In Search of the Historical Jesus ~ 49-minute BBC documentary

[First posted 2 January 2014]

WINNING THE HUMAN RACE ~ by Dean Johns

I wasn't going to do any blogging today (just plowing through all the shit on the news portals exhausts me) but I was so chuffed with Dean Johns's well-considered piece in Malaysiakini, I simply had to clone it for the Magick River blog as a special tribute to an inspired humorist I'd like to meet one day. Dean Johns is definitely among my favorite columnists after Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda and the late Art Buchwald.

Winning the human race
Dean Johns | Aug 13, 08 1:01pm | Malaysiakini

It seems ridiculous to me that, as members of the species that calls itself Homo sapiens, we’re not wise enough to realise that it’s enough of a struggle to survive the one short lifetime we’re individually allotted without wasting our energies striving for superiority over each other.

But it’s hardly surprising, I suppose, that our intellects still have so far to go in achieving ascendancy over our instincts. After all, it’s only a relatively few thousand years since our cortexes enabled us to transcend nature’s tooth-and-claw law of the survival of the fittest.

So, as ‘civilised’ as we fancy ourselves to be, and as aware that co-operation makes more sense than competition, it’s no wonder that primitive emotions still prevail over reason in our relationships with our fellow humans.

Not that we haven’t made a great deal of progress. Most of us are committed, at least in principle, to caring for the less physically, mentally and financially fit among us. Many of us believe passionately in equal rights and opportunity for all.

'Annunciation' by Mati Klarwein (1961)

We fight for the rights of our weak or victimised brothers and sisters, fund charities to go to their aid, beg the UN to protect them with sanctions and peace-keepers and even, as a final resort, fight wars on their behalf.

But many of us are also, it seems, still our neighbours’ worst enemies. We are driven to squander our own and everyone else’s time and energies in fatuous and ultimately futile attempts to show that we’re the biggest, baddest, fastest, strongest, meanest, richest, luckiest, sexiest, holiest or somehow the most superior people on the planet.

Not that I’m against striving for excellence, just as long as we keep a sense of proportion and stop short of pathological displays of domination and triumphalism.

The Olympic Games are a classic case in point. Purportedly a celebration of fraternity through sportsmanship, they've been subverted in the century of their modern existence into a sort of symbolic four-yearly world war.

Qualities like sportsmanship, grace and courage still survive, thanks to the indomitable spirit of many of the athletes, but such values are increasingly replaced by hysterical official and media expressions of ‘patriotism’ in which nothing counts but medal tallies.

As debased, commercialised and ridiculously expensive as it is, however, the ritual warfare of the Olympics is of course vastly preferable to the real thing. Communist China’s drive to demonstrate its superiority over the US – or vice versa – beats the heck out of staging the contest with nuclear weapons.

But warfare persists nonetheless. In Darfur, for example, where China supports the Sudanese government with arms and munitions, while the US fights on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And no sooner had the Olympics started than US and NATO ally Georgia up and invaded South Ossetia, provoking Russia into a massive counter-strike.

Judicial gymnastics and synchronised spinning

Meanwhile, the usual suspects elsewhere are up to their customary fun and games. The Generals in Burma are still sporting the medals they’ve awarded themselves for their defeat of democracy, Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party are still claiming victory in Zimbabwe, and Barisan Nasional continues to treat Malaysia to world-class performances in judicial gymnastics and synchronised spinning.

Skullduggery will be in vain sooner or later, of course, as history shows that nobody wins the human race forever, or even leads it for long.

History is nothing if not a long, long litany of ‘winners’ who once dominated the world, at least as they knew it, and today are nothing but losers or even almost lost to memory.

Whatever became of, to name just a few in no particular order, to the Etruscans, Spartans, Macedonians, Romans, Hittites, Huns, Mongols, Vikings, Aztecs and Incas?

Whatever became of the British, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, or the Greater Asian co-prosperity sphere, or the thousand-year Reich or the USSR?

We all originated in Africa, or so science confidently informs us. Africans and people of African descent are still winning the human race in a great many sports, from distance-running to basketball. And the world’s top golfer, Tiger Woods, an American Afro-Asian.

Asians are winning the human race in sheer numbers these days, and soon may be pre-eminent economically too if India and China sustain their current rates of growth.

Of course who’s winning the human race right at this moment depends entirely on your point-of-view.

In my book it’s the Scandinavian nations for their combination of prosperity, social consciousness, environmentalism and good governance. And for some of the same reasons, I rate Canada and New Zealand right up there too.

The US is bigger, richer, more populous and has a far more powerful militarily than any of the above. However, it is too arrogant and overbearing, in my opinion, for its own and the rest of the world’s good.

China is big and powerful too, and fast overtaking the US economically, but far too corrupt, unprincipled and undemocratic to be a credible contender for leading the human race anytime soon.

But in any event, the struggle for supremacy, be it military, political, economic, technological or athletic, is ultimately a losing proposition. Whatever tribes, sects, ethnic groups, parties or nationalities we’re born into or choose to join, we’re all in this human race together.


So the sooner we can relinquish our primitive urge to win at all costs, and rid ourselves of leaders who treat us like losers, the better off we’ll all be.

[First posted 13 August 2008]

The sacred union of male & female expressed as tantric ballet

It's so uplifting just to watch this beautiful couple act out the immortal romance between Yang and Yin, Adam and Eve, Shakta and Shakti, Consciousness and Energy.

They are Vladyslav & Aiusha from Kiev and I honor them for their dedication to their magickal art of portraying the erotic impulse in its most sublime and inspiring form.

