To the feudal mind, anyone in favor of decentralized power, equality and social justice must be a Communist!

Somebody left a book in my van a few years ago. I stuck it in the glove compartment and immediately forgot about it... until recently when I spotted it just as I was about to drive to Tanjong Malim and catch a bus to Ipoh.

So I brought the book along to read on the journey. It was an illustrated "People's History of Malaya" titled Where Monsoons Meet - published in 1987 by the Institute of Social Analysis (INSAN). A socialist primer aimed at secondary students, the comic-style book was designed for easy reading and I finished it in less than an hour - but it had significant impact.

Looking at our recent history from a non-elitist perspective reminded me how thoroughly brainwashed my parents' generation was. I recall that my mother and father thought very highly of the Brits. In the early 1950s goods produced in Hong Kong still carried the imprint "Empire Made" even though the sun was swiftly setting on the British Empire. Where Monsoons Meet effectively demolishes all notions of a benign imperialism. The colonizers emerge smelling quite foul.

The "Independence" we were granted in August 1957 was but in name. Before leaving Malaya the Brits had rigged the system so that it would always favor the capitalist elite comprising the Malay aristocracy and a handful of Chinese entrepreneurs.

When the rakyat began to demand better working conditions and more rights, they were brutally suppressed through heavy-handed police action. The Communist bogeyman justified the introduction of a slew of repressive laws. The truth of the matter was: Malaya was a fat milk cow sustaining the Anglo-American economy and they couldn't afford to lose control of the country's rich natural resources.

In short, British rule wasn't quite as halcyon as it may appear to the present generation of middle-class non-Malays. Every dirty trick in the book of governance as practised by Umno was learnt during the ruling class Malays' long apprenticeship with the British Colonial administration.


In the time of the British, indentured laborers imported from India were paid 12 cents a day for their back-breaking work in the rubber estates and on the railway tracks. Even if the local currency in prewar days was worth two hundred times more than it is today, these debt slaves only received the equivalent of RM20 a day. They had to dismount from their bicycles and tabik (salute) whenever a White Tuan crossed their path. The ones who spoke a smattering of English were made mandors and were given the authority to horsewhip insubordinate workers. Rebellion against injustice in the form of trade unionism was roughly and swiftly dealt with. The word "rakyat" was as little tolerated as the word "Communist."

What happened in May 1969 with the coup d'etat masterminded by Abdul Razak Hussein (right), Harun Idris, Syed Jaafar Albar, Mahathir Mohamad, Ghazali Shafie and a few other young Turks in Umno was that a new breed of educated middle-class Malays managed to wrest a measure of power from the traditional aristocracy.

In doing so, they also adopted the self-aggrandizing tendencies of the hereditary elite, hence their fondness for unwieldy honorifics and exclusive "VVIP" treatment.

Forty years down the line, we are poised on the brink of another major coup - this time involving the overthrow of a diseased and dysfunctional feudalistic concept of leadership, in favor of a more decentralized, more democratic, more egalitarian, more accountable, more interactive form of management.

And we intend to accomplish this feat bloodlessly and through entirely legal procedures. However, this is easier said than done - because it has become more than evident that Umno/BN, under the rogue prime ministership of Najib Razak, won't play by the rules.


What is called for at this juncture is optimum clarity of focus and supreme resoluteness. We the people cannot waver for a moment in our desire to shake off the yoke of tyranny and reclaim our civil rights and individual authority as free citizens of a free country. Each of us now has a sacred duty to embody all the qualities we cherish - courage, honesty, compassion, integrity, wisdom, and the ability to love more and more inclusively.

Above all, we must take time out to look inward - realign our inner and outer selves so we can become fully integrated, conscious humans - integers, in effect - as opposed to being merely ciphers; faceless, mindless statistics hypnotized by the BN-controlled media into believing that issues of race, religion, and royalty are real and relevant.

We can endorse and lend our wholehearted support to leaders whose visions coincide with our own - but we must never become dependent on them. Otherwise we will only experience disappointment and disillusionment when these leaders reveal themselves to be just as fallible as anyone else. No use pointing fingers, scapegoating and foisting the blame for failure on others.

We are the redemption and salvation we have yearned for throughout the ages. Happy Regime Change, folks! It can still happen, and sooner than you think... believe in miracles... which only happen from inside out!

[Originally published  2 January 2009 under the heading "No Turning Back". Reposted 5 June 2012 & 6 January 2016]

Let Them Eat Ketupat! Selamat Hari Raya! (repost)

Originally posted on 10 January 2009, I'm reposting this mainly because it opens with a nice picture of ketupats... and also because little has changed after seven years!

