SELAMAT HARI MALAYSIA - "Slipstream" by Pete Teo

Many local artistes participated in this Pete Teo's production, and one of them was Michelle Yeo.

Apart from Michelle Yeoh, those appearing in the video clip are Umno's Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Others include DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, actress-director Jo Kukathas, dancer Ramli Ibrahim, singer David Arumugam, rapper Namewee, activist Datuk Paduka Marina Mahathir and veteran footballer Santokh Singh.

The video clip also features CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

There are several notable scenes in the video clip including Tengku Razaleigh and Lim sitting together in the stadium when Merdeka was declared and also Izzah with Marina in a street scene during Malaysia's formation in 1963.

Also featured is famed Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad, who passed away in 2009. She had also appeared in another Teo film, Here In My Home, that was broadcast on YouTube in 2008.

See whether you can spot the celebrities in the video.

One blooper though.  At 3:06, I could see the Twin Tower in the distance.  In 1957?

Happy Merdeka, fellow citizens of Malaysia

Whenever I hear the following two tunes, I just realised how much I miss the Malaysia of old.  This was the time, in the 60s, when our country was peaceful and all lived as one, not so equal, but then we were happy and not enveloped by anxiety and stress caused by certain irresponsible politicians.

HAPPY MERDEKA EVERYONE!

Our National Day is an Islamic event?

The theme of the National Day celebrations this year, 'Janji Ditepati' (Pledges Fulfilled) is not a political rhetoric but based on the religious demand.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the theme was proof that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was guided by the Quran and Sunnah in discharging its responsibilities to the people as a whole.

"The theme is based on religious principles. We (BN) struggle to fulfil our promises to the people.

"We will fulfil our pledges to give confidence to the people. We want to prove that our country is a model of an Islamic nation," he said at a breaking of fast with the people in Kampung Padang Nenas, here on Thursday.

Also present were Menteri Besar Ahmad Said and about 10,000 people.

Najib said that in Islam if any pledge was not fulfilled, it could be construed as being hypocritical.

"So as a government, we will fulfil the pledges. We are prepared to be rejected by the people if our pledges are not fulfilled," he said.

As such, he said, there was no need for anyone to be afraid about the theme of the National Day.

"Among the people, we too must meet the promises made. Even in business, we want to deal with people who fulfil their pledges and in terms of the government, we also want a government that fulfils its pledges," he said.

He said the people should be grateful for the blessing that they were living in a prosperous nation like Malaysia.

"During the fasting month, we can carry out our religious obligations properly unlike in some other countries.

"The BN has succeeded in looking after the welfare of the people through various programmes and hope that the people will continue to give their support to the BN," he said.

Najib later gave away Ramadan contributions to orphans, the handicapped, senior citizens and single mothers.

Later, he performed the Maghrib prayer at Masjid Kampung Padang Nenas and the terawih prayer at Masjid Wakaf Tembesu before returning to the federal capital.

[Source: MM]

Back in the 60s when I was in the secondary school and a member of the school's Boy Scout movement, I had the opportunity to participate in march pasts at the Merdeka Stadium.  The feeling that I experienced was most indescribable especially when orders were given for us to march out from the tunnels into the open arena of the stadium.  The sound, the sight was something to behold.  All this time, I took it as an event celebrated by all Malaysians from all walks of life.  But now, I am told it is an Islamic event.  I am in cognitive dissonance to say the least.  So since this is the case, I will not be participating even as a spectator as I am a Christian and with the recent rap by Ridhuan Tee about Christians, I would feel most unwanted and out of place.  The second issue is about looking after the welfare of the people (see paragraph marked in red).  What a liar and the following video will prove it!

A couple of bars copied and you have plagiarised

Rais Yatim, in his usual arrogant manner, is brushing off all criticisms about the theme song for this year's Merdeka Day celebration and he even dared those concerned to sue him for plagiarism.  If only he could eat humble pie and have a re-work on the national day theme without antagonising our neightbour. It is also unbecoming of Rais Yatim to dismiss his critics when it involves the most important day of the nation, and unimaginable as it may sound, the rakyat will be singing a gospel tune.  Certainly Indonesia will not know whether to laugh or be angry with us.

