UMNO'S Proxy, PERKASA, and the Brouhaha on Prophet Muhammad Birthday Street Marches

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Malay Cultural Preponderance for Street Demonstration and Prophet Muhammad's Birthday

Umno is whacking Lim Guan Eng for what they say is his anti-Malay and anti-Islam stance.

Guan Eng, alleges Umno, has cancelled Prophet Muhammad’s birthday march.

Yes, Malays celebrate the Prophet’s birthday by marching on the streets and by screaming and hollering his name as they march. This can be considered a demonstration of sorts.

Any act of marching on the streets and shouting and screaming would tantamount to a demonstration. If you don’t think so then go ask the police.

But did Umno not say that demonstrating and marching on the streets is NOT our culture?

Umno is against demonstrating and marching on the streets because it violates Malaysian culture. This is what Umno said. This is not what I say.

Malays are probably the ONLY Muslims who celebrate the Prophet’s birthday by demonstrating.

Even in Mekah and Medina, the seat of Islam, you do not find this. This custom is unique to Malaysia, just like the Quran reading competition, which is not done in Mekah, Medina, Istanbul, Teheran or whatever.

In the Quran reading competition, contestants are judged on their melody and accuracy of reading. More than 90% of those who attend these Quran reading competitions do not speak Arabic. So they do NOT really know what is being recited.

It is like attending a rock concert in Germany. They all sing in German and you do not know what they are singing. You just appreciate the melody and voice, not the lyrics, which is…well…German, as far as you are concerned.

So what is all this brouhaha about the Prophet’s birthday march in Penang, which Umno says Lim Guan Eng has cancelled?

In the first place, did he really cancel it? And even if he did so what?

Maybe Guan Eng is doing the Malays a favour by bringing them back to the right path. Malays have deviated from Islam for so many generations.

Malays say we must live (adeen) according to the Quran, the sunnah (ways), and the hadith (sayings) of the Prophet. Well, did the Prophet hold birthday parties when he was alive?

And did they celebrate his birthday by marching on the streets of Medina? If not then where did this strange tradition come from?

I am not saying that it is wrong to remember the Prophet’s birthday. But how many who participate in these marches know what was the day the Prophet was born?

Do they know that the Prophet died on his birthday? So are they celebrating his death and birthday both at the same time?

Many who march on the Prophet’s birthday are not even aware that he died on his birthday.

Anyway, just like in the case of Jesus Christ, there are differences of opinion as to what day the Prophet was born. Tradition says it was the Year of the Elephant. Others say it could have been a couple of years earlier.

So, just like whether Christ was born on 25 December or in July, the actual date of the Prophet’s birth is equally being disputed.

The thing is, in those days, no records were kept of birthdays and whatnot. It was just an educated guess at best. These things were not important to the Arabs and Bedouins of that time. So they did not care about when you were born.

Anyway, if you wish to remember the Prophet, that is no problem. Please do so by all means. But if you really love the Prophet and wish to remember him, then there should be better ways of doing so.

Why would you want to celebrate the birthday of a man you do not follow? If you really love the Prophet and wish to remember him then you should do so by following his teachings.

The Prophet was against racism. He said so is his last sermon in Arafah. But those who participate in the march to celebrate the Prophet’s birthday also uphold Malay supremacy or Ketuanan Melayu.

The Prophet said that corruption is riba’ .

The sin of riba’ tantamount to the sin of sexual intercourse with your own mother or father Bank loans are riba’. So are car loans and credit cards. Any money made not from your sweat but by using money to make money, like stocks and bonds, is also riba’. Speculation (gambling) like forward buying or selling is riba’. Any fixed income (interest) earned on your money is riba’. Excess profit is riba’. Hording and creating shortages so that you can jack up your price is riba’.

Show me one Malay in that march to celebrate the Prophet’s birthday who does not get involved in riba’ one way or another.

There are many things the Prophet has told us to do and not to do. We do most of what we have been told not to do and do not do most of what we have been told to do.

We defy the Prophet every step of the way. We do not adhere to the Prophet’s teachings. We have failed as true followers of Prophet Muhammad.

Yet we want to remember the Prophet by marching on the streets on his birthday.Yes, march by all means if that makes you happy. But first adhere to the Prophet’s teachings.

Do you think that by marching on the streets on the Prophet’s birthday that makes you a true follower of Prophet Muhammad?

Marching on the streets is merely a demonstration. You are merely demonstrating that you are a true follower of Prophet Muhammad. But it is still merely a demonstration. And demonstrations are external, not internal. It is internal that counts, not external.

On the matter that Umno says that demonstrations are not our culture and should not be allowed, Umno always proudly relates the story about the 1946 anti-Malayan Union demonstration that they organised in front of the Majestic Hotel near the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. This is Umno’s proudest moment and we are constantly reminded about the incident.

Umno tells us that this demonstration is a landmark in Malayan history. It is because of this demonstration that Malaya’s political landscape changed. So, who says that demonstrations are not our culture? It is the foundation of the Federation of Malaya. Malaysia is what it is today because of this demonstration.

This is what Umno keeps telling us. Now they tell us that demonstrations are NOT our culture?
-Raja Petra Kamarudin

Racist PERKASA is a Front for UMNO to further UMNO's Racist Policies

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A Simple Fact

by

Capt. Iskandar Dzulkarnain

PERKASA says ‘anti-Malay’ Guan Eng lied about Prophet’s birthday do.

I read with utter disgust Perkasa’s comments on the above. The accusations are highly seditious, inflammatory, and downright insane. The race and religious card is being played with impunity, and yet the government is sitting tight and not moving an eyebrow.

The 1malaysia concept is being torn to tatters with such unspeakable remarks, and just this morning Najib was talking about racial unity. If UMNO does not sanction such remarks by racists, it should take action to reprimand such openly insensitive remarks.

By branding a Chinese as anti Malay is an outrageous accusation. The Chinese and Malays take such remarks very sensitively. And this situation can get out of control.

The glue that binds the races together will melt and it may cause another racial conflict. Already, race relations is at an all time low, and such politicians should not be let out to roam free to destabilize the peaceful coexistence among the races.

But if we prosecute this politician, the MSM will make him a martyr of the Malays!

Malays are not against the Chinese or other races, it is the politicians that disturb the peace by such propaganda. And their so-called slogan of protecting the rights of the Bumiputras is just a facade for them to go on plundering the nation. After 50 years of protecting and nurturing us Bumiputras, we still lag behind the non-Bumiputras. This shows that something is very wrong somewhere.

Lately, Perkasa says that Bumiputras need to be on par economically with others, if not, 1Malaysia will not achieve its objective. This again is hogwash because in realty only the elite benefited, while the rest of the Bumiputras were left to pick up the bones.

So, non-Bumiputras, please do not be deceived by these so-called NGOs that claim to protect Bumiputra and Malay rights.

At least half of us know that it is just a sandiwara played continuously for over 50 years to entertain the nation. Today, the Bumiputra is still worse off than ever, but we do not blame others, but ourselves.

I see the day, when the non-Bumiputras decide to call it quits, and start to migrate en masse. That day, when all the others are gone forever, We will start to miss the chatter of old Chinese families, the familiar sound of Chinese opera, the firecrackers, and the ah moi in blue jeans and t-shirt; the Indians, in saris and their fiery curries and papadam. Gone will be the pubs and discos, the Carlsberg advertisements, the cinemas, the entertainment outlets with the live bands; when our TVs no longer broadcast Chinese and Hindi movies; gone from the supermarkets, are the Christmas trees ornaments, and Santa Claus lookalikes, the lively festivals of the other races, the Thaipusam parades, the dragon boat festivals, and the Christmas carolling, etc.

We need the Chinese and the Indians, and the rest of the races; for without them Malaysia would have lost its identity, and its cultural potpourri that makes Malaysia unique.

If they go, I will follow too, as this country will be too boring to stay anymore. Everyone has contributed to this nation, and we are all Malaysians.

WHY,WHY, WHY can’t the government accept such a simple fact???

Why are we still separated racially? Why must there be a more superior race? Everyone knows we are not, and yet we still console ourselves that we are, and that we still need protection, and sustenance, to be economically on par with the non-Bumis.

Germany made a mistake with Nazism, and has corrected it. Yet we are stupid enough not to see through this charade, and year after year still vote for the same government that is hell bent to see that we are kept apart through their divide and rule policies.

Because of this, Malaysians are one of the most unpatriotic citizens, as really there is nothing about this nation of ours to be proud of!! Our government has lost our trust and respect, yet they still cling on to their thrones, and hopping from one party to another, while promising heaven.

The PERC report recently disputed by Muhyiddin, jolts us back to reality. We will slowly lose valuable foreign investment with our hard, stubborn approach to governance in this land.

And with a disintegrating opposition, it is hard to paint a rosy picture of the future of this country.

MAY GOD HELP US!!!


RELATED ARTICLE

Lim Guan Eng Hits Back at Utusan Malaysia and Khairy Jamaluddin

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Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng struck out today at those he described as a small 'racist' segment of people who he claimed had 'selectively' disclosed documents to suggest his government had cancelled the 'Maulidur Rasul' (Prophet Muhammad's birthday) procession.

Speaking to reporters after attending the state government's Chinese New Year open house at Komplex Tun Razak (Komtar) in Georgetown, Lim set his sights on Utusan Malaysia and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for allegedly stoking communal tensions over the matter.