Ironic that such heavenly talent and beauty should have arisen from the Ukraine, where hell has broken loose in recent years. Never have I seen a more passionate and astoundingly acrobatic pas de deux performed to such ecstatic perfection.

[Thanks to Julia Reuter for sending me this video link!]

What happens when Jada Pinkett & Will Smith combine their DNA?

Published on 24 Sep 2012
Directed and Edited by Mike Vargas/Nuyorktricity

Published on 1 May 2012




Uploaded on 18 Oct 2010



Uploaded on 3 Mar 2011



Published on 21 Sep 2012



Published on 6 Aug 2012



Published on 16 Dec 2011





Uploaded on 11 Jul 2010

ALTANTUYA ASIDE... (reprise)

Names change... Syed Hamid Albar is now running a gigantic scam called SPAD... Musa Hassan stepped down in September 2012 and fearing a Pakatan Rakyat takeover, began making conciliatory noises, trying to hedge his bets, even threatening to expose "Altantuya's real murderer" in Bangkok... his successor Khalid Abu Bakar, turned out to be 10 times worse... the shituation remains the same, only it's costing us 100 times more because of inflation!

Malaysiakini | 31 March 2009

Meanwhile in a related development, the police chief issued a warning to all political parties not to incite, provoke or utter words that are deemed to be seditious.

Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan also said that they must avoid making unfounded and baseless allegations on their opponents or the party they represented.

"Police will be monitoring all political ceramah and will record them. We urge everyone including supporters not to provoke or taunt anyone during their campaigns," he said in a statement today.

Musa also added that the police would beef up security in all three by-election spots to prevent untoward incidents.

Even if Altantuya Shaariibuu never existed... and therefore never met Najib Abdul Razak or Abdul Razak Baginda... never demanded USD500,000 for keeping mum about backroom negotiations she was privy to over the purchase of three submarines for the Malaysian Navy in 2005... and therefore was never abducted on the evening of 19 October 2006 by police officers in front of eyewitnesses, toyed with like a trapped mouse, shot twice in the head and then blown to smithereens with C4 military-grade explosives... that still does not immunize the erstwhile defence minister from being investigated for corruption of the highest order.

Kickbacks, okay, commissions amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit cannot be cavalierly swept under the Umno carpet.

What about the PSC Naval Dockyard fiasco involving billions in inexplicable losses? As defence minister at the time, Najib Razak should have been immediately sacked for gross mismanagement. This extraordinary debacle was never investigated and no heads were seen to roll. Amin Shah, the Umno crony responsible for the grotesque budget overruns, reportedly fled the country. He ought to be doing time for embezzlement or criminal breach of contract.

Instead, against the wishes of more than 90% of the electorate, Najib Razak is on the verge of being anointed by Umno as Malaysia's sixth prime minister. Correction: CRIME minister!

Where got meaning, I ask you?

As for Musa Hassan's outrageous warning...

HOW DARE YOU DICTATE TO THE RAKYAT, YOUR EMPLOYERS?

You, sir, are essentially the nation's Chief Security Guard. We, the rakyat, pay your salary to safeguard our property and our public spaces. We do not take instructions from our security guards, do you understand? Of late, your personnel have behaved so despicably you deserve not only to be IMMEDIATELY SACKED... but thoroughly investigated for all your alleged misdeeds since 1998. Musa Hassan, I hold you personally responsible for the absolute and utter degradation of the Malaysian police, whose reputation for criminal misbehavior has sunk far below that of the most vicious street gang.

You can make people fear you... but you can't make them respect or trust you. I know you see yourself as a tough guy, tougher than even Rahim Noor. However, less than a year ago you underwent heart bypass surgery. Have you been listening to your heart? I guess not! Instead, you choose to obey your criminal masters in Umno. You have joined forces with the crime minister - the biggest desperado in the country - and you are waging war against the rakyat. Do you HONESTLY believe you are serving your goddam bangsa dan agama? Musa Hassan, I urge you to repent and voluntarily step down. I'm sure the rakyat will find it in their hearts to forgive you and let you spend the rest of your days in peace, making amends.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics began to crumble and disintegrate into dozens of semi-autonomous countries. Russia came under the control of powerful Mafia-style crime syndicates and renegade generals. It's a miracle the country still exists. And look at the tragedy that befell Zimbabwe when that hideous monster Robert Mugabe rose to power... yes, I'm talking about Mahathir's bosom buddy, birds of a feather!

We don't want this to happen to our beloved Malaysia. But it appears that the crime syndicates, masquerading as Captains of Industry and the corporate elite, are determined to suffocate our newborn democracy in its crib - so that they can continue with impunity their 50-year rape and pillage of the nation's wealth. Not only are you liars, hypocrites, thieves and murderers... you are about to commit infanticide!

I regard it as my moral duty to thwart your evil designs. Anyone else care to join me?


[First published 1 April 2009, reproduced 1 April 2012 as a public service announcement in view of this headline]

Excuse me, Mr Pink Lips, but your fly is wide open... & the case isn't closed!

courtesy of Malaysiakini

THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT MUST TELL US ABOUT THE ROLE OF TERASASI

Dr Kua Kia Soong

Having had the privilege of looking at some of the PARIS PAPERS on the Scorpene scandal recently, it behooves me to give anxious landlubbers a “hitchhiker’s guide” to this convoluted mesh of payments that have gone on to grease this most expensive (more than RM7 billion) arms purchase in Malaysia’s history.

