No, this is unfortunately not the completion of the religion, secularism, and freedom series. Nor is it part of the series on the Ramayana. My life is totally given over to debate training at the moment. God only knows when I’ll finish these two series.
But this is about Malaysia and her increasingly saddening situation. My first random rant was about why I started this blog. My reasons for blogging have changed a little since then, and this second rant will make those reasons more apparent.
Last night my mother called me on the phone. As some of you will know, I’m back in Singapore now, preparing for the tournament us debaters affectionately call the Worlds. So she just wanted to know how things were going for me.
As I expected, the conversation eventually lead to my mum telling me "not to get involved in politics". What prompted this? Some days back, I wrote a letter to the Member of Parliament for Bukit Katil, the electoral constituency my house happens be in. Well actually, I copied and modified the letter written by my brother Shriram. Yes, plagiarism: The Malaysian way. Except I had his permission for this one. The letter was an appeal to the MP to vote against the proposed amendment to the Malaysian Federal Constitution, which seeks to increase the mandatory retirement age of Election Commission members from 65 to 66. Why is the amendment a bad thing? Read more here. As you read it, you’ll also remember the BERSIH rally of the 10th of November, 2007, which I’m sure you’ve heard about.
Anyway, the point is my parents knew of this letter-writing and weren’t too happy about it.
They also aren’t too happy about my blogging about the shit (a more polite word would do the situation no justice) that’s happening at home in Malaysia. Rather, the shit that our government is causing to happen at home in Malaysia. My mother, over the phone, tried to get me to promise to stop blogging about stuff like religion, secularism, and freedom, as well as other stuff I plan to write about in the future. I couldn’t bring myself to answer, "Yes," at the time.
Her tone was dead serious. She was forbidding me to write about such things. And this was about the fifth time she’s told me to stop. So, after thinking it over some more, this will be my last post on stuff like this until I can convince my parents to give me their blessings to continue. I haven’t given up hope yet.
And you can’t blame my parents at all. You know why they’re so worried? Well, earlier this year the authorities arrested Nat Tan (picture below; obtained from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Tan)
for things he wrote in his blog. He was charged under the Official Secrets Act, which is, to borrow a phrase of Jack Sparrow’s, "a sad commentary in and of itself." You can read about the arrest at the Wikipedia page I got the photo from.
That’s not all, though.
UMNO members have lodged two police reports (read about the first here, and the second, here) against Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who runs the site Malaysia Today. The purpose of the site is to highlight the full extent of the shit our government is up to.
By the way, here is the article that prompted the second police report against RPK. It’s about the BERSIH rally. Read it and decide for yourself if it warrents a police report or not. Just bear in mind that RPK is himself related to His Majesty the Yang DiPertuan Agung. You can also watch a Malaysiakini video on Youtube of what happened after the first police report. (A side note: While I think RPK is brilliant at doing what he does, and he is doing Malaysia a great service, I also think he has an agenda behind it. That’s my personal opinion anyway.)
But wait, there’s more!
The powers that be, through the newspaper The New Straits Times, have sued Malaysia’s uber-bloggers, Jeff Ooi of Screenshots and Ahiruddin Attan of Rocky’s Bru, for defamation. Which is a sad first in the history of journalism: Journalists suing fellow journalists for defamation. Standard practice is to counter alleged misinformation by other journalists with proper information through your own journalistic resources, not sue your own kind. Oh yeah… some people even filed a police report against Jeff Ooi for supposedly tarnishing Malaysia’s image when he gave a comment to Al Jazeera about the BERSIH rally. I dunno… I personally think the fellow on the phone in this Youtube video tarnished Malaysia’s image wayyyyy more. Funny that no police report was lodged against him.
But yes, the government doesn’t like bloggers who say bad things about them, especially when what they say is true. Of course the mainstream media will tell you that the bloggers are all liars. Read these blogs yourseves at the links I’ve provided, and decide for yourselves who has better journalistic integrity: (a select few) blogs, or the Malaysian mainstream media. And state machinery has been employed to persecute such bloggers. No wonder my mum and dad are afraid for me!
Actually, such fears are still an overreaction. I’m a small-fry… one out of maybe a thousand random blogs that all write about this stuff. I have no delusions of grandeur. I’m not one of Malaysia’s blogging greats (whom I’ve given links to) who get easily hundreds of views a day and scare the Malaysian government enough for them to actually do something about it. I’m a nobody. The government has far bigger fish to worry about. They’ll pass over me and those many other bloggers which have minimal impact.
