Degree or No Degree, It Don't Make a Difference
2 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: Unknown at 5:20:00 PMNo, I am not discouraging you from furthering your studies to the highest level possible. I still harbour hopes of studying in the USA, thank you very much. A degree is not was it was in our parents' day - a privilege, limited to the elites who could afford to send their children to prestigious institutions of higher education in Britain, etc. Now, it is considered a must in order to even be considered for a job. No degree, no potential rice bowl. Possess a degree, and doors that were previously closed are opened to you.
However, this order does not seem to apply in the teaching profession in Malaysia. Read these: "Sacrifice of teachers that hasn't paid off" and "Upgraded in qualifications but losing out". These letters appeared in The Star 2 weeks ago, both voicing out the injustice faced, of which I'll explain of later.
Their case, as is with perhaps 50,000 other teachers, is as such: they were non-graduate teachers in the 1970's, just armed with their cert from the training colleges. They believed that in upgrading themselves by doing their degrees, they could do a better job with their newly-acquired skills, plus have better shots at higher salaries and promotions. Pretty much like the corporate world. However, to their dismay, when the pay revision was done by our Education Ministry, their salary was lower than of non-graduate teachers. Imagine!
Why I write this is because it is an issue close to my heart, involving my father, a teacher of 29 years already. My father joined the teaching profession in 1979 as a C2 teacher. He passed his STPM in 1986 and was subsequently placed in the C1 category two years later. In 1993, he attended a one-year specialist course for secondary school TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) teachers. He was awarded his first "Anugerah Perkidmatan Cemerlang" in 1994.
In 1995, he received half-pay leave to study for his 1st degree in Universiti Sain Malaysia. Life was hard then. My brother was barely a year old (he was born in late 1994), my mum was frail after the delivery yet had to care for us - I was barely above 5 years of age, and my sister, a mere 3 years old. My father only could return from Penang on weekends. One stark memory of those years I have of that period of time was when my mum and I were down with high fever. My mother was so weak that she could not muster the strength to go to the doctor; instead my grandmother called the doctor to the house. I remember my brother crying, myself not being able to eat, and my sister being bewildered most of the time. Thank God for my very formidable grandmother, who came over and took care of us. I also remember, on a separate occasion, my parents talking about how much costs they had to cut back, financial difficulties due to his pay being halved while on study leave. Being very attached to my parents, I used to cry when he wasn't around, because there was no daddy on the weekdays to read me Cinderella for the umpteenth time at night, or make icecreams out of Play-doh for my sister and I to play house.
Despite the hardship, my father graduated in 1999. During the 4 years of his study, he was not given any pay increment. This meant that upon his graduation, he had lost out FOUR increments to his peers who had stayed on as non-graduates. Three months after his graduation, there was a pay adjustment for non-graduate teachers. He discovered that his basic pay was RM1 less that of the non-graduate DGA6 teachers (the DG thing is their pay scheme coding). His request to be emplaced in the non-graduate DGA6 scheme before the graduate DG3 was rejected. That did not deter him. Instead, he went on to receive his second "Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang" in 2002. Being a man who believed in acquiring more knowledge in order to serve his God, King and Country better, my father applied and received a full scholarship to do his Masters programme in UM. And yet, despite his initiative, perseverance and hard work, his pay is still less than of my mum, who is a non-graduate.
My mother joined the teaching profession in 1981 two years after my dad became a teacher. Like my dad, she graduated from a teachers’ training college in KL as a C2 teacher. She has been a non-graduate teacher ever since. She decided not to pursue her studies so that she could look after her children and enable my dad to pursue his career. However, all their effort and sacrifice have in fact worked against them. Even thought my mom has never received the awards my dad did, she still earns more than my dad. She is in DGA32 and my Dad is in DG41. Both got 3&4 for their PTK. How can this be? It clearly shows that the salary revisions over the years have not taken into account of teachers like my dad. Although they are upgraded in qualifications, they lost out badly terms of seniority, increment in pay and opportunities for promotions to their peers and juniors in the profession. It is downright demoralizing, de-motivating and grossly unfair.
Obviously, something is very wrong with the current system. It is extremely cowardly for the Ministry concerned to sit quietly, instead of revising the ins and outs of the enforced pay scheme. Teachers like my father have given the best years of their lives, yet they have been left out in the cold when it comes to the benefits. These are experienced teachers - a definite asset to our nation. In the light of the upcoming election, I urge those in authority to rectify this huge oversight quickly. Give them back what is theirs before you begin wondering why less and less people want to be teachers in this country.
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;;Silent figures in the night This post is dedicated to thieves around the world. May you be forever cursed by a thousand misfortunes for every item that isn't yours.
Walk in shadows, out of sight;
You can't see us but we're there,
Watching you from everywhere.
We crawl on ceilings and on walls
While always seeking empty halls,
Seeking, tracking, looking out;
Treasure's always somewhere about.
We'll always find a trace or two
And get to doing what we always do:
Taking time to find your place
To profit from your graceless haste.
And voila! here is your door,
Behind which lies what we're looking for;
A trinket, perhaps? Something new!
Of some things one can't have too few.
