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Four Nations, Four Lessons

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:30 AM PDT

By N. GREGORY MANKIW
The New York Times
October 22, 2011

AS the economy languishes, politicians and pundits are debating what to do next. When we look around the world, it's hard to find positive role models. But as we search for answers, it is useful to keep in mind those fates that we would like to avoid.

The recent economic histories of four nations are noteworthy: France, Greece, Japan and Zimbabwe. Each illustrates a kind of policy mistake that could, if we are not careful, presage the future of the United States economy. Think of them as the four horsemen of the economic apocalypse.

Let's start with Zimbabwe. If there were an award for the world's worst economic policy, it might well have won it several times over the past decade. In particular, in 2008 and 2009, it experienced truly spectacular hyperinflation. Prices rose so fast that the central bank eventually printed 100 trillion-dollar notes for people to carry. The nation has since abandoned using its own currency, but you can still buy one of those notes as a novelty item for about $ 5 (American, that is).

Some may find it hard to imagine that the United States would ever go down this route. But reckless money creation is apparently a concern of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president. He suggested in August that it would be "almost treasonous" if Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, were to print too much money before the election. Mr. Perry is not alone in his concerns. Many on the right fear that the Fed's recent policies aimed at fighting high unemployment will mainly serve to ignite excessive inflation.

Mr. Bernanke, however, is less worried about the United States turning into Zimbabwe than he is about it turning into Japan.

Those old enough to remember the 1980s will recall that Japan used to be an up-and-coming economic superpower. Many people then worried (too much, in my view) that Japan's rapid growth was a threat to prosperity in the United States, in much the same way that many people worry today (too much, in my view) about rapid growth in China.

The concerns about Japanese hegemony came to a quick end after bubbles in the real estate and stock markets burst in the early 1990s. Since then, Japan has struggled to regain its footing. Critics of the Bank of Japan say it has been too focused on quelling phantom inflationary threats and insufficiently concerned about restoring robust economic growth.

One of those critics was Mr. Bernanke, before he became Fed chairman. Watching Japanese timidity and failures has surely made him more willing to experiment with unconventional forms of monetary policy in the aftermath of our own financial crisis.

The economists in the Obama administration are also well aware of the Japanese experience. That is one reason they are pushing for more stimulus spending to prop up the aggregate demand for goods and services.

Yet this fiscal policy comes with its own risks. The more we rely on deficit spending to keep the economy afloat, the more we risk the kind of sovereign debt crisis we have witnessed in Greece over the past year. The Standard & Poor's downgrade of United States debt over the summer is a portent of what could lie ahead. In the long run, we have to pay our debts — or face dire consequences.

To be sure, the bond market doesn't seem particularly worried about the solvency of the federal government. It is still willing to lend to the United States at low rates of interest. But the same thing was true of Greece four years ago. Once the bond market starts changing its mind, the verdict can be swift, and can lead to a vicious circle of rising interest rates, increasing debt service and budget deficits, and falling confidence.

Bond markets are now giving the United States the benefit of the doubt, partly because other nations look even riskier, and partly in the belief that we will, in time, get our fiscal house in order. The big political question is how.

The nation faces a fundamental decision about priorities. To maintain current levels of taxation, we will need to substantially reduce spending on the social safety net, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the new health care program sometimes called Obamacare. Alternatively, we can preserve the current social safety net and raise taxes substantially to pay for it. Or we may choose a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. This brings us to the last of our cautionary tales: France.

Here are two facts about the French economy. First, gross domestic product per capita in France is 29 percent less than it is in the United States, in large part because the French work many fewer hours over their lifetimes than Americans do. Second, the French are taxed more than Americans. In 2009, taxes were 24 percent of G.D.P. in the United States but 42 percent in France.

Economists debate whether higher taxation in France and other European nations is the cause of the reduced work effort and incomes there. Perhaps it is something else entirely — a certain joie de vivre that escapes the nose-to-the-grindstone American culture.

We may soon be running a natural experiment to find out. If American policy makers don't rein in entitlement spending over the next several decades, they will have little choice but to raise taxes close to European levels. We can then see whether the next generation of Americans spends less time at work earning a living and more time sipping espresso in outdoor cafes.

N. Gregory Mankiw is a professor of economics at Harvard. He is advising Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, in the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 October 2011, 7:27 pm and is filed under Economics, Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.

Lim Kit Siang

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

PM: 1,600 Indians got citizenship

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:30 AM PDT

By Masami Mustaza, NST

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday urged Indians to put their nambikei trust) in the government to create change for Malaysians.

The efforts include the collaboration between the Special Indian Task Force and the Home Ministry to address documentation issues with the issuance of 1,642 identification cards to Indians.

In addition, 1,600 Indians have! become citizens with the cooperation between MIC, the ministry, the National Registration Department and the police.

Najib called on Indians to support the government in its national transformation policy, which promised a better future for all citizens.

"Indians celebrate Deepavali, which is seen as a victory of good over bad, or light overcoming darkness. It is the same with the national transformation agenda, where we replace the dark with light," he said at a Deepavali concert organised by the Lebuh Ampang Business Association in Lebuh Ampang yesterday.

Najib said the government had done much to offer assistance to Malaysians in need, including Indians, in the spirit of inclusiveness.

In 2009, the government allocated RM100 million under the Economic Stimulus Package to build new buildings in 213 Tamil schools. This year, vernacular schools received RM250 million.

In the 2012 Budget, Najib announced that Tamil schools would receive RM100 million for maintenance.

"The government has also allocated RM100 million to small Indian entrepreneurs through a micro-credit scheme under Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia to allow them to participate and do well in business.

"Aside from special allocations for Indians, the budget also includes incentives, such as a one-off payment of RM500 to households earning less than RM3,000 a month through the Amanah Rakyat 1Malaysia scheme, which will be launched early next year."

Indian entrepreneurs were also given the opportunity to expand on their business through the Small Medium Entrepreneur scheme worth RM2 billion, he said.

In acknowledging the historical value of Lebuh Ampang, a business area set up by Chettiars from India during the pre-war era, Najib said he would leave the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry to decide how to improve the area without omitting the traditional elements that signified its history.

Present were Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosma! h Mansor , Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, his deputy, Datuk M. Saravanan, and Lebuh Ampang Business Association president Abdul Rasull Abdul Razak.

Najib, in his latest entry ("Sunday Breakfast Conversation") on his blog, www.1malaysia.com.my, said the budget was not merely a give-away budget, as some had suggested, but was aimed at cutting government borrowing.

He said it was a budget that targeted help to those who needed it most, including families with low incomes, schoolchildren and sixth formers and university students, besides rural areas that should share the nation's economic strength.

"Fundamentally, though, the budget is about Malaysia's future. I announced new opportunities for foreign investment, a big reform in our civil service and new partnerships with the private sector to develop our infrastructure."

On Oct 9, Najib went out for breakfast with Rosmah and their daughter at Village Park, Uptown Damansara Utama.

He said he did not do it to garner huge publicity, but because he wanted to eat at a popular breakfast eatery in the Klang Valley, and hear the views of people.

"The people I spoke with during that Sunday breakfast said that they were pleased about my budget plans. But they also wanted to see me follow through on them."

PAS readies new media troopers for next GE

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:00 AM PDT

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Perkasa says Himpun united PAS and Umno

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:00 AM PDT

By Melissa Chi

October 23, 2011

Hassan Ali delivers an impassioned speech at the Himpun rally. - Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Malay rights group Perkasa lauded the success of Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun) saying it unified Muslims even from opposing political factions.

"To me it is a success. One of the most successful part was that there were PAS and Umno leaders on the stage, and other individuals who are not affiliated with any parties are on the stage as well.

"I believe Umno or PAS members and Malays in PKR, they all support (Himpun) but maybe they have to follow instructions from their leaders. I don't understand why are they not allowed to gather," secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali said today.

He shrugged off the low turn out of about 5,000 as "the one million means one million who are with us in spirit.

"To me, the ones who are with Himpun are almost every Muslim in this country. Only a small number of Muslims are liberal who are not really interested in this rally," he said.

Himpun chairman Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid has also said yesterday i! t is not concerned with the poor turnout at the rally, arguing that the spirit of the 5,000-strong crowd was more important.

Azmi also said he considered the rally a great success as it proved that Muslims could come together to talk calmly about the issues affecting Islam, whatever their background or political ! affiliat ion.

He said non-Muslims should not fear the movement or its goals as the rally had been conducted with "no feelings of animosity" towards them.

Syed Hassan said the rally is one of the many warnings against any future attempts to proselytise Muslims.

"This is to show them that if this continues, the rally will be bigger. If we need to launch a crusade, we will do it," he said.

Himpun was organised by various right-wing religious groups calling for Muslims to rise up and fight the "challenge of Christianisation".

The mass rally was mooted following the controversial August 3 raid by Selangor Islamic authorities on Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), where it was alleged that Christians were converting Muslims.

It is illegal to proselytise Muslims in Malaysia.

Christian leaders have denied claims that Christians were attempting to convert Muslims and have called Himpun's fight "irrelevant".

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Two sides to a City

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 03:30 AM PDT

OCT 23 — As a guest on ESPN Sportscenter last week, an interesting question was posed to me by host Colette Wong — "Why are Manchester City more comfortable playing in the English Premier League (EPL) than in the Uefa Champions League?"

Being a long-time student of European football, I liked this question as it allowed me to share a philosophy on the game after many years of watching the best teams in the major European leagues combined with their Champions League action.

We all know that Manchester City now sit at the top of the EPL after last week's emphatic 4-1 win over Aston Villa, two points ahead of Manchester United who could only draw at Liverpool. The two neighbours meet tonight in a top-of-table clash at Old Trafford.

After three matches in their debut season in the Champions League —a home draw with Napoli (Italy), a loss at Bayern Munich (Germany) and a home win against Villareal (Spain) — Man City are in third place in Group A with four points.

It may not be a critical position as yet, but it's definitely a weak place to start from in the second half of the group stage of the Champions League, which will begin with a trip to the Camp El Madrigal on November 3 for the return match against Villareal.

The three key factors that make the difference between the Champions League and EPL for Man City are technical, tactical and physical.

Collectively, the team has skilled players who are far superior in the technical aspects of the game than at least 14 other teams in the EPL.

We can see how easy it is for a player like David Silva and Sergio Aguero to weave their magic in their league ties in England. The whole Man City team are also quite comfortable and relaxed when in control of the ball and this is a strength compared with the other teams.

Quite frankly, only Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool may be technically equivalent.

However, if you compare Man City with teams like Wigan Athletic, Sunderland or Blackburn Rovers, the odds will very much be in favour of the Abu Dhabi-owned club.

Only Stoke City, with their physical game, might be able to achieve a positive result against a team that is more technical in style.

As we all know, in the EPL it is rare for teams to have any tactical preparation. In the English leagues, the tradition is almost always towards aggressive play.

However, when playing a Champions League team, Man City face teams that are comparable in the technical aspects. Additionally, if there is little physical difference between the teams, then the tactical game becomes an obstacle as well.

Their opponents in Group A — Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal — are certainly far more skilled in the implementation of team tactics because they have developed a sound understanding of their game over time.

I believe that likewise, Man City will be able to correct and improve the tactical aspects of their game and should rightly claim their place in the knockout stage of the Champions League this season.

Getting back to tonight's main highlight — Man Utd vs Man City (8.30pm, live on ESPN, Channel 812) — I believe that Alex Ferguson will approach this match as a European tie as opposed to an EPL tie in order to win the tactical battle over Roberto Mancini's men.

Another question presented to me by Colette was on the reverse scenario with regards to Arsenal. The Gunners have long been known to be more adept at playing in the Champions League than they are in the EPL.

Well, where Arsenal are concerned, the tempo or speed of the game in the EPL is the main barrier to their success.

Playing in the slower and tactically-sharper Champions League provides the perfect avenue for the Gunners to showcase their technical skills.

Ultimately it is the lack of physical energy or overall strength of the team that leads to their weakness vulnerability in the EPL.

This whole discussion on the air with Colette did lead me to wonder though, "will the best team in terms of technical, tactical or physical factor, become Malaysia Cup champions this season?"

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Another Sabah Umno leader says Gerakan irrelevant

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 03:30 AM PDT

Umno Supreme Council member Lajim Ukin is the latest senior BN official to criticise the party and its leaders for being demanding.

KOTA KINABALU: Gerakan leaders in Sabah are getting that familiar, lonely and unwanted feeling within the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition once again.

After coming under a blistering attack by a ruling BN MP in parliament in the past week, more senior coalition members are coming out in favour of pushing aside the weakened party from any direct involvement in Sabah in the next general election.

Umno Supreme Council member Lajim Ukin is the latest senior BN official to criticise the party and its leaders for being demanding.

Lajim, who is is also the deputy minister for housing and local government, said the party and its leaders in Sabah are in no position to demand to contest in the state in the coming election.

"Gerakan should concentrate on the peninsula and Penang … how can the party expand their influence in Sabah if they cannot even take care of their own areas?" he told a local newspaper Friday.

Lajim was responding to Kalabakan MP Abdul Ghapur Salleh's comment that the party was a failure and its leaders chiefly concerned with their own careers.

Ghapur had on Monday urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak not to consider fielding Gerakan candidates in Sabah ! in the c oming election that observers believe will be called anytime between now and early next year.

The Kalabakan MP said the peninsula-based party had no relevancy in Sabah as even Chinese voters, the community they focussed on, despised them.

Calling Gerakan a liability to the BN as a whole, Ghapur also mocked the elected representatives in the party in Sabah as "frogs" who had jumped form other parties so that they could retain their state Cabinet posts.

Warning to Najib, Musa

Gerakan currently has three seats in Sabah which the party gained without contesting in any election. Youth and Sports Minister Peter Pang (Karamunting) was the latest to join Gerakan early this year following Minister of Industrial Development Raymond Tan Shu Kiah (Tanjung Papat) and state Industrial Development Minister Au Kam Wah (Elopura).

Pang had offered to quit his state Cabinet posts after his resignation in September last year from LDP after its leadership declared that the party was finding it difficult to work with Chief Minister Musa Aman, who is also state BN chairman. Musa rewarded him for his support and retained him in his Cabinet.

Tan and Au joined Gerakan in May 2009 after the Sabah Progressive Party, through whom they won their seats in the 2008 election, pulled out of the BN in Sept 2008.