But even more than the persecution of bloggers, you know what’s gotten my mum really afraid for me? The government’s reaction to the HINDRAF rally which was held on the 25th of November, 2007. And yes, you’ve all definitely heard about this one. But please don’t buy the bullshit you read in the newspapers. One word: Propaganda. Take a look, instead, at how our government reacts to people who want to voice their disagreement with them:
You can find several other HINDRAF videos by Malaysiakini on Youtube as well. For a detailed account of everything on the HINDRAF rally, go HERE. And yes, please do click on the link. Look for the eight articles on HINDRAF. They absolutely are must-reads.
But it’s not just the police brutality here that’s spooked my parents. Days before the rally, the HINDRAF leaders were arrested and charged with Sedition. Several people who attended the rally that day have been arrested and been slapped with the ludicrous charge of attempted murder. Oh yes! Not forgetting the even more far-fetched allegation by the government that HINDRAF has links with the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers, a terrorist organisation (okay, so it’s just my opinion that the alleged terror link is fake, I have no concrete evidence to back this claim up). You could go here to see what international links HINDRAF is trying to make, though.
Although, I must say that the HINDRAF leaders aren’t 100% squeaky clean themselves… they seem quite racist to be frank. And they invited the ridiculous terrorist-link allegation by saying that their backs were against the wall and though they stand for peace, they may in the future be driven to Tamil-Tiger-like acts to fight for their rights. (Damn it… couldn’t find the webpage where I got this info from! Go search for it yourselves. Don’t just take my word.)
But they highlighted the worrying demolition of Hindu temples, and the plight of an ethnic community in Malaysia who have a disproportionately large percentage of its people below the poverty line. I hope people see this as a bigger wake-up call to the fact that there are plenty of Malaysians regardless of race or religion who live below the poverty line. Maybe it’s time we who can afford it do something about it.
Anyway, here are two more reasons my parents are afraid for me. Even the BERSIH leaders have been arrested. And to top that off… here’s without a doubt, the most arrogant flexing of governmental/policing muscles yet: The arrest of lawyers taking a stroll in Kuala Lumpur, in conjunction with Human Rights Day. You can read about both here. And watch the Youtube video below.
In summary, the message from the government is bloody clear. They can be corrupt, racist, and unashamedly bigotted. AND trample all over our fundamental rights as human beings and citizens of what is supposed to be a democracy. AND rape our constitution. And we can’t do anything about it. (Well, actually we can… but more about that in a bit.) Yep… sad message to reinforce on Human Rights Day. It’s not a day to celebrate in Malaysia. It was a day of mourning. Mourning the rights that are being taken away from us.
So these are just some of the many reasons my parents want me to stop blogging about this stuff. My mother was telling me in earnest the other day how she wants me and my brother to get the hell out of Malaysia as soon as we can, and stay the hell out of Malaysia. That’s something I can’t promise her no matter how much she asks me. You know why? The reasons are the same as my reasons for blogging about this stuff. You can see just a small sample of those reasons below:
So that’s why I can’t just jump ship and abandon Malaysia. Because this is where I grew up. Almost every person, object, idea, experience, etc. dear to me was in Malaysia or in some way because of Malaysia. I want to be able to say with reasonable certainty that Malaysians in the future will be able to enjoy at least what I did, if not better. And most of all, I don’t want to jump ship because I know there are people who can’t afford to jump ship. What’s going to happen to them?
So yes, I’m pissed because we seem to have a government that’s hell-bent on taking away our ability to enjoy the above in the future. All so they can hold on to power and keep filling their pockets.
What can we do about it? For those like me who cannot turn their backs and jump ship, WAKE UP! BE AWARE. DON’T BE COMPLACENT. STOP BEING AFRAID of doing the right thing. For those unlike me who are old enough to vote, USE IT! And use it wisely. Get involved with civil society, to whatever extent you are capable of. A good starting point is the many websites that I’ve linked in this post. Above all, use your own intellect, judgement, and wisdom.
Take care everyone. You won’t be seeing anything from this blog in awhile. And you won’t be seeing anything of this nature for even longer.
Satya, while I really wanna say something (as in SOMETHING, you know) alas, I am an outsider, and I’m afraid I will cause you more trouble than you already have. I do however, have to say this; Indeed the processions were really organized (as organized as a procession can be), and most importantly it carried a message of Peace. The government have little to no reason to tell them to disperse (in which I am acknowledged that they actually allowed them to proceed moments before), and worse, arrested 7 lawyers. Look guys, I come from Indonesia, and when I tell you that the procession was not causing any public disorder, that means it didn’t. Have you seen them ‘processions’ in Indo?
Indonesia may have one of the most corrupt government in the world. Hell, they may even be the most corrupted rite now. But you know what? We’re not afraid to bash our own government, tell them to fuck off, tell them not to shit where they eat.
Here however, you can’t even criticize your Sultan, and I know that he’s doing nothing but sitting on his throne (well that was the case in Kelantan anyways). You’ll get arrested for it. Damn son!
