A "born-again" Malaysian writes about his first "illegal" assembly on 9 July 2011

Born Again Malaysian, Totally Cleansed (BERSIH)!
By Socrates

To put my participation in the BERSIH 2.0 Rally into proper perspective, I need to give you a short synopsis of who I am, and what I used to do for a living.

A full blooded Malaysian, I was born in the 50's in Kuala Lumpur, when life was simple, and as kids, we played amongst ourselves oblivious of whether we were Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, or others. We were just children and kawan-kawan, and we had a darn good time playing football, badminton, sepak takraw, picture cards, etc. all together then.

Razak Hussein,
2nd prime minister

Somehow all this changed especially after May 13, 1969. All the bigotry, and prejudice started to set in during Razak's time as PM and it slowly got worse and worse as the ruling elite spotted the opportunity to divide and rule, and make use of all the prejudice and bigotry to set up divide-and-rule systems that could be exploited to enrich themselves under the guise of "the Malay struggle."

As time wore on, to further entrench themselves in their position of power, built on the insecurities of the masses, and the prejudice and bigotry spawned by their system of "divide and rule," they started to dismantle democracy in Malaysia by making the Executive (Govt) so powerful as to make the Legislature (Parliament), and Judiciary subservient to it, the Executive, thereby making the Prime Minister the de facto dictator of Malaysia.

Not satisfied with this, they dismantled the jury system where we are supposed to be tried by our peers. No longer, now we are tried by judges who are on the government's salary, appointed by the government.

Mahathir Mohamad,
4th prime minister

Furthermore, the government placed their staunch supporters in key positions, whether they were Malay, Chinese or Indian, in the AG's office, Election Commission, MACC, PDRM, and so on to control these institutions so that instead of doing their duty to protect and serve the Rakyat of Malaysia, they are now only to protect and serve the BN govt while paid and funded by the Rakyat.

Naturally, by now, the whole election process in Malaysia has been corrupted and skewed to ensure government rule by the BN, where through gerrymandering, phantom voters, multiple voting, and manipulated postal votes, and the stuffing of ballot boxes, and outright vote buying guaranteed the survival of the BN government to the exclusion of all else, thus thwarting the Rakyat's Will.

BERSIH 2.0 is the Rakyat's Rally to tell the BN Government that enough is enough and we want clean, free and fair elections to reflect the True Will of the Rakyat, and whoever wins the elections then, so be it.

At my age, and having worked for 3 decades (since the 1980's) from a salesman all the way to a CEO of a foreign owned, public listed corporation, coming from a very sedentary lifestyle, the last thing on my mind would be to walk for hours in the afternoon heat, and with the threat of violence hanging over my head like the sword of Damocles, especially so when I suffer from high blood pressure (HBP), a bum left leg, and an overweight 115 kg body.

Having lived through the BN apartheid system (yes, it is no different from South Africa's apartheid system under the whites before the ANC led by Nelson Mandela succeeded in making South Africa a truly democratic nation) for so many years, and having only been overseas for my tertiary degree for 3-4 years, and holidays paid for with my hard earned money, I have always worked in Malaysia, paying full Malaysian taxes, and contributing to the EPF, and lived here in KL all my life, I finally had enough when I saw the demonisation of BERSIH 2.0 and the true Patriots of Malaysia (steering committee of BERSIH 2.0 and all the 62 supporting NGOs), by this self-centred, bully of a government.

So I told my wife and my kids that I had to go to this rally on the 9th July in KL and make our voices heard. If I made it back, fine, if I didn't, so be it. My wife wanted to walk with me, but I convinced her not to as our daughter is only 4+, though our sons are big enough, and she needed a parent to look after her. Also, if I didn't make it back, she needed to carry on the fight for the sake of our children, and for the sake of our country, Malaysia.

This would be my first rally although I had attended almost all the PJ vigils to free Raja Petra Kamarudin from ISA and to mansuhkan ISA, along with my wife and family. My daughter was only 1+ yrs old then and she was then dubbed by Haris Ibrahim and Del Capo as the "Angel" Of the PJ vigils. Yes, I exposed my kids to all this because they had to be taught what is right and wrong, and that is the most important thing that I, as a parent, could teach them.

