not cute. In fact, when I am here in an Australian city, sometimes I find the activists rather intimidating. In my university and in this city, everywhere you go, you are bound to stumble upon someone campaigning or speaking publicly about wars, socialism, John Howard, gay rights, climate change, anti nuclear power, idiot Bush etc. They give out flyers, they ask you if you have a minute to spare to listen to their causes, they take on the streets to demonstrate about government policies, and so on. And they always have that stereotypical activist look - passionate (tending towards fanatic), angry, riled-up teenager who looks like they might get into a fight with anyone who disagrees with them.

So yeah, those "political" and partisan people are intimidating. Of course I support the freedom of speech, and I agree with some of their ideologies; but their presentation to the public is always fueled with too much anger, and they are always appealing to emotion. And people hate emotional, angry people. We categorize them as "the fanatics".

From this alone, it's easy to see why ordinary peace-loving people don't like to talk about politics. To them, politics are dirty things, things that only emotional people or pretending-to-be-cool people would argue about. So people eschew political issues, they don't read about it, they prefer talking about favourite food than politics, and they become chronically fatigued with politics.

But this needs to change. Being chronically fatigued is good for nothing. It will only keep us in the vicious cycle of having bad governance -> tired of the inability to change things -> not interested in speaking / changing the situation -> continue to have bad governance. We need to break the cycle.

When I first started this blog, I wanted it to be an alternative, not-so-angry commentary blog. I know that people hate angry activists and political tirades as much as I do, so writing yet another angry blog would not get peace-loving people to read and understand the issues. But as I started writing articles, I felt that it's so hard to control my emotion when I talk about the idiocy and incompetence of our leaders. I started feeling "what the fuck", and I started writing "what the fuck". I started chastising the politicians and the political parties using lines that I hate personally. I started to empathize with those angry people - we act angry because we are angry. Although it might not appeal to ordinary peace-loving people, we just can't help making ourselves look like mad dog - because we indeed feel as mad as a dog.

However, after some consideration, it dawned upon me that emotions need not translate to the writing that is meant to disseminate information. When emotions dominate a writing, it simply means that you are losing grip of your rationality and objectivity - you become a bona fide fanatic.

So the next time I lose control and become a mad dog, tell me about it. I would prefer having readers actually read about my points, instead of siok sendiri for the emotional catharsis but drive people away from reading things I would like to tell.

Also, above all, I hate to be an emo guy.

A Food For Thought

Malaysia's malaise

By Philip Bowring

Monday, November 12, 2007

HONG KONG: Malaysia is in a political cul-de-sac, resulting in an erosion of national institutions and the entrenchment of corruption. Recent events show that awareness of these problems is growing, but Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is politically too feeble to implement his good intentions, increasing the difficulty of reconciling the interests of the Malay/Muslim majority with the non-Muslim Chinese, Indian and indigenous groups that make up 45 percent of the population.

Public disquiet and Abdullah's own weakness were on display in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday when some 40,000 people, headed by the leaders of the three opposition parties and including former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and representatives of a wide range of NGOs, defied a government ban to march to the palace of the king, the titular head of state, to petition for clean and fair elections.

This peaceful multiethnic event followed an equally unprecedented speech two weeks earlier by Sultan Azlan Shah, a respected former chief law officer who is also one of the nation's nine hereditary rulers.

Azlan referred to a loss of confidence in the judiciary as a result of questionable appointments and judgments perceived to be driven by politics and money. He noted that its once high reputation had sunk dramatically, quoting a recent World Bank survey. Azlan is believed to be behind a revolt by the sultans against approving - normally a rubber stamp process - the appointment as chief justice of a legal adviser to the governing party with little experience on the bench.

Among current cases that have raised questions about the legal system is the conduct of the trial of Razak Baginda, a close associate of Defense Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and two of Najib's bodyguards for the murder of Baginda's former mistress. Baginda was closely involved in arms deals with France.

The publicity given to the Azlan speech and the Baginda trial point to the greater openness of Malaysia under Abdullah compared with his authoritarian predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad. But though Mahathir was much-criticized for politicizing the judiciary and institutionalizing money politics, he was able to get things done. Abdullah, on the other hand, is seen to have largely - though not entirely - failed to deliver on his promises of cleaner government.