“I hope everyone can have a nice harmonious Chinese new year. Yet, there is a small segment of people who are playing with racial sentiments,” said the DAP leader.

Utusan and Bernama both reported earlier this week claims that the state-organised procession to commemorate Prophet Muhammad's birthday had been cancelled by the state government.

In an immediate response to the reports, Lim denied the procession had been cancelled and described the reports as being "a lie", and said that this year's procession would go ahead as planned.

Lim also said ministers of the BN-led federal government were welcomed to participate.

At Komtar today, Lim again denied that the Maulidur Rasul procession had been cancelled and accused his detractors of trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

The Penang government, Lim said, had issued THREE letters on the procession, NONE of which contained any 'final decisions' on the matter.

The first letter, dated Jan 13, discussed the parade and requested those to whom it was addressed to reply by Feb 19, said Lim.

The second - which Lim said is the one that Khairy and others are referring to - was issued on Jan 15 to all mosques and Islamic organisation.That letter requested feedback on the matter of expanding the scale of a indoor Maulidur Rasul gathering.

In a third letter dated Feb 12, Lim said further, it was clearly stated that both procession and gathering would be held.

“There is a small segment of people who are playing with racial sentiments. They wrongly interprete matters. They have only one letter in hand, and this is misleading.“It is like a blind person trying to comprehend an elephant. The person is gripping only the tail of the elephant, but has concluded that what is in his hand is actually a snake. We have issued three letters, but they did not read all three. Then they decide to make a false statement on the matter.”” said Lim.

Lim also criticized some of the Malay- and English-language press failing to carry the Penang government's statements over the matter.

A full turnout of the top brass of Pakatan Rakyat's Penang contingent at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's open house at Komtar Walk yesterday doused hopes that the insurgency of Zahrain Mohd Hashim was gaining ground.

Open House by CM Lim Guan Eng

The leading figures in the state PKR and PAS ranks, led by Deputy Chief Minister Mansor Othman and Mohd Sallehman respectively, backed by lesser lights from both parties, turned up early at the function which was graced by governor Abdul Rahman Abbas.

Attendance turned out to be a barometer of the popularity or the lack of open disgruntlement with Lim's leadership felt by elements of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, recently given public airing by Bayan Baru MP, Zahrain. Read here for more

MALAYSIANS' COMMENTS

Read here for more in Malaysiakini

• Pakatan Rakyat leaders, just refute the lies and stay cool. The rakyat know that this is all part of the Umno's grand scheme to destabilise the Pakatan Rakyat governments of Penang and Selangor where they can play up the racial and religious sentiments of the Malays in these states. For Umno, Penang is the easier target since the state is now run by Chinese non-Muslims, conveniently forgetting, of course, that Gerakan was no less Chinese and no less non-Muslim. The difference is that while Gerakan then was Umno's doormat and just as corrupt, the Lim Guan Eng/DAP-led government is as clean as a whistle. Umno needs to corrupt and corrupt absolutely under any circumstances.
  
  
• Such a big event, do you think Lim Guan Eng would be so stupid as to cancel it? My Muslin friends, please think about it. It is like cancelling Wesak Day or Thaipusam. BN is just trying to create tension. Don't ever trust them.
  
  
• These ' trivial' issues are sapping the hope of many Malaysians. Not only Malaysians, but even foreigners are losing hope in the future of Malaysia. Ask any foreign investor, and he would rather give Malaysia a miss. Hence, the foreign direct investment figures are dismal. This was well summarised in the recent Perc report. Unfortunately, our leaders pooh-poohed the report, stating that this was another attempt by foreigners to destabilise our nation. It appears that hubris will be a cause of our nation's fall.
  
  
• The procession is not even a s'unnah' (practice) of the Prophet (peace be upon him), nor of his companions. It was an innovation created by Muslim Malays in the Nusantara region. As such, even if there were such letters (I am not saying there was) purporting to cancel the procession, it is okay. Ask the Perlis government if they have such bid'ah (innovated) processions. Ask Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, the former Perlis mufti if such a processions is part of the Islamic tradition. It was part of Malay tradition. Please, Khairy Jamaluddin and Utusan Malaysia - don't go for sensationalism and short-term gains.
  
  
• There is nothing much anyone can do as long the press are controlled by political parties. They only publish what they need.
  
  
• Such processions are only held in this part of the Malay world. With or without the procession, Muslims can remember and celebrate Maulidur Rasul. Do not turn this episode into a racial or religious dispute for political gain.
  
  
• Umno has given Islam such a bad name in Malaysia and worldwide.
  
  
• This unfortunate confusion is caused by half-truths brought about by the malicious aforethought of Utusan Malaysia. They lack etiquette and their evil intentions are spiteful.
  
  
• Khairy Jamaludin said: 'I strongly believe that we need to elevate the level of public discourse in Malaysia to one that is fact-based, rational, inclusive and in the public's interest." I see no fact-based, rational or inclusive content in Khairy's comments on this issue. He and others clearly have made statements without bothering to obtain all the facts. The intention is to be deliberately disingenuous and raise racial tensions unnecessarily. The same is true of the gutter mainstream media who are now beyond the pale.
  
  
• Typical of Umno to use race and religion to gain support. I thought Khairy would have changed towards becoming more liberal and less extreme, unlike his pre-March 8 days. So much for that thought.
  
  
• Lim Guan Eng should be careful so as not to hurt the feelings of the visually disabled. For a chief minister to make such an analogy would seem insensitive to the feelings of the disabled, including Karpal Singh. I hope Khairy does not latch onto this line.
  
  
• The anti-Pakatan Rakyat people want to create havoc during the procession. Cancelling it would mean no avenue to create havoc and gain media mileage. Even if these people create a ruckus, the law enforcement authorities may not be able to keep their eyes open/alert to take action - because that is the approved script operating that day.
  
  
• Lim Guan Eng, you have done a superb job governing Penang and all Penangites know it. Ignore those power-crazy enemies of the state, especially that Khairy fellow fighting for his political survival.

Rais Yatim: An Unprincipled and Untrustworthy Opportunist

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Note:

Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the resignation of Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, the Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) should make leaders rethink the support given to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said the resignation of Zahrain Mohamed Hashim showed that PKR had lost the potential to contribute to the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition. Read here for more

Rais Yatim was one of the pioneers of Semangat 46, the Umno Baru nemesis in 1988.

Rais, Ibrahim Ali, and many other Semangat 46 leaders, said at that time that they would never rejoin Umno even if they died and were reborn. They said they would never lick back their spit. They also said that when Dr Tun Mahathir Mohamad dies they are going to piss on his grave (saya akan kencing atas kubur Mahathir).

And Rais was amongst those who said all this. But he later rejoined Umno while Dr Mahathir was still its President as well as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Rais, therefore, did lick back his spit. And he did not need to die and be reborn before he rejoined Umno.

Rais got his doctorate for writing a thesis that was opposed to the Internal Security Act (ISA). When asked later why he has now changed his stand and supports the ISA when he was originally opposed to it, and even got his doctorate for his thesis that opposed it, he replied that his thesis was merely an ‘academic exercise’ and it does not necessarily mean that that is his stand.

During his Semangat 46 days, Rais and his gang went round the country giving talks whacking Umno and Dr Mahathir. They said that Umno and Dr Mahathir have insulted the Malay Rulers and have eroded the powers of the Rulers. Umno and Dr Mahathir are traitors to the Malay Rulers and the Malay race, argued Rais.

The Father of Independence and First Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, hated Umno. He refused to rejoin Umno and died as a Semangat 46 member. The same for Tun Hussein Onn, the Third Prime Minister of Malaysia, who also refused to rejoin Umno and died as a non-Umno member.

And, of course, the same for Rais who also said he would rather die than rejoin Umno. Today, however, he is not only an Umno member but also a minister and the ‘spokesman’ for the party.

There are many who were once in Semangat 46 or Parti Keadilan Rakyat who shouted the same rhetoric.

For example, Ezam Mohd Nor, once the Youth Leader of Keadilan, plus his entire Youth EXCO, went round the country swearing a sacred oath called Sumpah Keramat (sacred oath).

And this Sumpah Keramat was a sacred oath to Allah that they would NEVER rejoin Umno and that their mission is to see the destruction of Umno.

In the name of God they would never rejoin Umno. In the name of God their mission is to bring down Umno. Today, they are all back in Umno. Their sacred oath to God or Sumpah Keramat came to nought in the end.

I once did a video recording of Ezam’s mother where she said that she will curse her son if he ever rejoins Umno. I made a VCD of that interview and distributed it throughout Malaysia.

To the Malays, a mother’s curse is a very serious matter because they believe that heaven lies beneath the feet of your mother. Ezam, of course, did rejoin Umno together with most of his EXCO members who had taken that sacred oath or Sumpah Keramat.

That is the credibility of all these people. They originally came from Umno. They cursed Umno. They swore a sacred oath in the name of Allah to never rejoin Umno. Even their mothers promised to curse them if they rejoined Umno. Then they go and rejoin Umno.

Can we take the word of these types of people? Do what they say matter? Or should they just be ignored as people who have no pendirian (stand) and people who we should not take seriously?

UMNO Leaders in London (UK) made Racist Remarks Against Non-Malays

Transcribed from a Reader's posting on Din Merican blog: Read here for more

Quote

"....I am a first year student in the UK.

