WHEN BERSIH TURNS KOTOR

Democracy in Malaysia was successfully introduced to the entire world last Saturday. This historical event is greatly contributed by the country’s Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was too busy with his work to the extent that he had forgotten his promise of permitting BERSIH 2.0 to be held in Independence Stadium (Stadium Merdeka), after his meeting with the King and the BERSIH 2.0 committee.

From the rally, citizens could witness how effectively the Malaysian Royal Police or Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) were being utilized to assist the crowd by shutting down the capital city Kuala Lumpur with roadblocks and setting up check points to ensure public safety. Besides, the friendly and caring police forces gathered them together in one place and fired tear gas canisters and chemical-laced water from all directions to guide the huge crowd to follow the correct route to the stadium on that day.

Unfortunately, according to local newspapers such as Utusan Malaysia, The Star, New Straits Times and China Press, there were many stubborn demonstrators who disobeyed the law and fought against the authorities. The newspapers further illustrated and explained that the police’s brutal actions were merely counteraction against the offensive public who refused to be arrested. These brave and responsible police, whom we can hardly see their competency, could handle difficult situation such as firing tear gas canisters into Tung Shin hospital precinct without causing any harm to the patients and arrested protesters who hid themselves in the hospital (Perhaps the police were afraid that the patients in the hospital might be taken as hostages). This proved the Malaysian Royal Police’s intelligence in justifying the complex scenario, which takes arresting the ‘terrorists’ as the primary task(patients' health is secondary). What a wise decision to make!

Despite the numerous injuries and a death caused by the unreasonably overreacted measures and actions taken against the peaceful rally, Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein proudly praised the police for carrying their duties efficiently and had successfully minimized the chaos from outburst. Moreover, the Prime Minister kindly mocked at the rally, claiming that it was just a minority of people who turned out that day. He added that this group of people cannot reflect the majority who yearn to reform electoral system, but the interesting thing is that his talent of acting was clearly shown when he publicly laughed the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who suffered from injuries caused by the tear gas, imitating the way he groaned in agony with compassion.

However, Najib’s effort of promoting democracy and human rights was not appreciated by the public, as well as international organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which wrote him a joint letter to voice their dissatisfaction on Najib’s ways of handling this peaceful rally 'peacefully'. They considered all these actions taken to counter the peaceful protest as unnecessary and totally uncalled-for, as it is not political motivated to topple the ruling government as mentioned by the BN politicians. It is completely unreasonable as some activists were detained under the Emergency Ordinance for ‘waging war against the King’.

Again, Malaysia has earned its fame globally, in terms of its counter-terrorism and respecting democracy as well as human rights, and this further helps to promote tourism in Malaysia. Today, I believe the public can understand why Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen claimed that the ‘Cuti-cuti Malaysia’ Facebook page costs RM 1.8 million.

That is the voice of the people.

BERSIH 2.0

In conjunction with the BERSIH 2.0 event, this blog is now officially relaunched to view the latest political arena in Malaysia. Firstly, why BERSIH? The answer is simple, because it’s KOTOR!

Many of us believe that BERSIH 2.0 will remind us of what happened on the 10th of November 2007, when the Bersih Rally was first held in Kuala Lumpur (Dataran Merdeka and Istana Negara). The peace rally, organized by the NGOs and Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance – PKR, DAP and PAS) which was meant for good – aiming to reform the electoral process in Malaysia was proudly declared illegal, and worse still, the unarmed patriots, the innocence were treated well by the ruling government (Barisan Nasional) when the Malaysian riot police, or the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) served them with tear gas and chemical burst. This special response team, which supposed to be deployed to counter any emergency and public unrest were effectively used by the government to promote ‘democracy, Malaysian style’, as reported by Al-Jazeera English, an international 24-hour English news based in the middle east.

From the Youtube video showing the phone interview entitled ‘Menteri Bodoh Zainuddin jawab Aljazeera’, we can see the wisdom of the country’s Information Minister at that time, Zainuddin Maidin, as he proudly claimed that there’s democracy in the country when BERSIH was illegalized and the participants were dispersed with tear gas and water. This smart former chief editor of Utusan Malaysia (Malaysian Courier)- the so-called ‘penyebar fikiran rakyat’ (some call it ‘pencemar fikiran rakyat’), the most popular Malay language pro-government newspapers in Malaysia due to its truthful, reliable and independent news, had again successfully embarrassed the country by mocking at the Al Jazeera for taking the source of news from the opposition and not the government. He further added that it was unnecessary to hold the rally for the electoral system in Malaysia is clean enough to be relied on. As a result of the mass arrest and prosecutions done by the authorities, the Barisan Nasional government created a memorable history in Malaysia by losing its 2/3 majority in the general elections 2008, securing only 57% of the popular votes.

Tomorrow, 9th of July 2011, BERSIH 2.0 will be held officially, not just in Malaysia, but also throughout the world (United Kingdom, United States of America, Scotland, Ireland, France, Cabana, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and etc.) Despite the support, assistance and effort provided by the ruling government, such as demonizing the peace rally and its organizers Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and the committee members for being rebellious to the King and the country, accusing the opposition for attempting to overthrow the government through riots, banning the 91 influential figures from entering Kuala Lumpur, ‘protecting’ citizens with yellow shirts in police stations, having the police to set up roadblocks to smoothen the traffic flow and even sending 'encouraging' emails to the students (JPA scholars) in oversea, our Malaysian society has given good respond to participate in the gathering.