The fault lies less with his personality than with the structure of politics. Abdullah argues that the ballot box and Parliament are the places for political action, not street demonstrations. However, neither is likely to deliver change while race-based politics ensures continuation of the 50-year rule by the United Malays National Organization, which feeds off the economic privileges that the Malays accord themselves.

To keep the loyalty of Malay voters UMNO has both to outflank the Parti Islam and to divert attention from the enrichment of a small Malay elite at the expense of the Malays. Parti Islam is prone to stomach-churning speeches about Malay dominance and hypocritical displays of Islamic fervor that offend Malaysia's plural reality and its secular Constitution.

Nothing can change as long as most non-Malays continue to grudgingly support UMNO rule for fear that the Parti Islam alternative would be worse, or while the non-Malay capitalist class remains wealthy enough to pay tribute to a Malay elite. In its own behavior this elite is liberal and internationalist, but for political purposes encourages the lower-income Malays to think in communal ways.

Judging by their attendance at the rally on Saturday, lower-income Malays may be becoming disillusioned with policies that mostly benefit the elite. But UMNO's grip is strong.

Abdullah might in principle want to reform UMNO, bring in more of the Malay professional middle classes who rely on their own abilities rather than the patronage system, and give more senior government jobs to non-Malays. But he is proving to be a prisoner of the party, its money politics, its dynastic tendencies and its desire to occupy the higher reaches of the bureaucracy, the judiciary and the many quasi-government businesses.

Meanwhile, for all their ability to join together in a demonstration against the government, the two largest opposition parties - Parti Islam and the mainly Chinese Democratic Action Party - are at either end of the race/religion spectrum. The multiracial middle ground now occupied by Anwar's party has thus far had limited appeal.

None of this may seems to matter too much when the economy is expanding, thanks to record prices for oil, palm oil and other exports. But income inequality is bad and getting worse. Malaysia's political stability may be threatened the next time there is a recession, and there is reason to worry about Malaysia's ability to become a developed country when its institutions are corrupted by a stagnant, race-based political system that may have outlived its time.

[via International Herald Tribune]

What An Embarrassment!

Just visited Kennysia's blog. A usually unpolitical blogger, he decided to put up a great transcript of the embarrassing interview by our information minister. His rhetorics and his English sounds exactly like what I would expect from a Burmese information minister in an interview about the Buddhist monk demonstration.

Minister: I commend yo-yo-your journalists trying to project... to exaggerate more than what actually happened. That-that-that-that's it. We are not the-the and I-I congratulate your journalists behaving like an actor, that-that's it...

Reporter: As you say that, sir, we're watching scenes of protesters being sprayed by chemical-filled water!

Minister: YA! I am watching! I'm here! You've been trying... trying to do it this - to do this everywhere but in Malaysia people are allowed to, you know? We know our police head our colleague... Police have whatever allowed the procession to go to the Istana Negara, you know? Do police, first police, like, they handle them, they attack them, they... the police don't, don't, don't fire anybody?

Reporter: Our correspondent came back to the office, sir, with chemicals in his eyes!

Minister: You-you-you-you are here with the idea, you are trying to project, what is your mind! You think that we Pakistan, we are Burma, we are Myanmar. Everything you-you are thinking! WE ARE DIFFERENT! We are totally different!

Reporter: Well unfortunately when you refuse to let people protest, it does appear so.

Minister: Ya ya we are not like you! You-you have earlier perception, you come here, you want to project us like undemocratic country. This a democratic country!

Reporter: So why can't people protest then, if it's a democratic country?

Minister: YES, PEOPLE PROTEST! People do-do... of course they protest. We are allowing them protest, and they have demonstrated. But we just trying to disperse them, and then later they-they-they don't wanna disperse, but later our police compromise. They have compromised and allowed them to proceed to Istana Negara! Police, our police have succeeded in handling them gently, right? Why do you report that? You take the opposition, someone from opposition party you ask him to speak. You don't take from the government, right?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests...

Minister: Pardon? Pardon? Pardon?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: I can't hear you! I can't hear you!

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: No we-we are! We... this protest is illegal! We don't want..this... the... NORMALLY...

Reporter: OK, so let me return to my former question. Why is this protest illegal?

Minister: YA! It's a illegal protest because we have the erection in Malaysia. It's no-no point on having a protest! We are allowing to every erection... every five years never fail! We are not our like, like Myanmar, not like other country. And, and you are helping this. You Al-Jazeera also is helping this, this forces. The, you know, these forces who are not in passion, who don't believe in democracy!