I’m not bashing Malaysia, and I’m not saying that Indo’s better. Malaysia is my second home; I love this country. It pains me to see such a great country with great potentials to be drowned in such tragedy (which has happened before in my own country).
Again, kudos to Satya for the article. Your parents are always right bro; but hope is not always the road that leads to dissapointment, like you told me once. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and wait for another great article. Until then man!
Bagus, don’t be afraid to say SOMETHING in this blog as long as it’s not hate speech or fitnah. This blog stands for free speech, among other things. Though I do reserve the right to edit or delete comments which I deem to be hate speech or fitnah/libel.
And thanks for your support, bro.
I’m writing this as a comment since my promise prevents me from posting anymore (it’s a loophole I doubt I’ll be able to exploit more than once).
It’s not enough that they doused their chemical spray and fired their tear gas cannisters on ralliers at Masjid Jamek for the 10th of November BERSIH rally. It’s not enough that they persecuted HINDRAF leaders and brutally crushed their rally on the 25th of November. It’s not enough that they arrested peaceful LAWYERS of all people, who did practically nothing at all.
No, they had to blacken the (already abysmally sad) history of Parliament as well.
On the morning of Tuesday, the 11th of December, 2007, as the Malaysian Parliament had its second reading of the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution which increases the mandatory retirement age of Election Commission members, BERSIH held an assembly outside of Parliament. Its purpose was to protest against the amendment, and to submit a memorandum to the Speaker of the House with reasons why it should not be passed.
The police came once again and arrested several people. Tian Chua of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or People’s Justice Party (an opposition party) was literally dragged out of his car by the police. Tian Chua says the police even torched his car afterward. Read more, and see pictures of Tian Chua’s arrest at the following link:
http://elizabethwong.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/tian-dragged-from-car/
Opposition Members of Parilament walked out of the (so-called) August House in protest of the amendment and the arrests. The amendment was passed unanimously by all ruling party MPs.
All those arrested have thankfully been released, at least some of them, without being charged for anything.
For a detailed account of the overall incident by local newspaper The Sun, go to:
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=20206
Read also what international press agency Reuters had to say about the whole thing at:
http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-30923420071211?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
You know why BERSIH protested against the amendment in the first place? If you haven’t already read the reason at the link I provided in the post, it’s because the amendment would allow the current Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, to stay in office for another year. If not for the passing of the bill, he would retire on the 31st of December, 2007. You know why they don’t want Rashid in charge for another year? Read the BERSIH memorandum to Parliament:
________________________________________________________
BERSIH Memorandum to the
Parliament of Malaysia and All Its Members
11 December 2007
SAY NO TO THE “SAVE RASHID” AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) urges the Parliament of Malaysia, which consists of His Majesty the Yang diPertuan Agong, Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara to reject the proposed bill to amend Article 114 of the Federal Constitution, which will effect in Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman’s extension as the Election Commission (EC) Chairperson up to one-and-a-half years.
BERSIH stresses that Tan Sri Abdul Rashid, whose service is continuously marred with recurring electoral frauds and manipulations, is not fit for the job and must go immediately. All parliamentarians must therefore vote against this Constitutional Amendment Bill so obviously being rushed through to keep him the job is an insult to both the Constitution and Parliament.
1. In principle, BERSIH has no objection to the extension of the retirement age from 65 to 66 years for all members of the EC. The removal of an EC is constitutionally stipulated to be done in the same manner as a Federal Court judge, whose retirement age has been increased from 65 to 66 years, such synchronization is not objectionable.
2. The Constitutional Bill, if passed through both chambers of the Parliament and consented by HM the Yang diPertuan Agong by this December 31, will however become a back-door extension for Tan Sri Abdul Rashid whose birthday falls on the same day. In other words, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid has to retire if Article 114 of the Federal Constitution is not amended in time. On the other hand, if the amendment is passed, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid may stay on effectively till June 2009 with the conventional half-year extension after retirement. In other words, this will ensure that Tan Sri Abdul Rashid oversees the next elections.
3. The Constitutional Bill, hastily tabled for first reading in Dewan Rakyat on November 20, 2007 and scheduled for second reading on December 11, 2007, is therefore a “Save Rashid” Amendment. Such “Save Rashid” Amendment, by reducing the Federal Constitution to a tool to serve the interests of one individual especially one unfit for the job, is an insult and assault to constitutional democracy.