A lock in place? Oh dear, oh dear.
But from it we have naught to fear:
A swish, a crick, a gentle tug,
Oh this lock's less trouble than a small bug!
The gateway yields, oh what a shame!
There is no lock that'll keep us lame-
So, in we come while you're away;
The 'mice' are here to sing and play!
Wallets, watches, coins and bills,
Dollars, cents - oh, the thrill!
Laptops, iPods, books and mags,
Even your own stash of fags!
When you get back, you'll feel bereft
'Cos everything's gone and nothing's left;
We cleaned up well without a broom:
It's just as if we owned your room!
You'll never find us how much you try
Not even when you break down and cry;
We have no soul nor sympathy,
Only greed and lust and apathy.
Silent figures in the night
Walk in shadows, out of sight;
Our itchy hands will take away
Your favorite stuff and ruin your day!
[ Read more! ]
;;When I read this piece of news I was stunned by the intolerant stance taken by Beijing. Apparently "security reasons" is the cause of this ban. To me this is absolutely unacceptable as it borders on the ridiculous and shows how extreme the officially God forsaken country is. Athletes are also prohibited from bearing any kind of religious symbol at Olympic facilities.
Well if Bibles are banned, are Korans banned too? Well I would think Muslim athletes will surely be denied their sacred book too. As far as I know devout Muslims will not accept such nonsense. This seems like an insult on Islam itself. To take it further are Muslim headscarves banned to? They certainly are a religious symbols and they will be banned unless Chinese are hypocrites.
Furthermore, what will happen to Jews and their skullcaps? How about the Sikhs and their turbans? Well it can go on forever but the whole message Beijing is giving that they are bigoted Mao Tse Tung butt kissers money worshipers. Good job Hu Jintao your men have insulted the whole wide world.
Of course this can only culminate in one thing - the mass boycott of the Beijing Olympics. To me this would surely make my day as I have already decided that the Chinese government has absolutely no ethics and is one hundred percent morally bankrupt. All because of oil and money China ganged up with Russia to support the rape of Darfur. Genocide takes place there because they block all international efforts to stop the Sudanese. Remember the Burmese who died in their struggle for freedom! China and the Asean especially despicable Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore gave the finger to the democracy movement.
May you burn evil China!
~multum in parvo~
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;;Buddhism and Islam: A Crisis Emerges
3 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: stmaverick at 4:39:00 AM
From the BBC News website:
Attack on giant Pakistan Buddha
Suspected pro-Taleban militants have tried to blow up an ancient carving of Buddha in north-west Pakistan. The statue, thought to date from the second century BC, sustained only minimal damage in the attack near Manglore in remote Swat district. The area has seen a rise in attacks on "un-Islamic" targets in recent months. This is the first such attack in Pakistan and is reminiscent of the Taleban's 2001 destruction of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan in Afghanistan.
[ Read article ]
The last time this happened was at Bamiyan, Afghanistan [ read article ], where the world's largest Buddhist statues were destroyed by the then-ruling Taliban regime for being "un-Islamic". Although the Taliban are now no longer in power, and on the run from US-NATO forces pursuing them in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan bordering Pakistan, already new extremists have stepped forward in Pakistan to continue their heinous crimes.
..the Bamiyan Buddhas survived for sixteen centuries in the remote fastness of the Afghan Hindu Kush. Neither the ravages of time, nor the conquering armies of Islam--not even the scourge of Genghis Khan--had laid them low.. - Andrew Forbes, CPAmedia.com
Supposedly following the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, an international organization was established to protect and conserve religious sites worldwide [ read article ]. Granted, their jurisdiction probably accounts for nothing in the tribal-controlled border regions of Pakistan. Still, this startling lack of action on their part (aside from the expected cries of outrage and condemnation) is worrisome, as it demonstrates the terrorists' capability to continue their activities unimpeded, despite the world's opposition and horror.
It is obvious enough that the terrorists possess an agenda against all those who are not Muslims. Even better, considering events in Iraq (and the Middle East in general), they're more than willing to wage war against Muslims as well who do not see their side of the coin. Isn't it any wonder Islamophobia is at its height, and the United States is taking an increasingly hardline stance against nations suspected of harboring Muslim terrorists?
[ Read more! ]
;;Technology to reduce deaths during war?
5 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: Henry Yew at 9:06:00 PMRead this, people! I watched a documentary on the National Geographic Channel on the Iraq War and what sort of technologies were used during the war in such a way that they could help reduce the number of casualties of innocent civilians.
Apparently, the use of missiles which are able to pinpoint specific coordinates are able to take down only specific buildings, and in the case of Iraq War, it was the government buildings that they were targeting at. These missiles are guided by GPS and therefore possess great precision or accuracy in hitting the target.
So, advancement in technology has changed the style of modern warfare, huh? Does that mean war will only be between leaders of conflicting countries?
I still say NO! No matter how developed war technology is, to me war is never justified. In fact, there is no need for war in the first place. No matter how advanced the technology is, innocent lives are still killed. People are still living in horror. They lose everything in a glimpse. Their economy is shattered. Even if they are still alive, their ability to sustain themselves would be dead.