Reporter: Alright, many thanks for joining us.

Minister: I don't, ya, you, Al-Jazeera, this is, is Al-Jazeera attitude. Right?

I think that the main source of embarrassment is not his English (despite me thinking that we really should have an Information Minister better versed in English). I am mostly embarrassed because of the way he presents the incoherent defense about the rally being illegal and the police being unnecessarily violent.

In fact this video reminds me of another video clip:

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps. And uh, I believe that our education, like such as in South Africa and, uh, Iraq and everywhere, like, such as... and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S., should help the U.S. or should help South Africa, it should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we would be able to build up our future for our children." - Miss Teen South Carolina, Miss Teen USA 2007 Competition

Loyalty

In my previous post, I lamented about my inability to do more than hiding and whining in a secret blog. Someone then chastised me:

I am starting to wonder that people just don't want to stand up for the truth but yet always complain about it all because of the money that is shoved up into their arse. You're one of them too.

I am shocked to hear that.

The fact that I don't dare to take to the streets, is because I have conflicting interests - I love my country and I wish to contribute to its betterment in any way I could afford; but I treasure my studies and career even more, it's more important than participating in rallies and demonstrations.

Some people might think that by getting a sponsorship from the government, I owe my loyalty to the current ruling party and hence should act accordingly - obey and be subservient to them. One might also maintain that since I spend the government's money, I shouldn't be the "slave to their money", putting up an official "nice" facade to my boss but whining behind the anonymity of a semi-private blog.

The thing is, when I said "I am enslaved by the scholarship", I did not mean I am "the government's slave". To be specific, I am not the current ruling party, UMNO / BN's slave. Instead, I am a slave to my selfish interest, to my protection for my career and money and my family.

Receiving a scholarship is not tantamount to submitting to the current ruling party's patronage. If there's anyone I owe gratitude or loyalty to, that would be my country's people and its tax payers - they paid for my studies. In fact, being a scholar who is privileged to receive an education overseas is a gift that I heartily treasure. It made me see my country clearer in a place without the all-encompassing media control, and I am able to contrast clearly the "democracy" as practised by my country with those by other countries. And by writing some informative posts and disseminating alternative views and opinions, I believe that I am actually doing good to my boss (the people). That's how I am repaying my debt to the people.

In short, to say that I must either be a silent lamb or abandon my scholarship with gusto, is rather impractical. By recklessly abandoning my scholarship, it would simply make me lose my education, hang on a monetary cliff, suddenly incur debts amounting to hundreds of thousands, and land my family in great troubles.

And what good would that make me, or my boss?

Have You Ever Felt the Same?

When I read about BERSIH demonstration and stuff, I feel bad about myself.

I feel bad that I will never have the chance to join the force for justice. Even if I am in Malaysia I will not dare to attend such events, me being sponsored by the government and all. And I can only hide in this secret blog to extend my feeble support to people who are out there lobbying for a better country.

When I read about the upcoming election, I secretly wish that it will be held when I am back in Malaysia, so that I can vote in it. I don't dare to send my vote through mails overseas, as I have no faith in the confidentiality of my vote.

Damn.

Sometimes I feel that I am enslaved by my scholarship. I am not a free man with free will. I am shackled by my little balls in constant fear.

Damn.

BERSIH and Violence

I can't believe my ears. The propaganda and the blatant lie. Basically thousands of people gathered in KL for a demonstration called BERSIH, and it's calling for a reform in the election, asking for the use of indelible inks in election, cancellation of mail votes, update on the electoral rolls, and enable transparent and fair reports on the election.

And then they blocked roads, threatened legal actions on attendants, used water cannons and irritant sprays to prevent this from happening. And this respectable minister here is saying that

"We have to end this culture immediately, because if only a few people think this way, they will pollute the peaceful atmosphere of our country. This is not part of our culture, demonstrations always end in VIOLENCE."

What the hell.

And they are going to win in the next election.

No Malaysian Universities in THES Top 200 this year

Both UKM and UM has dropped out of the THES top 200 university ranking. We are slipping out of the international stage of education, yet we see Malaysia as a major student exporter in countries like Australia, United Kingdom and US. There are some scientists and prominent businessmen all over the world who originated from Malaysia. Whose fault is it?

