Media Bias Malaysian Style.

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Utusan Malaysia, TV3 and NST practice media bias which contravene standards of sound journalism and put their journalistic merits to question because of:


+++1 supporting governmental ‘feeding frenzy’ and pushing for pack journalism. The tendency of these media to move on to issues of the government’s best interest without providing follow-ups of previous cases intends to promote bandwagon fallacy.

E.g.; the Altantuya murder case and the alleged involvement of ‘prominent political figures’ in it.


+++2 downplaying the opposition without providing substantial and objective reason for doing so. Manipulation of information by way of alteration, restriction etc.

E.g.; expressing support for action taken by the police (calling in of lawyers for interrogations) even after being proven, unlawful (by the bar council).


+++3 sensationalizing minority views (government officials).

E.g.; the ‘wholesaling’ of Anwar’s DNA issue. Just recently; the statement made by Ibrahim Ali. This statement is fallacious for it does not address the questionable transparency and accountability of the government as a whole (amidst of ongoing trials involving the AG and the IGP).


+++4 The journalists of these media generally and senselessly accept the faulty notion that the government’s collective intentions are benevolent, despite occasional mistakes.

E.g.; turning blind eyes to vulgar signs and statements made by government parliament members such Bung Mokhtar of Kinabatangan and Hamidah Osman of Sungai Rapat and refusing to use means necessary to persuade the government to take disciplinary actions / such, against these figures.



+++5 These media mock the adversarial system of point/counterpoint by organizing biased poles, forums and debates.

E.g.; although the Shabery-Anwar debate was not directly organized by RTM, the tight control exercised by some factions within the government onto popular media can be clearly seen through;

1> the person/body organizing the debate failed to choose people who really represent the breadth of opinion (PM or TPM);

2> the person/body organizing the debate failed to ask non-prejudicial questions and to edit or arbitrate their comments fairly;

3> the person/body organizing the debate applauded the attacking of Anwar’s character done by Shabery (Argumentum ad Hominem) while obviously, the debate is about oil price.


***Citizens must avoid self-censorship by reading divergent sources and maintaining a critical perspective on the media in order to make informed choices and participate effectively in the public policy process.***

"Support Pak Lah against corruption"

Truth, Dare, Double Dare, Promise or Repeat?

ANWAR:

“They proposed to have a thorough check. Strip naked; I said yes. Private parts; I said yes. Photographs; I said no. There’s always the danger that it will ‘leak’ and this has happened before. It may appear in Youtube the next day.

Even to do that, my lawyers weren’t happy at all. They say; ‘what is the case?’. You must establish a case; a case that is considered to be at least with some grounds, in order to proceed, even if it is not prima facie. But here, the case is not established.

We are clear, absolutely clear on the alibi, every single minute of the day.

Then they asked for blood sample. This is, I think, the trick. They have my DNA.”

BBC CORRESPONDENT:

“These are what some people might call; the dark arts of politics of spin. There are some who said; in the past, while you were on the other side, you were associated with these.”

ANWAR:

“I’ve never been associated. All my years including when I was acting- Prime Minister, I refused to sign any detention without trial. No ISA person was detained under me. Yes, I was part of the system. I had to operate within the limits of the system. But I’ve always been seen, as you’ve seen in the Asian Renaissance, as a person trying to reform from within.”

BBC CORRESPONDENT:

“Do you believe that the present Prime Minister; Abdullah Badawi, knows what’s going on here? Is he the man who gave the order to arrest you to make the allegations?”

ANWAR:

“I don’t believe and I don’t have any evidence to suggest that he ordered or is the crafter of this dirty design. But Abdullah seems to be mostly unaware of what’s happening. He does not seem to be totally in the picture. But we have evidence, to the contrary, that this complainer has been working with Dato’ Najib.”

BBC CORRESPONDENT:

“So where is the Deputy Prime Minister; Najib Razak?”

ANWAR:

“We have evidence to prove that he was in communication with this complainer and his wife was working with the complainer, weeks before the complaint.”

BBC CORRESPONDENT:

“You’re riding a wave of unprecedented popular support here, you and your party of the opposition. Have you ordered people to hold off while you continue to do that?”

ANWAR:

“Yes. For now, my advice to friends and supporters is to restrain yourself because I have reason to believe that the government wants a pretext to embark on huge arrest of party leaders, parliament members and even to have some semi-emergency sort of measures to be in place. So for now, I would go on to the provinces and districts to explain the issues, you know, probably on the contained premises. But there’s no certainty of how much you can contain public anger.”

BBC CORRESPONDENT:

“What has this done for Malaysia’s reputation on the international stage?”

ANWAR:

“I think they’ve managed to destroy whatever semblance of Rule of Law in this country and this is worrying. Whatever happens, even if we take over, it is going to take a lot of hard work to revive the economy and confidence of international investors and the public.”