Many may question the possible result that may unlikely to take place after the event, in terms of bringing best benefit to the public and the country. However, what is more critical to us to understand is the importance of maintaining good governance in a country, in terms of credibility, accountability and transparency (CAT). Thus, we must not underestimate every single vote in our hands, for it is the collective power formed by every citizen that determines the bright future of a country. Every citizen has the right to voice out the weakness and shortcomings in government’s administration as it is indeed the citizens’ rights to decide the best for them and their children.

Some wise BN politicians gently ‘advised’ citizens not to be tooled and be fooled by the oppositions to grab the country’s administrative power, but are we ready to be used by the present authorities for a better country with ‘clean’ politicians and corruption-free government, promoting the freedom of speech and rights with Internal Security Act (ISA), respecting the freedom of press by acquiring the ownerships of all the main stream medias such as newspapers and televisions channels in Malaysia? Remember, the first BERSIH was able to attract more than 30000 Malaysians and tomorrow, BERSIH 2.0 is expected to draw more than 100000 patriots.

We are not alone, just that if you are attending this event in Malaysia, you must be extra careful, lest you may end up in police lockup, hospital intensive care unit (ICU) or …

Last but not least, have you registered as a voter?

“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” - John Dalberg-Acton

That is the voice of the people.

GAS EFFECT

GAS(Gerakan Anti Samy) or the Anti-Samy movement was carried out smoothly with low turnout, which was approximately 3500 members only. However, their spirit and determination is so strong that they are willing to face any disciplinary action without fear in order to voice out their dissatisfaction to the longest-serving MIC president, S. Samy Vellu. As we all know, this movement was raised by the former MIC deputy youth chief, V Mugilan, who was sacked just because of requesting the party president to resign immediately. His action was supported by a few central committee members who were then expelled from the party for the same reason.

Samy Vellu, the MIC legendary has served as the party president for 31 years since 1979, after the death of the former MIC president, V. Manickavasagam. Meanwhile, he has been a Member of Parliament for 36 years and served as a Cabinet Minister for more than 30 years as well, and all these had already clearly stated in The Malaysia Books of Records. In fact, his fellow comrades, Dr. Mahathir, Dr. Ling Liong Sik, Dr. Lim Keng Yaik had already stepped down from their own political parties and are now enjoying their lives after retirement. Hence, he can be considered the very last man who refuses to resign even after he lost his nickname ‘Lion of Sungai Siput’ in the 2008 General Elections.

If we look back to the history of the MIC, Samy Vellu was similar to Mugilan today, an energetic and young politician who used to defend the interest of the party for a better future. Nonetheless, the response that they got from this honourable old man was ‘I will resign earlier if I was given another post outside the party’. Before that, this experienced and capable politician had already predicted all these incidents said, ‘I will not be a fool. I will eliminate those who destroy the party’.

Now, the question is - Who is jeopardizing the MIC ? I believe the MIC members know the answer.

That is the voice of the people.

津贴危机

我国国阵政府终于在诗巫国会议席蝉联失败后，打破沉默，为大马人民烧来一个天大的好消息-那就是在不久的将来在各种政府的补贴上逐一减少，甚至是取消一些领域的津贴。根据首相署部长依德利斯贾拉所说，若不减少补贴，9年后的马来西亚将会面临高达11580亿令吉的国债而破产，步上希腊的后尘，搞不好还要落魄到要向国际货币基金(IMF)伸手要钱的地步。听到此话一出，大家都在担心事情的严重性。

依德利斯贾拉是何等人物？他的话到底有多少份量？我相信大家都还记得他曾经是鼎鼎大名的马航前首席执行员。他虽然在位不久，但却以惊人的魄力将曾经荣获世界模范航空公司美誉的马航转亏为盈，成为轰动一时的佳话。因此，许多人都认为他的话具备一定的可靠性。谈到补贴调整的利与弊，我相信大家都通过报章和网络媒体看得一清二楚。不过我相信大家的心里与我有一样的问题。

之前也是财政部长的首相纳吉不是高调地说马来西亚的经济成长率不是大幅度地提高了吗？他不是说到大马有望成为高收入的先进国吗？他不是慷慨地分别在乌雪派了3百万令吉帮助华小与诗巫承诺了5百万令吉来治水吗？他的下属-马华女强人黄燕燕医生不是在中国砸了几千万令吉来建造一个“夜市型”(Pasar Malam Style)的米南加保(Minangkabau)世博馆来响应今年以主题“城市，让生活更美好”的上海世博吗？这些钱从何得来？这一系列的动作不都显示了大马傲人的财富吗？

有人说，若政府落实这些新的补贴机制，这将会是纳吉担任大马首相的坟墓；也有人说，在施行新的津贴制度后，大马经济将会出现一番新景象。此时进展如何，这就考验纳吉的智慧了。大家拭目以待吧！

此乃人民的心声。

CERITA SIBU

Sejak bermulanya pilihanraya kecil kawasan parlimen Sibu, kita percaya bahawa semua rakyat Malaysia sudah pasti tahu bahawa wujudnya satu tempat yang dikenali sebagai Sibu. Bagi penduduk di Malaysia Timur (Sabah dan Sarawak), Sibu adalah antara bandar utama yang penting dan terkenal dalam aspek pentadbiran, pentadbiran serta pelancongan. Akan tetapi, berapa ramai orang yang betul-betul tahu tentang sejarah Sibu ?