I write about my experience last weekend in London where I overhead a discussion by Umno Youth leaders.

I learnt of the impending arrival in London of a large delegation of Umno leaders from a few friends from Kelab Umno London.

There was to be a private session between the delegation and Kelab Umno leaders/members.

The only person to take the stage was the quite sizeable Umno secretary Rauf whilst the Umno Youth exco members also fielded questions from the floor.....The booming voices – especially those of Rauf and one Umno Youth member by the name of Megat – made it quite easy to make out the racist remarks which were spilling out of their primary orifice.

In his rant, Rauf called non-Malays ‘bangsa asing’ who were trampling on the Malays in ‘Tanah Melayu’. I remember a direct quote, ‘Jangan biarkan bangsa asing pijak kepala kita’ as though the non-Malays were interested in little else than seeing Malays fail for their sinister, selfish goals.

There was also a vigorous defense of Nasir Safar’s recent comments against non-Malays which branded non-Malays as beggars and prostitutes. According to one Umno Youth exco member present, those comments were not at all racist but quite contrarily ‘just facts’.

Throughout the session, non-Malays were treated as the enemy and whilst they did praise Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, there was no mention of ‘1Malaysia’, unity or multiracial nation- building.

An Umno Youth exco said something to the effect of Umno willing to fight to the death against threats made by non-Malays. These threats were, strangely enough, never detailed.

Regardless, what I found most disturbing was the fact that these individuals, by all accounts, are (I think) high-ranking Umno leaders. Rauf, for all intents and purposes, as I Googled, is the COO of Umno.
-Ahmad Naim
1st Year Student in UK

"Hi, my name is Ahmad Naim, and I am a first year student in the UK. I write about my experience last weekend in London where I overhead a discussion by Umno Youth leaders.

A student in the UK is exposed to many experiences. The apolitical learn to be political, the apathetic become aware, the previously anti-social join student-run clubs and harness talents they never knew they had.

And beyond these positive developments, I learnt a few days ago that a first-year student such as myself can also find that the Malaysian Dream can be stomped upon even in a land that teaches us the values of democracy, freedom and equality.

I learnt of the impending arrival in London of a large delegation of Umno leaders from a few friends from Kelab Umno London. There was to be a private session between the delegation and Kelab Umno leaders/members. For the record, I had contemplated joining the club which swore to be run solely for the purposes of the welfare of Malay(sian) students in the British capital.

But ever the student I am, procrastination is my middle name. In any case, I was not overly keen to meet with the Umno delegation which included the Umno secretary Datuk Rauf (something) and around six or seven Umno Youth exco members (some look like post-graduate students, so I cannot tell the difference) and ladies.

However, because food was on my mind I decided to accompany my friends headed down to the Malaysian Students Department, or MSD (located next to Malaysia Hall) anyway.

Respecting the private nature of the discussion, I sat outside the modest room housed by the MSD gobbling away (self-paid) while the session was being held. Unknown to those inside the room, much said in there was audible to those sitting near the back partition. The window overlooking Queensborough Terrace where MSD is located also makes it quite easy to look into the hall.

Armed with a book, I tried reading while sipping a ‘teh tarik’ but I couldn’t seem to bring my mind to concentrate on reading. Disturbing words of racist politics could be heard coming through the cracks of the partition.

The only person to take the stage was the quite sizeable Umno secretary Rauf whilst the Umno Youth exco members also fielded questions from the floor. I wasn’t eavesdropping but the booming voices – especially those of Rauf and one Umno Youth member by the name of Megat – made it quite easy to make out the racist remarks which were spilling out of their primary orifice.

In his rant, Rauf called non-Malays ‘bangsa asing’ who were trampling on the Malays in ‘Tanah Melayu’. I remember a direct quote, ‘Jangan biarkan bangsa asing pijak kepala kita’ as though the non-Malays were interested in little else than seeing Malays fail for their sinister, selfish goals.

There was also a vigorous defense of Nasir Safar’s recent comments against non-Malays which branded non-Malays as beggars and prostitutes. According to one Umno Youth exco member present, those comments were not at all racist but quite contrarily ‘just facts’. My oh my, I saw a Chinese couple next to me trying to tune out the words and focus on their meals.

Throughout the session, non-Malays were treated as the enemy and whilst they did praise Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, there was no mention of ‘1Malaysia’, unity or multiracial nation- building.

During some moments in the session, they sounded nothing less than Vikings on the path to war – an Umno Youth exco said something to the effect of Umno willing to fight to the death against threats made by non-Malays. These threats were, strangely enough, never detailed.

Regardless, what I found most disturbing was the fact that these individuals, by all accounts, are (I think) high-ranking Umno leaders. Rauf, for all intents and purposes, as I Googled, is the COO of Umno. Whatever one thinks of Umno’s sloganeering via ‘1Malaysia’, the fact is that if even these individuals cannot help but promote the diametric opposite to what ‘1Malaysia’ is supposed to entail, then what hope is there for Umno and BN?

As much as what Najib says and does counts above all else, it is most shameful that his generals are doing their best to derail the Malaysian Dream. Najib’s decision to fire his aide only last week was commendable but he was just an aide. Will he take similar measures against people with positions in the party who speak out against ‘1Malaysia’?

I may be just a kid yet, but if Najib is to succeed as a reformist, then he must make sure the entire – or at least much of the party – follows suit.

Otherwise, even the son of a lifelong Umno member will think twice about voting BN. Sigh. Shaken I was despite not sitting in at the meeting. Umno propaganda is indeed powerful.

Ahmad Naim - February 11, 2010

Race, NOT Merit, is the Current Basis for Appointment of Malaysian Chief Justices

Read here article by Fahri Azzat

Quote

.... We have the clearest endorsement in the Federal Constitution that racial and religious bias is unacceptable in law, and this must naturally mean the application of the law as well.

(Yet) the racial composition and pattern of appointment in the Judiciary instead parallels the Executive’s racist policies at large, symbolized by the racial ratio of appointments in the Cabinet.

This persistent racial pattern at the appellate courts (a handful of non-Malays and an overwhelming majority of Malays) continues in our judiciary suggests that race is a more influential factor than abilities or merit when it comes to the appointment and promotion of a judge.

Where top senior legal counsel (lawyer) are concerned, the ratio of Malaysians of INDIAN heritage are highest as compared to those of Chinese heritage who come in second as compared to those of Malay heritage who have the LOWEST numbers. That is how I know it to be from experience and conversation.

(Thus) if the appointment of judges were decided purely on merit, we should see many more Malaysians of Indian and Chinese heritage in the Judiciary, and at its highest levels if not office bearing positions – even that of the Chief Justice, which has been occupied by a Malay since Sir JB Thomson retired in 1966.

Whether we have a non-Malay Chief Justice is really not up to the Council of Rulers but the political will of the Prime Minister of the day.

Surely the criteria for positions in the administration of Justice must be based only on citizenship, abilities and integrity.

The Judiciary does not exist to be politically correct, or for mimicking the racist policies of the government of the day. The Judiciary is there to mete out Justice, no matter who you are and where you are from. It is not there to participate in the filth of politics.

The Judiciary is meant for all citizens of Malaysia, so its judicial appointments should come from from Malaysians of any heritage, and from that we must only cull Malaysia’s finest and brightest.

Judicial appointments must be based on the noblest of human qualities – integrity, industry and intelligence.

Justice after all is colour blind which means the Judiciary too must be blind to race and religion.

A Judiciary cannot claim to deal out Justice if its own racial composition symbolizes and reflects injustice on a higher, larger political level.

How can an inherently unjust institution hope to even mimic Justice?At best, it can only be a mocking caricature of what it is suppose to stand for and be...."
-Fahri Azzat

Assessing the Racial Composition of the Malaysian Judiciary

by

Fahri Azzat

If you only knew who were the Chief Judges of Malaya (which is the No. 3 top post in the Malaysian Judiciary) from 1994 onwards, you would be forgiven for thinking this position can only be assumed by a Malaysian of Malay heritage. Let’s do a roll call of them:

2008-present: Ariffin Zakaria
2007-2008: Alauddin Sheriff
2004-2006: Siti Norma Yaakob
2002-2004: Haidar Mohamed Noor
2001-2002: Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
1998-2001: Wan Adnan Ismail
1994-1998: Anuar Zainal Abidin
1994: Eusoff Chin

In the last 15 years, we see that all the Chief Judges of Malaya were Malay. But if you looked further back, you will be surprised to learn that was not so. Let’s recall them from 1963 – 1994:

1992-1994 Gunn Chit Tuan
1988-1992: Hashim Yeop Sani
1984-1988: Abdul Hamid Omar
1982-1984: Salleh Abas
1979-1982: Raja Azlan Shah
1974-1979: Sarwan Singh Gill*
1973-1974: Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim
1968-1973: Ong Hock Thye
1966-1968: Mohamed Azmi Mohamed
1963-1966: Syed Sheh Barakbah

Back then, we had two Malaysians of Chinese heritage and one of Indian heritage that rose to such high office. Looking at the appointments of the Chief Judges of Malaya back then, there is no discernible pattern about when they were to be appointed. This suggests that the appointments were not made according to a racial policy. It is fair to infer from this that they were appointed because of their abilities as a judge and perhaps administrator of judges. In short, it is likely that they were appointed based on merit.