So we checked into Quality Hotel on Jln. Raja Laut as we thought we were going to the palace, then we heard that we were to go to Stadium Merdeka, but it was too late to cancel, so we all showed up at the hotel the afternoon before.

On the morning of the 9th, I painfully hauled my 115 kg carcass up and walked out of the main door of the hotel at 9:55 a.m. with my wife who insisted on walking some way with me. There was a police car parked up at the front entrance, and further along we saw many blue "ants" milling around, maybe about 150 to 200 of them. We were stopped and asked where we were going, to which I replied:"Sogo". So this big burly policeman said:"Oh ... Sogo boleh." as if I needed his permission at all to set my foot in any part of MY country, Malaysia!

We ignored him and went into Sogo for which could have been our last breakfast together. We observed them playing around with the red riot police helmets, batons, and shields while drinking our coffee. Then, at 10:20 am, we left Sogo and walked to the PRT station across the road. There were some policemen in the booking office and some milling around outside, so I looked at the train routes. I knew I should get out at Hang Tuah to be close to the Stadium, but I saw them watching me, so I told the gentleman at the counter, one ticket to Ampang (the last stop) please, and said goodbye to my wife with my eyes.

You can tell that once the police heard me mention Ampang, they lost interest in me and what I was doing immediately, although I was carrying a bag of water, salt, extra t shirt and face towel! Luckily, we had such simple minded folk in the police force!

I got on the train, but it skipped Hang Tuah station! I swore under my breath! Will it stop at Pudu next, or won't it?? It stopped at Pudu, and I walked out, heading back towards KL. There were no police presence there at all, and while I was walking down Jln. Pudu slowly, the road was eerily quiet, save for some 5 or 6 other people walking like me.

A little nervous, all alone on my way to my first rally, and cursing the Najib administration with every painful step of my bum left leg, hauling my 115 kg sweat drenched carcass, I stopped by a 7-Eleven and bought some sweets. The air-con made me want to just camp there, but the thought of my family floated across my mind, and with renewed vigour (as much as I could muster!) I headed down to where one of my friends said they would be, in McDonald's next to Kota Raya.

Hii Tiong Huat  from Sarawak was arrested one day before the rally for carrying this sign!

But before that, I had to rest my bum leg again and I went into the Swiss Garden Hotel and ordered a milk shake to cool down while I texted like-minded friends to tell them that Jln. Pudu would be an all clear if anyone wanted to join the rally from this direction.

When I reached McD's it was 12 noon and my friends, Lee, Chong and Menon were there laughing at my deplorable physical condition! Soon, we went out to Jln. Sultan and suddenly, everyone started walking out and chanting "Bersih, bersih", "Hidup Bersih", "Hidup Rakyat."

Young, old, strong, weak, infirm, the physically challenged, Muslims, Christians, Confucianists, Taoists, Buddhists, Hindus, Agnostics, Atheists, Malay, Chinese, Indians, Iban, and many more from all walks of life, walking together, shoulder to shoulder, with but a single purpose in mind, to reclaim our birthright to clean, free and fair elections in Malaysia.

With adrenalin pumping, I walked the length of Jln. Sultan, and whenever a group made it to Kota Raya, we would walk all the way down clapping and chanting to welcome them, and then walk up again. We met several of our friends along the way, Rodi, Claire, Farid and his brother, Hawkeye Jack. There were a few Caucasian tourists joining in and cheering us on as well. What a carnival it was until ... without any warning to disperse, the police advanced upon us.

9 July 2011 was a truly Transforming experience!

Before long, the tear gas came and the water cannon as well, just outside Menara Maybank and PuduRaya, while I was standing outside Nandos, and we scurried up into PuduRaya to escape from the fumes. The water cannon, however, ran out of water before it could reach us and had us jeering and laughing at the hapless "cannoneers", with tears streaming down our faces due to the tear gas!

