CLOAK & DAGGER POLITICS (from Corridors of Power)

"The Special Branch stood by helplessly as Ramlang spoke at ceramah after ceramah to set the record straight on what happened in the Federal Territory mosque the day Saiful swore on the Quran that Anwar had sodomized him."

ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

The Pink Panther reports:

Arif Shah anticipated he would win the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election by at least 5,000 votes. Anwar Ibrahim’s camp, in turn, was confident they would win, but probably by 10,000 votes or so. This would mean Anwar’s win would be lower than Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s 13,000-vote majority in the 8 March 2008 general election.

This would be a disaster. Anwar must win by a majority higher than Wan Azizah’s. And a plan was required to achieve this. They needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat. And the plan was like a plot from a spy story and executed with military precision to boot.

An operations centre was set up in a hotel about half an hour from the heart of the Permatang Pauh election campaign. The purpose was to poll the voters’ sentiments, in particular the Malay voters who made up the majority of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency. What were the issues troubling the voters? What was foremost in their minds?

The thing needling the Malay voters in Permatang Pauh was as to why Anwar did not also swear on the Quran in a mosque that he did not sodomise Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Saiful had done the so and swore than Anwar did sodomise him. Why won’t Anwar do the same and swear that he did not?

The simple-minded Malay voters did not seem to realise that such a ritual is not part of Islamic teachings. One does not use the Quran and God to gain political mileage. Furthermore, if Anwar were to do so smack in the middle of an election campaign, it would be interpreted even more that Anwar is doing so merely to gain more votes. That move could backfire badly and could in fact result in some lost voters rather than help gain more.

Instead of aping Saiful, Anwar had to discredit what the young man had done and prove to the voters that the oath was all a farce and of no substance. And to do that they needed the very imam who had taken Saiful’s oath to confirm so.


Contact was made with the imam, Ramlang Porigi, who was in Kuala Lumpur. The imam was suffering bouts of guilt conscience and he was troubled by the whole episode. He was an unwitting participant in what he considered a character assassination exercise. He did not know at the time they summoned him to the mosque what it was all about. He was appalled when he discovered what they were up to but he was trapped and could not get out of it. How now to rectify the injustice done to Anwar?

The imam was pleased when contact was finally made. Yes he would be very happy to spill the beans and inform the public how they set up the so-called oath-taking ceremony and the flaws in the whole exercise. And he was prepared to take centre-stage and reveal the truth.

Imam Ramlang was scheduled to make an appearance two days before polling day, the most crucial period in the by-election campaign when Umno would go all out in the dash to the finishing line. His family was spirited to safety and Ramlang went underground. Two days before the election they brought him up to Penang in a convoy of cars and superbikes that would spring into action and whisk him away in the event they set up roadblocks and attempt to detain the imam.

The convoy arrived in Penang at 5.00pm without incident. Ramlang was scheduled to make his first appearance at 7.00pm to address a mosque congregation. And when he did, the women in the congregation were reduced to tears and the men surged forward to hug him and shake his hand.

The exercise was a success.

Ramlang was to make his next appearance at a massive rally later that night. All the top opposition leaders plus Anwar himself would be addressing a crowd of 30,000. That would be when Anwar would garner an additional 5,000 votes and secure a majority exceeding his wife’s in the 8 March 2008 general election.

Two imams dressed in robes and turbans were brought to the rally escorted by a full complement of security personnel. They were merely decoys. The crowd surged forward, Special Branch officers amongst them. They strained their necks in trying to get a look at the imams who coolly took their time to stroll through the crowd. Everyone was trying to figure out which of the two imams was Ramlang. Ramlang, meanwhile, was smuggled in through the back, dressed in a tracksuit. Before they realised it Ramlang was on stage addressing the crowd.