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I got some questions if I may:


http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0719&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Terkini&pg=bt_10.htm

+++Dato’ Syed Hamid, if the compliance of Anwar’s camp to this investigation and their unwillingness to result to public disturbance are evident as he (Anwar) repeatedly stated, which legal part of this ongoing investigation provides you space to have a say?

1- It is not the legal profession of Sivarasa etc. that is meddling with police investigations but instead, the unnecessary commentaries of politicians and over-the-limit police interrogations (as what the Bar Council suggested) that are interfering legal processes.

+++Dato’ Syed Hamid, IF the judiciary and the executive are corrupted to the roots, how would you justify using national state of emergency measures to restrain angry Malaysians? Do you mean to say that all the actions taken against peaceful demonstrators until now, would eventually restore trust in the people, because obviously this is escalating towards unaccountable authoritarian state?

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/19/nation/20080719151737&sec=nationhttp://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/19/nation/20080719151737&sec=nation

+++Dr. Zaininah Mohd Zain, why do you have to deny the fact that Anwar was stripped naked? If it is necessary for the investigation to do so, no one is going to get mad.

1- It takes SOME guts to lie not just to Malaysians but also to international correspondents, about you being stripped naked in the presence of doctors and medical officers (more than reliable eye witnesses). I believe that lying about being stripped naked would not benefit Anwar much but instead would endanger his political career. In the end, there could be only one liar. Remember that.

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0719&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Terkini&pg=bt_14.htm

+++Dato’ Seri Abdullah, would you welcome international NGOs for freedom watch to Malaysia to monitor the legal processes which are going on and support them (if the government really has nothing to fear), because reiterating the non-involvement of the AG and the IGP will really not do?

http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Saturday/BeritaUtama/20080719003120/Article


+++Dato’ Seri Abdullah, would you kindly explain about the supposed fabrication of evidence back in '98 the next time you demand a DNA sample from Anwar?


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“veritas et aequitas”

My Tantrum = Your Problem.

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"Bag that angry kid!"

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/86419

Loh Gwo Burne of Kelana Jaya was assaulted by Mior Azam Shah Mior Yahya during his attempt to ravel out the confusion of 6000 men who opposed the building of a ‘Surau’at Desa Mentari.

Truly, such catatonic act is both non-Islamic and non-democratic.

In this multi-racial country, you should keep your violent aggravation complex to yourself. In the jungle is the place for primitive duels.

Who was immaturely emotional? Who was patient? Who had the biggest laugh?

If Mior Azam is not fit for politics or if he ‘hunts’ limelight, he might as well back off, or else, some more of his actions might stir the already chaotic Malaysia, collectively speaking.

Is it not a lie to vow to maintain integrity and sell it to the voters, only to later, go back on?

Remember your promise of bringing about change.

As we speak of the virtues and ethics Malaysia’s politicians lack, developed nations work hard to push their economic and scientific development ahead. Wonder what happened to the murmurs about developing renewable energy?

I would gladly blame this generation for the incompetence of future Malaysia.

Until then, I’ll just have to graft and graft some more.

I hope I'm not in the same ship as Mior Azam, Bung Mokhtar and Adnan Yaakob.

My two cents.

Untitled.

International observers, including the U.S. State Department, expressed concern about Wednesday's arrest.

"We believe the detention today of prominent Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim raises serious questions and concerns," said department spokesman Sean McCormack in a written statement. "We urge Malaysian authorities to resolve this matter in a manner that builds confidence in the impartial rule of law in Malaysia."


Taken from: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/17/anwar.malaysia/

For Real.

http://www.islamicamagazine.com/general/Open-Letter-Concerning-Anwar-Ibrahim.html

Into the Sun and Out.

Suddenly, the light stops,

Within the beacon,

The anguish of light-years torment,

Within the bright flash,

The blinding truth of life entirety,

Within this transition,

The binding regret.

So answer this, once;

Is there room for one more sun?

Ahmad Kamil,
14/07/2008,
auf Kohle.

Support the Sanction.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7503035.stm

Imbalance +1.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/86006

When The Pretzel Crumbles from Within?

"Where's mine?"


Politics is truly about giving, not giving, taking and not taking. Out of all four, giving and taking strike the color of the ruling party best. Why is that so?

Because taking and giving are substantial. Because if something is not being taken or not being given like tax exclusion etc., literally; no change has been made. So it goes; a desperate party will take and give more frequently to appeal to the mass. This is an evil fallacy.

The fact that difference in political views revolves around different ways of seeing things only further complicates this matter.

Let’s list out what the government took, recently:


1----- Leaders of HINDRAF.

Let’s be realistic. These are the main claims of HINDRAF:

1- Commonwealth ethnic Indian peace loving subjects in Malaysia persecuted by government, backed by Islamic extremist violent armed terrorist who launched a pre dawn violent armed attack and destroyed the Kg Jawa Mariaman Hindu temple at 4.00 am this morning (15.11.2007).

