BALA'S AFFIDAVIT TO THE MACC

Only courageous whistleblowers can save Malaysia now!

AFFIDAVIT

I, Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal, (NRIC NO: 600928-08-6235) a Malaysian citizen of full age and of No. 32, Jalan Pelangi 1, Taman Pelangi, Rawang, 48000, Selangor, Malaysia, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and state as follows:

1. I am a private investigator by profession. I was born in Malaysia on the 28.09.1960 and am married to A. Santamil Selvi Alau Malay. I have 3 children, Kishen, born on the 07.02.1997, Menaga, born on the 22.08.1998 and Reeshi, born on the 04.02.2002. I can be contacted through my lawyer Mr. Americk Sidhu.

2. On the 05.07.2010, my lawyer received couriered documents from the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), which were sent to his hotel in London, setting out a series of questions they wished me to answer in relation to their investigations into an offence connected to report No: IPA 0350/2009.

3. These questions are now answered in the order they have been set out in the request from the MACC dated the 1st July 2010 which is annexed hereto marked as Exhibit ‘PIB-1’.

Question 2 : 1st Statutory Declaration (SD) dated 1st July 2008

2.1 Answer

The 1st SD is about the relationships between Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib Tun Razak and Altantuya Sharibuu and the circumstances in which I found myself involved in a series of events prior to the murder of Altantuya.

The circumstances which led me to make this 1st SD can be summarized by saying that I felt it was my moral duty as a law abiding citizen, to bring to the attention of the authorities the cover ups I felt were being orchestrated by the police investigation team in cohorts [sic] with the Attorney Generals Chambers in this case which appeared to me to have been designed to protect the real perpetrators and organizers behind this murder.


I was present at the front gates of Razak Baginda’s residence in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur in the evening of the 19.10.2006 when Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, Corporal Sirul Azahar and Lance Corporal Rohaniza drove up in a red Proton Aeroback and took Altantuya away. I believe these 2 gentlemen were the bodyguards of Najib Razak.

I also noticed around the same time that another blue proton car, driven by a Malay man, passed by very slowly. This driver appeared to be studying the scene outside Razak Baginda’s house very carefully.

I have since identified this Malay man as one Nasir Safar (left), another close confidant of Najib Razak and his personal assistant.

I was again on duty outside Razak Baginda’s house in the evening of the 22.10.2006 when 3 of Altantuya’s girlfriends and their private investigator, Mr. Ang, turned up looking for her. They were causing a commotion so I called the police. An Inspector from the Dang Wangi police station turned up in a patrol car.

It was at this stage I received a call on my handphone from one Musa Safri, whom I believe was the ADC to Najib Razak. Musa Safri asked me to pass my handphone to the Inspector from the Dang Wangi police station who persuaded these girls to disperse.

It was Razak Baginda who had given Musa Safri my handphone number.

I had informed the police of these circumstances when they were recording s.112 statements from me during their investigations into this murder.

In total, I have given the police 5 statements in relation to their investigations, the details of which are as follows:

I. Statement recorded by DSP Gan Tack Guan of the D9 Serious Crimes department from the 01.11.2006 extending for about 3 months with questioning taking place on average twice a week. No deletion of references to Najib Tun Razak.

II. Statement recorded by a Malay lady ASP at the D7 Vice department on one occasion in November 2006. No deletion of references to Najib Tun Razak.

III. Statement recorded by the D6 intelligence division at police headquarters, Bukit Aman beginning the day after Razak Baginda was charged in court, continuously for 7 days while I was under remand. This is the statement in which all references to Najib Tun Razak were removed before I signed it.

IV. Statement recorded by the Child Protection Unit at Jalan Duta the day after I was released from remand at Bukit Aman. There was no deletion of Najib Tun Razak’s name from this statement because it was audio recorded.

V. Statement recorded at D9 division by DSP Gan Tack Guan in January or February 2007. This statement is the one in which DPP Salehuddin was doing the questioning over the phone and DSP Gan recorded my answers. This was just before the trial began.

I was never asked any question relating to the involvement of Najib Tun Razak in this matter when I was summoned to give evidence for the prosecution in court.

