He's Human

He is as human as a dog can be...

As A Man Thinketh...

As A Man Thinketh, The Woman Doeth? ;o)

The Great Escape

Who Creates Such Videos?

I wonder who is the creative brains behind videos like this one. There seems to be more and more out in cyberspace and some of them are really well put together. It cannot be from just one source and if it really is not then I cannot imagine the groundswell. Perhaps BN can come out with rebuttal videos which are virtually non-existent now and yet they are aware they lag behind in cyber war. Porn excluded, what would be in such videos? 

Tiger Datuk Abdul Razak Musa

I come from a school called King Edward VII in Taiping and we call each other Tiger this and Tiger that because the tiger is a big part of the school emblem. We are fiercely loyal to our alma mater and to each other when it comes to comparison with other secondary schools.

The first time I met Tiger Datuk Abdul Razak Musa in person was about a year and a half ago in an old boys meeting at the Curve, PJ. The OBA was looking for someone of integrity and standing to chair a committee for a proposed trust fund for the old school. I was his senior at school and therefore did not know him well personally. He was a quiet and unassuming man; did not talk very much that day. It was certainly not the first time one of our own has risen to a position of distinction but nevertheless we were proud of his achievement. 

At the time, the MACC was already very much in the public spotlight and the skepticism about its impartiality was already apparent. In any case, Tiger Abdul Razak Musa is one of our own so we MUST give him the benefit of the doubt!

We did not meet again after that first time but I did notice him in the news occasionally. However, in the last couple of weeks he has suddenly shot to fame in the Teoh Beng Hock inquest for all the wrong reasons.

I followed the proceedings that fateful day (18th August, 2010) on the Malaysian Insider tweets and remember cringing at the words that were being reported almost real-time. Obviously he was doing his job by trying to discredit Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand which is supposedly as good a strategy as any. It was the way he went about doing it that was surprising. He had instead ended up discrediting himself, the MACC, our education system and worse of all the nation! I remember thinking this shit will hit the fan and with all the bad Press thereafter, I refrained from watching the video of the incident more so out of Tiger loyalty and deference than anything else! 

This morning, I chanced upon the series of court videos and decided to watch them. After that, I am even more appalled by Tiger Abdul Razak Musa's performance. Maybe he would be more comfortable if he had used Bahasa Malaysia instead, but it was not all about language. He appeared clueless! Not only did Dr Pornthip's answers make mincemeat of his questions, it reminded me of an Asian Schools Rugby Tournament game I played in, in Hatyai, December 1978. Eventual champion, Thailand's Vajiravudh College beat us soundly and thoroughly!

It was a game I would want to forget and I think Tiger Razak Musa would want to forget 18th August, 2010 too.

You judge for yourself:

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Part 6



Part 7



Part 8     

That Effing Show: Lamps, Messi and the Curious Case of Nazri Aziz

As long as we have shows like this, there is still hope for the Nation:

Abracadabra! Or Alakazam! Or Open Sesame!...Or The Latest Incantation; "Can I Fcuk You Today?"

The following transcript is the juicy part of proceedings on Day 1 of the "Sodomy; The Sequel" trial. Whether the alleged sodomizer is guilty or not, there will always be detractors. Personally, I am neutral about whether Anwar did it or did not do it...he may have done it. What is it about smoke and fire?

However, it has come to a point of pointlessness because the most important issue is; whether Anwar in jail again for sodomy or cleared of the charge, two mutually exclusive results will follow: BN to fall or win in the next GE.

The plaintiff was the first on the stand and his opening testimony is nothing short of sensational; sensational only because it gives new approbation to come-on lines. If a mere. "Can I fcuk you today" can get the fcuks, then the world would be a better place for the fcuk-deprived. In this case apparently an ass-hole bandit can even get to plug a seemingly straight male "sodomee" who was about to get married to a seemingly real woman. From two "No's" to a "Yes" (he went to the bathroom and came out wrapped in a towel after saying "no" twice) it did not take too much convincing nor intimidation. Sheeeesh! "Open Sesame!!! And the bugger will bend over! Yeah, right!