Since SUARAM lodged its complaint with the French courts for a judicial review of the Scorpene contract in November 2009, the French prosecutors have certainly been busy with their investigations. They have interviewed officials in the French state company, DCN and related companies such as Thales as well as officials in the French ministry of defence. They have looked into bank vaults and scrutinized contracts, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of intent, invoices, bank accounts of various people including Abdul Razak Baginda. There are also some rather telling internal confidential reports of DCN and the French ministry of defence.

What Malaysians See Above Water

So far, the Malaysian Ministry of Defence has told Parliament that:

1. The cost of two Scorpene submarines together with logistic support and training was close to 1 billion euros;

2. Payment to Perimekar Sdn Bhd for “coordination services” was 114 million euros.

Malaysian tax payers will still need to pay even more for maintenance services, support & test equipment, missiles and torpedoes, infrastructure for the submarine base, training of crew, etc. The total bill for these two submarines will be in excess of RM7 billion.

But are these two the only transactions in a sordid affair that has claimed the life of a fair Mongolian lass named Altantuya?

Perimekar Never More than a Travel Agency

Negotiations on the submarine contract started in 1999. At the time, the French state company DCN had this view of Perimekar:

“The amount to be paid to Perimekar is over-evaluated. It is not worth it…They are never more than a travel agency…The price is inflated and their support function is very vague…Yes, that company created unfounded wealth for its shareholders.”

But this system was created by the Malaysian government so DCN had no choice.

Before 2002, French Bribes to Foreign Officials Were Tax Deductible!

Before 2002, when new laws in France and OECD Convention were brought in to make bribing of foreign officials a crime, any money used to bribe foreign officials was even tax deductible! Such is the nature of arms deals all over the world.

The former finance director of DCN, Gerarde Philippe Maneyas had made a claim for 32 million euros (RM124 million) allegedly used to bribe Malaysian officials for purchase of the Scorpenes. The budget minister had questioned such a large bribe although he did eventually authorize the tax break.

Bypassing French Law and OECD Convention

Najib Razak, then defence minister & deputy prime minister,
and Altantuya Shaariibuu, murdered Mongolian translator

With the new French law and OECD Convention against corruption in place after 2002, the French arms merchants had to find a way to pay commissions to their foreign clients. The method used was to create “service providers” that could “increase invoices” in order to take the place of commissions.

Thus, when the French state company DCN terminated its contracts, Thales took over as a private company, not involving the state. Thales International was appointed to coordinate the political connections.

A commercial engineering contract was then signed between DCNI and Thales, referred to as “C5”. It covered 30 million euros in commercial costs abroad. The companies used in the Malaysian case were” Gifen in Malta, Eurolux in Luxemburg and Technomar in Belgium. The travel expenses of Baginda and Altantuya were covered by these.

Another “consulting agreement” was signed in 2000 between Thint Asia and Terasasi for 2.5 million euros.

Commissions and Dividends through Perimekar & Terasasi

Mr & Mrs Abdul Razak Baginda

The commissions and dividends for the Scorpene deal were funneled through two companies, Terasasi and Perimekar, both owned by Abdul Razak Baginda. His wife, Mazlinda is a director in Perimekar while his father is also a director in Terasasi.

Malaysians have heard about Perimekar and its “coordinating service” in the submarines deal. But so far there has been no mention of Terasasi.

Could the Minister of defence tell the Malaysian public and Parliament the exact role of Terasasi in this Scorpene deal?

From the Paris Papers, we know that at least 32 million euros (RM144 million) were paid by Thales International (Thint) Asia to Terasasi. There is an invoice by Terasasi dated 1.10.2000 for 100,000 euros. There is also an invoice from Terasasi to Thint Asia, dated 28.8.2004 for 359,450 euros (RM1.44 million) with a hand-written note saying : “Razak wants it in a hurry.”

This increase in invoices replaced the former dispensing of high commissions.

A confidential report in the Paris Papers notes:

“It appears that the management of Thint Asia is aware that the amount paid to Terasasi ultimately benefited Najib or his adviser, Baginda.”

Thus, as our French lawyer, Joseph Breham has put it: “Investigations so far have provided sufficient evidence to point our finger at Malaysian officials in this hearing.”

[First posted 3 June 2012]

Saiful to answer charges of "qazaf" (reprise)

At 11AM today (27 November 2008) Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who lodged a police report 28 June 2008 that he had been anally raped by Anwar Ibrahim, presented himself at the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) for further questioning with regard to Anwar's formal complaint on 9 July 2008 that Saiful Bukhari had committed qazaf (wrongfully accusing a chaste man or woman of adultery or homosexuality without four reliable witnesses).

The punishment for those who accuse others of committing adultery and sodomy without substantiation is, according to various Islamic scholars, similar to those who commit such offences.

HERE'S A POINT-BY-POINT SUMMARY OF SALIENT FACTS SURROUNDING THIS PERPLEXING AND SORDID AFFAIR THAT HAS MADE MALAYSIA THE BUTT OF ENDLESS ANUS JOKES:

1. Saiful Bukhari Azlan is reportedly Mumtaz Jaafar's "Godson."

2. Mumtaz Jaafar is reportedly Rosmah Mansor's business associate and "bag lady."

Mumtaz Jaafar (MJ) & Rosmah Mansor (RM) with a Wanita Umno group (from The Dandelions)

3. Najib Razak finally admitted (under pressure) that Saiful Bukhari had visited him and his wife at their residence "a few days" before Saiful lodged his infamous police report against Anwar Ibrahim. Najib had earlier stated that Saiful only visited his office and discussed getting a "scholarship" with Khairil Anas Yusof, "special aide" to DPM Najib. Initially, Najib insisted he had "never met" Saiful personally. Then MT published part of a video interview with a friend of Saiful Bukhari who attested he had accompanied Saiful on his visit to Najib & Rosmah's residence...

