As we are bombarded yet again by main stream media reports about the illegality of the HINDRAF organised assembly in Kuala Lumpur, I am yet again reminded of our 'democracy' ala Malaysian style, as dished out by our UMNO lead government. I do not support the actions of HINDRAF, but I do support their right to assemble.
In Australia, the handover of government from John Howard to the Kevin Rudd Labour lead (to be formed) government takes place this very moment. A graceful defeat, and a pleasant speech by the much critisised 'Bonsai Bush', was not surprising. He wished Mr Rudd the best in what he described as the proudest job as the Prime Minister of Australia. That is democracy, OZ style.
No bans to assembly by the opposing labour supporters. Free media access to both parties. Debates, access, and reach by the people who are allowed to freely choose their leaders.
In the opposite end of the world, Russia's Putin supporters gathered at the Red Square to show support to their embattled President, releasing balloons, and doves, just as rival supporters gathered at the other end of town, shouting anti Putin slogans and condemning his local policy. Russia is one of the most corrupt government, alongside Zimbabwe...shouted the organisers.
I did not make this up. Spend some time on the internet and watch live satelite news, and you will see what democracy is truly like in the western countries.
Here in Malaysia, we are told that these kinds of assemblies will incite hate. Will create chaos.
Truth be told, its the authorities that are blocking the roads, causing massive traffic jams. This blame is of course, passed on to the organisers. Again, I say, I do not support their cause, but I do believe in their right to assemble.
So, when do we really get the right to assemble in this Malaysian Democracy? Do we even have the right to discuss the many faults we see in our administration? In my previous article, 'The truth hurts' clearly tells of our sensitive democracy. When will we be able to truly practice democracy as it is suppose to? To all HINDRAF members, you have been told that you cannot gather. To all sensible Malaysians who can tell that their rights have surely been diminished in this democracy ala BN style. WAKE up and let BN know that this is not the way we want out lives and country to run.
Show BN that we are matured Malaysians who want our voices heard, we want the likes of Zakaria Deros who continues to defy the rakyat, and his illegally built mansion, and the likes of him that we want a true and just democracy. No to corruption, yes to human rights!
Lets deliver BN a message, as what the Autralians did to 'Bonsai Bush'!
I salute the Australians for not putting up with their former Government's nonsense!
I pray that those who gather in support of HINDRAF that this will not go down as another bloody day for Malaysia.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The truth hurts...and we still ask what we are going to do?
Well, read it here, and you will know what Malaysia (through Nazri and Zam, and KJ too) is telling the world.
It suddenly seems so clear what I should do........
It suddenly seems so clear what I should do........
I Guarantee...(Saya Menjamin)
Ahh, those few words of comfort. As if by just saying it, this Minister would actually mean it.
Let me bring you back to a time not long ago, when we Klang Valley residents had to endure this.
Well, you might argue that this is the price to pay if living in the urban landscape. But we do have enough highways, albeit tolled ones, to bring us in and out of the city. So what happened?
approx 6.00am, KM21.8 North Klang Valley Expresswqay (26th Nov 2003 - time and date derived from Wikimapia) and our Minister of works, then, Samy Vellu had a lot to say, one of which was that development along hill slopes will stop unless 'proper studies' were done.
Then on January 26th 2006, Mr Minister of works reassured thousands of motorist that the Middle Ring Road II was safe for use, despite independent consultants, The Halcrow Group and others confirming that it was experiencing cracks, which would be detrimental to traffic.
Hardly two weeks later, he changed his tune, echoing Prime Minister Badawi's call that the highway be closed to traffic to facilitate repair works. This time equipped with the report, he attributes the cracks to 'an act of god'.
Now he is trying to sell us ' his guarantee (saya menjamin)' that the same will not happen to the new Penang bridge. Apparently, in Malaysia, if you are a council chief tasked with collecting meagre taxes, and if you faired badly collecting it, you will be replaced. However, if you are the top dog of the Works Ministry, you get away with shabby works. 170 million here , 120 million there, its nothing!
Fellow blogger Shanghai has this to say about buildings and concrete waste in a protected lake within the National Parks of Perak...
Let me bring you back to a time not long ago, when we Klang Valley residents had to endure this.