I can imagine the world tomorrow. Everyone going around greeting each other; "Can I fcuk you today?"

Judge for yourself:

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Di hadapan Yang Arif Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah [hari #2]

[03:05 pm]
Dato’ Mohd Yusof: Memperkenalkan pihak-pihak

Bagi Pihak Pendakwa Raya: Dato’ Mohd Yusof (MY), Hanafiah Zakaria (HZ), Dato’ Nordin Hassan(NH), Wong Chiang Kiat (CK), Noorin Badaruddin (NB), Farah Azlina Latif (FA), Mira Mirna bt Musa dan Naidatul Atirah bt Azman.

Bagi Pihak Anwar Ibrahim (AI): Karpal Singh(KS), Paracumaraswamy(PC), Sankara Nair(SN) – Tidak Hadir, CV Prabakaran(CV), Ram Karpal (RK), Marissa Regina Fernando(M) dan Wan Anuar Shahdat (WAS)

Watching Brief: Zamri Idrus (S), Rajpal Singh, Andy Yong dan N.S. Leong (Majlis Peguam), Kailesh (for Prof. Dr. M. Ariff)

Pemerhati: Mark Trowell, Queen Council for the Law Asia, Commonwealth Lawyer’s Association and International Court of Justice
Jennifer Robinson for IBA.

******************************************

A: Lepas serah dokumen, kami bincang tenteng jadual kerja, tidak lama selepas itu beliau tanya satu soalan.

Q: Apa soalan itu?

“Can I fuck you today?”

Q: Apa reaksi kamu ketika diajukan soalan itu?

A: Marah dan takut

Q: Ada kamu kata apa-apa?

A: Tolak pelawaannya

Q: Apa kamu kata bila menolak?

A: Saya kata saya tak mahu melakukannya

Q: AI kata apa-apa, bila kamu kata tak nak melakukannya?

A: Dengan nada marah AI kata “what?”

Q: Apa respon kamu?

A: Saya ulang yang sama

Q: Seterusnya?

A: AI agak marah dengan itu saya takut. AI arahkan ke bilik tidur utama.

Q: Adakah kamu ke bilik tidur utama seperti diarahkan?

A: Ya

Q: Siapa pergi dulu?

A: Saya pergi dulu

Q; Dalam bilik utama apa berlaku?

A: Dalam bilik utama AI pergi ke hujang bilik untuk tutup langsir. Saya ketika itu masih ada di pintu, kemudian AI pergi ke pintu untuk tutup lampu bilik.

Q: Jadi gelap la bilik itu?

A: Ada cahaya dari pintu tandas dan celah-celah langsir

Q: Lepas itu?

A: AI arahkan saya membersihkan diri di dalam tandas

Q: Tandas atau bilik air?

A: Bilik air

Q: AI arahkan bersih diri?

A: Ya

Q: Teruskan?

A: Ya, saya masuk ke tandas dengan berpakaian, saya bilas badan tetapi saya tak mandi sepenuhnya.

Q: Masa itu dah buka pakaian?

A: Ya

Q: Lepas bilas diri?

A: Saya ambil tuala dalam tandas, saya keluar dengan bawa baju kemeja saya kaler putih dan gantung di tempat pemegang almari.

Q: Kamu bertuala?

A: Saya bertuala.

Q: Masa keluar dari bilik air, nampak di mana AI?

A: Saya nampak, AI di hujung penjuru katil, dibahagian kaki sebelah kanan.

Q: Apa AI buat pada masa itu?

A: Dia berdiri pakai tuala putih dan mengarahkan saya untuk pergi dekat dia lalu dia peluk saya sambil berdiri.

KS: May this evidence be in camera?

YA: Are you coming to that part?

MY: Yes, I’ m coming to that part. I leave it to the court. Read proviso s.50(2) Courts of Judicature Act 1964.

[04:54]

YA: This proceeding should be in camera.

At 9 am?