As soon as he finished they whisked him away and sent him into hiding. Around midnight word got out that the order from Kuala Lumpur had been given to detain Ramlang. The security boys bundled him into a car and smuggled him out of Penang. The Special Branch scoured the whole of Penang looking for the imam to no avail. Ramlang was safely housed in the neighbouring state far from the long arms of the men in blue from Bukit Aman. His family too had by then disappeared and the Special Branch did not know where to find them.

Security was beefed up when Ramlang made his next appearance on the eve of the by-election. They badly wanted to get their hands on him but not even a fly could penetrate the wall of security men. The Special Branch stood by helplessly as Ramlang spoke at ceramah after ceramah to set the record straight on what happened in the Federal Territory mosque the day Saiful swore on the Quran that Anwar had sodomised him.

(From Malaysiakini, 25 August 2008. Click on image to enlarge)

Anwar won the Permatang Pauh by-election with a majority higher than the general election just months before that. Ramlang went back to Kuala Lumpur to lead his normal life again, if that was now possible in the aftermath of Anwar’s impressive win that to a large extent could be credited to what the imam revealed to the Permatang Pauh voters.

The government did not dare sack Ramlang. But they did put him in cold storage. A few days ago, when they thought that all had by now calmed down and people had forgotten the whole episode, they sent the imam a show cause letter with a view to terminate his services.

Ramlang has been given two week to justify why he should not be sacked from his government job. He had cost Umno the Permatang Pauh by-election. Anwar won with a higher majority than expected because the imam had revealed the truth. Revealing the truth is not something that a God-fearing imam should do. A good imam is supposed to serve the government, not serve God.

Ramlang does not want to resign even though he is being pressured to do so. If they want him out then they can sack him. He will accept that fate if that is what God has in store for him. All he did was to tell the truth. All he did was to reveal what really happened, which is opposite to what the government-controlled TV stations are saying. He fears God more than he fears man, as what all God-fearing imams should be like.

The government’s move to sack Imam Ramlang Porigi will just make matters worse for Umno. Instead of redeeming itself Umno will just incur the wrath of the people. God-fearing men who tell the truth are punished. Scoundrels are rewarded. That is the message Umno will send to the people.

ANWAR AS OPPOSITION LEADER

From Malaysiakini, 27 Aug 08, 10:20AM

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia announced this morning that Anwar Ibrahim, the new member of parliament for Permatang Pauh, will be sworn in tomorrow.

Anwar makes his return to the House in grand style after an absence of ten years by winning the Permatang Pauh by-election yesterday with a majority of 15,671.

The de facto PKR leader is also expected to be appointed parliamentary opposition leader for the 82 Pakatan Rakyat MPs.

In April 2008 online opinion surveys indicated that approximately 66% of voters welcomed the idea of Anwar Ibrahim as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia.

There were many - Malays and non-Malays - who felt uneasy about Anwar. A few prominent bloggers habitually attacked Anwar and took every opportunity to erode voter confidence in the man. Their audience, obviously, were a large number of fence-sitters - people who voted against BN, but not necessarily for PKR in the March 8th elections.

On June 28th Saiful Bukhari Azlan lodged his infamous sodomy report at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital police pondok, marking the launch of "Sodomy II" - another Umno conspiracy to politically "ass-as-sin-ate" Anwar.

By 16 August 2008 - Nomination Day at Permatang Pauh - online surveys indicated that the number of voters in favor of Anwar Ibrahim's ascension to the Malaysian premiership had reached the region of 96%.

Sodomy obviously sells. But the only ones who bought it were the ones already bought off by Embarisan Nazional, the erstwhile ruling coalition.

ANWAR'S THE ONE AND HE HAS RETURNED! NO LOOKING BACK NOW!

ANWAR WINS BIG!!!

Word from the ground has it that Anwar Ibrahim has already won the Permatang Pauh by-election as at 1:55PM. We shall have to wait till all the votes are counted and the results announced to find out by what majority. No matter what the margin of victory, Anwar is already the MP for PP (People's Power) and automatically becomes the Opposition Leader - an important step towards Putrajaya!


My heartfelt congratulations to all who worked so hard to bring about this joyous moment in Malaysia's history.