Pada zaman 1900-an, pembangunan bandar Sibu bermula dengan kedatangan saudagar-saudagar Cina dari Foochow, China yang diketuai oleh Wong Nai Siong. Setelah beliau mengadakan perbincangan dan perjanjian dengan pihak British, iaitu Gabenor James Brooke pada masa itu, perubahan yang besar telah berlaku di Sibu sehingga bandar itu menjadi tempat yang terpenting selain Kuching dan Miri. Antara tempat yang membanggakan penduduk Sibu termasuk pasar pusat Sibu (Sibu Central Market), candi Tua Pek Kong (大伯公庙) dan papan penunjuk tempat yang mempunyai bahasa Cina.

Hari ini, kalau kita lihat keadaan Sibu,kebanyakan penduduknya masih adalah kaum Cina yang mencapai 60%, diikuti dengan kaum Iban dan Melanau. Selain itu, penduduk Sibu juga telah biasa dengan satu tradisi yang diwarisi sejak dahulu, iaitu banjir semasa hujan lebat. Pada masa yang sama, kita dapat lihat perbezaan taraf kehidupan, kesihatan dan kemudahan awam adalah sangat tinggi. Semua masalah ini dapat diselesaikan dengan serta-merta oleh Perdana Menteri kita yang berwibawa, Najib dalam insiden apabila beliau dengan murah hatinya menjanjikan RM 500,0000 kepada penduduk-penduduk Rejang Park tetapi dengan syarat Barisan Nasional menang dalam pilihanraya kecil Sibu.

Dalam perkara ini, kita tertanya-tanya tentang persoalan yang sama seperti dalam kisah Hulu Selangor.Pihak mana yang patut bertanggungjawab ? Bukankan setiap tahun kerajaan kita yang kaya akan memperuntukkan sejumlah wang kepada wakil-wakil rakyat untuk membantu memajukan kawasan masing-masing ? Mengapakah perkara yang membanggakan rakyat Malaysia ini boleh berlaku ?

Kawasan tempat terlalu besar ? Bilangan penduduk terlalu ramai ? Jumlah wang terlalu sedikit ? ‘Feng Shui’ tak baik atau Ketua Menteri Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud terlalu tua ? Saya rasa soalan-soalan ini terlalu sukar untuk dijawab.

Keputusan pilihanraya kecil Sibu sudah menjadi kenyataan, iaitu Wong Ho Leng dari DAP telah berjaya menawan semula kawasan tersebut sejak 1982 dengan memperolehi 18845undi dan Robert Lau Hui Yew dari SUPP mendapat 18447 undi. Akhirnya Kerajaan BN telah gagal menawan hati masyarakat di Sibu dengan kekurangan 398 undi, iaitu hasil daripada perbelanjaaan lebih daripada seratus juta. Tetapi apa yang saya tidak akan lupakan adalah makanan tradisi Sibu yang masih kekal sama seperti Kampua noodles(干盘面) dan Dian Mian Hu(鼎边糊). Saya berharap keadaan penduduk-penduduk di Sibu dapat berubah dan sekiranya saya berpeluang, saya pasti akan melawat ke Sibu untuk mencuba pelbagai jenis makanan tradisi ini.

PERTANDINGAN BERMULA LAGI

Nama Pertandingan : Pilihanraya Kecil
Tempat : Sibu, Sarawak
Tarikh: 8 – 16 h/b Mei 2010
Nama peserta-peserta:

UTAMA
1.Robert Lau Hui Yew (BN – SUPP)
2.Wong Ho Leng (PR – DAP)
Kedua-dua wakil ini adalah calon utama kerana mereka mendapat sokongan pihak masing-masing.
(BN- UMNO, MCA, MIC dan GERAKAN manakala PR – PKR, DAP dan PAS)

SAMPINGAN
3.Narawi Haron (bebas)
Wakil ini adalah calon sampingan kerana dia dikatakan pasti kalah.