CV: Can it be 9.30 because I’m coming from Rawang.

YA: 1st proceeding 2mrw will be in camera.

Adjourned to 09:30 tomorrow.

51 And Counting...Ode To Forgetfulness

Had birthday number 51 two days (or was it three days?) ago. This is for all the younger ones out there...

Misinformed Minister Of Information's Misinformation And Disinformation

The Ministry of Information is an important tool in the Government's toolbox but some would like to say it is a potent weapon in the BN's armoury. However, judging by the current Minister and his immediate predecessor, the government (or BN) must be either scraping the bottom of the barrel or plain arrogant to have chosen these two clowns.

Who can forget Zainuddin Maidin's TV interview with Al Jazeera just after the BERSIH rally in 2007? Just to jog your memory, here it is...watch it again and cringe again:



Then we have the current guy who replaced Zainuddin, the seemingly qualified yet idiotic Dr Rais Yatim. As Najib's choice to be his Goebbels, Rais Yatim is more articulate but he appears to be just as stupid. His latest statement is mind-boggling:

Minister Rais Yatim Says "Internet Will Erode Malaysian Culture"
Read here for more.

"Rais Yatim, Malaysia's Information and Communication minister, said Muslims and other religious groups must be wary of the INTERNET as it was introduced by the West."

His statement is stupid on 2 counts. The first is the absurdity of the statement itself. The second is the reference to "Malaysian Culture" by a man who clearly has his own warped idea of what "Malaysian Culture" is as seen in the following (now infamous) clip:



Well, is the Minister of Disinformation, Rais Yatim setting the right "Malaysian Culture" example for our Youth? Fortunately, the Youth are not buying it and this is what they think of him:



YOU BE THE JUDGE...

More Rubbish!!! Now Sardarji Also Cannot Use...

All this is beginning to look like the McDonalds vs McCurry Wars. It can only happen in Malaysia folks! Malaysia Boleh!!!

Chicken curry or Big Mac anyone?

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Stones thrown at Sikh temple in Sentul
Jan 12, 10 12:12am

The attacks on places of worships in Malaysia escalated with yet another attack - this time against a Sikh temple in Sentul where stones were thrown damaging a glass door.

Police found about 20 golf-ball sized stones near the cracked window pane of the entrance door to the 100-year-old Gurdwara Sahib Sentul temple yesterday evening.

Temple volunteers who were doing gardening said they heard sound of broken glass at 6.45pm and went to investigate. One of the volunteers, who is a police officer, informed the police about the attack.

Temple committee chairperson Gurbial Singh said that no one spotted the assailants. He said that the Sikh scripture use the contentious word 'Allah'. Temple officials are urging devotees to remain calm.

The latest attack came in the wake of a spate of fire-bombings against churches across the nation, triggered by the High Court's Dec 31 decision to lift a government ban on non-Muslims using 'Allah' as a translation for 'God'.

The ruling in favour of Catholic newspaper Herald, which argued for the right to use 'Allah' in its Malay-language section, was suspended last week pending an appeal, after the government argued that 'Allah' is exclusive to Malay Muslims.

Exco and MP visit templeAt least nine churches have been attacked in Malaysia since last Friday in the wake of the High Court decision.Seven churches were firebombed - four in the Klang Valley, two in Taiping and another in Seremban.

The worst hit was Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, where the ground floor of its three-storey building was gutted.

An additional two churches were attacked - a church in Malacca was splashed with black paint, while stones were thrown at a church in Miri, Sarawak, breaking one of its glass windows.

Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong and Selayang parliamentarian William Leong visited the Gurdwara Sahib temple at 10.30pm.

The Gurdwara Sahib building was extensively renovated in 1988, during which a new three-storey building was constructed next to it. Known as the Sikh Centre Malaysia, the new building is home to the Malaysian Gurdwara Council.

'Allah' in Sikh holy bookAt the court hearing of the Herald case, Malaysian Gurdwara Council president Jagir Singh filed the application seeking an intervention.