Some people say it's the government's fault. But I say it's the people's fault. Because it's the people who chose the government.

I wish that with more exposed and educated people in the future, the current incompetent and racist government will step down or at least be replaced by leaders with less racial but more egalitarian policies. Just think of the world as a giant tug-o-war game - if the teammates in one side are pulling against each other, does the team stand any chance of winning the game?

Eyes on Malaysia

If any Malaysian is so naive as to think that we are now standing in the eyes of the world because "We are now a space power", then they need to go to Reuter New's "Oddly Enough" section and count the news with our country in the title. That will make them rethink where we actually stand in the eyes of the world.

We appear in the Oddly Enough section so often that it must have boosted our tourism better than the "Eye on Malaysia" giant ferris wheel. If I were an Ang Moh I would be really interested to visit this country, to see why it has so much jokes and fun to show the world.

This time the news is about our favourite weapon - the keris.
[Read the news here - Malaysia's political knife act: theatre or threat?]

And some of the symbols associated with the dagger:

• "when tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in our veins"
• "Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his keris, waved his keris, kissed his keris. We want to ask Datuk Hisham when is he going to use it"
• "Hak Orang Melayu tidak boleh dicabar, jika tidak orang Melayu akan mengamok, peristiwa Mei 13 akan berulang yang ianya akan lebih teruk daripada tahun 1969 yang akan menjadikan Kuala Lumpur padang terkukur"

How in the world did those people escape judiciary for the incendiary remarks? Our newspapers can't tell you that. They can only report "Sekali lagi pemimpin negara mengobarkan semangat perpaduan dalam Perjumpaan Tahunan UMNO!!"

Judiciary Issue at a Glance

We have a funny view of "political things" in Malaysia. In Australia the voting age is 18, and even people who are disinterested in the politics can usually tell you all the ins and outs about their Liberal and Labor parties. But in Malaysia, a lot of people don't seem to know much about what's happening, even those who are already eligible voters.

All we can tell is this:

• Eih everything is so bad la!
  
• Our politicians are like monkey, brainless one leh!
  
• That that that guy very racist wor!
  
• PAS very dangerous, will turn this country to barbaric state with the Hudud Law!

But then, ask people "what's the main thing that is happening now", many people will be stumped. That's bad, that's what the leaders want to see - a state of ignorance.

So I guess I should start by describing the latest "big thing" - the judiciary issue. And I will do it ala "at a glance". I like those books that make things simpler with arrows, diagrams and charts. Make life easier.

But actually hor, someone else has already done it. And that's a famous lenglui blogger in the country. Things are more readable when it's written by an attractive girl, you see. So I am going to quote this "at a glance" from her. Go ahead and read it here, or if you prefer to browse her pictures and writing, go to the original pinkly blog and read it there.

made public via Malaysiakini last month, was a 8-minute video clip that is proof of the corruption that exists in our judiciary system. taken in 2002 when Mahathir was still PM, the video clip showed a senior lawyer VK Lingam having a phone conversation with an unidentified person, strongly believed to be Datuk Ahmad Fairuz, who was at that time the Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM), the 3rd highest post in the judiciary.

the situation was that the Chief Justice (CJ) of that time, aka the top guy, the judiciary No.1, the main man who has the post everyone else covets, was stepping down as CJ soon. but before his tenure was to officially end, it seems he was hard at work making sure his ‘men’ would secure the top judiciary positions after he left.

Ahmad Fairuz (judiciary’s No.3 guy, aka person allegedly on the other end of the phone conversation in the video clip) is not part of the CJ’s camp, and would probably NOT be promoted to No.2 or No.1 unless something was done. obviously, he would like to be No.1, right? and so ’something’ must be done.

the Chief Justice is appointed by the country’s Agong upon advice from the Prime Minister, and so the Prime Minister is the person you want on your side if hypothetically speaking you would like to become the Chief Justice of Malaysia. but of course the PM is not accessible to all and sundry, so when you wanna get to him, you get to his good friends first. the PM’s good friends in this case and as implicated in the video, are none other than Tan Sri Vincent Tan (tycoon and owner of Berjaya Group) and Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan (current Tourism Minister).

