Solidarity with Bersih 2.0 on July 9th 2011

Update #2: Am so happy that the demonstration turned out so well although we must not forget the people who were injured or killed during the event.

Update #1: As expected, there goes the water canons and the firing of tear gas at un-armed citizens.... this is what the Malaysian police is good at, that is, hitting the people while getting paid by the very same people...calling the Malaysian police mere 'rascals' seems too much of a euphemism...

Today is a really hot day here in Japan...

Had been working in the potager all morning, planting sweet corn...

But my mind keeps thinking about what is going to happen in my beloved country, Malaysia...

For today, Malaysians, cutting across ethnic lines, are going to tell the corrupted and inefficient government that we have had enough of their antics, their arrogance, their stupidity, and their contempt for the citizens... 

Since 1957, Malaysia has been ruled by a single political coalition.

This coalition is headed by big-brother UMNO, who calls all the shots...
Little brothers MCA, Gerakan, and MIC in particular, they are merely in the coalition as puppets...

Imagine, for more than 50 years, these political rascals have grown to think that Malaysia is their private property.
They seem to think that they can just dictate to people whenever they feel like doing so...

At this moment, they are behaving like third world politicians, treating citizens like cattle. 

Imagine the Japanese police trying to stop people from entering Tokyo...

Maybe this can happen during the days of the samurai when roads to Edo (Tokyo) were few and you had to travel by foot or horse...

Imagine Japan channeling her resources onto the police force to try to stop citizens from demonstrating for clean and fair elections...
Imagine the Japanese police arresting anyone who wears a tee shirt with a certain color...

What stupidity...

What arrogance...   

They re-routed the bus lines into KL city, they closed down train stations, they set up barricades on certain trunk roads, they banned almost 100 individuals from even entering KL, they have arrested hundreds of people on flimsy reasons such as plotting to overthrow the king....
Malaysia, my beloved country... you do not deserve this... you do not deserved to be run by these despots...  

And to think that these are the very same people who want to attract back overseas-Malaysians to the motherland...

Yes, with only one condition, that is, we replace you first... we kick you out first... we want you, the whole bunch, out of the government... then, we talk.... 

Meanwhile, on this historic day, I salute the steering committee of Bersih 2.0 for bringing us all to this point... 

And I really hope that the Malaysian police would not be as stupid as they have been... doing stupid things like blasting water canons on demonstrators and such...

But then, I must be dreaming to even hope so...

The inept and dishonorable Malaysian civil service

I have great respect for Mariam Mokhtar the writer...

I am taking the liberty to use her full article here, appended below...
Go ahead and read what she has to say on the Teoh Beng Hock verdict...

Now, just what the hell is an 'open verdict'?

Ok, it is not suicide nor homocide...

For the love of god then, what in the world is it?

'Kick-Ass' politics in Malaysia

I must admit that I am addicted...
Addicted to reading about the happenings in my beloved Malaysia...
It is not only 'fun', but 'educational', and 'entertaining' as well...
This latest tough talk by the MCA lame-duck Dr.Chua and UMNO's double-talking Najib that PAS will 'rule' Malaysia should PR comes to power...
That MCA should 'kick ass' on its disloyal members, and blah blah blah... warns Najib...
Oh my, how I chuckled out loud upon reading what PKR's Tian Chua had to say on this...
'The only ass that Najib kicked was probably his own'...
Super right on, I must say...
Last year, I met an American professor at an academic conference...
He approached me and said that he was the academic advisor of Dr. Koh Tsu Koon while Koh was in the US studying...
He then said to the effect that Dr. Koh is a good politician, and a good chief minister, too...
Plus, Dr. Koh was such a gracious host when he visited Penang...
I could only look at that person in disbelief...
For, who can forget that episode when the UMNO suckers tore his photo and shamed him so publicly?
Dr. Koh should really quit politics and start growing vegetables (like me?)...
And now, with Dr. Lim Keng Yaik giving him some tight slaps, in full view of the public...
Come next election, I really pray that these suckers will be kicked out, in the ass, that is...

Dr Pornthip, 'pure electricity'... Dr. Dzulkefly, simply hilarious...

At one corner, renowned Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand...
55 years of age... pretty, classy... even funky...
Pathologist and Director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Thailand...
Also, author, human rights activist, cancer survivor...

In Batu Member of Parliament Tian Chua's words... 'Pure electricity'... 'and everyone is watching her'...