In his application, he said the word 'Allah' was contained in the Sikh holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Jagir said the Sikh scripture was from God and that not a single word in it could be changed, amended or replaced.

The council, which represents the Sikh community, was among those which applied to intervene in the matter.

A number of Muslim organisations - the Penang, Terengganu, and Perak Islamic Religious Councils, Malay Customs Council and the Federal Territory Islamic Council - had also applied to intervene, arguing that they too had an interest in the case.

However, their applications were rejected by the court.

Lawyer! Lawyer! Pants On Fire!!!

I was waiting for Rocky's take on the 1st August Anti-ISA rally and he did not disappoint. Please read:

************************************************************

So who's liable for the RM100 million?
A question for Lawyers. Before anyone attempts to answer the Q, know the background: Raja Nong Chik told a press conference yesterday that the City could have lost RM100 m - RM200 m as a result of Saturday's anti-ISA demo.


The FT Minister's estimate is bound to raise eyebrows and draw scoffs. But what if it's true? [Read here]. Can anyone then be held responsible/accountable for the losses and damages?


In this age of transparency and good governance, shouldn't someone claim responsibility?
A lawyer friend of a friend of a friend said the Gerak Mansuh ISA, as the organiser of the demo, is liable. Meaning, I was told, that those who claim to have suffered losses and damages (which may include Sogo and Semua House, which had to close for business on that day; traders and hawkers; the LRT and bus operators; restaurants, etc) could actually sue the NGO.


Really?

************************************************************
On 1st August, the medical clinics around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor enjoyed a sudden upsurge in business. Men and women young and old, children of all ages were being treated for sore eyes and itchy skin conditions. Some had open wounds that needed stitching but the medical profession is most excited about the future increase in revenue of psychiatrists who will be treating emotional and mental scars that are expected to be suffered by thousands.


Departmental stores and pasar malams throughout the region also reported tremendous increase in business as thousands thronged to replace torn and tettered clothes and water damaged shoes.


Hundreds of food outlets throughout the late evening and night regretted they did not expect the sudden surge in business and many of them were sold out by 9.00 pm. This caused the hungry hordes to patronize even the less popular eateries.
This unexplained phenomenon resulted in an estimated increase of RM101 million in extra business on the day.


A lawyer friend, of a friend, of another friend of my friend says that perhaps the ISA should stay and remain a reason for the masses to take peaceful walkabouts through our fair city and also visit our King while they are at it. That lawyer also said that when he was practising in the Olde West, them darn Injuns who spooked the cattle and caused a stampede were liable. The organizers of the cattle drive sued the loin cloth off the Injun arses.


Come on Rocky! Certainly you can do better than that can't you ;o)

Reality Check...Reality Checkmate?

I like this from Sakmongkol AK47 which is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz. He was ADUN of Pulau Manis, Pekan - Najib's Parliamentary constituency from 2004-2008. He has a running cyber-feud with UMNO cybertrooper, Barking Magpie (Pasquale).

The haute bourgeois morality of a besieged UMNO

Never before in the history of UMNO, have the events within the Pan Islamic Malaysian Party( PAS) – Pa( Parti), Alif(Islam) Sin( SeMalaya) become the singular obsession of UMNO. This is an indication of a beleaguered UMNO which sees that its own survival is dependant on someone else.

But this shouldn't be surprising to anyone since UMNO's own philosophy is founded on treating the giving and receiving of subsidies as a way of life.

Hence when one blogger infamous for his piggy-fying others in his very rare sober moments or perhaps during his alcohol induced hallucinations exclaimed Thank God, or Dieu merci in French, monsieur Husam Musa lost, I, a full pledged UMNO member am tremendously disturbed.

You see, this confirmed what I have been saying all along, a Malay even a state of drunken stupor can still invoke the name of GOD. It is eating of pork that is an absolute taboo.

What was the singular clarion call of UMNO all this while to bind the thoughts of the Malay? Well, it used to be KETUANAN MELAYU. Ketuanan Melayu was just treated as something fashionable by the ruling elite to ensure obedience from the Malay populace. Viewed from the angle of vogue-ness, KETUANA MELAYU as an extraordinary means of unifying the Malay is just haute bourgeois morality.