There is never been a need to wage war against any nation. Only bloodthirsty, greedy and merciless leaders would wage war against other nations. We already had Hitler in 1941. Do we want a Third World War?
Sadly, our leaders of the world sometimes could not be more selfish and inconsiderate. While things can be resolved diplomatically, some resort to war. And while there are people out there fighting for world peace, there are also people who "konon-kononnya" are fighting for world peace, too, but in the end cause war among themselves. So much for the fight for world peace.
What if all nations were to strip off their weaponry, and I mean, ALL OF THEIR WEAPONRY? No nuclear bombs, no missiles, no machine guns, nothing! Are we going to fight with sticks and stones then?
Albert Einstein once said, "I don't know with what weapons will World War 3 be fought with, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones."
[ Read more! ]
;;Wednesday, June 14th, 2007 AD.
The shit hit the fan between a Malay dude and this here Furball.
Our college (KDU) I must first say has a very nice and reasonably well thought out canteen. Plus the food isn't half bad and the prices are reasonable. But this incident revolves around a particular section of the cafeteria - The Drinks/Desert/Breakfast Stall (yea I know but seriously thats what we all call it)
First off I will try and give you an idea of the configurations of this here stall, well actually i just want to point out that the stall has this glass divider/sneeze-guard thingy over the actual counter.
The incident happened in the morning (and i have changed the names of those involved to maintain anonymity) a friend of mine X was at the stall getting his morning caffeine fix. Nice guy, on the stocky side, stout as a wall and just as hard to arm wrestle... ;P So anyways...
Hes' at the stall see? And he was leaning on the sneeze guard thingy (common activity for most people who visit the stall and do note that this divider is constructed of tempered glass and so should actually be able to take a hammer blow without breaking) and I see him see? So I come over all friendly and give him a man sized pat on the back see?
And guess what? Lo and behold the damn glass slides of its rack and crashes (shattering into a gazillion pieces) on what appears to be a basket o' eggs and some bread ready for toasting...
So now were both like: "Holy shit! WTF Just happened??!"
("What away to greet a friend eh? -.-")
Obviously the canteen people call the "manager" right so we wait...
He comes on all friendly and assures us straight away that its all cool after we explain that the glass pane (get this) wasn't even secured properly in any way to the brackets in which it was placed...
Then he surprises us and goes: "Yea it's ok thats happened like three times" or something to that effect. Now i dunno bout X, or you guys but at this point I was like: " 'WTF??! It has happened three times and you guys haven't even done a shit about it? I mean tempered glass can cause some serious shrapnel if the fall angle is just right"... (Can anyone say Claymore Mine?)
But okay, whatever right, so I was about to walk away and guess what happened?
This Skinny ass Malay dude that looks like a damn motherfucking high school dropout goes like "You Bayar saja la sekarang apa mau bising bising lagi!" (Just pay for the damages now la why you making so much noise?)
And I was like *WTF??!?*
And he goes on like he fucking owns the damn place! And the manager as nice a guy as he seems, just stands there doing shit!
Then I was fuming at that point see? And dearest X has (wisely and i don't blame him for this one bit) faded in to the background. And Canteen dude was still holding me in his gaze see? Like he wants me to respond, I was about to ignore him but...
(Now i would also like to point out again that the "manager" had already settled that neither me nor X was to blame)
He gives me one more stab too many and goes: "You yang kasi pecah! You bayar la!" (You broke it! Now pay for it!)
And me being the Gentleman that I am, decided i was obliged to do so...
Very Very Very vocally (as only an angry Bhai can ;D)
So I gave the guy a thorough sounding see? In front of the whole Fucking canteen. Very nice performance if I do say so myself. And guess what!? He gets so fucking dumbfounded that i know MALAY! LOL!
So anywys that was over with now we fast froward a few minutes, still in the canteen;
Four of us are sitting together see.
X and two girls and myself.
The girls are still trying to calm me down (got this ' ' close to punching he guys head in).
X is going on about how I handled that badly and should have been more "diplomatic".
And the ladies start spilling stuff about Malay dude see. Apparently he's also a notorious pervert when at the cashiers to the point that most ladies in their circle of friends would rather avoid the stall than have to deal with him. (note one of the girls is also Malay)
Oh and heres X's side of the story just for fairness sake... (this is his unedited testimonial)
So I was in college for an extra class, and while I was walking to the drinks stand to buy a coffee, I saw Jas. Now, obviously you don't just say hi to someone you haven't seen in weeks, so I gave him a manly pat on the shoulder (read: I whacked the shit out of him).
After the obligatory "Cibai-motherfucker" from him, I went to buy my coffee. After placing my order, I did what I almost always do - leant against the glass barrier separating the counter from the outside. Suddenly, I felt someone crash into me and heard a loud crash.
For a moment, I was almost speechless, but at the same time, I thought it was really friggin' cool. I think the first thing I did once I got over the shock was laugh. My only worry was that me or Jas would have to end up paying for the damage.
Fortunately, as it turned out, the manager said he didn't blame us. I thought that was the end of it, but while we were talking with the manager, one of the staff told us to pay - I don't remember his exact words, because I wasn't paying attention to his diatribe, so the only word I recall is "bayar".