Photo courtesy of Susan Loone

A PRAYER FOR THE LAND I LOVE

Dear God or Whatever You Prefer To Be Called These Days:
I'm not in the habit of publicizing my private thoughts,
But times are such that habits must be broken.
And so I will utter my innermost feelings
In the form of words,
Even though I know
That words are what imprison us
In mindsets of No Escape.

For I remain steadfast in my belief
That words spoken from the heart
Have the power to free us from
The evil clutches of political expediency.

 It saddens me to see such beautiful, graceful beings
Caught in the deceit of cosmetic piety,
Enslaved by the ugly dictum - "Money Talks!"
Enfeebled by the lame excuse - "What to do?"
Disempowered by the abject fear of False Authority,
And disenfranchised from their own glorious destinies.

Grant unto us the clarity and wisdom
To understand that we have no grander gift
To bestow on our children than the freedom
To speak their heart's truth
Without fear of punishment.

Grant unto us the courage and the fortitude
To truly embody the lofty ideals we hold so dear;
Let us not falter in our inner struggle
To throw off the mental shackles of Greed and Fear,
For those are the twin towers of Tyranny.

Grant unto us a Vision of the Real.
Let us not be misled by cunning projections
From the debased minds of "economic experts"
Who advise us not to "rock the boat" of Status Quo;
And whose dire warnings are couched in grave tones of
"Security and Stability."

Remember: DIGNITY and INTEGRITY
Are the keys to the Divine Sanctum of the Self!

And since each Nation is but a collectivity of Selves,
My greatest duty to the land I love
Is to always seek to be true to myself;
And my true self tells me:
Bear not the yoke of feudal despots
A moment longer than you need.
There's room and board enough for everyone,
Once you cast the Vampires of Vitality
From their vacuous palaces erected by the sweaty toil
Of half-wit slaves, who know not half their worth.

This beautiful, gracious land is YOURS -
Not THEIRS! (Well, it COULD be theirs too,
If they'd only see themselves as YOU).
The Reality of Heaven on Earth will soon be here,
And to that we are ALL heirs.

Antares
24 October 1998

[Cartoons courtesy of LAT]

Thank You, Ramlang. Bless You, Brother!

I applaud your courage and apologize for having thought unkindly of your perceived involvement in the Sodomy II conspiracy. Sila maafkan.

BREAKING NEWS ON MALAYSIAKINI @ 3:33AM, 25 AUG 2008...

Read the full story here.

Susan Loone has a detailed report with video.

Trawling the Malaysian Blogosphere: TWO MUST-READ ITEMS!

From The Malaysian Insider | 20 August 2008


ODDS STILL AGAINST BN DESPITE ATTACKS ON ANWAR AND PKR

By Wan Hamidi Hamidi
Political Editor, The Malaysian Insider

SEBERANG JAYA, Aug 20 — The political tsunami that swept Barisan Nasional out of Penang five months ago is still strongly felt in the state particularly in the mainland's Permatang Pauh by-election.

This means BN is about to lose 30 per cent of the votes – almost all of the Chinese and Indian votes – as the sentiment against the federal ruling coalition has yet to subside.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat insiders claim that some 17,000 non-Malay votes that were delivered to former MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail would also be given to her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

A PKR insider said the non-Malays in the state still perceive BN, particularly Umno, as neglecting their needs and pandering too much to the Malays.

They also think Gerakan, MCA and MIC had nothing much to offer after their electoral debacle on March 8.

"After five months, our assessment shows that the sentiment is still there. Not that we're over confident but that's the information we get on the ground," he said, adding that PKR continues to campaign among non-Malay voters with the help of its ally Chinese-majority DAP.

Even BN's Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah's good command of Mandarin and Hokkien does not help much as the Chinese voters have made up their mind, at least for the moment.

The five per cent Indian voters are also expected to vote for Anwar, and a number of Indian campaigners – from PKR and DAP as well as members of the Hindu Rights Action Force – have been concentrating in Indian-majority residential areas.