Well, you might argue that this is the price to pay if living in the urban landscape. But we do have enough highways, albeit tolled ones, to bring us in and out of the city. So what happened?approx 6.00am, KM21.8 North Klang Valley Expresswqay (26th Nov 2003 - time and date derived from Wikimapia) and our Minister of works, then, Samy Vellu had a lot to say, one of which was that development along hill slopes will stop unless 'proper studies' were done.
Then on January 26th 2006, Mr Minister of works reassured thousands of motorist that the Middle Ring Road II was safe for use, despite independent consultants, The Halcrow Group and others confirming that it was experiencing cracks, which would be detrimental to traffic.
Hardly two weeks later, he changed his tune, echoing Prime Minister Badawi's call that the highway be closed to traffic to facilitate repair works. This time equipped with the report, he attributes the cracks to 'an act of god'.
Now he is trying to sell us ' his guarantee (saya menjamin)' that the same will not happen to the new Penang bridge. Apparently, in Malaysia, if you are a council chief tasked with collecting meagre taxes, and if you faired badly collecting it, you will be replaced. However, if you are the top dog of the Works Ministry, you get away with shabby works. 170 million here , 120 million there, its nothing!
Fellow blogger Shanghai has this to say about buildings and concrete waste in a protected lake within the National Parks of Perak...
Introducing Malaysia’s Poker Champions (wannabe)
The art of deception. Lets play Poker!How else can you call this? Appearing in the International Courts of Justice and trying to paint a picture that is not even original?I could hardly believe it when I read the facts echoed from screenshots. I suppose it is not surprising seeing that plagiarism is indeed seen as an acceptable act in our main stream media(this author can't really tell the difference given that in Malaysia, no act of plagiarism has ever been admitted by any parties especially from the main stream media)
Who do you think the heading refers to then? Well, its none other than our stalwart team of legal eagles (and family) and our very own Foreign Minister. Using pictures to prove one's point is all well and good. But using someone else's picture without credit and using it to 'bluff', is another!
I can't help but think that our Malaysian team in the Hague are all poker players.......against a full house, play it as a straight flush.....even if you only have four cards showing a straight flush! Poker as you know it is played with skills, not necessarily with your cards. Which lead me to the heading above. Well, guys, I guess, you forgot, we are not playing against Myanmar, or Pakistan .....its Singapore!
So, its another feather in the bag for Bloggers (albeit from Singapore)...kudos, Simplyjean for calling their bluff...oh, you might want to read this too (wikipedia, as searched by simplyjean)
How lame can our guys be? Putting up an argument with plagiarised work from Wikipedia!
Sheesh.....there goes Pulau Batu Puteh!
How many hours does it take?
What happens when you make a police report?
Well, you spend some time writing it, and then some time being questioned about it.
What happens then if you are named in the report?
Some (RPK) spend 8 hours or so, some (NAT) gets detained for three days.
What happens when you make a police report on somebody that is involved in corruption?
You (Balan) spend some 7 hours being questioned about (presumably) why you made the report and they (Anti corruption Agency) ask you a supplementary question that is unrelated to your report (like asking you if you knew about the original video tape)
What happens then to the person you named in your report?
He gets 1 hour of questioning (in the morning)
Gets to go home, (either to have makan or to figure out how to answer the investigators is anyone's guess) and comes back for a second session.....
So how many hours does it take then?..... I guess some cases are easier to solve!
Well, you spend some time writing it, and then some time being questioned about it.
What happens then if you are named in the report?
Some (RPK) spend 8 hours or so, some (NAT) gets detained for three days.
What happens when you make a police report on somebody that is involved in corruption?
You (Balan) spend some 7 hours being questioned about (presumably) why you made the report and they (Anti corruption Agency) ask you a supplementary question that is unrelated to your report (like asking you if you knew about the original video tape)
What happens then to the person you named in your report?
He gets 1 hour of questioning (in the morning)
Gets to go home, (either to have makan or to figure out how to answer the investigators is anyone's guess) and comes back for a second session.....
So how many hours does it take then?..... I guess some cases are easier to solve!
Another feather in the cap for Bloggers
Its been more than 2 months since the murder of Nurin Jazlin. Thanks to a few brave souls who cared to take this further, an uncle, a former cop/journo, and some bloggers, it seems we will have our NURIN Alert for missing children soon. Go get your copy of TELL. Meesh has the scoop of the month!