It is simply the manufactured set of values by the elite to declare their fight to secure shared ideals. Of course, the idea of ensuring the primacy of Malay interests resonates and will resonate well with the Malay petit bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

But whether the high-class Malay's (as opposed to us the rest, who are sojourners of 2-star accommodations) fight for the supremacy of Malay interests is genuine is another question. Like much else, it has to be subjected to the test of life.

Your declarations of Ketuanan Melayu are a question of fact and therefore must be supported by irrefutable proofs.

I wish to point out two factual observations to refute and expose this pompous declaration.

1. One, the recently published Forbes list of the richest people in Malaysia. A close look at the list will establish this irrefutable fact- you don't have to be Malay to be rich. This destroys the claim on the primacy of Malay interests. Indeed such findings establish the falsity and the duplicity of fighting for primacy of Malay interests for if that has been the principal motivation of UMNO, then the number of richest people in Malaysia, should have been dominated by the Malay.
   
2. Second, it is a fact that the GINI coefficient of Malaysia is the worse in this region. What this means, is the income distribution in Malaysia is the worse. But wait, what is even more disturbing, is that the GINI coefficient within ethnic groups is worse among Malays. This means, that inequality of incomes is the worse within the Malay race. This fact destroys the claim that UMNO fights for Ketuanan Melayu.

What the leadership is fighting for is their own ketuanan. The concept of ketuanan Melayu is therefore just another facet of the morality of the high-class Malay to ensure their own ketuanan over the 2 star Malays.
Gini Coefficients by countries.














Source: UNDP Human Development Report
A commonly-used measure of development is the Human Development Index (HDI). It is devised and calculated annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is preferable to a simple measure of per capita income because it takes into account other factors as well, including life expectancy and other measures of general 'well-being'. In the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Report, Malaysiaranked 59 out of 177 countries. With an HDI score of 0.793, Malaysia is just on the threshold of the UNDP's own definition of a 'Highly Developed Country', which is a score of 0.800 or above.
But when we look at Malaysia's international position in terms of individual inequality, the position is quite different. According to the latest internationally comparable data from the World Bank, individual inequality in Malaysia (as measured by the common Gini coefficient) is the second worst in all of the Asian countries for which data is available. Only Papua New Guinea ranks worse. In fact, out of 127 countries for the World Bank provides data, Malaysia ranks 101 in terms of the Gini coefficient – the commonest measure of inequality. Aside from Papua New Guinea, the only countries in the world with worse individual inequality than Malaysia are in Central and South America – a region of notoriously high inequality – and some areas of sub-Saharan Africa such as South Africa and Zimbabwe.
As a rule, countries with HIGHER levels of human development haveLOWER levels of inequality; Malaysia thus stands out as an exception as a country with relatively high human development but also with relatively HIGH INEQUALITY. As Table 1 shows, Malaysia's Gini coefficient is the highest in all of ASEAN. According to the CIA World Factbook- the Malaysian GINI in 2002 was 46.1, still the worse in ASEAN.
Within the Malay community, income inequality is the greatest. In a study done by one A.H.Roslan , the Gini coefficients by race were are as follows:-
Gini coefficients by Race




Source: A.H.Roslan.
The above Table shows, income inequality within the Malay race has worsened since 1990. Smaller coefficient means there is greater equality. As the coefficient tends to1, inequality is greater.
Hence, seen from these two aspects, there is nothing left to salvage from the concept of Ketuanan Melayu. UMNO cannot claim it represents the Malays anymore as the results of the 12th GE show. I want to remind readers the following. UMNO has over 3 million members. In the 12th GE, UMNO candidates secured only 2 million votes and not all came from Malay voters. That would mean that over 1 million UMNO members DID NOT vote for UMNO candidates. We must also remind ourselves, that there were 5.7 million Malay voters during the 12th GE. If I am being charitable and accept those 2 million votes UMNO candidates received came from purely Malay voters, which would still mean that 3.7 Malays refused to vote for UMNO candidates. So, which ketuanan are you speaking about?
What is the next clarion call to salvage the survival of the ruling elite? The present haute bourgeois morality as espoused by Mr. Babiman and beleaguered UMNO leaders is Malay Unity. We shall talk about this later. It is nothing more than the last life jacket for a drowning elite. That is why someone is saying Dieu merci- monsieur Husam Musa lost!