2- Appeal for U.K to move emergency U.N resolution condemning ethnic cleansing in Malaysia.

3- Appeal to refer Malaysia to the world court and international criminal court for crimes against its own ethnic minority Indians.

This is an intolerable, high treason. Worst to worst, Malaysia would come next after Syria or Iran, especially during this time when America is showing great interest in ‘safeguarding’ the Strait of Malacca.

And they are calling it a peaceful rally. Hell, I’d buy the rumors that HINDRAFs are gathering weapons to start a revolt, because they think they are being ethnically cleansed. What would you do with such realization?

So, the imprisonment of HINDRAF leaders is more or less a ‘giving’ to the peace loving people, but the maltreatment they receive behind bars is vice versa. All in all, this is a taking because it all escalated from the government turning its back on ethnic Indians, as a whole.

2----- Oil subsidy.

This is neck-breaking to the poor and middle-classites. Price of commodities sky-rocketed and crime rate increased. This taking is most vital of all for through it, the people are being intimidated for not being heard by the government, with some driven into famine.

3----- Jurisdictional rights.

Sure slandering is wrong and unethical, but when a claim has been made in the court of law alleging ‘men of great power’ to have been involved in ‘a murder’, a just investigation should be carried out.
The rule of law, if you will; the popular shout these days from both the government and the opposition. Where is the rule of law in;

1- Having those under investigation still running government departments (AG and CP).

2- Not being able to mention ‘some names’ in the court of law or in a police report.

3- Being induced and intimidated after making a Statutory Declaration.
And best of all, there is no justification whatsoever for all these actions and inactions.

And what the government gave:


1----- 45% increase of scholarship to the non-Bumiputeras through JPA.

With all due respect, I would describe the action of increasing the figure from 5% to 45% as a desperate, unintelligent, superfluous, selfish and far-fetched political attempt to gain more votes, and I’m not blaming the government as a whole. There are figures who are clearly dissatisfied by this decision.

Look at the rehabs, the streets, the villages etc.. Which race forms the majority of addicts, mat rempits, minah rempits and the poor? If the government is to cater for the rich and poor then I’d say; stop depriving the Malays who are really in need, by putting them through ‘premature meritocracy’. Never mind the rich Malays.

Why do we see ourselves as being racist when we talk about Malay agendas? The Indians and Chinese talk about their agendas all the time.

Remember that the greatest identity is the national identity; the identity which Malays gave willingly to the non-Malays as an indication of acceptance, for the Malays and the non-Malays worked hand in hand to bring Malaysia to its present state.

It’s a fair quid pro quo, and it is about time that all of us submit to the greater consensus; the national consensus. If fighting for racial benefits would discourage the ‘Malaysians’ Malaysia’ ideal, so be it: let us all be regarded as one, but until a Malaysian ‘Leitkultur’ is being established and practiced, in which all Malaysians would have to agree to certain values and points, the ideal is out of reach.

2----- 372 SJKT join the ‘fully-funded band’.

In the spirit of Islam Hadhari or Hadharah Islamiah or whatever it is, I see this as an unjust treatment. How about the ‘Sekolah Agama Rakyat’ or the SAR issue? Is it already out of mind? Truly, ‘Melayu mudah lupa’.

I am proud of the fact that I studied at a SAR.

As I recall, the government gave the SARs a binomial choice: to drop the Al-Azhar syllabi or to be financially independent.

Why did the government initially, not fund SJKTs and SJKCs? Because they wouldn’t accept / would partially accept; the syllabi set by the Ministry of Education and to this day, they remain so.

In a way, the SARs, SJKTs and SJKCs share something in common. But you see, the treatment is different.

That’s 2 taken from the Malays, 2 given to the non-Malays and 3 taken from Malaysians. This imbalance, somehow, reminds me of the ‘Koklkhozy’ collective farming program.

‘oderint dum metuant’.

La Revolution.

"The French Revolution. How shall we answer to the future generations?"


Amidst of this worsening political turmoil in Malaysia, I pledge my full support for reform to the better, freedom for the commoners and harsh judgment for the perpetrators.

Too much of power will eventually corrupt, too much of responsibility will eventually destruct. That is why those with great power are also liable to the law and only those reliable are given great responsibilities. The components of this balanced system complement each other and that is why it should be independent.

When an individual or a group of people with malafede political motivation/s attempt/s to transgress these limitations, we should not submit for there is too much to lose in imbalance, be it now or in the future.

Those who fathom this proposition are willing to go to great extent to restore the balance; the extent reached by Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and other great leaders of the past.

When leaders conspire, judiciary corrupts, atrocious libel being widespread, police force being a part of executive, there can only be one out of two reformative outcomes: having a revolution undertaken by the mass or having the corrupted at the international community’s point-blank.