Well, let's put it simply this way.  Rais is no musician and more so, his depth of knowledge on copyright issues relating to music is also found wanting.  Below is a write-up about the case of Bright Tunes Music vs Harrisongs Music in which ex-Beatle George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord' was deemed to be a plagarised version of The Chiffons' 'He's So Fine'.

Following the release of the Harrison version of "My Sweet Lord", musical similarities between it and Ronnie Mack's "He's So Fine" were remarked on immediately by album reviewers in the widely circulated publications NME and Rolling Stone; the latter's Ben Gerson even referred to it as an "obvious re-write of the Chiffons' 'He's So Fine'". By March, proceedings were under way for what became a prolonged copyright infringement suit, known as Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs Music, lasting over ten years. In September 1976, a US district court decision found that Harrison had "subconsciously" copied the earlier tune.

Both of the songs have a three-syllable title refrain ("My sweet Lord", "He's so fine") followed by a 5-3-2 descent of the major scale in the tonic key (E major for "My Sweet Lord" and G major for "He's So Fine"). Respective tempos are similar: 121 and 145 beats per minute. In the respective B sections ("I really want to see you" and "I dunno how I'm gonna do it"), there is a similar ascent through 5-6-8, but The Chiffons distinctively retain the G tonic for four bars and, on the repeat of the motif, uniquely go to an A-note 9th embellishment over the first syllable of "gonna". Harrison, on the other hand, introduces the more complex harmony of a relative minor (C#m), as well as the oft-repeated, fundamental and distinctly original slide guitar motif.

In 1978, before the court decided on damages in the case, Harrison's former manager Allen Klein, who had represented him earlier in the proceedings, purchased the copyright to "He's So Fine" from Bright Tunes. On 19 February 1981, the court decided the damages amounted to $1,599,987, but that due to Klein's duplicity in the case, Harrison would only have to pay Klein $587,000 for the rights to "He's So Fine" − the amount Klein had paid Bright Tunes for the song.

Harrison stated in his autobiography that he was inspired to write "My Sweet Lord" after hearing The Edwin Hawkins Singers' version of "Oh Happy Day", an eighteenth-century English hymn.

THE TWO SONGS IN DISPUTE

Have our government at last decided to go Gospel singing for this year's National Day celebrations?

The “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) melody picked for National Day celebration this year is heating up the airwaves but for the wrong reasons, with some online users noting its striking resemblance to a 2008 gospel song by Jakarta-based Christian band True Worshippers, featuring Indonesian songstress Ruth Sahanaya.

The latest controversy, coming just days after a public furore forced Putrajaya to axe the badly-designed 55th National Day logo in favour of the 1 Malaysia logo, could see more red cheeks for government officials and could further strain diplomatic ties with the Southeast Asian giant.

Malaysia’s chattering class has been critical over the “Janji Ditepati” lyrics, penned by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim but four days ago, they intensified their attacks on popular video-sharing site YouTube, and other social networking sites like Facebook after a blogger who professed to be a Christian pointed out that the song’s melody was strikingly similar to an Indonesian gospel song titled “Serukan Namanya” (Call out His name).

“Lagu tema KEMERDEKAAN MALAYSIA ke 55 kedengaran seperti LAGU Pujian di GEREJA (Malaysia’s 55th National Day theme song sounds like a church praise song),” said the anonymous blogger’s July 30 entry.

“Hal ini lagi mengejutkan sekiranya lagu tema kebangsaan di ambil dari lagu rohani org Kristen… Mungkin kementerian tidak tau tapi seharusnya pencipta lagu ni tdk berbuat demikian (menciplak) sebab did ditugaskan untk membuat lagu tema kemerdekaan. [This matter is all the more shocking if the national theme song is taken from the Christians’ spiritual song… Perhaps the ministry is unaware but the songwriter should not do so (plagiarise) because he was tasked with creating the national theme],” the blogger said.