I was therefore concerned that the police and the prosecution were trying to protect and cover up the involvement of persons very closely connected to Najib Tun Razak. I believe the police recorded a statement from Musa Safri but this gentleman was never called as a witness in court and neither was Najib Tun Razak.


I felt it was necessary for the public to know exactly who the personalities involved in this murder were and that further investigations should have been pursued to discover the motive behind the killing of an innocent foreign national.

This is why I made that 1st SD.

2.2 Answer

I first made this SD at my lawyers office in Kuala Lumpur. I began narrating my experience to my lawyer sometime in early May 2008 over a period of about 2 months before it was completed.

2.3 Answer

The reason why I made this SD has been summarized in the answer given to question 2.1 above. My lawyer drafted this 1st SD based on my statements, information and knowledge of the events set out therein and narrated to him.

2.4 Answer

No one ‘instructed’ me to make this SD. I made it of my own free will without influence from any other party. The only other person involved in preparing the 1st SD was my lawyer Mr. Americk Sidhu. He was able to decipher my narration of the relevant events and to produce a legally coherent document on my behalf. My lawyer had no interests in assisting me. I had previously tried to find a lawyer to assist me but none seem prepared to do so.

2.5 Answer

My lawyer drafted this 1st SD.

Yes, all the matters stated in my 1st SD were within my personal knowledge.

I have been advised by my lawyers and verily believe that legally and technically speaking everything I have sworn to in my 1st SD that had been told to me by Abdul Razak Baginda and Altantuya as coming from some other person could be classified as hearsay as to the truth of such 3rd party statement but not as to the fact that either Abdul Razak Baginda or Altantuya repeated it to me.

The rest of the contents of my 1st SD is not hearsay.

2.6 Answer

As far as I am concerned there is nothing in my 1st SD which could be categorized as an untruth.

2.7 Answer

I was employed by Abdul Razak Baginda in my capacity as a Private Investigator. Our relationship would therefore be one of an employer/employee.

Yes, I had met Abdul Razak Baginda before I signed my 1st SD. I had met him on a number of occasions during the course of my employment but I cannot remember the exact number of times we came face to face.

When I first met Razak Baginda at his office at Wisma Getah Asli, he explained to me what had been happening as far as the harassment he was receiving from Altantuya was concerned and the purpose of my employment.

I had enquired from him as to why he had not reported the matter to the police. He told me he could not have the police involved as this may have jeopardize the position of a VIP who was also involved in his problem with Altantuya. Razak Baginda never mentioned who this VIP was at that stage.

I only discovered that the VIP he had been referring to throughout my employment with him was Najib Tun Razak. This was at the office of Razak Baginda’s lawyer on the morning of his arrest.

This occurred when Razak Baginda received an sms on his handphone while seated with me in front of his lawyer. He showed us both this message which read …” I am seeing the IGP at 11.00 am today….matter will be solved….be cool”.

Razak Baginda then admitted the VIP he had been referring to all along was Najib and the sms he had just received was from him.

2.8 Answer

I met Abdul Razak Baginda because he wanted a Private Investigator to keep Altantuya from harassing him and his family. Razak Baginda’s lawyer by the name of Dhirren Norendra advised Razak Baginda to contact me. I think Dhirren had seen my advert in the Bar Council magazine.

2.9 Answer

I met Razak Baginda at his office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

2.10 and 2.11 Answers

Please refer to paragraphs 3 to 24 of my 1st SD. The required explanations are succinctly set out in these paragraphs. A copy of my 1st SD is annexed hereto marked as Exhibit ‘PIB-2’.

2.12 Answer

I was not forced to sign the 1st SD. I was also not under any form of duress when I did so. I signed this SD completely voluntarily. My lawyer had prepared it on my instructions.

2.13 Answer

I was not offered any money by any party to affirm my 1st SD.

The subsequent questions nos. 2.14 to 2.16 are therefore irrelevant.

Question 3 : 2nd Statutory Declaration (SD) dated 4th July 2008

The answers to questions 3.1 to 3.19 are set out in the Q&A’s Parts 1, 2 & 3, prepared by my lawyers in October 2009 and which are annexed hereto as Exhibits’ PIB-3’, ‘PIB-4’ and ‘PIB-5’. Detailed explanations are provided in respect of all the questions posed under this head.