Thats another feather in the cap, don't ya think?
Thats another feather in the cap, don't ya think?
Monday, November 19, 2007
Police Reports and more Police Reports.
Malaysia is special. we are told to lodge Police reports for everything.
Yes sirree! From lost ID Cards to Identity cards, driving licenses, bank books, lap tops, you name it. These reports are then used as your absolute truth as to what happened to the item in question. So, when you produce these reports, the issuing party will then do the needful in order for you to get a replacement.
What about Police reports when you want to complain about a racial slur, a criminal misconduct, slander, keris waving antics or even manipulation of meeting minutes?
This is where, in my opinion, the required action is lacking from the boys in blue.
Hear me out. First example. RPK of Malaysia Today was called in for hours to determine the root cause following a police report by Mohd son of Mohd who happens to be a deputy V.P of UMNO. This happened within days. A few days later the police summoned RPK's wive.
Second example. Blogger Nat Tan of jelas.info was detained for three days following a police report into the very obviously doctored photos that was widely posted on the internet. Again, this happened days after police reports were made.
Third example. A former journalist made a police report against the president of UMNO pointing out the ommision of minutes of the UMNO general assembly meeting, an offence itself if lodged with the Registrar of societies.
No police action has been known to have been taken. At least not to our knowledge.
Fourth example. This expose by Wee Choo Keong, police reports (2) were made by Mr Thiru, the brother of the lead in the Lingamgate video, back in March 2007. Again, no police action was known to have been taken.
Fifth example. Police reports were made by Ronnie Liu, DAP member on the missappropriation and suspected mishandling of contracts in the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, that saw the government bailing out the parties with RM4.6 billion injection. Again, no police action was known to have been taken.
I really don't understand the speed in which the police works.
If i was asked to place priority on the cases above, I-would say the fifth example would be the most urgent. What about you?
Ahh, we have another 4 more reports to judge them by, 3 against blogger Jeff Ooi, and now one more against RPK. So lets see.....When Jeff Ooi appeared on Al Jazeera, a Minister said it was not an independent Journalist, but a DAP member. It seems by providing opinions as an ordinary member, he would actually be giving DAP's opinion. Hmmm.....and how about an 'Independent' Businessman, lodging a report against RPK who happens to be an UMNO member? Exception to the case, I guess.....
Yes sirree! From lost ID Cards to Identity cards, driving licenses, bank books, lap tops, you name it. These reports are then used as your absolute truth as to what happened to the item in question. So, when you produce these reports, the issuing party will then do the needful in order for you to get a replacement.
What about Police reports when you want to complain about a racial slur, a criminal misconduct, slander, keris waving antics or even manipulation of meeting minutes?
This is where, in my opinion, the required action is lacking from the boys in blue.
Hear me out. First example. RPK of Malaysia Today was called in for hours to determine the root cause following a police report by Mohd son of Mohd who happens to be a deputy V.P of UMNO. This happened within days. A few days later the police summoned RPK's wive.
Second example. Blogger Nat Tan of jelas.info was detained for three days following a police report into the very obviously doctored photos that was widely posted on the internet. Again, this happened days after police reports were made.
Third example. A former journalist made a police report against the president of UMNO pointing out the ommision of minutes of the UMNO general assembly meeting, an offence itself if lodged with the Registrar of societies.
No police action has been known to have been taken. At least not to our knowledge.
Fourth example. This expose by Wee Choo Keong, police reports (2) were made by Mr Thiru, the brother of the lead in the Lingamgate video, back in March 2007. Again, no police action was known to have been taken.
Fifth example. Police reports were made by Ronnie Liu, DAP member on the missappropriation and suspected mishandling of contracts in the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, that saw the government bailing out the parties with RM4.6 billion injection. Again, no police action was known to have been taken.
I really don't understand the speed in which the police works.
If i was asked to place priority on the cases above, I-would say the fifth example would be the most urgent. What about you?
Ahh, we have another 4 more reports to judge them by, 3 against blogger Jeff Ooi, and now one more against RPK. So lets see.....When Jeff Ooi appeared on Al Jazeera, a Minister said it was not an independent Journalist, but a DAP member. It seems by providing opinions as an ordinary member, he would actually be giving DAP's opinion. Hmmm.....and how about an 'Independent' Businessman, lodging a report against RPK who happens to be an UMNO member? Exception to the case, I guess.....