Jaspreet exploded at him, and embarassed, I retreated to the table where we had been sitting. I didn't see a need to antagonise them - if I were Jas, I'd have ignored the guy altogether and just asked the manager to do something about his rude behaviour and insubordination (I mean, if your boss says he's not at fault, and you ask the fella' to pay...there's not another word for it).
Unfortunately, I'm not Jas, and so as it turns out now all the guys at the drinks stand don't like him. A lot. Talking to them is quite awkward now, but I just nod and listen to them rant. I see their point of view, because nobody likes to have an angry bhai yelling at them, but at the same time, nobody likes to be rudely told off by some guy in direct contravention of what his manager had just told you.
In any case, that's what happened. I think it's seriously cool, and hopefully they won't spit in my coffee. I probably won't be spending much time there anymore, since my exams are almost over anyway. :D
So guys wasup huh? Anybody else think i should have acted differently? Are we that afraid nowadays to be vocal against AssClowns such as our very esteemed Bumiputra example?
[ Read more! ]
;;»Those communist greedy pig Chinese on top will add this as part of their unforgivable evils when they join Mao, Hitler and Stalin in the deepest reaches of hell.
Down with the Chinese who obliterate Mother Nature's creatures in the name of medicine, gluttony and avarice. The consumption of shark's fin soup will soon wipe all fish. Wild tigers will also go extinct because of my race and the money grubbing poachers they support. SARS wrought death and suffering on us all because some wretched fools in China must eat civet cats. Pollution is slowly annihilating life in all rivers of China. Woe to all who rape the Earth like lust filled maniacs.
Shark's fin soup is a must for Chinese. A course dinner is not complete without shark's fin soup. What narrow minded reckless humans we are! Sharks which are endangered are just harvested like that without any foresight. Why pity sharks when they are dangerous human killers? Well anyone who says they are dangerous human killers are extremely shallow indeed. With less than ten people killed a year they are hardly dangerous. Believe in Jaws-like movies is truly moronic. Sharks don't deserved to be wiped out. If they are to be wiped out why don't we kill all politicians using tribal headhunting methods thousands as they are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year. First let us sink all ships and boats (and perhaps spear fishers) that catch sharks!
With about a billion potential shark fin consumers they will go extinct. As cornerstone species their demise will wrought the demise of all fish (trust me I have details which I won't write hear). Want to be responsible for the demise of the oceans themselves? I'm quite ashamed that my race may bring so much destruction. Many won't care which includes my father but at least I don't consume shark's fin soup. I'm no hypocrite unlike some people!
Tigers are another sad situation. China wants to legalise the trade of tiger parts. Those communist greedy pig Chinese on top will add this as part of their unforgivable evils when they join Mao, Hitler and Stalin in the deepest reaches of hell. To all nut jobs who consume tigers parts (mostly Chinese) you people are also guilty as hell unless you are sorry for what you have done. Those who willingly contribute to the extinction of any creature is just evil, evil and evil. I remember some boy who has my disease who was given tiger bone soup by his mother. This is shameful. Poachers also must be gunned down to just like how they hunt tigers.
Tigers will soon be gone anyway some people may point out. At least I'm not responsible unlike many shameless Chinese compatriots. Our grandchildren may not see tigers in real life ever again no thanks to some of the useless Chinese.
SARS was another problem because of the stupid Chinese "maxim" that everything with four legs except the table and chairs must be eaten. Civet cats spread SARS to humans because the poor civets were sold in markets to eaten. People were just way too smart I guess. Chinese once again are the fools involved as some itchy Chinese morons wanted to eat something other than a domesticated animal. Anyway, did you know that Chinese civets are endangered. SARS was the revenge of the civets! Wait till the sharks and tiger take bittersweet revenge!
Chinese of course cause more problems than that. With so many Chinese I'm afraid they may become the the master rapists of the Earth who destroy more than America. If that happens I'll disown myself.
~multum in parvo~
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;;Of Leaks, Ceilings, Sewage and Chauvinism
2 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: Albert at 7:40:00 PMbasement storeroom is now full of
s***sewage
In the UK, Parliament is basically the House of Commons. Here in Malaysia it's now infamously known as the House of Leaks. Our nation is also the home of a really disgraceful court complex. To make matters worst there is the chauvinist mosquito and the sexist one-eyed jack making a crude and vulgar joke about a opposition woman MP which insults all women and shows that they don't respect their own mothers. What has happened to my country!?
Several years ago the government spent RM 90 million to renovate the Parliament. Down the road the symbol of Malaysia is leaking in multiple places as written in this article. It's obvious somebody did something fishy, it smells of corruption. To make matters worse we then have two chauvinist monkeys denying the leaks while making a broadside vulgar insult at women just to attack the opposition. It becomes even more disgraceful with the deafening silence of Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs, the asinine apologetic ministers and politicians. At the end of the fiasco all we get is a "fake" apology. At least now the government as admitting that there are leaks. Why does a leaking Parliament have to symbolise the moral bankruptcy of some of the people's representative!?