I ask not for an allegiance to individual/s for the hearts of men are easily corrupted, only for fidelity and commitment to justice and future Malaysia.

Believe in restoration by natural selection!

Admin.

Olympic: One Million Ringgit for One Gold Medal.

"Is it worth it? (Until then, don't) let me work it"

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/84985

Before implementing the ‘one million ringgit for one gold medal’ plan in this coming Olympic, the government should really have another look at the premises of those dissatisfied.

As David Miller put it in his book ‘Political Philosophy’; the obedience of the people in a democratic nation is what the government get in return for their promise of equal distribution of state benefits to the people, in a collectivistic manner.

The logic behind this argument is that the whole idea of governing is grouping individuals who want to govern and be governed under one flag, one system of independent foreign policies and with all the rights to name enemies and allies, the best of interests and the worse of interests, or in other words; a government by the people, for the people. Other than this, we name oppression or contra- rule of law.
Later on, David Miller provides an example of how this state benefits are to be fair and square:

“Looks can be deceptive, however. There are at least two difficulties
that have to be overcome if the fair play argument is going to justify
political obligation. The first is that we have to show that the
benefits the state provides really are benefits for everyone. What if
the laws protect property, but only some people are property
owners, for example? Or what if taxes are being used to fund art
galleries and many people care nothing for art? The argument can
work, however, so long as the whole package of benefits provided by
the state makes everyone better off, and so long as the benefits are
shared reasonably fairly among all the citizens whose compliance
makes the system of authority possible.”

1-The state’s benefit of 1 million ringgit for a gold medal is an offer only to the athletes.

2-This ‘package’ would not make everyone better off. It would likely cause an imbalance in social costs-benefits distribution, taking the recent oil price hike and the sky-rocketing inflation rate (5%) into consideration.

3-The athletes are one very small part of compliance to authority. These are the other major half in action:

1> Electricity tariff hike by TNB.
2> Speculation of price hike of natural gas.
3> Speculation of inflation increment to 5% by early next year.
4> Speculation of bus fare hike.
5> ‘Persatuan Pengusaha Lori’ decided to increase their standard charge to survive.
6> Speculation of another oil price hike in this coming august.
7> Fishermen having great difficulties.
8> Post office havoc across the country.
9> Bangi bank robbery.
10> 10 to 50% increase of paper price.
11> Pizza Hut (Taman Tun Dr. Ismail) robbery.
12> Seng Heng Selayang robbery.
13> Smuggling attempt of RM 356, 00.00 worth of diesel in Sabah.
14> …

We should now demand reasonable conscience from the government.

My two cents worth a little bit more.

Extraordinary Rendition

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"Do not fear, Dr. Michael Moore is here."

There are two documentary films which I would endorse youngsters to see, provided they are 18 and above (for the later). Both were released in the year 2007 and so they are contemporary;

The first is ‘Extraordinary Rendition’ starring Omar Berdouni and the second is ‘SiCKO’ by Michael Moore.

I agree that politics is incomplete without history. As we, humans, develop the richness of civilizations worth centuries of toil and hard work, we deprive ourselves of examples of achievements and failures of the past that we tend to believe in something so easy to perceive as Pasca-Modernism: a mere theory that casts the significance of philosophy, substantial utopian visions and ideal concepts, away. But forget not that improvements never end. Forget not the backbone of the people’s voluntary agreement to their nation; the ideal of being protected by law, enjoying safety and the state’s benefits. John Locke proposed this in his ‘Second Treatise of Government’ (1689).

But increasing offer to maintained demand would mean an elevation in quality. Maybe someday when we finally learned the importance of Identity or ‘Eigenschaft’, we would accept ourselves the way we are. These uncertainties of buts and maybes made us entrust our moral and physical developments to the hands of socialists, communists and markets, hence, the wars of ideology and destruction.

What is the one thing that contains ‘Eigenschaft’, history and facts and yet entertains the uncertainties and ideals? The answer is freedom of choice, freedom of speech and also freedom of fear that would constrain people from both the formers. Instead of having the fear being imposed by the government onto the people through maltreatments and practices of ‘Draconian Laws’, we need the government to feel this fear as a servant, for their own good. The fear of not entertaining a demand, the fear of taking illegal actions against protesters and the fear of perceiving wrongly or in short; the fear of wrong actions, inactions and perceptions. This is the one place marked by a solid monument; a free piece of land by the people, for the people and for the law: our own version of Speakers’ Corner, to distinguish right from wrong, critics from curses.