The unnamed blogger urged the ministry to demand a refund from the songwriter and to replace the song, which has been panned for its lyrics, with another.

Copies of the posting and video links to both “Janji Ditepati” and its comparison to “Serukan Namanya” have since gone viral and were repeated on several blogs and online community fora such as Miricommunity.net, an Internet bulletin board popularly visited by Malaysians who hail from Sarawak.

“Amen, Yesuslah Raja!! Tapi sorry ya, Rais Yatim dengan lagu ‘Janji Ditepati’nya sama style dengan lagu ni (Amen Jesus is King!! But sorry, Rais Yatim with his ‘Janji Ditepati’ has the same style as this song),” said a YouTube commentor under the moniker amoker27 in one of the video clips featuring the Indonesian song here that has seen over 100,000 views since being uploaded on September 5, 2008.

The song, by Christian band True Worshippers led by Sidney Mohede and whose members include the regionally popular artiste Ruth Sahanaya, was released in their 2008 album “All Things New”.
“Now i really hate our ministry because duplicate this song and make it political in malaysia. really shame of my own country because of our idiot minister. sorry indonesia!!” said another YouTube commenter under the name vandridel.

The apology to Indonesia was in reference to upset Indonesians who attacked Malaysia’s missions in the archipelago, hurling eggs, stones and pieces of wood injuring personnel and damaging property as recently as June, claiming cultural theft after Rais had announced a move to add North Sumatra’s Tortor dance and the Gordang Sambilan drums to the its heritage list.

The two neighbouring countries are known to have a history of political, economic, and cultural friction.

But “Janji Ditepati’s” melody was purportedly created by a group of people only identified as Aye, Jasnie, Arman E six.

A YouTube posting of the video clip here has drawn over 255,000 views since it was uploaded on July 27 with over 30,600 dislikes compared to only 415 likes as of this morning.
Rais had also acknowledged the brickbats when he took to Twitter two days ago and invited the public to share their views on the song he wrote.

“Apa pandangan sdr tntg lagu janji d tepati? Di utube dah cecah 140k lebih. Tapi yg ‘ibu jari k bawah’ ada juga (What are your views on the Janji Ditepati song? On YouTube, there are more than 140,000 views. But there are those who have also given it a ‘thumbs-down’,” the minister said on his account ‏@DrRaisYatim.

[Source: The MI]

Now, listen to the two songs.

 Serukan Namanya (Call out His name) by The True Worshippers

Janji Di-tepati (Hari Merdeka Ke-55)

No prize for guessing which is the better slogan for our Merdeka Day celebrations

BN                   =  "Janji Ditepati" [Promises Fulfilled]

PAKATAN     =  “Sebangsa, Senegara, Sejiwa” [One Race,         One Country, One Soul]

If there were to be two celebrations, which one would you attend that will make you feel more Malaysian? 

The slogan by Pakatan was contributed by Khaimi Adam and selected by a panel chaired by Pak Samad.

Bourdon deported because he knew too much

Was French human rights lawyer William Bourdon deported because he knew too much?. That’s what PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar thinks.

She claims that Bourdon may have had access to crucial documents that may link Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to the controversial Scorpene submarine purchases.

“But the French court will provide public access to the investigation papers when the case goes on trial in September,” claimed Nurul at the Ops Scorpene fund raising dinner in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

The dinner, attended by nearly 500 guests, was hosted by Nurul’s aide, Fahmi Fadzil.

Yesterday, Bourdon, who was tasked to investigate corruption involving the submarine purchases, was detained at KLIA at 11.40am by the immigration officials when his flight arrived from Penang.

Subsequently, Bourdon was served a deportation order for violating the terms of his social visit pass and left the country at about 11pm.

Bourdon was supposed to be one of the speakers at the fund raising event yesterday.

Nurul, who is also Lembah Pantai MP, thanked Bourdon for his courage in taking up the case on behalf of Suaram to investigate the mystery involving the submarine deal.