Lajim now claims that there are "too many parties from the peninsula in Sabah …" and such a situation could affect relations among BN component parties.

He warned Musa and Najib to think carefully about how they select candidates for the coming elections saying: "BN can form a government, not choose candidates or parties."

LDP which had itself come under fire from Umno and a clique within Musa's circle as well as Gerakan for its outspokenness, has supported Ghapur's stand on Gerakan and the oblique challenge to Musa.

On Thursday former Libaran MP Akbar Kahan Abdul R! ahman al so called on Musa not to decide unilaterally or arbitrarily in selecting candidates for the next election.

The Sabah factor in Umno’s GE battle

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

In Sabah politics, the real battle for power is between the Bajau Muslims and the Umno Malays.

COMMENT

By Arnold Puyok

Much attention has been given to Sabah after the 2008 general election. This is understandable as Sabah contributed a substantial number of parliamentary seats to the national parliament.

In fact without Sabah, Barisan Nasional would have lost power.

In order to see this clearly, it is important to look at Sabah's electoral contribution in a proper perspective.

There were 222 seats contested in the 2008 elections. BN won 140 seats. But it was eight seats short of a two-thirds majority in parliament.

For BN, having a two-thirds majority is a "prerequisite" for establishing a strong and stable government – a "standard" set by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Given Malaysia's political convention, having two parties forming a coalition government is almost impossible.

Of the 140 seats BN won, Sabah and Sarawak contributed 54 seats thus giving BN the advantage of a simple majority.

Umno's 'bank'

If Sabah and Sarawak were left out from the calculation, it is BN with only 86 seats against the Pakatan Rakyat coalition with 82 seats.

With this slim seat difference, BN would have risked losing power in the event of crossovers.

Clearly, without the 54 seats from Sabah and Sarawak, BN would not be able to form a stable government.

With the 2008 election results, Sabah and Sarawak are BN's fixed deposits and hold the key for BN's survival.

Sabah, however, is given more attention than Sarawak due to Umno's strong presence in the state.

Aside from Sabah receiving the largest financial allocation of RM16 billion under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, it also has four Sabahans as federal ministers in the national cabinet. Sarawak on the other hand has only two.

Bajau challenge

In Sabah, local politics is essentially controlled by Sabah Umno and Ch! ief Mini ster Musa Aman.

Although conflict have begun to resurface following allegations of dominance by Musa's allies, Musa's skillful political maneuverings is keeping the "rebels" tamed.

In Sabah, Musa's strongest challenge comes from the Bajau community, the second largest ethnic group in the state.

Even though a substantial number of the Bajaus are Sabah Umno members, some are not happy with the alledged domination of the "Malays" led by Musa.

The three Bajau leaders who pose a threat to Musa's le! adership are Salleh Said Keruak, Amirkahar Mustapha and Pandikar Amin Mulia—also known as the"big three" in USBO (United Sabah Bajau Organisation).

Except for Amirkahar, Salleh and Pandikar wield a significance influence among the Bajau community.

Sabah Umno is anxious about the rise of USBO whose re-branding in 2006 was seen as an attempt to replace Sabah Umno as a party to represent the Muslims in Sabah.

When Musa decided to drop all three as candidates in the 2008 elections, it was seen as an attempt to chip away the Bajau influence in Sabah Umno.

Musa, however, was quick to prevent dissatisfaction among the Bajau community. He quickly gave Salleh and Pandikar important roles in government.

The Bajau factor will remain an important political challenge for Musa to overcome.

Kadazandusun factor

While the Bajau community want to have a greater say in Sabah Umno, the Kadazandusun, on the other hand, want a proper power-sharing arrangement to be introduced in the state.

The voice of the Kadazandusun community is essentially coming from PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) which is the largest Kadazandusun-based party in the state.

In its party congress, PBS suggested that the power sharing arrangement in Sabah should be based on 70:30 ratio.

This means, if there are 10 vacant political positions in a PBS-controlled constituency, seven should be appointed among its members while the rest from other parties.

While no visible changes could be seen arising from this demand, Musa however seems to be con! tinuing to enjoy the Kadazandusun support through the 'Huguan Siou' Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who is also deputy chief minister.

PBS, while synonymous with the fight for state rights and autonomy, has however been criticized for being too "soft" on issues such as illegal immigrants, regional autonomy and economic imbalance between East and West Malaysia.

But PBS supporters argue that it is more politically viable to talk about these issue behind close doors.

Pairin, it seems, prefers not to use a confrontational approach in pursuing the Sabah issues.

Nonetheless as far as Musa is concerned, the Kadazandusun support for him remains intact and will not pose a serious challenge to Sabah Umno.

Musa, Shafie and Najib

Another important aspect to ensure a continued political stability in Sabah is federal-state relations.

Sabah's history has shown that the role of the federal government is crucial in determining a stable state government.

Classic examples can be seen during the reign of Mustapha Harun, Harris Salleh and Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

Mustapha, who courted with the federal leaders under Tunku Abdul Rahman had to give up power after Abdul Rahman's successor (Tun) Abdul Razak initiated the formation of Berjaya (Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah) to topple Mustapha's Usno (United Sabah National Organisation).

Musa Hitam, the then Deputy Prime Minister was instrumental in Salleh's fall and Pairin's rise to power.

But with Mahathir's manipulating role, Pairin was left to see PBS disi! ntegrate in 1994.

These were all lessons for Musa and he learnt them well.

Musa has been tactful in ensuring that federal-state relations remain integral to Sabah's political stability.

The speculations that Musa is not on good terms with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak are rather weak to presume a change of leadership in Sabah anytime soon.

If it is true that Najib had wanted his "proxy" Shafie Apdal, the Umno chief in Semporna, to lead Sabah, it is not only a wrong political calculation but a risky move.

Shafie moving in could affect Najib's popularity in Sabah.

Shafie, for one, is not based in Sabah and is considered as an outsider among Sabah Umno's rank and file.

If indeed the war to gain political supremacy in the state exists, Musa seems to have the advantage to hold on to power as he enjoys a strong local support.

The writer is a lecturer in political science at Universiti Teknologi MARA Sabah. This is an excerpt from a talk he delivered at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brunei Darussalam.

Leaders Shamefully Molesting Our Children

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

This latest episode of using children for political aim is a sign of the sickness that has befallen BolehLand.

As if the adults going at each other throats is not enough, we have to drag children into our dirty politics game.

And what is sad, is the leaders are also keeping themselves embroiled in the controversy. Instead of leaders closing rank to stop exploiting and molesting our kids and subject them to such disgusting adult behavior, we have them encouraging others to join in flogging the poor kid! What kind of society are we living in?

Instead of asking all those who have made malicious allegations against an innocent child, the leaders including their MSMedia are all trying to justify that the allegation is permitted and if one needs to clear one's name, just file a police report!

Today's Sunday Times' editorial Pot Calling the Kettle Black is using its clout to also attach the poor kid insinuating that too bad kid, if you think someone has spread lies go make a police report. Meanwhile, it is democracy and freedom of speech we will make allegations against anyone.

Are we saying to allow the issue to boil over because it's a game of pot calling the kettle black?

Are we saying that we need a police report to investigate the case when clearly the victimised have denied them publicly? Are we saying the police, MCMC will act only if there is an official report? Didn't they act on a mere less than 150 character tweet before huh?

Have these institutions not acted on mere heresay and postings in blogs? Why the hesitation this time when it has gone viral and the world has come to know about it. Are we saying it's good global publicity for us, why kill it with an investigation huh?

Making allegations is now the new style of those who wish to dictate the actions of the police. You make an allegation and if you are a pro BN and UMNO blog or person making the allegation, that is the fast! est way for you to direct the police including the MCMC, MACC and all those institutions starting with M including Majlis Agama this and that will at once sniff and take the bait and pounce on the person or persons the allegation is directed to.

Perhaps the subject of this allegation is a kid and whose sin is the father is an opposition and threat to the BN government that the authorities are slow or not bothered to take action against those making and perpetuating the allgeatins.

Or are the security institutions are a wee bit careful not to at once call the kid in and interrogate the poor kid because instead of question those who make the allegation, the victim is being harassed? Sounds familiar eh? If a police report is made, perhaps the father knows it means subjecting the son to being hurled up and questions on the allegations! And based on past incidents of the outcome of investigations must be a very scary thought to subject the poor kid into right?

Even if those being victimised and others connected to the allegations have denied them is not good enough. So don't be surprised if the poor kid is called up and will be traumatised for life!

And the person making the allegations get scott free. In fact, even getting top leaders implicit and tacit support!

We wonder if allegations against the family of BN leaders will not evoke immediate super past action from the security apparatus to track, hound and pounce on the person or persons making the allegations!

And for a BN leader caught with his pants down to even compared kids case to his is really sickening and way way off the mark right? It should not even be connected or related!!! Are we being told the actual act bears the same gravity of sin and punishment deserving as an allegation that has been denied by those being accused off huh?

So once again, the double standard by the government is being applied, this time at a kid!!!

What hypocrisy the government tells the whole work that we are disgusted and! decry c hild prostitution and slavery when we can't even handle this clear case of blatant lies against a kid?

Seems molesting children is now the new game to gain political popularity and weapon to destroy your opponent.

Still no word from the Women Ministry and even 1Malaysia to seek for a stop as well as investigation into tormenting kids to such humiliating actions. Did the government and the Madam Welfare Minister once slammed the opposition for involving kids in some cycling protest? Why is this case different?

Our leaders and those irresponsible adults including the MSMedia are worst that the indifferent people in that tragic kid death case in China where noone bothered to stop to help the child bleeding and hurt after being run over by two cars!

Are we or the police, Women Ministry, Minister Rais, 1Malaysia even our FLOM going to just stand by when adults start to exploit and molest our kids with such allegations and say noone made a police report and noone is hurt yet so what is the fuss is it? Are our leaders telling us it's just an allegation what, what is the fuss, already those who have been wronged have confessed the allegation is untrue. NFA case closed huh?

Why are the religious bodies, the Majils whatever and even the other religious leaders all being spectators while a kid is being run over and over again by leaders, bloggers even the MSMedia and made to be a victim in this ugly bid for political power.

Are we saying all is fair game to gain power? Are we going to have a tit for tat revenge and use kids to prove we are holier than the other?

It is not even sad these days when we do not even question our moral behaviour or ethics in our bid to gain power.

The supposedly million holy believers march is fighting imaginary enemies and ghosts during a spooky time called Halloween.

Are we so obsessed with saving our own souls and that of our brothers and sisters and disregard those not of your own faith and these pagans or child can go to! hell or rot in jail for all they care?

So who is being hypocritical? Those who oppose using children and subjecting them to such treatment? Or those who spread the allegations?

We have sadly, oh perhaps we are even told we should not be sad, degenerated into animal behaviour and a very immoral unethical society. Our behaviour is such that there need to be no apology at all anymore. When foreigners ask me why we seemed so obsessed about halal food and conversion, there hardly is any more rational reason to explain anymore right?

We have gone to the dogs with our bitchy behaviour is the most appropriate reply hah!

The leaders are telling us if you are not with us, you are against us so don't expect any sympathy or help from us. In fact expect more allegations and humiliation and attack from me and my buffoons?

We or rather the political leaders are all so drunk for power and win votes that they are willing to indulge in the lowest form of behaviour to molest our children!

Where are the NGOs, where are the parents, where are the teachers in rising up and say to our leaders and government especially = Stop killing and molesting our children!

Since we can't depend on 1Malaysia or the Education Ministry or the Women's Ministry, or the government to protect our children, are we going to be resigned to be treated with such disdain and humiliation.

Why are we not angry at all at how we have degenerated to this level?

Who should be blamed? Our children?

Speak up and it is time, civil society ask all our leaders to stop practicing double standards. The save your religion against conversion action is not about saving anyone's religion. It is just giving a warning to other religions to be careful and to show who is God!

Do those leaders really believe one religion is being threatened while others are not? Or that conversion is only a one way traffic? Or that only one God and one religion deserves protection while others sor! ry too b ad huh?

Same too that children of one political party or race or religion deserves protection while others can get molested, raped and perhaps deserve to be run over twice because they are less human than the privileged chosen one huh?

Stop molesting our children. Shame on all the leaders, the MSMedia, those self righteous people and religious bigots!

If we adults are bent on killing each other, can we not spare the kids or are we turning them into child warriors to begin harbouring hate towards another child or adult?

If citizens want to gather and protest the disgusting behaviour of our leaders and those who molest children will they be branded hypocrites and be denied a permit.

If citizens want to gather and protest against religious intolerance and discrimination, does it mean they are committing sedition?

BolehLand has descended into a huge animal kingdom where herd mentality and gregarious behaviour is the order of the day. Our brains have gone elsewhere.

Let us not degenerate into the level of those who are using children for their political agenda. Let us not molest children just to prove we are more powerful than another? Let us be brave to stand up and protect our children from such allegations.

Why can't we set aside our greed for power and our bigot intolerant religious attitude and treat each other as human beings and not this race or this religion or this political party deserves more protection, rights and privileges over others.

Save our children if our adults cannot be saved? STOP EXPLOITING OUR CHILDREN to adults juvenile behaviour and use them to serve the greed of our leaders!

Welcome to BolehLand, Truly Promoting Mistreatment, Exploitation and Molestation of Children!

We seem to treat the illegal migrants better than our OWN PEOPLE, kids in this case? Or are we being reminded that we live in a society where distinction according to race, religion and political affiliation is THE PRINCIPAL FACTOR in deciding ! who gets justice, protection, assistance and regarded as human beings huh?

So the adults and our leaders must be damn happy they managed to exploit, humiliate and molest children!

YAHMEH!!!

Is Muhyiddin fit to continue as Education Minister when he could violate a student’s child rights just to serve a blatant and dishonest political agenda?

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Central Bankers: Update Your Analytical Tool Kit

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:30 AM PDT

October 23, 2011

Central Bankers: Update Your Analytical Tool Kit

by Gillian Tett ( 10-20-11)

Eight years ago, Claudio Borio, a senior economist at the Bank for International Settlements, co-authored a paper which warned that the world's financial system was spinning out of control, due to excess in the complex credit world.

At the time, the paper was largely ignored, if not derided by many senior policymakers. But now it looks prescient; so much so, in fact, that Borio and his co-author, Bill White (who also used to work at the BIS), are some of the few economists who have emerged from the recent financial crisis with their reputations intact.