People were everywhere helping other people, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, etc., and offering salt, and one guy even got a hose connected to spray the people down, those soaked by the chemical laced water from the cannons, and those who got tear gassed badly.

Nostalgia and euphoria simultaneously swept over me, as this was what it was like before May 13, 1969, and after Merdeka, all for one, and one for all! Malaysia had indeed come a long way since then, but here we are again, one people, one identity, One Malaysia! This is what the Najib character had tried to convince Malaysians the government of Malaysia is, but has instead shown how racist, fascist, and prejudiced they really are, administering an apartheid system of governance over the Malaysian people.

God intervened at this point, and the resulting downpour washed away all the chemical laced water, and tear gas, and the police suddenly found themselves powerless to bully the protestors.

On the 9th July 2011, that was One Malaysia in action, and we all headed up Jln. Hang Jebat towards Stadium Merdeka. We stopped outside Stadium Merdeka on its access road and saw barbed wire across the road leading to the Stadium, with the cops behind it.

BERSIH 2.0 in Hong Kong

Some of us shouted: "Kami sokong BERSIH, apa kamu sokong?? Kotor??" Some of them smiled. Some of us sat down and when 4:15 came, we dispersed as we, being men of honour, promised the Agong that we would, all of us, be melting away back to our mundane lives, from whence we came.

There I was, with Lee and Chong, all drenched and soaked through from head to toe sitting outside the YWCA facing the Stadium when a friend of mine showed up, Lian, and her friend. An ice cream vendor came by and we waved him down and had some ice cream. Lee had also kindly shared his stash of biscuits with Chong and I.

We parted company and I found out one of my friends had booked into the Olympic Hotel next to Wisma OCM, I dropped by dripping water as I entered the lobby. Cold, wet through, and still famished from no lunch, and my bum leg sore from so much walking and running, I managed to heave my 115 kg frame into a comfortable chair of the hotel cafe and proceeded to order lunch. My friend, Pat, together with a PAS gentleman, Pak Lokman, had booked several rooms there, and I was generously given a room to shower, clean up, rest and recover.

Malaysians in Hong Kong rally in support of Clean & Fair Elections

To cut a long story short, my wife and family came to fetch me from Olympic Hotel, and after one long look at my tired out countenance, my daughter held my arm tightly and kissed me on the cheek welcoming me back. We arrived back to our hotel and my kids offered to massage and pommel me and said thank you for fighting for them and their future. My wife was relieved beyond words that I made it without being worse for wear. I had left her with all my codes and passwords for everything the night before and I can never forget the look on her face when I did that.

Najib, Hisham, Ibrahim Ali, Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin, Muhkriz Mahathir, please take heed. We, the Rakyat of Malaysia, will continue to fight for our civil liberties and rights under our Federal Constitution, and for electoral reform to ensure clean, free and fair elections, no matter what you do, or think you can do. With my passing, my wife and children will take up the clarion call to perform their duty as true patriots of Malaysia.

Sure, I am rich enough to emigrate, but I choose not to as Malaysia is my country and my home and nobody, no matter how powerful, how evil, how scheming, will convince or blackball me, or my family and friends, otherwise.

Kicked, manhandled  and handcuffed while stunned by tear gas (pic by Joshua Ong)

There is an ancient saying that we can die without a whimper, or we can make our deaths resound through history. Either way, we die, as death is a fact of Life. I have chosen to make my death count, for my country Malaysia. To the Death, lawan tetap lawan, if that is what is needed to reclaim our birthrights!

An Ordinary, Sedentary, Risen through the ranks, Middle Class, Middle Aged, Bespectacled Malaysian with a bum leg, and an overweight 115 kg frame, signing off.

Socrates
12th July 2011

P.S. What took me so long to write this?? My body and legs still ache, lah, recovering from it all...

Darkest hour before a new dawn

Baggage on his back, blood on his hands, Altantuya albatross around his fat neck

Things have never looked so ugly since the May 13 massacre of 1969 orchestrated by an ambitious Malay supremacist faction of UMNO led by Razak Hussein, father of Najib Razak.

