So far in Malaysia

I have actually lost count the rejections in my job applications !!!

And no offer of acceptance as yet !!! sigh~

Untitled

The Thin Red Line
Director: Terence Malick

Only one thing man can do,
Find something that's his,
Make an island for himself.

If I never meet you in this life,
Let me feel the lack.

Glance from your eyes,
And my life would be yours.

Doing the Unthinkable: Posting My Resume

In light of the dire situation, in which Mr.Job has somehow proved himself to be an ever elusive target, I think I would submit to my dog-instints and smear some of me (hehe) on my personal blog. And so, I am going to post my resume here. It's not impressive, but in any way, I hope the 'aroma' is strong enough for the intended target. Who knows, the smear may proove to be somewhat like a drop of blood to the white-tipped shark? Of course, pardon my vain humor.

A RESUME

Mr. Tai Jien Sing
tai_jien_sing@hotmail.com

Graduate Management Trainee/Financial Analyst – Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Commerce with Specialization in Finance

OBJECTIVE	Seeking a full-time position to assist in financial risk management and conducting business analysis.
EDUCATION	Obtained undergraduate degrees Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the Australian National University at Canberra, Australia in June 2007.
RELEVANT COURSEWORK	Business Reporting and Analysis, Quantitative Research Methods, Corporate Finance, International Financial Management, Corporate Strategy, Investments, Financial Instruments and Risk Management, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics (grades and courses done available upon request).
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS	Ø Maintained a Distinction average of 77.35/100 at Australian National University. Ø Passed June 2007 CFA Level I. Ø Represented Australian National University in the Boston Consulting Group Business Strategy Competition on 2 occasions (2005 and 2006). Reached the final round of the 2006 competition by finishing second in the regional stage. Ø Selected by Australian National University for the Reciprocal Student Exchange Program to University of California at Berkeley for academic year Fall '06 until Spring '07 Ø Member of the Golden Key Society (a student honors organization).
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES	Ø Junior troop leader secondary school’s scout movement. Was actively involved in planning and execution of events throughout secondary school years. Ø Volunteered for ‘Berkeley Project’ whereby university students restored a public monument (People’s Park) and also formerly polluted creeks. Ø Volunteering for “Youth Can Make a Change!” to encourage political participation amongst still un-registered prospective voters.
STRENGHTS	Ø Willing to try jobs unrelated to fields of study. Ø Able to work in teams, diligent, creative problem solving. Ø Good written and verbal skills in English and Malay, able to converse in Mandarin.
WORKING EXPERIENCE	Audit intern for PricewaterhouseCoopers (Melaka) during year end break in 2005.
PREFERRED LOCATION	Malaysia. Willing to relocate for temporary stints.
DATE AVAILABLE	Immediately.
REFEREE	Available upon request.

On My Own Blogging

After much contemplation on life and on blogging (in which sleep is the best form of meditation and spiritual reflection of oneself), I have made up my mind that blogging is too much for me in the sense that I don't read enough and this transitional part of my life is in no way conducive for informative and pursuasive blog-writing.

So, the approach that I am going to adopt towards blogging is one of venting one's frustration and of channelling my irrational and random thoughts. In short, I am going to write garbage. I also thought that putting a few garbage here and there within my electronic realm somehow satisfy the dog instincts within me. In a more earthly parlance, behaving like the rather annoying stray that urinates on your car tires as a territorial expression that of "I WAS HERE".

Therefore, "I WAS HERE".

Lina Joy: A Comment (found)

A Comment (by someone) found in Jeffooi.com regarding the Lina Joy ruling:

A lot of Malaysians do not read properly or seem to understand what is going on. Only knows how to over-react and have cowherd mentality when talk about religion, etc.

I've been reading a few blogs all seem to insult Islam and flame the government first, only to check later.

This case is not about who can or cannot change religion. It is about the NRD can change the religion title in your IC/Mykad.

Sorry Jeff your posting is erroneous. The court never said she is to REMAIN a muslim. Just the title says Islam stays in her IC. The court just said to seek redress in Syariah Court.

I have met malays/muslims who has changed religion. No big deal mah. It is about whether we can simply change the religion title on the card. I read the whole transcript of the court proceedings and judgement. It is not about Lina Joy can change or not change the religion. She was trying to change the title in the card on her own through NRD! Now she needs to get the Syariah court to approve. Whats the big deal, just go to the Syariah court and file in lar. Remember the Nyonya Tahir case. She had a muslim/ malay name but not even practising. The syariah court did a simple settlment she was to be buried as a non muslim. Why? Because the family came to testify. Finish story lar. The problem is Lina Joy arrogant girl. Just beacuse she is not here & apparently married some Mat Salleh she can bypass the judicial system? Go write in the Syariah court lar. If i was the judge i give her a whck in the butt for stirring up chaos in malaysia just to prove her point. Cause the Syariah court dont simply say can or cannot. They have to weighed the case just like any other courts.