Given this, investors might do well to look at another paper that Borio has just produced. This looks not at securitisation – or issues such as collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) – but at the loftier question of central banks. While it remains to be seen whether this work is equally prescient, the conclusions are sobering.

He argues that the world's central banks are currently labouring with an almost impossible task: although the expectations of investors and politicians of these institutions are rising apace, central bankers themselves are at sea in this post-2007 land. Or, to use his metaphor, they are struggling to find any workable "compass" in these new, stormy waters.

The essential problem is that the crisis has tossed central banking into an intellectual limbo. Before 2007, their reputation appeared to be sky high, since central bankers appeared to have produced a Great Moderation of low inflation and growth (remember, those pieces lauding Alan Greenspan as the so-called "maestro"?). But these days, it is clear that many elements of that pre-2007 central bank intellectual model were flawed: central bankers were too obsessed with watching price stability, at the expense of monitoring financial stability; they overestimated the power of short-term interest rates in controlling the economy; and they thought – wrongly – they could shape monetary policy by watching national issues alone.

So far, so obvious. And Borio offers a sensible list of measures that might address these flaws: central banks need to adopt a wider sense of responsibility that combines an awareness of monetary trends and financial stability; they need to take an international, not national, view of the markets; they need better toolkits to monitor financial stability; they must take steps to protect themselves from political meddling.

Last, but not least, he also thinks they need to wean themselves away from the idea that suppressing short term interest rates – via quantitative easing or anything else – will fix the current woes; while this might work during a normal business recession, it does not cure a balance sheet recession. Instead he – like many Japanese officials – argues that excessively cheap money tends merely to stave off the eventual adjustment, prolonging the woes. Call it a "time inconsistency" problem.

But while Borio's proposed checklist of necessary reforms might sound obvious, the gloomy fact is that most of these are merely pipe dreams. To be sure, some central banks are adopting more flexible mandates that incorporate financial analysis; "macro-prudential policy measures", for example, are now all the rage. Central banks are also talking about the need for more global collaboration. But when it comes to practical policies, they are still acting with a domestic intellectual framework and mandate (just look at the Bank of England's challenge in explaining how "imported" commodity prices are messing UK inflation forecasts). The "mainstream analytical frameworks at policymakers' disposal" are inadequate, Borio points out, to explain how finance and the real economy interact.

And since central banks are still trying to boost the economy by chasing ultra low interest rates – via quantitative easing – they are becoming sucked into fiscal policy decisions. This leaves them politically vulnerable in many ways. "In the years ahead, the independence of central banks is likely to come under growing pressure," he writes, adding that "they are facing enormous pressures to prove that they can manage the economy, restore full employment, ensure strong growth and preserve price stability … this is a taller order than many believe and one that central banks alone cannot deliver. To pretend otherwise risks undermining their credibility and public support." America obviously springs to mind here, though Borio is too tactful to mention it.

Now a cynic might retort that this all just reflects a wider malaise today. After all, it is not just central bankers who lack a "compass"; politicians and investors do too. But the fact that these comments have come from the heart of the BIS is striking. Not least because they reflect what some central bank governors are muttering now in private too. If nothing else, it should prompt investors to ask what central banking might look like eight years hence. Not just in America, but above all in the troubled eurozone.

gillian.tett@ft.com /The Edge Malaysia (October 24, 2011)

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Guan Eng: How can Muhyiddin be so cruel as to pick on my 16-year-old son

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:30 AM PDT

How can Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin be so cruel as to continue to repeat the lies by Umno blogs against my 16-year-old son and question whether my son is innocent of the lies of sexual misconduct, when the lady "victim" had asserted that she had not even met me or my son and furthermore, the Penang Education Director has declared the allegations were not true?

I am appalled and disgusted by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's remarks that my mere denial of sexual harassment claims against my 16-year old son was inadequate. Instead, Muhyiddin says that "if the Penang chief minister thinks it is important to correct the information, then he has to come up with a strong statement."

It was Umno blogs that started it, but DPM pretends not to know

What more strong statement is required from me when I had condemned these barbaric lies as totally unacceptable, inhumane; and the UMNO and BN leaders involved as ferociaous beasts preying on the innocence of young children. Umno bloggers had printed pictures of my son and the alleged victim whom they claimed my son had outraged her modesty. They had claimed that my son tri! ed to es cape punishment by using my name and I had paid the girl's family off with RM200,000 to hush up the matter.

The photograph of the purported "victim" used by Umno bloggers was that of 21-year-old chess grandmaster Anya Sun Corke who is studying at Wellesley College in the United States Anya had alrea! dy issue d a statement denying the charge and expressed sympathy for my son for being a victim of such vicious and barbaric lies.

As a result of PR Penang government's solid performance in clean and effective governance for the people, UMNO bloggers has been trying to finish me off politically with lies and politics of hate. When they failed, they now train their guns on my innocent school-going son.

Amongst some UMNO leaders who highligted this shameful episode in the blogs is Bukit Gelugor(Penang) UMNO Division vice-chairman Dr Novandri Hasan Basri. He was then ! followed by many UMNO leaders rehashing the lies. Sadly even UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaludin joined in these shameful lies by poking fun at my son with this tweet:-

@Khairykj Khairy Jamaluddin

@PapaGomo Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada.

http://twitter.com/#!/Khairykj/status/125841671102529536

Both Anya and the Penang Education Director have denied, why is DPM ignoring these?

Even though the alleged victim had come out with a statement denying the lies, there is no remorse or apology as yet from Khairy or UMNO leaders to my son. Instead of condemning Khairy or Dr Novandri for practicing "the lowest of gutter politics", Muhyiddin has seen fit to question my denials and that I should not blame others for the allegations.

How can Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin be so cruel as to continue to repeat the lies by UMNO blogs against my 16 year old son and question whether my son is innocent of lies of sexual misconduct when the lady "victim" had asserted that she had not even met me or my son and the Penang Education Director had declared the allegations were not true?

Penang Education Director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin had told the Star on 22.10.2011 that his department found no evidence to back the claims of sexual misconduct against my son in several blogs. Ahmad said that it was wrong to drag a student into any controversy to gain poltical mileage. "Children should be left out of politics," Ahmad added.

Muhyiddin is not fit to be PM, he is a coward

If Muhyiddin wants to be seen as fit for the post of Prime Minister, he must be moral and ethical. He fails this moral and ethical test by picking on a 16-year old son who is still schooling and has no chance of defending himself. If Muhyiddin hates me so much, he can do his worst to finish me off politically. But Muhyiddin should not join the craven pack of cowards to pick on my 16-year old son and put my son again through this traumatic experience.

Muhyiddin loses the respect of decent Malaysians if he behaves in the same arrogant manner as those ferocious UMNO beasts who know only how to bully my 16-year old son and feast on a child's innocence.

Lim Guan Eng is the DAP secretary-general and the Penang Chief Minister

Chua: Party against religion-based demos - star.com.my

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Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Chua: Party against religion-based demos

KUALA KUBU BARU: MCA will not support any demonstration which rally for race and religion, regardless of the place it is held, said party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

He said the party's stand had always been very consistent that all race or religion-related rallies should not be held.

However, Dr Chua denied that double standard was practised against the Bersih and Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun) organisers.

"One must make the distinction between the two and not compare them with one another.

"The Himpunan Sejuta Umat is held in an enclosed area of a stadium, but Bersih was a public rally, whereby its protestors marched through the city," he said during a visit to Rasa new village near here yesterday.

Act of kindness: Dr Chua receiving a mock cheque of RM493,600 from fundraising dinner organising committee chairman Wong Koon Mun (second from left) on behalf of the 1MCA Medical Foundation during the dinner near Kuala Kubu Baru last night. Looking on are Hulu Selangor Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Mohamed Idris Abu Bakar (second from right) and Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan.

On another matter, Dr Chua urged voters to use their right wisely in the coming general election.

He said after the 2008 general election, voters were hopeful that there would be an improvement to the country's political situation with a dual-party system.

"Political parties, especially those from Pakatan Rakyat, are the supermen' who have been brilliant in raising racial and religious issues.

"This has made the political scenario in the country even worse," he said.

Dr Chua also denied MCA's involvement in the allegation against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's son.

"None of our (MCA) leaders are involved in making the allegation, so do not link us to the accusation," he said.

Later at the 1MCA Medical Foundation fundraising dinner, Dr Chua said political leaders from all sides must reach a consensus to not resort to personal attacks and lies to gain political mileage.

"Instead, all of us must focus on debating policy-based issues to create a healthy political environment," he said.

He said issues such as children, religion, culture and race should not be brought up if both sides wanted to get rid of the gutter politics.

"Currently, both sides are guilty of such political culture and no one should blame the other for practising such a culture. "If we want to promote a healthy political culture, we must agree to keep certain things out of our debates," he said.

During the fundraising dinner, RM493,600 was collected.

Dr Chua said the foundation had provided financial aid to more than 450 patients so far.

"Out of these patients, 25% of them are bumiputras and Indians," he said.

The New Brooms in Malaysian Judiciary

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar*

We have a new team heading the judiciary. Congratulations to Chief Justice Tan Sri ArifinZakaria, President of the Court of Appeal Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif and Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin. They are all men with mnay years of experience in the judicial and legal services.

Seize the Moment for Change in Judiciary

They are also men who, having started their careers as judges in the High Court, have had the opportunity to gain invaluable insights into not only the mechanics of being a judge, but also the workings of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. I believe they are fully equipped to deal with the challenge of managing one of the most important institutions of the nation and I wish them well in their endeavour.

It is my hope that these three judges and their colleague, Chief Judge for Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, see in this "changing of the guard" as the opportunity that presents itself to make inroads into restoring public confidence in the ju! diciary and seize it. For this to happen, however, they must acknowledge, even if only to themselves, that public confidence is not a high as it ought to be and as it was in the late 1980s,and that steps need to be taken to address the situation.

In some quarters, there are those who, admittedly somewhat cynically, suggest that although in the early days of the new appointments there will be some attempt to play to the gallery, such efforts will soon fade into obscurity. Frankly, our experience at the Bar hints at the possibility. Since I was admitted to the Bar, I have seen five chief justices come and go. Each one came in with promises and assurances. And although each of them let an indelible mark on the judiciary and the administration of justice, I cannot say that the legacy they left behind was always in the interests of that august institution of the nation.

Chief Justices have come and gone but no serious reforms

The appointment of Tun Hamid Omar as Lord President was controversial; he chaired the tribunal that impeached Tun Salleh Abas. Tun Hamid retired amid allegations of impropriety. Tun Eusoff Chin retired amid controversy with the now infamous holiday in New Zealand darkening the cloud hanging over the judiciary.

Although Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah acknowledged that public confidence was at an all-time low when he was appointed to head the judiciary, I cannot say that the institution radically improved under his stwardship. Tun Ahmad Fairuz, who succeeded Tun Dzaiddin, is now most remembered for his telephone conversation with Datuk V K Lingam and the subsequent Royal Commission of Inquiry it gave rise to. I do not think the judiciary has recovered from the impact of what came to light during the hearings of the commission.

Tun Abdul H! amid Moh amad was the chief for too short a period to introduce meaningful reforms, although he is fondly remembered for having introduced the slogan "Buat Kerja"(the implications of which were disturbing).

The appointment of Tun Zaki Azmi raised many eyebrows. He was parachuted into the Federal Court in September, 2007, appointed the President of the Court of Appeal in December that year and became the Chief Justice in October, 2008. In all of this, more senior judges were bypassed, a state of affairs that caused consternation in view of declarations that only experienced judges with proven track records would be promoted.

Tun Zaki also came with personal baggage that impacted on the image of the office, as much as he may have tried to downplay its significance. His previous role as UMNO Legal Adviser did not assist in furthering the cause of restoring public confidence, more so for the fact that it was during his tenure that some of the most controversial constitutional cases came before the Court, in particular the Perak challenges.

I have described these matters only to underscore one point. Being a top judge puts a person under close public scrutiny. As much as he or she many not wish to create impressions that impact the institution, it will occur.This is more so for the obvious truth that leadership is, most often, by example.

The question for the new team current heading the judiciary is this; What example do they want to set for the judges who serve them? If they wish for judges of the Malaysian courts at all levels to be conscious of their awesome duties as judges, they will have to take steps to instil in them an awareness of those duties. As leaders, these judges must set the tone and approach each case they deal with in a manner consistent with the highest standard of the Bench and Bar.

Judges must always act jud! iciously

They must at all times act judiciously, arming themselves with the requisite knowledge to make just decisions. They must always display temperament that will inspire each and every litigant a belief that whatever the outcome of a particular case, he has been given a fair hearing.

I say this only because as things stand, one cannot fault a casual observer for walking away from a hearing in the superior courts with the impression that some judges are rude and arrogant and not interested in hearing counsel, descend into the arena and are just not very clever. It is obvious that such conduct can in no way inspire public confidence.

It is not enough to acknowledge in private that all is not well. Things have to be and can be done. The judiciary has some autonomy over appointments and promotions. This power should be invoked to the fullest extent to bring in the best people for the job. The judiciary is armed with the powers of self-regulate, that is what the Code of Ethics was introduced for and as a drastic measure, the Federal Constitution allows for the impeachment of judges.

Values and Ethics

These powers should be deployed to stamp out any suggestions of impropriety and to address doubts about corruption and influence peddling. Even if such conduct is not actually occurring, it is damaging that there are some quarters that believe it is. This is a cancer that will eat away at the institution itself and ultimately overwhelm it.

The essential point is that reforms can take many forms. And although key performance indicators and modernisation of the judiciary through the introduction of new technology go some way in making the institution more efficient, ultimately it is the ethical values and mindsets of the judges that determine how well the institution performs a! nd is be ing perceived by the public. The reform agenda must start with inculcating the right values and changing mindsets. Difficult questions have be asked and even more difficult dcisions made. The fact that the entire nation is watching cannot be stressed enough.

Deal with Plagiarism decisively

It is in this context that the revelations concerning plagiarism on the part of a senior judge must be viewed. The matter cannot be left to Parliament alone. It is a matter for the judiciary. Regrettably, the institution has not taken a position and has not clarfied whether it proposes to investigate the allegations against a senior member of its fraternity and what it plans to do meanwhile. This indecisiveness offers very little comfort and, conversely, if perpetrated will stoke doubts about the commitment of the judiciary to the core values and ethics of the administration of justice. The judiciary needs to act.