Saturday, November 17, 2007
SUR - REAL........really.......realist? Don't think so
What do you make this out to be? One of my visitors, which I am thankful for, otherwise it will just go to show that Zam was right, that the only people that read blogs are the blog authors themselves, left this comment.
Realist
you people just played to the hands of the opposition parties. who do these 40K or so demonstrators think they are representing? who? all us rakyat?? sorry to break yr bubble, but that day, you were pawns of the opposition.
Realist
you people just played to the hands of the opposition parties. who do these 40K or so demonstrators think they are representing? who? all us rakyat?? sorry to break yr bubble, but that day, you were pawns of the opposition.
sure the opposition claims that BERSIH consists of 60 plus Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and a small "insignificant" number of 5 Opposition political parties, making this a "non political " rally. i hear that all the time from those in favour of the rally.
that statement is nothing more than political tactic made up by the opposition, a cunning and manipulative one. the obvious outcome of such rally is more ppl voting for the opposition. and you all would hv just played into their hands.
they hype the crowd with feel good statements, use the king (who was horse riding in trengganu tht day) to raise the emotions of these pawns , instructed their members (the bulk of protesters) to not waive party flags to reinforce their claim tht this is a rakyat rally not a political one, repeatedly harp on all the bad things BN has done ( which they have - yes im not a BN supporter) , with the extensive news coverage from tv3 to al jazeera, the opposition hit a home run this time. great publicity , and hopefully more angered voters and fence sitters voting for them.
yea yea , i hear u ..of 60 plus non govt org only "insignificant" 5 opposition political parties, or in percentage terms, 7% of bersih is opposition parties.
ok so tell me , so tell me why is it that 5 out of 7 delegation that went to to hand the memorandum to the King were leaders of opposition political parties?
sorry to break yr bubble, im a rakyat. u did nothing for me except made a 1/2 hr journey turn into a 3 hr journey thanks to traffic and roadblocks. enough of your 'we did it for malaysia' and yr 'daulat tuanku'..you guys didnt gv an ass abt the tuanku when they were beaten to the ground by DrM. and u didnt do it for malaysia, you did it for the 5 ppl out of 7 that went to see the king... who was in trengganu horse riding.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Now, the Government is talking about saving money. . . .
Hmm. Prudent. Finally our government is talking about saving. But isn't this penny wise pound foolish? If yesterdays news report was to be taken seriously, it tells me that by not minting the one sen coin, the Central Bank (Bank Negara) can save RM14 million.
Wow, saving 14 million can surely help if the government has approved dishing out RM4.6 billion for the benefit of a few. Oh, maybe I should correct myself, its not a few. Its more than that.
From what I gather, its an UMNO company. Yes, go check out Kuala Dimensi and their wonderful piece of art, better known as Port Klang Free Zone (I suppose, free here means if you have your business there, you can really be free!)
Oh, maybe they need to save the monies so that we can have more Khairydors....oops, mispelt. Its Corridor...
My spelling and English must be getting worst....
ANyway, can anyone help me? I need to know how far is the Banding Lake from the nearest National Park in Perak. And in case you did not know, they threw away RM4.5 million into that lake......
Wow, saving 14 million can surely help if the government has approved dishing out RM4.6 billion for the benefit of a few. Oh, maybe I should correct myself, its not a few. Its more than that.
From what I gather, its an UMNO company. Yes, go check out Kuala Dimensi and their wonderful piece of art, better known as Port Klang Free Zone (I suppose, free here means if you have your business there, you can really be free!)
Oh, maybe they need to save the monies so that we can have more Khairydors....oops, mispelt. Its Corridor...
My spelling and English must be getting worst....
ANyway, can anyone help me? I need to know how far is the Banding Lake from the nearest National Park in Perak. And in case you did not know, they threw away RM4.5 million into that lake......
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
101east, Al Jazeera on the Yellow-Wave
Make a date. thusdary Nov 15 , 10.30pm on ASTRO channel 513.
You wouldn't want to meiss this.
Featuring a Minister, A prominent human Rights Lawyer-activist, and a Son In Law.
Oh.....keep your ears open, for 'stupid'!
I don't think 'pondan' was mentioned at all. . . . . . . . . .