Same case with Moorthy. The arrogant family didnt want to show up in court just to prove a point. End of the day the court give judgement without their testimony and not to their favour.. so they started bitching and stir things up. Start racial and religious incitements and the whole gang (Article 11 + etc) masuk campur -- lot of disunity and unnecessary conflict occured.

The problem was simple, they should pack into the car and show up in court. Najib had to calm them down by giving them some "military benefits". Finally it was all about money so they quiet down.

If i am a Taiwanese but there is court in Japan who wants to hear my case (maybe some inheritance issues) i wont be so arrogant like them. Go the court then settle it there lar. Doesnt mean I have to be Japanese and eat sushi!

My IC says i am Chinese. I want to change to Indian. Maybe caucasian? Can arr? Isn’t it my right? Cause my grandma has a bit of white blood in her and apparently had affair with some punjabi guy. So this week i wanna be white. Next week i be punjabi lar? NRD must listen to me! I have the right and freedom!!

Read first lar before overreacting. Goes to all of you who dont seem to understand what this case is all about.

Latest: Lina Joy Loses Appeal

Reuters: Malaysia's Lina Joy loses Islam conversion case

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's most famous Christian convert, Lina Joy, lost a six-year battle on Wednesday to have the word "Islam" removed from her identity card, after the country's highest court rejected the change.

The Federal Court's ruling helps define the boundaries of religious freedom in multi-racial Malaysia, whose constitution guarantees freedom of worship but makes its practically impossible for ethnic Malays Like Joy to renounce Islam.

Source: Reuters India

=================================================================

Associated Press: Malaysia Court Rules in Religion Case

Wednesday May 30, 2007 4:46 AM
By EILEEN NG
Associated Press Writer

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's top secular court on Wednesday rejected a woman's appeal to be recognized as a Christian, in a landmark case that tested the limits of religious freedom in this moderate Islamic country.

Lina Joy, who was born Azlina Jailani, had applied for a name change on her government identity card. The National Registration Department obliged but refused to drop Muslim from the religion column.

She appealed the decision to a civil court but was told she must take it to Islamic Shariah courts. But Joy, 42, argued that she should not be bound by Shariah law because she is a Christian.

A three-judge Federal Court panel ruled Wednesday that only the Islamic Shariah Court has the power to allow her to remove the word ``Islam'' from the religion category on her government identity card.

The Malaysian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens. But Muslims, who comprise nearly 60 percent of the 26 million population, have not been allowed by the Shariah courts to legally leave their religion.

Source: Guardian Unlimited

Pity the Nation: A Poem

Khalil Gibran
(1883-1931)

Pity the Nation

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.

Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.

Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.

Khalil Gibran
The garden of the Prophet (1934)

What is: Powaaqqatsi?

For a 'out-of-the-world' movie experience, try "Powaqqatsi"... trust me, you won't see anything in the world that is even close to it. Taken from youtube:

Powaqqatsi is a hopi word meaning "life in transformation" but in one of his interpretive definition Reggio informs that a powaq is a sort of hopi vampire, and that Powaqqatsi is a sort of life about to be assumed or vampirised. One wonders what the end effect of free trade will be in this context, but it does nothing to take away from the beauty that this film captures of a way of life that may be nearing its end.

Below is the introduction of the 'movie'...

Please Sign Here: "Aku Janji"

How does a surat "Aku Janji" actually look like?

Khairy: Pejuang UMNO Tulen Yang Tidak Disedari Orang UMNO?

Found this entry by chance:

Aku sebagai pendokong doktrin Khairy...sangat kagum dengan kebolehan pemuda yang berasal dari Rembau ini.

Meskipun mempunyai latar belakang aristokrat spt hidop merantau di negeri orang..dia ttp mempunyai jiwa marhaen utk berbakti pada negara tercinta ini iaitu Malaysia..mana kan tumpah kuah kari kalu tak dari sudunya.

Aku berbangga kerana Khairy meneruskan tradisi Tun Dr Mahathir menghantar anak2 muda berani ke Kutub Utara...sebagai manifestasi kebangkitan orang Melayu berjiwa UMNO...walaupun yang terjun mat rempit..tetapi ini mat rempit berlainan jiwa kerana ada semangat mencintai negara Malaysia!