Though there was a long break after Pajan Singh Gill of 13 years before Gunn Chit Tuan was appointed, if we look at the calibre of men who served between them, we can appreciate why. Three of them eventually rose to become Lord President (as the post of Chief Justice was then known as) although Tun Abdul Hamid Omar did so under the most disappointing of circumstances.

But now it has been 14 years since Gunn Chit Tuan relinquished office without any indication that the Chief Judge of Malaya’s post would be assumed by a Malaysian of an Indian or Chinese heritage.

The thinking which is palpable both in legal and judicial circles is that this will not happen again. It is also widely thought in the profession that the highest office Malaysians of Indian or Chinese heritage can succeed to is the Federal Court, or the office of Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (it used to be known as the Chief Judge of Borneo; which is the no. 4 top post in the judiciary), the lowest of the four office bearing positions. But it is generally understood that the position of Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak would go either to a Chinese or someone from Sabah or Sarawak. The implication of this is that a Malaysian of Indian heritage is highly unlikely and regrettably unable to assume an office bearing position in the judiciary.

Worse, recent patterns of appointment to the Federal Court and Court of Appeal show that at most two or three Malaysians of Indian and/or of Chinese heritage are appointed at any one time to those courts. This is indicative of tokenism being practised in judiciary at the highest levels. How else can you explain the perpetual pattern of two or three Malaysians of Indian or Chinese heritage present with an overwhelming majority of Malaysians of Malay heritage in the the Federal Court, or a similar racial ratio in the Court of Appeal?

There is nothing in Part IX of the Federal Constitution that demands a Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal or the Chief Judge of Malaya must be of Malay heritage, or dictates that the racial composition of the Federal Court or even the Court of Appeal must contain a majority of citizens of Malay heritage. In fact, Article 123 of the Federal Constitution which deals with the qualifications to be a High Court Judge and above provides the following:

A person is qualified for appointment under Article 122B as a judge of the Federal Court, as a judge of the Court of Appeal or as a judge of any of the High Courts if -

(a) he is a citizen; and

(b) for the ten years preceding his appointment he has been an advocate of those courts or any of them or a member of the judicial and legal service of the Federation or of the legal service of a State, or sometimes one and sometimes another.

More importantly, we have Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which provides as follows:

(1) All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

(2) Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

That this persistent racial pattern at the appellate courts (a handful of non-Malays and an overwhelming majority of Malays) continues in our judiciary suggests that race is a more influential factor than abilities or merit when it comes to the appointment and promotion of a judge. Any litigator who is in the thick of litigation practise in our civil courts will acknowledge that at the level of top senior counsel, the composition is the opposite of the nation’s racial population.

Where top senior legal counsel are concerned the ratio of Malaysians of Indian heritage are highest as compared to those of Chinese heritage who come in second as compared to those of Malay heritage who have the lowest numbers. That is how I know it to be from experience and conversation. How this has happened will be dealt with at another time.

It is from this experience that I strongly feel that if the appointment of judges were decided purely on merit, we should see many more Malaysians of Indian and Chinese heritage in the Judiciary, and at its highest levels if not office bearing positions – even that of the Chief Justice, which has been occupied by a Malay since Sir JB Thomson retired in 1966.

So whilst we have the clearest endorsement in the Federal Constitution that racial and religious bias is unacceptable in law, and this must naturally mean the application of the law as well, the racial composition and pattern of appointment in the Judiciary instead parallels the Executive’s racist policies at large, symbolized by the racial ratio of appointments in the Cabinet.

Even now, in spite of being 1Malaysia, it still reflects the political composition of reflecting the racial population of the country. In the current Cabinet of 30, 6 are of Chinese heritage, 3 are from Sabah and Sarawak and 1 of Indian heritage i.e all of which amount to a third of Cabinet. The remaining two thirds are of Malay heritage.

Why should it matter whether the Chief Justice or the President of the Court of Appeal or the Chief Judge of Malaya is Malay, Chinese or Indian? If it was acceptable for a Caucasian to assume its office, it should be even more acceptable for a Malaysian of Chinese or Indian heritage to assume it. After all, they are or would be more Malaysian than he would be. Surely the criteria for positions in the administration of Justice must be based only on citizenship, abilities and integrity. Justice after all is colour blind which means the Judiciary too must be blind to race and religion.

Of course, where it concerns the Chief Justice, some may point out that his appointment is different. Unlike all the other Judges beneath him who are appointed on his recommendation, the appointment of the Chief Justice is ‘appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers’ (see section 122B of the Federal Constitution). Since they have to consult the Conference of Rulers, there is no way that the Sultans will ever appoint a Malaysian of non-Malay to the position of Chief Justice. This is a fair argument but wrong in law.

Section 122B of the Federal Constitution was considered and defined in the Court of Appeal decision of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim v PP [2000] 2 CLJ 570 (comprising of Lamin Mohd Yunus PCA, Ahmad Fairuz JCA and Mokhtar Sidin JCA), where Lamin PCA wrote that judgment made the following decision:

So in the context of art. 122B(1) of the Constitution, where the Prime Minister has advised that a person be appointed a judge and if the Conference of Rulers does not agree or withholds its views or delays the giving of its advice with or without reasons, legally the Prime Minister can insist that the appointment be proceeded with. Likewise in the case of a request from the Conference of Rulers for revocation of an appointment or an advice from it to revoke an appointment already made, the Prime Minister need not respond.

Clearly where the law is concerned, the Prime Minister legally is entitled not to give a toss what the Council of Rulers thinks or feels. He is free to appoint whom he wishes and if the Agong or even the Council of Rulers disagree, he can very politely tell them to issue more Datukships to console themselves.

So whether we have a non-Malay Chief Justice is really not up to the Council of Rules but the political will of the Prime Minister of the day. I seriously doubt that will come to pass under our 1PM’s 1Malaysia and hereby undertake to eat part of my robe if that day ever comes to pass (hey, I still need to work after that happens).

But whether we have a more equitable appointment based wholly on ability and integrity where all the other judges from the President of Court of Appeal right down to the Judicial Commissioners are concerned is now still entirely up to the Chief Justice: see Article 122AB and 122B of the Federal Constitution.

Our judiciary from the lowest to especially the highest courts cannot continue with such a racial if not racist composition. That it continues to do so suggests that the policy of judicial appointments is more concerned about being ‘politically correct’, aping racist policies of the Executive and symbolizing the blatant racial discrimination so acutely felt throughout our nation.

The Judiciary does not exist to be politically correct, or for mimicking the racist policies of the government of the day. The Judiciary is there to mete out Justice, no matter who you are and where you are from. It is not there to participate in the filth of politics. The Judiciary is meant for all citizens of Malaysia, so its judicial appointments should come from from Malaysians of any heritage, and from that we must only cull Malaysia’s finest and brightest.

Judicial appointments must be based on the noblest of human qualities – integrity, industry and intelligence.

A Judiciary cannot claim to deal out Justice if its own racial composition symbolizes and reflects inJustice on a higher, larger political level. How can an inherently unjust institution hope to even mimic Justice?

At best, it can only be a mocking caricature of what it is suppose to stand for and be.

I personally wonder whether addressing this aspect of the Judiciary will form part of the Chief Justice’s Key Performance Indicator for the year 2011, but I won’t be holding my breath on it.

There’s just too much breathing to do just yet.

Ku Li, Malaysians Beckon You to Take the Leap Forward

Read here for more in WorldFuture blog

Ku Li Can Make History or Fade Consequentially

by

Ali Cordoba


From time to time, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah make the headlines for the wrong reasons, at least for the United Malays National Organization (Umno).

In the current struggle for Kelantan to earn its oil royalties, Razaleigh - well known as Ku Li - has become the main battle horse but the fact is the former Minister of Finance of Malaysia could make history or fade as a consequence.

During the years after his massive challenge against Tun Dr Mahathir which almost caused the fall of the Malaysian maestro from power, Ku Li and Tun Mahathir has rarely had a spat. They avoided each other on most issues and with the folding of the Semangat 46 and the entry of Ku Li and his party members back in the Umno, Ku Li became redundant.

However with the rise of Anwar Ibrahim as an opposition force to reckon with coupled with the Umno's faltering popular support, Ku Li has become a stronger voice for reform within the Umno and for a change in the way the country is being run. His recent views are more aligned to that of the opposition and his claim that he is the 'tool of the people' is bent on giving him unexpected support on the ground.

But unfortunately, Ku Li has been a 'broken' barometer since the 2008 debacle of the Umno and the formidable push by the opposition parties under the helm of Anwar Ibrahim. Their victory must have acted as a sort of vindication for Ku Li who has been clamoring before 2008 that the Umno is in for trouble if it does not reform.

While campaigning to get support from the Umno base at grassroot level, Ku Li suffered a series of humiliating defeat indicating to him that his days within the Umno and his battle to bring reforms to the party were over. The Umno grassroot is not willing to embrace any attempt at reforming the party, reforming the government agencies or at changing the overall policies that has guided Malaysia since Mahathir became Prime Minister.

Tengku Razaleigh has also seen how Mahathir was brought to tears in June 2002 when the former Prime Minister made the shocking announcement that he is resigning. Mahathir claimed that he was fed-up with the attitude of the Umno members who were not ready for change and were hurting the image of the party.