Question 4 : Other relevant matters

4.1 Answer

I have received more than 4 cheques from Deepak Jaikishan amounting to more than RM200,000.00. In fact Deepak has paid me a total of approximately RM750,000.00 over the space of about 1 year, from July 2008 to July 2009.

4.2 Answer

The reason why Deepak gave me these cheques is explained in detail in exhibits ‘PIB-3’, ‘PIB-4’ and ‘PIB-5’.

4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 Answers

Deepak handed over the cheques to ASP Suresh who in turn handed them to a friend of mine. These cheques were then paid into my friend’s bank account in KL and the funds forwarded by telegraphic transfer to India. This was possible because Deepak left the payee blank. Alternatively, if the cheques were for cash, the funds were also forwarded to me in India by my friends after they were cashed.

Deepak also made payments into my wife’s bank account with the EON Bank in Kuala Lumpur from time to time.

Copies of my wife’s bank statements with the EON Bank showing substantial deposits and a dishonoured cheque from a company called ‘Mekar Dayabumi Sdn Bhd’ are annexed hereto collectively marked as Exhibit ‘PIB-6’.

I did not need to seek clarification from anyone regarding these cheques as I understood what they were for.

Annexed to this affidavit are copies of cheques I received from Deepak Jaikishan and Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd respectively:

Cheque No. 014554 dated 18.12.2008 in the sum of RM50,000.00 ( Exhibit ‘PIB-7’)

Cheque No. 014555 dated 22.12.2008 in the sum of RM50,000.00 (Exhibit ‘PIB-8’)

Cheque No. 014556 dated 26.12.2008 in the sum of RM50,000.00 (Exhibit ‘PIB-9’)

Cheque No. 014557 dated 31.12.2008 in the sum of RM50,000.00 (Exhibit ‘PIB-10’)

Cheque No. 014558 dated 18.01.2009 in the sum of RM50,000.00 (Exhibit ‘PIB-11’)

Cheque No. 564331 dated 31.03.2009 in the sum of RM50,000.00 (Exhibit ‘PIB-12’)

4.8 Answer

The reason why I decided to disclose the events and circumstances of this case is again clearly set out in detail in exhibits ‘PIB-3’, ‘PIB-4’ and ‘PIB-5’.

4. All of the answers to the questions posed above and as set out in ‘PIB-1’ are true to the best of my knowledge and belief and are provided based on my own knowledge and belief and I further hereby confirm that no party whatsoever has influenced any of my answers.

[Source: Malaysia Today]

Background reading: Najib, Rosmah, Baginda, Nazim mentioned in Bala's French probe

Meanwhile over in West Papua...

I've never given much thought to West Papua. In fact, I had almost forgotten it exists. Recently I've been receiving links to news items and videos that once again reveal the grim consequences of human greed and hypocrisy.

In the end it matters not whether it's the Indonesian government, or the Australian government, or Malaysia, or the USA or the CIA that's orchestrating the oppression, colonization, exploitation and murder. The root cause is all too familiar: a misplaced sense of priorities that puts corporate profits ahead of human and environmental well-being.



West Papuans are demanding their freedom and autonomy. They want Merdeka (Independence). Who doesn't?

Tunku Abdul Aziz on Anwar Ibrahim as PM

The only Malaysian politician, who can, without making a fool of himself, stride the world stage with the right combination of strong intellectual credentials and honesty, is not to be found within the serried ranks of the BN, but in the person of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s iconic liberal democrat.

As I saw here in Brussels, he had the European parliamentary leadership, figuratively speaking, eating out of his hands. Many have already put the champagne on ice; they clearly see this victim of a rotten political system as the next man to lead the country.


For all our sakes, I hope they are right. Malaysia needs a thorough overhaul and Najib - whom we need like we do a great big hole in our head - is unlikely to understand the dynamics of change for the great leap forward.

He is not only busy watching oversized baggage, but also his back with the sort of loyal friends he has had foisted on him. There simply isn’t much time for anything else while the ship of state springs more leaks by the day...

[Read the full essay here.]

Why Islam And Democracy Are Destined to Coincide
Keynote address by Anwar Ibrahim, Parliamentary Opposition Leader of Malaysia at Brussels, 28th September, 2010

'March to Putrajaya' now online!