Life will never again be the same after March 8th, 2008. Not for any of the political parties whose fortunes have seen unprecedented reversals, nor for the quiet-living, tax-paying citizen. And certainly not for those of us who contribute to the nation by writing, reporting, performing on stage, or conjuring images in our studios.

What's so different about life after the political tsunami?

Obviously, the status quo is no longer static. Change is in the air and what seemed like an immovable object (the Umno/BN regime) has now encountered an irresistible force (the rapidly rising tide of an awakened and empowered rakyat).


In the aftermath of the March 8th tsunami, the "immovable" object was seen to have been swept half-a-mile downstream and turned upside down with its backside exposed for all to see and snigger at. Like the "unsinkable" Titanic that ignominiously sank, the "immovable" Umno/BN not only has undeniably been moved, it's in imminent danger of being forcibly removed altogether.

For more than half a century UMNO and its chief concubines MCA and MIC represented the vested interests of the propertied classes: the Malay aristocracy, the upper echelons of well-heeled Malayans and, of course, the foreign industrialists. It was a distinctly rightwing administration whose greatest fear and worst enemy was the bogus bogeyman called Communism. It tolerated a limited amount of pinkness in the form of strictly regulated trade unions and a feeble though stoical socialist party which for years featured the head of an ox against an industrial cog as its symbol (thereby defining itself as the political voice of no-longer-mute beasts of burden).

After the 13 May 1969 coup d'etat which saw the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman deposed by a military-style National Operations Council led by Abdul Razak bin Haji Hussein, the electoral map was redrawn to ensure that there wasn't the remotest possibility of any opposition party becoming so strong it could serve as a viable alternative to what was now ill-advisedly called Barisan Nasional or the National Front (which immediately brings to mind the British Neo-Nazi Party of the same name).


So it was pretty much business-as-usual for BN for more than four decades. As happened in the United States, business began to merge with politics until the demarcation between public and private interests became invisible. Entrepreneurs and bureaucrats hopped into bed together and gleefully screwed the comatose public for all it was worth.

Mahathir's 22-year reign as prime minister saw the rise of Rupert Murdoch wannabes like Robert Kuok, Ananda Krishnan, Vincent Tan, Yeoh Tiong Lay, Lim Goh Tong and Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. These card-carrying capitalists were empire-builders driven by their unstoppable ambition to be listed in Forbes Top 100. It's impossible not to tip one's hat in recognition of their vision, perseverance and sheer stamina. Yet they could never have amassed their vast fortunes without becoming intimate buddies with whosoever held the reins of political power.

And, of course, hobnobbing with power has unwholesome ramifications. More often than not. it's well-nigh impossible to draw a line between fair and foul practice. An old Greek saying cynically advises:

If you want to sleep well, make friends with your wife.
If you want to get fat, make friends with your mother-in-law.
If you want to get rich, make friends with the chief of police.


Nor could these go-getters have become billionaires by being overly sensitive to environmental and social issues. Many successful entrepreneurs find it advantageous to their public image to be seen as philanthropists - and many subscribe to "corporate social responsibility" programs whereby a tiny portion of their unimaginable profits is plowed back to the community in various ways.

A giant property consortium turned a verdant valley once populated by an Orang Asli community into a commercial-industrial wasteland. In exchange for their ancestral land each Orang Asli family was given a double-story link house plus a shophouse for them to rent out. A couple dozen kids were offered scholarships to study modern construction methods.

It all made for good PR, no doubt: spending RM335,000 of public funds on a special ceremony officiated by the PM to which all the Orang Asli headmen were invited and treated to one night's stay in a 3-star hotel, with a pair of leather shoes and a smart jacket thrown in. Nevertheless, what the developer had really done was erase the culture and memory of this Orang Asli community. Severed from their emotional links to the land, indigenous people soon cease to exist as such and become assimilated with the dominant culture.

Making a pile of money from ecocide and ethnocide is hardly laudable. I call these ill-gotten gains - like getting rich from turning youngsters into drug addicts and prostitutes. What if you're not directly involved with such unsavory activities - but happen to serve some big-shot wheeler-dealer as, let's say, his legal advisor or advertising and PR consultant? Does that make the money you earn any cleaner?

Looking at it from the strictly professional viewpoint, should a tailor refuse to make a suit for an underworld kingpin with blood on his hands? Should a dentist turn away a sex maniac minister who has been known to commit statutory rape? Not if the dentist happens to be a rapacious former chief minister, I suppose...

It would be practically impossible to do business if value judgments had to be applied to every situation. What if you happen to be chief legal advisor to Umno and have just been roped in to oversee a particularly shady operation? Or if you were a PR consultant whose professional services have been recruited to reverse the negative spin on the PM's public image?