He saw how Abdullah Badawi was brought down as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia and how his attempted 'reforms' withing the party and the country had failed due to resistance from within the Umno. Now Ku Li is witnessing the resilience of the 'cadres' and the leaders - from grassroot to the top most leadership - against any efforts to 'change' the Umno. Even the suggestions by Tun Mahathir that the party is corrupt to the bones and the party needs to 'change' has been swept under the carpet by party leaders.

Yet these events are not strong enough for Ku Li to force his exit from the party. It was the Kelantan 'oil royalty' dilemma that has now come to the rescue of Ku Li's political career unless Ku Li maintains that he is too old and cannot do much for the people of Malaysia.

His statement that he is the tool of the people is good enough for him to at least pretend that he can at last rise as a popular figure to unite the Malaysians but the question is whether he is brave enough to face reality and join the opposition group?

It is very clear that Ku Li has a better chance of becoming Prime Minister if he joins the Party Keadilaan Rakyat (PKR) or the Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) as such a move could cement the opposition into one solid block since Ku Li's presence will mean the rallying of more Malay voters behind the Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Ku Li has, in 2009, repeatedly said that he will make a move - to quit Umno - when the time comes and if the party persists in its path to 'harakiri'.

In 2010, the Umno is not changing and the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is altogether finding himself hostage to the Umno 'establishment' with more troubles seen ahead for the party.

An exit by Ku Li at this stage would mean a terrible backlash for the Umno as it will further reduce its Malay base and erode its chances to win big in the next General Elections.

Tengku Razaleigh is seen as the man who missed the train of the 'reformasi' when suddenly decided to re-join the Umno instead of being a bit more patient. Had Ku Li waited until 1998, perhaps the opposition would have had a major push with the massive support behind Anwar Ibrahim who was then thrown in jail with a 'black eye'.

The current events are a 'Godsend' opportunity for Ku Li to add some glitter to his political career and negotiate a leadership deal with the Pakatan. Ku Li as Prime Minister of the PR would mean rallying more Malays behind the PR and is in need of in its bid to topple the Umno.

But alas, Ku Li may have run out of steam and his role in the 'Oil Royalty' issue could simply be his last straw 'as a Kelantanese who want his state to get the money' which is what Tun Mahathir stated.

The Narrative on Malaysian History

Quote

HISTORY has NOT been kind to MALAYSIANS.

Historians have been kind to the paymasters in history.

Malaysia's history is written by those who are paid by the feudal lords or the sultans and the bourgeoisie class who have become an appendage to the modern neo-feudalistic Malay state.

Malaysian history, a basis of the violently disseminated idea of Ketuanan Melayu, as an apology to the idea of economic dominance of the Malay-dominated National Front, favours the powerful and the wealthy as heroes of history.

Much of what is happening in Malaysian schools is the teaching of history devoid of critical historicizing let alone the reading of history written from the point of view of "the people's history of Malaya".

(Malaysian) history textbooks not only become a literary graveyard for the losers in the historical march of Capital, but as postmodern blinders - for the closing of the Malaysian mind.
-Azly Rahman

Learning from Howard Zinn's historicizing

by

Dr. Azly Rahman

Excerpts:

Read here for more

On Jan 28, 2010 America mourned the passing of Howard Zinn, one of her greatest historians whose 50 years of work pioneered not only the style of historicizing that put the oppressed, marginalized, disposed, victimized, and otherwise losers and forgotten in history - into center-stage and hailed as heroes.

Prof Zinn, an alumni of Columbia University's History Department was a radical educator whose work inspired the Civil Rights movement, left a legacy of looking at history through the lens of critical pedagogy.

I was introduced to the idea of "a people's history of the United States" and how America was 'founded' as a consequence of the massacre of tens of thousands of Arawak Indians; those massacred a few year after the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

Historicising Malaysia

Zinn can provide a way Malaysian historians can promote the teaching of Malaysian history.

Malaysia's history is written by those who are paid by the feudal lords or the sultans and the bourgeoisie class who have become an appendage to the modern neo-feudalistic Malay state.

Malaysian history, a basis of the violently disseminated idea of Ketuanan Melayu, as an apology to the idea of economic dominance of the Malay-dominated National Front, favours the powerful and the wealthy as heroes of history.

Tun Sri Lanang, court writer for the Malay Annals or Sejarah Melayu, wove tales of the overblown glory of the Malacca Sultanate with phantasmagoric and avatar-like conception of heroism of Malay warriors with Chinese-sounding names, foremost among them was Hang Tuah, the epitome of a blind-follower of istana/royal court orders; one who can be categorized in sci-fi genre as a Malay drone with android characteristic created out of the need to showcase what idiotic pride means.

The narratives of Malacca was well-preserved and well-transmutated into what is now Malaysian history, claimed as "a body of historical facts" embalmed in Malaysian history textbooks to be devoured by the curious young minds of Malaysians; children whose minds are like filtered funnels ready to accept whatever the State deemed necessary and "Official Knowledge" not to be questioned but to be regurgitated as immutable facts at the end-of-year examinations.

Much of what is happening in Malaysian schools is the teaching of history devoid of critical historicizing let alone the reading of history written from the point of view of 'the people's history of Malaya'.

Missing from the textbooks, are chronicles of the natives enslaved by the feudal lords, narratives of the indentured serfs from China and India, stories of the robbery of land in Sabah and Sarawak, the chronicle of the struggle between the workers and the capitalist class, the real story behind the Communist insurgency, and in recent times the voices of liberation and freedom against the excesses of the modern Malaysian authoritarian state.

History has not been kind to Malaysians. Historians have been kind to the paymasters in history.

In the end, history textbooks not only become a literary graveyard for the losers in the historical march of Capital, but as postmodern blinders - for the closing of the Malaysian mind.

Rest in peace, Howard Zinn. Yes, we cannot be neutral on a moving train.
-Azly Rahman

UPDATED ! Najib's Aide, Nasir Safar, ,Called Malaysian Indians and Chinese as "Pendatangs" in a Seminar

Read here for more in Malaysia Insider

“Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially the women came to sell their bodies.

Indians in Malaysia have crossed the line. They force the government for 12 subjects in SPM. Don't force the government. We can anytime revoke the citizenship of the Indians in Malaysia.

Umno drafted the (federal) constitution and other parties were not involved."
-Nasir Safar,
Aide to Prime Minister Najib Razak

UPDATE: 2 Feb, 2010: 11 pm

A statement from the Prime Minister's Department tonight said Najib's senior aide, Nasir Safar , will quit his post. He was quote as saying at the 1Malaysia seminar in Malacca that “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially the women came to sell their bodies.”

Sources said Nasir also remarked that "Indians in Malaysia have crossed the line. They force the government for 12 subjects in SPM. Don't force the government. We can anytime revoke the citizenship of the Indians in Malaysia."

Another local MIC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said he heard Nasir use the word “pendatang”. Nasir also said it was Umno who drafted the (federal) constitution and other parties were not involved,” he said. Read here for more

--- End of Update---

Nasir Safar, a special officer to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, labelled the Indians and Chinese in this country as 'pendatang' or immigrants., He had also threatened to 'revoke' the citizenship of those who are vocal about the 12-subject cap for the SPM examination.

The stinging remarks during a '1Malaysia' seminar this afternoon led to scores of MIC and MCA members as well as representatives from non-governmental organisations staging a walkout.

It is learnt that MIC Youth is expected to file a police report later this afternoon while a memorandum will be submitted to Najib when he visits Malacca on Feb 4.

In an immediate reaction, MIC president S Samy Vellu expressed outrage over the incident.

Describing the remarks as being "racist of the highest order", S Samy Vellu urged the premier to take the appropriate action against his aide.

PKR Bayan Baru (Penang) MP, Zahrain Mohd Hashim: Definition of Greed

The Photo that is worth more than 1,000 words

The FACE That Gives Meaning to the Word "GREED"

ENOUGH SAID!

Here Is Why PKR MP Zahrain Mohd Hashim Is Angry with Penang CM Lim Guan Eng

Read here reader's comment in Din Merican's Blog

Excerpts:

"... Zahrain is President of Bukit Jambul Golf & Country Club, which is Penang State-owned.

When Lim Guan Eng insisted on an open tender for the maintenance job (worth a total of RM3 million per year) and over rode his selection of his friend’s RM2 company, Zahrain’s fuse blew!

His first reaction was to demand (together with Balik Pulau MP Yusmaidi Yusuff) that the Chief Minister’s post be rotated between DAP and PKR.

Ask Zahrain,as President of Football Assn of Penang (FAP) how the firm for raising funds for the football assn was selected?

And how big a fraction of the fund collected is paid to the contractor.

Better still, ask him who is the contractor?

Ask Zahrain what has he done for foorball in Penang especially the programme for the schools and youth to spot and nurture the young talents to be state footballers?.."

Bernama reported:

Penang DAP said today the recent outburst of former state PKR chairman Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohd Hashim against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng could be due to personal reasons.

Its chairman Chow Kon Yeow said he believed that Zahrain was frustrated over Lim’s refusal to endorse a tender for the Management of Bukit Jambul Golf Club to a company.

“Lim informed me Zahrain is not happy with the state government for refusing to endorse the company to run the management of the golf club,” he said.

Chow said Zahrain was also unhappy over his removal as the state PKR chairman.