4. Article 114(2) stipulates “the importance of securing an Election Commission which enjoys public confidence”, which Tan Sri Abdul Rashid has clearly failed. Here is a non-exhaustive list of 10 failures and scandals in the electoral process under his service in and leadership of the EC:
4.1 The electoral rolls is contaminated with the names of the dead, non-citizens, multiple registrations and the under-aged, allowing election outcomes to be determined by phantoms rather than citizens. In 2001, Justice Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang nullified the election result of Likas state constituency in Sabah on the grounds that the 1998 state electoral roll was illegal as phantom voters, including non-citizens, had cast their votes on polling day.
4.2 The government responded to the Likas verdict by changing the Election Act so that election outcome can no longer be challenged on the grounds of electoral roll validity. All EC wrongdoings are now protected. In a manner amounting to contempt of court, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid attacked Justice Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang on December 4, 2007, alleging that the judge took it out on the government because he was ‘frustrated with certain things’.
4.3 Voters are transferred from one constituency to another to secure victory for the ruling coalition. In October 2007, EC secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor blamed some assistant registration officers for cases that happened before 16 July, 2002. If found guilty under the Election Offences Act 1954, those officers shall be liable for imprisonment up to two years, fine up to RM 5,000 or both. However, no names have been disclosed and no police reports lodged.
4.4 Such transfer or implantation of voters continues to happen after 2002. The latest case is the increase of 8,463 voters within three months at Ipoh Barat constituency which the Parliamentary Opposition Leader Mr Lim Kit Siang won with a margin of 9,774 votes in 2004.
4.5 The extent of irregularities and fraudulent registrations, seen particularly in the Ijok by-election on 28 April 2007, is shocking:
• Over 50 dead voters were still on the electoral roll and 12 of them, all of them Malays from the Jaya Setia polling district, rose up from their graves to cast their votes on polling day.
• Three Chinese voters at Pekan Ijok had their votes stolen by impostors, who had turned up earlier at the polling station.
• As many as 23 voters were registered without national identity cards.
• As many as 32 voters aged between 100 and 132 years old were still listed on the electoral rolls.
4.6 In the 2004 general elections, the use of three different versions of the electoral roll led to a breakdown and chaos in polling in at least 17 parliamentary constituencies in Selangor and three in Kuala Lumpur. EC then ordered an illegal extension of polling for two extra hours in some of these constituencies. No EC officers have been prosecuted or penalized for the chaos.
4.7 Also in the 2004 general elections, provisional results showed that 98% of the registered voters collected parliamentary ballots in Kuala Terengganu, but 10,254 ballots were not returned. Tan Sri Abdul Rashid offered an absurd explanation that KT voters had the hobby of collecting ballot papers. The final result published on the Gazette saw the reduction of turnout rate to 84% and the missing ballots to 240, with no explanation offered for this changes.
4.8 For years, elections have seen high number of missing ballots in many constituencies. Top on the list for four elections from 1990 and 2004 was the Lumut constituency, which saw the extent of unreturned ballots soaring from 2,763 in 1982 to 8,176 in 1999. Had these missing ballots found their ways to polling stations in other constituencies, they would have overturned outcomes in many marginal seats. Blaming it on the weakness of postal voting registration, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid has failed to end this phenomenon so damaging to the credibility of the EC and electoral process.
4.9 Mal-apportionment and gerrymandering of constituencies have gone from bad to worse with the 2002 constituency re-delineation exercise. In 2004, BN won an unprecedented 91% parliamentary majority with a mere 64% popular votes. This effectively means that one vote for BN was equivalent for 3 votes for DAP, 8 votes for PAS and 26 votes for Keadilan. Tan Sri Abdul Rashid has made a mockery of the “one person, one vote” principle.
4.10 Ultimately, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid is unfit to chair the EC for he lacks the most fundamental quality: the moral courage and the commitment to act independently, guided only by the Constitution and the best interest of Malaysia’s democracy. In 2003, he conceded that EC’s ability to carry out its task independently has been hampered by the government. In November 2007, he indirectly admitted that the election date was set by the Prime Minister. On December 8, 2007, he inappropriately said that the ruling coalition is the only regime capable of running the country.
5. On the grounds that Tan Sri Abdul Rashid is unfit to chair EC and his retirement on this December 31 in the best interest of the nation, BERSIH urges all parliamentarians to vote against the Constitutional Amendment Bill.
________________________________________________________
So now you know why even our elections are phoney. Is it any surprise that the government is scared of BERSIH? Watch a Youtube video of the incident by Malaysiakini of the incident at the following page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01vV0P7KMJ4
Comment from Sai Bhanu Akka (for some reason she was unable to post it herself and so emailed it to me):
I can understand your mom’s reservations on you blogging the way the government has gone after some people. You wouldn’t want to get into trouble like that yourself see. They wouldn’t want it.
I don’t know why the system won’t let me comment on your page though. Weird weird. hahaha
Anyways, hope all’s well blogging aside!
God bless.
Sai