Supposing you were married to a high-powered banker and your hubby was invited to dinner at the finance minister's residence. Would you dress up in all your finery and make small talk with a woman everybody believes is capable of cold-blooded murder?

These are very real dilemmas plaguing a few of my former friends. I say "former" because a couple of them recently dropped me from their guest list as a result of my trenchant political views. It saddens me, to be sure, that in these times of tumultuous sea and sky changes, friends and even families are being split down the middle by polarized political affiliations.

I can imagine a similar situation playing out in America shortly after Bush ordered the bombing of Baghdad. What if you were at a family Christmas dinner and one of your brothers-in-law just happened to be a senior executive at Raytheon Enterprises - one of the top-earning defense contractors in America - and he thought extremely highly of Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice? Would you, for the sake of diplomacy, stick to remarks about the weather and concentrate on the food?

Popular legend has it that Marie Antoinette, when informed that the peasants were rioting, wanted to know what it was all about. One of her attendants informed her that it was because the poor could no longer afford to buy bread. "Then let them eat cake!" Marie allegedly responded.*

I can already picture a similar scenario developing in Malaysia as the effects of the financial meltdown and widespread joblessness begin to be felt. As always it's the working class with low cash reserves that feels the pinch first. We're not far from the day half a million hungry poor will be on the streets demanding an increase in their weekly rice ration. And some Toh Puan daintily ensconced in a 26-million-ringgit mansion will turn to her maidservant and huff, "So let them eat ketupat!"
_______

*I plead artistic licence with this well-worn and totally spurious anecdote. Marie Antoinette was much maligned in France simply because she happened to be Austrian. In truth she never actually made such a crass remark. My apologies to the memory of this hapless Hapsburg princess who suffered much and was grievously misunderstood. Reposted 30 August 2011, 28 July 2014, 15 July 2015 & 6 July 2016]

How To Cure Ourselves Of Terminal Mahathiritis (revisited)

DON'T MISTAKE THE MAP FOR THE TERRITORY! 

A lifetime ago I worked in advertising and from that experience have learnt to avoid using meaningless words like "better" (except in reference to those who habitually place bets on everything). When an adman says "We've got a BETTER deal for you!" he rarely specifies better than whose deal. Similarly, the idea of "working towards a BETTER tomorrow" conveniently leaves it to your imagination as to what might constitute "a better tomorrow." Why not focus on being more contented and fulfilled TODAY? I mean, if you're cynical and grouchy now, what makes you think you'll feel otherwise next week?

I love living in this land called Malaysia and calling myself a Malaysian (especially when I'm abroad) - even though I know these are only ephemeral terms of reference. After all, when I was born there wasn't a "Malaysia" on any map. This country was called Malaya; and before that, in the time of Ptolemy, it was known as the Golden Khersonese. If you're into esoteric studies you might even regard this blessed and bountiful land as part of a long-lost continent called Kumari Kandam.


From the paleontological perspective, the Malayan Peninsula was once part of a gigantic mountain range, the lower parts of which became submerged at the end of the last glacial period, disconnecting it from neighboring peaks that now form the islands of the Malay Archipelego.
Contrary to Umno propaganda, Malaya wasn't named for the fictitious Malay race, but was inspired by the Tamil word for mountain, "malai." Interestingly, the Sanskrit name "Himalaya" comes from "hima" (snow) and "alaya" (abode) - but it could also mean "snowcapped mountains." In other words, the fact that my country of birth was once called Malaya doesn't actually mean it belongs to the Malays, whom the Orang Asli regard as pendatang or dagang (migrants or itinerant traders). Indeed, a thorough study of history reveals extensive Hindu and Buddhist influence when it was part of the Srivijaya - and later the Majapahit - empires.

The fictitious Malay race was supposed to have originated from Jambi, Sumatra, but you won't find any tribe called “Malay” there - although there is reportedly a river called Melayu that runs through a tiny village of the same name in the vicinity of Jambi.

A Singaporean friend once joked that the word "melayu" means "to flee or migrate" - suggesting that Sumatrans who fought tribal wars and lost had to flee across the Straits of Melaka and henceforth were called Melayu (fugitives or migrants). I have yet to find any confirmation for this. According to my tattered kamus (dictionary) "layu" means "to wither, droop, or dry up." So even if I were born Melayu, I'd prefer to be called Malaysian, fictitious though the name be (at least it has fewer negative connotations).

I remember once chatting with a couple of Filipinas whom I had earlier overheard yakking away in Tagaloq. The word malaya came up a couple of times, so I asked the girls what it means in their tongue. “Free,” one of them said. “Malaya means free in Tagaloq.” My ears perked up. “You mean free as in free gift... or free as in not owing the bank any money?” The girls laughed and said malaya means free as in having no master. Now that’s a very nice meaning of Malaya, I thought.