Barisan Nasional berlawan dengan Pakatan Rakyat
Pusingan Pertama
Kedua-dua calon adalah peguam yang mempunyai latar belakang profesional.
1 : 1

Pusingan Kedua
BN mendapat sambutan daripada 3000 penyokong, berbanding dengan PR yang hanya mempunyai kira-kira 300 penyokong pada hari penamaan calon.
1 : 0

Pusingan Luar Biasa 1
Perdana Menteri kita, Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan dengan murah hatinya memberi bantuan kewangan sebanyak RM 1800,0000 kepada sekolah-sekolah yang membabitkan 60 Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (RM 10 juta) di Sibu, 5 sekolah menengah persendirian Cina Sibu (RM 5 juta), Sekolah Kebangsaan St Mary Sibu (RM 1 juta) dan Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sacred Heart Sibu (RM2 juta), berbanding dengan pemimpin-pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat yang tidak mempunyai modal politik yang begitu besar.
1 : 0

Pusingan Luar Biasa 2
Perdana Menteri Najib telah mengalahkan pemimpin-pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat sekali lagi dengan memberi bantuan kewangan sebanyak RM 3000,0000 kepada masyarakat Iban yang miskin dan menjanjikan RM 500,0000 kepada penduduk Rejang Park sekiranya BN menang.
1 : 0

Pusingan Luar Biasa 3
Kehadiran Perdana Menteri Najib telah menarik perhatian daripada lebih kurang 3000 orang manakala ceramah politik yang dianjur oleh pihak DAP berjaya mendapat perhatian daripada lebih kurang 15000 orang pada malam sebelum pilihanraya kecil.
0 : 1

Pusingan Terakhir
? : ?

Kita tunggu dan lihatlah keputusan esok.

IT'S SODOMY AGAIN

About 10 years ago, Anwar Ibrahim, our Deputy Prime Minister, was arrested and imprisoned for charges of sodomy and corruption against him. These series of actions were claimed to be political motivated as its purpose was to eliminate the increasing support and influence of Anwar in the ruling government at that time. The ‘Reformasi’ (Reformation) movement was born as to protest the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim and later, this movement by the coalition of different parties formed the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or the People’s Justice Party.

The PKR was then led by Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah, a tough and independent lady who has strong faith that one day, justice will release her husband despite many obstacles and difficulties that are unpredictable. Her dream was finally fulfilled as we could see her happiness when Anwar won in the Permatang Pauh by-election and he was appointed to be the opposition leader of the Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance), a coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS.

Today, Anwar was alleged for the sodomy trial again. This 63 year-old opposition leader was accused of sodomising his ex-political aide, a 24 year-old young man named Saiful. Despite many critiques controversial issues about this case, either nationally or internationally, the powerful prosecutors are still able to handle the professional defense counsels led by prominent criminal lawyer Karpal Singh, who is also the Chairman of the DAP. Although the defense team had tried their best to appeal and apply for the rightful evidence, they are still unable to obtain any point of advantages from the fair judge.

Looking at the current situation, many people worry that the history will repeat itself, even though they ask the same question among themselves,
'How does an old man sodomise a young man?’

That is the voice of the people.

THE PDRM

Our respective police force, Polis Di-Raja Malaysia (PDRM) or the Royal Malaysian Police Force is getting restless, not because of the increasing crime rates in our society, but it is due to self-disciplinary problem. From the incident of the 14 years old boy, Aminulrasyid Amzah, who was shot dead by a police corporal while escaping from the police, we can actually learn a few lessons,

1.) Do not drive without a license
2.) Do not try to run away from the police if you have offended any law.
3.) Do not do anything silly or unusual when you see the police.

The reason is simple because one may be shot by the police for any of the above reasons. However, we cannot really blame the police for all these. We should understand that the crime rate in Malaysia is still high, even though our IGP (Inspector General of Police) Musa Hassan had proudly announced that the KPI of our police force is reaching 113%, which is beyond the excellent level.

However, if you are still worry about your safety, you can surrender yourself whenever you meet the police on the road by following the instruction as below,

1.) Get off your car immediately
2.) Squat down quickly
3.) Put your hands on your head

We believe the above steps can secure your life.

That is the voice of the people.

非谈不可，非管不可；前线视窗，前剪后删！

我国政府果然不负众望，以尊重媒体自由、捍卫人民民主的方式成功地干涉了一系列的电视节目。从以前的《就事论事》与《你怎么说》，到今天的《非谈不可》和《前线视窗》，我国政府都显示了它尊重民意的一面。

《非谈不可》，正如之前隆雪华堂总执行长陈亚才所料，终于遭到政府“非管不可”。经验老道的他似乎已经预测到国阵政府接下来的的爱国行动。

首先是由首相署发送一则手机短讯给节目主持人李晓惠，内容如下：
“Mereka memperlekehkan KPI dan polisi BN. Memperlekehkan 1 Malaysia. Mencabar PM agar rombak besar-besaran BTN.(Biro Tata Negara). Mempertikaikan (disagree) tindakan Dato Nasir Safar sedangkan Dato Nasir telah berani meletakkan jawatan. Kor Ming dengan bangganya membangkitkan isu pemberian tanah kepada orang ramai di Perak. Wee Ka Siong gagal pertahankan isu MCA apa lagi nak pertahankan polisi UMNo dan BN. Ketua Pemuda MCA set markah 75 kepada PM dalam usaha KPI. Ada usul telus FDI dengan kurangkan kos operasi. Ada usul penilaian KPI oelh rakyat ketua jabatan sahaja.Yang sangat bahaya, dia orang minta kebebasan bersuara bermulan dengan sesi debat tadi. Makna tiada siasatan perlu dibuat, cara mereka bercakap dan membiarkan penonton bertanya soalan seolah-olah kerajaan kita ini terlalu teruk. Apa lagi cina-cina nie nak, mereka lagi kaya dari Melayu. Saya cadang kita perang jer dengan cina-cina nie…Melaru kepada semua ahli-ahli parlimen Melayu/ UMNo/MT dan semua pemimpin UMNO, wake up…mereka semakin biadap.”