It is now clear that Malaysia has further deteriorated from a kleptocracy (a nation run by thieves) to a kakistocracy (a nation mismanaged by the vilest, most vicious, most venomous and violent elements). With the benefit of hindsight, we can see how the Polis Di Raja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Police) was systematically co-opted (especially during Mahathir Mohamad's 22-year reign) to serve the narrow interests of the ruling elite rather than the general public. Those of cynical bent will say, quite correctly, that all police departments on earth exist primarily to protect the vested interests of the ruling elite - not the ordinary citizen, whose function is to fund the scam by paying involuntary taxes - but it's time to clean up the police, perhaps even delete the concept from the human imagination!

Muscle-brained Gestapoman

Arbitrarily arresting anyone promoting the concept of Clean and Fair Elections - even charging a handful under the dreaded ISA for "trying to revive Communism and for waging war against the King" - the recently appointed deputy Inspector-General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar, has conspicuously taken over from Ismail Omar, who appears more of a bureaucrat than a bully. When Khalid Abu Bakar was Chief Police Officer of Selangor, a large number of people died under gory circumstances.

Take the case of A. Kugan, a 22-year-old arrested on suspicion of involvement in a car theft sydicate, who was cruelly beaten to death in a police lock-up in January 2009. Khalid Abu Bakar immediately began lying about the circumstances of Kugan's unnecessary death at the hands of uniformed sadists. A gentleman would have publicly apologized for this glaring instance of police misconduct and resigned - especially since the police subsequently issued, without any sign of regret or remorse, a statement that criminal charges against Kugan had been dropped.

Khalid Abu Bakar, 
shooting for Top Cop

A few months later, there was a high-speed car chase in Shah Alam, which ended in 14-year-old Amirulrasyid Amzah getting a bullet in the back of his head for the crime of driving without a licence and panicking when he saw a police patrol car. Within months there was a spate of unexplained teenaged deaths at the hands of the police, all accused of being armed criminals, and all summarily executed with bullets through their heads fired at point blank range. Khalid Abu Bakar wasn't asked to resign in those instances either.

Obviously, he was earning himself brownie points with the top crooks in UMNO as a potential high-ranking Gestapo Officer. They appreciate tough cops without moral scruples who know which side the bread is buttered.

There were many other alarming reports of citizens being harassed at roadblocks, arrested, robbed and beaten black-and-blue by police officers - and not a single case has been brought to justice. The big bosses in UMNO have covered the cops' arses in every instance. Even in a case as gruesome and sensational as the cold-blooded abduction, torture and murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu in October 2006, the two policemen assigned to the dirty deed by Najib's security chief were protected from public view because they were allowed by the judge to conceal their faces throughout the long-drawn and ludicrous trial.

Malay supremacy club

So the signs have all been there, ladies and gentlemen. Indeed, they have been there since the days when the Internal Security Act was abused, even by the generally benign Tunku Abdul Rahman, as an all-purpose weapon against political dissent. It may be argued that in primate politics, a savvy and strong leader must be prepared to don jackboots from time to time and stomp on serious threats to his leadership. That's how Lee Kuan Yew retained control of his party and remained at the helm of Singapore for so many decades - indeed, many say he still has the final say from behind the scenes.

The use of police and army to suppress angry populations is nothing new - but there is a growing sense around the world that such repressive measures reflect negatively on those who wield them. It reveals that they have lost their legitimacy to lead.

HINDRAF 25 November 2007: fearless in the face of the FRU

Like a tyrant father who cannot control his kids without brutally beating them, any state that succumbs to the temptation to unleash violence upon its own people has declared itself a rogue nation - unfit to be invited to the feast.

As we transit from one evolutionary cycle to the next, the rule of Might-Is-Right will rear its ugly head one final time before it falls into the fiery abyss of transmutation.