It’s quite possible that the Tamil word "malai" (mountain) became associated with the Tagaloq "malaya" (freedom) because lowlanders have traditionally been subject to institutionalized religion, government and taxation - whereas highlanders are usually safe from the grubby, grasping fingers of priests and princes, owing to the inaccessibility of their habitat. In any case, I’d be very happy to be called Malayan – a free spirit.

My point is: it really doesn't matter what fictitious name we choose to call ourselves. What truly matters is whether we feel a soul connection to the land we have chosen to call home. Because it is precisely how profoundly we love the land that separates true people from pestiliential lifeforms.

All indigenous peoples have a psychic and emotional bond with the land where their ancestors' bones are buried. They feel a powerful sense of belonging to the land - not so much a claim of "ownership" through legal or illegal means.

Then there are those descended from piratic tribes who have yet to grow a real root wherever they roam in search of plunder - for they feel no spiritual affinity with the land and are only there as opportunists, to rape and steal and ultimately destroy. These are the ones who wouldn't think twice about clear-felling an entire mountain range just to build a few condos, or poisoning the waterways with their relentless search for precious metals.

For the descendants of pirates it's eat, drink and be merry - before we get caught and sent to the gallows. Can you imagine the scenario for disaster when descendants of pirates end up marrying indigenous princesses and elevating themselves to public office? With no real love for the land they see everything around them as a chance to enrich themselves - and so they behave like greedy caterpillars, gorging themselves off the fat of the land, and stopping short of metamorphosing into butterflies.



Being a pirate is a state of mind. You can be a scion of ancient "nobility" like the Bushes, Clintons and Rockefellers - and still fly the Skull & Bones. After all, traditional aristocracies were really just a bunch of brigands and buccaneers in fancy costumes. Those who fought well and brought back lots of booty for the local warlord were rewarded with parcels of land and titles and named Orang Kaya or Baron or Duke.


During the Mahathir era, the entire machinery of state propaganda was harnessed to indoctrinate the masses with a spurious notion of "development." It was indeed a false glamor, a grand illusion of "success" copied & pasted from the pages of glossy lifestyle magazines.

What our Great Leader Dr M sold us was a false vision - a nicely giftwrapped Pandora's Box of environmental, social and moral problems. But it paid big fat commissions to his family and to his Umnoputera cronies; and it entrenched corporate piracy as a way of life.

So... what bright ideas can I contribute towards "a better Malaysia"? First of all, nothing will change "for the better" until Umno/BN is no longer in power. If the new Pakatan Rakyat government is genuinely open to feedback, it will be our task to reassess our priorities and make our wishes known to them. Do we desire to be truly happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise? Or do we keep going for the Monopoly money and the glitter of fool's gold, enthralled by flickering neon signs and colorful festoons of flashing lights?


What the global financial meltdown offers us is an opportunity to wean ourselves off our addiction to crass consumerism. We can then redirect our attention to the mental and emotional aspects of our development, for so long neglected as we set our focus on the purely physical meaning of growth. We will as a nation regain a sense of perspective wherein we can once again feel a soul connection to the land, and learn to love what's natural and real and truly aligned with life.
A whole generation of unmitigated Malaysia-Bolehism has inflated the national ego to colossal proportions. Look at the phallic skyline of Kuala Lumpur and the gargantuan architecture of Putrajaya – it speaks volumes about a massive inferiority complex, a cultural cringe for which we have been overcompensating.

The Orang Asli have survived for millennia and can show us how to be humble. Our Mahathiritic attempt to “conquer” Mother Nature is like ludah ke langit (spitting at the sky). We end up with spittle in our own eye. Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, take note, and abandon your 13 dam projects in Sarawak. Inviting Chinese (or Tasmanian) contractors to rape the ecosystem isn’t such a clever thing to do – no matter how much money your family can skim off these environmentally disastrous projects. Remember, when earthquakes hit Szechuan, the Chinese had to evacuate millions of people downstream because dangerous cracks appeared in hundreds of large dams.

Abdullah Badawi recently made a big fuss over the upside-down Malaysian flag on Sheih Kickdefella’s blog and used that as an excuse to get the blogger arrested. The flag is only a symbol of the fictitious Malaysia. Why get worked up over mere symbols?

If you really love the land that supports and sustains you, you wouldn’t ever pollute the rivers or denude the mountains.


It’s very easy to mistake the map for the territory. You may destroy as many maps as you want – we can always make more accurate, more detailed ones – but don’t destroy the only thing that’s real, the land where your ancestors’ bones are buried.

"Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long." ~ Ogden Nash

[First published 12 October 2008, reposted 16 September 2012 & 19 September 2019]

HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY!

