May

1

Gandhi once said that, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” No doubt, my animal-loving friends will agree with him. Indeed, I have shared this quote with friends from SPCA and they enthusiastically agreed.

Apart from humane treatment of animals, I believe one of the points made by that very wise man was that we can judge ourselves by how we treat others that are less fortunate than ourselves, especially those who cannot fend for themselves.

slave-trade-malaysia-2.JPGOn that note, I am sad to share this May Day message with my fellow Malaysians. I just read the April 21-28, 2008 copy of Newsweek magazine, which had an article entitled “Lured Into Bondage”. When I first saw the heading “The New Wage Slaves” on the cover of the magazine, I thought it was referring to some other lesser developed country. Alas, to my dismay, the article is actually on Malaysia. Please do check out the link above.
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Dec

8

Fascism & fiction

December 8, 2007 | 1 Comment

nazi.jpgI found a definition of fascism at PublicEye.org, which says, amongst other things, “fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties… It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition…”

And according to Wikipedia, “fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic, by way of a strong, single-party government for enacting laws and a strong, sometimes brutal militia or police force for enforcing them. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or group of people as superior to the individuals composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, leading to a cult of personality and unquestioned obedience to orders.”

The above descriptions sound eerily like what’s happening in Malaysia. And, mind you, the Abdullah regime is not the first in Malaysia to be compared to the fascists. An ex-colleague of mine created a clever photoshop image of a Hitler-like Mahathir about ten years ago.
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Dec

7

freedom.JPGI feel that the Bar Council’s decision to call off the walk to commemorate Human Rights Day is wrong and disappointing. There does not seem to be any clear indication as to why the walk has been called off, apart from some vague reference to the need to apply for a police permit.

It is disappointing and ironic indeed that the Bar Council have to kowtow to undemocratic and unjust laws on the occasion that is supposed to celebrate and advance human rights in our country. In light of recent events, I believe that there is all the more reason that the Bar Council and Malaysian Bar should be taking the lead to fight for rights and freedoms that every Malaysian is entitled to.
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Sep

10

suhakam-logo.jpgI find it rather ironic that on the day chosen to celebrate human rights in Malaysia, we hear of news that the police have used live bullets to disperse people who have gone to attend a ceramah in Kuala Terengganu. (As expected, the mainstream media have distorted the news. For a more balanced report, see Malaysiakini’s coverage.)

When I heard this news yesterday, I was at a Suhakam conference in Kuala Lumpur. The conference was entitled “Human Rights & Election”. The ceramah in Kuala Terengganu was organised by Bersih, a coalition for clean and fair elections, on 8 September – the eve of the Malaysian Human Rights Day.
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Aug

7

raja-nazrin.jpgThis morning, on a whim, I checked out our Opposition Leader’s website, and chanced upon a hot-off-the-press posting by Dr. Chen Man Hin. In his posting, Dr. Chen suggested that the Prime Minister invite Raja Nazrin Shah, the Crown Prince of Perak, to be his personal adviser, in light of the latter’s speech at the first Malaysian Student Leaders Summit 2007.

For what it’s worth, I must say that that’s an ingenius and interesting idea from Dr. Chen. I wonder what Raja Nazrin thinks. (By the way, Raja Nazrin’s credentials are quite impressive. Check out the link to his entry in Wikipedia above.)
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Jul

21

gopal-sri-ram-2.jpgIt is sad that the law in Malaysia has become what it is today.

One of the worst things about it is that the judiciary is no longer a counterbalance in the so-called doctrine of separation of powers. I say “so-called” because this doctrine does not apply in our beloved country.

As far as I’m concerned, the recent trial-by-media of Justice Gopal Sri Ram to be an insidious meddling of the judiciary by the invisible but powerful hand of certain quarters. I believe any intelligent Malaysian who knows a thing or two about the personalities involved in the case will know what I am talking about. And as far as I can tell, Justice Gopal Sri Ram is an excellent judge, although sometimes he may be a bit difficult to handle in court.
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Jun

7

lina-banner.gif

I was just at a DAP forum on the Lina Joy case. I must say that I am both disappointed and encouraged by what I saw and heard.

On the one hand, some of the speakers were terribly disappointing. To be fair, I shall not point them out. On the other hand, the turn out, which could have been anywhere between 700 to 1,000 people, shows that many Malaysians still care and dare to speak their minds.

Well, considering there were so many lawyers, politicians and Islamic scholars at the “dialogue”, I just had to say my two sens’ worth and ask the panel a few questions.
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May

31

lady-justice.gifIt appears that not only are some people in the Barisan Nasional government stupid, some judges in the judiciary are equally stupid.

Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia – the supreme law of the land, the last time I heard – clearly states that “every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.”

I’m not all that familiar with the intricacies of the Lina Joy case, but I do know that she converted to Christianity by her own choice.

Without even reading the judgments of Federal Court, I believe it’s safe to say that the Malaysia Boleh! spirit has done it again - do something stupid that no one in their right mind would.
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