Why did the police just stand by to allow the Chinese guy being beaten up

Has our police become desensitise? This video speaks for itself.

Nostalgic Weekend - The Thunderbirds, Singapore

When I first heard the song, My Lonely Heart, by this group, I was simply taken back by the sound of the slide guitar at the intro. Since one of my favourite music genres happens to be C & W music, I guess that this was the next best thing that came my way, coming from an Asian, or rather a Singaporean, group.

The Thunderbirds were a Singapore band that was popular in the 1960s. Formed in 1963 and anchored by guitarist Derrick Fitzgerald, the band was probably the longest lasting in Singapore and played for almost two decades at the Carriage Bar at York Hotel. The band is best known for its original hit songs My Lonely Heart and You Were Made For Me To Love.

Members
Formed in 1963, the original band line-up comprised Tony Chong, Hamzah Hussein, Victor Lam and Derrick Fitzgerald. The band won the Beatles Versus Rolling Stones band competition that year.

The line-up changed over time to include Heather Batchen on lead vocals, Derrick’s brother Harvey on rhythm guitar, William Wee on bass, and Freddie Tan on drums. Another Fitzgerald brother, Ivan, also joined the band as a vocalist. The late 1960s saw the addition of Alan Lim, organist Freddie Kang, Richard Dankar on bass and Shedig Marican on drums. Bassist Harris Hamzah joined the band in 1976.

The most significant change to the line-up occurred when Harvey Fitzgerald and Heather Batchen married and migrated in 1975. Subsequently, the couple visited Singapore in the 1980s as part of the lounge act Trilogy and played at Le Vendome at Dynasty Hotel.

From the inception of the band and through the changing line-up of members, lead guitarist Derrick Fitzgerald was the mainstay of the band. He was well respected as a guitarist in the local music industry, particularly for his ability to play slide guitar.

Recordings
In 1965, the band released its first EP under the Philips record label. The following year, their single My Lonely Heart topped the charts in Singapore and Malaysia. Written by Harvey Fitzgerald and band manager Gerry Pasqual, the song featured Derrick Fitzgerald on slide guitar, a distinctive sound created using a comb. The song became the band’s signature tune and has remained popular over the years.

The band’s second release was Hula Girl in 1967. However, it was the B-side track composed and sung by Harvey Fitzgerald, You Were Made For Me To Love, which became a hit on the local charts.





The Thunderbirds [TODAY], Live



Previous Highlights:

The Saints, Kuala Lumpur
The Quests, Singapore
The "Little" Falcons, Kuala Lumpur
The Crescendos, Singapore
Rose Iwanaga, Sarawak
Naomi & The Boys, Singapore
Rocky Teoh, Ipoh
The Surfers/October Cherries, Singapore
Janice Wee, Sarawak
Roy Chew & The Merrylads, Kuala Lumpur
The Checkmates, Singapore
Terry Thadeus and The Teenage Hunters, Kuala Lumpur

GET READY FOR BERSIH 2.0 !!

For more on the event, read here.

Has Lee Hwa Beng lost his marbles?

MCA man says God commands Christians to fight Islamic state

Former Subang Jaya state assemblyman, MCA's Lee Hwa Beng (pic), has appealed to Christian sentiments when he suggested on Twitter yesterday that a state based on Islam would ban all other religions.

"As Christians, we should fear Islamic theocracy nation [sic] more than anything. Why is DAP helping PAS to achieve it?” questioned Lee in a response to DAP supporters on the micro-blogging site.

Saying religions other than Islam would not be tolerated under what he coined "Islamic Theocracy State" [sic] and that Islamic laws would be imposed on non-Muslims, Lee even went on to claim that it was "God's command" to fight an "Islamic Theocracy State".

"One of God's command is to fight against Islamic Theocracy State," he said.

He added that UMNO, unlike PAS, did not want to establish an "Islamic Theocracy State".

Lee however was quick to add a 'disclaimer' stating that his remarks were his personal opinion.

“I never say I am against Islam but cannot accept PAS objective of Islamic Theocracy State. In fact I accept Islam as the official religion.

"Sorry I bring this theocracy topic up. Getting out of hand. I am quitting."