NO TURNING BACK! [revisited]

As we ease into 2009 following upon BN's spectacular loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority in March 2008, many of us are resigned to an uphill stretch ahead - at least where economics and politics are concerned. Looking back over the decades, I realize I have been anticipating this exciting phase in our evolution for nearly forty years. I'm talking about the mass awakening that's occurring across the spectrum on this planet right now (aided by Pluto moving into Capricorn on 26 January 2008).

In two weeks all eyes will be on the Kuala Terengganu by-election. The outcome will provide a fair indication of whether we're moving forwards or backwards. A win for PAS will signal that the rakyat has truly had enough of being bamboozled by Umno/BN and is ready to venture into unknown waters on a new political adventure called "participatory democracy."

On the other hand, a win for Umno will indicate that a large number of Malaysians are still driven by fear and greed... and that the long dark night of Umno-style "guided democracy" will linger on a while more before the New Dawn finally breaks, as it eventually must.


While some are already aligning themselves with the Najib Razak camp on the assumption that he will succeed Badawi as our next PM (shudder), others are praying for a miracle - a spontaneous lifting of the curse of misguided pragmatism passed down through countless generations. What we're looking at isn't just the ill effects of 51 years of BN misrule. The problems go much farther back in time...

Somebody left a book in my van a few months ago. I stuck it in the glove compartment and immediately forgot about it... until last week when I spotted it just as I was about to drive to Tanjong Malim and catch a bus to Ipoh. So I brought the book along to read on the journey. It was an illustrated "People's history of Malaya" titled Where Monsoons Meet - published in 1987 by the Institute of Social Analysis (INSAN). A socialist primer aimed at secondary students, the comic-style book was designed for easy reading and I finished it in less than an hour - but it had significant impact.

Looking at our recent history from a non-elitist perspective reminded me how thoroughly brainwashed my parents' generation was. I recall that my mother and father thought very highly of the Brits. In the early 1950s goods produced in Hong Kong still carried the imprint "Empire Made" even though the sun was swiftly setting on the British Empire. Where Monsoons Meet effectively demolishes all notions of a benign imperialism. The colonizers emerge smelling quite foul.

The "Independence" we were granted in August 1957 was but in name. Before leaving Malaya the Brits had rigged the system so that it would always favor the capitalist elite comprising the Malay aristocracy and a handful of Chinese entrepreneurs. When the rakyat began to demand better working conditions and more rights, they were brutally suppressed through heavy-handed police action. The Communist bogeyman justified the introduction of a slew of repressive laws. The truth of the matter was: Malaya was a fat milk cow sustaining the Anglo-American economy and they couldn't afford to lose control of the country's rich natural resources.

In short, British rule wasn't quite as halcyon as it may appear to the present generation of middle-class non-Malays. Every dirty trick in the book of governance as practised by Umno was learnt during the ruling class Malays' long apprenticeship with the British Colonial administration.


In the time of the British, indentured laborers imported from India were paid 12 cents a day for their back-breaking work in the rubber estates and on the railway tracks. Even if the local currency in prewar days was worth two hundred times more than it is today, these debt slaves only received the equivalent of RM20 a day. They had to dismount from their bicycles and tabik (salute) whenever a White Tuan crossed their path. The ones who spoke a smattering of English were made mandors and were given the authority to horsewhip insubordinate workers. Rebellion against injustice in the form of trade unionism was roughly and swiftly dealt with. The word "rakyat" was as little tolerated as the word "Communist."

In May 1969 the coup d'etat masterminded by Abdul Razak Hussein (right), Harun Idris, Syed Jaafar Albar, Mahathir Mohamad, Ghazali Shafie and a few other young Turks in Umno resulted in a new breed of educated middle-class Malays wresting a measure of power from the traditional aristocracy. In doing so, they also adopted the self-aggrandizing tendencies of the hereditary elite, hence their fondness for unwieldy honorifics and exclusive "VVIP" treatment.

Forty years down the line (in 2009), we are poised on the brink of another major coup - this time involving the overthrow of a diseased and dysfunctional feudalistic concept of leadership, in favor of a more decentralized, more democratic, more egalitarian, more accountable, more interactive form of management. And we intend to accomplish this feat bloodlessly and through entirely legal procedures.


What is called for at this juncture is optimum clarity of focus and supreme resoluteness. We the people cannot waver for a moment in our desire to shake off the yoke of tyranny and reclaim our civil rights and individual authority as free citizens of a free country. Each of us now has a sacred duty to embody all the qualities we cherish - courage, honesty, compassion, integrity, wisdom, and the ability to love more and more inclusively.