You wouldn't want to meiss this.
Featuring a Minister, A prominent human Rights Lawyer-activist, and a Son In Law.
Oh.....keep your ears open, for 'stupid'!
I don't think 'pondan' was mentioned at all. . . . . . . . . .
Saturday, November 10, 2007
10:eleven, Daulat Tuanku! The yellow wave.
UPDATE - 11 Nov 2007.
Pg 8, The Star 'Cops break up march'. And that is the best the mainstream paper can do.
If one was to read the article and accept that as what happened, then its all and sundry here in Malaysia. After all only 4000 people gathered and the police broke up the march. And detained 245 people for questioning too. The NST says the same. It does look like suspicously concerted effort to paint a picture that wasn't.
But in reality, let me tell you what happened. I would say between 80k to 100k people gathered and marched in various parts of Kuala Lumpur. From where I was at the central market, there was already more then 1k. From the riverbank, I could see Masjid Jamek crowded with people. It was there that the FRU clashed with the marchers. I wouldn't call them protesters as they weren't protesting at all. The Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa later said that there were 4k police personnel on duty. One could see that in every corner, there were policemen of all shapes and sizes, and colours too (their uniforms, that is). So, it perplexes me that they could mobilise all this personnel to disperse the crowd but not issue a 'permit' and monitor instead. I say, we do away this nonsesical farce of a law that sees only 'their' side having get permits to gather (read, the march against the foriegn secretary of the US, and the march against the Myanmar Junta by UMNO youth).
Ok, back to the march, not protest. Credit to the opposition parties for towing the line. There were no sloganeering, no political party cries, no banners, just solidarity in asking for clear electoral reforms. Leaving central Market, we were left behind by the main group, and having received a phone call from Frederick (a blogger from Johor who took the bus up to KL to participate in this march and then back again to JB, my salute to you, sir) who met up with us, we proceeded to the Dataran, only to meet with a standoff between the FRU and some 40 odd marchers.
These 40 were cordoned off between the Straits Building and the Bar Council. As we were restrained from passing the police line, we could see the arrival of Black Marias, presumably to arrest the group of 40. at this point, we were ordered to disperse, as we were informed of our illegal gathering. Funny this, as I am now told that to stand around in a public place with some friends is now a public offence! (I'm a Malaysian-Eric, Ancient Mariner-Capt, OBE-Shar, Litte Taffler's-Melvin, Frederick and me, along with Michele, Sarah, and Galadriel-Anu made up some 18-20 people who witnessed this). As the police moved in, the crowd of 40 dispersed with cheers from the crowd. We then made our way to the palace, careful of avoiding the main streets for fear that we will be stopped by the police.
As we approached the klang bus station, we could see streams of people walking towards the direction of the palace.
From the overhead bridge of Jln Mahameru, and the overpass of Jln Kuching. Much like a scene from REM's music video! We merged with bigger group of marchers from Jln Tun HSLee, passing the Traffic police station. From there we walked past Kampung Attap, and an endless stream of marchers (3-4 abreast) along the roadside. Thanks to the presence of PAS's AMAL arm who acted as traffic wardens, walking for the many makciks and pakciks were made easier. Here, I managed to ask an elderly lady for a few words. (she bussed up from Malacca, and she wanted to be a part of the marchers to petition the King to listen to the rakyat. She also lamented her disappointment in the current administration before shouting 'Daulat Tuanku'!)
Reaching the front of the Palace grounds, it dawned on me, the size of the group that was already there. Haris, Shamila, Augustine and Benny had already split up with us much earlier. I later learnt that Shanghai Stephen and Rocky were in another group. All in I would say at least 80k showed up! There were cheers, and I later found out that it was when a small group was allowed to hand over the petition to palace officials. There were rumours at one point that the King had ordered a regiment of troops to ensure the safety of the marchers. What a sight that would have been.
I know of friends who walked that day. I am not sure what your reason would have been if you weren't there. But i have this to say, never have I seen so many people walked in solidarity for a justified reason. I did not at any point think that this would have ended the way it did. The fact is, its not ended. It has only just begun. Ensure that you take the next step to claim your right to vote.
No to corruption. No to illegal mansions. No more cover ups. We want the truth.
We want back our beloved Malaysia.