The latest remarks by Lee followed similar comments by MCA president Chua Soi Lek in August, in which he suggested Muslim-majority nations were naturally corrupt in an attempt to urge Malaysians to shun PAS.

Chua also claimed that it was UMNO's competing with PAS over Islam which had caused the country to be trapped as a “middle income” nation for more than 10 years.

The comments drew strong reactions from both sides of the political divide, and had left the one-time Health minister blaming online portals Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider for 'misquoting' him. - Harakahdaily

This guy must have taken leave off his senses to come out with a statement like that. And what did he mean UMNO does not want an Islamic Theocratic State? They have already declared our country an Islamic State in 2001 which is ultra vires the federal constitution and look at all our institutions, everything is slowly but surely going the Islamic way. Even our educators have gone totally islamic picking on non-Muslim kids. It is not Islam that is bad but the kind of Muslim we have to deal with and between UMNO and PAS, the former stood up like a sore thumb. Furthermore, what is this about God commanding Christians to fight Islamic state? How could this be so when Christianity is a religion that precedes Islam? Islam was non-existent during the times of Christ, and as a Catholic Christian, I find this totally unbecoming of a politician like him to utter such rubbish in the public domain. If he thinks that this will help him to win votes, then he is sorely mistaken as this drive away more Chinese Christians to vote for others. Furthermore, may we also know from which part of the Bible was it stated that Christians must fight an Islamic state? Just like UMNO, MCA is surely getting more and more desperate by the day. While UMNO will tell the Malays, the Chinese are bad, MCA will tell the Chinese, PAS is bad. So what else is new?

OMG, can't FINAS come up with a better ad than this for Deepavali?

If Yasmin was alive today, such ad would have been tastefully produced. The essence of the message must come from the heart but this one appears to show the might of one person over many, and very condescending as well. Hope they will not come up with such silly ads for Christmas!

Sorry, AG, not so fast! It ain't over yet 'til the fat lady sings

OPEN LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Dear Tan Sri,

My name is Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal.

I think you may have heard of me.

I was Razak Baginda’s private investigator hired by him to protect him from his ex girlfriend Ms. Altantuya Shaaribu (deceased), sometime in 2006.

Remember you charged him for her murder but he got off. Instead, two of the Prime Ministers body guards got convicted. Stranger things have happened, I am sure you would agree.

But I digress. Let me come to the point.

I have been made to understand that you have decided to close the case involving 2 statutory declarations I signed sometime at the beginning of July 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.

The contents of these statutory declarations were diametrically opposed. Both could not have been true and therefore one of them was false. I trust that makes sense to you.

The police, I believe, have investigated the circumstances surrounding the making of these 2 statutory declarations under s.199 of the Penal Code, for an offence which carries a sentence of 3 years imprisonment and a fine. This is not a trivial offence.

The police must have interviewed my lawyer Americk Sidhu, his secretary, the Commissioner of Oaths who attested my signature and a variety of other witnesses you have mentioned who were somehow intrinsically interwoven in the construction and affirmation of both statutory declarations, one way or another.

It has therefore come as a great surprise to me to discover that you have been unable to decipher any wrongdoing from the enormous amount of evidence the police must have been able to accumulate from their investigations.

Please permit me to assist you.

Firstly may I suggest that you re-open this file immediately.

I will make it easy for you.

Let me admit to you that I did sign a false statutory declaration. Yes. I did. I signed a false statutory declaration.

It was the second one, not the first one. The first one was entirely truthful. The second one was a complete pack of lies. I admit this.

This statutory declaration was prepared by some unknown person(s) and I was forced by very thinly veiled threats and intimidation to sign it.

I have already made this known to the world at large and I am surprised your office has not picked this up as yet. Everyone else has.

If you are unable to ascertain this information which I have just provided to you directly, please feel free to contact me at this email address bala.p.i@hotmail.com and I shall forward to you a copy of the video recorded interview I had in the presence of my lawyers in Singapore last November, and a copy of the transcript thereof.

Otherwise you can find this information on all the blogs worth reading (such as Raja Petra’s ‘Malaysia Today’) and also on ‘You Tube’. ( Just type in ‘PI Bala’ into the search column and you will be surprised what comes up).