Saiful posing with Khairil Anas Yusof (special aide to Najib) at the Deputy Prime Minister's office in February 2008.

4. Malaysia Today also published a story stating that Saiful Bukhari had met Senior Assistant Commissioner (II) Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof in Room 619 of the Concorde Hotel at 2:30 PM on 25 June 2008 (3 days before the police report was lodged). The MT report also alleged that Saiful had been in phone contact with Rodwan Mohd Yusof and other police officers for several days prior to that rendezvous at the Concorde. Rodwan Mohd Yusof happens to be IGP Musa Hassan's "dirty tricks" agent and was involved in Anwar's 1998 sodomy trial (he demanded Anwar's DNA sample from the Hospital Besar KL which was later used on the infamous Tivoli mattress). To date there has been no official denial or investigation of these allegations. Rodwan Mohd Yusof had "no comment" when questioned by reporters.

5. Saiful Bukhari Azlan's biological father, Azlan Mohd Lazim, had abandoned Saiful's mother when Saiful was still a toddler. Recently, Azlan Mohd Lazim (seated beside Saiful, above) reappeared in Saiful's life when he accompanied his estranged son to the swearing ritual at the Federal Territory Mosque officiated by a newly appointed imam, Ramlang Porigi, on 15 July 2008 (one day before Nomination Day for the Permatang Pauh by-election). Azlan Mohd Lazim was also present at a press conference afterwards. It was subsequently revealed by MT that Azlan Mohd Lazim earns his living mainly as an Umno go-between, fixing deals and negotiating clandestine transactions, and was instrumental in coordinating the secret PAS-Umno meetings soon after 8 March 2008. Azlan Mohd Lazim is on a special committee of Umno entrepreneurs, headed by Romeli Musa (of Sapura Holdings) determined to stop Anwar Ibrahim from becoming PM and Pakatan Rakyat from taking over the federal government.

Click here for behind-the-scenes report on how PKR pulled off this remarkable coup.

6. During the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign, looped video footage of Saiful Bukhari swearing on the Koran that Anwar Ibrahim had forcibly sodomized him was repeatedly and almost continuously projected on giant outdoor screens at all BN operations centers. However, Ramlang Porigi, the imam who had officiated at Saiful's swearing ritual, showed up at PKR ceramahs & publicly stated that he was unwittingly and unwillingly dragged into the whole affair - in fact, Ramlang revealed that Khairil Anas Yusof ("special aide" to the DPM) had arranged the swearing ritual and that Ramlang himself had no say in the matter. He was bombarded with angry messages from friends and strangers afterwards and realized he had to come out in the open & officially disassociate himself from Saiful's swearing ritual.

7. Saiful Bukhari showed up at Hospital Pusrawi after lunch on 28 June 2008 complaining of acute pain in his own arse ("someone shoved some plastic object up my rectum..."). He was rectally examined by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid who found no signs that Saiful Bukhari had been forcibly sodomized and said as much in his medical report. Subsequently, the Hospital Pusrawi report was leaked to the media (it first appeared in Malaysia Today, of course), and that made the entire case go limp. On 7 August 2008 Anwar Ibrahim was charged with "consensual" sodomy under Section 377B of the Penal Code, contradicting Saiful Bukhari's insistence under Koranic oath that he had not consented and was, in fact, raped by Anwar (believe it or not, Ripley!)

From Malaysiakini.tv, 4 Sept 2008

8. Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid subsequently read a statement at a press conference endorsing the authenticity of the leaked Hospital Pusrawi medical report and maintaining that he stood by the results of his rectal examination. Dr Osman also revealed that he had been repeatedly visited by police officers who made him sign statements in Malay which he did not fully understand (being a Burmese national) & which contained extraneous details added by the police.

As far as I'm concerned this case is closed, QED.

For Saiful Bukhari's protection (from possible attack by morally inflamed Anwaristas and ardent connoisseurs of plump young rumps) I recommend that the good Burmese doctor be assigned to bung up Saiful's pert little ass. However, if Dr Osman has already left the country - and who can blame him, after all the stress he's been subject to? - then we'll just have to hand Saiful over to that Honorable MP from Kenabatangan, Bung Mokhtar Radin (who's reputed to be quite an expert on bunging up leaky holes).

Kenny Gan (Letters to Malaysiakini): When Anwar’s trial begins, Saiful should be asked one question: ‘Does he agree to the charge under Section 377B of consensual sodomy?’ If he still insists as per his public stance that the act was non-consensual, the charge should be amended to Section 377C covering non-consensual sodomy or be thrown out.

This is more than a technical definition. Section 377C involves an element of force which must be proven and hence it is much more difficult to obtain a conviction given the facts of the case. There are no two ways about it. The prosecution cannot give themselves an easier job to convict Anwar for consensual sodomy while the witness denies it. For Anwar’s case to proceed under the present charge, Saiful must be willing to repudiate his public stance of forced sodomy and take the adverse repercussions given his swearing on the Quran. Otherwise, it must be amended to Section 377C. Anything else is a gross miscarriage of justice.