Click here to download and read!

Kim Quek's explosive book The March to Putrajaya – Malaysia’s New Era is at Hand, recently banned by the Malaysian Home Minister, is available online. By clicking here, readers can view as well as download the uncensored contents of the book.

This is as it should be. Citizens of a country should not be deprived of free access to information by the government simply because such information is deemed unfavourable to the regime.

[Read the rest here.]

I found JUSTICE... almost a year later!

Apologies to South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro)

Sometime last year Nathaniel Tan and John Lee came up with a cogent collection of essays on human rights and published it as a book called Where is Justice? Death and Brutality in Custody.

I ordered a copy almost as soon as I read about it on Nat's blog. I ended up paying way too much for postage (about RM11) but was happy to have the book in my hands anyway. After I read the excellently crafted introduction, I decided to promote the book by blogging about it. Then other stuff happened (including an unplanned 2-week vacation in Sungai Buloh Hospital) and when I returned to civvy life in January 2010, my entire house had been rearranged and I couldn't find the book.

It mysteriously reappeared a few hours ago and I decided, before Justice goes AWOL again, to simply reproduce the brilliant intro here, slightly abridged...

There are some fundamental human rights which we all recognize. The right of a person to their life is paramount and sacrosanct, enshrined in Article 5 of our Federal Constitution. We instinctively understand that it is wrong to arbitrarily assault and threaten the lives of other people. But in spite of this, every year dozens, if not hundreds of people die under mysterious circumstances while in the custody and protection of the Malaysian government.

When the government deprives its people of the freedom to move about and live their lives, it assumes the responsibility of protecting them. The authorities cannot disclaim responsibility for accidental deaths. Even if we give them the immense benefit of the doubt, and assume that no police or custodial officer has ever assaulted someone in their custody, the question still remains: why do so many Malaysians die in the custody of our government?

Four pivotal cases over the last decade have shaken Malaysians and opened our eyes to how deeprooted this problem is. In [Where is Justice?] we scrutinize the real facts behind each of these four cases, followed by opinions from fellow Malaysians who demand answers.

We start with Teoh Beng Hock, a Selangor state government servant who fell to his death from a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission building during a corruption investigation. People do not simply fall out of buildings - so why and how did Teoh die? What burning questions remain yet unanswered?

We move on to A. Kugan, an alleged carjacker who, according to the police, suddenly collapsed and died while in their custody. When his family claimed his body from the morgue, it was covered in blood and bruises, and now even the Health Ministry has confirmed that he was tortured. Months after his death, the police cleared Kugan of all charges against him, saying they could find no evidence he was complicit in any car thefts - meaning an innocent man suffered and died while in the custody of our government.

Our next case is an unforgettable one - that of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian woman murdered by elite police officers assigned to then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Her case remains shrouded in mystery - many believe someone must have ordered these commandos to kill Altantuya. Suspicion rested on Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib's, but the courts could not find sufficient evidence to convict him. Altantuya's family continues to seek justice for Altantuya, demanding the government get to the bottom of the matter.

The last of our major cases is that of another former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. Beaten and brutalized by none other than the highest-ranking police officer in the country. Anwar's abuse in police custody shocked not only the nation, but the world. Although almost forgotten today, Anwar's case showed that even the most dedicated and highest of public servants can abuse their power and violate the sacred trust we place in them.

Buy this book online!

We close the book with the stories of countless men and women who have died while under the custody and protection of our government. Each and every one of these people was a human being - someone with parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers. Some were guilty, some were innocent. All were entitled to the protection of the law - not to be tortured and summarily abused by the authorities.

The government acts on our behalf - on the behalf of the rakyat of Malaysia. It is a grave sin and injustice for our government to leave such abuses unchecked and ignored, and it is incumbent on every Malaysian to hold our government accountable for its actions.

John Lee Ming Keong
Nathaniel Tan

On Malaysia Day, a lesson from America...

There is a great deal we in Malaysia can learn from monitoring the economic and political flux in America - and no one better qualified to inspire us in the right direction than the magnificent Swami Beyondananda aka Steve Bhaerman...