接着再设下三个护国的条例，号称‘三大不可’：
1）不准讨论政治课题。
2）不准邀请反对党人士上节目，包括民主行动党国会议员潘检伟上节目讨论新经济模。
3）不准讨论原定在4月22日的“乌雪补选”课题。

最后又大马第一夫人，素有“珠光宝气”之称的罗斯玛从NTV 7下手，导致人如其名的节目制作人黄忠义饮恨沙场，毅然辞去一切职务。

《前线视窗》，并非大家所能预料，却也惨遭政府的关爱而被“前剪后删”。节目只不过是提到巴贡水坝和当地一些民生课题，却被渲染为影响国阵政府在即将来临的砂拉越诗巫补选的工具。节目制作人周泽南更被指是因为不可妥协于节目的修改而与RTM高层起争执，发表不确实的言论。

有些人会认为，政府这么做其实是“牺牲小我，成全大我”。为了安定家国，这些具有政治智慧的伟人只好冒着名誉受损的指责，明目张胆地除去一切碍手碍脚的芝麻小事，方能成就所谓的“一个马来西亚”的大业。

试问又有多少人能了解政府的无可奈何呢？

此乃人民的心声。

WHEN FORENSIC BECOMES POLITICS

Beng Hock’s case seems unlikely to be solved as we all expected earlier. Many will think that if Beng Hock did not serve as a political aide, his case would have been solved long time ago or perhaps, he may still be with us today. If this young media worker did not involve in politics after the 12th General Elections, the tragedy might not happen to him and his family.

If this case only involves the death of a citizen, and not a politician, the pathologists may have done their duties without any further issues. Even if the victim is a politician, but he did not die at the office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), there is no need of appointing different forensics specialists from the two parties.

If the case does not involve the interest of both government and opposition,
1. Thai Pathologist Pornthip would not be threatened and refused to come to Malaysia, and she would not be called as a liar.

2. British Pathologist Peter Vanezis would not be questioned of his professionalism for defending the MACC, and he would not be threatened as well.

As for us, if forensic becomes politics, the truth will not be unveiled easily.

That is the voice of the people.

IN RECOGNITION OF CONTRIBUTION

Recently, many BN leaders are credited for their contributions to the country and they were awarded accordingly by our Malaysian government.

CONTRIBUTIONS
MIC Deputy President G. Palanivel
1. He had shown his great effort in preserving the environment of Hulu Selangor while serving as the Member of Parliament in the past, so that there would be no further development of local facilities that may cause pollution to the entire area. He is believed to have spent all the donations from the government in making Hulu Selangor a total green and environmentally friendly place. Due to this reason, Hulu Selangor can still remain green, unpolluted and even undeveloped until today.

2. He manifested his great humility by not contesting in the Hulu Selangor by-election, giving the opportunity to MIC head of publicity, P. Kamalanathan, the so-called ‘1 Malaysia’ Malaysian.

UMNO Ezam Mohd Nor (Ex-PKR Youth Chief)
1. He acknowledged his fault for quitting UMNO to support Anwar Ibrahim in the PKR. He had also proven his courage to repent for his mistake and had returned to the party.

2. He is always willing to help UMNO to handle Anwar Ibrahim with his past experience while serving as Anwar’s political secretary.

Hee Yit Foong (Ex-DAP ADUN and Deputy Speaker in Perak)
1. She resigned from the DAP and aligned with the BN, causing the Perak constitutional crisis in the Pakatan Rakyat and helped the Barisan Nasional to regain its administrative power in Perak.

2. She attacked a handicapped state member of the Pakatan Rakyat with a ‘pen drive’- pepper spray while having war with the members of the Pakatan in the State Assembly on the 7th of May, 2009.

Mohd Osman Jailu and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Ex-Exco Members of Perak)1. They resigned from the PKR and aligned with the BN, causing the Perak constitutional crisis in the Pakatan Rakyat and helped the Barisan Nasional to regain the administrative power in Perak.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Palanivel and Ezam
They are appointed as Senators, which share the same salary, welfare and bonus with the Members of Parliament

Hee Yit Foong
She received ‘Datukship’, a title which some people claim that can be ‘purchased’ with lots of money.

Osman and Jamaluddin
They are found ‘no guilty’ in the corruption cases which they were suspected to be involved.

That is the voice of the people.