Check out this BONUS FEATURE on BEAUTIFUL ANUSES!

[First posted 27 November 2008]

Amnesty International & Anwar Ibrahim (repost)

This was originally published 22 November 2009... worth a revisit!

Anwar Ibrahim listens attentively as his former speechwriter, Dr Munawar Anees gives a chilling account of the humiliation and torture he suffered at the hands of Mahathir's secret police in 1998.


AI condemns intimidation of lawyers in Malaysia
Free Malaysia Today | Sunday, November 22, 2009

PETALING JAYA: Amnesty International is concerned over attempts to intimidate lawyers carrying out their professional duties in Malaysia.

Margaret John, the AI coordinator for Singapore and Malaysia, said the latest attack on the home of prominent lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon (left) illustrated once more the risks faced by Malaysian lawyers protecting the legal rights of government critics.

Last Tuesday evening, several Molotov cocktails were thrown into the house of Manjeet but unfortunately no one was injured.

Manjeet believed the attack was linked to private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s recent exposure in the Altantuya affair cover-up where VVIPs were implicated.

Bala’s interview was done last month in the presence of three lawyers, one of whom was Manjeet.

“The incident illustrates once more that lawyers in Malaysia, acting in their professional capacity to protect the legal rights of government critics, are exposed to risks of harassment, threats and worst,” Margaret John said in a statement.

Following is the full statement by Margaret John:

I have learned that several Molotov cocktails were recently thrown into the home of prominent Malaysian lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon, a former Bar Council President. He said he regarded the attack on his home as a possible warning and threat to him and his family.

He and his family were fortunately out of the country at the time. The incident illustrates once more that lawyers in Malaysia, acting in their professional capacity to protect the legal rights of government critics, are exposed to risks of harassment, threats or worse.

Many of you will be aware that Manjeet Singh Dhillon is counsel for (now former) prisoner of conscience Dr Munawar Anees (right) and will know that Dr Anees made a Statutory Declaration during his incarceration a decade ago, in which he detailed the appalling treatment to which he had been subjected in prison. Manjeet has remained his counsel during the numerous court challenges to clear Dr Anees's name.

The Molotov cocktail attack is believed to be related to Manjeet Singh Dhillon's recent interview with private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, who had alleged a year ago that Prime MInister Najib Abdul Razak had been sexually involved with murder victim Altantuya Shaariibuu of Mongolia and that police were ordered to remove evidence of any links. Balasubramiam later retracted the allegations and fled. Manjeet Singh Dhillon asserted that he conducted the interview (now on Youtube) as a professional duty in the absence of Balasubramaniam's actual counsel, Americk Sidhu.

BACKGROUND

Amnesty International has previously expressed concern about attempts to intimidate lawyers carrying out their professional duties. In the most controversial case in Malaysia's recent history, defence lawyers were harassed and their offices searched during the trial for sodomy a decade ago of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.


At that time, prominent defence lawyer Karpal Singh (above) was arrested under the Sedition Act in connection with remarks he made in court. Referring to high levels of arsenic in Anwar's blood, Karpal Singh expressed in court his concern that "someone out there wants to get rid of him... even to the extent of murder. I suspect that people in high places are responsible for the situation." Karpal Singh is himself a former prisoner of conscience.

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, one of five lawyers arrested by the police for attempting to provide legal aid to candlelight protestors detained at the Brickfields police station on 8 May 2009

.
One of the more recent cases involves five lawyers who were arrested for illegal assembly when they gathered outside a police station where a group of candlelight demonstrators was held. The five lawyers wished to provide legal assistance to detainees.

A number of international standards guarantees protection for lawyers carrying out their professional duties. These include: UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the Latimer House guidelines. Such standards, however, do not always provide protection in Malaysia in cases in which there is a link to criticism of the government.

Margaret John
Coordinator for Singapore and Malaysia
Amnesty International Canada

[First posted 22 November 2009]

To higher mountains & deeper valleys... & ever truer realities!

No more secrecy, secret societies, 

secret police, or secret governments... 

the Age of Darkness is over!

Shaariibuu Setev, father of murdered Mongolian beauty Altantuya, wants to help connect the dots...

“I met her for the last time before she left for Malaysia and I asked her what was her travel purpose.  She showed me a picture of her, Najib Tun Razak and (political advisor) Abdul Razak Baginda which was taken in Paris. She pointed to Najib in the picture and told me she had something to decide with him. I told her that it was not worth it but she went anyway.” 


[Source: FreeMalaysiaToday. First posted 11 April 2012]

Mariam Mokhtar on Altantuya and P.I. Bala (repost)

As a special service to those who can't afford a Malaysiakini subscription or who may have missed this, I'm reproducing a well-crafted and important essay from Mariam Mokhtar...

Altantuya and PI Bala: A story that won't sink
Mariam Mokhtar
July 12, 2010
11:06am

People want to know about the events that occurred in the months leading up to the murder of the Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu (left) in October 2006; but the investigation into her death was never intended to reveal the truth.

Those at the top realise that an inquiry helps to calm the public and presents a platform for disseminating the official version. Thus, the public never learns about the hidden web of political patronage, secret alliances and shared interests.

When the private investigator P Balasubramaniam (Bala) discovered that his testimony as a witness in Altantuya's murder was not revealed, and the evidence suppressed, he felt it necessary to make a statutory declaration (SD). His family was then threatened and his silence bought in order for him to retract his SD. The day after, he issued a sanitised version of the SD.