The new court complex in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur is another shame of Malaysia. First we had a crumbling roof which begs for awe and anger. Why did the contractors make an unsafe building? After that, the cafeteria ceiling had to "rain" because of a piping problem in the complex's cafeteria with press present. The incident reached a sickening low when a guard trying cover up the incident by trying to rough up reporters and shouting obscene words. That insult to guards even challenged the photographers to a fight. It's a shame that the judiciary is being undermined by obvious a shoddy building. Is corruption present here too? You guys can answer that question.
For the finale, the court complex's basement storeroom is now full of
Fusion16 wrote: "Our Prime Minister, while delivering his speech from his ultra-modern office located at Putrajaya, cowers in fear, wondering whether the poorly maintained roof will fall down on him". Soon the catchphrase won't be "first class facilities, third class mentality" but it will be "first class facilities as a facade, third class facilities in reality, third class mentality" if all these shambolic incidents keep repeating.
~multum in parvo~
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;;13th May Incident: The Truth At Last
5 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: stmaverick at 12:53:00 PMWhen I was a student in secondary school, I always wondered about the May 13 riots that happened nearly 40 years ago in Malaysia. My history textbook barely devoted even a paragraph to this issue.History classes taught students about historical bias. But to know that such misdeeds have been done to hide the bloodiest day in our history? Unthinkable!
Among other things, it only states that:
- the violence was triggered by the Chinese-dominated opposition supporters’ provocation in celebrating their electoral victory which saw the ruling Alliance Party suffer a major setback;
- racial tensions that arose due to economic disparity between the major races also contributed to the riots;
- the riots were the basis for the formation of the National Operations Council (which most Malaysian students would know - if they remember at all - as MAGERAN, or Majlis Gerakan Negara) under Tun Abdul Razak, and;
- this led to the formulation of the New Economic Policy, which aimed to uplift the economic standards of the Malays (and is still in place today).
Not-so-recently, Dr Kua Kia Soong released a book unveiling the truth behind the infamous May 13th riots. His book, May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969, is the result of three months of research at the Public Records Office in London to study records and declassified documents on the riots.
The book also debunks some of the myths behind the darkest period in our country's history and paints a different, shocking picture into the reasons behind its occurrence.
[...] the May 13 incident was a coup d’etat against the Tunku [the Prime Minister at the time] by the then emergent Malay state capitalists - backed by the police and army - to seize control of the reign of power from the old aristocrats to implement the new Malay agenda. [...]
[...] A secret document from the British cabinet office featured in the book showed that barely a week after the riots broke out, the Central Intelligence Agency had figured out what Tun Razak was planning - “to formalise Malay dominance, sideline the Chinese and shelve the Tunku”. [...]
[...] The role of the security forces in the May 13 bloodshed was also questioned in Kua’s findings. “Even at that time, people in the diplomatic core (were wondering) how come the day the riot broke out, Razak met with the chiefs of the police and army but they did not do anything,” he said. [...] “They are one of the most effective in putting down the communist insurrection [which was] a far, far more difficult operation than putting down riot, but they could not put down (such riot [sic]) in 1969 for days, for weeks," [...]
[ note: Susan Loone has made available a comprehensive summary about the riots from Dr Kua's book ]
History classes taught students about historical bias. The tales of old would be told by those with power and wealth, rewritten as they saw fit. Even King Xerxes alluded to this in the movie '300':
There will be no glory in your sacrifice. I will erase even the memory of Sparta from the histories. Every piece of Greek parchment shall be burned. Every Greek historian and every scribe shall have their eyes put out and their tongues cut from their mouths while uttering the very name of Sparta or Leonidas will be punishable by death. The world will never know you existed at all!
But to know that such misdeeds have been done to hide the bloodiest day in our history? Unthinkable! At the worst it would have only remained a conspiracy theory, a rumour, nothing more. Now the evidence shows otherwise.
Now the government has moved into 'damage control' mode, unwittingly providing the book with free publicity:
Ministry seizes controversial May 13 bookBut a press statement by SUARAM indicates the government might not have been officially involved at all:
May 15, 07 8:56pm
The Internal Security Ministry confiscated 10 copies a controversial book with new claims on the May 13 racial riots from a major bookstore in the Midvalley shopping centre today. According to the publishers of ‘May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969′, a team of ministry officers visited the MPH bookstore this afternoon. The officers advised the popular bookstore not to sell the book as it may be banned.
According to a letter issued by the ministry officers to the bookstore, the books were confiscated from the shelves for suspicion of being an “undesirable publication” based on Section 7 of the Printing Press and Publications Act 1984.
The act empowers the minister to ban any publication which is “prejudicial to or likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, security, the relationship with any foreign country or government, or which is likely to alarm public opinion”.[ courtesy of MalaysiaKini ]
We have been informed by our distributor that ten (10) copies of SUARAM’s latest publication titled, “May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riot of 1969″ by Dr. Kua Kia Soong, were taken from MPH Midvalley yesterday afternoon by officers from the Ministry of Internal Security.
The reason given by these officers led by Ahmad Faisal Arshad was that the book had contravened the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. We were further informed that these officers had advised the bookshop not to sell or display the book.