Before we move on to the details about the two films above, let us look at what happened due to oil price hike in the past few days:

1> Electricity tariff hike by TNB.
2> Speculation of price hike of natural gas.
3> Speculation of inflation increment to 5% by early next year.
4> Speculation of bus fare hike.
5> ‘Persatuan Pengusaha Lori’ decided to increase their standard charge to survive.
6> Speculation of another oil price hike in this coming august.
7> Fishermen having great difficulties.
8> Post office havoc across the country.
9> Bangi bank robbery.
10> 10 to 50% increase of paper price.
11> Pizza Hut (Taman Tun Dr. Ismail) robbery.
12> Seng Heng Selayang robbery.
13> Smuggling attempt of RM 356, 00.00 worth of diesel in Sabah.
14> …

Why is this oil price hike so significant to Malaysians? Why does it excite so many people upon taking its toll; thieves and good Samaritans alike? Remember ‘Vox Populi, Vox Dei’.

The fact is:

According to the ‘Receipts and Expenditures’ clause of the United States Constitution -Article I, Section 9, clause 7-, the government is required to publish a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money. This resulted to the introduction of ‘black budget’.

“It was hard for me to acknowledge that in the end, we truly are all in the same boat, and that, no matter what our differences, we sink or swim together. That’s how it seems to be everywhere else. They take care of each other no matter what their disagreements. You know, when we see a good idea from another country, we grab it. If they build a better car, we drive it. If they make a better wine, we drink it. So if they come up with a better way to treat the sick, to teach their kids, to take care of their babies, to simply be good to each other, then what’s our problem? Why can’t we do that? They live in the world of ‘we’, not ‘me’. We’ll never fix anything until we get that one, basic thing right: empowerful forces hope that we never do, and that, we remain the only western country in the world without free universal health care. You know, if we ever did remove the choke-hold of medical bills, college loans, day-care and everything else that makes us afraid to step out of line, well, watch out. Because it will be a new day in America.” This was said by Michael Moore in the film SiCKO to compare American health care with that of the European. I took the freedom of quoting it to myself because I can’t find one in the net.

Apart from the ‘wine part’, I take the entire quote to be better than just sensible and universal enough to be put into life practice by the Muslims and the non-Muslims of Malaysia.

The fact is:

“Free college education, free medical care, government-issued nannies, I began to wonder; how do they pay for all this? And then I realized; they’re drowning in taxes.” This was said by Michael Moore to describe how heavenly it is in France.

Maybe Malaysia IS in a different context. Maybe we are in a developing, third-world country with limited resources. All the more reason for the government to manage these resources carefully. We can start by making regular accounts of ‘people’s companies’ such PETRONAS, publically available, or publically announcing our own ‘black budget’.


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"That belongs to me? Really?"

The fact is:

“Cuba is a little island in the Caribbean with little to no resources. We can do a lot to improve the people’s health. This does not happen in the United States. Why are we able to do and you are not? There’s something to notice here. Because the more a country produces, the richer it is, the better it should take care of its people.” This was said by Dr. Aleida Guevara, the daughter of late Che Guevara and also a Pediatrician, in the film SiCKO.

Does this happen in Malaysia? We need to ask ourselves that.

My two cents worth a little bit more.

22.06.2008

"Impossibility is not God. Impossibility is a miracle of God. Mind what you fear."

Fun with Roslan Aziz and Amin Iskandar.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/84615

Today, Roslan Aziz lauded his moronic side of reasoning by firing pemuda PAS with baseless critics. Like many other Malay artists who put on skimpy clothing, behave like they never knew Islam and yet give ‘Salam’ and say ‘Alhamdulillah’ before, during or after their stage performance, Roslan Aziz is just another joker perpetuating hedonism, another money craver who babbles. Here are some questions for you:

1-- Why should we listen to your nonsensicalities about politics when you didn’t even vote? Where is your conscience in that?

2-- Why should we listen to you talking about Islam when you don’t have the slightest idea about what you are talking? I must say that the misguiding remarks you made about religious people to the press are quite smooth. But using the ‘sanad’ as an example is cheap. You are just desperately trying to monger to the lot that you know something about Islam.

3-- Why shouldn’t politics be a part of Islam? This is the preliminary question and you don’t have any legitimate idea about it? Shame on you, calling yourself a Muslim. Be it Islam Hadhari or Hadharah Islamiah, from the government or the opposition, the fundamental task is to promote Islam as the way of life. But you were right all along. For people like you who are politically irresponsible, politics might just not be a part of life.

4-- ‘Put the blame on stupid artists who are dropouts’ and dictum on you, yourself. It is amazing how you managed to come up with the ‘mempertahankan nilai budaya’ basis when the many paradoxical premises in your remarks suggest that you might not be able to do so. Why did you say that you are not trying to oppose the qualities of Islam when obviously you are doing so? Just look at how Mas Idayu and Ella dress up. Never mind Malay music. Malays are defined mostly by their Islamic qualities since long, but not for you. You belong to the special case; of people who handpick the qualities of Islam which suit their desires, and dump the others.