副总编辑的话 -“从前、现在、未來”

在本地不同的华文报章，我特别喜欢阅读星洲日报，不知为什么，它总是能为我带来一些本地媒体的亲切感，像是当中的《情在人间》。今天，2010年4月26日，我读了其中一位我最欣赏的报馆从业员-副总编辑郑丁贤先生的文章，题目是关于乌雪补选的“从前、现在、未來”。这篇文章让我印象深刻，因它的内容虽然离不开无情的政治，但不知怎么地，却令我在阅读的当儿，心中竟有一丝的感触，于是决定在这里与大家分享。

“乌雪补选成绩，建构在3個族群的集体政治心理。马來选票是看從前；印裔选票是看現在；华人选票是看未來。

马來票：国阵拿到了大約65%的马来票，决定了补选的結果。
候选人是卡玛、亚伦或纳登并不重要，重要的是巫統。在这個政治意识保守的选区，巫统是马來民族重要的历史资产，巫统领袖是政治权威，巫统的意识形态是生活的一部份。垦殖民村落，挂上印有40年前敦拉萨黑白肖像的海報，一再的告訴马來选民，不能忘记巫统給他們的照顾。敦拉萨和纳吉父子，代表一种传承，在马來社会是件美事；拉萨照顾大家，纳吉也會照顾大家。巫统领袖和干部下乡，总会提醒选民，他们今日拥有的一切，是巫统争取而來的。对于外在世界的变化，保守选区的马来选民，知道不多，兴趣也不大。只要继续支持巫统，就可以像从前一样，继续过生活。
重视历史，珍惜从前，这是马来民族的特性，也是巫统壯大的凭藉。

印裔票：印裔票流动很快，大起大落，能夠瞬间消失，也可以很快集合。
一场兴权会运动，把国阵的印裔票吹得七零八落；一番安抚，几个动作，即使社会条件未变，印裔选票还是回投怀送抱。

印裔社会的政治和经济地位每况愈下；人口的单薄，很难期待未來。
这种处境，衍生一种只求活在当下，随遇而安的心态。为了眼前的需要，很容易接受一种政治上的交换关系；也比较容易满足短期的利益。国阵针对印裔社群的需要和心理，提供便利，也扭转印裔票劣勢。

华人票：华人票倒向民联，支持率冲上另一個巅峰，几乎达到80%。
国阵领导层，从巫统到马华，都问为什么？难道“一个马来西亚”还不够吗？加上对华小、神庙、基建的拨款，以及众领导人演讲時穿插的华语和福建话，为何挽不回选票？

华人到底要什么？华人要的是未來。
对于一个基本上解决了温饱的少数族群，眼前的一些好处，沒有多大意义。问题在于对未來的不确定感，以及不知何去何从的焦虑。华人人口比率不短下降，以及目前种族政治结构不利于少数族群，是华人心里的最痛。纳吉的开明政策虽然很好；但是，民联的非种族政策，提供更大的安全感。
国阵要得到华人的支持，必须彻底改革，放弃种族政治，让华人对未來有希望。”
全文毕

我希望大家读了这篇文章，能够从中得到一些启示。希望有一天我们能够真正不分彼此，共同努力打造更美好的马来西亚。

KISAH HULU SELANGOR

Sebelum pilihanraya kecil diadakan, kita percaya bahawa tidak ramai orang yang betul-betul mengetahui tempat ini , kecuali sabagai sebuah daerah di negeri Selangor. Sejak kebelakangan ini, kita selalu dapat menonton rancangan televisyen yang mengenai tempat ini, disebabkan oleh pertarungan hebat antara parti-parti politik. Dari rancangan-rancangan tersebut, kita boleh mendapati bahawa sebenarnya penduduk-penduduk tempatan di sini amatlah kasihan.

Walaupun negara kita Malaysia sudah mencapai kemerdekaan selama 52 tahun, tapi kita boleh rasa tempat ini masih tidak berubah seperti dahulu. Suausana di sini masih begitu aman, pemandangan masih begitu indah, dan yang paling menarik perhatian orang ramai adalah pembangunan di kawasan Hulu Selangor, masih begitu cepat sehingga terhenti bertahun-tahun.

Dalam perkara ini, pihak mana yang patut bertanggungjawab ? Bukankan setiap tahun kerajaan kita yang kaya akan memperuntukkan sejumlah wang kepada wakil-wakil rakyat untuk membantu memajukan kawasan masing-masing? Mengapakah perkara yang membanggakan rakyat Malaysia ini boleh berlaku ?

Kawasan tempat terlalu besar ? Bilangan penduduk terlalu ramai ? Jumlah wang terlalu sedikit ? ‘Feng Shui’ tak baik ?

Saya rasa jawapan ini terlalu sukar untuk dijawab.Tapi, apa yang mengharukan saya adalah gambar-gambar yang menunjukkan keadaan penduduk di kawasan FELDA semasa menerima wang bantuan daripada kerajaan BN yang berbelas kasihan, kegembiraan yang ditunjukkan oleh pihak sekolah Cina ketika mereka dengar hadiah sebanyak RM 3000000 yang kononnya wang rasuah sekiranya BN menang dalam pilihanraya kecil tersebut. Keriangan mereka seolah-olah memberitahu kita semua bahawa mereka tidak pernah mendapat kebajikan daripada kerajaan yang begitu baik dalam seumur hidup, kecuali dalam pilihanraya kecil pada kali ini.