Daulat Tuanku! Daulat Tuanku! Daulat Tuanku!
Read: rocky's bru, 3540 Jln Sudin, The People's Parliament,I'm a Malaysian, Ancient Mariner, Shanghai Stephen, screenshots-1, screenshots flw up here, here and here, Rantings, OBE, Little Taffer's Room, kickdefella, Frederick from xpyred, for their perspective and tell me you trust the main stream press more!
So How many do you think attended this show of dissatisfaction? You decide.
Pix: at the KFC outlet relaying info and awaiting others to arrive
- - - - - - - - - - - -10:eleven live from KFC Central Market- - - - - - - - - - - -
So, there was a show of force as expected. From the boys in blue, road blocks along the main thoroughfare into the city to prevent the rakyat (the very people that voted the government into power) from congregrating and marching to the Palace of the King of Malaysia to hand over a memorandum.
One that requests his Majesty to intervene and ensure that we the rakyat get a free and fair election. And so, it turned out that not one or two, but many thousands showed up. The federal reserve unit was out in full force, as did the rest, special branch, and other units. Now didn't the government say that we are not a police state? Why is it then that they can mobilise so many police personnel but not issue a permit and crowd control instead?
I can't help but think that the government does not want to listen anymore. Their arrogance is showing indeed, asking all to vote BN out if we are not happy.
Well, speaking to a complete stranger ,it reaffirmed my belief that finally, Malaysians have had enough. We are still here waiting for the entourage to march straight to the palace. Dont't wish us luck, just remember this day, and vote wisely next time round. Ok?
Pg 8, The Star 'Cops break up march'. And that is the best the mainstream paper can do.
If one was to read the article and accept that as what happened, then its all and sundry here in Malaysia. After all only 4000 people gathered and the police broke up the march. And detained 245 people for questioning too. The NST says the same. It does look like suspicously concerted effort to paint a picture that wasn't.
But in reality, let me tell you what happened. I would say between 80k to 100k people gathered and marched in various parts of Kuala Lumpur. From where I was at the central market, there was already more then 1k. From the riverbank, I could see Masjid Jamek crowded with people. It was there that the FRU clashed with the marchers. I wouldn't call them protesters as they weren't protesting at all. The Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa later said that there were 4k police personnel on duty. One could see that in every corner, there were policemen of all shapes and sizes, and colours too (their uniforms, that is). So, it perplexes me that they could mobilise all this personnel to disperse the crowd but not issue a 'permit' and monitor instead. I say, we do away this nonsesical farce of a law that sees only 'their' side having get permits to gather (read, the march against the foriegn secretary of the US, and the march against the Myanmar Junta by UMNO youth).
Ok, back to the march, not protest. Credit to the opposition parties for towing the line. There were no sloganeering, no political party cries, no banners, just solidarity in asking for clear electoral reforms. Leaving central Market, we were left behind by the main group, and having received a phone call from Frederick (a blogger from Johor who took the bus up to KL to participate in this march and then back again to JB, my salute to you, sir) who met up with us, we proceeded to the Dataran, only to meet with a standoff between the FRU and some 40 odd marchers.
These 40 were cordoned off between the Straits Building and the Bar Council. As we were restrained from passing the police line, we could see the arrival of Black Marias, presumably to arrest the group of 40. at this point, we were ordered to disperse, as we were informed of our illegal gathering. Funny this, as I am now told that to stand around in a public place with some friends is now a public offence! (I'm a Malaysian-Eric, Ancient Mariner-Capt, OBE-Shar, Litte Taffler's-Melvin, Frederick and me, along with Michele, Sarah, and Galadriel-Anu made up some 18-20 people who witnessed this). As the police moved in, the crowd of 40 dispersed with cheers from the crowd. We then made our way to the palace, careful of avoiding the main streets for fear that we will be stopped by the police.
As we approached the klang bus station, we could see streams of people walking towards the direction of the palace.
From the overhead bridge of Jln Mahameru, and the overpass of Jln Kuching. Much like a scene from REM's music video! We merged with bigger group of marchers from Jln Tun HSLee, passing the Traffic police station. From there we walked past Kampung Attap, and an endless stream of marchers (3-4 abreast) along the roadside. Thanks to the presence of PAS's AMAL arm who acted as traffic wardens, walking for the many makciks and pakciks were made easier. Here, I managed to ask an elderly lady for a few words. (she bussed up from Malacca, and she wanted to be a part of the marchers to petition the King to listen to the rakyat. She also lamented her disappointment in the current administration before shouting 'Daulat Tuanku'!)