Pak Lah...Cukup Lah

When the Preacher Man tabled the MCAC and the JAC Acts in parliament in December last year, this was how I felt: MCAC And JAC. No Thanks Mr Prime Minister; Just Leave OK?

Now, with about a month left to his tenure as PM, he is darn proud of his two babies; the MCAC and JAC. We must also be darn proud of this guy...he has provided each of us with a sense of self-belief; after all if someone like him could become Prime Minister then, nothing is impossible to all Malaysians in Bolehland! Malaysia Boleh!!! He is a regular Forrest Gump...the mental retard of the "stupid is as stupid does" fame. After he leaves to play golf and plant vege & fruits we will also be very nice to the guy as Mukhriz Mahathir says.

But in final analysis, you just have to pity the guy. He was this government servant who probably did not want to be PM to start with. But whatever it is...cukup lah, Pak Lah. Your only legacy is the new idiom; the "Pak Lah Promise" which can be substituted with "bullshit". Silence was supposed to be golden until your elegant silence so forget about the fact that history will curse you and just go lah. I hope you can have a peaceful retirement and wish you bliss with Jeanne Abdullah.

Here was what he had to say to Lorraine Hahn (as reported in the Star today). It makes me want to puke:

Pak Lah proud of judiciary reforms and MACC work

KUALA LUMPUR: Changes in the judiciary and forming the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are among the achievements that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is proud of.

“Changes are already done in the judiciary. On combating corruption, the MACC has already been established to further strengthen efforts,” he said during a dinner organised by the Kuala Lumpur Business Club at a hotel here last night.


Milestones: Abdullah at An Evening with The Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. With him is moderator Lorraine Hahn.


“It may not be the best, but it is a beginning. I am confident that there will be more amendments to improve the legislations,” Abdullah said, adding that he was happy to have been able to fulfil what he had set out to accomplish.

He said the people must be responsible despite having an increased level of freedom to express themselves during his tenure as Prime Minister.

“I know I have a higher level of tolerance but if we were to allow more freedom, the people must be responsible. The media as well as bloggers should also be more responsible when disseminating information,” Abdullah said.

Asked whether he would follow former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s footsteps and blog after he steps down, Abdullah said: “I’m not going to blog. But I would love to play more golf and plant vegetables as well as grow fruit trees.”

He also urged the public to continue to work hard during the global economic crisis as the nation has weathered many challenges in the past.

“We must also believe in our ability to survive. That is, in fact, my personal philosophy,” he added.

Abdullah said although the private sector was usually the agent of growth during such economic downturns, the Government must be the agent of economic recovery.

“This is because we can execute policies and changes to boost the troubled economy. This is what we have to do and it is what we are doing,” he said.

Asked to divulge the focus of the second stimulus package, Abdullah asked the people to be patient as he would announce its details on March 10.

“The various ministries were asked to give suggestions on what to include in the package. But what is more important is that effective spending is practised,” he said.

“We can have a larger package this time but it must be implemented wisely or else it would be a waste of money,” he added.

Abdullah said the country’s aim to achieve growth this year despite the economic crisis was still realistic if the task was given priority.

“Such effective spending must be targeted at specific projects to improve the country’s performance and growth,” he said, adding that the plan must also ensure that retrenchment is minimised.


Raja Petra sums up the Preacher Man's "reforms" here.