enter VK Lingam, well-connected and ‘correct’ lawyer as he is, who offers to help Ahmad Fairuz obtain the CJ post. he claims to have already pursued - and will continue to pursue - the assistance of Vincent Tan and Tengku Adnan in persuading Mahathir to appoint Ahmad Fairuz as the next Chief Justice of Malaysia. can lah friend, can lah can lah, i help you because you suffer so much already. ya ya correct correct i help you.

long story short : Ahmad Fairuz -> VK Lingam -> Vincent Tan & Tengku Adnan -> Mahathir

remember that this video was secretly filmed in 2002. one year later in 2003, Ahmad Fairuz was appointed Chief Justice of Malaysia. end of summary of issue.

so yes, our judiciary is helmed by someone appointed not by means of meritocracy or integrity, but by means of corruption. it can be deduced that if corruption can exist at such an elevated position in the judiciary hierarchy, it can exist at all lower levels of the judiciary too.

also, if the appointment of someone this CRUCIAL and INSTRUMENTAL to the country can be manipulated so simply, just so long as you know the right people, then think about all the people in the higher levels of your government. the people in the higher levels of your police force. your cabinet. your ministers. does it not disgust you to know that the people who run your country are people appointed because they are cronies of the government, because they are corrupt, because they know who to bribe and pull strings with, and not because they are the best people for the job?

does it not make you sick to the stomach to think that the people in your country’s judiciary - the people who decide who is wrong and who is right, the people who mete out punishment and sentences, the people who have the power to release alleged criminals, the people who are supposed to uphold JUSTICE in the name of 27 million Malaysians - may be crooks?

By the way I don't believe that Su Ann is 18. But I digress.

Merdeka Post

This is the full version of an article that was censored painfully in my blog. It's originally posted on the Merdeka day of 2007.

My country is having its fiftieth birthday today.

Many people are putting up patriotic posts written with utmost fervor and embellished with fanciful wavy flags. People say we should feel proud, because the national day signifies that we have been liberated from the grip of Britain for fifty years. As a citizen of the country, our leaders say, I have an inborn obligation to take pride in the independence and celebrate the country's achievement on the big day. I ought to wave the flag too, apparently. Packed with the flurry of fireworks and ceremonies, my country looks primed for an extravagant party never before seen.

But my heart feels heavy.

Much is wrong with my country. In fact, wrong is so much that I got the jitters by just typing the last sentence - I am made to be afraid of thinking aloud. And the people we elect to represent ourselves are more keen than anything else to ensure that such jittery is imbibed in everyone, that all dissonance is muzzled. That by imposing fear of losing scholarship or being sued with any of the abundant draconian laws, people like me would be tamed and learn to shut up.

My blood will bath a dagger, potential future prime ministers told me, if I question the special right of the princes of the land. But the same threat is levelled time after time even when people only questioned the blatant abuse and extension of the rights. The birth rights are becoming infinitely extensible, the benign-turned-malignant economics policy is never ending. Some discriminatory policies that were not enshrined in the constitution are now part of the incontestable modus operandi in my country.

Some people said it's the social contract (which is undocumented and nebulous anyway) that I need to respect, that our forebears' solemn swears are to be upheld to the end of time - but by the same vein, should African-Americans be eternally subservient to the white Americans, because their great-great-grandfathers agreed to be enslaved for generations to come? Time has changed, and when a correctional medicine turned into a addictive poison in our body, harping on the archaic birth-right is like craving for morphine when there is no longer any pain. Yes there are still symptoms of economic disparity in this country, but when a solution has become a violent addiction rather than a medication, shouldn't we slowly change the prescription?

A controversial song was sung by a frustrated Chinese, and overnight he became both a national hero and a public enemy. Admittedly there are some disagreeable racial stereotypes and crude mocking in the song, but it was the ensuing pandemonium that reflected perfectly just how precarious our racial tension is. Some people blame the rapper for instigating the commotion, but forgotten amongst the arduous ardent finger-pointing is the fact that the song is just a snapshot of the gaping chasm between races in my country. The song is not the disease itself, it's just a symptom of the underlying chronic disease. While I have some qualms about some of the lyrics of his song, what appalled me more was the hateful comments in response to the song, coming from both sides of the argument. That, I think, is the actual problem - we, the people, and the ever narrowing racial lenses that shackles our very thoughts.