5-- How did you connect music and development again? It is a universal truth that hedonism is counter-productive. Forget about the manifesto. That’s a long way of logics from you. Take your argumentum ad populum (‘Tidak ada konsert, di Kelantan ada juga anak luar nikah’) as an example. Not only that the two premises do not connect, you are saying that crowding up in front of a stage, waving hands while forgetting about the five prayers, having private parts of men and women alike, not private anymore and listening to toilet and even illicit jokes (of ‘Senario’) would NOT result in children imitating the jokes, youngsters fancy going to auditions and putting on trendy clothes than studying, ‘future mothers’ involving in pre-marital sex and others. How flawed is that? Savvy this new teaching of yours. Maybe you can come up with ‘ajaran Roslan Aziz’ or ‘ajaran Amin Iskandar’. I don’t know about the non-Muslims. But that is always the case for Muslims. Prove me wrong. ‘Mat rempit’, ‘bohjan’, ‘sumbang mahram’, ‘seks luar nikah’ (All these come in pair).

To me, you are just another political tool. It is true what John Locke proposed. Mental development is in levels. The basic level: people question about the authority of a government to collect taxes from them, to conscript them into services, etc. The higher level: people question the limit of the authority and the things which they have to forgo in exchange for basic needs such safety and prosperity. Your ‘two cents’ couldn't even pass the eligibility level (of becoming an idea).

'Seperti ketam mengajar anaknya berjalan'

CHANT OF ICARUS

Chant, my Thanatos,

And deafen;

The ears of Eros,

Drown passion in the dense darkness.

Dance, my Thanatos,

Grace my grave,

And I shall follow;

Into the abyss hollow,

Your time is near, I fear,

Remain,

Severe my pain.



Ahmad Kamil, 16/06/08.

Vox Dei

"The theory of expansion and contraction of the universe is remarkable. But the assumption that it is an ungoverned, infinite cycle, robs the meaning of life of moral and scientific senses, from mankind"


Guth’s elementary particle theory which relates itself to the truth of the existence of a beginning of the universe from nothingness or in other words; the creation of the universe, shattered the dreams of materialist scientists. This finding is in phase with that of Hawking’s and other great scientists of the past who were not in the state of denial nor in the state of being forcefully irresponsive.

Later on, we learnt that the God-given proofs are not sufficient for the perplexed reasoning of the materialists. With Tryon, Guth concluded that our existence on this life-supporting planet earth might just be a coincidence if examined in a larger scale because there exist no studies whatsoever to track the failures of life existence at other unsuitable planets in other galaxies of other universes.

The theory of Big Bang or ‘Urknall’ is itself; perfect. The creation of a vast universe from nothingness and its expansion at a short interval of time (what in German is described as ‘unvorstellbar’) and at a proportionate speed and the arrangements of protons, neutrons, electrons and photons which formed entities which matter and even correlate with each other, backed strongly by the background radiation or ‘Hintergrundgeraeusch’, is too complex and too perfect to be a coincidence.

The problem with examining something humongous as it is at a time is that you don’t really examine it. You might see a big picture but you don’t understand it. To examine it requires you to study the parts first and later put it together. Otherwise, mankind, collectively speaking, might end up doing the same mistake as Wilson and Penzias of the Bell Laboratory. Looking at the scientific universe and creations the way you look at Mona Lisa is a total fallacy.

Creationists are to me, able to see and conceive, the later which materialists lack. Basing their premises of reasoning on the theory of evolution would make them look more ridiculous for they formerly accepted the fact that arranging the constituents of a biological cell, say, to form one, would not give it the special ability of knowing that it is there or the sense of ‘Dasein’. So how can there possibly be a transition from an Ape or a Totenkopf to a human? So let’s reroute the subject of debate to about something which is not alive: the universe or the space and time.

Then again, the materialists tend to make the same mistake. What was the estimated range of amount of each protons, neutrons, electrons and photons right after the Big Bang? The answer is about 10^79 to 10^89. Should I be surprised by the tolerance of this estimation? This description of the transition period is vague and like other intermediates which materialists fail to explain, the uncertainty of the details increases with increment of the size of the frame of reference.

If sending Kobe and recently; Opportunity and Spirit (to Mars) has a lot to do with justifying anti-God scientific sentiments then it shall fail miserably because truth prevails and it takes on uncertain beliefs.

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is stupefyingly absurd.

'Zu viele Zufaelligkeiten um ein Zufall zu sein'

To kill a bird with two stones

By decreasing the amount of fuel subsidy and floating the oil price at the same time, our government might have triggered the crowd’s ego defense mechanism and now that all eyes are onto no. 1, it cannot get any uglier. Without an intelligent way out of this, we should expect the personification of ‘Google Syndrome’ through BN; the disallowing of full Boolean combinations in nested parenthesis. If the government fails to identify which ‘threats’ are and are not imminent, more oil strikes will follow.