It must stressed that there are no orders coming from the Ministry of Internal Security pertaining to this book. Further, the book contravenes no part of the said Act. We consider the actions of Ahmad Faisal Arshad and his team to be arbitrary and illegal.
SUARAM views the seizure of those ten (10) books as illegal, and demands that KDN pays for the ten books or return these books to the bookshop within 7 days; failing which, we will instruct our legal counsels to take action.
Now three senators from the Dewan Negara are calling for this book to be banned, while Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow states that the ministry will look into the book's contents and take action soon.
But Dr Kua has this to say about the possibility of his book being banned:
“In the age of the Internet, what does banning a book mean? We can put it on the Web, you can’t do anything.”
Bravo, Dr Kua! :)
It now remains to be seen how this new controversy will develop. The question is, about the youth who were never there during the bloodshed and violence, will they even bother to know about this?
~verus rara avis~
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;;Islamic (syariah) courts cannot and should have jurisdiction over non-Muslims. This is against the democratic principle of the rule of law i.e, laws cannot cause injustice and unfairness. Religious values e.g, Islamic values cannot be applied to non-Muslims as this is contrary to justice and fairness. In Malaysia the Federal Constitution guarantees that only Muslims are under the Syariah Courts.
Recently we had many cases that highlighted the ongoing "tug-o-war" between the the civil courts and Syariah court. These include the cases of Shamala, Lina Joy, Nyonya Tahir, M. Moorthy, Rayappan Anthony, Subashini, P. Marimuthu, and perhaps the latest, Magendran Sababathy. One can argue that these cases are causing ethno-religious harmony to be slowly eroded. Dr Wan Azhar Wan Hamad of the Centre for Syariah, Law and Political Science, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) today has come into the fray with a suggestion that syariah courts have some jurisdiction over non-Muslims in order calm the "tug-o-war" in this article.
Forget about Wan's justification of doing this for if what he suggests comes to pass we are all finished. It will a start of a slippery slope of religious intolerance descending into outright religious persecution. First Syariah courts will start giving biased decisions which are unfair to non-Muslims. Then they will police your morals e.g., moral police will roam the streets checking for "immodest" attire like in UiTM's INTEC; touching your lover will get you slapped with a fine; spending time alone with the member of the opposite sex will land you in jail. Finally everyone may be forced to convert to Islam. Making Islamic values and rules apply to non-Muslim is outright bigotry. Religious values are of a personal nature, if I'm not a Muslim I won't have Islamic values, as simple as that. The state has no right to interfere at all unless we live in a dark place ruled by a Saudi like government.
Azhar is definitely irrational at best and a religious bigot at worst because what he suggests is outright injustice, a certain kind of religious jingoism. We all must denounce his suggestion as it will imperil our very human rights. We must have freedom of religion and expression, the state must not interfere. We live in secular democracy not a dark dictatorial theocracy e.g., Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Another bone of contention is that only Muslims are allowed to discuss the "tug-o-war" without fear as implied by the article and recent events. Remember that the Article 11 group discussion was canceled due to the threat of violence and police apathy (and perhaps some Islamic bigot(s) in the upper echelons of power). Just this week the international Muslim-Christian dialogue – the Building Bridges seminar – organized by the London office of the Archbishop of Canterbury has been canceled according British sources and postponed according to local sources. A question keeps ringing in my head, why can't we have a say about something that affects us?
Let's us hope that one day we embrace all the values of democracy, tolerance, competitiveness and equality otherwise we may go to the dogs like Zimbabwe and Nigeria.
~multum in parvo~
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;;Who came first, the chicken or the egg?
8 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: Unknown at 12:37:00 PMHmmm, the world must be wondering what kind of people Malaysian are, with our politicians behaving no better than low-cultured folk. I refer to the recent event of a certain government MP who was reported to have made a derogatory remark to a female Opposition MP (read the Star article)
First thing, I really fail to see the connection between the possibility of leaks in the Parliament building and the monthly cycle of a woman. It was hell rude, if you don't mind me saying. I thought debates, especially one so important as a Parliamentary, were supposed to be intelligent exchanging of views with a healthy dose of wit, rhetoric, charisma and sarcasm. This latest episode (following on a string of other numerous verbal blunders) just shows how much more we have to go in becoming a progressed nation, mentally.
Before proceeding, let me clarify that my reference is The Star's coverage on that incident. I quote the paper: '“My advice is that MPs should be careful with their words next time,” he (Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib) said amidst cheers and the thumping of tables by the backbenchers.'
And that's just it?? *incredulous* The cheering and thumping of tables seems as though the other backbenchers think that making jibes as such is acceptable. Or is it because it was in their favour, and not the Opposition's?
Another from the article: 'Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said Fong should have taken the matter in her stride.
“It is normal to play with words,” he said, adding that it would be wrong if the statement had been made with malicious intent.'
I do agree with his statement but plain rudeness staring you in the face with a defiant eye shouldn't be accepted. Especially from a person of public influence.
We keep hearing of these incidents from time to time. When will our politicians learn to take responsibility for their words? We wonder why are they even there and realise, damn! we voted for them. What kind of people have we elected to lead our country? People who are merely skilled in talk (which borders on the nonsensical at times)? Which brings me to the question - who are the bigger idiots, us or them?