After all, don't new brooms sweep clean?–The Edge Malaysia (October 24, 2011 Issue)

Malik Imtiaz Sarvar is a practising lawyer and President of the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM). - Din Merican

Chua: Thanks for the Chinese school help - star.com.my

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT

Chua: Thanks for the Chinese school help

KAJANG: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has thanked the Government for allocating land and money to build two new Chinese schools and refurbish another in the Kajang area.

He welcomed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement yesterday of a RM9mil allocation to build two SRJK(C) schools in Kajang Utama and Sg Long and RM3.5mil for SRJK(C) Sg Chua to improve its infrastructure.

"We thank the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister for bringing us this much-awaited news.

Community gathering: Dr Chua (centre) accompanying Muhyiddin at SRJK(C) Sg Chua in Kajang Saturday.

"The two new schools will help cater to the increasing number of students in the area.

"There is an increasing demand around Kajang even as the area develops rapidly. Both are expected to get about five acres of land each," Dr Chua told reporters after the meet-the-residents session at SRJK(C) Sg Chua.

Earlier in his speech, Dr Chua said the Government had allocated RM100mil under Budget 2012 for the construction, improvement and maintenance of Chinese vernacular schools.

"SRJK(C) Sg Chua needs two new buildings due to the increasing number of students and rapid population growth in Kajang," he added.

The crowd gave a standing ovation after the announcements were made.

Dr Chua hoped the allocation would be given soon so that construction could begin.

On the general election momentum, the MCA president said everyone had to work hard to secure a win for Barisan Nasional, adding that unity was very important.

"If we add all Barisan members in every area, the chances of Barisan winning are very high," he said.

Dr Chua reiterated MCA's strong stand that it would not accept any government position should it perform badly in the upcoming polls.

Veterans flay Mat Sabu in newspaper ad

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Posted: 23 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT

October 23, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Security forces veterans continued their attacks on PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu today, taking out two-page advertisements in Malay dailies slamming his remarks on the Bukit Kepong incident.

The full-colour advertisement, carried in Mingguan Malaysia andBerita Minggu, was signed by 18 police and armed forces veterans associations.

Police veterans said they were angry and disappointed with Mohamad (picture) for saying the Communists who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950 should be seen as independence fighters.

"That statement is shallow and inhumane. It trivialises, insults, offends and reduces the honour and dignity of police officers who were killed or injured while protecting the nation's sovereignty and the institution of the police," they said.

In a separate message in the same advertisement, army veterans said Mohamad's statement insulted the memories of soldiers and their families who sacrificed themselves fighting the Communists.

"His statement . . . can threaten the nation's sovereignty, religion and unity," they said.

Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, is facing charges of criminal defamation for allegedly glorifying Communist guerrillas in a speech at Tasek Gelugor in August.

The PAS leader, who claimed trial to the charges, faces up to two years in jail and/or a fine if found guilty of the offence under Section 500 of the Penal Code.

The outspoken politician also faces an alternative charge of defaming the family members of the policemen and soldiers who died in the Bukit Kepong Incident.

Umno has been quick to capitalise on Mohamad's controversial remarks and has pushed the issue to the fore in its campaign for votes from ex-policemen and former soldiers.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be meeting with police pensioners at Putra World Trade Centre here later this afternoon.

Perkasa says Himpun united PAS and Umno

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Posted: 23 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT

A Perkasa Guide to the Chinese Vote

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT

In closely-fought seats with a substantial Chinese population, how should the Melayu or Indian candidate approach this constituency?

This post – applicable to Perkasa, KITA and Hindraf politicians – will attempt to answer the question. Before that, however, some truths against popular myths:

One. Chinese, like Malays, vote predominantly on racial lines. Wrong. The Indian mandores of the DAP evangelists are more successful in majority Chinese areas than in comparable-size Indian. This can't be for the reason the DAP is Chinese chauvinist but because Barisan, Gerakan in particular, repeatedly fail to field candidates of virtue. Look at it another way: The chances of a PKR Malay man in, say, Kinrara, is better there than in a 51 pct PAS Malay area. Both tests explain why DAP hacks confidently go around town talking about beyond-race politics without the fear they'd lose the Chinese votes but can only benefit from the Malay. Moral of story: it is so much tougher to get the Chinese vote if you are Chinese than to get the Malay vote if you are Malay.

Two. Chinese look up to money, and down at anything without it – a standard RPK/Pakatan line. Wrong again. If this were true, the wealthier the Chinese man, the more likely he ought to participate in politics and win. The opposite happens instead. Even against a pig – and this is no exaggeration – the Anglicized Chinese Francis Yeoh will lose Bukit Bintang, home of YTL group. In Confucian societies (including Korea today and imperial China), the commercial class ranks at the bottom of the social hierarchy, deservingly, below the peasantry. At the top is the literary class, comprising the scholar, a man who is taught virtue, also skilled in history, philosophy and the conduct of human affairs, hence required to be involved in public administration.

Three. Chinese are apathetic towards public affairs and so disdain politics. False. Public affairs, hence politics, is largely regarded as an elitist task, and so comes naturally to scholars who would have passed four national stages in a series of rigorous, mind-boggling examinations against tens of millions of other candidates yearly. Only several thousands are selected, and on per capita measure Chinese administration is very lean. (The top rank is known as 进士 jinshi who, in the old days, has to pass examinations in archery and weapons, usually swords.) In the circumstances, commoners therefore think of internal public administration, but not external defence, as out of their reach: the mountains are high and the emperor is far away.

Modern day influences, including the birth of the Chinese Republic, have shifted those early perceptions not eradicating them. Chinese culture and wide spread education, the latter emphasizing ethical philosophy, history, governance and literature, still leave the general Chinese populace politically astute. They just don't talk about it publicly, unlike Anglo DAP babble-mouths and their bangsa blogheads. (In that respect, compare and contrast Fong Po Kuan to Hannah Yeoh. Never contest against Fong, you'll lose. Teresa Kok is not invincible.)

The list below is only a partial guide with a general rule-of-thumb conduct into canvassing for Chinese votes. It applies regardless of your competitor's political affiliation, whether Chinese or Indian or Malay. You are looking at the electorate to win, not the opponent (that's another story altogether).

Always go prepared, that is, understanding – as opposed to cursory knowing – the qualitative nature of the constituency visiting. For example, is the constituency one of those semi-urban tamans, a village cluster of homes or a farm. What is their livelihood? What economic function sustains its people?

1. Be clear as to who you represent and what you are. All the pretenses of an Anwar Ibrahim frying noodles from a wok impresses nobody. A PAS or PKR Malay man with an entourage of Chinese DAP hacks behind him is also unnecessarily faked. And don't bring along your Freddie Kevin poodle dogs; they'll simply end up defecating all over the streets or, worse, in somebody's house. You are a Melayu from the historical depths of a prior Melayu kingdom seeking collaboration, support, and a little assistance in terms of votes from the Chinese. Acknowledge this.

2. Be clear as to your intent and wishes. You wish to enter public service, in this case through electoral politics, because the Hindu Indians and the Chinese and Melayu farmers need help. (And don't be fearful to say the word Umno, which is the reason you want to be able to march into the emperor's office of Najib Razak so you can tell his people straight in their faces.) Government rural neglect have hurt these people: families displaced, broken up, the sons end up as thugs, breaking into Chinese homes, then entering prison – in the city. There is never enough to go around; the food they eat never fills the stomach. Schools are bad, and the students don't come out better humans while Anwar's PAS mullahs wait in prisons to saw off their legs, deforming them forever. The Chinese have empathy for these problems: they have a 5,000 year-long precedent history that enables them to separate virtue and intent.

3. Be sincere in the respect of your Chinese host. Chinese culture has the mechanisms that allow a Chinese to spot a running dog, a thug, an Anwar Melayu pimp or a phoney a mile away. Trust and credibility are not established overnight, but time is not on your side. For this reason start with introductory fliers, and use hanzi, instead of making speeches. State your credentials. If you've a Datuk title, forget it.

When coming to a village temple or ancestral hall (and know the difference between the two), enter without hesitancy and without looking around you. Preferably the constituency candidate should bring with him joss sticks. If not, ask the caretaker, if he's not asleep. Take only three. Light up from one of the lamps. Face the main altar, others stand behind you. Know how to hold joss sticks. Bow thrice, from the sternum down; others simultaneously. Then insert the joss stick into the main urn, and leave promptly. Belief is not the issue; this is neither worship nor religion nor obeisance. And the Chinese don't care if you subscribe to it or not. This a ritual of respect, of honouring your host, not some imagined voodoo prayer you once thought. (Warning: PKR and PAS racists will go to town with photos, you bowing and declaring you a kafir. Before your opponents start, you might want, therefore, to inform your kampung constituents beforehand – tell them why, what is the ritual to the Chinese, and you're a Mohammedian before and after it.)

4. At all times show protocol, order, harmony, and discipline. Your blue or orange uniforms are excellent exhibits into your internal discipline. For the candidate, add one more item to distinguish him from the rest: try a red sash, a flower pinned to the chest, or a red armband. Never use all black or all white when visiting. At a village, before anything else, ask to meet the village head who may be a DAP or MCA member – it doesn't matter. If not available, the headmaster of the local Chinese school; he's almost certainly the next most respected person. State your purpose clearly, using if necessary a translator borrowed from the MCA. You are an emissary from a Melayu kingdom seeking collaborative favours with a Chinese population and this is honourable; your mission therefore honourable also.

5. Display courtesies and public virtues without fawning. If an appointment is secured beforehand, bring along a meaningful gift without being expensive (examples below). Typically, a scroll written in hanzi poetry or a famous literary line is appropriate. This is a sign of an exchange, an opening courtesy in the conduct of relationships. You can promise little, except to fulfill your duty to your constituency, especially the weak and the vulnerable among them. Your primary governing principle among nations, hence in inter-ethnic relations, is non-interference. Where you enter the picture is the provision of public funded services, in education, clearing out the garbage, dealing with the elephantine bureaucracy, and speedy assistance in times of disasters and need, while the Chinese should be left alone to conduct their own affairs in peace, without aggression or interference from public institutions. You hope that the Chinese will share with you in the pursuit of these virtues. Try not to bad mouth the DAP or Pakatan governments like you do on your websites; they have had enough of them to last everyone a life time.

*****

冯宝君 Feng Baojun

The Chinese Vote: Umno's Bamboo Curtain in Feng Baojun

For no reason, no cause at all, not even electorally, the racist Mahathir Mohamad spent decades busy nailing down the Chinese as chauvinists and Jews while his officials drive Chinese out of work, force Chinese women like Feng Baojun to wear the Anwar Ibrahim tudung imported from Arabia, and party Malay underlings were busy pimping on Chinese women for Anwar, et al.

Consequently, Mahathir didn't and couldn't see the rise of Anglophile factions being nurtured in PPSMI schools, in the dens of Christian churches and in English, foreign private colleges such as Monash Sunway, many of which he himself promoted in place of Chinese education.

Fong Po Kuan (above) or 冯宝君 is one of the few remaining, although junior level, Chinese scholar-official types (but better illustrated in the person of Su Dongpo 苏東坡, below, d.1101, a Song era official). She personifies that which is the DAP before it was overrun by Christians. From the efforts of people like Fong, the DAP Anglo evangelists – think of them as English fleas – harvested the rewards then claimed credit for March 2008.

To reverse the electoral tide then, Barisan must look to and see why Fong, et al – and not the Anglos – were successful. Recall, Fong and the DAP almost broke up, reflecting not just betrayal and shifting ideological divisions within the party but at a fundamental level existential ones.

Always inept, Umno hotshots continuously fail to distinguish between friends and foes (see this article for example) and so construct policies that will make the ordinary Chinese life miserable, if they can help it. Yet the Malay mongrels of Umno (that Sakmongkol for instance) blame the MCA for failing to deliver 2008 and which it has to now clean up after their failures. If the Chinese go down, the Melayus go down; and the Anwar DAP Anglos, his Arabs and PAS Mullahs go up. Umno must decide once and for all: what will it be?

That decision is easier than is imagined.

March 2008 was not a sudden, overnight occurrence. Historically and since pre-independent Malaya, the Chinese have asked little from governments and have taken nothing – yes, absolutely nothing – from the Melayus without paying for it. Yet under white British rule, during the Emergency era (internments of entire populations, the Batang Kali massacre), Japanese occupation, May 13th, and then under Mahathir, great injustices were committed against the Chinese in the name of imagined threats or Malay-Mamak solidarity. The careers of numerous Malay politicians, past and present, have arisen from the bodies of dead Chinese.

Umno cannot go on pretending all that was an accident of tragedy, a mistake, too bad, it happens to pendatangs, and still hope to regain Chinese support. If, on the other hand, Umno does regain the trust of the Chinese then the Anglo DAP menace will simply evaporate. (The English-breeding PPSMI policy is fundamentally anti-Merdeka, anti-national and anti-native.)

The Chinese on Umno's side, Anwar's PKR Anglos and PAS Arab mullahs must first get pass the Bamboo Curtain, the Chinese, in order to get to the Malay soul and life which is basically Perkasa's desire – the preservation and support of an independent, nationally acceptable native, pre-Arab Malay being.

But, Umno's politics suffer from, and are bounded to, the Mahathir delusion and his stupidity that if the party gets one, it must lose the other. New Deal strategy says you cannot lead permanently or convincingly win elections on anyone of the two alone, Chinese and Melayu, without going with both at the same time. Umno confines its Chinese partners to subsidiary roles and this is so suicidal.

*****

Perkasa's Guide to the Chinese vote (continued)

Below are some ideas for an inexpensive gift to a Chinese community, never to individuals. Rural Chinese are a communal people, not self-centred egotists that city Anglophiles are:

Book or memento set (some available in Popular bookstore)

Scroll, Image, Framed, Decorative Art

Example of an idiom for calligraphy, written and read top down. This gift, written on red rice paper, is the least expensive.

tian wujueren jilu (three words, six syllable)

天

无

绝

人

之

路

In translation: Tian (or, heaven) never bars one's way.

Two Weddings and a Funeral...

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 23 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Bhutan Royal Wedding

Bhutan's 31-year-old king married a student 10 years his junior on Thursday in a colourful ceremony showcasing the rich Buddhist culture of one of the world's most remote and insular countries.