Kepada Khairy yang bakal menjadi YAB at least dlm 2 tahun ini..aku harap Kau teruskan perjuangan memajukan Negeri Sembilan sebagai the nect corridor of power...bawak lah seberapa ramai investor dari luar tak kira USA ke Singapora ke...janji cukai masuk negara kita...gaji naik at least 3 tahun sekali pasal income government kerajaan Paklah akan meningkat naik!!

walaupun Khairy dilihat spt sombong tetapi jiwa nya ttp baik hati!! Percaya la cakap aku..korang tak kenal..maka korang kutuk2 dengan akta cerca merba mcm pukimak ke apa ke...itu semua tak baik!!

Kepada Khairy kalu baca artikel ini.........berikanla penerangan ttg kehebatan Paklah pet projet WPI yang kan membawa rakyat Johor menjadi kayo rayo dlm 20 tahun ini!! Apa kita ada kita mesti offer...utk kemajuan rakyat Johor UMNO!!!

Khairy Jamaluddin- Kebangkitan Young Attarturk Malaysia Moden dan Liberal!!

For More: Forum Tempur Politik Maya Kmu Dot Net

Or, from the main site: http://forum.mykmu.net/index.php

Do We Actually Need A USD 7 Billion Pipeline?

Deals signed on pipeline that seeks to divert Malacca Strait oil

by Ivy Sam

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian, Indonesian and Saudi Arabian firms on Monday signed agreements for construction of a pipeline that aims to divert 20 percent of oil flowing through the strategic Malacca Strait, the project owner said.

Malaysia's Trans-Peninsula Petroleum Sdn Bhd said it signed an agreement with Malaysia's Ranhill Engineers and Constructors Sdn Bhd and Indonesia's PT Tripatra to build the pipeline at an estimated cost of seven billion dollars over seven years.

Trans-Peninsula Petroleum, the owner and promoter of the project, said it signed separate memoranda of understanding with Bakrie and Brothers of Indonesia to supply pipes, while Al-Banader International Group of Saudi Arabia will provide the oil.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi first announced the development earlier this month as part of the government's effort to develop Malaysia's northern region.

"We have always wanted to do more for that area and that also will take care of the eastern corridor," he said at the time.

Badawi witnessed the signing with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the sidelines of the annual World Islamic Economic Forum, aimed at boosting cooperation among Muslim communities.

"When the entire project is completed in 2014, TRANSPEN pipeline will divert about 20 percent of oil transiting through Straits of Malacca, proportionately easing the congestion in the Straits," Trans-Peninsula said in a statement.

Half of the world's oil shipments currently pass through the 960-kilometre (595-mile) Strait of Malacca, the busiest seaway in the world, which links the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

The Strait was notorious for pirate attacks but security officials, who fear the economic and strategic ramifications of any disruption to the vital maritime traffic, say security has vastly improved.

"Everyone can use the pipeline. It is to direct traffic away from the international waterway of the Straits of Malacca," Rahim Kamil Sulaiman, chairman of Trans-Peninsula Petroleum, told a news conference.

In its statement, Trans-Peninsula said the pipeline, about 300 kilometres in length, will cut across Malaysia's northern states of Kedah, Perak and Kelantan. It will have support facilities for deep-draught tankers at either end.

Rahim said the oil will come mainly from the Middle East but also from Africa for "the East Asian oil market".

He said "we have made known our projects to both China and Japan, especially China".

Government data in China say the country's crude oil consumption rose 7.1 percent year-on-year in 2006.

Phase one of the oil pipeline project is expected to begin in 2008 after land acquisition and environmental and social impact assessments, Trans-Peninsula Petroleum said.

Plans call for an initial 48-inch (122-centimetre) pipeline with a throughput of two million barrels a day and storage capacity of 60 million barrels. It would be operational by 2011, the company said.

After four to five years of operation, capacity would be upgraded to a maximum of 180 million barrels of storage and six million barrels per day throughput, it said.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has said the proposed project was intended to reduce transport costs and security risks for tankers on the Malacca Strait.

"It's a very expensive solution to a problem that doesn't seem that severe, frankly," said Jason Feer, of energy market analysts Argus Media Ltd in Singapore.

While traders would save three days' sailing time, the logistics involved and the cost of using the pipeline would leave "a pretty marginal benefit," he said.

"In the end, the big test will be, will banks loan them money to build this?" Feer told AFP.