‘Boleh Kerja Sambilan - Noraini Ahmad’ against ‘Pengkhususan’.

"The clock is ticking."

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/84294

When will Malaysia have its very own à la English Reform group? It is obvious; the great need there is, to restructure our civil services and thus, give fresh, new meanings to them. Too much of our GDP is being spent on paying civil servants. It should be about quality and not quantity. This itsy-bitsy cancer pushed the government to forgo numerous needs of the majority and continues to do so with the help of ‘warm and humid’ decisions made by the government and just recently; the encouragement of civil servants to participate in 2nd works.

The Reform group is a London, United Kingdom based free-market think tank whose mission is to set out a better way to deliver public services and economic prosperity via private sector involvement and market de-regulation. This independent and non-partisan group believes that, by reforming the public sector and extending choice, high quality services can be made available for everyone. This group is famous for its statistics-populated reports.

How do we, Malaysians, envision the healthcare, education, transport system, streets and economy of future Malaysia? Is it high-standard, modern, efficient, safe, free, dynamic and competitive or vice versa? The actions that the government is favoring right now are directing us towards the worst. Is it or is it not a fallacy to perceive that more teachers will result in an elevation of education quality? Figures don’t lie but sometimes they are deceitful.

Take the State of Kedah for example. The education standard there is decaying and being reduced to not just intellectual but also moral abyss, not due to scarcity in amount of whole-hearted teachers but due to mismanagements; almost nepotistic, corruptions and of course; indolent and passive teachers, and the only mechanism which the government came up with to combat this malignant, there-to-stay plague is the various PTK tests which are not only unreliable but also discouraging in the sense that it oust experienced teachers who lack English conversational skills (additional values).

Why can’t we be like Ireland or our close neighbor; Australia. That vast a country/continent managed to allocate only about 35% of their GDP to sustain their world-renown civil services. Think about what good the other 65% of our GDP would do us, a GDP backboned by oil industry.

Stop encouraging civil servants to undertake 2nd, ‘side’ jobs, reduce the amount of civil servants gradually, lower taxes, invest the other 65% (or close to that) of our GDP in our very own RND and plant-projects of renewable energies and seize from insensibly ignoring the fact that we are running out of crude oil. After all, having civil servants selling ‘Kuih Raya’ and ‘Kain’ will never benefit the lot, some figures in CUEPACS, maybe. The Government cannot control the ‘drive’ in free trades.

Just my two cents.

Wan Aziz Datuk Seri Wan Mohamed, the constitutional monarchy and the rising oil price.

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King Chulalongkorn.


‘The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej’ is the title of the book by Paul M. Handley which out of many, describes to readers the survival stories of Thailand monarchs.

The book starts with a quote from Prince Chakrabongs’s letter in which he expressed to Rama VI his fear of the progressive pact. He noted that the content the conservative pact spares the monarchy with their Saturnalia of excess faith, is but temporary for at the end, democracy shall prevail.

The sustainability of Thailand monarchs owes mostly to the ‘flexibility’ which the band of kings (from Chulalongkorn to Bhumibol) bestowed upon the Ptolemaic model of politics which revolved only around Buddha-like kings.

It is amazing how these great kings worked their way to protecting the monarchy, avoid western interventions and ease the tension that was building up within the empire. Prince Prajadhipok pursued his education in medical study and Militarism in the US, the UK and in Germany. To be the king of all Thailand is the last thing he wanted because he was determined to serve as a doctor at a public hospital and the best for his son, was to his perspective, anywhere outside the clear-white, four walls of the palace.

About fifty years before that, the Mexicans were already bracing themselves for a reform known as ‘La Reforma’. The subjects of dissatisfaction: the absence of a nation state system which appreciates political, geopolitical, culture and ethnical values and the non-Liberal system.

The new constitution they drafted during ‘The Plan of Ayutla’ paved its way to be the Constitution of 1857.

This time around, Malaysia might just be entering its ‘Age of Enlightment’ or ‘Zeitalter der Aufklaerung’. When the people collectively notice a malignant cancer of malpractices within government sphere which worsen with time, they would strike in one of two manners or both: reform or/and revolution, depending on how ‘headstrong’ this cancer is.

Looking at Malaysia’s political barometer, a reform is most probable. In this reform, the reformists would shore capitalism and the non-reformists would completely transform it and neither would bring benefit to the monarchs be they constitutional or not. So the price of Wan Aziz Datuk Seri Wan Mohamed’s strategy in this case is the nationwide negligence to the need of a functioning monarchy, because in time, people will forget the bond between reform and religious, socialistic and Utopian sentiments.

Emphasize on nourishing good moral values among the youngsters by way of practice of the older generations and not on giving away pamphlets explaining about ‘Perlembagaan Malaysia’ or any information of close resemblance which are already in ‘Buku Teks Sejarah’.