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;;These two blog posts on Lim Kit Siang's blog and Disquiet really makes my blood boil. Please click on the links and read them. Here we have Selangor Religious Department (Jais) officers forcibly tearing apart a family because the mother was found to be a Muslim due to her adopted parents' religion. The father,P Marimuthu was told that his five children must be placed in a rehabilitation centre. He now has been separated from his family for two weeks.
This is a gross violation of our rights under the Constitution! Islam cannot be forced on non-Muslims. Voice your condemnation to the government for this unjust act. Call for the government to reunite Marimuthu's family. Stop Talibanisation!
~multum in parvo~
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;;Another school/campus shooting has occurred in the US of A. This one happened in Virginia Tech university and is the worst shooting to date. Altogether 33 people including the gunmen were shot dead. Everyone knows this is a tragedy for the victims, their friends and family, and America. But, we must realise the ease of gun possession is the main cause of the tragedy.
All I can say is American lawmakers and their gun lobbyist should examine their consciences. Do these people have to be so detached from reality? Prove is everywhere that tight gun controls safe lives. Ever heard of shooting sprees in Malaysia? Maybe before 1970 there were such incidents. The UK has a knife problem which costs lives but don't result in massacres. Knife massacres? I don't think so.
Self defence isn't a valid argument for gun ownership. Guns are designed to kill not only to disable a attacker. Tasers are safer to use. Invoking one amendment in the US Constitution that permits militias is ludicrous. It's obviously an offence to have a militia under the current US government. Militias are only permitted if there's a foreign occupation of America.
Therefore, it's accurate to say guns to many Americans is about arrogance. Power comes with the possession of powerful weapons. Guns feed the classic American thinking of might. Their adventures overseas already prove that America thinks its so high and mighty. Gun possession only reaffirms this primitive mentality. Elephant seals get their harems by fighting. The strongest bull wins. Americans like Bush think like an elephant seal. The show of force apparently forces people to kowtow. That's seriously utter stupidity! The world doesn't work that way. Look at Iraq.
Coming back to gun control we see the foolishness of America. Ego is more important than lives. These people will not control guns until thousands of Americans die in a single shooting spree!
There is also a further evil in the massacre. The Western media has shown its true colours once again this time. Sure, we will all agree that the Virginia Tech massacre is worthy of mention and is a tragedy but what of the 129 civilians killed in the suicide bombing? When it comes to news, people care about things like proximity and oddity. That may be unfortunate, but it's also human nature and it's one of the first lessons in journalism. Humans are just like that. It's also too bad that Westerners think their lives are worth a thousand gold bars whereas the other people are worthless.
If we didn't think like that the world would be heaven now. No more starvation. No more wars. No more suffering. Is human nature inherently evil?
~multum in parvo~
P.S: People are also more interested in shallow celebrities who waste money, talk trash and don't know how to keep their legs shut (zippers close for males) sometimes producing little shallow humans.
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;;the Perodua Kelisa may be unimaginative junk, with no soul, no flair and no passion as it's actually a cheap Daihatsu knockoff
How would you feel if Top Gear's host attacks one of your "national" cars with sledgehammer before blowing it up? Well Jeremy Clarkson the controversial new host of Top Gear that replaced the injured Richard Hammond did just that to one of our Perodua Kelisa.
In one article, he said its name was like a disease and suggested it was built in jungles by people who wear leaves for shoes. And on the show, he described it as "unimaginative junk, with no soul, no flair and no passion". He then smashed it, hoisted it from a crane with a one-tonne weight attached, before blowing it up.
According to the BBC our Parliament is up in flames because of Clarkson's comments. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department clearly inflamed told MPs that Clarkson was like a football commentator who cannot play football. He even told MPs, Perodua had not received a single complaint from British owners. Is this accurate? There may be a cover up somewhere.
The thing is our Parliament can't be blamed for being angry. Even I'm a little angry. By insulting Malaysians and the Malay language based on myths, Jeremy shows that he's a racist and just white trash. We Malaysians are not people who wear leaves for shoes showing how shallow and stupid Clarkson really is! If he thinks Malaysians are primitive I'll say that many of his lads are useless drunks who can't stop causing disturbances. British girls on the other hand, don't want to keep their legs shut and are stupid enough to produce more and more bastards. This shows their partners are equally wild and foolish. My comments maybe "xenophobic" but they are based on hard facts from the BBC unlike Clarkson a stupid British ignoramus. Teenage pregnancy rates in the UK are the highest in the world. Britons are also infamous for binge drinking.
Anyway, the Perodua Kelisa may be unimaginative junk, with no soul, no flair and no passion as it's actually a cheap Daihatsu knockoff. What do you automobile junkies think? 'Kelisa' is a fish right?
~multum in parvo~
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;;Is Malaysia populated by selfish ignorants and fools? If statistics from this article are not deceiving then I submit that the answer is yes.
90% of 991 calls are crank calls! Malaysians have reached an appalling low! Their actions actually borders the criminal as lives can be lost when legitimate calls are drowned out. Do you know how ill equipped this hotline centres are? I tried calling when there was a fire in my neighbour's house and the line was engaged. Imagine if there were people roasting inside.