The press conference in London, on July 7, held by Bala and his team of lawyers, was supposed to be a platform to discuss issues raised during a scheduled interview of Bala by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). When the MACC cancelled at the last minute, their non-appearance generated more questions than answers.

When nothing new was reported at the press conference on July 7, the public reaction, gleaned from the feedback of the online news portals, was astounding. These ranged from indifference to incredulity.

Did they want Bala to produce the bullets which killed Altantuya? Did they really expect him to produce films of her body being blown apart in the jungle?

Maybe they should reflect on the various links that point to the top, rather than expect drama.

The people involved - chief inspector Azilah Hadri, corporal Sirul Azhar Umar (two of Najib's bodyguards who were later sentenced to death for Altantuya's murder), Nasir Safar (Najib's aide seen outside Abdul Razak Baginda's house the night of Altantuya's abduction), Abdul Razak Baginda (Najib's personal confidante and friend) and Musa Safri (Najib's ADC) - all have links to the PM.

Amongst other things, the police recorded no less than five statements from Bala, but all the references to the PM have been deleted.

Why was Altantuya silenced?

Was Altantuya silenced because she pointed out that these submarines were faulty? Did she realise that we were paying billions for useless submarines? These deals were done when Najib was defence minister.

Alternatively perhaps, she overlooked serious defects in the submarines.

Later, during the trial for Altantuya's murder, Burmaa Oyunchimeg (right), Altantuya's cousin, read out a hand-written letter to the court that is believed to have been Altantuya's final note. It said, “is powerfull person, he have money, he have connection in police, in government. He trying to scare me, trying to kill me.” [sic]

If Altantuya's command of English was good, why would she write in pidgin English? Did she really write the message and has a handwriting expert verified this? Altantuya's cousin testified that she had seen a picture of Najib together with the dead woman. However, she was quickly hushed by both defence and prosecution lawyers and the picture has not been produced. Why?

Altantuya's immigration details were erased from the system. Who has that kind of authority?

After the press conference in London, Bala says that he has no regrets and that his conscience is clear. He did, however, express one disappointment: “Those working for Najib don't want the truth to prevail.”

Despite the crucial inquiry behind Bala's statutory declarations and the substandard submarines, we must not be distracted from seeking justice for Altantuya.

Altantuya's children and parents need closure. Bala and his family are forced to live in exile. They want to return home. And the Malaysians are demanding that justice is served.

Malaysians are wondering why so much of their money was wasted on these Scorpene submarines. In addition, the administration is seemingly dragging its feet in dispensing justice; the public are now demanding a change of government.

If Abdul Razak Baginda (right) had immediate access to the corridors of power, why did he need a private investigator, Bala, masquerading as a bouncer to protect him from Altantuya? Surely a quick phone call would ensure that Altantuya could be jailed for public disorder or harassment, or at worst be deported by immigration?

Bala a fall-guy?

It is probable that the plan to kill Altantuya was conceived weeks before her death and involved a fall-guy, Bala, who was hired ostensibly to protect Abdul Razak Baginda.

It was reported that Bala and his assistant had already harassed Altantuya six or seven times after their arrival in Malaysia on Oct 8, 2006. There would have been telephone records or witness reports of Bala intimidating Altantuya. These would probably have been used against him in the trumped-up murder charge.

It is highly likely that this plan was poorly executed, with plenty of loose-ends. In addition, the unforeseen appearance of Altantuya's cousins and the underpaid taxi-driver, who corroborated the cousins' evidence, messed things up. Bala should consider himself lucky for he has escaped with his life, albeit one in exile.

Even if we were to ignore Bala, Najib, Razak Baginda, the submarines and the distasteful aspects of this case, we must not overlook the fact that one girl was killed in suspicious circumstances.

Who speaks for Altantuya? Who will avenge her death?

After the press conference, Bala was asked what he wished would happen next. He said, “I want the Malaysian public to know the truth.”

This case covers France, Mongolia and Malaysia; it has yet to reach its climax. If there is nothing to hide, then why are many things kept secret? It is an important question to which the Malaysian people have yet to receive an answer.

It is also a case that is worthy of Miss Marple.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

NEWSFLASH!
Najib, Rosmah, Baginda, Deepak mentioned in Bala's French probe

[First posted 14 July 2010]

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT... OR TEN (repost)

One of the wonderful features of blogs and online news portals is that they offer a measure of interactivity. Readers are encouraged to put in their two bits worth by leaving comments. Some find it quite hard to resist while others simply can't make themselves do it - either because they're paranoid about leaving any traces in cyberspace by which the Special Branch or Interpol can track them down; or because they're the sort who have trouble pissing in a public urinal if there's a stranger standing right next to them.
Over the past three years I must have left a trail of comments in cyberspace even Mr Magoo can follow. I can pee just about anywhere, possibly even on stage with a spotlight shining on my willy. One of my unique talents, I guess. Anyway, I've collected several longish comments I've left in various places like a trail of dog piss - some fairly recent, some more than a year old - and I figure it would be fun to turn them into a blogpost, so here goes...

"1Malaysia is about fostering unity amongst Malaysians. What measures can be taken to foster greater unity?"
When the government is TOO BIG and the people are too small, you get a Humpty Dumpty situation - exactly like we do now. Why is the government TOO BIG? Simple. The people who form the government were mostly born into the ruling elite and groomed to take over the reins of power. Their ingrained attitudes, lifestyles, thought processes and behavioral patterns ARE the problem - nothing else! If they had the wisdom to step down from power and let others take over, there may be a ray of hope. But I doubt that anyone already rich and powerful would ever look in the mirror and admit: "Ah, I see... the problem is ME!"