Source: Yahoo! News

=======================================================
Questions:

1. If the problem of security and congestion is a problem for ALL users of the Straits of Malacca, then why should Malaysia or Indonesia (the taxpaying population) foot the bill themselves? Shouldn't it be a project to be shared by the main users of the Straits of Malacca, say, the main oil consumers like China and the US?
2. Why was Ranhill chosen, was there an open tender or even an international tender? Was Ranhill offering the lowest price?
   
3. The piping saves about 660 kilometres in travelling time, through the states of Kedah, Perak and Kelantan, what is the impact on the natural environment?
4. How does it develop the northern region, since you only need personnel to maintain the pipelines?
   
5. Who gets the profits from pipelining the oil?
6. Who is going to administer the project and its operations both before and after completion?
   

Christian Convert Fights Malaysian Law

By EILEEN NG, Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Lina Joy has been disowned by her family, shunned by friends and forced into hiding — all because she renounced Islam and embraced Christianity in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Now, after a seven-year legal struggle, Malaysia's highest court will decide on Wednesday whether her constitutional right to choose her religion overrides an Islamic law that prohibits Malay Muslims from leaving Islam.

Either way, the verdict will have profound implications on society in a country where Islam is increasingly conflicting with minority religions, challenging Malaysia's reputation as a moderate Muslim and multicultural nation that guarantees freedom of worship.

Joy's case began in 1998 when, after converting, she applied for a name change on her government identity card. The National Registration Department obliged but refused to drop Muslim from the religion column.

She appealed the decision to a civil court but was told she must take it to Islamic Shariah courts. But Joy, 42, has argued that she should not be bound by Shariah law because she is a Christian.

Subsequent appeals all ruled that the Shariah court should decide the case until it reached the highest court, the Federal Court, which will make the final decision on whether Muslims who renounce their faith must still answer to the country's Islamic courts.

About 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people are Malay Muslims, whose civil, family, marriage and personal rights are decided by Shariah courts. The minorities — the ethnic Chinese, Indians and other smaller communities — are governed by civil courts.

But the constitution does not say who has the final say in cases such as Joy's when Islam confronts Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism or other religions.

If Joy loses her appeal and continues to insist she is a Christian, it could lead to charges of apostasy and a possible jail sentence.

"Our country is at a crossroad," Joy's lawyer, Benjamin Dawson, told The Associated Press. "Are we evolving into an Islamic state or are we going to maintain the secular character of the constitution?"

The founding fathers of Malaysia left the constitution deliberately vague, unwilling to upset any of the three ethnic groups dominant at the time of independence from Britain 50 years ago, when building a peaceful multiracial nation was more important.

The situation was muddied further with the constitution describing Malaysia as a secular state but recognizing Islam as the official religion.

Joy's case "will decide the space of religious freedom in Malaysia," said Dawson. If she wins, "it means that the constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of religion prevails. If she loses, that means the constitutional guarantee is subservient to Islamic restrictions," he said.

Joy's decision to leave Islam sparked angry street protests by Muslim groups and led to e-mail death threats against Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a Muslim lawyer supporting her. The widely circulated anonymous e-mail described him as a "traitor" to Islam and carried his picture with the caption "Wanted Dead."

Proselytizing of Muslims is banned in Malaysia and apostasy is regarded a crime punishable by fines and jail sentences. Offenders are often sent to prison-like rehabilitation centers.

Many Islamic nations have similar laws. Saudi Arabia neither permits conversion from Islam nor allows other religions in the kingdom. The case of an Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity caused an outcry in the United States and other nations, and Afghanistan released him.

Even Jordan, considered one of the most tolerant countries in the Middle East, convicted a Muslim man for converting to Christianity several years ago, taking away his right to work and annulling his marriage.

By law, all Malays have to be Muslim and few convert. Those who do prefer to keep it quiet.

Some seek legal approval for their action, but civil courts invariably refer the case back to the Shariah courts.

Joy was born Azlina Jailani and began going to church in 1990. She was baptized eight years later. She then applied for the changes to her identity card.

When authorities refused her request to drop Muslim from the religion designation, Joy went to the High Court in May 2000 but was told to go to Shariah courts. She challenged the decision in the Court of Appeal but lost, and took it to Malaysia's highest court in 2005.

The hearing in Federal Court ended in July 2006, but it has taken the judges until now to declare a verdict, saying a careful examination was necessary because of the sensitivity of the case.

Meanwhile, Joy has been disowned by her family and forced to quit her computer sales job after clients threatened to withdraw their business. Joy and her ethnic Indian Catholic boyfriend, known only as Johnson, went into hiding early 2006 amid fears they could be targeted by Muslim zealots, Dawson said.