That leaves 70 per cent Malay votes up for grabs. With Anwar playing up the local boy's homecoming campaign, it's getting harder for BN to swing the 30,000-plus votes garnered by Wan Azizah recently.

It is understood that a lot of BN component party members voted against their own candidate in the general election.

BN chief campaigner Datuk Seri Najib Razak is adamant that his current candidate could regain the voters just by concentrating on the ruling coalition members' votes – 19,000 Umno members and 7,000 from other parties.

But is a tough call for BN. Its previous candidate Datuk Pirdaus Ismail only managed to poll 16,950 votes recently compared to 21,147 in 2004.

BN buttfuckers on Nomination Day in Permatang Pauh (photo courtesy of MAFREL)

Now BN is attempting to reduce Wan Azizah's recent majority of 13,388 votes as a victory of sorts. But Arif Shah is facing another problem which is not too peculiar for Umno.

For the past few days, he's been campaigning with his own election workers without much help from his Permatang Pauh Umno colleagues - who all lost in the general elections.

But Arif Shah was the only survivor and kept Seberang Jaya – one of the three state constituencies under the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

The Umno division chief Datuk Jalil Abdul Majid lost to PKR's Mohd Fairuz Khairuddin who is now Penang deputy chief minister while division secretary Ahmad Sahar Shuib lost to Pas incumbent Hamdan Abdul Rahman.

Permatang Pauh Umno has been rudderless - and almost winless - since its former leader Anwar was sacked from the government and party a decade ago.

But that has not stopped local leaders from fighting each other to lead the division but the by-election has halted the fierce campaigning for the party polls.

Besides Jalil who wants to defend his post, Arif Shah and Pirdaus have offered to contest.

There has been serious jostling for power, and the BN candidate knows the stakes, he has made another offer – if he wins Permatang Pauh by-election he will back down from the division polls.

The signal is meant for others to help him in the campaign but some local leaders have been busy surrounding themselves around Umno deputy president Najib rather than following Arif Shah in canvassing votes.

"It seems that their mind is focused on the Permatang Pauh Umno division campaign. They are giving the impression that this by-election is a gone case and they would rather prepare for their own party polls," said a local observer who has been a Seberang Jaya resident for the past 20 years.

A Penang Umno insider confirmed the observation, claiming that the BN campaign seen on TV daily does not reflect the actual canvassing for votes and many who attended Umno ceramahs are actually party workers.

"I'm worried that if this trend continues, it will reflect badly again on Umno and BN. When I watch the TV news, our leaders are all out campaigning against Anwar but on the ground there's not much being done.

"If we lose badly again, people will get more fed up with us," he said.

PKR campaigners have also complained about the wide TV coverage for BN leaders, similar to that given to the ruling coalition during the general election, with no space provided for Anwar.

They are also upset with the timing of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's swearing on the Quran that Anwar had forcibly sodomised him.

Although Najib had denied the oath, made 24 four hours before the nomination day, was politically motivated, the deputy prime minister has been going on that issue since Saturday.

PKR campaigners are also upset with the Anti-Corruption Agency's action against two Pakatan Rakyat-led Perak state exco members today – not so much whether the graft allegation is true but rather the timing, again.

"I'm confident that the voters in Permatang Pauh are smart enough to differentiate between propaganda and the truth. We know that BN is desperate, not just about Anwar winning this by-election, but what will happen on Sept 16," said Johor PKR information chief Hasmi Hashim who is assisting the campaign in Permatang Pauh.

He was referring to Anwar's Sept 16 deadline for the crossover of BN MPs, paving the way for him to set up a new federal government.

"What BN is doing is to derail Anwar's plan although the March 8 results have indicated that the people wanted change," added Hasmi.
___________________________________________________________

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER | Malaysia Today


IN GOD WE TRUST, THE COURTS CAN GO TO HELL


There are those who can’t imagine why Anwar Ibrahim ignores the call for him to swear on the Quran in a mosque that he is innocent of the allegation of sodomy and also why Raja Petra Kamarudin ignores Malaysian courts.