We can endorse and lend our wholehearted support to leaders whose visions align with our own - but we must never become entirely dependent on them. Otherwise we will only experience disappointment and disillusionment when these leaders reveal themselves to be just as fallible as anyone else. No use pointing fingers, scapegoating and foisting the blame for failure on others.

We are the redemption and salvation we have yearned for throughout the ages.

Happy Regime Change, folks! It can still happen, and sooner than you think... believe in miracles!

[Originally posted 2 January 2009, reposted 25 September 2009]

Mini-Festival of Anti-Corruption Short Films... so funny it hurts! (repost)

Go ahead, folks... laugh like a landslide till you fall on your backside. 

Then get up, look in the mirror, and say to yourself: "I'm not going to let this beautiful land be pillaged, poisoned and polluted by parasitic organisms and pirate princes who have perverted every public institution with their primitive pork barrel politics and puerile propaganda!"

After that, you'll need to take another pee. But don't do it on any flagpole, please... or on any official portraits of your primate ministers... if you don't want the polis coming over and handcuffing you in front of the prostitute press.

Make sure you're registered to vote. Check your voting status regularly online to ensure that no monkey in the Election Commission has tampered with your data. You know what to do when the time comes...

[First posted 20 September 2012]

The Remarkable Anwar Ibrahim ~ by Gwo-Burne Loh (repost)

Just think about it: Mahathir, the financial might of UMNO, the entire cabinet, the Police, MACC, the Judiciary (or at least a large part of it), Election Commission, top civil servants, you can say the whole weight of the government has been going all out to find some evidence of wrongdoing (be it Sodomy 1 or 2, sex tapes, and maybe more to come) for the last 16 long years and yet to date, not one credible shred of evidence has been found or revealed. What does this mean? 

Anwar is not the man Mahathir tries to paint him to be. Think about it: Mahathir is so rich (with access to tens of billions), so powerful, so cunning, evil and sly, so clever and resourceful - and with all that power and money of the whole government and UMNO plus the BN partners ever willing to do his bidding - he could prove nothing against Anwar. What an anti-climax. Every plot to destroy Anwar Ibrahim has fallen completely flat or backfired - and he still cannot understand why. In plain English, Mahathir's time is up. The Mahathir Era is over. Let a fresh new dawn begin for all us!

Press Release issued by Kelana Jaya MP Gwo-Burne Loh 

on 9 January 2012 in Petaling Jaya

Saeed Khan (AFP/Getty Images)

The Remarkable Anwar Ibrahim

This is not an article about Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial. But in case anyone is interested to hear my two-cents worth on the trial, I have two questions. How many people do we know who have actually been charged with sodomy? And do you think Dato Seri Anwar would be charged if he were not an opposition leader?

My answers are: 1 and NO.



Furthermore, those paying attention during the VK Lingam video would have heard Anwar’s case being mentioned. What does it mean? It means the BN government would go to great lengths to ascertain that Anwar be put behind bars until his political career expires, if not for his entire lifetime. On that fateful day Lingam revealed to my father and myself that Mahathir and his political cronies had planned an UMNO-led coalition be cemented in power as long as time could be projected, and in the name of Malaysian prosperity and peace, Anwar must be destroyed.



In this conspiracy all sectors of government - including the civil service, judiciary, and police - would be under their direct or indirect control and influence. The reach of this conspiracy even extends into the private sector. The financial system in the country would be manned by trusted cronies; Petronas and its agents guarded by friends and family; the private power suppliers, utilities, media, trading companies... precious little was spared.

One man stood to threaten the conspiracy, so he had to be destroyed. And what will happen on the 9th of January? I think all the cards are with the conspirators. If recent trends are any indication, then I think Anwar will be found not guilty, to buy some goodwill. Instead the grounds of execution will be moved to the court of Appeal (probably only after the elections). But all the cards are with the conspirators, we can only wait.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about one of the most remarkable humans I have had the pleasure to encounter and spend time with. He is my boss, but I will try to be objective. So let’s make it clear that Anwar is by no means perfect, only Umno Barisan Nasional is perfect and does no wrong, so Anwar from time to time makes mistakes. The important thing is that he admits it.

The Inspirational 

The first time I met Anwar Ibrahim was about 4 years ago together with my father. I was never an Anwar fan; also I am a skeptic by nature, making me someone quite difficult to convince. I had lost all hope for Malaysia, and like many Malaysians, had decided to move abroad. I was in a very good place in my life. Anwar struck me with his warmth and modesty. He spoke at length on his beliefs and his political vision for Malaysia. He spoke about his views regarding race relations and international relations of Malaysia. He spoke at length about his mistakes and what he learnt during his ordeals. When I left the meeting, I left with a change of heart. I left the meeting loving Malaysia more.