"Lina is very steadfast in her belief. She is aware that her chances (of winning) are slim but is putting her faith in God. She is just an ordinary Malaysian girl who wants to lead an ordinary life."

Joy has never made any public appearances and has rejected requests for interviews.

In a sworn statement to a lower court in 2000, she said she felt "more peace in my spirit and soul after having become a Christian."

Muslim groups, however, say Joy is questioning the position of Islam by taking the case to the civil courts.

"It is not about one person, it is about challenging the Islamic system in Malaysia," said Muslim Youth Movement President Yusri Mohammad, who set up a coalition of 80 Islamic groups to oppose Joy's case.

"By doing this openly, she is encouraging others to do the same. It may open the floodgates to other Muslims because once it is a precedent, it becomes an option."

If Joy wins her case, he warned, it could rend Malaysia's multiracial fabric by fomenting Muslim anger against minorities, who have largely lived in peace with Malays. There has been no racial violence in the country since the May 1969 Malay-Chinese riots that killed dozens.

Dawson said several apostasy cases are on hold in the civil courts, pending a verdict in Joy's case.

"Both the man in the street and lawyers want to know once and for all how to draw the line between civil and Shariah courts — whether Muslims can convert and if yes, what are the procedures," he said.

The Other Side of the Coin

It seems like blogs in Malaysia in general focus on the discrimination of the Malaysian government against the minority groups, especially those of the Chinese. But, if one google for a good account about the chinese discriminating the malays or other races, there is little to be found. Matter of fact, it would actually return results that got to do with discriminatory acts againt the chinese (again) since it can't differentiate the order of the search terms if no brackets are used. Therefore, in view of this, I thought of starting a blog discussing about the "other side" of the discrimination equation, since discrimination occurs amongst all races and the minority groups (I believe) are not the only victims here.

So, I shall register a blog that targets discrimination in a more all rounded sense. It shall consist of contributions by all races, with particular attention paid towards the 'silent bumiputeras'. I am not a sociologist or anything, just an average malaysian citizen who tries to learn via others. I am a Chinese Malaysian, and I do hope that the blog, shall contribute to improving the racial unity of the country. I have not really named the blog, and I hope that contributions from others could suggest a much better one.

Racism in Malaysia at coloredmalaysia.blogspot.com

But, before I go, I suppose you may be interested in reading this letter entry in malaysiakini.com.

The Machine Cranks Up (Again)

Not long after "Pemuda UMNO desak DAP, Tony Pua minta maaf" was published in Utusan Malaysia

Pemuda UMNO terus desak Tony Pua tarik balik kenyataan

KUALA LUMPUR 24 Mei – Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO mendesak Penasihat Ekonomi kepada Setiausaha Agung DAP, Tony Pua dan parti itu menarik balik kenyataan yang ‘menghina’ kewibawaan dan keupayaan kakitangan kerajaan di negara ini.

Pergerakan itu berpendapat, Pua harus meminta maaf bukan sahaja kepada masyarakat Melayu, bahkan rakyat berbilang kaum yang selama ini menghargai dan memelihara perpaduan bangsa dan agama.

Setiausahanya, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahalan menegaskan permasalahan graduan Melayu ialah apabila syarikat-syarikat swasta terutamanya milik bukan Melayu tidak memberi peluang sama rata kepada graduan tersebut.

Menurutnya, syarikat-syarikat berkenaan meletakkan banyak syarat yang tersurat dan tersirat sehingga menyukarkan graduan Melayu mendapatkan pekerjaan.

‘‘Saya mencabar Pua untuk memberi statistik berapa orang pekerja Melayu yang diambil oleh syarikat swasta bukan Melayu dan sama ada halangan seperti keperluan mengetahui bahasa Mandarin dan suasana bekerja yang tidak kondusif sengaja diadakan atau tidak,’’ katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian bagi mengulas pendedahan Naib Ketua Pemuda UMNO, Khairy Jamaluddin mengenai kenyataan Pua dalam Malaysiakini kelmarin bahawa perkhidmatan awam hanyalah tapak pembuangan bagi penganggur berijazah golongan Melayu.

Abdul Rahman berkata, syarikat swasta bukan Melayu tidak bersungguh-sungguh membantu graduan Melayu atas alasan tertentu.

‘‘Saya tidak percaya, semua graduan Melayu tidak mempunyai kelayakan yang berpatutan untuk memohon kerja dengan syarikat swasta bukan Melayu. Maka, jangan salahkan kerajaan kerana membantu menyediakan pekerjaan kepada mereka,’’ katanya.