On the Anwar issue, first of all, there is no such thing as swearing on the Quran in Islam and many religious scholars and leaders have said so quite explicitly. Why these people still insist that Anwar do so is perplexing. Read our lips: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SWEARING ON THE QURAN IN ISLAM. Let’s hope these sorry excuses for Muslims hear us loud and clear this time.

Secondly, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Bin Azlan, IC No: 850706-01-5687, of No. 29, Jalan BU 7/6, Selangor, swore on the Quran at 6.00pm on 15 August in the Federal Territory Mosque in front of Ramlang Bin Porigi, UMNO Member No. 03405853 of Cawangan Seri Macang, Bahagian Bukit Mertajam, Parlimen Permatang Pauh.

Ramlang Porigi (circled) the "instant imam" 

(photo courtesy of Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored)

Can you now see the comedy of the whole thing? Ramlang Porigi, the so-called ‘Imam’ who conducted Saiful’s swearing on the Quran, other than possessing a name that sounds like an illegal Indonesian immigrant who has just been given a ‘blue’ IC, is an UMNO member from Permatang Pauh. Any wonder why Anwar ‘tak layan’ this whole matter? It was all a circus show for the benefit of the Permatang Pauh voters.*

Ramlang Bin Porigi: Permatang Pauh Umno division member

Now, with regards to the Raja Petra issue, today’s story from Bloomberg says it all. Before that, however, let us reveal what happened to Raja Petra in April 2001 and why he no longer ‘layan’ Malaysian courts.

Raja Petra was detained under the Internal Security Act on 11 April 2001. The Special Branch then demanded that he hand over his international passport. But Raja Petra did not have his passport with him. It was lodged at the British High Commission and there was no way the Special Branch could get its hands on it.

The Special Branch demanded to know why his passport was not in his possession but was instead with the British High Commission. Raja Petra refused to reveal the reason. “Never mind,” the Special Branch told him. “We have other ways of blocking your passport.”

Three days later, on 14 April 2001, the day of Raja Petra’s wedding anniversary, a letter was dropped into the letterbox of his house giving him 14 days to contest a bankruptcy order. Since he was under 60 days ISA detention he certainly could not make an appearance in court within the stipulated 14 days to contest the bankruptcy order. Anyway, the bankruptcy order was not served on him but was dropped into the letterbox.

Raja Petra was released from ISA detention on 6 June 2001. A few weeks later, he went to meet Manjeet Singh of Sri Ram & Co. to try to get them to set aside the bankruptcy order. Sri Ram & Co. checked with the courts and discovered that the whole file had disappeared. There was no way they could contest the order, Manjeet told Raja Petra, since the file had disappeared. Anyway, Manjeet told him, once bankruptcy has been obtained you can’t apply to set it aside. You are supposed to contest the order within the 14 days given to you. The fact that one is under 60 days detention and there was no way one could appear in court to contest the order does not change the decision of the court.

Since then Raja Petra ‘tak layan’ Malaysian courts. Malaysian courts do not dispense justice. They serve their political masters.

----
* As of 20 August 2008, RAMLANG BIN PORIGI, the Umno member who witnessed as "imam masjid" at Saiful's swearing was promoted as IMAM, according to the Directory listing of the Federal Territory Mosque. He was one of eight others who suddenly were made into "Imams." Prior to August 20th, Ramlang Porigi was listed as Pembantu Hal Ehwal Islam (Assistant for Islamic Affairs). [Source: Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored]

Although most blogs and media report that he is from Sandakan, a friend of mine who knows him personally said that Ramlang Bin Porigi originates from Balikpapan, Indonesia, a small town neighbouring Tawau. It is believed that he is one of the products of Project IC Mahathir. From Balikpapan to Sandakan, and now part of Umno's "rescue operation" in Permatang Pauh! [Source]