40,000-strong BERSIH Rally, 10 November 2007

The time is upon us now as we brace ourselves for the BERSIH showdown on July 9. Will the police lockdown the entire city so that a virtual curfew is declared? Or will they allow enough people to assemble "illegally" before whacking down hard on them - round up a few hundred to scare the rest? Whatever the outcome, one thing is obvious:

UMNO's secret weapon Saiful, the infamous anus

Najib (grime minister in charge of organized crime, dirty tricks and salacious sex scandals) and his cousin Hishammuddin (home minister in charge of doublethink, nonsensespeak and the keystone kops) can no longer pretend to be urbane and savvy leaders of a harmonious, stable and mature nation. They have only two options - voluntarily step down because nobody respects or trusts them, or lash back petulantly at their critics.

Despite my eternal optimism, it's hard to envision either capitulating at this juncture - not when they still control the PDRM and Petronas. In effect, it appears they are on the verge of running amok and cracking a few skulls.

Can we the people afford to back down at this juncture? This is a moment of destiny when we each have to decide: whether we love our nation enough to overcome our fear of jackboots, truncheons and obscenely oppressive and archaic laws.

Ugly jingoist display by UMNO in Penang after GE12

If I were in a position to consider migration, I must admit I might be seriously looking into the options available to me. However, I swore many years ago that I would live to see the dark age of Mahathirism fade away like a vampire caught in the first rays of the morning sun.

I will stay and I will fight - not with weapons but with clarity, a sense of purpose, and fearless resolve. People like Anwar Ibrahim, Karpal Singh, Raja Petra Kamarudin, Lim Kit Siang, Irene Fernandez, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Lim Guan Eng, Haris Ibrahim, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Fuziah Salleh, N. Surendran, Mat Sabu . Chegu Bard , Hisham Rais and a large army of idealistic young men and women who constitute Lawyers for Liberty, Sisters in Islam, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia and the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement are my inspiration, and I thank them for having courageously stood up and be counted.

Samad Said (photo: Wazari Wazir)

All the youngsters who have produced inspirational videos on YouTube, exhorting their compatriots to rise to the occasion and reclaim their land from the pirates and parasites in UMNO/BN; everyone who has "liked" a Facebook group advocating openness, justice and truth; and all those who have quietly served as mouthpieces for the downtrodden - heroes like Dr Michael Jeyakumar and his colleagues in Parti Socialis Malaysia - there are so many out there who have been doing exactly what they were born to do, simply because they have consciously chosen, like national laureate Samad Said, to cari makna (seek significance and meaning) - not just cari makan (make money).

Saturday, 9 July 2011, will be the day the tide turns. UMNO/BN have had more than 3 years to get used to the idea that in politics, as in sports, nobody gets to hang on to a trophy forever. If they insist on being sore losers and resorting to violence, may their violent intent boomerang back a hundredfold on themselves and hasten their extinction.

Who's yellow? Who's been painted red?

Check out this amusing blogpost by Jasbuggie!

RECLAIM YOUR NATION... OR START YOUR OWN!!!

Why don't you stay home... home minister?

The Keris-Kissing Laughing Jackass of UMNO

Don't bother showing up for work on Monday!

Save us the bother of booting you out....


We thought Syed Hamid Albar was stupid and incompetent as home minister but Hishammuddin Hussein is several notches worse.

Violent death throes of a rotten regime...

I salute Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (president of Gerakan Mansuh ISA) for his courage, perseverance and impeccable integrity. Thank you, sir, for keeping your faith in the possibility of reform - and for continuing to demand justice on behalf of all those without a voice.

I salute each and every one of you who assembled on 1 August 2010 with candles in Petaling Jaya, Ipoh and Penang to remind the rest of us that all is hardly well in any country that clings ferociously to cruel, unjust laws to subjugate the spirit of freedom. Many of you were roughly mishandled by red-helmeted robots who serve the corrupt and criminal UMNO/BN agenda rather than democracy and the public good.

And then there were many others - in London and in Sydney - who gathered in support of the Abolish-ISA Movement in Malaysia.

Cruelty, tyranny and gross injustice - Dr Mahathir's evil legacy - will inevitably bring down Jibby the Hutt's rotten regime. Patience and fortitude, folks!

I have a 14-year-old son too...