Exco pergerakan itu, Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah pula mengingatkan DAP supaya tidak sekali-kali membangkitkan perkara yang boleh menimbulkan suasana tidak harmoni ketika tumpuan rakyat menyambut 50 tahun kemerdekaan negara.

Katanya, memang perangai pemimpin DAP sentiasa mahu menimbulkan isu yang memperlihatkan seolah-olah tindakan dan dasar kerajaan semuanya tidak betul.

Namun, beliau berkata, kenyataan Pua itu jelas memperlihatkan pendirian DAP yang cuba menidakkan sumbangan besar kakitangan kerajaan dalam pembangunan negara sehingga diiktiraf antara yang terbaik oleh masyarakat antarabangsa.

‘‘Sebenarnya DAP semakin goyah dengan langkah kerajaan memberikan kenaikan gaji kepada kakitangan baru-baru ini dan mereka melihat langkah tersebut mengurangkan sokongan rakyat kepada mereka,’’ katanya.

Sementara itu, seorang lagi Exco, Datuk Idris Haron berkata, kenyataan Pua yang tidak berasas itu dibuat demi kepentingan politik dan agenda DAP.

Source: Utusan Malaysia

=====================================================================

Highlights: Again, the racialisation of opinions by the UMNO. What the report says is that: "Hey, you're damn right we are the dumping ground, but why blame us since it was the syarikat-syarikat 'swasta' who started the fire?" Just read the bold statements i've Italicized, seems like there's a 'tersirat' meaning in what is meant by 'swasta'.

KJ Demands Apology from Tony Pua

It's like God-send, blogger Tony Pua looked set for a round free publicity he needn't pay to help him launch his political career.

Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia reported that the Son-in-Law had demanded a public apology from DAP and Pua, who is now economic adviser to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, for saying that the civil service is the dumping ground for unemployed Malays.

SOURCE: Utusan Malaysia, May 24, 2007

When Pua refused, the Son-in-Law pumped up his pressure again yesterday, asking the former to retract his statement. And the echo chamber rattled the good old way it used to be, where rationale and intellectual debate gave way to emotions. The contra voices came from Shamsul Amree Baharuddin of Alam Tamadun Melayu (Atma) UKM and PAS sec-gen Kamaruddin Jaafar.

Backgrounder

May 23, after the BN Government announced the pay rise for the public servants backdropped against the imminent general election, Pua claimed that the government sector is a dumping ground for bumiputera graduates who failed to obtain jobs in the private sector.

He said this not only results in a low quality labour force in the civil service but also increases the government's responsibility. Quote from Malaysiakini:

According to Pua, the rising number of civil servants since 1990 especially under the current prime minister signals the failure of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's privatisation programme.

He said that in 1990, the government had 773,997 employees; in 2000, the numbers increased to a total of 894,788 – a 15.6 percent increase and since then, the numbers have increased to an additional 210,000 – resulting a 23.5 percent jump in a time frame of only six years.

Mahathir's privatisation policies which started 20 years ago were meant to cut the number of civil servants by 500,000 to reduce the government's expenditure.

Subsequently, Utusan lent the Son-in-Law the platform to demand DAP and Pua to apologise to the whole civil service as they have continuously contributed to the growth of the nation .

The Son-in-Law was quoted as saying that many of the public servants "had voluntarily foregone golden opportunities in the private sector to serve the country".

Pua, on the other hand, claimed that his statement was "taken out of context". He explained that he was merely "questioning the government's policies" and that his statements "were not meant to insult civil servants".

Pua told Screenshots that he will hold a press conference at 10.30am at the DAP HQ today to clear the air over this matter.

We were told, to honour the Right of Reply, DAP has booked a hall for the Son-in-Law to attend a friendly and intellectual debate on the issue next week.

Both Pua and the Son-in-Law were Oxford graduates with a bachelor's degree in PPE Philosophy, Politics and Economics).

Source: Jeffooi.com
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Comments: Spot the discrepancies:

Statement 1:
Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO mendesak Penasihat Ekonomi kepada Setiausaha Agung DAP, Tony Pua dan parti itu meminta maaf berikutan kenyataannya bahawa penjawat awam hanya terdiri daripada orang Melayu yang mengalami masalah pengangguran.
- Utusan Malaysia

Statement 2:
......The unwieldy civil service we have today has, in a large part, to do with the Government's policy of making our civil service the dumping group for the politically sensitive constituency of unemployed Malay graduates.
- Tonypua.blogspot.com

Statement 3:
......Hence, our civil service has officially become the dump for our unemployable graduates. And the message to our undergraduates appears to be "Don't worry, if you can't find jobs, the Government will provide for you." The irony of it is what our Deputy Prime Minister says next:

"If we can speed up recruitment, we can reduce the number of unemployed graduates, and also increase the efficiency of the civil service."