Related Article

Read here for more

Read here for more: Guan Eng dictator? Good for Guan Eng (UPDATED with Chinese and BM Translation)

Bayan Baru (PENANG) PKR MP Zahrain Hashim called Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng from DAP -- ‘Communist-minded.

He blames the current defection speculations among PKR MPs on the party's submissiveness to DAP's political demands. He said the current PKR representatives in the state Pakatan government were meekly giving in to DAP at the expense of party interests, rights and benefits.

Zahrain claims that the majority of PKR's elected representatives and members, especially from Penang, were frustrated with their party's subservient attitude to Pakatan Rakyat ally DAP.

Their anger, he alleges, was more towards DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

PAS's Khalid Samad Clarifies Contents of His Recent Meeting with the Selangor Sultan

Quote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident -- that ALL MONARCHS are usurpers and descendants of usurpers; for the reason that NO throne was ever set up in this world by the will, freely exercised, of the only body possessing the legitimate right to set it up -- the numerical mass of the nation."
- Mark Twain in Letter to Sylvester Baxter of Boston Herald, 1889

(Image courtesy of Malaysia Waves)

WE SAY,

The Malay Rulers must NOT only BE "above politics" but they must also BE SEEN as ABOVE POLITICS and BE SEEN as non-partisan.

Their paramount responsibility is as guardian of the general welfare and non-partisan interest of their subjects.

Malaysian citizens rightly demands that their Malay Rulers are not confused, at any time either in form or in substance, by their responsibilities articulated in our Federal Constitution.

They must be crystal clear of the "do's" and "don'ts" in the course of conducting their royal duties during which Malaysian citizens would expect that the boundaries of non-partisan politics are not crossed or be seen to be crossed.

The last thing their subjects want to do is having to preface their comments each time on the Malay Rulers with the words "Patik mohon sembah derhaka".

It must be emphasised that there is nothing in the Federal Constitution to prevent citizens from criticising the Malay Rulers if Malaysians have reasons to believe that their Malay Rulers have step out of their constitutional responsibilities or that their Malay Rulers are seen to be engaged in partisan politics, wittingly or unwittingly.

We humbly urge our Malay Rulers to make every effort to protect their royal image in the eyes of their subjects, because, in the current political climate in the country, that image is getting very fragile.
-Malaysian Unplug

The Sultan and I

by

Khalid Samad

EXCERPTS: Read here for more in Khalid Samad's Blog

Saya rasa ramai yang ingin mengetahui apa yang telah berlangsung semasa saya mengadap DYMM Sultan Selangor.

Saya tidak boleh menceritakan semua dan sememangnya saya tidak bertujuan untuk mempolitikkan institusi ke Sultanan Selangor.

Oleh itu yang akan saya ceritakan di sini hanya sekadar menjelaskan apa yang dibincang tanpa meletakkan satu pendirian politik kepada DYMM Sultan.

Ini adalah kerana sebagai Sultan, Baginda adalah ‘above politics’ dan tidak berpihak kepada mana-mana parti.

Sebelum itu saya ingin merakamkan betapa besarnya hati saya atas kesudian DYMM Sultan mengizinkan saya menghadap dan meluangkan masa Baginda sehingga lebih dari sejam lamanya untuk berbicara.

Perkara-perkara yang dibincangkan adalah seperti berikut:-

1. Wawasan terhadap pembangunan Bandar Raya Shah Alam
   
   Inilah matan utama disebalik pertemuan dan perbincangan yang diadakan. Baginda menjelaskan wawasan yang ingin dilihat melalui pembangunan yang terancang, bersama banyaknya kawasan-kawasan lapang yang disertakan tempat-tempat beriadah untuk warga Shah Alam. Kehidupan yang selesa tanpa sebarang bentuk kesempitan pembangunan yang sering digelar ‘concrete jungle’.
   
   
2. Persoalan Enakmen-Enakmen Negeri dan isu kalimah ‘Allah’
   
   Baginda menegaskan kepada saya bahawa persoalan ini tidak patut dipolitikkan dan dipolemikkan. Sekiranya ada cadangan yang ingin dikemukakan, maka ianya perlu diserahkan mengikut prosedur dan peraturan iaitu dengan menulis secara rasmi dengan menjelaskan mengapa dan apa yang perlu dikaji semula. Pada masa yang sama cadangan berhubung perubahan-perubahan yang ingin dilakukan boleh dikemukakan, termasuk, menurut Baginda, “syarat-syarat yang ingin dikenakan sekiranya penggunaan kalimah ‘Allah’ ingin dibenarkan kepada yang bukan Islam. Jangan sekadar menyatakan secara umum ‘dikenakan syarat’, tetapi dijelaskan apa syarat-syarat berkenaan”.
   
   Saya sempat menjelaskan kepada Baginda Sultan bahawa sememangnya kami (PAS) tiada niat untuk mempolitikkan dan mempolemikkan persoalan ini dan begitu jugalah rakan-rakan dari Pakatan Rakyat. Kami (PAS, terutamanya sayalah kot?) hanya memberikan respon kepada suasana di mana ada ‘pihak’ yang ingin mengapi-apikan suasana. Mereka memberikan gambaran bahawa orang Kristian menghina Islam dan mencemar kesucian kalimah Allah dan oleh itu ummat Islam harus bersatu untuk menyanggah tindakan golongan Kristian. Dalam suasana begitu kita terpaksa tampil ke hadapan untuk menafikan dakwaan golongan ‘provokator’ ini demi menjamin ummat Islam tidak tertipu dengan rethorik mereka. Melalui respon sebegini, maka ummat Islam akan dapat mendengar perspektif yang jelas berbeza dan dengan itu keselamatan dan ketenteraman negara dan negeri Selangor lebih terjamin. Lebih-lebih lagi apabila tafsiran dan kesimpulan golongan provokator ini adalah jauh dari kebenaran yang sebenarnya.
   
   Baginda Sultan menegur saya kerana mengikut laporan akhbar saya mengatakan enakmen berkenaan ‘ketinggalan zaman’ dan ‘buruk’. Saya sempat menjelaskan bahawa itu adalah perkataan yang digunakan wartawan, bukan perkataan saya. Apa yang saya nyatakan adalah bahawa undang-undang pentadbiran seperti enakmen-enekmen berkenaan telah digubal berdasarkan keadaan dan suasana tertentu pada ketika ianya digubal. Sekiranya suasana dan keadaan berubah, maka undang-undang tersebut perlu berubah bersamanya. Oleh itu kesesuaian enakmen-enekmen ini perlu dikaji dari masa ke semasa.
   
   Dalam persoalan ini, kesimpulannya adalah bahawa kami (PAS) telah dikehendakki mengemukakan cadangan yang lengkap dan sempurna secara rasmi. Perkara ini akan saya serahkan kepada PAS dan rakan angota PR untuk memikirkannya.
   
   Pada masa yang sama molek juga sekiranya dicadangkan pindaan terhadap enakmen yang berhubung dengan persoalan tauliah. Supaya pemberian tauliah lebih mudah dan lebih telus dan penarikan balik tidak juga dilakukan secara sewenang-wenangnya.
   
   
3. Persoalan Menghormati Institusi Raja
   
   Saya juga mengambil kesempatan untuk menyatakan bahawa PAS menghormati institusi Raja-Raja Melayu dan tiada apa-apa niat untuk mencabar atau menjatuhkannya. Saya menyebut bahawa selama ini, oleh kerana kami sebagai pembangkang, maka tiada peluang untuk mengadap dan menyatakan pendirian kami dalam persoalan ini. Pada masa yang sama, terdapat ‘pihak’ yang telah menggunakan kedudukan mereka untuk menyebarkan fitnah bahawa PAS dan juga PR tidak setia kepada Sultan. Mereka ingin menimbulkan kesangsian terhadap kami, sedangkan kami menghormati institusi raja sebagai sebuah institusi yang ‘above politics’ yang boleh menyatu-padukan rakyat jelata. Strategi ‘pihak tertentu’ untuk melagakan PR dengan raja adalah satu strategi yang akan terus usahakan walaupun ianya satu pembohongan yang nyata.
   
   Baginda Sultan menyatakan kedukacitaan Baginda terhadap amalan ‘biadap’ terhadap institusi raja, khususnya oleh bloggers yang Baginda sebut sebagai ‘fan-club’ saya. Saya menjelaskan bahawa saya sendiri tidak pernah biadap terhadap institusi raja dan begitu juga pimpinan PAS mahupun PR, termasuk pimpinan di Perak. Kata-kata dan tulisan yang keterlaluan oleh mereka-mereka yang menyatakan sokongan terhadap kami adalah sukar untuk kami kawal. Ianya mungkin berlaku oleh kerana tanggapan dan mungkin juga gambaran yang ditonjolkan oleh ‘pihak tertentu’ bahawa raja-raja Melayu adalah bersama mereka. Kaedah dan pendekatan yang sebegini adalah amat berbahaya dan merupakan usaha mengheret institusi raja ke kancah politik sehingga dilihat berpihak kepada satu parti sahaja.
   