Obama or Nobama, It’s Still Up to Us
September 15, 2010

By Steve Bhaerman

With Obama AWOL, the Evolutionary Up-Wising Must Proceed Without Him

“For the past generation, the Republicans have been playing hardball … and the Democrats have been playing hardly-have-balls.” ~ Swami Beyondananda

Well, what do you know? It’s happened again. The hopium has worn off, and in the sober light of morning we see that the white knight we hoped would save us (albeit a slightly darker white knight) has left us bereft. And our wallet is missing.

Progressives are bewailing the betrayal of progressive principles, but it’s worse than that. From the very first appointments – or should we say, disappointments – the Obama Administration installed more of the usual suspects instead of the unusual ones we had hoped for. The economic elites in power simply switched uniforms from red to blue. Bottom line, Obama bailed out Wall Street and bailed on Main Street.

True, the bail out was put in place by the Bush Administration. But it was given legitimacy by Obama, and in that one move Obama lost the independent voters who saw a glimmer of hope, a possibility that the unmitigated rule by the power of money could be counterbalanced, if not overcome.

He coulda been a contender. Instead, Obama took an apparent dive – and a bought us all a one-way ticket to palookaville. As to the “why,” take your choice. There is a really excellent article in the September, 2010 Vanity Fair that attributes Obama’s plight to a “broken Washington.” It’s a pretty inside-the-matrix analysis, but it’s valuable in showing the relationship between the American Devolution and the influence of money. In 2009, the article says, lobbyists spent $3.5 billion to leverage legislation. As an indication of how things have changed in just one “degeneration,” here is a quote from the article: “In the 1974 congressional elections, total spending on Senate and House races came to only $77 million. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, by 2008 the figure was $1.36 billion, with lobbyists providing a significant amount.”


In other words, Congressional campaigns cost seventeen times as much as they did 35 years ago. No wonder the Democrats have devolved into “Republican Lite.” They have felt obliged to follow the money instead of lead the conversation. As Ralph Nader wrote recently, “… the Democrats do not have a progressive philosophy.”

Other analyses are less forgiving, and portray Barack Obama as a Manchurian candidate riding the Trojan horse of “change” into the White House. A fact sheet distributed by St. Pete for Peace offers as much evidence as anyone needs to indicate that Obama’s prime allegiance is not to we the people but to the corporate state.

So … who or what is the real Obama? Is he an Aquarian visionary hamstrung by a dysfunctional system, or an inside player whose purpose all along was to low-jack progressivism on behalf of the corporate state?


And the answer is … it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter because nothing could, would or will change without an independent political movement of “we the people.” Even Obama hinted at that during his campaign, telling the American people, “It’s about you.”

And now, nearly two years after the election, and more than a year-and-a-half since the inauguration, there is no independent citizens movement. We have the same third and fourth parties limping along, and the truth is we don’t need a new third party in America.

We need a new first party.

To have that, we must give up hopium, and end the dope addiction (i.e., our addiction to electing dopes who don’t really represent our true interests) that has so severely weakened the body politic that we the people have become a non-factor in governance, diverted from the real issues by bipolar politics and a media side-show.

Here is my declaration, prayer and intention:

May the 2010 mid-term election be the last bullshit election held in America.

May it be the last election, where “mosque-debating” obfuscates the real issues of who’s in charge, and who’s in charge of who’s in charge.

May it be the last election where people’s hard-earned money – not to mention the hardly-earned money spent by the economic elites – is used to perpetrate lies, distortions and manipulative misinformation.

May it be the last election where the mainstream corporate media calls the shots of what gets covered.

May it be the last election where only money talks, and where “free speech” is free – unless of course, you want it to be broadcast widely, in which case it costs lots and lots of money.

And the Good News Is…?

There is good news, folks … but only if WE make it.

[Read the rest here.]





Check out Swami Beyondananda's Ompage!

The Face of Facebook

MARK ZUCKERBERG OPENS UP
by Jose Antonio Vargas
The New Yorker

Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in his college dorm room six years ago. Five hundred million people have joined since, and eight hundred and seventy-nine of them are his friends. The site is a directory of the world’s people, and a place for private citizens to create public identities. You sign up and start posting information about yourself: photographs, employment history, why you are peeved right now with the gummy-bear selection at Rite Aid or bullish about prospects for peace in the Middle East. Some of the information can be seen only by your friends; some is available to friends of friends; some is available to anyone. Facebook’s privacy policies are confusing to many people, and the company has changed them frequently, almost always allowing more information to be exposed in more ways.