For the first time in my life I felt hope for Malaysia . I realised that there is something worth fighting for. Suddenly I started to see everyone as Malaysians instead of just Malay, Indian, Chinese, Dayak, etc. I was inspired to see hope for our nation and its people...

Anwar inspires. Anwar inspired with his sincerity and conviction. Anwar inspired with his vision. And directly and indirectly millions were inspired. Just five years ago, who would have believed that our nation was standing on the verge of change? Who would believe that the mighty UMNO would need to start listening to the rakyat?

Of course Anwar was not the only source of inspiration. But at a time where some tremble at the sight of the moon on a green flag, and others who hurl insults at the sight of a rocket. He, more than anyone else, was the glue to bind us all together. He, more than anyone else, led us to each other; and today, together, we stand at the brink of a regime change in Malaysia. Without Anwar, how many would have believed we would have even got this far?

The Resilient

The remarkable thing about the survey which registered that 51% like Najib Razak, while 39% likes Anwar is this: a friend commented that PR should be worried since Najib apparently was more popular than Anwar, but I offered a reversed conclusion that it is BN who should be concerned. Why? Simple. For four years you have all the kings’ horses and men, all the newspapers, radio, cybertroopers attack one man. You went so far as to dig out the old play book and charge him with sodomy. You even have a crony get his own brother to impersonate this man in a porno production.

All this while, the mainstream media treat every day as "deify our prime minister day." Even going as far as to issue official national sermons for Friday prayers telling all good Muslims to offer undivided loyalty and obedience to our great Prime Minister and friends. After four years of this and you find you are only 10% ahead, wouldn't you be worried?

In other words we need to appreciate one thing. Anwar is extremely resilient. Anyone else subjected to this intensity of abuse would have thrown in the towel long ago, anyone else would have fallen ages ago. Yet, Anwar still stands tall and strong.

In fact through the waves of onslaughts directed at Anwar, I have never seen him visibly affected. Except during Zahrain’s fallout. For the first time I could see Anwar visibly sad, more from the lost of an old friend I sensed. Despite the unrelenting assaults, which would have crippled entire armies, Anwar still stands tall and strong. "This is because of the hard work and support from all of you," he would say. But, in truth, we are the ones who should be thankful.

Not only because he continues to give us hope and inspiration, he also provides us shelter and protection. Imagine if there is no Anwar to draw the waves and waves of onslaught by the powers that be. Imagine if all the PR leaders and YBs are subjected to what Anwar has to face every day, how many more of us would have fallen? How many more would have thrown in the towel? He stood there and drew most of the heat upon himself, so the rest of us can collectively work towards the goal of a better nation.

The Remarkable

Sometimes a nation produces a person who is destined to shine not only within their nation, but on the international stage as well. Someone that will make our nation shine that much more brightly (Some might try, some might imitate, but you can’t pretend to be Princess Diana). We in Malaysia are fortunate to have produced such a remarkable person. But it is also unfortunate that we choose to allow him to be shackled and weighed down.

Or should I say that it is unfortunate that so many of us decide to stand by and allow him to be shackled. But, remarkably, Anwar remains firm with his love of Malaysia and its people; remains determined to spend his life and blood in building the nation into the great nation we know we can become. He believes we can, I believe we need to. Today our nation remains rooted, unable to break free from being decidedly mediocre, but the truth is, we are mediocre by choice rather than due to any disability.

Gwo-Burne Loh

Kelana Jaya MP

To a large extent this is where our government has decided is the best place to be. And for 55 years there was nothing the people could do about it. In a way we chose where we wanted to be.

When the BN government was bulldozing the so called "peaceful" assembly bill through parliament, in spite of the widespread objections from the people, a BN YB said that the Barisan Nasional is passing this bill with the mandate of the people and if you don't like it then take over the government in the next elections, if you can.

The Remarkable Mr. Anwar Ibrahim says we can. Do you hear him?



[First posted 3 June 2012]

Post GE13 Reform Agenda: in search of a win-win scenario (repost)

Repealing all draconian laws and returning state institutions back to the rakyat

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Haris Ibrahim

5

Najib, UMNO and BN will not do this.

We need a new non-BN government post the 13th GE to do this.

Repeal the ISA, the OSA, the PPPA, the UUCA, the Sedition Act.

All the laws that we’ve been asking to have taken off our statute books and from around our necks for so, so long.

Return the judiciary back to us.

The AG’s office.

Election Commission.

MACC.

PDRM.

And every other institution that ought to be protecting the interests of the rakyat, not UMNO and BN.

And to do all of this early on in their term of administration at Putrajaya.

[Read the rest here.]

Hercules flushing out the Augean
stables and fertilizing the land

I posted a comment to the above which warrants reproduction here, as I've long pondered how any new administration can best approach the Herculean task of cleaning up the Augean stables of moral filth and bureaucratic incompetence left behind by 54 uninterrupted years of Umno/BN mismanagement...