We love our king.

Just my two cents.

Malaysia Today’s Quranic interpretations.

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In this article, I will try to answer the rhetorical question of RPK though it was not meant to elicit an answer.

RPK:

Verse 13, chapter Al-Hujurat of the Quran, can be translated to read: "O Mankind! We have created you from a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you in the sight of Allah is he who has most righteous (taqwa) among of you. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware."

The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) addressed the people signifying that concept during his last pilgrimage, saying: "O People! Your God is one; your father is one; no preference of an Arab neither over non-Arab nor of a non-Arab over an Arab or red over black or black over red except for the most righteous. Verily the most honoured of you is the most righteous."

‘Yes, I know, many Malaysia Today readers hate Tun Dr Mahathir. Nevertheless, as much as you may hate the Tun, we should not overlook the good things he has done or said even though you may hold the opinion that he did more bad than good. After all, the British were colonialists and there can be nothing good about colonialism. However, when the British left, they left behind a good education, administrative and legal system.’

E.F.E.L.:

No. Do you agree with me that in this present world of ever-increasing cognitive complexity, it is unfair to class humans into categories, based on their actions (because this instant it can be bad and the next instant it can be good). If you agree to that, you might as well agree to not categorize human’s actions (resulting from individual or crowd psychology) based on the outcomes (have you seen a kaleidoscope of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin smiling to each other and then putting up a straight face – that’s what they call politics), and let alone criticize someone on the base of Argumentum ad Hominem.

I read Malaysia Today because I always go for two sides of the story but that does not make me a Tun’s hater, and the British did not leave behind a stable or even sound education, administrative and legal system. Let not your Welsh root cloud your mind on this.

I dare say that what they left behind for us are sly, western political and social traps and decoys into which aggressive, delusive and western-like people like you would fall for, that later they can intervene. Take the judiciary system for instant. Did the British pay any respect to Syariah Laws? How could you quote Quranic and Hadith verses at the start of your article just to later,indirectly belittle the Syariah Laws at the middle? Don’t get me wrong. I love your articles for they mostly make sense.

RPK:

‘ABIM says we should not whack the Muslims. And since, by law, Malays are Muslims then we should not whack the Malays as well. But is it okay for Malays to whack the non-Malays and non-Muslims?’

E.F.E.L.:

Here’s a taste of your own medicine:

In the name of Allah, most merciful, most compassionate.

“Summon to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good admonition…” (16:125)
And there is no limitation to that which means; if you whack ABIM with abrasive statements and using coarse words, you are NOT a good Muslim and if ABIM do so to the non-Muslims then the same applies to them.

All in all, it’s 2 to 1 because you also supposed that Malays consider it OK to whack the non-Malays and non-Muslims, and that, my friend, is being 'Zalim'.

RPK:

‘What if the non-Muslims were to say they do not recognize Islam or the Quran because Islam and the Quran have been distorted over the last 1,400 years? What if the non-Muslims were to say that Islam and the Quran have been changed and are no longer the original Islam and Quran that Prophet Muhammad introduced 1,400 years ago? If the non-Muslims say this then they would be committing a crime under the Sedition Act. The non-Muslims would face punishment because they are not sensitive to the feelings of the Muslims.’

E.F.E.L.:

In that case, Sedition Act might put people behind bars but the truth that Islam is itself, in its own nature; great, remains.

Here’s another remedy of yours:

In the name of Allah, most merciful, most compassionate.

“As for the Disbelievers, whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not.” (2:6)

So they can fire the critics all they want as long as they do not impose their freedom of speech and their freedom to disgrace onto everything regarding our religion from our beloved Prophet to the ‘enlightened ones’. You get the idea. Denmark, Holland and which country’s next? But through economic sanctions, we sent them, and will never tire in sending them a clear message;

Try to find anything wrong in these Gedankenexperiment of 2 premises and 1 conclusion:

1- I make fun of my grandmother all the time and draw illicit cartoons of her.

2- Michael has a grandmother just like me.

Conclusion: I can and will make fun of Michael’s grandmother and draw illicit cartoons of her and it is wrong for Michael to get mad.

RPK:

‘Justice, to the Muslims, is only what is good for the Muslims.’

E.F.E.L.:

Mind your words if you still consider yourself a Muslim. During the Crusades, the Crusaders of seven nations wiped out any Muslim land they passed through killing innocent children, women and the disabled and burning houses of worship and did the Muslim liberation armies do such thing? No. In fact they constrained themselves from doing so and their high moral values were, and remains the subject of fascination of western scholars, and that reflects the healthy qualities of Islam they once nourished.

This diabolic act were inherited by the British during their colonial days but we now know it with a term; ‘Dasar Bumi Terbakar’. Pond my word, hope those people are not Welsh.

I still hope we, Malays can progress and level with our Chinese friends.

Just my two 'pennies'.