According to his Facebook profile, Zuckerberg has three sisters (Randi, Donna, and Arielle), all of whom he’s friends with. He’s friends with his parents, Karen and Edward Zuckerberg. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and attended Harvard University. He’s a fan of the comedian Andy Samberg and counts among his favorite musicians Green Day, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, and Shakira. He is twenty-six years old.

Zuckerberg cites “Minimalism,” “Revolutions,” and “Eliminating Desire” as interests. He likes “Ender’s Game,” a coming-of-age science-fiction saga by Orson Scott Card, which tells the story of Andrew (Ender) Wiggin, a gifted child who masters computer war games and later realizes that he’s involved in a real war. He lists no other books on his profile.

[Read the entire feature here...]

Priscilla Chan has been Zuck's girlfriend since 2003

Read my 28 October 2007 post:
The Facebook Interview

9/11 Nine Years Down The Line

... A Mystery Unsolved!

Hugo Farrant, poet in temporary exile

This bearded stranger with golden dreadlocks sitting in my Bamboo Palace goes by the name Hugo Farrant. He showed up just over a week ago on his way back to Melbourne. Waiting to get his visa approved, he said.

British-born Hugo has spent the last three years or so making waves in the Australian rap scene. That's right. Hugo's a rapper.

Not just a rapper, mind you. Hugo's essentially a poet, a master wordsmith in the truest sense, a questing visionary, philosopher, mythologist and weaver of semantic tube toruses.

In short, Hugo Farrant is a high-end rapper. Unlike your run-of-the-mill street-corner gangsta-rapper, Hugo is a lexicological wunderkind with an almost unlimited vocabulary.

Listening to his recently released album, The Enlightenment Era, not once did I come across any references to humans with oedipal tendencies. Instead, I was titillated by tales of angels and atoms, dimensional shifts, 11:11 stargates, extraterrestrials, obelisks, Olympic medalists, Friedrich Nietzsche, and a chance encounter between Pavlov's Dog and Schrödinger's Cat.

Hugo expands his fan base in Malaysia

I kid you not. This guy's creative genius is beyond description. The Muses love him. If I were the Australian government I'd offer Hugo Farrant a generous arts grant - instead of putting him through the bureaucratic runaround and keeping him in suspense over something as meaningless, trivial and irrelevant as an entry visa.

Ah well, Australia's loss is Magick River's gain. I shall insist on collecting some DNA samples before we let golden boy Hugo leave. Check out these nifty videos from The Juice Media (Pssst... Hugo plays all the characters!)...

RAP NEWS from The Juice Media produced by Hugo Farrant & Giordano Nanni





Intrigued? Get to know Hugo up close here!

LIVING LIFE TO THE MAX!

HEY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOUNG HOTSHOT!

Max Alexander Lüer, my #1 grandchild, turns 10 today! A few days ago my daughter Belle proudly showed me some digital doodles her son had created on her iPhone with some funky app he had just downloaded...

This was the first doodle I saw and I was absolutely impressed by the confident strokes Max had used to generate this simple but striking abstract piece. The color scheme is spot on - looks like a virus!

Hmm, that stylized cloaca looks a bit rude...

Such vibrant colors and freeflowing lines!

Minimalist variation on a Maximalist theme? :-)

The Devil in him begins to emerge... ;-)

Animal, vegetable, human or extraterrestrial?

Reminds me of the brilliant art produced by my friend
Marianne Naerebout!

Max is one of the most widely traveled kids I know, since his parents happen to be ardent jetsetters. On a recent trip to South Africa (to watch the World Cup), Max was treated to a joyride on a catamaran.

First one in! Max has been participating in triathlons with great enthusiasm... and he's done really well!

Portrait of a natural-born runner...

A stylish bike racer too...

Dressed up as Harry Potter for a Halloween party?

Prince Max appreciating the German landscape...