The "Dragon King", an Oxford graduate who came to power in 2008 at the start of democracy in Bhutan, married Jetsun Pema, the daughter of an airline pilot widely admired for her beauty and her impact on the love-struck monarch.

"She's very sweet and caring and she loves children," one of the king's cousins who studied with the queen, Yiwang Pindarica, told AFP after the marriage. "I'm sure she will help the king fulfil his duties."

Proceedings were beamed live across the country of 700,000 people and signalled the start of three days of joyful celebrations, with dancing, singing and drinking in towns and villages.

Indonesian princess weds in historical sultanate

Princess Nurastuti Wijareni, 25, married 29-year-old Achmad Ubaidillah in a traditional Javanese-Muslim ceremony attended by more than 2,000 guests that included the Indonesian president.

Yogyakarta, around 400 kilomet! res (250 miles) southeast of Jakarta in the centre of Java island, is one of Indonesia's last remaining sultanates, where the sultan acts also as the special region's governor.

The groom, a commoner, works at the office of Indonesia's vice president.

Din Syamsudin, chairman of Indonesia's Muhammadiyah Muslim organisation, described the ceremony as a grand cultural expression that should be preserved.

It was "a cultural treasure that should also be revitalised, so that future generations continue to understand and love their own culture," he said.

Tens of thousands lined the streets in the afternoon to greet the couple, who were married at the sultan's 200-year-old palace in a ceremony led by the bride's father, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

The death of Muammar Gaddafi

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011, has been killed.Colonel Gaddafi ended his life branded with the same words that had followed him through most of his military and political career: thug, terrorist, and murderer.

The death of Gaddafi himself became perhaps the most dramatic development since the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt and threaten the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.

"He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head," NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."

Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi, who was in his late 60s, was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked. He said he had been taken away by an ambulance.

An NTC fighter in Sirte said he had seen Gaddafi shot after he was cornered and captured in a tunnel near a roadway.

source:msn

cheers.

Posted by ali allah ditta

Anti-Christianisation rally fizzles out with poor turnout

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Anti-Christianisation rally fizzles out with poor turnout

2011-10-22T15:33:00.001-07:00

Anti-Christianisation rally fizzles out with poor turnout

Anti-Christianisation rally fizzles out with poor turnout
Slander from an Islamic perspective — Nawawi Mohamad
Where will the MCA president contest?
Nightwoods - By Charles Frazier - Book Review
more sex please , we're Malaysians ! ( pt.2 )
Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul? – Episode 13
Anti-Christianisation rally fizzles out with poor turnout
Deputy Minister: Withdraw Aziz Bari suspension...
MCA and hudud: Part 3
Guan Eng takes Shahrizat to task over attacks against his son
Low turnout dampens anti-apostasy rally
1 Million In Charge March
MCA and hudud: Final part
Gutter politics or sordid politicians? — Lim Mun Fah
Aliran: Action against Aziz Bari mocks Academic Freedom and Intellectual Integrity
Where will the MCA president contest? — Sakmongkol AK47
Aziz Bari – a critical test case
Despite graft claims, Malaysia offers to fund RM9b Bangladesh bridge
Islam itu Melayu, Melayu itu Islam
Losing the race

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 12:30 PM PDT

By Yow Hong Chieh

October 22, 2011

SHAH ALAM, Oct 22 — Barely 5,000 Muslims were tucked into one corner of the 100,000-capacity Shah Alam Stadium here today, for the intended one million rally to stem the alleged threat of Christianisation.

In contrast to the usual packed seats for Selangor's home football games, Himpunan Sejuta Umat supporters barely weighed down the bleachers despite heavy publicity in the press throughout the week.

The poor showing forced organisers to start the rally at 3.40pm, more than 90 minutes after it was scheduled to begin, to allow latecomers trickling in to boost turnout.

Despite having a far lower turnout than the July Bersih rally for electoral reform, Himpun speakers talked up today's rally as a united showing of Muslim resistance to alleged injustices against Islam at the hands of other faiths.

MORE TO COME

Slander from an Islamic perspective — Nawawi Mohamad

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 04:00 AM PDT

OCT 22 — Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said : "Do you know what backbiting is?" They said, "God and His Messenger know best." He then said, "It is to say something about your brother that he would dislike." Someone asked him, "But what if what I say is true?" The Messenger of God said, "If what you say about him is true, you are backbiting him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him." (Muslim)

One of the hallmarks of righteous behavior is good speech. If a Muslim feels at all uncertain, he should keep quiet. This doesn't mean that a person can't engage in casual conversation, but rather that he should guard his speech and choose his words carefully.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Whomsoever protects his tongue from unlawful utterances and his private parts from illegal sexual intercourse, I shall guarantee him entrance into Paradise." (Bukhari and Muslim)

What else does Islam say about this particular sinful act? Allah says; "O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, verily some suspicions are sinful. And spy not nor backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear God, verily, God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful." (Quran; 49: 12)

Islam is a religion of peace, love and compassion. Lies, suspicion, back biting, slander and gossip is not allowed in Islam. In fact they are considered amongst the most destructive of sins. They cause hostilities between people of the same household, and between neighbors, friends and relatives and could lead to the destruction of society. Here as always Islam stresses on society.

Islam demands that our relationship with mankind should be one of sincerity and responsibility. It should be one where we have respect for the honour, reputation and privacy of others. Islam teaches us that we are not only held accountable for our own attitudes and actions but also for anything else over which we have control or influence over, in our society or the world around us. The differences that exist between human beings in the world should urge them to become acquainted with each other and to cooperate with each other in various walks of life Allah says: "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other'' (Quran; 49:13)

Slandering can be done through speaking, writing, nodding, hinting, texting, twitting, e-mails or signalling. Why do people slander against others? There are many reasons besides ignorance of the prohibition of slandering and the gravity of this sin, to get things off one's chest such as hatred and malice; to hurt or harm the person being discussed or someone else that could be hurt indirectly, many would just be joking or fooling around.

Just as slander is unlawful for the one who says it, it is also unlawful for the person hearing it to listen and acquiesce to. It is obligatory whenever one hears some one begin to slander another to tell him to stop if this does not entail manifest harm to one. If it does, then one is obliged to condemn it in one's heart. Thus the slandering incident should not have been highlighted by the media even.

Unfortunately slander which is the malicious, false and defamatory statement, had recently befallen on an innocent 11 year old non-Muslim boy and previously on several important individuals in our society and it seems that this incident has continued unabated.

But since this has already happened, what could be done? This sinful act must stop.

Islam teaches us that if people are being ridiculed in our presence, we should defend their honour. If we neglect this, we shall deprive ourselves of ever needed help and mercy from God. The present scenario entails such situation.

The above slander on the 11 year old child is the violation of the right of non-Muslims to be treated with kindness and total justice when not acting with hostility to Islam and Muslims.

Allah says "Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with justice." (Quran; 60:8)

It is also the violation to his right to privacy and non-interference in his affairs except that which is manifested so that it is harmful to society. The citizens have a right to privacy and not to be spied upon. Islam even prohibits the government to spy on its own people whether Muslim or non-Muslim.

It is another violation of his right not to be exposed to public indecency and the likes. Abu Darda(ra) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said "Allah hates the profligate and the obscene" (Tarmizi). Furthermore what had been said about the boy is not true at all.

What can the boy do? He can just engage a lawyer and sue the accuser in the Malaysian courts. The parents has been consoling him and if everything goes well, it would be a magnanimous act on their part to forget the whole matter and move on. The sin committed will be a burden on the slanderer in this world and in the hereafter.

Those who indulge in such acts are oblivious of the fact that they are only harming themselves. They will be ridiculed and be worthless in this world. Then on the Day of Resurrection both the wrongdoer and the wronged will stand before God, Who is the Just Judge. A slanderer is an evil person and his or her testimony is rejected; that person is blacklisted and cannot be accepted as witness in the Shariah Court.

If he chose to seek justice under Shariah Law it should be under takzir; a misdemeanour committed by Muslims; crimes that are not specifically detailed on the type and form of punishment in the Quran so judges are free to punish the offender in any appropriate way. The punishment may not be more severe than the punishment of a hudud crime. But still it can range, depending on the crime or circumstances, from death to imprisonment, financial compensation to even community service. The punishment is meant to fit the crime. To redeem himself or herself of the sin committed, he or she must repent, ask for forgiveness from the victim and repent and ask forgiveness from God too.

Please note that this is entirely a different form of slander as accusing an innocent woman of adultery which specifically falls under the sub Hudud Law that is Qazaf.

Takzir crimes should be set by legislation and to clearly state the form of slander act and as mentioned in my previous article, Muslims must prepare these documents comprehensively before implementing the Shariah Law in Malaysia.

Does it mean that all forms of slander are not allowed in Islam? Some situations allow us to inform others of what someone has done. It is allowed for us to inform the authorities when someone does injustice to us or others. It is allowed for us to inform someone who can help a perpetrator from committing further vice. It is also permissible for us to tell whoever seeks our advice on a person for business dealings or marriage. In this case it is not allowed for us to hide what we know about the person so that the enquirer will not be deceived. All these are lawful.

* Nawawi Mohamad reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

The Malaysian Insider :: Side Views

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Where will the MCA president contest?

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 04:00 AM PDT

A few days ago we heard the plans by the MCA president to contest in the next GE. He hasn't decided where to context profes! sing hum ility that even though he's president and a winnable candidate, he can't impose his will anywhere. So where will CSL contest now that he has revealed that 3 MBs of Johore, Perak and Negeri Sembilan have offered him seats to contest?

It's difficult to believe by that admission; it's also true that the MCA president hasn't got a place to contest. How is that possible when he has declared, or self-declared that he is a winnable candidate? The more important question here is MCA a winnable party?

In a speech celebrating the oncoming Deepavali celebrations, Chua declared that he has received invitations from the MBs of Johor, Perak and Negeri Sembilan to contest. The speech made in Seremban is significant in several aspects.

For it was in Seremban in 1982, the MCA presiden then, Lee San Choon contested in Seremban against the then DAP chairman, Dr Chen Man Hing. Lee San Choon won after MCA and BN spent millions of Ringgit directly inducing voters to vote for the MCA president. That was the costliest victory won by an MCA president. MCA literally went on a spending free on that day- it bought everyone it can shove money to. Malay votes were delivered by the usual suspects of political wheeler dealers. The contest was dubbed as the clash of the Chinese Titans.

Cua Soi Lek must be thinking that it's possible for him to repeat that feat. He is now the MCA president. But one ingredient to that thinking is missing- the men representing his opponent in Chinese leadership are not standing in Seremban. Lim Guan Eng is in Penang and Lim Kit Siang is in Perak. So for CSL to repeat the feat of a former MCA president he has to choose a battleground where his appropriate opponent stands.

That was what the contest between Lee San Choon and Chen Man Hing represented. It represented not only a contest between money power of the MCA and the dogged determination of D! r Chen; it was in reality, a contest to earn the bragging rights as to who is the leader of the Chinese community. Lee San Choon was out to prove that there can only be one tiger on top of the mountain.

To me then, CSL must retrace the steps taken by Lee San Choon in its entirety. He must stand in a place where he will contest against a worthy opponent. Now is the time to show his much talked about strength in character. That can only be proven if he either takes on Lim Kit Siang or Lim Guan Eng. That clash will prove once and for all, which Chinese leader is more relevant to the community presently.

Let us write in to support the idea for CSL to fight either Kit Siang or Guan Eng. We want to see the much fabled aggressiveness of CSL on a different ~~bed~~ stage. If he insists that he must contest against his equivalent as party president, he can opt to contest against the indomitable Karpal Singh, the DAP chairman.

But the idea of CSL contesting in Seremban is also titillating; if CSL chooses to do battle in Seremban, now is the time for the Seremban folks to redeem what their predecessors did in 1982. Let the Seremban folks give CSL the biggest blow-job ever!

Posted by sakmongkol AK47

Nightwoods - By Charles Frazier - Book Review

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:30 AM PDT

Among James Fenimore Cooper's many literary offenses, Mark Twain charged, was "surplusage." The word's undue thickness perfectly matches its meaning. It also feels of a piece with Cooper's own prose, and likewise Charles Frazier's: elegantly archaic-sounding, rough-cut and contrived.

Such artifice was both praised and panned in Frazier's previous novels, "Cold Mountain" and "Thirteen Moons," which featured archetypal structures, self-consciously literary effects and studiously historical details. At their best, these books offer powerful sequences, in Homeric and Virgilian patterns, about thoughtful men and brave women trying to make sense of traumatic, large-scale events — the Civil War, the Trail of Tears — as they unfold in their private lives and relationships. At their worst, these books offer something more like baroque costume drama starring hothouse Southerners with M.F.A.'s: their words and interior lives are so incessantly stylized and exquisitely evoked that they come across less as believable people than as literary confections straight out of Willy Wonka's Faulkner Factory.

"Nightwoods," Frazier's new novel, is a departure from its predecessors in some respects. It's set in the early 1960s rather than the 19th century, and it involves no literary or historical elements of comparable grandeur and gravity. Indeed, based on its premise, the new book feels remarkably stripped down: a young woman named Luce, the caretaker of an old lodge in small-town North Carolina, becomes the guardian of the twin children of her murdered sister. In turn, she must defend them from Bud, their former stepfather, who killed their mother while they watched, and who believes the traumatized children know the location of some stolen money. As a setup, this promises suspense and mystery, to which Frazier adds family tension (when Luce's lawman-cum-drug-addict father buddies up with Bud) and romance (after the shy, handsome grandson of the lodge's deceased owner visits his inheritance and falls for Luce).

It's too bad the writing gets in the way of the storytelling — or, to be truer to Frazier, it's plangently unfortunate the writing style gets all up and troublesome-like in the whisper-leaved way of the true and fine telling of this terrible and valiant tale of priapic violence and distaff recompense. A little girl doesn't hurt her nose, she "pierced the wing of her nostril." Bottles don't spill or break, they are left "shattering with spewing concussion" and falling "in festive breakage." Furniture doesn't just age with time and use, but instead is "buffed to a pale silver nub by many decades of buttocks." Writing that invites this much attention, that so strives to concentrate our attention on its effects, has to achieve more than precious and overwrought evocation.