And that's why I have a personal stake in ensuring that never again must the police force be allowed to deteriorate into a goon squad serving the petty interests of a rogue regime. Below are two important items lifted from Free Malaysia Today (which is fast gaining credibility and stature as an alternative news portal)...

The arrogance of police power
Wed, 05 May 2010 15:08

A week after schoolboy Aminulrasyid Amzah's death by police shooting, Malaysians have been treated to the ghastly spectacle of a government withdrawing into itself in the face of public outrage, and seemingly intent only on finding grounds for justifying its actions.

Left in abeyance is the fact that governments exist in democratic nations to ensure the safety of all its citizens, and to ensure equal justice for all, no matter what their station in life.

Aminul is dead, at the age of 15, after a late-night caper. Under normal circumstances, he would have faced punishment from his parents. Instead he was, in effect, served the death penalty in appallingly suspicious circumstances.

The Malaysian public is justifiably angry and upset. Justice must be served in dealing with how Aminul died — not just for his sake, but also for the sake of all citizens who need reassurance, in no uncertain terms, that they are safe from their own guardians.

It is at times like these that a democratically-elected government rises to the occasion and acts in the larger interests of everyone.

Instead, for the past week, the image that emerged is of an uncaring police force intent on protecting its reputation and its manliless, aggressively demanding that its word is accepted at face value without question.

If that is not the image they sought to build, the Inspector-General of Police and the Selangor police chief only have themselves to blame.

Musa Hassan (above, right) made a childish threat to keep the police force in barracks, aggressively showed he expected unquestioning acceptance of the policemen's own accounts, then tried to pin on a dead boy and his family any responsibility for the circumstances that led to his death, in between keeping up a plaintive pleading for the public to be fair to his men.

It is no wonder that many demanded that he leave immediately and not wait for his contract to expire.

Khalid Abu Bakar (left) also insisted that the public should believe his policemen's story and showed a callous willingness to label a schoolboy a criminal on the unproven assertion that a parang was found in his car, and arrogantly threatened politicians who took up the issue and questioned police accounts.

It is no wonder that questions are asked whether he considers himself a policeman, an officer of the law, or is really a politician.

[Read the whole of this superb editorial here.]

PM Paper Doll by Sharon Chin (ink on paper)

Open letter to Najib
Thu, 06 May 2010 12:11

Below is an open letter to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, penned by Amnesty International Canada's coordinator for Malaysia and Singapore, Margaret John. She expresses concern over Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial.

Dear Prime Minister,

I write with respect in order to inform you about high-level concern in Canada regarding Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and to request your urgent intervention.

As you must be aware, there is worldwide concern about events relating to this prominent opposition leader’s current situation, thus putting a critical spotlight on Malaysia. As prime minister, you are undoubtedly concerned, for example, that the respected Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) recently declared that Anwar’s current trial on a charge of sodomy is riddled with defects.

The IPU has now made a decision to send an observer to the coming court hearings. The United States of America expressed its intention to continue to scrutinise this controversial trial.

Hundreds of participants, including former Canadian prime minister Kim Campbell, at the World Movement for Democracy, signed a petition calling for a fair trial as well as for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar . Further, some 50 Australian parliamentarians recently signed a letter calling for an end to the ongoing sodomy trial.

Joining the international outcry, concern is increasingly expressed at a high level in Canada . Please see enclosed documents. In brief:

Officers of the Canadian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur remain in private and public contact with Anwar and have observed the trial proceedings with great interest.

In a Globe and Mail article, former Canadian Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin called for the charges to be dropped to enable Anwar Ibrahim to “pursue his vision of a democratic Malaysia, properly respectful of human rights.”

Opposition Liberal Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Bob Rae MP, called on Canada’s Parliament to take note of continuing political and legal harassment of Anwar, who has “long been a compelling spokesperson for democracy and for human rights in his country, and despite an unjustified prison sentence continues to speak out with courage and with determination.”

[Read the rest here.]

Does this boy deserve a bullet in the head?

Aminulrasyid Amzah (15 January 1995 - 26 April 2010)

Shot dead in a hail of bullets by the cops after a latenight car chase...