So you may now consider charging me for making the false 2nd statutory declaration after the clues I have given you.

I do however reserve the right to plead not guilty to the charge as I believe I have a very good defence.

Your prosecutors will also have to make sure they call all the necessary witnesses to prove their case against me. These witnesses will have to include the following personalities:

(i) a lawyer named Mr. Arunampalam a/l Mariam Pillai (who coincidentally does legal work for Deepak Jayakishan and Rosmah Mansor’s personal companies).

(ii) a Commissioner of Oaths (Zainal Abidin Bin Muhayat) who works in the office of M/s Zul Rafique and Partners (Advocates & Solicitors) and who attested my signature when he came to the room in which I was being held at the Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

(iii) Deepak and Dinesh Jaikishan ( very good friends and confidantes of Rosmah Mansor).

(iv) Datuk Nazim Razak (younger brother of the Prime Minister), and his wife.

(v) ASP Suresh (a suspended police officer formerly attached to the IPK HQ KL).

(vi) Officers from the Immigration Department Damansara (who assisted in obtaining urgent passports for my family).

(vii) A host of journalists and reporters who were present in the lobby of the Prince Hotel Kuala Lumpur when a lawyer called Arunampalam released my 2nd statutory declaration without my permission.

These are just some of the witnesses I can think of but I am sure you know how to do your job so that should be no problem. I don’t want to be accused of trying to teach an old dog new tricks.

If for some strange reason my defense is called, I will also be able to provide witnesses to support what I have to say. I need not disclose who these witnesses are at this stage and I am sure you know that as well.

I shall now wait for the charge against me to be laid.

I will be more than happy to return to Malaysia to defend myself but you will have to ensure that my safety is guaranteed as there are some people who would prefer that I was not around.

Best regards,
Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal
[Bala (PI)]

In the game of chess, this could probably be a case of 'Checkmate' against the AG who is now in a Catch22 situation. If he proceeds with the case, all the people mentioned by Bala will be dragged to the court to testify, including Najib and Rosmah, which we presume he is trying to avoid. If he doesn't, then the law becomes a farce and this will set a precedent for every Tom, Dick and Harry to start making false SDs as and when. It will definitely make a mockery of the law when a person admitted he had committed a crime and the AG says it is okay, and stamped the file with the usual "File Closed". Does the AG know that by his actions, he is even making the case more obvious.

I am trying to figure this one out

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a Muslim lady, was sentenced to be caned for drinking beer. Now, in Kuching, a 10-year old boy, who is a non-Muslim, was caned, on the palm, 10 times for bringing non-halal food to school by the assistant principal. The assistant principal is a Muslim. I thought that caning is meant only for Muslims. How in the world did such a thing happen to a non-Muslim?

Basing on the same logic, will the assistant principal punish a Muslim student had he brought food that is deemed offensive to the non-Muslims, like beef which is a no-no to the Hindus and Buddhists? If he had, will there be a riot by the Muslim community? Food for thought, though. Like the maxim goes, "the blade is double-edged".

Nostaligic Weekend - Terry Thaddeus & The Teenage Hunters

Terry Thaddeus (1947-2003)

For those who lived through the sixties and seventies, the mere mention of Terry Thaddeus, will immediately bring to mind Jimi Hendrix. That was how his fans associated him for his style of playing the guitar which was so much similar to that of the great legend.

Terry broke into the limelight in 1963 when he and three of his friends, all St Johanians, formed a group called "The Teenage Hunters" and was seen performing frequently at major concerts with other groups at places such as the Stadium Negara. The group even went on to record a single, a track entitled "Marvin", I believe was dedicated to Terry's father. Regrettably, this is not available on YouTube or elsewhere.

After a couple of years, the band broke up and Terry went on to play with other groups, most notably The Strollers. He even spent some time away performing in Bangkok in the 70s. I will always remember his performances at the "Tomorrow" disco which brought to the fore what "progressive" or "underground" music was all about.

The Teenage Hunters in 1964

After his stint with The Strollers, Terry went on to write and perform on commercial jingles.

Regretfully, this Malaysian musical icon passed away in May 2003 from lung cancer.