Watching the World Cup in Jo'burg with mama Belle and papa Marcus

Like father, like son: two jocks on a sightseeing tour of Cape Town

Three generations of Lüers: Max with his other Grandpa Manfred
and proud daddy Marcus

My grandson, the budding heartthrob :-)

Guess what Max gave me for my rebirthday in January? I'd been hassling him to lend me his face so I can go to parties and get lucky all over again... so Max very kindly obliged, such a generous soul ;-)

This was powerful medicine indeed - and quite possibly saved my life when I was struck down by an assassin anopheles and landed up in the ICU at Sungai Buloh Hospital. I'm keeping the original in my archive.

Thank you so much, darling Max, for making it such a total joy to be called "Grand Pupa" by you (it's better than being called "Grand Poo-Poo" that's for sure! :-)

IN LOVING MEMORY...

Molly Fu
(28 August 1950 - 12 June 2006)

Max shares a birthday with his magnificent grand-aunt Molly
who babysat him a lot -
and who also took care of Belle and her sister Moon
when they were babies.
"An Angel returned to Heaven..."
is how Belle describes this beautiful, gentle soul.

Nurul Izzah takes on the rabid racists

A new script for Malaysia
Free Malaysia Today | Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:00

By Nurul Izzah Anwar

A Malay daily recently declared that a civil war would break out in the country. And this war would dwarf the May 13 1969 racial riot – the worst in Malaysia’s history. The war, said the newspaper, is a response to a non-existing amended constitution that abolishes the special position of the Malays and Islam.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also made reference to the 1969 riot in his comment when he reminded his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleague, Dr Chua Soi Lek, to tone down his demands to scrap what the government likes to call the pro-Malay economic policy.

In Penang, we heard stories that the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been replaced with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in Friday sermons in some mosques in the state.

Apart from some Umno leaders who are fond of making racist comments, we also now have Perkasa which claimed to champion the constitutional position of the Malays.

These stories have been reported at length and front-paged by many newspapers, inviting discussions from both sides of the political divide.

These stories are not new. Many of us have heard similar stories not too long ago.

Remember in 1987 when Umno organised a racially charged political rally? It was followed by detention of many opposition leaders, including Karpal Singh and Guan Eng, under Operasi Lalang.

I wonder what the people behind the recent racial provocations hope to achieve.

Political theatre

I was too young to remember Operasi Lalang, but from my understanding of the event, it sounds so similar to the political theatre we are watching right now.

Every now and then, Malaysians are forced to watch the show based on an outdated script, written perhaps by those in power who benefit from racial polarisation.

Except for the change in the cast, the script always revolves around racial hatred, and how one community is a threat to another community’s interest.

Thank God, this latest show has not resulted in a new racial riot, or the “great war” that the Malay daily was trying to instigate.

Obviously, this tactic has not worked with Malaysians. Young Malaysians now demand a new script for the nation to be written by them.

In saying that the latest attempt at disuniting the country has failed, I am not entirely dismissing the fact that the racial rhetoric might have attracted some groups of young Malaysians.

Reading reports on Perkasa activities, I noticed the presence of a small number of young Malays. These are the people that I wish to reach out and to join other young Malaysians to write a new script for the nation.

Real issues

Perkasa has been accused of only trying to defend rent-seeking activities, but I doubt these youths are awarded any government contract. My suspicion is they have been indoctrinated with years of racist propaganda.

They are not alone. I have heard of civil servants and even teachers who made racist remarks while on the job.

For them, this country is all about “us” versus “them”, “oppression by certain group” or “risk of losing political power.”

But I have not given up on them.

I want to tell them that it is not hard to look beyond the colour of our skin, to understand that diversity has always been the foundation of this country.

I would like for all of us to focus on the real issues that will destroy this country: such as corruption, low foreign investment, lack of job opportunities and many other problems shared by all Malaysians.

It would not be easy to make them understand, but the success of the new script for Malaysia’s future depends on not just one group but also others who have been misled and marginalised. That is why all Malaysians must speak out and decide once and for all what the new script would be. A script built on the promise and vision of an independent Malaysia for all citizens: based on the rule of law, justice and equality.

Those who deny the will of the people for a better Malaysia should take note. Malaysians recognise theatre as it is, and the days of political theatre are over.

Nurul Izzah Anwar is PKR's MP for Lembah Pantai.