   Baginda Sultan menyebut bahawa Baginda tidak berpihak dan apa yang diinginkan oleh Baginda adalah untuk melihat yang terbaik bagi Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsan. Saya menjawab bahawa saya, bagi pihak PAS dan PR, akan berusaha untuk mempertahankan institusi raja-raja sebagai institusi yang bebas dari fahaman politik kepartian. Saya akan juga mengingatkan rakyat, termasuk para bloggers mana-mana ‘fan-club’, untuk menghargai institusi raja-raja dan peranannya dalam sistem Demokrasi Berpelembagaan sebagai salah satu institusi ‘pengimbangan’ yang berkesan. Usaha untuk mengelabui mata rakyat bahawa kononnya raja-raja adalah pro parti tertentu dan hanya golongan ini sahaja yang pro Raja-Raja Melayu perlu dibenteras dengan serta merta.
   
   
4. Kunjungan Hormat oleh Ahli Parlimen PAS
   
   Saya juga berkesempatan untuk menyebut bahawa kesemua ahli-Parlimen PAS Negeri Selangor ingin melakukan kunjungan hormat terhadap Baginda Sultan sepertimana yang saya lakukan. Bginda menyebut kesediaan Baginda untuk bertemu setiap wakil rakyat Negeri Selangor dan Baginda menghormati hakikat bahawa kita telah dipilih oleh rakyat Selangor di kawasan yang kita bertanding. Baginda menyebut mereka perlu menulis kepada pejabatnya, sepertimana saya dan Baginda akan berusaha untuk menetapkan waktu yang sesuai untuk bertemu dengan mereka.
   
   Saya merasakan kagum dengan kesediaan dan keterbukaan Baginda Sultan Selangor dalam persoalan ini. Saya amat berharap agar melalui kunjungan hormat yang sebegini Baginda Sultan dapat mengenali wakil rakyat PAS dan dengan itu menilai pendirian, sikap dan kesungguhan serta kemampuan kami menerajui Negeri Selangor.
   
   Melalui pertemuan seperti ini, adalah diharapkan agar Baginda Sultan dapat membandingkan kami dengan wakil rakyat pembangkang negeri Selangor dan seterusnya dapat melihat bahawa harapan untuk sebuah Selangor yang maju dan makmur tidak pernah terletak bersama golongan ini. Juga bahawasanya terdapat sebahagian dari rakyat Baginda di kalangan orang Melayu Islam negeri Selangor yang tidak korup, tidak tamak dan tidak mementingkan diri, yang ikhlas melibatkan diri dalam arena politik bukan untuk mengkayakan diri dan kroni, tetapi atas dasar prinsip dan semangat perjuangan dan pengorbanan yang kental.
   
   Apa kata pepatah Melayu? Tidak kenal maka tak chenta? Selama ini tidak berpeluang untuk mengenalkan diri, maka sekarang perlulah dimanfaatkan sejauh mungkin.
   
   
5. Meninggalkan Istana Bukit Kayangan
   
   Melihat jam sudah 12.45 tengah hari maka pertemuan terpaksa ditamatkan. Saya amat menghargai peluang yang telah diberi untuk mengadap. Begitu juga dengan teguran-teguran serta nasihat yang telah diberikan. Saya meninggalkan majlis selepas bersalam dan mengangkat sembah dan sejurus itu amat terkejut dengan berpuluh wartawan yang menunggu di pagar yang entah sejak bila. Pada mulanya saya ingin terus jalan tetapi memikirkan bagaimana mereka telah sabar menunggu, saya berhenti seketika sekadar menafikan saya telah dititah untuk mengadap kerana Sultan murka.
   
   Seterusnya saya ke Masjid Batu Tiga, Masjid ‘Fastabikul khairat’, kerana dimaklumkan bahawa Dato’ PJ akan berkhutbah di sana. Selepas itu saya terus ke Sri Gading, Johor, untuk menghadiri program ‘Sehari bersama YB Shah Alam’ yang bermula denga Hi-Tea, diikuti Kuliyyah Maghrib dan berakhir dengan ceramah umum.
   
   
6. Jawatankuasa Disiplin
   
   Pada pagi yang sama saya telah dihubungi oleh Jawatan Kuasa Disiplin, meminta saya datang ke Pejabat Agung PAS di Jalan Raja Laut pada jam 11 pagi. Saya menjawab tidak mungkin, kerana ada pertemuan menghadap Sultan. Lepas Solat Jumaat saya dihubungi sekali lagi, meminta saya ke Pejabat Agung pada jam 3 petang. Saya meminta maaf sekali lagi, kerana ada program di Sri Gading.
   
   Akhirnya saya difahamkan pertemuan dengan JK Disiplin akan diadakan pada 29 Januari ini. Namun saya sekarang sedang berada di Saudi untuk beberapa minggu. Saya memaklumkan kepada Tuan Ibrahim akan perkara ini dan meminta agar saya diwakili oleh seorang sahabat yang akan berbicara bagi pihak saya. Tuan Ibrahim membenarkannya.
   
   Saya berharap agar isu ini selesai dengan sebaik yang mungkin dan secepat yang mungkin. Supaya kita boleh kembali memberi tumpuan kepada persoalan menumbangkan UMNO. Kerana Malaysia akan lebih aman tanpanya.
   
   WaLlahu 'Alam
   KHALID SAMAD
   
   

Zaid Ibrahim Says PKR Becoming a Poor Man’s Version of UMNO

Read here for more on Zaid Ibrahim's Blog

Little Napoleons

by

Zaid Ibrahim

Parti Keadilan Rakyat hari ini membuat keputusan merujuk kes Zulkifli Nordin kepada Jawatankuasa Disiplin parti untuk menyiasat serta membuat keputusan terhadap beliau dalam masa 30 hari.

Parti juga mengeluarkan “gag order” atau larangan supaya beliau tidak lagi mengeluarkan kenyataan yang boleh memudaratkan parti serta merosakkan perpaduan Pakatan Rakyat.

Hebat bunyi keputusan PKR. Nak ikut “due process “atau proses keadilan dalam undang undang. Sebenarnya ramai orang merasakan PKR tidak serius untok mengambil tindakan.

Malah ada yang mengagak tidak akan ada satu keputusan yang tegas akan diambil dalam tempoh tersebut.

Sementara itu Zulkifli Nordin setiap minit akan terus menghina pendirian Pakatan dalam TV UMNO dan surat khabar UMNO dan tidak akan peduli arahan parti, sama seperti yang telah dia lakukan pada masa-masa yang lepas.

Hairan juga keadaan ini, seolah-olah Zulkifli Nordin adalah seorang manusia yang tidak boleh disentuh oleh parti; entah mengapa ada keistimewaan itu.

Sebab itulah Zulkifli menggelar sesiapa saja yang mengkritiknya sebagai “Firaun Kecil” atau “Little Napoleon”, iaitu merujuk kepada pegawai parti yang tidak ada taring; maksudnya orang seperti saya.

Selepas hari ini, saya yakin PKR tidak mampu mempertahankan sesuatu prinsip utama dalam perjuangan nya.

Hanya yang mudah dan expedient. PKR hari ini tak jauh bezanya dengan UMNO; cuma ia hanya seperti acuan atau “a poor man’s version of” UMNO.

Ada pihak amat takut untuk mengambil tindakan terhadap Zulkifli Nordin, walaupun jelas tindakannya yang mahu menghancurkan parti dari dalam, kerana bimbang dengan persepsi bahawa orang Melayu dan Islam sayang kapada Zulkifli Nordin.

Dia konon nya popular dengan “isu Islam nya”.

Tapi Zulkifli Nordin bukan wira Islam. Bukan wira Melayu.

Sikap, perbuatan dan kata-katanya sama dengan jaguh-jaguh UMNO.

Lagi pula Zulkifli Nordin terang-terang membuat kenyataan yang bertentangan dengan keputusan parti dan Pakatan Rakyat.

Apa yang dilakukannya hanyalah memberi gambaran kepada umum bahawa PKR dan Pakatan Rakyat telah mengkhianati umat Islam dan Raja Melayu kerana kononnya sanggup membiarkan orang agama lain menghina Islam, terutamanya dalam isu penggunaan perkataan Allah.

Bagi saya, kalau kita tidak yakin dengan pendirian kita dalam soal penggunaan perkataaan Allah ini, dan isu lain yang dibawa olih Zulkifli Nordin ikut saja UMNO dan Zulkifli Nordin.

Tapi kalau kita yakin, kalau kita berpegang kapada prinsip dalam Perlembaggaan Persekutuan , dan pendapat alim ulamak maka kita mesti teruskan dengan pendirian kita. Sampai bila kita mahu berpolitik dua alam; di sana kita berpegang kepada satu prinsip, di sini kita bertukar kepada prinsip lain pula.

Mungkin ada rakan-rakan yang akan berkata tindakan akan diambil selepas siasatan jawatankuasa parti, dan minta saya bersabar. Ikut lunas undang undang.

Saya memang setuju, sebab itu kita sepatutnya gantung Zulkifli Nordin sementara siasatan selesai. Kerana kesalahan nya jelas dan berterusan bagi mereka yang dapat dan mahu melihat.

Kita perlu berlaku adil kapada dia, tetapi kita juga perlu berlaku adil kapada ratusan ribu ahli parti yang mengharapkan pembelaan dalam mempertahankan prinsip perjuangan parti dan Pakatan Rakyat.

Dalam memperkatakan semua ini saya mungkin dipecat olih parti Keadilan kerana saya tidak ada kekebalan saperti sasetengah pemimpin PKR. Tapi saya biasa kena pecat dan saya akan terus menyuarakan perjuangasn politik yang sihat dan bermaruah untok kebaikan PKR dan Pakatan.