Keputusan pilihanraya kecil Hulu Selangor sudah menjadi kenyataan, iaitu P.Kamalanathan berjaya mandapat 24997 undi dan Ziad Ibrahim mendapat 23272 undi. Akhirnya Kerajaan BN telah berjaya menawan hati masyarakat di Hulu Langat dengan hanya membelanjakan RM 167000000 untuk memperoleh 1725 undi kemenangan. Tetapi apa yang saya tidak akan lupakan adalah kehidupan masyarakat di Hulu Langat yang masih begitu telus dan tradisional, tidak tercemar oleh gejala-gejala politik yang kotor dan menakutkan.

Saya berharap penduduk-penduduk di Hulu Selangor tidak akan diabaikan oleh kerajaan lagi dan sekiranya saya berpeluang, saya pasti akan melawat ke tempat yang menarik ini.

Inilah suara rakyat.

ALCOHOL AND PRINCIPLE

How many lawyers have the habit of drinking (alcohol)? 7 out of 10?
Reason: To entertain the clients with big cases?

How many newspapers editors have the habit of smoking? 8 out of 10?
Reason: To gain inspiration while writing articles?

How many tycoons have the habits of drinking and smoking? 9 out of 10?
Reason: To socialize with individuals of high-profile?

In these few days, the Pakatan Rakyat candidate for Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat, Zaid Ibrahim was slammed to have sinned for taking alcohol. This issue was brought out again and again by the Barisan Nasional, especially the powerful UMNO. The main reason is that in the Islamic law, a Muslim is forbidden to consume alcohol and due to this reason, Zaid faces all kinds of personal attacks, in terms of his belief and his morality.

From an article which I have read in newspapers recently, I understand that

1. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of United Kingdom during the World War ll, was a good drinker. He always had Whisky in the day and Brandy at night. However, he was greatly respected for his contribution in leading the country to achieve victory in the war.

2. Adolf Hitler, the notorious Chancellor of Germany who led his Nazi Party in the World War ll, was not a drinker. Nonetheless, he was known as a war criminal to the world.

Zaid Ibrahim is a prominent lawyer who gained his reputation for upholding his political view, which is democracy for everyone. Even when he was with the UMNO while serving as a Minister, he had the courage to voice out his dissatisfaction for the arrest of blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, DAP MP Teresa Kok and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng under the Internal Security Act (ISA) with the aim of ‘protecting’ them. He even resigned for the sake of defending his principles on human rights and democracy.

Is this not the leader whom the people are looking for? If a politician is always there to defend the rights of people, who will really care if he/she takes Carlsberg, Tiger, Guinness or even Hennessy daily?

ALCOHOL AND INTEGRITY

When the news about Zaid’s consumption of alcohol was being spread, his reaction was surprisingly straightforward for he chose to admit his misconduct at the first place, unlike our beloved YBs Khairy and Hishammuddin who denied straightaway as their picture of taking alcohol uncovered. From the media, most of us would have heard in the past, 4 of our Prime Ministers did drink before. In fact, we cannot accuse anyone without any solid evidence, even though some may seem very suspicious. However, it is not wrong for us to have our personal assumption with all the rumours we heard.

At this juncture, the most crucial thing that concerns the voters is not the issue of whether a politician has taken alcohol or not because for the people, this has nothing to do with future of the country. Nevertheless, this incident has successfully brought out an important criterion which everyone wants to see, that is integrity in politician. By admitting own mistake, Zaid Ibrahim had proven his integrity and great courage to the people in Hulu Selangor. He even gained the forgiveness of many Muslims for his willingness to repent and acknowledgment of his wrongdoing. In contrast to that, some of the patriotic bloggers, full of wisdom, chose to manifest their integrity by showing pictures modified with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to convince the people in Hulu Selangor.

Alcohol is tempting, so is corruption. Personally, if I were to make a choice between taking alcohol and working together with corrupted people with no integrity and principles, I would rather be indulged in drunkenness.

That is the voice of the people.

PERTANDINGAN BERMULA

Nama Pertandingan : Pilihanraya Kecil
Tempat : Hulu Selangor, Selangor
Tarikh: 17 – 25 h/b April 2010
Nama peserta-peserta:

UTAMA
1.P. Kamalanathan (BN – MIC)
2.Zaid Ibrahim (PR – PKR)
Kedua-dua wakil ini adalah calon utama kerana mereka mendapat sokongan pihak masing-masing.
(BN- UMNO, MCA, MIC dan GERAKAN manakala PR – PKR, DAP dan PAS)

SAMPINGAN
3.Johan Mohd Diah (BN – UMNO)
4.V.S. Chandran (BN – MIC)
Kedua-dua wakil ini adalah calon sampingan kerana mereka telah dipecat dan terpaksa menarik diri.Jadi, mereka dikira manyerah kalah.