Charity Begins At Home; Fatah Does Not Love Hamas

The SIL continues his re-engineering and has latched on another opportunity to be in the news. What better cause than the Palestinian one. So as Che Det's pen-friend plays golf in sunny Hawaii while Gaza burns, SIL is at the Palestinian embassy (why not the US embassy?) with fellow foreign operatives protesting Israel's excesses in Gaza; but it appears Fatah does not love Hamas (read attached Malaysiakini article). So who loves who, for what? 

Shouldn't SIL be more focused on efforts to save Malaysia's economic arse than getting involved in squabbles in somebody elses backyard? Oxford right? 

SIL may be better off standing for elections at the next Palestinian poll after Israel exterminates Hamas for the PLO Fatah. He can also win unopposed under the PLO banner.

Protest against Israel turns into war of words

Rahmah Ghazali | Jan 2, 09 8:00pm

An Umno Youth-led rally against the deadly Israeli air strikes on Gaza Strip turned into a war of words today which saw the Palestinian ambassador having an argument with some protesters resulting in them staging a walk-out. The protest, held outside the Palestinian embassy in Ampang, was attended by 200 people, including Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin. Organised by the Coalition Against Israeli Aggression - a group comprising of Umno Youth, Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semananjung (GPMS), Majlis Permuafakatan Ummah (Pewaris) and Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM) - the protest was joined by a number of Palestinian foreign students. The demonstration was to express outrage against the Israeli air strikes that have over the past week killed more than 400 Palestinians and wounded 1,700 others in Gaza Strip. Under the watchful eyes of two dozens of police officers who were stationed outside the embassy, the protestors kicked off the rally by marching about 100 metres to the embassy. However, the situation turned rowdy when the Palestinian ambassador to Malaysia Abdel Aziz Abu Ghoush ticked off some of the protestors who were holding photos of Hamas leaders. He wanted the photos removed as “we do not want to show divisions in the internal affairs of Palestine”. “There should be no individual photos. We should show our support to all the Palestinians regardless of who they are. We should show our unity against Israel,” screamed Abdel Aziz from the balcony of the embassy building. But the protesters from Palestine - who were mostly foreign students studying in Malaysia - refused to back down and began arguing with the ambassador in Arabic. Palestianian protesters walk out A GPMS leader however tried to calm the situation down by asking the Palestinian and Sudanese student leaders to address the crowd.  But Abdel Aziz was not happy with that either. “There should be no individual speakers. I am representing Palestine as such I am the only speaker here, besides Khairy Jamaluddin,” he said to angry protests from the crowd. “We are representing Palestine too!” they shouted. That was when a handful of Palestinian protestors walked out from the embassy’s compound. As they leave, they held photos of Hamas leaders in the air. The Palestinians returned only when Khairy, who arrived at the embassy about half an hour later, managed to persuade them to stay with the protesters. The photos that sparked the controversy were those showing former Hamas leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdul Aziz al Rantissi, both of whom were assassinated by Israeli missile strikes in March and April 2004 respectively. Other photos depicted current Hamas leader and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.  ‘I'm not against Hamas’ Ambassador Abdel Aziz later denied that he is linked to Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which has a major fall-out with Hamas. “I don’t have anything against Hamas. I even have a photo of (assassinated Hamas leader) Sheikh Ahmed Yassin with me,” said Abdel Aziz (left).  Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, has been squabbling with rival Fatah, a coalition member of PLO, since the death of long-time leader Yasser Arafat four years ago. The tension between the two intensified after Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006. Last Monday, Hamas sent a deadly barrage of missiles deep into Israel, killing three Israelis and wounding two others. Israel responded with deadly force with warplanes killing 200 Palestinians, including women and children. Earlier, Khairy, who is also member of parliament for Rembau, gave a spirited speech to the crowd saying that the Coalition Against Israeli Aggression will always be with the Palestinians until “they gain their freedom”. “I am here to tell you that we, Malaysians - Muslims and non-Muslims - want to show our support to the Palestinians as this is concerning humanitarian and economic issues. This is about unity, freedom and justice of the Palestinians,” said Khairy. He also added that the coalition has successfully collected RM100,000 of humanitarian aid to be channeled to Palestine and has submitted a memorandum of support to the Palestinians to the ambassador.