“He is a well known personality worldwide yet he was kicked out of the country dishonorably,” she said.

Fellow PKR vice president, Tian Chua reminded the guests at the dinner on how the Scorpene deal was also linked to the gruesome murder of Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaaribu.

Ashes still in Malaysia

Chua said that recently Kelana Jaya MP Low Gwo Burne went to Mongolia and subsequently met the Altantuya’s father, Dr Setev Shaaribu.

In his visit, Chua said, Low was told by Shaaribu that his daughter’s ashes still remain in a Malaysian court as the case, in theory, is still unsolved.

“We may feel sympathy for his family but also remember that our tax money was used to finance the Scorpene deal,” he said.

In 2006, Altantuya’s remains were found in a secluded area in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam. Police investigation found that she was shot twice before her body was blown up using C-4 explosives.

She was said to be working as a translator for Perimekar Sdn Bhd, a company linked to Najib’s aide Abdul Razak Baginda, which was the company that sealed the deal on the two Scorpene submarines for Malaysia.

The multi-billion ringgit deal, which was inked in 2002 during Najib’s tenure as defense minister, was reported to have involved kickbacks worth RM500 million.

Subsequently, Abdul Razak was charged for abetting her murder in July 2008 but was acquitted about two months later. The prosecution team decided not to appeal against his acquittal.

[Source: FMT]

Also present at the dinner yesterday were DAP publicity chief Tony Pua, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah, PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya and Suaram director Kua Kia Soong.

Happy Malaysia Day!

REMEMBERING SUDIRMAN - THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

As we celebrate Malaysia Day as a symbol of “freedom and fraternity”, it is worth recalling that nearly two decades before the slogan 1Malaysia was coined, one national icon had already been crusading for a united nation free from prejudices.

The late Sudirman Arshad, showered then with accolades such as “Malaysia’s singing ambassador”, our “No 1 Entertainer” and even our very own Michael Jackson, championed unity up to his very last public concert just before his untimely death in 1992.

“This song is especially for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, and one of its messages is we must live united as one family, on God’s earth, without differentiating race, colour, status or ancestry,” Sudirman told his audience on the night of March 9, 1991.

[Mkini]

The video speaks for itself. It depicts Sudirman's versatility singing songs in English, Malay, Tamil and Cantonese. We will also remember how UMNO protested against him wearing a Chinese mandarin costume during one of his last performances. Now, UMNO is talking about 1Malaysia. Maybe too little too late. Sudirman - certainly a great loss to the nation.

Are you in the mood to celebrate???

The 52nd anniversary of our country's independence will soon be upon us and I am wondering whether anyone of uscitizens is in the mood to celebrate. As of now, I have still yet to see any flags hung from pirvate homes or buildings. Even cars do not fly the flag anymore. Could this be the result of Teoh Beng Hock's deatch, an inquest on him that is going no where, Choi Soi Lek kena tendang from the party, Ong Tee Keat allegedly collected RM10m from the fella Ting, UMNO lost Permatang Pasir (hey, what am I talking about. This is supposed to be good news), Michael Learn To Rock concert will face protest by those nitwits from PAS, beer selling will be curbed, Black Eyed Peas concert may also be called off, 71 deaths from H1N1, Samy Vellu still calling the shots in MIC, Khir Toyo's RM24m estate ignored by MACC, the PKFZ scandal has become full blown, PPP in-fighting, Koh Tsu Koon created homeless people, Gerakan is directionless, UMNO is still racist as ever if not worse than before, Kartika Sari Dewi Shurkarno is about to be whipped, a sacrilege in a Catholic church has been committed by two reporters from Al Islam and no action taken, Utusan Melayu is having a field day creating racial and religious tensions it deems fit, the overthrow of the PR state government in Perak and last, certainly not the least, the unrelentless arrests on PR leaders in Selangor for alleged corruption.

How to celebrate lah? I think I will sleep late on August 31. Maybe those extra hours will help me dream of the good old days gone by when Merdeka Day was as important as any Malaysian's birthday.