Here's a small bit of wisdom I shall leave you with: TRUE COMMUNICATION IS ONLY EVER POSSIBLE AMONGST EQUALS. What does this mean? Where a feudal hierarchy continues to exist, those on the lower rungs of the power structure will never express their true feelings for fear of losing their jobs or even their heads. They will, instead, resort to subtle sabotage and apathetic performance, slowly but surely wearing down the machinery of governance until nothing works anymore.

ISLAMIC VALUES

If only espousing Islamic values would make us kinder, more honest, more compassionate, and a great deal wiser... but in Malaysia these so-called Islamic values appear to be totally degraded, warmed over dregs of the ugliest species of cruelty and tyranny inspired by the erotophobic and wrathful Old Testament God of Abraham. That might explain why our law enforcement agencies in particular seem to have become repositories of sadism, perversity and absolute inhumanity - earning the country a vile reputation for being an active participant in human trafficking and for being tragically benighted when it comes to treating refugees, cultural deviants and political dissidents with the love and respect due all living beings. As defenders and upholders of Islam, the monarchs must be held fully responsible for the grotesque distortions and hypocrisies surrounding their exploitative, feudalistic, self-serving and unenlightened interpretation of Islam.

ON THE INCURABLE DR MAHATHIR

There's a name for this narcissistic old man's problems. I think it's called hoof-in-mouth disease. But somehow the press insist on quoting him just to add more mental pollution to an already murky political atmosphere.

Can someone please embalm him immediately?

MORAL POLICE

Hard to believe, in the final phase of our journey through linear time, with a massive paradigm shift and mind-boggling quantum jump directly ahead of us... there are religiocentric humans of the Enlilite/Yahwehist lineage still obstinately pursuing their self-destructive, self-limiting goal of damming up all the ways vital energy (chi or prana) flows in the universe by subjecting every individual incarnate soul to all sorts of idiotic legislation. And they have the audacity to do so in the name of "stability" when what best serves us is DYNAMISM!

So much for this suffocating plastic bag called "society." I opt for true community, spontaneously born of natural communion between souls.

ANWAR vs NAJIB

Don't fall for the MSM spin that simplifies everything to a boxing match between two heavyweights. Lean back and see the big picture. Learn from the cogent metaphors mythology offers. Have you read Tolkien or seen Lord of the Rings? The all-pervasive psychic poison of Sauron, the corruption and zombification of the Nine Kings who turn into the Nine Ringwraiths (Nazgul), the fall of Saruman... all these characters live amongst us - and within us - even if they wear sarongs and songkoks or custom-tailored suits and Italian shoes.

How do we define EVIL? That which thwarts your soul evolution and harvests your energy to serve ignoble and demeaning purposes. Use this yardstick and you will never again be misled by professional misleaders spouting platitudes and lying from every orifice. Stand firm for freedom, justice and spontaneous joy!

HARAPAN BARU

So long as BN continues to hold the national pursestrings and control the machinery of federal government, participatory democracy will remain a pipe dream. Whenever the BN regime cites "national security reasons" what they mean is "Barisan Nasional security." They cannot to afford to lose their stranglehold on the mass media, the judiciary and the police. Without these powerful tools of oppression, the majority of BN leaders will be hawking unsold indelible ink at the pasar malam.

I want Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat to take over as soon as humanly possible. Anwar and most of the new leaders in Pakatan Rakyat have been on the receiving end of injustice, abuse of the law, and negative media coverage by the BN-controlled channels. The first thing they must attend to - even more important than reducing fuel and food prices - is the abolition of all the archaic, authoritarian laws (ISA, OSA, PPPA, UUCA, and so on) that have effectively suppressed the voices of honest critics and created a climate of fear.

We do not want our children to grow up as zombies, interested in nothing but brainless consumption of disposable diversions. We don't want them to fear the public servants whose salaries we pay and whose ill-gotten gains have been acquired at our expense. We the people must solemnly vow to embody the ideals we wish to see in the words, deeds, and thoughts of our elected leaders. We must become the positive change we long to see!

WHY ANWAR IBRAHIM PROVOKES IRRATIONAL HATRED

Strange how some people - even well-educated and apparently intelligent ones, and I’m sad to say I have several close friends who fall in this category - have an irrational hatred for Anwar Ibrahim.

Some are secular, westernized Malays who would rather deal with the greedy, corrupt liars and hypocrites who populate the BN than with a leader who is actually clean-living and left-leaning. Others insist Anwar is a closet racist and opportunist who will woo anybody to get where he wants. Now that’s patently unfair a criticism; one might as well condemn all living things for their hardwired survival instincts. After all, every one of us can be accused of exactly the same ability to manipulate and mold reality so that it serves and supports us. It's how we do it - whether by inspiring love or instilling fear - that makes all the difference.

What I strongly believe is that most of these Anwar-haters are people who were once idealists, but became pragmatists in their adulthood. They conformed to the Status Quo and reaped personal benefits (contracts, positions, titles) by toeing the Umno/BN line. So when they see Anwar at 61 still holding on to the principles of his crusading youth, still gung-ho about REFORM, it makes them uncomfortable about their own Faustian pact with the powers-that-be.

They have what used to be a typically Australian complex: if a local boy returns to his hometown after accomplishing great deeds abroad, the yokels shun him as being “too big for his boots.” These people live such humdrum, mediocre lives - with so many compromises - they simply can’t bear to see a REAL HERO get his just desserts. Like what happened to Jesus 2,000 years ago, they will attempt to arrest and crucify the bugger… and, maybe 300 years later, proclaim him a saint or a god when he’s long gone and no further threat to their vested interests.