Likewise when Frazier draws on history, it's only for period details: we learn the names of the car magazines and cigarette brands and pinball machines and endless other such items you could find in small-town North Carolina in the early 1960s, but nothing of lunch-counter protests or Freedom Riders or the Civil Rights movement, which must have been making at least faint noises even in the most remote reaches of the state. To conjure a specific time and place in its material charms but effectively ignore its most significant human complexities is thin verisimilitude, if not cheap ornamentalism.

But as the novel is drawing to a close, Frazier finally tells a straight-up good story. The children run off to the woods, where they must survive by their wits, with Luce and Bud racing to find them, only to square off against each other. Decorous prose and rank imagery also surround the stronger work here, though without overwhelming it. In fact, the final pages of "Nightwoods" make for some enjoyable reading, provided your imagination and spirits haven't already been flattened by all those decades of buttocks Frazier has surplusaged at us.

Randy Boyagoda's second novel, "Beggar's Feast," was recently published in Canada. He is a professor of American Studies at Ryerson University, and is writing a biography of Richard John Neuhaus.

more sex please , we're Malaysians ! ( pt.2 )

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:30 AM PDT

Saturday October 22, 2011

PETALING JAYA: The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) stirred up fresh controversy when its founder claimed that spiritually, a man can have sex with all his wives simultaneously.
Here we go again......sigh ! Sex, sex and more sex ! What a way to run a country ! Sex seem to be uppermost in her list of priorities in this trying times ! (see my earlier post here )

Club founder Hatijah Aam, who is also the author of the controversial book Seks Islam Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Sex in Islam Wage War Against Jews To Return Islamic Sex To The World), said that when a man reached the highest spiritual level, "he can appear in multiple apparitions and have sex with his wives even though they are in separate locations".
...yaaah...right you pervert ! He'd be out there masturbating thinking of his many wives !

"We never said that a man can have an orgy with all his wives on the same bed.

Ohhhhh what a spoilt-sport this woman turns out to be, coming out with this new defensive denial ! Just when I was contemplating conversion ......sigh !

"That is not allowed.

And why not....everything else screams of pure lustful sex, no ?

"What we meant is when a man has reached the highest spiritual level, he will be granted the ability to have sex with his wives spiritually," she said.

For God's sake get real woman ! Which planet are you from ?

"This is how men who were at war in the past satisfied their needs," she said at a press conference here yesterday from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, via Skype.

Hey moron.....those babarians raped every child, women and camel they laid their eyes on !

The club is going ahead with the global launch of the controversial sex guide despite protests from women's groups.Hatijah said the book would soon be launched globally in countries where OWCs have already been set up, including Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Britain and France.

This sex starved "prostitute's" ( I'm using her term from an earlier declaration on why women need to be prostitutes in bed when satisfying their husbands ) making the Kamasutra look like a Mills & Boon romance novel, yes ?

However, the club does not intend to launch the book in Malaysia.

This "brain-drain" of launching her book elsewhere is most encouraged....we have a country to run !

"The book was meant to be circulated among our members only.

Members ?......forgot to mention sex starved cult members, aye ? Are our women that hard-up of sex ? What am I missing here ?

"We knew that the public's reaction to the book would be negative because they do not understand the concept," said Hatijah, who is also the wife of late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad.

What concept my dear horny Hatijah ? The concept of plain wanton sex cloaked as a religious act ? If multi-partner sex orgies was religious all porno stars will ! surely g o to heaven....and your late and randy hubby will surely be still having "spiritual sex" from his grave....ahah !

Women's groups like Sisters in Islam, All Women's Action Society and the Women's Aid Organisation described the book as a cheap publicity stunt designed to raise the profile of the club.

Hatijah defended the importance of the detailed sex guide on grounds that sex is God's gift to married couples and they should be educated on the ways to approach it.

And orgies are the devils creation which I'd happily and readily partake in....woot woot !

"Sex is the main reason people get married. And in a wa! y, the c limax is like heaven on earth," said Hatijah.

hahahaha.....sex WAS the main reason you got married you nympho ! Just what is this woman smoking, huh ? I'd like some too !

She also explained that like praying, sex between married couples was also a pious act.

"So, why can't we teach people how to do that in a pure way?" she asked.

Somebody hold her down.....it's a gang-bang !

POSTED BY SHANGHAISTEPHEN

Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul? – Episode 13

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

I had discontinued the Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul series a few months ago. Sometimes I felt that I was being cruel calling people Bodoh, Bangang or Bahlul. However, many things that happened over the past week made me realize that dumb people are survivors. They will survive any form of ridicule, lacerations, criticisms, etc. – heck they will even survive a thermonuclear war. They are here to stay. So, reluctantly, I forced myself to revive the BBB series.

The BBB series continue – this time starring a multitude of actors ranging from a Christian preacher to Malaysian COW to Indonesian protestors and PAS members.

Christian radio group predicts end of the world

An Oakland-based Christian radio group that predicted the end of the world in May said it did its math wrong –- and rapture is now expected to occur Friday.

Preacher Harold Camping's Family Radio International posted a special message on its website on Thursday with a lengthy explanation about the Day of Judgment, which is expected to last five months. That "Day of Judgment" began on May 21 -– the date Camping had predicted as the end of the world, the website said. But it is now expected to last through Oct. 21.

Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul ?

Read the rest of the story here.

A man can have spiritual sex with all his wives simultaneously

The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) stirred up fresh controversy when its founder claimed that spiritually, a man can have sex with all his wives simultaneously. Club founder Hatijah Aam, who is also the author of the controversial book Seks Islam – Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Sex in Islam – Wage War Against Jews To Return Islamic Sex To The World), said that when a man reached t! he highe st spiritual level, "he can appear in multiple apparitions and have sex with his wives even though they are in separate locations".

Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul ?

Read the rest of the story here

Malaysia stole Indonesia's land ?

For two days last week, a bunch of Indonesians protested over an allegation by an Indonesian MP that Malaysia had illegally taken 1,500ha of Indonesian land in Camar Bulan in northern Kalimantan and 800m of coastline in Tanjung Datu bordering Sarawak. The allegation came from no ordinary MP, but a retired army major general, TB Hassanudin, the deputy head of the parliamentary defence and foreign affairs commission. Despite there being no evidence, the group persisted in protesting.

Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul ?

Read the rest of the story here

Snoop squads to spy on women

KOTA BARU: A PAS representative has suggested the formation of volunteer snoop squads to spy on workers at business premises who fail to adhere to the local councils by-laws requiring them to wear the proper clothing. Ahmad Baihaki Atiqullah (PAS-Pasir Tumbuh) said such squads were needed as the councils were short of enforcement officers to check on those flouting the by-laws. (Note : many PAS fellows have had a long history of obssession with women's clothing)

Bodoh, Bangang atau Bahlul ?

Read the rest of the story here

Monyet King also says
Sometimes I wonder whether we are living in the 21st century or in the Stone Age.

Anti-Christianisation rally fizzles out with poor turnout

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

Some of the rally participants holding up their opinion during the Himpun rally at Shah Alam Stadium, Selangor October 22 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May

In contrast to the usual packed seats for Selangor's home football games, Himpunan Sejuta Umat supporters barely weighed down the bleachers despite heavy publicity in the press throughout the week.

The poor showing forced organisers to start the rally at 3.40pm, more than 90 minutes after it was scheduled to begin, to allow latecomers trickling in to boost turnout.

"We hope this will inspire bravery in ourselves and our leaders that will drive change in laws, policies... and the attitudes (of Malaysians), especially among those who continue to convert Muslims," Himpun co-chairman Dr Yusri Mohamad said.

Deputy Minister: Withdraw Aziz Bari suspension...

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

Deputy Minister of Higher Education Saifuddin Abdullah today advised the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) rector to retract the controversial suspension of law professor Abdul Aziz Bari.

Malaysiakini sighted his text message to Zaleha Kamaruddin in which he described the suspension as "detrimental".

"Whatever (the reasons for the action), it is still morally and intellectually wrong (as) Aziz has not been found guilty.

"I hope you withdraw the suspension and not take action against the students who demonstrated against the suspension yesterday," he said.

When contacted, the deputy minister (right) confirmed the veracity of the SMS.

"Yes, the (SMS) is mine. I sent it to her this morning," he said.

On Thursday UIA not onlysuspended Aziz from his lecturing duties but also revoked his access to UIA for comments made over the Selangor sultan's recent decree on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church controversy.

He had described the decree as "unusual" and "inconsistent", stating that any such royal intervention must abide by the principles of Islam.

'Rector contradictory'

When contacted today, Aziz said that Zaleha's public statements in the past few days have been "conflicting and contradictory" to the university's show cause letter.

"I was shocked when reading what she had said this morning. She was reported by the media to say that my suspension is for seven days (from Oct 19 to 25).

"But the letter states that I have to respond to the show cause letter on Oct 2! 5, and t hat the suspension is indefinite," he toldMalaysiakini.

The media had quoted Zaleha (right) saying making the statement at a press conference yesterday, justifying the university's decision to suspend the academic pending investigation.

Aziz also refuted the rector's claim that he was never restricted from entering the UIA campus.

"The letter specifically states that I will need permission from the dean to enter the faculty," he said, adding that UIA had also copied the letter to the university's security department.

The law professor added that by varying the terms and conditions of the action taken against him, the university is also jeopardising their legal position.

"They cannot just change the terms without informing me," he said, adding that his lawyer will issue a statement on the matter.

He also lamented that Zaleha's comments are also "defamatory" to him, as it implies that he has been making untruthful statements in the media about the university.

Asked on the student protest(left) and the slew of support received from colleagues from the academic and legal fraternity, as well as from politicians, Abdul Aziz said the response has been "touching".

"I feel encouraged. I believe this is a watershed moment, where an academic's suspension has erupted in protests," he said.

source:malaysiakini!

Timbalan Menteri: Tarik balik penggantungan Aziz Bari

cheers.

Posted by ali allah ditta

Guan Eng takes Shahrizat to task over attacks against his son

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

MCA and hudud: Part 3

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

By Stanley Koh
October 21, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

Few will disagree that politicians are often trapped in history and history in them. MCA politicians should take heed. Unfortunately, when they throw stones at their rivals, they often forget that they live in a house of glass.

When in 1993 the Kelantan government proposed the law allowing hudud punishments, the two Umno representatives in the state assembly supported it. The law, formally called the Syariah Criminal Code (11) Enactment 1993, was passed in November of that year.

There was no public outcry and the MCA leadership did not threaten to leave Barisan Nasional. The only justification for the silence was that the then prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had already objected to the passing of the bill.

Fast forward to the present. MCA President Dr Chua Soi Lek recently said he would pull his party out of BN if its political master, Umno, ever decided to impose hudud. Is he in fact trying to rehash the anti-hudud position that his party took during the campaign for the 1999 general election? The results showed that the ruse worked.

Five years earlier, the MCA publication Guardian featured an article by Dr Ling Liong Sik, in which the then party president remarked: "The MCA has always chosen partners who are moderates and are willing to discuss. Malaysia has no room for extremists and religious fanatics."

Was he referring to PAS and hudud? The answer lies somewhere in a subsequent sentence: "The DAP, being a party of opportunistic bankrupt politicians who are constantly criticising for the sake of criticism, are a threat to the wellbeing of all Malaysians. I am grateful the hudud law issue has exposed the DAP."

Taliban types

At the MCA-organised forum in 2001, held soon after Mahathir declared Malaysia an Islamic state, Abdul Hamid Othman of the Prime Minister's Department suggested that MCA should watch out for "Taliban-type" Malays. "We must tell our people that we are already an Islamic state," said the prime minister's religious adviser.

He acknowledged that Mahathir's announcement might frighten the non-Muslims but explained that the idea was to prevent the emergence of the Taliban types.

Hamid in fact tried to teach MCA how to explain the issue to its constituents. He said they should be told that the Malaysian-style Islamic state would be based on locally established traditions and practices as well as universal practices suitable for Malaysians. These would be unlike the practices associated with such countries as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which were, according to him, based on local traditions and not necessarily Islamic.

He noted that while men and women were segregated at Saudi airports, for instance, there was no such segregation inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Zainah Anwar, the executive director of Sisters in Islam, spoke at length on the impact of Islam on legal and political systems and the concerns it raises.

Among other things, she said: "Islam 1,400 years ago granted women equal rights unheard of in other religions and societies—the right to divorce, rights of ownership and disposal of property, dowries and the banning of female infanticide.

"We believe that our fellow Malaysians who are non-Muslims have the right to seek clarification, understanding and to express their concerns, their confusion in these uncertain and difficult times as to what is going on in the Muslim world in general."

She said one of the main concerns of her movement was the "injustice and discrimination" against Muslim women at the hands of religious authorities.

"The challenge for us today, and in many Muslim countries, is the main political conflict—not so much between Muslims and others, but rather among Muslims with contending visions of Islam and the shape of the nation state. And in this battle on what is Islam and who practices the right Islam, it is the status of women that is the first casualty.

"Hence, it is not surprising that in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Eqypt, Iran, Morocco and many others, Muslim women and women groups are at the forefront in challenging traditional religious authorities and governments in the use of Islam and interpretation of Islam that discriminate against women.

"For most Muslim women, rejecting religion is not an option. We are believers. As believers, we want to find liberation, truth and justice within our own faith. We feel strongly we have the right to reclaim our religion, redefine it, to participate and contribute to an understanding of Islam—how to codify and implement in ways that take into consideration the realities and experiences of our lives today."

Constitutional guarantees

Zainah's view was that the hudud provisions were discriminatory because women could not qualify as witnesses.

"The issue arises at a time when the Malaysian government, at least at the leadership level, recognises equality between men and women in this country and are responsive to calls by women groups to amend all laws discriminative against women."

She said all Malaysians, regardless of religious persuasion, had the right to enjoy the constitutional guarantees of equality.

Zainah also expressed concern that religious authorities wielded too much power.

"The process of lawmaking on matters of religion reflects the fear and ignorance of many officials and politicians on Islam," she said.

"They seem so ready and willing to abdicate their responsibilities and refuse to challenge any drafted legislation by the religious authorities no matter what the effect is. No matter if it violates the constitution, that it discriminates against women.

"In effect, many people, many Muslims equate the opinions of those in religious authority to the word of God. Therefore, they should not be challenged or questioned.

"This trend in law making—and policy making—is a reflection to me of the increasingly obscurantist trend of Islam that is taking root in Malaysia."