People say give the country a chance, as we are still a growing country. But the problem is, our growth has gone quite awry. It bemuses me that all we debate about during an election are whether someone is corrupted, whether we are getting more Chinese primary schools, how many people with a certain skin colour get into the university every year, and how many more mega palaces we are building for our dignitaries. In other countries, the politic manifestos are about how they could improve the well-being of its people, how international trades could be improved, and how pollutions could be reduced. Yes, scandals and jokes are found everywhere in the world; yet most countries do not have scandals every other month and a parliament which meet questions with deafening table-thumping. And most countries do not consign a group of people to the status of second-class citizens who should leave for another country if they have any dissatisfaction. And that other country isn't even their own.

I love my country, because I still care. I still lament over its comedies; I still feel proud when it shines. I am full of criticism because as the chinese saying goes, "criticisms are all but earnest when you love something deeply". I want it to be better, although I am an adopted child by birth here. We could always be complacent enough to say that everything is good enough as long as we still live in peace and enjoy a little success; but really, let's not be a frog in the slowly boiling water. Just because we are better than a failing country like Uganda, doesn't mean that we should open the champagne and forget the fact that we used to be the second biggest economic power in Asia. Just because we could still have an outwardly harmonious kenduri together, doesn't mean that it will stay that way forever. And yes, the water is going to boil one day.

There are so much more I wish to write on this special day, but I know all that would be cliche we are so tired of hearing. As we celebrate yet another Merdeka, I urge you to think what the day really means to you, why are you celebrating it; and instead of paying lip service, what a real patriot could, and should do. As John puts it:

Our country does not need more people mindlessly wishing each other a happy national day. Our country does not need more people chanting "Merdeka!" Our country needs people willing to rise to the challenge of building an independent nation, with an independent people. Let us celebrate our 50th national day by committing ourselves, wherever we may be and whoever we are, to rising to this challenge and to birthing a nation that the next generation of Malaysians can be truly proud of.

Happy birthday, my country. Standing on this watershed of your history, I wish you many, truly happy returns. And I will always try my best to help you achieve your dreams.

First Post - Terms and Conditions

Jan 08: Updated terms and conditions! Scroll to the bottom for more details.


Welcome to the first post of "My Frank Two Cents". I envision this blog to be a space for my frank opinions and ideas, and it will revolve around Malaysia, Malaysian news, gossips and politics.

You may know me, or you may not, that's fine. Actually it's better if you don't know me, because who I am doesn't really matter here. I am not an interesting person anyway.

If you do know me, then please understand that this blog is written under great apprehension. I am studying in an Australian university under sponsorship of the Malaysian government, so basically they are my lifeline here. The freedom of speech is fucked up in Malaysia, so no matter how objective my posts might be, as long as it's not biased towards the government, there's a chance of myself being labelled unpatriotic, dangerous to the country's peace and development, counter-revolutionary or whatsoever. And basically my contract says that they have the right to terminate the contract at any time for any reason.

So yeah, I have every reason to be afraid to write "sensitive stuff" online. And that's why I want to make sure everything is as anonymous as possible.

Here are the ten terms and conditions for reading this blog:

1. You must not know me.
   
   
2. If you know me, pretend that you do not know me.
   
   
3. Do not refer to my real name, nicknames, or any of the identifiable information about myself in the comments. Call me "Frank" if you need to.
   
   
4. As far as possible, please do not link to this blog.
   
   
5. If you have to link to this blog, do not reveal any information that could potentially lead to the identification of myself. I.e. no hometown, no friends' name, no current location, no girlfriend's name, no IC number, no dog's name, no recent trip location, NOTHING. It's best to refer to this blog as "An anonymous blog".
   
   
6. You may republish any of the content as long as no identifiable detail is attached.
   
   
7. You may not reveal my identity to other people even in private setting. If someone else is interested in my identity, get that person to ask myself.
   
   
8. Under my discretion, I may or may not reveal my identity to the inquirer.
   
   
9. Under my discretion, I may delete any comment deemed to be of potentially high risk of leading to my identification.
   
   
10. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions above, actually there's nothing much I can prevent you from doing. But seriously, please don't be an ass. If someone finds out about me, I will just move this blog to other address and inconvenience you and everyone else.

If you agree to the simple terms, then welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy it and contribute your own two cents to the discussion.

Update: Since this blog is now fully private, the terms and conditions no longer apply! However, I would just ask the readers to kindly avoid any reference to my identity if you were to quote any content. You are free to copy any lines or any point, but just don't mention my name okay? :)