It may not be premature to contemplate an alternative scenario to what RARA proposes. Imagine you're a young Penan asked to choose between two developmental packages. The first involves clearing the forest and urbanizing your ancestral lands (so you and your kids can enjoy better schools and medical care); however, there will be no turning back, your way of life will be destroyed and your children will be forced into the rat race...

If you were a young Penan, would you trade this natural splendor for a Carrefour and a few 7-Elevens?

The second leverages on technological advances such as free (or affordable) helicopter and hovercraft services that bypass the necessity to build destructive highways through the rainforest ecosystem; and broadband internet access via satellite that provides access to the modern world, without destroying the serenity and majestic beauty of your natural environment; plus the benefit of cross-cultural volunteer programs wherein enthusiastic young professionals from all over the world can live amongst the Penan for a while, and impart various skills while documenting their traditional knowledge and wisdom - thereby creating a win-win scenario between traditional and modern cultures.

Let's say Pakatan Rakyat is now the federal government. For sure, oppressive laws must go pronto. The Umno Polis have, for too long, abused archaic laws like the ISA, OSA, Sedition Act, UUCA, PP&PA and the Police Act that outlaws public assembly without permits to browbeat, harass and thwart all political dissent. Twice, PDRM have used the 19th century laws against oral and anal sex to neutralize Anwar Ibrahim as a threat to their deadly stranglehold on power. What does it take, a parliamentary majority? The Agong's assent? 

However, overhauling corrupt and complacent agencies and institutions involves human beings and requires a lot of lateral thinking. Allow me to toss a few scenarios in the air for further contemplation, discussion and elaboration...

PDRM: do we really need such an unwieldy force? Quality over quantity is best, so we sack a few hundred irredeemable senior officers (Khalid Abu Bakar and Wan Bari will top the list, I'm sure) and streamline the police force to one-quarter of its present size. Those that remain in uniform will be given salary increases and refresher courses in how to serve and protect the public; while those who opt for re-education will continue to receive wages for at least 3 years while the new administration sponsors their acquisition of new skills in any field of endeavor or assists them to launch their own modest enterprises - whether it's opening a warung in their kampung, becoming a pasar malam trader, or studying a foreign language and upgrading their personal resumes. Some (particularly retrenched Special Branch officers) may opt to offer courses on self-defence and investigation skills to the public - so that the public will learn to look after themselves instead of relying on outside help to solve minor dramas like petty misdemeanors in the neighborhood.

MACC: assuming new brooms sweep cleaner and the new administration is far cleaner than its predecessor, we won't require an "anti-corruption" agency, as such. By abolishing the OSA and protecting, and even rewarding whistleblowers, every institution would have a built-in mechanism by which it can regulate itself and ensure minimal transgressions and infractions. Those currently employed by the MACC will probably have to be "disinfected" before being released to rejoin the community-at-large. Once cleansed of BTN contamination, these personnel can be offered jobs in any other government department - or opt to go on state-sponsored further studies.

EC: do we really need a massive organization to conduct polls? With existing digital tech it's feasible that public referendums and elections can be digitized. Every citizen that turns 18 becomes eligible to vote and can cast a vote from home, or from a cybercafe, or via the mobile voting service that may be necessary pending nationwide access to the internet. Electoral fraud can be easily prevented using available security software akin to what online banking entails (voter IDs, passwords, captcha, IP tracking, and so on). Election Commission top brass will be assigned to 6 months coaching by prominent comedy troupes like the Instant Cafe Theatre, Comedy Court or the Malaysian Association of Chinese Comedians - and then given their own TV sitcom series. If they refuse to cooperate, they face the prospect of 10-year exiles on the moon or the ocean depths.

As for the Attorney-General's office.... well, everyone serving the present BN regime will have to be retrenched, of course, as unusable bent nails - along with the entire top ranks of the judiciary. Once we have somebody straight and honorable appointed to the offices of AG and CJ, the overhaul can proceed with relative ease and minimal pain to all concerned.

Without the protection of Umno, the 9 rulers will quickly realize their fate lies in their own hands. If they wish to be acknowledged, respected and supported as symbolic monarchs, they have no choice but to discipline themselves, rein in their excesses, reassess their own track record - and resolve to serve as the conscience and spiritual cores of their respective states. 

Failing which, even Ibrahim Ali cannot save their skins. Their crowns and jewels can be placed in a public museum for posterity to gawk at and shake their heads in disbelief; their toy cars can be auctioned off; their palaces converted to boutique hotels like Carcosa.

[First posted 23 October 2011, then reposted 27 March 2014]