She argued that the continuous demand for an Islamic social order could lead to conflicts at the political, social and government levels on what should constitute "true Islam".

"We live in a country where people historically have been open to change and outside influences and fertilisation of cultures and religions, and who today can confidently embrace the challenges of change, diversity and pluralism," she said.

"We have a government that at policy level believes in equality. Therefore, the kind of Islam that evolves in Malaysia must necessarily take into consideration the rights of other citizens in a democratic state. There are realities that do not exist in many other Muslim countries.

"We are in a privileged position and in a strong position to provide a model Islamic country."

This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 October 2011, 4:42 pm and is filed under Islamic state, MCA. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.

Lim Kit Siang

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:31 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Lim Guan Eng has slammed Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil for her silence over allegations of sexual harassment levelled against his teenage son.

The Penang chief minister said today the women, family and community development minister has "failed to condemn those who lie about innocent children or use innocent children as their object of fun to score political points."

"Shahrizat's failure to reproach or condemn Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for perpetuating a lie that my 16-year-old son sexually outraged the modesty of his classmate shows that she has failed in her ministerial duty," Lim (picture) said in a statement.

The DAP secretary general urged the senator to be "pro-active and courageous" in upholding the Child Act 2001 and United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Pro-Umno bloggers had claimed that Lim's son had assaulted a 16-year-old schoolmate and tried to escape punishment by using his father's name.

Khairy had also weighed in on Monday, writing on micro-blogging site Twitter on Monday, "Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada" [Maybe he destroyed Kampung Buah Pala because he wants to replace it with Kampung Buah Dada] in response to another tweet by pro-Umno blogger PapaGomo.

Lim had denied the allegations on Tuesday, saying he was furious with the "barbaric lies" made about his teenage son by "pro-Umno ferocious beasts."

His colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have come out strongly in support of the DAP secretary-general against what they call "the lowest gutter politics" seen in decades.

Sensing growing public anger, Umno MPs have been quick to distance themselves from the allegations.

The DAP held a press conference on Wednesday claiming the photograph of the purported "victim" used by Umno bloggers was that of 21-year-old chess grandmaster Anya Sun Corke who is studying at Wellesley College in the United States.

Corke denied yesterday ever meeting or hearing of the 16-year-old schoolboy.

She said she was "shocked, dismayed and baffled" as to how her photo was used without her knowledge or consent.

Lim pointed out that the Child Act 2001 stipulates that every child is entitled to protection and assistance in all circumstances.

But no protection was afforded to his child when his photo was plastered all over the blogs and some media outlets, he said.

Furthermore, he said, this contravenes Article 16 (Protection of Privacy) of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia is a signatory, that no child should be subjected to libel or slander.

"I speak for every parent when I say we live for our children. We work to provide a better life for them. We struggle to ensure their world is better than ours. We strive to protect them from the evils of the world, especially when they are still young."

Low turnout dampens anti-apostasy rally

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:30 AM PDT

Barely 4,000 people have filled the 100,000-capacity stadium to mark the start of the assembly of a million believers.

UPDATED

SHAH ALAM: Over an hour into the Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun) and it appears that the hype has exceeded reality.

Barely 4,000 people have filled the 100,00-capacity Stadium Shah Alam and the past 90 minutes have been filled with performances by nasyid groups as the organisers wait for more seats to be filled.

Two notable names have since graced the event: Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali, and PAS Selangor executive council member Hasan Ali.

Himpun (gathering of one million believers) is being held to "defend Islam" and reject apostasy among Muslims and was mooted after the controversial raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on Aug 3.

It claims to have the backing of 200 NGOs representing four million Muslims nationwide.

Himpun's co-organiser, Mohd Yusri Mohamed, last week insisted that the rally was not anti-Christians amid rumblings of uneasiness that it could spark further racial tensions.

The organisers today kept to their word after learning that a group not associated with Himpun was distributing a booklet entitled "Siapa Bertanggungjawab Kristiankan Melayu Di Selangor" (Who Is Responsible for Christianising Muslims In Selangor?).

One of them, Badrul Sani, ordered the booklets confiscated and the distributors reported to the authorities.

"This is a peaceful rally!" he thundered. "We will not allow any unauthorised material to tarnish this rally."

1 Million In Charge March

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:30 AM PDT

So the number game is out again on who can muster the largest number to show their power or at least tell others they got the majority to do what they like.

The Himpun rally today is about...er.... defending an official religion... saving souls... humiliating other religions...insecure people...a political infiltrated and infected cause...UMNO infected...PKR tacit support... living up to world democracy preaching...openness of the government...freedom of association...Saturday stroll in the park...peaceful...protect God...show who is in charge?

Perhaps they are all those above or none of the above.

But we are told it is to defend someone's God, believers and nothing to do with threatening anyone's pagan belief. You see if you think yourself having the true God and true or THE religion, others are false gods and you can't even call those religion but rather pagan worship right?

The idea conceived out of the blue or was it some Messianic voice suddenly decided to call for a gathering of his believers to feel shioksendiri huh?

Is not connected to the recent Christian gathering being accused of trying to convert their believers?

The organisers must think the rest of 26 million people who do not believe in the march as morons.

Peaceful gathering which should be allowed and so the police has every reason to issue the permit? Weren't the Church holding their peaceful gathering to help society too? Why was their gathering being rudely intruded upon while this probably will be provided escort.

Would we see FRUs, water cannon, helicoptors circulating, RELA fellos out in full force in this HIMPUN? If they are absent, it is a clear evidence the government is supporting it and bias towards other celebrations. Even a candle light gathering got them in jitters and arouse their anger and condemnation.

This 1 million is like some Saturday stroll gathering to BN government since their security apparatus (sounds like our government behaves similarly to those Ar! ab state still killing their own people, right?)

One wonders how an official sponsored religion spending billions and billions of taxpayer's ringgit for their places of worship, education system, even special institutions, special exclusive burial sites and almost unhindered application of their jurisprudence in a civil society can feel threatened by others who don't even have such luxuries but have to beg for some handouts and often find themselves at the mercy of religious squads!

With such humongous advantage including the security apparatus at their disposal, these 1 million feel threatened huh?

What if 1 million non Muslims request to hold a similar one at another stadium, we know what the police response will be right?

The organisers can call the gathering what they like and try and convince the other 26 million their noble intentions, they are kidding themselves, others and God, unless God is on their side no?

So why suddenly the need to remind the Muslims who's in charge and who is threatening them huh?

It's nothing about praising God really because today is not some religious festival happening to commemorate anything at all. So today's march is to remind others don't mess with this race or religion because we can do you in or away anytime, right?

So non Muslims, noone faults you if you decide to find your God at another abode. Go ahead because it's really not worth your sacrifices, pay taxes and what not and still feel you are treated like second class citizens or third actually as the illegals are given even more care and attention than you!

Today is a march of the I's. Islam is in charge, I am a Muslim, I have every right to convert others, I will make sure anyone who touches one of my brothers or leave the flock will be condemned, punished and this right is even blessed by the Almighty it seems!

Injustice in treating and threatening the rights of others?

And a march of the Insane, Insecure and Insincere too huh?

When BolehL! and lead ers including 1Malaysia proclaims to the world and even the Arab nations, it is a model Islamic state there is really so much truth in it. The only thing is it is a MODEL to show how religion and those who use religion will bring about a failed nation. Now isn't BolehLand a good history learning lesson MODEL on how its social engineering policies will lead the nation to, and what not to do if you don't want you country to be in the state it is today.

Considering a country that wants to wipe off its history and write a new one, today's supposedly 1 million march is itself a history lesson. It is a history lesson of these fellows living out the actions of ancient behaviour that history has shown those who use religion has always ended in some of the great conflicts that have caused men to kill each other in the name of God. And as in all revolutions, it starts with a march, no?

Welcome to BolehLand, Truly seeing history in action, i.e. where living a past historical event happens every day in this modern era. Check out the calendars that are officially accepted in BolehLand - there is a Gregorian as well as an Islamic one. Tells very much who is in charge right?

YAHMEH!!!

MCA and hudud: Final part

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:30 AM PDT

By Stanley Koh
October 22, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

At a 2006 forum to discuss problems that non-Muslims face as Malaysian officialdom continues to assert the predominance of Islam in the country, a prominent scholar acknowledged – "with "sadness", he said – that there was great confusion about the religion, especially among Muslims themselves.

Syed Ali Tawfik al-Attas, director-general of the Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim), said that Muslim administrators and Islamic activists generally had a poor understanding of the Islamic view of "knowledge" even as they examined the religion with a fine-tooth comb.

"That is the problem with the Muslim world," he declared.

He explained that in Islamic scholarship, knowledge is generally separated into three types: interpretation of the meaning of what is perceived, revealed knowledge, and derived knowledge that is beneficial. This effectively means that non-beneficial knowledge is not construed as knowledge.

He stressed the importance of having the correct understanding of such terminologies as "freedom", "democracy" and "Islamisation" and the equal importance of recognising that they were open to different conceptualisations.

Citing an example, he said the word the Arabs use for "democracy" could be translated as "preservation of the mind", which implies a wealth of meanings.

"Yet, this preservation is today limited to halal-haram issues," he said, adding that this was one symptom of "the truncation and tragedy of Islam".

The forum that Syed Ali addressed, which was organised by a group of think-tanks, shed much light on issues raised during the 2001 forum that MCA held following Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration that Malaysia was an Islamic state.

Many of those issues centred around the unhappiness of non-Muslims with the arrogance of the civil service in deciding on and implementing policies that affected the religious practices of non-Muslims.

Syed Ali's presentation made it quite clear that such arrogance was born of ignorance.

The Moorthy controversy

Referring to the case of Everest climber Maniam Moorthy, who died in 2005 and was buried as a Muslim in the face of his family's objections, Syed Ali said it would not have been such a big issue if the officials in charge had been more knowledgeable and less arrogant.

He explained that in Islam it does not matter where one is buried. He said the Moorthy controversy illustrated how it was the mind of Muslims, and not Islam itself, that was limited.

At the MCA forum, representatives from the Inter-Religious Council of Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism spoke of difficulties in getting approval for land on which to build places of worship and even for the renovation of those places.

Rev Wong Kheng Kong said civil servants carried out their work with a clear bias for Islam instead of sticking to the constitutional provisions on religious rights. He feared that Mahathir's declaration would make matters worse.

"There is a need to have an absolute definition of the declaration," Wong said. "Otherwise, things will be up to the whims and fancies of people in power. There will be problems. Civil servants are already interpreting the laws with an Islamic bias. For example, no other building can be taller than a mosque."

He cited various other problems faced by non-Muslims, including their having to adhere to Islamic norms in attire and the preparation of food.

Hachenran Singh, who represented the Sikhs in the inter-religious council, lamented that non-Muslims under an Islamic state would be considered "protected persons" instead of "full citizens".

A representative for the Hindus complained that non-Muslims were not allowed to practise Syariah law even if they had the qualification.

Shad Saleem Faruqi of Universiti Teknologi Mara advised non-Muslims to seek judicial reviews if they felt they had been victimised by overzealous civil servants.

"Civil servants must give reasons for their decisions," he said. "If the reasons are frivolous, I think a judicial review is possible."

Abdul Hamid Othman of the Prime Minister's Department said the government was aware that some administrators suffered from an excess of zeal. He claimed that there had been occasions when the Prime Minister stepped in personally to ensure the release of funds allocated for non-Muslim houses of worship.

"When we talk about the Islamic state, the most important thing is administration of the lives of citizens," he said. Essentially, he explained, an Islamic government has a duty towards God to ensure that it administers with justice for everyone.

Political purpose

Several speakers at the MCA forum described Mahathir's declaration as an example of the exploitation of religion for political ends.

"If you tell us that this declaration is a joke and that the PM has made a joke because he wants just the Malay votes, then, in two months the topic will be closed," said a speaker from the inter-religious council.

"But if the government is serious in making the declaration, then I think there is a big problem.

"How come our non-Malay leaders do not have the courage – and maybe the dignity, I don't know, I hope not, but with a sense of dignity at least – to stand up and say to the PM, 'There is something wrong with the declaration'?"

Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam said there was a need for "younger voices" among Muslims to question and challenge misinterpretations of religious beliefs and practices.

Is labelling more important than ensuring a fair and equitable governance, which is what Islam espouses? Should Mahathir's declaration remind us of these words of Alice in Wonderland: "How can you make your words mean different things?"

It seems that to the MCA leadership the answer should sound like this: "Yes, you can. It depends on who is in charge."

This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 October 2011, 4:46 pm and is filed under Islamic state, MCA. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.

Lim Kit Siang

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Gutter politics or sordid politicians? — Lim Mun Fah

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:30 AM PDT

OCT 22 — Some bloggers have made accusations against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's son of sexual molestation and instead of condemning the acts, some politicians have taken the advantage to attack their political opponent. Even MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has admitted that such a phenomenon of which social values are greatly distorted is a practice of gutter politics.

However, Chua also claimed that Malaysian politicians have started practising gutter politics since the 2008 general election. He also said that the Pakatan Rakyat stands on moral high ground only when it is affected.

There is neither condemnation nor action for righteousness. He just casually blames gutter politics.

In reality, the practice of gutter politics to attack opponents can indeed be found everywhere. It is dirty and, at the same time, harmful.

Even more terribly, although some politicians knew that the rumour was groundless and the so-called victim was a foreign girl who has never been in Penang, they still took the advantage to stir up troubles or just watched with folded arms, letting the lies ferment and hurt those who are innocent.

Is it necessary to make politics so horrible?

When unscrupulousness becomes the last tool to fight the battle, when politicians who look prim and proper distort social values and even slander bully children of their opponents to fight for power and status, how many basic human norms are left in society?

When politicians set a bad example instead of a good one, what else wouldn't be done by villains in society?

Sadly, it seems like our politics is bending towards gutter politics, particularly in the Internet era when politicians can speak "freely" online. Abusive, libellous, discrediting and pornographic remarks, as well as various kinds of scandals, might be exciting but they are also confusing, causing people to be unable to distinguish between right and wrong.

As American author and humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or better known by his pen name Mark Twain, said: "A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes," the malicious objective would have been achieved while damage would have also been done before the truth is revealed.