Aminulrasyid was a good-looking kid and he knew it

Form 3 student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seksyen 9 Shah Alam 

A typical teenager, really...

Fond of fooling around with his pals, playing air guitar...

Posing for Facebook photos...

Making monkey faces for the album...

AMINULRASYID AMZAH WAS A FUN-LOVING 14-YEAR-OLD, 

LOVED BY HIS FRIENDS AND FULL OF BEANS...

HE "BORROWED" HIS SISTER'S PROTON ISWARA AND WENT OUT AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH HIS 15-YEAR-OLD BUDDY, AZAMUDDIN OMAR. THEY HAD A SNACK AND WATCHED SOME FOOTBALL AT A MAMAK STALL.

AS THEY WERE LEAVING FOR HOME, AMINULRASYID ACCIDENTALLY HIT A PARKED CAR BUT DECIDED TO DRIVE OFF. SOON THE BOYS FOUND THEMSELVES PURSUED BY MOTORCYCLISTS.

THEY WERE SPOTTED BY A POLICE PATROL CAR, WHCH RADIOED FOR REINFORCEMENTS BEFORE GIVING CHASE. SHOTS WERE FIRED. AMINULRASYID LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR AND RAMMED INTO A TREE NEAR HIS HOME. ACCORDING TO AZAMUDDIN, THE COPS KEPT FIRING AND ONE BULLET CAUGHT AMINULRASYID IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. AZAMUDDIN SAYS HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND TRIED TO SURRENDER BUT WAS SAVAGELY ASSAULTED BY THE COPS. SOMEHOW HE MANAGED TO STRUGGLE FREE AND ESCAPED...

Norsiah Mohamad, Aminulrasyid's mother, with his elder sister Norazura. 

I USED TO GET UP TO MISCHIEF LIKE THAT WHEN I WAS FIFTEEN.

BUT BACK THEN, THE COPS WEREN'T SO TRIGGER-HAPPY.

AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE KHALID ABU BAKAR AS THEIR BOSS.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 

WE WANT SOME JUSTICE. 

WE DEMAND THE IGP's RESIGNATION.

WE DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN
A POLICE STATE!

ERIC LOO: "NO MORE BULLSHIT, PLEASE!"

I was very impressed by Eric Loo's opinion piece published in Malaysiakini. That's why I'm reposting it for those who have yet to subscribe (sorry lah, Prem and Steven :-)... No end to cow-crap politics

Eric Loo Sep 7, 2009  10:52am

With a ludicrous home minister mouthing absurdities, we should be concerned about his capacity to mediate in future inter-communal discord or ability to engage intelligently with his counterparts on the international stage.

The minister and his apparatchiks might want to refer to this resource site at the University of South Africa on political conflict resolution.

Any student in Conflict Resolution 101 knows that in mediating, you don't take sides. You avoid justifying the furore of the conflicting parties. You listen. You ask questions of both parties. You try to understand the context and source of the conflict. You do not pass judgement on who's right and who's wrong.

But, no, we have a home minister - whose job is to ensure public safety and goodwill among racial groups - who exacerbates the situation. He has told the public not to blame the Section 23 protesters, when obviously their hyperbolic and berserk claims to religious territorial rights are blatantly offensive and downright threatening to rational thinking Malaysians.

From the outside looking in, the fundamental differences in religious dogma, moral values and worldviews that separate the Section 23 clowns from the wider community are insoluble in a staged meeting. The prejudice, arrogance and dogma are so entrenched in the minds and hearts of the protesters as members of the dominant racial and religious group - and likewise in the minority Hindu community. History tells us that these fundamental differences are like oil and water, insoluble, except to disperse with time and outgrow each other.

Minority Malaysians have since May 13, 1969 resigned themselves to the political realities of being subjects of Umno-dominated rule. Live and let live, as my grandparents and parents used to say.

We may not have outgrown many of our frustrations and angst caused by government-sanctioned discriminatory policies in the public service, in the tertiary education sector, commerce, in building permits to churches and temples, and in 'equal' access to socio-economic opportunities that would see every citizen realise their full potential regardless of their race, religion or sexual orientation.