On the other corner, Malaysia’s Attorney-General Gani Patail...
Coincidentally, 55 years of age... controversial... and 'must surely rank as among the most notorious of Malaysia's top civil servants'... (Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/)

Now, visualize the Attorney-General's point man, the MACC's head prosecutor Abdul Razak Musa, cross-examining Dr Pornthip...

"If you say blunt object, where is the weapon," a frustrated Razak said.
To which the quick-witted Pornthip replied, "I want to ask if you are a lawyer?"

Uwahahahaaa... imagine the roar at the court house...

And, 'On Pornthip's conclusion that there were strangulation marks on Teoh's neck, Razak pointed out that Teoh could have strangled himself as the other four doctors had found no such evidence. When Teoh's lawyer Gobind Singh Deo asked Razak to demonstrate how one could strangle himself, Razak quickly obliged, only to draw more jeers.'

Twitted Dr Dzulkefly, who sat at the proceedings...
“Can't take the stupidity of ridiculous questioning from the prosecutor [sic]... baffling... imagine this joker gonna be a judge one day," he remarked.' (Source: Harakahdaily)

Back to the proceedings... "Did my learned friend (Razak) just say he strangled himself?” quipped Gobind, drawing another big burst of laughter from court.

Dr Dzulkefly's last words for the day's event ... “I've enough comedy for a year! Thanks to this joker (Razak)". 

Hmmm... wish I was there at the courthouse today...

Support for Teoh Beng Hock and family...

Steadyaku47 chuckled, saying that the suspicious suicide note act 'is really the Attorney General at his most creative'.
Din Merican meanwhile honored the note as the 'mother of all fabrications'.

If one is trusted to do a job, why is it so difficult to do it well?
A job that one can proud of... a job done with honor...

Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand is due to testify tomorrow...
I hope it will be one heck of a show...

Meanwhile, Teoh Beng Hock's family laments the 'wilting' support for this cause...
I say no, the support from the common people has not waned...
I am certainly with you, and the many others who had faced cruel injustice in Malaysia...

Justice will prevail... sooner or later...

Mentality in Malaysia going down the pits

There are a lot of folks in Malaysia that I respect.
Especially those folks who are fighting in the field...
fighting for the betterment of Malaysia...
Tony Pua, Karpal, Gobind, Dr. Dzulkefly, Anwar, Guan Eng, Raja Petra, Zaid Ibrahim, Khalid Samad, among others...
Compare them to people like me who choose to move overseas, away from it all...
To these Malaysian heroes, I reserve my utmost respect...
When I read about the death threat (accompanied with a live M16 bullet, no less) sent to Tony Pua, I couldn't help but to shake my head in utter disbelief...
What more, many months ago, I chanced upon a page of Tony's... among the contents being a photograph of him, his wife, and his child (if my memory is intact)...
I coiled, feeling mildly shocked that a high profile politician like Tony would (willingly or inadvertently?) reveal his family photo in public space...
Without a second thought, I immediately sent an email urging him to take down the picture as there are many mad people around and we wouldn't know what crazy thing they would do to us...
I received no response... I didn't check the page again but I had hoped that he would take the picture down...
There are several write-ups on this death threat...
One is by Saw Teik Lim, penning under the name 'romerz'...
Another opinion is by Thomas Lee Seng Hock, who says 'I trust our police will act without fear or favour to bring the culprit to book, even if he happens to be a powerful politician or works for one.'
I let out a heavy sigh... the Malaysian police?
Brother, I would painfully like to trust so, very very much indeed... but in things Malaysia, events will probably go the way as envisaged by Din Merican at Attorney-General, IGP & MACC Chief: Stop The Fabrications and Lies

Asset declaration by cabinet members: time to 'Look East'

Have been refraining from commenting on things political...
But, my conscience beholds me...
Speak up for the good of your country! My conscience seems to insist...

Quoting the Malaysian Insider...  Show asset-declaration precedent, MCA tells MACC...
IPOH, Aug 1 — MCA today asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to give examples of countries which asked their Cabinet members to declare their assets to the public. Its president, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, said to his knowledge, no country practised such a policy. “Even in the United States, they only declare their assets to the president. They don’t go around announcing their assets here and there,” he told reporters after opening Perak MCA’s annual convention here today.

While hardly an expert on such matters, I believe the Japanese cabinet members have been required to declare their assets (voluntarily) since 2001... quite recent, considering that she is advanced nation...

For the benefit of MCA and MACC, I hope they would look up this link in the Japanese papers...
Cabinet members report relatively modest total assets; PM has lowest in history

Prime Minister Kan Naoto had his cabinet members declared their assest shortly after taking office...

Now, as Malaysian Insider asks... 'Is declaring assets publicly so difficult?'