Barisan Nasional berlawan dengan Pakatan Rakyat
Pusingan Pertama
BN mendapat sambutan daripada beribu-ribuan penyokong, berbanding dengan PR yang hanya mempunyai kira-kira 400 penyokong pada hari penamaan calon.
1 : 0

Pusingan Kedua
UMNO dan MIC bertengkar dalam proses pemilihan calon dan akhirnya mencalonkan P. Kamalanathan yang tidak berpengalaman, berbanding dengan Pakatan Rakyat yang mencalonkan Zaid Ibrahim yang popular dan berpengalaman dengan sebulat suara.
0 : 1

Pusingan Luar Biasa 1
Pemimpin BN (MIC - Presiden Samy Vellu dan Speaker DUN Perak Ganesan, Panchamoorthy dan Naib presiden UMNO Shafie Apdal) tercedera berbanding dengan beberapa ahli PR biasa yang mengatakan mereka mengalami kecederaan.
0 : 1

Pusingan Luar Biasa 2
Nama Peserta BN, Kamalanathan = Kamal(Melayu) + Alan(Cina) + Nathan(India) = 1 Malaysia, berbanding dengan nama peserta PR, Zaid Ibrahim
1 : 0

Pusingan Terakhir
? : ?

Kita tunggu dan lihatlah keputusan nanti.

TRUTH AND LIES

Thai famous pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand claimed that she is unable to come to Malaysia to attend Beng Hock's inquest. The reason behind is because she was pressured by the Malaysian government which does not want her to be involved in this mysterious and unsolved case. Apart from that, she was also advised by the Thai government and superior that she should not get herself into this mess.

However, her statement was claimed as a lie by our respective Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dato' Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz. He believed that Pornthip is trying to find excuse to be absent for Beng Hock's inquest due to the mistake she did in her previous report, which says that Beng Hock was murdered. With great courage and confidence, he even challenged Pornthip to point out the culprit who tried to stop her from coming to Malaysia to carry out her duty as a witness in Teoh's case.

Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? I believe we can judge on our own.

That is the voice of the people.

一石三鸟三部曲

马华新任总会长拿督斯里蔡细历医生新人事新作风，破天荒邀请一向来是“超越政党，不超越政治”的三大华团领袖：华总会长方天兴，商联合总会长钟廷森与七大乡团协调委员会主席孔庆庶列席马华会长理事会，表面上是说互相交流，让双方在华社利益课题上促进彼此合作关系；然而实际上我说是司马昭之心路人皆知，让马华在饱受名声受损、名誉扫地的逆境重拾华社的信心。

第一，此举是做面子给华团领袖们，使他们深感受尊重，改变党争时的负面印象，坚固彼此关系。

第二，借此声明帮助华社，靠他们的影响力挽回华社对马华的信赖，让马华在国阵成员党中抬得起头。

第三，间接迫使行动党与华团的关系紧张，制造让人误以为行动党心胸狭窄、不以华社大局为重的假象。

蔡总老谋深算，步步为营，其城府之深，手段之高，问谁能敌，佩服佩服！

此乃人民的心声。

BY-ELECTIONS

Soon, two more by-elections (Hulu Selangor and Sibu) will be held in our country. Many people have already fed up with the by-elections which they think is just a waste of time and money, and of course, the 'time and money' that we are discussing is neither for funeral nor burial of the dead, but it is about the 'time and money' that the government would have to spend to hold by-elections. To the politicians, by-election has great significance for it is a test which enables them to get the chance to gain the people's supports and confidence. To us, we only hope that all the political parties will look into this matter seriously.

1. Examine the health condition of every single candidate before the elections so that all the elected representatives can serve the people effectively.

2. Recruit more young and capable politicians so that they can contest in any immediate election when necessary.

That is the voice of the people.

ERTI DI SEBALIK RM100

Apakah ertinya RM100 ? Berapakah nilai RM100 ?
RM100 boleh dinilai dengan kiraan seperti di bawah:
100 = 1 x 100.00
100 = 2 x 50.00
100 = 10 x 10.00
100 = 20 x 5.00
100 = 100 x 1.00
100 = 200 x 0.50
100 = 500 x 0.20
100 = 1000 x 0.10
100 = 2000 x 0.05
100 = 10000 x 0.01

Sebenarnya, program yang dijalankan oleh kerajaan Pulau Pinang yang memberi RM100 setiap tahun kepada warga emas/warga tua yang telah berumur 60 dan lebih mempunyai ertinya. Selama ini, kita tidak pernah lihat kerajaan pusat dan kerajaan negeri memberi bantuan secara sah dan terbuka kepada warga tua yang selalunya diabaikan. Walaupun kadang-kala kita dengar bahawa kerajaan telah memperuntukkan wang kebajikan berjuta-juta ringgit dalam bantuan dan penjagaan warga tua di negara. Tapi, saya lebih percaya penglihatan daripada pendengaran.

Walaupun RM100 setahun nampaknya tidaklah bermakna sangat jika digunakan dalam kehidupan setahun, tapi erti di sebaliknya adalah penting. Semasa Ketua Menteri Lim Guan Eng menyerahkan RM100 kepada seorang warga tua India, dia berasa amat terharu sehingga menangis dan mencium muka beliau. Hal in disebabkan dia tidak pernah mendapat wang tunai sebegini daripada pihak kerajaan dan ini adalah kali pertama baginya. Mesej yang dibawa oleh pemberian RM100 adalah jelas kerana ini menunjukkan bahawa kerajaan dapat memberi bantuan kewangan kepada warga emas sekiranya kerajaan dapat menjimatkan perbelanjaan yang tidak bermanfaat dan membanteras rasuah yang menjejaskan ekonomi negara.