Missing, Missing, Missing

Every thing in this country seems to be going missing these days. Allow me to re-count:

1. The DNA samples from Anwar's trial in 1998.
2. The record of Altantuya's travel to Malaysia from the Immigration data system.
3. Private investigator as in the case of PI Bala.
4. A Mongolian model, as in the case of Altantuya.
5. Missing children.
6. Missing files and records (after Pakatan Rakyat won the 5 states, but later found shredded).
7. Two fighter jet engines (later found in Uruguay)
8. National secrets.

Anyone would like to add more to the list?
It just makes me wonder, who is actually minding the store? Are we on auto-pilot again?
May God bless this country.

Granny was not here to sell her body

In any culture, it is a big taboo to insult a person's mother.

You can call people any name you like, and perhaps, a large-minded person will just see you off as a jerk or a fool, and will not make a big fuss over it.

But in no way can you ever insult his mother, or his grandmother.

And this is particularly serious in the Chinese culture.

Both mum and granny are sacred beings not to be encroached upon or desecrated.

Nasir Safar said Chinese women came to Malaysia to sell their bodies (jual tubuh).

You have blasphemed the mothers and grandmothers of some six million Chinese Malaysians, Nasir.

Our grannies did NOT come here to sell their bodies!

With their pure souls, youthfulness and vitality, they established their homes here and had made significant contributions towards nation-building.

What would become of this country if not for these grannies?

Including my own grandma, Madam Liu Qian, a person I respect the most in my entire life.

She was a foot-bound woman from Mainland China. When my grandpa came to Malaya, she stayed back at the ancestral village in Fujian province to take care of my father.

When the life of my grandpa became more stable later, he went back to China in order to bring her here along with my father.

I'm here to tell you that my granny, along with the grannies of other six million Chinese Malaysians, sailed across the oceans here not to sell their bodies!

With her bound feet, granny came here to support a family. And when the Japanese troops rolled over Malaya, she led the family to safety.

When the situation became more stable later, she negotiated with the Japs to get a licence to do business, and had been able to expand her business when the Brits returned.

She treated her Malay and Indian neighbours as her own compatriots, and would prepare a whole stack of angpaos on the first day of every Chinese New Year to distribute to the Malay and Indian kids queuing up in front of our house.

She leased out a small plot of land for a Chinese primary school, but had not in decades asked for the return of the land.

Every year on 31 August, she would try to find a national flag and hang it up high on a very long pole in front of our house.

She landed on Malaya, and treated this place her own country.

She had not had another home or country since.

When she passed away, many Malay makcik came to our house and sobbed over her passing.

With her unparalleled wisdom, hard work, morality and determination, she spent her entire life in a very respectful manner.

No one can ever insult her and accuse that she had come here to sell her body!

My granny, like the grannies of many other people, was a truly great woman.

From Malaya to Malaysia, they were scattered in every family and every corner of this country.

From the rubber-tapping workers in the estates, to the excavators in the tin mines, they were the most hardworking and exceptional women anywhere in the world.

During those darkest years, they displayed the most glorious side of humanity.

They sacrificed their youths and lives, so that you and I, along with our homes and nation, can come into being.

Even though they might no longer be around today, they still live deep inside our hearts, and support us morally.

Not only the country's laws will come after you, Nasir, you still owe our grannies a sincere apology.

(Source: Sin Chew Daily)

A letter from Haris Ibrahim [Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia] to Dr Mahathir

Malaysianinsider reports that you had “defended the social contract, the so-called unwritten agreement between the Malays and the non-Malays during independence, by affirming that without the agreement, Malaysia would not have been formed”.

They quoted you :

“If there was no social contract, the terms and conditions of allowing citizenship to non-Malays would have not taken place. One million outsiders were given citizenships at the time.”

Now, this quote from you got me curious.

Let me tell you why.

I conferred with my aunt, who confirmed that my maternal great grandfather, Eliathamby, of whom I’ve written previously in a posting entitled “The land that my forefathers helped build”, would have left Ceylon and arrived in what is now West Malaysia, around 1870. He died well before the conclusion of that social contract that you spoke of, so my great grandfather would not have come within those ‘one million outsiders’ who acquired citizenship at the time of independence in 1957.

My maternal grandfather, Vellupillay T. Williams, never lived to see the formation of Malaya so he, too, did not make up the ‘one million outsiders’.

Enough of my family tree.

Let’s look at yours.

I got this from a blog, Malaysiana :

Perhaps, the most famous Malayalee to land in George Town was Iskandar Kutty, a merchant who married a Johor-Riau wife Siti Hawa Iskandar.