Religious Pluralism? Heaven for the Godless?

This was posted by a buddy in my old school eGroup. This article in the New York Times today gives new meaning to the Air Asia tagline...Now Really Everyone Can Fly!!!

December 27, 2008

Heaven for the Godless?
By CHARLES M. BLOW

In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life.

This threw evangelicals into a tizzy. After all, the Bible makes it clear that heaven is a velvet-roped V.I.P. area reserved for Christians. Jesus said so: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” But the survey suggested that Americans just weren’t buying that.

The evangelicals complained that people must not have understood the question. The respondents couldn’t actually believe what they were saying, could they?

So in August, Pew asked the question again. (They released the results last week.) Sixty-five percent of respondents said — again — that other religions could lead to eternal life. But this time, to clear up any confusion, Pew asked them to specify which religions. The respondents essentially said all of them.

And they didn’t stop there. Nearly half also thought that atheists could go to heaven — dragged there kicking and screaming, no doubt — and most thought that people with no religious faith also could go.

What on earth does this mean?

One very plausible explanation is that Americans just want good things to come to good people, regardless of their faith. As Alan Segal, a professor of religion at Barnard College told me: “We are a multicultural society, and people expect this American life to continue the same way in heaven.” He explained that in our society, we meet so many good people of different faiths that it’s hard for us to imagine God letting them go to hell. In fact, in the most recent survey, Pew asked people what they thought determined whether a person would achieve eternal life. Nearly as many Christians said you could achieve eternal life by just being a good person as said that you had to believe in Jesus.

Also, many Christians apparently view their didactic text as flexible. According to Pew’s August survey, only 39 percent of Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, and 18 percent think that it’s just a book written by men and not the word of God at all. In fact, on the question in the Pew survey about what it would take to achieve eternal life, only 1 percent of Christians said living life in accordance with the Bible.

Now, there remains the possibility that some of those polled may not have understood the implications of their answers. As John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum, said, “The capacity of ignorance to influence survey outcomes should never be underestimated.” But I don’t think that they are ignorant about this most basic tenet of their faith. I think that they are choosing to ignore it ... for goodness sake.

E-mail chblow@nytimes.com

Gay Marriages In Malaysia???

We were outstation yesterday to meet an aquaintance who before our appointed meeting time, happened to be doing marriage counselling duties (as part of the extensive social work he does) at the state Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara. Can't give away location details for sake of anonymity. While waiting for him we noticed this:

It appeared to us that Picture B shows two women wanting to get registered in marriage. The "male" also has a rather female sounding Chinese name too. Our social worker aquaintance also could not shed any light on the matter. I wonder what the law is? Certainly it can't be, even in Bolehland. Imagine if in the situation of gay males...wouldn't it tantamount to legalizing (in Malaysia) asshole banditry?

Nevertheless, our friend the social worker must be doing some good. Please refer to Picture C.

But for all the successes, I wonder that if a marriage can arrive at this stage whether it is worth saving; bearing in mind that this counselling is "mandatory" after divorce proceedings have been instituted.

Perhaps legal gay marriages will bring down divorce stats in this country. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Black and White; White and Black!

Nope! Not a chess game...just J.J.'s brand of humor!

But Prince Cheah is definitely more handsome in black and white, er...white and black!

On The Lighter Side - Conversion?

Something from a friend:

A married couple are lying in bed on the morning of their tenth wedding anniversary, when the wife props herself up on one elbow and faces her husband:

"Darling, this is such a special occasion ... I want to make a confession. Before we were married I was a hooker for eight years."

The husband ponders this bombshell for a moment, then looks adoringly into his wife's eyes.

"My love, it's been a perfect ten years with you - I can't hold your past against you " He nuzzles up to her. "...Maybe you should show me a few tricks of the trade, and spice up our sex life!"

"I don't think you understand," she replies awkwardly. "My name was Douglas and I played for the All Blacks."