There also have been cases of little kurang ajar kids calling for fire engines when there was no fire. Here we should fine their parents. Were they teaching their kids to be little rascals? I'm sure there are also many bored adult imbeciles who call 991 for amusement. Altogether I really, really wonder why people are like that. Don't these monkeys know that people could die because of their stupidity?
Look at it this way, apathy has taken over society. Public services are meant to be abused. The world is all about me, myself and I. Education doesn't seem to be the issue here. Nobody would first learn that 991 as a number for amusement. 90% of callers cannot have such shallow minds to call 991 being ignorant of its purpose. At least 30% of people can reason like me. Yet the refuse and rather act like imbeciles a make crank calls to the bomba.
One of the few solution seems to be to fine crank callers heavily. I suggest a RM1000 fine. The people must be severely reprimanded too. Then we can also jail pranksters who indirectly cause harm. Next we must have an explicitly graphic advertisement campaign to scare educate the public.
I hope nobody who reads this makes prank calls to the firemen. All views on this third class mentality are welcomed. 
(Images courtesy of Paper Napkin)
~multum in parvo~
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Listen to the UN watch representative's condemnation.
Syria, Iran, Sudan, Russia and China condemned Israel because it's USA's proxy. These criminal governments maybe except Syria orchestrate far worse crimes than Israel. Why don't I see these countries condemned at the UN Human rights commission? The OIC is another hypocritic organisation. Why don't they condemn the Arab racists, murderers and rapists of Sudan? Why no condemnation of Muslim on Muslim killing in Iraq? Why no censure against the pseudo civil war in Gaza? Hypocrites!!
~multum in parvo~
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Bush, world traitor and emperor.It seems that Bush has been whining a lot on why the Iraqis don't feel gratitude towards him for toppling Saddam. Who wants to feel gratitude when utter chaos has ensued from the American occupation in Iraq. So, is Bush stupid or there's something more sinister below the surface?
Bush actually has a superiority complex. Disturbingly, Bush has an incessant concern with the proper level of fealty. The word that he repeatedly uses when discussing what he wants from nations he thinks he's helping—"gratitude"—implies a supplicant's relationship to his lord. Power has evidently overpowered him.
As Stanley Renshon, a political psychologist at the City University of New York Graduate Center (and generally a Bush supporter), puts it, "Gratitude is something you give to somebody who's superior. It's very different from, say, appreciation, which is something that equals give each other."
Bush thinks American generosity gets to little credit. He refuses acknowledge, however, that governments give aid or go to war for their own interests, not just for the interests of others, and therefore don't generally require gratitude notes. Nor does he seem to realise, whatever his motives, that nobody likes whiner-donors who demand bowing and scraping are often resented, if not despised. Like almost all American politicians Bush is one self centered hypocrite. America brought anarchy, suffering and death to Iraq for bloody oil.
I wish Bush gets struck by lightning as that man doesn't deserve to exist. He hasn't brought anything good in this world. He should quickly join Saddam, Hitler, Stalin, Mao etc. wherever they are.
~multum in parvo~
(Images courtesy of Paper Napkin)
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Bloggers are actually now a very powerful force globally and locally. Through blogging opinions and news can be easily distributed to the masses. Added to that the ability to discuss blog content on a mass scale very quickly surely speaks volumes. Traditional medium cannot compare to blogs in some ways. Although blogs have not really brought sweeping changes worldwide we are seeing a trend that blogs will bring democracy to the next level.
But here we still have a politician who slanders bloggers especially women bloggers accusing us as liars and traitors. In a statement yesterday, published in Sin Chiew, the Tourism Minsiter Tunku Adnan lashed that all bloggers on the Internet are liars, out of which 80% are unemployed women.
“All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.”
“Bloggers like to spread rumours, they don’t like national unity. Today our country has achievements because we are tolerant and compromising. Otherwise we will have civil war. "
Why must our leaders allow such detrimental generalisations be spewed? Obviously we RANDTSers are not liars or traitors. I also wonder why sexist politicians persist with their nonsense without being rebuked by our leaders.
We have achieved so much after existing as nation for half a century. I truly believe blogging will bring our country to greater heights.
~multum in parvo~
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;;Courtesy of StampAndShout.com:
From The Star Online "Attacks kill 112 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Iraq" and Iraq Body Count (as of 1200 hours; 7th March, 2007):
Civilians reported killed by military intervention in Iraq: 60,689 on average
...for our children's sake, say NO to war!
~verus rara avis~
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;;My blood boiled after reading this.
In Saudi Arabia it's hell being a girl. Those barbaric Saudis are so sick and monstrous to sentence a nineteen year old rape victim to receive 90 lashes.
A SAUDI woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother was sentenced to 90 lashes - for a meeting a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported.But the her sex maniac rapists only get away with pathetic sentences ranging from from 10 months to five years and endure no lashings. Still I'm amazed that those men were punished knowing the Saudis too well.
Girls you all are so fortunate not to be born in Saudi Arabia. Down with the diabolic regime of Saudi Arabia!
~multum in parvo~
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