Terry singing with The Strollers

Terry playing the Jimi Hendrix classic "Little Wing"


You will remember these jingles, written and performed by Terry



Previous Highlights:

The Saints, Kuala Lumpur
The Quests, Singapore
The "Little" Falcons, Kuala Lumpur
The Crescendos, Singapore
Rose Iwanaga, Sarawak
Naomi & The Boys, Singapore
Rocky Teoh, Ipoh
The Surfers/October Cherries, Singapore
Janice Wee, Sarawak
Roy Chew & The Merrylads, Kuala Lumpur
The Checkmates, Singapore

A letter from Dr Kamal Amzan

I am a Malaysian first, second, and last

Letter

by Dr Kamal Amzan

We are a nation that defines race in our constitution. Well, there is nothing wrong with that. But we should know that we are in the league with countries like South Africa and Israel.

Other countries have their own definition of race, but very few take pride enshrining it in their constitution.

Whatever your stand on that, let us admit one thing, we are not in the best of companies.

Religion teaches us that God created us as equals, and some even say that we are all related (albeit distantly). Say what you want, twist and cite all the verses in every holy scriptures you can, but the crux of the matter is that we are all the same before Him, we are all related even.

Yes people, that makes us brothers, sisters, first cousins, second cousins and distant cousins if you must.

In my opinion, 1Malaysia was a long and overdue call. A battle cry, after years of trouble. However, being a sceptic that I am, it was a call that sounded too good to be true.

And i didn’t wait long to be proven right. The first crack was when the government ministers hesitated to declare themselves a Malaysian first vis a vis their race. I assure you their silence (elegant or not) speak volumes, and is more deafening with each passing day in the eye of the Malaysian public.

Second was when an independent member of parliament from Pasir Mas (who later had a heart attack) started ranting on and on about a topic that would have landed anyone else into ISA. Surprisingly a statesman followed suit. Mind you, this statesman was the first to introduce the term ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ in the 90′s and the idol to millions including myself at one point or another.

Third was when government servants, I repeat ‘servants’ made seditious, racial remarks in school, and in government run camps. They seem to forget they are paid by the Malaysian public – brown, yellow, green, red and black people combined. Worse was when our leaders said they didn’t have the power to do anything about it. I couldn’t believe my ears because if they don’t, who does?

Fourth was when they called a rapper to give his statement for voicing out his anger, due to the fore-mentioned injustices online. A hint, this rapper was first famous for his one-hit ‘negarakuku’.

I pity him. I really do and my heart goes to him, his family and friends for speaking up. They cannot be blamed for emulating and taking cues from the MP of Pasir Mas.

But that was the last straw for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am proud to be a Malay and all that it entails, but being Malaysian is always first, and everything else comes second.

It is always about putting the national interest before oneself, before society and community. And when you do that, you automatically become a Malaysian first.

People look hard for reasons to disunite, even when there’s none. At the end, the winner will be a powerless master in a broken country from disunity.

It is not wrong to say that we would fare better without politicians fanning the flames. As far as i’m concerned, most of them are hypocrites. They demand one thing and request another. They speak like they own the world and preach us to sacrifice what we have, when they themselves are reluctant to sacrifice an iota of their common sense for the benefit of the masses.

Not to say they have a lot of common sense to begin with.

To all my brothers, sisters, cousins, whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you are, we are all Malaysians in the eyes of the world, and we are a sight and strength to be reckoned with, together.

Similar to a combination of colors forming a rainbow or pieces of jigsaw puzzle that is priceless together, but worthless apart.

Let us not tear this magnificent rainbow away.

As we move towards the year end, our resolution must be to put this country first before any man, woman or child. That our differences should and must be our strength, not weakness and that we should build the future by graduating from the past.

Our children should thrive in an environment that promotes respect, tolerance, and celebration of each other’s differences, not antagonize, suspect and oppress one another. They should stand equally tall, speak equally loud and strive equally hard to realize each and every one of our dreams.

They should all be Malaysian first,second and third and none else in between.

Then and only then will we truly live the spirit and virtue of 1Malaysia.

I offer no apology for saying all this and more.

Keep the faith!

Let not the recent two by-elections keep us down. If we are still gung-ho in seeing a change in government, for the betterment of all Malaysians, we must KEEP THE FAITH!