Kita tidak mampu menjadi parti yang akan membawa perubahan kapada politik dan pentadbiran Negara kalau Zulkifli Nordin pun kita tidak bolih selesai dengan cara yang sepatutnya.

Nampaknya PAS lebih berprinsip dan berani kerana sanggup mengambil tindakan kapada ketua negeri Selangor nya Dr Hassan Ali, tetapi PKR takut kapada ahli Parlimen Kulim Bandar Baru.
-Zaid Ibrahim

Zulkifli Noordin and Other UMNO Trojan Horses in PKR

Read here for more in Malaysia Today

ZULKIFLI NOORDIN -
UMNO'S TROJAN HORSE IN PAKATAN RAKYAT

The Member of Parliament for Kulim, Zulkifli Noordin, is keeping his options open. If and when his party sacks him then he will decide where he goes from there.

Well, for sure, he will not be joining PAS because he is at war with PAS. That is why he always takes the opposite stand to that of PAS.

Zukifli Noordin and PAS

Zul’s personal feud with PAS actually goes back a long time, back to the time of the late PAS President, Ustaz Fadzil Noor. Ustaz Fadzil did not want to have anything to do with Zul.

Ustaz Fadzil would NOT touch Zul with a ten-foot pole.

There was one occasion when Ustaz Fadzil was on the way to an event and when he was told that Zul was also going to be there he told his driver to turn the car around and take him home.

Ustaz Fadzil would try to avoid any event that Zul would be attending.

But why was Ustaz Fadzil so against Zul? Those who personally know Ustaz Fadzil would tell you that this is one very kind old man who carried no grudges.

But why was he so ‘extreme’ when it came to Zul?

It is not that Ustaz Fadzil was taking it a bit too personal when it came to Zul.

It is that Ustaz Fadzil did not trust Zul and felt that he was just a plant, a Trojan Horse, who should not be trusted further than you can throw him.

Zul is very ‘Islamic’. He is in fact even more Islamic than PAS, almost Taliban in attitude.

So why did he not join PAS? Does he not want to join PAS?

It is not that he does not want to join PAS but more that PAS does NOT want him.

And it is not because Zul is too Islamic even for PAS’s standards that the party does not want him. It is just that PAS does not trust him and suspects that there is more than meets the eye as far as Zul is concerned.

UMNO's Trojan Horses in Pakatan Rakyat

Don’t forget, in the Art of War you need ‘sleepers’. These are plants or Trojan Horses you send into the opposing camp to create damage from the inside. During the Cold War, the superpowers used sleepers a lot. Russia had scores of sleepers in the British government, some very high up the ranks.

And Umno too uses this very effective sleeper strategy. People are sent into the opposition camp as plants or Trojan Horses. They are in PAS. They are in DAP. And they are most certainly in PKR.

Special Branch Agents Operating in PKR Offices

Do you know that back in 1999 one Special Branch officer became the head of one of the Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) branches? Yes, that’s right. A Special Branch officer was a PKN branch chairman and the party did not find out until much later. How much damage do you think he had done by the time they found out?

Do you know that some of the staff in the PKN headquarters back in the early years reported to the Special Branch? Their job was to print out the membership list and other documents and reports and pass them on to the Special Branch. Yes, but what they did not know is there are also Special Branch officers who report to me. So I was fully aware of the ‘black ops’ going on in the party headquarters.

After I detected the Special Branch agent, I used him to leak false information to Bukit Aman. This is called a ‘disinformation’ campaign. In a disinformation campaign you leak false information to confuse the enemy.

I then placed my son -- who is now in the Sungai Buloh Prison -- in the party secretariat and his job was to key in members’ details into the computers. But we had two membership lists. One showed only 20,000 members, which we left ‘exposed’ for the Special Branch agent to copy and pass on to Bukit Aman. Then we had the second list, which actually had 250,000 members, but which we kept hidden.

We did not allow even the party Supreme Council Members to see this list. This is because we did not trust our own Supreme Council Members and suspected some of them to be Special Branch agents as well.

The only two people allowed to sight this genuine membership list was the Secretary-general, Anuar Tahir, and the Deputy President, Dr Chandra Muzaffar. Even Dr Wan Azizah was only told how many ‘real’ members we had but she was not given any printout. And the Supreme Council, much to its chagrin, would not receive a membership report during the monthly Supreme Council meetings.

Can you imagine the difficulty we faced when we could not trust our own party leaders in the Supreme Council and had to hide information from them and mislead them because we were worried if we told them the truth then Bukit Aman would get this information within the hour?

And there are still many plants, spies, agents and Trojan Horses in the opposition, in particular in PKR.

• Anwar Ibrahim knows this.
  
  
• Dr Syed Husin Ali knows this.
  
  
• Dr Wan Azizah Ismail knows this.
  
  
• Zaid Ibrahim knows this.
  
  
• Azmin Ali knows this.
  
  
• Datuk Kamarul Bahrin knows this.
  
  
• Saifuddin Nasution knows this.
  
  
• Tian Chua knows this.
  
  
• R. Sivarasa knows this.

In fact, every bleeding party leader knows this and they have known this from way back in 1999.

Do you know how good these agents are?

One day, back in 2000 or so, they downloaded all the data from the party’s computers and short-circuited the computers after that. We came to office one morning and found that all ten computers had practically ‘melted’. It was definitely an inside job and we suspected who that person might be.

This particular guy sleeps in the office -- so in that sense he is the first one in and the last one out. One night, I too slept in the office, without him knowing of course, and I monitored the telephone switchboard. When I saw the light come on to show which extension was being used, I sneaked up and eavesdropped on the conversation.

Yes, he was sending in his daily report.

From then on I used him to send Red Herrings to Bukit Aman. I still smile when I think of all that crap I was feeding the Malaysian intelligence agency that at one time in the 1950s was acclaimed as the best in the world, far superior to even the KGB and CIA.

In another incident, one Special Branch officer penetrated Ruslan Kassim’s office.

Ruslan Kassim was then the party Information Chief. I suspected he was Special Branch because during the ‘Arsenic Demonstration’ in the National Mosque (Masjid Negara) he wore a pink wristband. (Stupid isn’t it?)

I grabbed him by the arm and tugged at his wristband and asked him, “Ini apa?” He replied, “Takde apa. Saja.”

From that day on I kept an eye on him and one day he came to my office and asked whether he could leave his bag in my room for an hour or so as he needed to run out for lunch.

“No problem,” I replied, but as soon as he left I searched his bag and found a tape recorder. And it was running on record mode.

I then made many phone calls and spoke to ‘phantoms’ on the other end. I engaged in all sorts of conversations with imaginary people. And of course, in my ‘conversation’, I ‘revealed’ a lot of party secrets.

This chap came back after lunch to collect his bag and till today I still wonder how useful Bukit Aman found all those ‘secrets’ that were recorded.

Back in 1999, during the Tenth General Election, we had to ‘sweep’ the operations room a few times every day.

And it was mind-boggling the number of ‘bugs’ that were discovered. How did they plant these bugs if not for the fact that it were insiders who were doing it -- because for sure outsiders and police officers could never get past the front door, let alone all the way up to the tenth floor.

And we are not talking about lower level insiders, mind you. They were not allowed into the operations room. We are talking about high-level insiders, top party leaders, those with ‘security clearance’.

Anyway, I am rambling. But the point I want to make is for more than ten years we have had to live with this problem and always had to be one step ahead of these agents of Bukit Aman. And we did not trust even the top party leadership because all were suspects as far as we were concerned.

Zulkifli Noordin Was "Turned" While in ISA

So who is Zulkifli Noordin? He is not even of that level I would call a top party leader. And if we do not trust the top party leadership and suspect the top party leadership of being police and/or Umno spies and agents, what more a person like Zul Noordin?

So, freedom of speech is fine. Democracy is fine. And we should not block anyone from exercising his or her right of expression. But was Zul merely doing this? Or is there something more sinister to what he is doing?

The late PAS President did not trust him. We too never trusted him since his second ISA detention because our sources in Bukit Aman told us he had been ‘turned’.

I would urge Anwar Ibrahim to exercise caution. Anwar sat in jail from 1998 to 2004. So he did not have to manage the party office. I was in the party office right up to the end of 2004. So I know more than Anwar himself about what was going on in the party office and the problems we faced in always having to be one step ahead of plants and Trojan Horses.

Zulkifli Noordin is UMNO's Trojan Horse in PKR

And we say that Zul Noordin has a hidden agenda. His agenda is not to uphold Islam or to exercise his right of expressing his opinion. His agenda is to create a split in Pakatan Rakyat, in particular in Selangor, so that Najib Tun Razak can grab back the state as he plans to do. And he had planned to do that this month. And this month has only a few days left. So expect them to become more desperate.

Is Anwar that naive or stupid that he cannot see the false façade that Zul is wearing on his face? I think Anwar may need to spend a second term in the Sungai Buloh Prison to wake him up to the reality of what is going on in the real world.

By the way, Anwar, now do you believe that Saiful, the man Najib sent to work in the party office, is a plant? You have only one plant to worry about.

We have had so many. But we ‘killed off’ all the plants they sent. We used them to mislead the enemy. You allowed that one plant called Saiful to kill you.

Now you want to allow another plant called Zul Noordin to kill Pakatan Rakyat as well?
-Raja Petra Kamarudin