They became the proud parents of Alor Star’s top public school Sultan Abdul Hamid College’s founder-principal and Kedah’s royal educator Datuk Mohamad Iskandar.

Mohamad was the school teacher of Tunku Abdul Rahman.

He and his wife Datin Wan Tempawan Wan Hanafi from the Kedah Bendahara’s (Prime Minister’s) clan, were the proud parents of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s Father of Modernisation and fourth Prime Minister.

And this from Malaysia Today :

Born in December 20, 1925, Dr Mahathir hailed from the state of Kedah, at the capital of Alor Star, whose father was a school teacher. His father was Indian who migrated from Kerala, who married a malay lady and sold banana fritters during the second world war. His early education was through vernacular school and at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in the city.

My question, then, Doc, firstly, is whether your father was amongst the ‘one million outsiders’?

And when did you become ‘Malay’, Doc?

When did you move from being a son of an Indian who migrated from Kerala to a Malay?

Not that I care, but when?

Speaking of Malay, do you remember your “Malay Dilemma”, Doc?

Do you remember what you said about the problem of inbreeding amongst the Malay community, and that whole business of genes?

Back then, who had heard of this thing called DNA?

Who had ever imagined that science would one day make it possible for all of us to trace our genealogy?

Guess what, Doc?

It seems, based on all this new DNA scientific knowledge, that there’s no such thing as a Malay race.

[For continuation, read here]

How come Najib and Rafidah DID NOT become Catholic Christians?

This is my letter that appeared in the Malaysiakini.

I refer to the Malaysiakni report Christians have 'ulterior motive', says PKR's Zulkifli.

Zul, I hope you are reading Malaysiakini and will respond to the following:

1. Sabah and Sarawak have been using the word 'Allah' for 400 years and when they became part of the federation in 1963 ie, 47 years ago, you should have protested then, but instead you chose to keep quiet.

2. When the Herald started its publication in 1995, the annual permit was issued via proper channels. The officer at the home ministry must have vetted each copy of the magazine before approving the permit for the following year. You should have protested then but you chose to keep quiet.

3. Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave the green light for use of the word in 1986 but with restricted conditions. You should have protested then but you chose to keep quiet.

4. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during his tenure as prime minister gave similar consent in 2003 or thereabouts and it was all over the news. You should have protested then but you chose to keep quiet.

5. You received the Christian booklet in 2000 and for 10 years you did nothing when you should have reported the incident to the authorities against the church for proselyting amongst the Muslims. As a lawyer, you must surely be aware of such laws protecting Muslims of the land. You kept quiet all this while.

[Read the rest of my letter here]

Dumber than dumb

I AM a medical doctor who was educated overseas and worked in Australia for several years. Recently I decided to return to Malaysia to serve the country.

As a professional working overseas I heard about this programme about encouraging Malaysian citizens with expertise to return to the country and I applied for it.

I was very disappointed when they rejected my application on the grounds that it was sent after I have returned to Malaysia.

Apparently it was meant to be submitted while I was still in Australia.

I find this a very poor excuse given the fact that Malaysia is trying to lure back its citizens to work for the country.

It discourages professionals like me from having to bear the burden to return but not having any perks or encouraging incentives.

Furthermore, my parents bore my exorbitant medical tuition fees and I did not receive any government loans whatsoever to do my study.

Besides that, it took me a great deal of effort to locate the application form which was hidden in the catacombic archives of one of the governmental websites.

I can see why many of my colleagues are hesitant to return and serve the Government given the unimpressive, unattractive attitude and to top it all, the obvious poor remuneration and working conditions.

Thankfully, I still have the option to return to Australia.

DISAPPOINTED DOCTOR,
Kuala Lumpur.

(This letter was first published in The Star. MM is reproducing it here with the hope that the writer's predicament may be acted upon swiftly by the authorities.)

Aliran On-line forum

If you are one who enjoys participating in online discussion and/or forums, do read the following.

Aliran is revamping its website and today, we are launching a regular column “Thinking Allowed online,” featuring almost daily commentaries on current issues.

We look at the story behind the news and analyse the issues behind the headlines from a perspective of justice, human rights, multi-ethnic politics and universal spiritual values – all that Aliran stands for.

For this endeavour, we have assembled a team of more than two dozen columnists – a blend of veteran activists, renowned scholars and seasoned commentators.

Kicking off the new section is Aliran president P Ramakrishnan with a piece“Traitors and treachery!”

“If ever elected representatives are turned into renegades and turncoats, we must not only punish these traitors in the next round of elections but we must severely punish the party that encourages treachery,” says Ramakrishnan, in the inaugural commentary.

In the weeks to come, we will be further revamping and expanding our online commentaries to position Aliran as a must-read to find out what makes Malaysia tick.

These commentaries will be more timely and current, and they will complement our existing online material made up of the usual Aliran Monthly articles, media statements and civil society concerns.

Check out the Aliran website now – and keep an eye out for team of daily commentators.

Traitors and Treachery

If ever elected representatives are turned into renegades and turncoats, we must not only punish these traitors in the next round of elections but we must severely punish the party that encourages treachery.

Pakatan doesn’t need an enemy to destroy it. It can self-destruct quite easily — thanks to coalition partner Parti Keadilan Rakyat!

The undercurrent that has been simmering for some time has finally surfaced with its Bayan Baru MP Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim lashing out at the Penang Chief Minister publicly accusing him of being “dictatorial, chauvinistic and communist-minded”.

From the public’s perspective, there are several MPs in PKR who have taken public positions contrary to the stated aims of the party thus undermining its credibility as a viable component of the Pakatan Rakyat.

Word has it that some of them are deliberately daring the party to take action against them so that they can justify their joining the Barisan Nasional. In fact, they are provoking the party to discipline them — which would make it easier for them to leave the party.

There is talk that Umno is trying to entice them to cross over. Overtures have been made to encourage this but it has not been revealed what the price would be. To be sure it must be hefty!

Having successfully subverted the Pakatan government in Perak, the BN especially Umno is now hard at work to achieve two objectives.

Objective number one is to topple the Pakatan-led Selangor state government and take over the richest state. All it takes is for seven state assemblymen to be bought over and you have the Selangor state in your pocket!

Objective number two is to regain its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament. Again, all it takes is for nine MPs to jump ship.

These objectives are achievable when they feed the greed of certain people with millions of ringgit and corrupt them to switch party. This is how they will turn certain people into traitors and force them to commit treachery.

Let’s remember that the treachery when it is committed is not against the political party but in actual fact it is against Malaysian voters and against democracy.

If ever the elected representatives are turned into renegades and turncoats, we must not only punish these traitors in the next round of elections but we must severely punish the party that encourages treachery.

When we give a simple majority to the Opposition, it is possible to subvert our will through corruption. It is easy to buy a few representatives. But when we give the Opposition a big majority, it will be very difficult to frustrate the people’s mandate.

Let’s do a better job when the 13th General Election takes place. Let’s not only give the Opposition a better majority, it would be even better to reverse the roles and give the Opposition a chance to rule Malaysia. — Aliran

* P. Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran.

Monday Humour

A foreigner's impression on Malaysian drivers [third and final part]

Q. Does my car require a roadworthy certificate before I can drive in Malaysia?

A. No, roadworthy certificates are not required in Malaysia. However, there are certain other statutory requirements that must be fulfilled before your car can be driven in Malaysia. Firstly, you must ensure that your windscreen is at least 50% obscured with English football club decals, golf club membership stickers or condo parking permits. Secondly, you must place a tissue box (preferably in a white lace cover) on the back shelf of your car under the rear window. Thirdly, you must hang as many CDs or plastic ornaments from your rear vision mirror as it will support. Finally, you must place a Garfield doll with suction caps on one of your windows. Your car wll then be ready to drive on Malaysian roads.

Q. What does a single yellow line along the edge of the road mean?

A. This means parking is permitted.

Q. What does a double yellow line along the edge of the road mean?

A. This means double parking is permitted.

Q. What does a yellow box with a diagonal grid of yellow lines painted on the road at a junction mean?
A. Contrary to the understanding of some local drivers, this does not mean that diagonal parking is permitted. It indicates a junction that is grid-locked at peak hours. Try to avoid such areas at this time of the day.


Q. Can I use a mobile phone whilst driving in Malaysia?

A. No problem at all, but it should be noted that if you wish to use the rear-vision mirror to put on your lipstick or trim your eyebrows at the same time as you are using the mobile phone in the other hand, you should ensure that you keep an elbow free to steer the car. Alternatively, you may place a toddler on your lap and have the child steer the car whilst you are carrying out these other essentials tasks.

Q. Is it necessary to use indicator lights in Malaysia?

A. These blinking orange lights are commonly used by newly arrived expatriate drivers to indicate they are about to change lanes. This provides a useful signal to local drivers to close up any gaps to prevent the expatriate driver from changing lanes. Therefore, it is recommended that expatriate drivers adopt the local practice of avoiding all use of indicator lights. However, it is sometimes useful to turn on your left hand indicator if you want, merge right because this confuses other drivers enabling you to take advantage of an unprotected gap in the traffic.
Another use of the indicator light. If you arrive at a T-junction and there is a car coming towards you from the right with its indicator light signaling that it is turning to its left, please note the car may not be turning to the left. The driver of that car is actually telling you he has not made up his mind yet whether to turn left or continue straight ahead, in front of you. Seasoned local drivers will tell you to wait until the car made a left turn or completely passed in front of you before you make your move.

Q. Why do some local drivers turn on the left hand indicator and then turn right, or turn on their right hand indicator and then turn left?

A. This is one of the unsolved mysteries of driving in Malaysia.

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A TOO SMART 11-YEAR

I was having trouble with my computer... So I called David, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
David clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong?'
He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'

David grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?'

'No,' I replied.

'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'

So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T

I used to like the little sh*t...

------------------------------------------------
PARABLE OF A FATHER'S DILEMMA

An Indian man said to the friend, 'You know my parents are forcing me to get married to his so called homely girl from a village whom I haven't even met once.' We call this arranged marriage. I don't want to marry a woman whom I don't love... I told them that openly and now have a hell lot of family problems.'

His friend said, "I'll tell you my story."

I married a widow whom I deeply loved and dated for 3 years. 'After a couple of years, my father fell in love with my step-daughter and married her, so my father became my son-in-law and I became my father's father-in-law.

Legally now my step-daughter is my mother and my wife my grandmother.

More problems occurred when I had a son. My son is my father's brother-in-law and at the same time he is also my uncle .

Situations turned worse when my father had a son. Now my father's son, my brother is my grandson. Ultimately, I have become my own grand father and I am my own grandson.

And you say you have family problems...

UMNO say they can't. LGE proved that they can and they did it! Malays boleh!

PENANG, Jan 31 – Some 70 per cent of two state firm’s open tenders have been won by Malay contractors, showing the community to be as competitive as others, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (pic) said today

He said Malay contractors won 16 out of 23 tender awards, or 70 per cent, from the Penang Development Corporation(PDC) and 44 out of 66 or 67 per cent of contracts issued by the Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang(PBAPP) in open tenders since Pakatan Rakyat took over Penang in March 2008.

“The performance by Malay contractors in an open tender system with non-Malays proves that Malay contractors can compete with others and win tender awards on their own merit,” Lim said in a statement today.

The DAP secretary-general has been advocating open tenders under his “Competency, Accountability and Transparency” (CAT) programme since becoming chief minister although Umno and Malay rights groups accuse him of sidelining the community.

“Clearly it is not the race that is an issue but failed policies that encourage dependency especially when it helps Barisan Nasional maintain the status quo and its grip on power,” he added, referring to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government.

Lim accused the BN of instituting policies that “stifles initiative, creativity, hard work, drive and productivity which benefited only the few BN cronies at the expense of entire country”.

“For instance, a 30 per cent quota of publicly listed shares were reserved for Malays but only a few benefited as many ordinary Malays never received shares from the Federal government,” he added.

But the chief minister expressed regret that there were allies within PR Penang “is aligned with BN in opposing efforts to implement an open tender system and CAT governance”, referring to Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, who had criticised his administration.

“We must remain steadfast as we are backed by results. The Penang state government has been able to turn a projected deficit of RM35 million in 2008 budget to a record surplus of RM88 million.

“A projected deficit of RM40 million in 2009 Budget has been turned around to record a surplus of RM77 million.

“In fact, the 2009 budget surplus would have been a record RM92 million were it not for the payment of RM14.7 million as a result of the Tang Hak Ju land scam of the previous administration,” he said.

[Source : The Malaysian Insider]

Guan Eng and his team must be doing something right. If I did not hear it first hand, I probably would not have believe it. I made regular business trips to Penang and during one such trip, I was taken to the hotel from Bayan Lepas Airport by a Malay taxi driver, who incidentally spoke impeccable English. After a few minutes in the cab, I decided to have a chat with the cabbie by asking how were things since the change over of the state government. He responded with a very big smile and a "Very good, Uncle, very good" reply. I asked him how so? Quickly, without hesitation, he told me his uncle, about a month ago, was awarded a tender worth half a million ringgit to install street lights at certain points in Penang and part of the bridge. Although it was one parcel of the project that was awarded to him, he was more than satisfied as during BN's time, his uncle could only dream about securing government projects. He further told me that his uncle need not have to deal with the main con anymore as tenders are now awarded direct to the 'E' and 'F' Class contractors. This was not the only case. At another time, another Malay cabbie too told me how one of his relatives, an 'E' Class contractor was also awarded a job by the state government. Like the subject read: UMNO say they can't, but LGE has proven that they can. To Guan Eng and his team, keep up the good job!