BADAWI'S ABYSMAL FAILURE

How banal and dreary to read about Badawi "lashing out" at the new DAP government during his visit to Penang. No manners, no code of ethics, no fresh ideas. Just recycling the same old robotic hogwash, the same old braindead Umno rhetoric. Still wagging finger and tongue at phantoms in his own cobwebby mind. Would he were capable of showing signs of intelligence and responsiveness to rapidly changing circumstances by saying something simple and sincere like: "Let's move on from the elections and forge new levels of Federal-State cooperation to the benefit of the whole country. In the end, no matter what our political leanings and perceived differences, let us never forget we are first and foremost Malaysians."

With each new twist in the post-electoral plot, with each inane and all-too-predictable utterance, Badawi is sending out an unmistakeable signal that his political worldview is dead and done for, beyond hope of redemption or resurrection.

Nevertheless, I thank Badawi for having played his role in the drama. For all his grandiloquent mediocrity, he at least created a little more space for dissent. He allowed Anwar Ibrahim his freedom and was generally so unintimidating (unlike his predecessor) that during the four years of his first term as PM, we saw more and more Malaysians emboldened and empowered.

ON MEDIA OBJECTIVITY

“Objectivity” doesn’t really exist except as an excuse for not accepting full responsibility for one’s perceptions, opinions, and beliefs. For too many generations we have been left-brained biased - exalting rational thought above irrational feelings. But in nature, what we call ”irrational feelings” are actually our instincts, our gut responses that operate from cellular wisdom. A society trapped in its mind and disconnected from its heart (where instincts are experienced as emotions) is already on its way to becoming mechanical and robotic. This may suit the control freak and wannabe dictator within us - but it’s deleterious to our psycho-spiritual well-being. Being desensitized to our instinctual responses is akin to filtering out 99% of sensory and extra sensory data and making “logical” decisions based on only 1%.

This explains how so many can be tricked into believing in and voting for a clone like George W. Bush, for example, who emanates almost zero empathy and is, therefore, only fractionally human. It’s alarming when people are no longer able to detect energy fields - or have been trained to distrust extrasensory insights picked up by intuition. Otherwise they would automatically recoil from repugnant political entities spouting lifeless cliches and lying through every orifice. They never would have been fooled by the puppet show and 99% of the politicians currently in power would be selling insurance or involved in MLM schemes.

SAIFUL & SODOMY II

Study Saiful Bukhari's face. There's something there that reminds me of Khairy Jamaluddin. Shrinks today will label it "bi-polar disorder." In the good old days it was known as "schizophrenia." That's right, it's the proverbial Jekyll-Hyde complex - or Smeagol-Gollum syndrome if you prefer your metaphors up-to-date. What I see looking at Saiful's face is a kid who hasn't made up his mind whether to be "good" or "bad." There's a certain boyish charm and innocence there, a useful survival skill, and he seems very keen on being accepted and loved by his peers (read Saiful's blog comments on Riwayat Hayat in response to suggestions that he's a "musang berbulu ayam").

He volunteers his services to the PKR campaign. However, he also likes being photographed with Umno bigwigs and by now everybody has seen Saiful posing beside Najib's special agent Khairil Anas Jusoh (himself rumored to be gay) at the DPM's office. So if that resignation email is from Saiful (and I don't see who else might have written it for him, though he may have been instructed to tender his resignation before incriminating Anwar), it reveals a young man torn between loyalties and, ultimately, feeling himself unworthy to continue serving as Anwar's special assistant (perhaps because he found himself actually liking and admiring his boss), he does an amok on himself, going for the notoriety he knows will be his lot (in the same way a weak character like Mark David Chapman would choose to assassinate John Lennon, the man he admires, since he can never aspire to match his hero's accomplishments).

And what about KJ? When I met him back in 1999 he was working at NTV7 as a talkshow host and news producer. He was bright and smug and actually very polite but I could sense the young man's burning desire to make his mark, to really make it big. I think we did exchange a few pleasantries before we parted and my parting words to the young KJ may have been: "You have a lot going for you, but keep a tight rein on that ego!" He was certainly nothing like the KJ I saw on Malaysiakini.tv rabble-rousing for Umno at the Ijok by-election. Humans are not one-dimensional and to expect them to be is to dehumanize them. Life, like politics, is rarely a black-and-white affair. Even Lady Macbeth has a story to tell and, although one is wise to avoid marrying anyone like her, one ought to grant her her humanity - on condition she doesn’t ascend to the throne, of course!

A REGIME GONE MAD

Some long-dead Greek pederast once said: "Those whom the gods would destroy they first make mad." Ever since the macabre tale of a murdered Mongolian woman being blown to bits with C4 exploded in the international media, every move those BN/Umno sleazebags have made has been counterproductive and countersurvival. The gods are merciful in that they first drive insane those marked for doom. So be not surprised at the erratic behavior of the BN/Umno goondus - they are non compos mentis! You have to be a fucking lunatic to believe you can get away with stealing so much of the Rakyat's wealth over so many decades and that the Rakyat will never awaken from their zombie trance or break the evil pukau* wrought by the MSM!

____

*pukau - primitive but powerful Indonesian magic that puts you in a state of deep sleep or paralysis while your house is being burgled.

[First posted 27 November 2009]