- EducationMalaysia.blogspot.com

Islamic Religious Council President: Women Asked to be Raped

The Star

After the recent “bocor” (leak) controversy in the Dewan Rakyat, one would have thought that backbenchers would know enough to stay clear of sexist remarks. Not in the Penang state assembly. Permatang Berangan assemblyman Shabudin Yahaya and Sungai Dua assemblyman Datuk Jasmin Mohamed blamed women's provocative dressing for sexual crimes, raising the hackles of Tan Cheng Liang (BN – Jawi). “The women’s dressing menggoda (lures) and mencabar (challenges) men,” said Shabudin, who interjected during Tan’s speech when debating the motion of thanks on the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abas’s opening address.

This prompted Tan to tick him off for his narrow thinking. “Even women who are covered from the head to the toe and two-year-old children have become rape victims. This shows that it has nothing to do with women’s dressing,” she said. Shabudin, who is state Islamic Religious Council president, then asked Tan for her views on a dress code for women and Jasmin rose to support it. Tan said she disagreed with a dress code, as women knew what to wear.

Shabudin then interjected that men were sure to look when sexily attired women pass in front of them. “This is because there is a daya tarikan (attraction),” he said. Jasmin said that women who dressed provocatively also forgot their family responsibilities. Tan said the issue was not about the women’s dressing but the mindset of men.

In his speech, Mansor Musa (BN – Batu Maung) rapped the two assemblymen for their sexist remarks, saying they were not showing a good example in the House. Tan also alleged that a Seberang Prai Municipal Council official had been signing the overtime claims of his workers when they did not do any extra work. Phee Boon Poh (DAP – Sungai Puyu) asked Tan to substantiate her allegations. However, Speaker Datuk Yahaya Abdul Hami disallowed the question, saying the reply should come from the concerned state executive councillor.

Source: Malaysia-Today.net

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Comment: From the very Islamic Religious Council that 'rules' Malaysia today.

Will Remain In-communicado Till 2nd June

Erm, I'm kinda having exams, been sick and so on and so forth and shall remain so until 2nd of June. By then, I shall actively expand my blog again. :-p

Still learning to blog and not devoting enough time towards writing.

May 13: Four Decades of Secrecy Exposed

N Surendran May 16, 07 4:35pm

I refer to the malaysiakini report Ministry seizes controversial May 13 book. Dr Kua Kia Soong’s new book, ‘May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969' may look like a dry academic thesis, but it moves at a cracking pace. It is also undoubtedly one of the most important books ever published on Malaysian society and politics. May 13 made this country. Or more accurately, it un-made it. Kua, making use of newly de-classified documents tells us why the May 13 incident happened, and who were the people responsible for it. The gist of what he has to say is what most people who are not abysmally ignorant have long suspected. That: the May 13 incident was not a ‘spontaneous’ clash between the Malay and Chinese communities; the key figures in the Alliance government then - such as Tun Abdul Razak - had carefully pre-planned and orchestrated the whole grisly business. Other fellows involved in the ghastly plot or its aftermath in varying degrees were Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Harun Idris and Ghazali Shafie. the idea was to oust the Tunku who was none too keen on Razak and his cohorts’ new Malay agenda; the agenda was that of the ‘ascendant Malay state capitalist class’ for political and economic dominance; the Razak-ites got support from the police and army as evidenced by the partiality of the security forces in favour of the Malays in ‘putting down’ the riots. Curfews were strictly enforced in Chinese areas, whereas soldiers were laughing it up with armed hoodlums in Malay areas. The difference this book makes is that Kua has marshalled clear documentary evidence as proof of the above. He has drawn from ‘stories fielded by foreign correspondents who were in Kuala Lumpur at the time; dispatches by the British High Commission personnel who kept a close watch on events and who had their ears to the ground; dispatches from the foreign and Commonwealth offices covering the South-west Pacific countries, eg Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore as well as press releases by the Malaysian Red Cross Society’. Malaysians have never before seen these documents, hitherto mouldering at the Public Records Office in London and now resurrected. These documents establish, beyond any doubt, the manipulative ruthlessness of men like Tun Razak, Tun Dr Ismail, and Datuk Harun Idris. And in their wake came half-baked national culture peddlers like Ghazali Shafie. Their actions not only caused dreadful loss of life and untold human suffering; May 13 also wrenched this nation away from the path to true parliamentary democracy and left us with the misshapen perverse system of government we now suffer under. It gave rise to the panoply of repressive legislation which today makes us ‘cribbed, cabined and confined’ in our own country. It has caused us to enter the 21st century encumbered with a political system that is race-based and parochial. It has led to the propagation of racist concepts such as ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ which has entered into mainstream political discourse. It has resulted in the creation of a special class of citizens called ‘bumiputeras’ who are given preferential treatment by the state; and made second-class citizens of Malaysians of other races. It has become the great bogey, conjured up by the BN government at every general election in order to terrorise Malaysians into voting for them. It has shamed our nation - a nation that categorises and marks its citizens by their race from birth. This is the legacy of May 13, and this will remain the legacy of May 13 until the truth of what caused the bloodbath is revealed to all Malaysians, regardless of race. Its repercussions are all around us. Last year, a cabinet minister waved a keris about as a warning to non-Malays, and now Maybank and Ambank have tried to impose bumiputra quotas on legal firms wanting to do business with them. This is why the importance of Kua’s new book cannot be overstated. In six sharp, short chapters, he has un-done four decades of concealment, evasion and outright lies. In this fine book, he relentlessly pursues the truth, but always in a matter of fact and un-emotional tone. He has no need to resort to histrionics. The bare facts he has presented for our scrutiny speak for themselves. Source: Malaysiakini