I often wonder how many high achievers out of high school - who could be significant contributors to the country's progress in the hard sciences, medicine, technology, education, research and development, culture and arts - were denied those opportunities.

Those from families who could sacrifice and afford it have long left - and are continuing to leave - to study abroad and remain there to the benefit of places like Australia, Canada, US, New Zealand and, ironically, Singapore.

Those who do not have the financial means are left to rely on their resourcefulness to make it good in their country of birth, governed by bureaucrats whose worldview is limited to what they can see through the eyes of their apparatchiks.

From the outside looking in, I see this in the home minister's ridiculous attempt to mediate in the Section 23 cow-head incident. Instead of saying to the mob 'there is no excuse for your actions', he gave the cow-head stomping clowns 'respectability' by meeting with them, thus adding credence to their hyperbolic protests.

They wanted headline attention and they surely got it - this time as posers with the former keris-wielding Umno Youth leader.
See the 'cow-head' stomper standing smugly, suited sans the tie, behind the minister (2nd from right in photo). Just about a week ago the stomper had gone quite mental stomping on a severed cow-head. That's 'cow-crap' politics for you.

Multiple standards displayed

Hishammuddin Hussein could learn a thing or two from President Barack Obama on how to seize the day and morally lead on issues of race and religion.

On July 30 in the Rose Garden of the White House, the US president met with a black Harvard professor and a white police sergeant who had arrested the professor for attempted burglary and disorderly conduct. The professor was actually trying to break into his home because he forgot his keys. After a neighbour's 911 call, the Massachusetts police rushed to the scene - the professor's home.

Perceived racial profiling from the wrongful arrest unleashed public angst over the covert racism that still divides American society. The president mistakenly said on national TV that the police sergeant had “acted stupidly” - to which, understandably, the police objected.

To contain the tit-for-tat situation, the president invited the black professor and white police sergeant to the White House for a “friendly thoughtful conversation” over a few drinks and snacks. Commenting on the teachable lesson from the incident, Obama said after the chat, "I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart.”

In our case, the minister took the opposite road. Discussions on the Internet point to complete disbelief at Hishammuddin's double - or rather multiple - standards, total lack of integrity and the protesters' feigned ignorance of Hinduism's sacred animal.

As Martin Luther King Jr once said in his struggle against the evils of racism and segregation in 1963: “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

What if the minister had arranged a session of thoughtful conversation between the stompers and the priests of the Hindu temple at a mamak stall in Shah Alam over mugs of teh tarik? That would have been moral leadership by example.

But, in an entrenched culture of politics that's built on patronage, racial ties and religious dogma, in the end it boils down to keeping supporters on side. Hishammuddin is more Machiavellian than we think.

The affected parties have continued to talk about it - albeit with the inevitable batty outcries and flaring temper at the first town hall 'dialogue' at the Shah Alam City Council last Saturday. It's good to see that the temper was not extended to violence on the streets. We have learned our lessons from 1969 that there are no victors in racial riots.

Unfortunately, it's one step forward and two steps back in our governance with politicians practising multiple standards backed up by inconsistent policing of race-related events. Sixteen Hindraf members were arrested in a candlelight passive protest at Dataran Merdeka on Sept 5.

The Section 23 bellicose stompers were exonerated by the home minister and at this time of writing, remain free. How far back we have regressed with each change of political leadership and politicians of a questionable past, and who seem untutored on the principles of natural justice.

The mainstream media unsurprisingly have given short shrift to the 'cow-crap' politics and inconsistent policing - all caught on Malaysiakini videos.

As readers know, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has ordered Malaysiakini to take down its videos of the 'cow-head' protest and Hishammuddin's press conference after meeting the stompers.

We hope it will not come to that stage. Does the MCMC not know that the horse has bolted? Thank god for YouTube.
Meanwhile, we shall keep the wheels of civil discourse turning, exposing the hypocrisy, ignorance and stupidities that still govern the country.

SHOULD THE TEMPLE BE MOVED FROM SECTION 23?

A MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE