Chew Mei Fun: Your credibility is at stake should you contest

“If we accept without question leaders who are not good role models, it will send a negative message to the people, especially the children who look up to the leaders as role models, in that our party (MCA) accepts and condones such corruption notwithstanding our wholesome and respectable culture” . Well said, Chew Mei Fun, and very profound too. Now the big question is, with the next MCA election scheduled a year away, will you be once again a contender for the wanita head post? If you are, and assuming you get re-elected, and so does Chua Soi Lek, will you stay on or quit again. Your principle must hold good that as long as CSL is the president you will not want to be a part of the team. For once, I fully agree with you that political parties should not be led by tainted leaders, such as murderers and adulterers. Remember what Mahathir said at the height of the case involving the former CM of Melaka and the underaged girl? He aptly put it, that a politician should be seen as whiter than white. If you decide to stay on despite the presence of CSL, you would have lost more than you bargain for. While the going is good for you now, it is best you stay out of politics, for good, or until CSL decide to quit politics permenantly.

So now it is a sin to honour our warriors?

As a result of UMNO's decision to re-locate the Warrior's Day remembrance to Putra Jaya due to religious reasons, I decided to google for comments by our military personnel and what they thought of the move. I found a blog belonging to the 7th Rangers [Mechanised], and this is what a certain Major (Rtd) D.Swami has to say.

Deicated To The Heroic Fighters In The Cause Of Peace and Freedom. May The Blessing Of Allah Be Upon Them. (Engraved in Stone)

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Romanlyrical poet Horace's Odes, translated into English it means: "It is glorious and honourable to die for one's country." The current July 31 celebrations is only symbolic and a mark of respect, nothing to do with being unIslamic as stated by Islamic authorities who claim it should not be held at the site of statues or sculptures of human figures. It is an old military ceremony. We are not worshipping the monument as mentioned but it is just symbolic. What is important is our intention to give respect.

So who is Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who never served in the Army to give his views? What is important is for the people to know Warrior’s Day exists and for them to know the sacrifices and deeds of the country’s soldiers, a nation that deny's it's warriors will definitely sink into an abyss.Then there is this smart arse of a General, said retired Lt-Gen Zaini Mohamad Said, the so called hero of Sauk,surrounded and protected by snipers and commandos and riding in armoured vehicles. “That has been the comment for a very long time, there is some truth in it being unIslamic,” he was referring to the monument. This is the same General who when was the 3rd Division Commander, disallowed minority faiths from practicing their religion in camps. Inclusive of Seventh Rangers, when questioned in "Dewan Adnan" on his directive, by a Captain, he answered in all his arrogance,"Itu adalah dasar kerajaan." What a hypocrite!! He with his blinkered views wants to give his bigotted opinion. His rendering of his tale about Al Maunah is filled with controversy.

Who are the Muslim scholars? Have they ever carried an arm to defend this country.The decision to stop what the government believes to be unIslamic practices was announced jointly by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom last week. Ask Jamil Khir whether he treated Corporal Ghani anak Binjoi fairly who died alongside Staff Sergeant Azman Mohamad Tahir. Corporal Ghani anak Binjoi was a Christian, that will answer the question. Who is Zahid, an UMNO warlord! They do not care about traditions and sacrifices. No one is praying there, commemoration, rememberance and honoring your dead is a blessed act.

The Cenotaph for a moment of quiet contemplation for those who had sacrificed their lives in order that our country remains democratic and sovereign. The Cenotaph was created by the British administration to commemorate those who had lost their lives in World War I, World War II and the Malaysian Emergency. The inscription on the Cenotaph reads: “To Our Glorious Dead 1914-1918 (i.e. The First World War) 1939 – 1945 (The Second World War) and 1948 – 1960 (The Malaysian Emergency)

Passing the Cenotaph is the National Monument designed by American sculptor Felix de Weldon, the same architect who created the Iwo Jima Memorial Monument in Washington, this 15.54m high bronze monument was constructed in 1966 to honor the country's fallen heroes during the communist insurrection. Many members of the Malaysian Security Forces lost their lives during the Emergency, a 12-year struggle against communist insurgency that ended in 1960. The Malaysian Armed Forces were successful in crushing the armed rebellion and thus the communists failed in their attempt to set up a communist state in a very strategic point in Southeast Asia.

The National Monument, known in Bahasa Malaysia as ‘Tugu Peringatan Negara’, is one of the largest freestanding bronze sculptures in the world. The seven bronze soldiers represent seven noble qualities: Leadership, Unity, Strength, Vigilance, Suffering, Courage and Sacrifice. Is commemorating these values a sin?

Monuments, by their very nature, are designed to convey political or historical information. But the Tugu Peringatan Negara, to me, conveys a message of love for one's country and those gallant men who laid down their lives.

Tunku Abdul Rahman commissioned Wedon for a monument "to remember those who stood together in unity and national pride to defend democracy against those who would destroy the fundamental dignity of man and to keep faith with those who sacrificed themselves." More...

Who are Najib, Zahid and Jamil Khir, mere pipsqueaks, unpatriotic scumbags, destroyers of democracy and the fundamental dignity of man, who are hell bent on erasing the the legacy of the "Father of Merdeka", the Tunku ???????????

The case of the missing RM52b

This is definitely something for Ibrahim Ali to chew on. While he is good at blaming the Chinese for the ailment of the Malay community, for a change, how about turning the barrel of his gun towards UMNO, asking them what has happened to the RM52b under the allocation of bumiputra shares by the government? This would be a good start for him to initiate a POI under PERKASA to query the PM, DPM, Finance Ministry officials, Bank Negara, Bursa Saham KL, etc. The allocation was RM54b but now only RM2b remain in bumiputra hands.

You can read Malaysiakini's report here.

If he can't do a simple thing like this, there are only two words for him, 'SHUT UP!"

I find it hard to believe

As everyone knows, Najib's 1Malaysia is going, going, ....... His aspirations of seeing Malaysians as one people is no longer working when you have people like Ibrahim Ali, Ridhuan Tee, Awang Selamat, Zaini Hassan and some UMNO warlords undermining his efforts. Can't blame the rakyat for being so skeptical about any new ideas coming from UMNO, the latest being the formation of the Inter Religious Understanding Committee.

In his recent visit to Singapore, Najib gave his views at the Singapore Foreign Correspondents Gala Dinner........

We don’t want rent seekers and the politics of patronage in our economy. I committed to that and it is dangerous because they are politically connected......

But we have to help the Bumiputeras who need help, the Sarawakians, the Sabahans and the Orang Asli. Not just the Malays......

Every single Malaysian who is poor and vulnerable must be helped. If you are earning less than RM1,500 a month, you must be helped and it does not matter if you are Chinese, Indian or Malay.

To all the above, I am sure all of us would like to ask, "YOU SURE OR NOT?" And to sing it, here is good old Patrick [Teoh].

The "Voice Your Choice" gathering

If you have missed the gathering at e@Curve, AmCorp and Subang Parade, last weekend, please click here to get the full write up of the happening at e@Curve. Since it was held in conjunction with Youth Week, the youths were out in full force to support the Voice Your Choice campaign.

Sign up as a registered voter now, i.e. if you have not already done so. Get your brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, girl friends, boy friends, etc to attend similar gatherings in the future to register, or to the nearest post office. Target: 2 million new voters nation wide as sought by EPIC, a voluntary youth organisation.

It's Putra Jaya or bust!!

Malaysian first, Chinese/Malay/Indian/Bidayuh/Murut/Melanau/ Dusun second or whatever

Before you start to read the following article, let me declare to you that I am Malaysian first, Malaysian last; and not Chinese first Malaysian second or Malaysian first, Chinese second. I have this thought for almost three decades now and when I finally decided to join the blogging fraternity, my blog was aptly named "Malaysian first, Malaysian last". And the debate continues ....

It was not long ago in secondary school we learned of how, from times before, the Malaysian people were mostly Hindus and Buddhists. It was also not too long ago that a prime minister accused the Malays of having the memory span of an Alzheimer’s patient, then basically proving the point himself in front of a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
When someone tells me that I should support Malay rights and privileges, I just have to ask: "Why?"
Can’t I support Malaysian rights, or universal human rights?
Heck, I’m human first, right?

To me, personally, the government should have no problems extending housing discounts and university entrance quotas to the local universities, barring one, to all races based on income.
I mean, let’s face facts. If a Malay can achieve an income of more than RM300,000 a month, just what basis is there for him or her to need a housing discount on a multimillion ringgit mansion, while other Malaysians have to build their homes on government land, and hope and pray that they’ll be given that land after 30 or 40 years living there?

And permit me to ask this, but what would you say is "Malay" about the Malays, "Chinese" about the Chinese, "Indian" about the Indians, and so on so forth in this country?
We’ve all heard of Chinese people who can’t speak a single dialect of their mother tongue. Same goes for the Indians, and, in fact, the Malays.

I’m not afraid to admit that judging by what I see on TV, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat looks and sounds more Malay than I do.

I hate Malay movies, and in all honesty, would only watch Awani for their talk shows.
I don’t watch Hindustani movies because, well, I’m a logical person. Three hours of people somehow singing on the streets, finding total strangers to dance with them in a well-choreographed performance is total nonsense. My brain can’t take that, and the clothing changes and the sudden move from a street to a hillside…

Let’s move on.
Nowadays, Malaysian politics being based on race is seen as an affront to the fact that every single Malaysian can trace their roots in this nation to at least three or four generations deep, the span of about 60 to 80 years.

So what makes me more Malay Malaysian than a twenty-something Indian Malaysian, whose great-great grandparents moved here to get into rubber tapping? Or a twenty-something Chinese Malaysian yuppie whose ancestors migrated here merely to start businesses of their own with no cash in hand?

There is no difference. And I pity that politicians can’t see this or choose not to see it for their own political gain.

On March 18, 2010, Lim Kit Siang put forth acid tests to determine if the government themselves were in support of 1Malaysia, which I considered a bold move. Not because of Lim, but because nobody knew what 1Malaysia truly meant.

"Uncle Lim" basically came up with his own definition.
His first acid test was not so interesting, but his second one was hilarious.
For his test, he basically asked Khairy Jamaluddin if he would say he was Malaysian first and Malay second. Of course, the Honourable MP from Rembau did answer he but stated this needed to be in line with the Federal Constitution.

Lim stated that KJ gave the wrong answer and this led to a 12-page riot in the Parliamentary Hansard, which includes the mentions of Oxford and someone being a deaf dinosaur.
While this spectacle reads out rather boringly amidst the 12 pages, it is not without some humour; because you see, there are weak minded cows elected who just don’t get it. In this case, the MP from Kapit.

While "Uncle Lim" was willing to state that he was Malaysian first and Chinese second, the MP hesitated and just had to ask an extremely dumb question.
"If Malaysians first, Chinese second, where are the Ibans?"

Take a deep breath after reading that, people. Slap your foreheads if you must.

Let me just say this. The nation’s strife has always been caused by race, and religion itself has always been made an excuse by a certain race. In fact, our constitutional laws were drawn up at a time when then-migrants were given a choice of either going back to their homelands or to accept this nation and help develop it.

This was close to 60 years ago.

Do Malaysian Malays truly believe that since then, society hasn’t changed, and that the younger generation believes in a nation with equal footing without glass ceilings and additional red tape based on race?

People change. Policies change, and laws, even constitutions are amended to suit the times.
And honestly, as Malaysians and just Malaysians, that call to change is now.

(By HAFIDZ BAHAROM/The Malaysian Insider)

Our national monument is now history

When I read the following report in The Malaysian Insider, I just asked myself, "What in the world were these people thinking?" Eleven thousand soldiers died defending the country and they think the eleven thousand are all Malay Muslims. What about the non-Muslims? They cannot be remembered in Putra Jaya because they are not Muslims. So the question is, where are they going to be remembered now?

For those not in the know, the National Monument was the brainchild of the late Tunku which was commissioned in 1963. Felix de Weldon, the same guy who did the Iwo Jima Monument was assigned the task which was officially declared opened on February 8 1966 by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

In my younger days when I was working as a tourist guide, I was always proud to show tourists our Malaysian monument to commemorate our fallen heroes because those who died fighting for our country were Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, etc. What a pity that it is now a Malay monument and no longer Malaysian. The DPM was right. It is Malay first. For the non-Malays who fought so gallantly and died, it was all for nothing, I guess.

And UMNO is still wondering why non-Malays are not joining the armed forces.

Muslim scholars welcome the decision to shift the Warrior’s Day celebrations from the National Monument to Putrajaya in line with Islamic teachings against idolatry.

Warrior’s Day is celebrated at the National Monument on July 31 with the laying of the wreath and a moment of silence in full military tradition by the King and senior military leaders.

“Saluting in front of the statue is against Islamic teachings,” said Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, former Perlis mufti.

Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria concurred with Asri, saying that the current practice is un-Islamic.

“Meditating in silence in front of a statue is not right,” he told The Malaysian Insider. “It is as if you are respecting the statue. Bowing in front of a statue looks as if you are worshiping the statue.”

While Harussani agreed that it is good to commemorate the slain soldiers, but the commemoration should not violate Islamic teachings.

When questioned on why the shift is only made now after years of celebration at the National Monument, Asri replied that the religious authorities had kept silent about this issue during Tun Abdullah Badawi’s administration. He added that they should have had the courage to speak up.

However, Harussani said that the religious authorities have always advised the Government against celebrating Warrior’s Day at the National Monument since independence.

Nonetheless, Harussani added that the advice was ignored for the most part, except during the reign of Johor Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1984-1989.

When the next Agong took over, celebrations of Warrior’s Day resumed at the National Monument.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had said last week that Warrior’s Day this year would be celebrated at Putrajaya instead of the National Monument in line with the guidelines of the National Fatwa Council and Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim), which prohibited such celebrations in front of human statues.

He added that a Warriors Square about two to three acres large would be built in Putrajaya for future celebrations.

A Holy and Blessed Easter to you!

To all my Christian friends and readers, may I wish you a Holy and Solemn Easter and that the Grace of the Risen Christ be with you always.

My First Birthday

How time flies. It is already a year since I started blogging. Events in the country have been unfolding at such a rapid rate that you couldn't help but be swept away with all the happenings. Our country, no doubt, need a change, and my blog "Malaysian First, Malaysian Last", I hope, will in a small way contribute towards that change. Wouldn't you please join me in singing the birthday song?