Politics is not dirty by nature and it is some politicians who are sordid. Politics must not abandon the principles of reasoning and facts and it must pursue rationality. Once politicians abandon the basic competition rules of righteousness and fairness, and resort to dirty and nasty political means to achieve their objectives, politics would then no longer be able to manage the crowd, but harm the public instead! — mysinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

The Malaysian Insider :: Side Views

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Aliran: Action against Aziz Bari mocks Academic Freedom and Intellectual Integrity

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

October 22, 2011

www.themalaysianinsider.com

Aliran: Action against Prof. Aziz Bari is "a mockery of intellectual freedom and integrity"

Aliran is outraged by the reported suspension of the constitutional law expert, Professor Abdul Aziz Bari, of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (UIA).

His suspension comes in the wake of his publicly expressed opinion regarding the recent decree by the Sultan of Selangor over the controversial Jais raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church.

Many Malaysians share his opinion and look up to him as a brave academic who did not betray his conscience in expressing an honest opinion without fear or favour. This intellectual freedom of expression must be the hallmark of an institution of higher learning. It is rare individuals like him who inspire students to speak the truth and defend what is right. He is an asset to IIUM.

The action taken by the university against the learned professor is baffling. The university is guilty of committing a serious travesty of justice as its action amounts to a denial of the right of academics to offer their expert opinions on matters that they specialises in and are concerned about.

It is expected of the professor to share his knowledge and expertise with the rest of us. That is the primary purpose in recruiting the best lecturers to teach and mold our youngsters to be responsible citizens.

If anyone disagrees with his view, he or she should do it intellectually and in a civilised manner to enhance an understanding of the issue at hand for both the academic fraternity and the larger community. A sledgehammer such as the Sedition Act should not be used to suppress healthy discussion.

It has not been proven that his views are invalid and without merit. Malaysians should be told why his views are wrong. We should indeed start a debate to discuss this issue in a civilised manner as befitting a civil society.

Equally important, the university's action makes a mockery of the notion of intellectual freedom and integrity that a university worth its salt is supposed to promote and protect. If this important value is not protected and guarded, what is the worth of a university?

Besides, the measure of an intellectually vibrant institution of higher learning is recognised and honoured when there are open discussions, debates and dissenting opinions. The prevalence of a lacklustre follow-me mentality — symptomatic of the larger political and feudalistic culture — will be the death knell of a university.

Aliran calls upon the IIUM authorities to lift the professor's suspension immediately and cease all other similar actions that would only smear and sully the university's academic reputation.

Read More @ Source

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Where will the MCA president contest? — Sakmongkol AK47

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

OCT 22 — A few days ago we heard plans by the MCA president to contest in the next general election. He hasn't decided where to contest, professing humility that even though he's president and a winnable candidate he can't impose his will anywhere. So where will CSL contest now that he has revealed that three mentris besar of Johor, Perak and Negri Sembilan have offered him seats to contest?

It's difficult to believe by that admission; it's also true that the MCA president hasn't got a place to contest. How is that possible when he has declared, or self-declared, that he is a winnable candidate? The more important question here: is the MCA a winnable party?

In a speech celebrating the oncoming Deepavali celebrations, Chua declared that he has received invitations from the MBs of Johor, Perak and Negri Sembilan to contest. The speech made in Seremban is significant in several aspects.

For it was in Seremban in 1982 the MCA presiden then, Lee San Choon, contested in Seremban against the then DAP chairman, Dr Chen Man Hin. Lee San Choon won after the MCA and BN spent millions of ringgit directly inducing voters to vote for the MCA president. That was the costliest victory won by an MCA president. The MCA literally went on a spending free — it bought everyone it could shove money to. Malay votes were delivered by the usual suspects of political wheeler dealers. The contest was dubbed as the clash of the Chinese Titans.

Chua Soi Lek must be thinking that it's possible for him to repeat that feat. He is now the MCA president. But one ingredient to that thinking is missing — the men representing his opponent in the Chinese leadership are not standing in Seremban. Lim Guan Eng is in Penang and Lim Kit Siang is in Perak. So for CSL to repeat the feat of a former MCA president he has to choose a battleground where his appropriate opponent stands.

That was what the contest between Lee San Choon and Chen Man Hin represented. It represented not only a contest between money power of the MCA and the dogged determination of Dr Chen; it was in reality a contest to earn the bragging rights as to who is the leader of the Chinese community. Lee San Choon was out to prove that there can only be one tiger on top of the mountain.

To me then, CSL must retrace the steps taken by Lee San Choon in its entirety. He must stand in a place where he will contest against a worthy opponent. Now is the time to show his much talked about strength in character. That can only be proven if he either takes on Lim Kit Siang or Lim Guan Eng. That clash will prove once and for all which Chinese leader is more relevant to the community presently.

Let us write in to support the idea for CSL to fight either Kit Siang or Guan Eng. We want to see the much fabled aggressiveness of CSL on a different stage. If he insists that he must contest against his equivalent as party president, he can opt to contest against the indomitable Karpal Singh, the DAP chairman.

But the idea of CSL contesting in Seremban is also titillating; if CSL chooses to do battle in Seremban, now is the time for Seremban folk to redeem what their predecessors did in 1982. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

The Malaysian Insider :: Side Views

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Aziz Bari – a critical test case

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Prof Aziz Bari has become a critical test case whether Malaysia is moving towards greater democrartisation, academic excellence and enhanced International oompetitiveness or the reverse.

The suspension of Aziz by IIUM could not have come at a worse time for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's National Transformation Programme whether government, economic or political.

It has firstly thrown into doubt Najib's political will, commitment and stamina whether the Prime Minister and his administration are prepared to see through the wide-ranging government, economic, educational and political reforms without which Malaysia stands no chance of escaping from two decades of middle-income trap, overtaken by one country after another most notably Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.

Malaysia cannot expect to achieve the goal of a high-income developed nation unless and until we can produce world-class universities, not just in the eyes of Ministers but acknowledged internationally.

The failure of any Malaysian university to get into the recently-released Times Higher Education (THE) World Top 400 Universities Ranking 2011-2012 is powerful testimony that Malaysia is not doing enough to train, retain and recruit talents to transform our economy into a knowledge economy so as to restore our international competitiveness.

The suspension and persecution of Aziz Bari for expressing his views and comments will be a message to the international academic community that Malaysia is not prepared to accept and respect academic freedom resulting in worsening of brain drain of Malaysian talents and condemning the Talents Corporation to failure to attract brain gain from the Malaysian diaspora and the world intellectual resources.

Politically, Aziz's suspension has come as a slap-in-the-face for Najib's recent claim of wanting to make Malaysia 'the best democracy in the world". If Najib is sincere, then the curbs and fetters undermining academic freedom and excellence like the Universities and University Colleges Act should be repealed! But instead we have the Aziz Bari persecution – reminder that the undemocratic mentality and mindset of repression in key institutions in the country are still in full control of the levers of power despite all the sloganeering about democratization and political transformation.

Why was Aziz Bari arbitrarily suspended at variance with Najib's call for democratisatio and government, economic and political transformation? Is Najib being sabotaged from inside his party and government?

Najib's should direct that the suspension of Aziz by IIUM be revoked immediately and cause an investigation why his call for democratization and government, economic and political transformation is being flouted so blatantly by his own subordinates in government and party!

This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 October 2011, 4:51 pm and is filed under Education, university. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.

Lim Kit Siang

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Despite graft claims, Malaysia offers to fund RM9b Bangladesh bridge

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Islam itu Melayu, Melayu itu Islam

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Dear Editor,

I want to bring to your attention an article in the himpun.org website, apparently written by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ridhuan Tee Abdullah from Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia. The article contains some offensive words as follows:

1. Perhimpunan yang bertemakan "Selamatkan Akidah", secara tidak langsung mahu memberi amaran kepada bukan Islam supaya tidak mencampuri urusan orang Islam dan jangan sekali berani memurtadkan mereka.

2. Jangan biarlah negara ini menjadi Singapura yang kedua. Begitu juga dengan Pulau Pinang. Ia mesti dipertahankan sehingga titisan darah yang terakhir. Jika tidak, kita akan menyesal dan dikutuk oleh generasi akan datang kerana gagal mempertahankan kalimah yang mulia ini.

3. Apakah kita masih buta? Bagaimana populasi penduduk yang hanya 10 peratus boleh membina sebuah gereja terbesar di Asia dalam sebuah negara Islam? Tidak! cukupla h dengan pembinaan patung tertinggi di dunia di Batu Caves. Jangan ulangi kesilapan demi kesilapan.

4. Barulah ketika itu orang lain tidak berani memijak kepala kita lagi. Selamatkan akidah umat Islam!

I want your organisation to highlight this issue, which I believe it is in the public interest to so. The article also contains the following statement, which I do not see any logic:

Islam itu Melayu, Melayu itu Islam. Lebih istimewa lagi yang memeluk agama Islam, pun boleh dikira sebagai Melayu mengikut perlembagaan, walaupun bukan Melayu dari segi keturunan.

Regards,

Shamsher Singh Thind

FULL ARTICLE: Selamatkan Aqidah Umat Islam

(Source: http://himpun.org/selamatkan-aqidah-umat-islam)

Courtesy of Bonology.com ® Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz

Losing the race

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:30 PM PDT

OCT 22 — The topic of race is often referred to as "sensitive" in Malaysia. In other words, don't talk about it in public — and incessantly in private.

Yes, I have written about this topic before. However, even after four years in the country, it still blows my mind. Practically everything here is racialised, from religion to politics, education to food, marriage to sex, crime to opening a bank account. With great assurance, the average Malaysian can talk at length about what Malays, Chinese and Indians do and how they think.

Recently, I accompanied my Social Science class to a National Anti-Discrimination Conference organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the human rights NGO Pusat Komas in KL. This two-day conference made it clear that the issue of race is deeply embedded in the psyche of the nation and this reality is not going to change any time soon. The conference was attended by a wide variety of people from different areas of Malaysian society — NGOs, political parties, activists, etc. Some notable individuals in attendance were Irene Fernandez of Tenaganita, activist Fahmi Reza and poet Samad Said. Unfortunately, some attendees were only there to say they were there, which is a polite way of saying they were snoozing most of the time.

Overall, the conference was a positive. However, some of the panels — especially the politicians — were frustrating to observe. On the bright side, I was so proud of my students. They were asking great questions and demonstrating critical thinking, proving, even at age 18, they would make better leaders than many members of the current administration.

First, where does one begin to talk about race in a land where the talk about race never stops? Perhaps it is best to address the misconception of what "race" is all about. "Races," as they are discussed and understood in Malaysia, are incorrect. I hope we can all agree that we are all homo sapiens, members of one race or species. If we can all agree on that, then politicians can stop abusing the social construct of "different races". Granted, there are ethnic differences amongst us, but these are fluid and complex. They are not direct determinants of culture, religion, food choices, sport choice, sexuality, criminality, etc. A basic science education proves all this. Humans today have evolved from early hominids that left Africa and we all share common genes. Go back far enough, and we're all family.

But not everyone wants to be "educated". Many continue to reap the benefits of this memetic virus of ignorance and perpetuate it. Malaysia has not always been racialised. The concept of race, according to historian Dr Farish A. Noor, was introduced relatively recently with colonialism. Despite the fact Malaysia achieved independence over half a century ago, many citizens are still treated as colonial subjects by the powers-that-be. This is ridiculous. Malaysia, for all of its accomplishments, still has political parties based on racial lines. The United Malays National Organisation, the Malaysian Chinese Association, the Malaysian Indian Congress. This is laughable.

During my early days in Malaysia, I watched the unveiling of the prime minister's 1 Malaysia Campaign: an expensive public relations initiative which has confused a lot of people, and indoctrinated others to think that "the campaign" is changing how the average Malaysian views race. It seems the campaign is nothing more than pictures of children from different ethnic groups holding hands and smiling. A member of the government's 1 Malaysia team spoke at the conference. When pressed to explain what 1 Malaysia actually does, he struggled to say anything substantial.

If those in authority want to take this issue seriously, I have a few suggestions. I am not a political expert, but I am aware there have been approximately 600 amendments to Malaysia's constitution, so why not try a few more:

1. Get rid of race-based politics. It is makes a great country appear backwards. Malaysia is no longer a colonial subject!

2a. Abandon the New Economic Policy. No other country, apart from South Africa, has a race-based policy stipulating benefits for the majority. Furthermore, "Malays" do not have a situation comparable to the black population of post-apartheid South Africa. The current NEP creates unnecessary resentment between different ethnic groups and ending it will promote social cohesion.

2b. Install a merit-based policy to take the place of the NEP. Provide assistance in education, employment and housing to any Malaysian who truly needs it. By using need instead of race, this new policy will help to de-racialise Malaysia.

3. Abandon 1 Malaysia. Take that money and inject it into programmes like Chow Kit Kita, Food Not Bombs, Stop Motion Project and other grassroots action projects. These art, living, women-empowerment, sexuality and sports programmes are what make Malaysia great and will continue to bring people from different ethnic backgrounds together.

4. Race should not and cannot determine who we are and what we think. People of the race "Malay" in the context of Malaysia are legally born "Muslim" and cannot leave Islam. Malays and non-Malays in Malaysia grow-up indoctrinated with the idea that to be Malay is to be Muslim. This unnaturally creates the idea that race DOES determine other factors like religion, culture, food preferences, language etc. Giving all peoples in the country freedom of religion would help de-racialise Malaysia.

5. Remove "race" from all forms! Unless ethnicity is relevant to the form being filled out, do away with it. Aku Bangsa Malaysia!

Malaysians need to say "enough!" to the way things are done. Those in charge won't do anything until voters make it clear that things must change. For the last 50 years, Malaysians have been buying race-based politics. It is time for Malaysian consumers to demand a better and more logical product. The current product is not meeting the people's needs. We rush out and buy the latest gadget because it can do one task slightly better than the old one, yet we keep buying obsolete politics.

It is important to emphasise that I don't think this race obsession has anything to do with the average citizen. The average citizen just wants to earn an honest living, take care of friends and family, and feel free from outside threats. Solving the threat of ethnic tension would be a welcomed change. The problem surrounding race in Malaysia is a top-down phenomenon. I believe the situation can be greatly improved if those in power take this issue seriously.

Now I await the comments of readers. Many will say I'm preaching to the choir, but perhaps will offer additional solutions. Others will just look at my profile picture and tell me I have no business, as an outsider, talking about Malaysian issues. Such comments only prove my point, so I welcome such feedback. I can imagine a better future for all of Malaysia's peoples.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.