Dr. Lim Teck Ghee's Statement on Recent Book Confiscation in MidValley

Confiscation of the Book, May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 Should Be Reversed

The action by some officials of the Internal Security Ministry in confiscating the book, ‘May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969', on suspicion that it is an undesirable publication should be condemned by all Malaysians. This act of censorship bears the hallmark of an authoritarian, insecure and hypocritical system which paints the picture of a free and democratic Malaysian society for the outside world whilst actively engaging in suppression of basic rights, including the freedom to information.

This ill-advised measure is revealing of the desperation by certain groups within the Government to suppress any other analysis of the May 13 racial riots except that which is in conformity with the distorted official version. Perhaps, various UMNO politicians are not to be blamed for responsibility for the riots. Perhaps, it is other parties or individuals. This judgment needs to be made with the fullest possible information on what happened and incorporating the views of those affected by this tragic event as well as independent observers.

Dr. Kua’s book is a praiseworthy attempt to provide a scholarly and independent analysis of this important watershed in our country’s history. Instead of banning the book, the Government should welcome it in its effort to provide Malaysians with a more accurate picture of what happened during May 13 and the aftermath.

Supporters of the Government, especially those from the academic community, have the right to be critical of it and to point out its flaws. Engage with it in public with facts and arguments but don’t demonize or ban it. Let us get at the truth not through concealment or falsification but through transparency and accountability, two principles which the Prime Minister has publicly endorsed.

I am sure there are individuals and parties with integrity within the Government that are aware of the importance and positive value of the book. I call on them to take a public stand and speak out against this illegal act of confiscation and possible banning of the book.

Source: Malaysia-Today.net

Blogger Can Be Hauled Up for Slander

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- The blogsite operator who reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi fainted at a function in Lumut, Perak, Sunday could face action including being charged under the Sedition Act if the article contained elements of slander. Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the ministry was studying the report before deciding on the type of action to be taken against the blogger.

"I have not read the report in the blogsite but if there are elements of slander, action can be taken under the Penal Code. This comes under the Internal Security Ministry," he told reporters at the parliament lobby here today. He was commenting on a report in a blogsite that Abdullah fainted at the function in Lumut. The Prime Minister has since denied the report and regretted its inaccuracy. Shaziman said his ministry would cooperate with the Internal Security Ministry in identifying the blogger.

In addition, the blogger could also be charged under the Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998, and if found guilty could be fined RM50,000 or one years' jail or both. Asked whether the government would control blogsites to prevent a recurrence, Shaziman said the government was holding on to the "bill of guarantee" under the Act which did not allow censorship of the Internet. However, action could be taken against bloggers under other Acts.

Meanwhile, Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Mohd Taib described the report in the blogsite as inaccurate and "naughty" and made by certain people out to destabilise Umno and the government. "Bloggers always want to confuse the people by reporting untruths, and their postings are usually inclined towards the Opposition. They hope to create panic and adverse effects on certain sectors," he added. Muhammad hoped the government would take stern action against bloggers who pose a threat to peace and national security.

BERNAMA
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Comment: The moral lesson -> Malaysia is a democratic country that prizes freedom above all.