Reaching the front of the Palace grounds, it dawned on me, the size of the group that was already there. Haris, Shamila, Augustine and Benny had already split up with us much earlier. I later learnt that Shanghai Stephen and Rocky were in another group. All in I would say at least 80k showed up! There were cheers, and I later found out that it was when a small group was allowed to hand over the petition to palace officials. There were rumours at one point that the King had ordered a regiment of troops to ensure the safety of the marchers. What a sight that would have been.
I know of friends who walked that day. I am not sure what your reason would have been if you weren't there. But i have this to say, never have I seen so many people walked in solidarity for a justified reason. I did not at any point think that this would have ended the way it did. The fact is, its not ended. It has only just begun. Ensure that you take the next step to claim your right to vote.
No to corruption. No to illegal mansions. No more cover ups. We want the truth.
We want back our beloved Malaysia.
Daulat Tuanku! Daulat Tuanku! Daulat Tuanku!
Read: rocky's bru, 3540 Jln Sudin, The People's Parliament,I'm a Malaysian, Ancient Mariner, Shanghai Stephen, screenshots-1, screenshots flw up here, here and here, Rantings, OBE, Little Taffer's Room, kickdefella, Frederick from xpyred, for their perspective and tell me you trust the main stream press more!
So How many do you think attended this show of dissatisfaction? You decide.
Pix: at the KFC outlet relaying info and awaiting others to arrive- - - - - - - - - - - -10:eleven live from KFC Central Market- - - - - - - - - - - -
So, there was a show of force as expected. From the boys in blue, road blocks along the main thoroughfare into the city to prevent the rakyat (the very people that voted the government into power) from congregrating and marching to the Palace of the King of Malaysia to hand over a memorandum.
One that requests his Majesty to intervene and ensure that we the rakyat get a free and fair election. And so, it turned out that not one or two, but many thousands showed up. The federal reserve unit was out in full force, as did the rest, special branch, and other units. Now didn't the government say that we are not a police state? Why is it then that they can mobilise so many police personnel but not issue a permit and crowd control instead?
I can't help but think that the government does not want to listen anymore. Their arrogance is showing indeed, asking all to vote BN out if we are not happy.
Well, speaking to a complete stranger ,it reaffirmed my belief that finally, Malaysians have had enough. We are still here waiting for the entourage to march straight to the palace. Dont't wish us luck, just remember this day, and vote wisely next time round. Ok?
Friday, November 09, 2007
So what's new pussycat?
Well, its been some time since I updated this blog.
Busy at work, really busy at work. So contrary to popular belief (thanks to a certain Minister who insisted that most bloggers are unemployed) this author begs to differ!
So what's new? Well we did a road trip, first to IPOH, to meet with Ipoh Timur constituents at the Electoral Commission Office and rounded it off with a stopover in PENANG for the Bangsa Malaysia Forum.
At the IPOH Electoral Commission Office (SPR)
So, what did we discover in Ipoh? We discovered that there are more than one phantom voter. (here, phantom voter is defined as an illegible voter who discovers that he or she has been inadvertently registered as a voter without his or her knowledge). Rocky is one, and another Wong LL. As in Rocky's case, Ms Wong had registered to vote in Johor Bahru, and her address listed as Jln Kebun Teh. According to Ms Wong, she has never set foot in JB. She tried to register in her Ipoh Timur constituency but had found out that she had already been registered in JB. So, like any concerned citizen, she wrote to the SPR office only to receive a reply confirming that she had already registered. Despite confirming that she had never registered before, the reply insisted that she update her information should she wish to vote in Ipoh Timur.
Now here is the Multi Million dollar question.
Isn't it up to SPR to proof that Ms Wong did really register by at lease producing a copy of the said registration form and having her verify it? Apparently not. You see, on receiving such complaints, SPR will check their database. They will of course find the complainants name and then they will tell you this. 'Oleh kerana nama Encik/Cik telah di daftar di dalam senarai Pengundi, Encik boleh mengemaskini maklumat anda' (As you have already been registered, you can now update your information). You see, in their database, once you have registered, SPR does not have a 'check box' that says that you are objecting to the registration as you can 110% confirm that it was not you who did the initial registration. By default, SPR will tell you that you cannot contest the registration, as you have already registered! And if you do want to contest, you must then write in to the commissioner, and wait for his response (Isn't this a great way to disqualify someone from voting??? I mean, If I have a list of all opposition members, all I have to do is to register them Phantomly, and wallah, all of thier votes are 'automatically disqualified!) I am not insinuating that this is what they are doing, but from the string of events, and the complaints, it does seem likely that this is the best way to disqualify someone.
(Rocky from KL is registered in Ipoh, and Ms Wong from Ipoh is registered in Johor)
So that was what transpired in Ipoh, and special thanks to Md Nor who made it possible. This man gave up his morning of bread winning to ensure that the rakyat of Ipoh Timur are heard!
We left Ipoh and arrived in Penang an hour and a half later. Penang has changed so much since I last went there. The food? All I can say is that Line Clear isn't as clear as it was. The standard has dropped, something in tandem with the standards of Parliamentarians.....
That did not stop us from putting on a Forum to be remembered with. The people of Penang turned up, and turn up they did. The quality of the participants was simply awesome.
For more pix do look at The People's Parliament.
I am trying to upload an audio recording from one of the speakers at the forum.
Do drop in again for the updated version.
Busy at work, really busy at work. So contrary to popular belief (thanks to a certain Minister who insisted that most bloggers are unemployed) this author begs to differ!
So what's new? Well we did a road trip, first to IPOH, to meet with Ipoh Timur constituents at the Electoral Commission Office and rounded it off with a stopover in PENANG for the Bangsa Malaysia Forum.
At the IPOH Electoral Commission Office (SPR)So, what did we discover in Ipoh? We discovered that there are more than one phantom voter. (here, phantom voter is defined as an illegible voter who discovers that he or she has been inadvertently registered as a voter without his or her knowledge). Rocky is one, and another Wong LL. As in Rocky's case, Ms Wong had registered to vote in Johor Bahru, and her address listed as Jln Kebun Teh. According to Ms Wong, she has never set foot in JB. She tried to register in her Ipoh Timur constituency but had found out that she had already been registered in JB. So, like any concerned citizen, she wrote to the SPR office only to receive a reply confirming that she had already registered. Despite confirming that she had never registered before, the reply insisted that she update her information should she wish to vote in Ipoh Timur.
Now here is the Multi Million dollar question.
Isn't it up to SPR to proof that Ms Wong did really register by at lease producing a copy of the said registration form and having her verify it? Apparently not. You see, on receiving such complaints, SPR will check their database. They will of course find the complainants name and then they will tell you this. 'Oleh kerana nama Encik/Cik telah di daftar di dalam senarai Pengundi, Encik boleh mengemaskini maklumat anda' (As you have already been registered, you can now update your information). You see, in their database, once you have registered, SPR does not have a 'check box' that says that you are objecting to the registration as you can 110% confirm that it was not you who did the initial registration. By default, SPR will tell you that you cannot contest the registration, as you have already registered! And if you do want to contest, you must then write in to the commissioner, and wait for his response (Isn't this a great way to disqualify someone from voting??? I mean, If I have a list of all opposition members, all I have to do is to register them Phantomly, and wallah, all of thier votes are 'automatically disqualified!) I am not insinuating that this is what they are doing, but from the string of events, and the complaints, it does seem likely that this is the best way to disqualify someone.
(Rocky from KL is registered in Ipoh, and Ms Wong from Ipoh is registered in Johor)
So that was what transpired in Ipoh, and special thanks to Md Nor who made it possible. This man gave up his morning of bread winning to ensure that the rakyat of Ipoh Timur are heard!
We left Ipoh and arrived in Penang an hour and a half later. Penang has changed so much since I last went there. The food? All I can say is that Line Clear isn't as clear as it was. The standard has dropped, something in tandem with the standards of Parliamentarians.....
That did not stop us from putting on a Forum to be remembered with. The people of Penang turned up, and turn up they did. The quality of the participants was simply awesome.
For more pix do look at The People's Parliament.
I am trying to upload an audio recording from one of the speakers at the forum.
Do drop in again for the updated version.
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