Samy & Khir Toyo verbally Attacked In Petaling Jaya

Samy Vellu and Khir toyo have to face the worst from the local residents who heckled and jeered whilst at an official function in Kelana Jaya which went hey wire....watch the clip from youtube posted by webtv8. It's time we look into the plights of our Indian community and save them from the clutches of our brutal government who denied their rights in their own country and marginalized them. The govt under the control of the Malay majority fail to realize that they cannot put the Indians to sleep for long, now they have face the lions in open field. BN's close door meetings and under the carpet policies will not work anymore. The rakyat is out to question every move of the govt in public as all avenues to soft approach already exausted and neglected by the BN government. To ake the necessary changes we must VOTE BARISAN RAKYAT - THE OPPOSITION no matter which party they belong to as long as the are from the opposition. Valga Makkal Sakthi - People Power.


Elections Blah...blah...blah....from ComedyCourt just to entertain you


Oh My Minister...Check Three Times.... by Comedy Court


Lingam's Devil Curry from Comedy Court just to entertain you


Rough Little Indian Boys by ComedyCourt.....


Who Wants to Be A Billionaire???? from Comedy Court...

10 Six-Figure Jobs without a Professional Degree
by Joe Taylor Jr.

Earning $100,000 in any profession requires a combination of hard work, career training, and personal experience. These ten jobs prove that you can grow your salary to six figures without a law degree or a medical school diploma. In all ten cases, online career training programs can help you learn the skills to pursue a career with megabucks potential while continuing to build experience at your current job.

With education and will, these ten career equations offer ways to earn serious money:

#1: Marketing Manager + trend spotting = a Six-Figure Income
In today's economy, nearly every kind of enterprise requires a marketing manager to grow sales. So what makes a top manager? Professionals at the start of their marketing careers can use the best practices learned in online marketing degree programs to understand the constantly shifting landscape of sales and marketing. Having a nose for the financial news and being the first to spot a market trend means career advancement. According to government statistics, most marketing careers offer salaries and bonuses of over $100,000 at the executive level.

#2: Health Services Manager + the science of compliance = a Six-Figure Income
Complex legal requirements and pressure from insurance companies have created a demand for health services managers who can maintain compliance while maximizing profits. The top ten percent of healthcare management professionals can earn performance bonuses that raise their annual compensation packages to over $117,000. Experience managers with compliance skills will find that an online healthcare administration degree program can help them move from the job they have into a health care management position.

#3: Information Systems Manager + high goals = a Six-Figure Income
Set your sights on a CIO position if you want an information systems management position to payoff big time. If you're already a manager who likes deciding everything from hardware to personnel, pursuing a degree in IT online offers a convenient route into information systems management. Aim for the corner office and rack up some experience if you want your technology degree to yield a six-figure salary. More than half of the CIOs responding to a recent government salary survey reported annual incomes of over $100,000.

#4: Financial Manager + ethical choices = a Six-Figure Income
Having an MBA in finance is a good start, but even an MBA needs good experience and smart choices to grab a stratospheric salary as a financial manager. Today's highest paid CFOs blend career training with solid track records and high ethical standards. Finance careers in commodities brokerages offer salaries of over $120,000. Many online finance degree programs offer professionals the opportunity use work projects as research opportunities, making finance career training even more convenient.

#5: Human Resources Manager + high performance = a Six-Figure Income
In human resources, performance is golden. Successful HR managers do much more for their employers than stage recruiting fairs at local universities. By developing compensation programs and reducing employee turnover, HR managers can earn hefty bonuses. According to government statistics, the top ten percent earn over $129,000 annually. For professionals with business degrees, earning a human resource management degree online can be an exciting first step toward a job as a "talent tactician."

#6: Fashion Designer + uniquely individual style = a Six-Figure Salary
Winning "Project Runway" isn't the only way to earn $100,000 in a fashion design career. While many six-figure fashion designers may not yet be household names, they cater to clients who prefer custom couture. A high salary in a fashion design career requires more than just a fashion design degree, though. According to experts, successful designers must find a niche, market their brand, and build a loyal base of private clients.

#7: Court Reporter + overtime = a Six-Figure Salary
Even though government statistics show that many court reporters earn over $40,000 per year, some court reporters to have the chance to make much, much more money than that. Why? Document backlogs in certain cities have pushed overtime pay for court reporters to record levels. The court reporter who adds freelance transcribing for private depositions and business meetings to a base income can crack $100,000 per year. In addition to earning your bachelor's degree, most states require certification.

#8: Computer Application Development Manager + leadership = a Six-Figure Salary
Application development managers lead small teams of programmers through specific deadlines. Tight budgets and competition for graduates of computer programming degree programs keep AD managers busy. It's a career in which leadership pays. Most application development managers earn over $98,000 annually. Veteran managers skilled at getting the most out of their teams can earn a computer programming degree and make the leap to an AD management position.

#9: Nursing Supervisor + persistence in leadership = a Six-Figure Salary
At first glance, nursing schools don't seem like a rung in the mega money ladder. Still, some veteran nurses are realizing their dreams of becoming leaders in their field. By earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, experienced registered nurses can qualify for higher-paying administrative jobs, earning about $55,000 per year. Given the competition in some cities for talented nursing career professionals, that income escalates dramatically. With persistence and performance, administrators who reduce turnover and maximize compliance can now reach six-figure incomes.

#10: Education Administrator + quality assurance = a Six-Figure Salary
Under pressure to save money while reducing class sizes, many school boards recruit expert leaders from the business community to serve as education administrators. School boards expect to pay these "civilians" more, so an effective leader can turn a degree in education administration into a six-figure career. Adding a master's in education administration to an existing business degree offers enterprise professionals a new career option. Although most education administrators earn about $77,000 per year, they too can hit six figures with bonuses for improving standardized test scores and staff turnover rates.

So, where there's a will, there's a way to a six figure salary--even in fields that don't yield six figures as a rule. These ten careers not only offer earning potential far beyond the norm (which the BLS reported at just short of $36,000 in 2005), they also lure workers pursuing allied career paths into getting enough education to jump ship. Perhaps 2008 will be the year you decide to join them.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
MORE PICS & Video - SAMY Going, going, but when? If you Gota Go, Go Now – Do Not dilly dally anymore; Blame shifting - Underperformed Elected Reps

Samy has almost tried all his tricks in his books and finally came to face the reality that he has refused to accept. The Indians community has rejected him since Nov 25 2007 when the Hindraf had the historical rally.

He made use of the MIC youths, the MIC chairman 1-day meeting and an "evening with PM Abdullah" and all these failed to rescue him from the dwindling support he is now facing. Everywhere Samy goes; he is now confronted with mini demos and has finally accepted his days are indeed numbered. But he would like to go for the last round and taste defeat.

Meanwhile, Prima is now trying the last attempt to save him some face and put the blame squarely on the underperforming elected representatives. But who would believe them again?
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February 19, 2008 16:22 PM

I'm Prepared To Go If The Indian Community Decides They Don't Want Me, Says Samy Vellu
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- "I'm prepared to go even now if the Indian community does not want me anymore," MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu said today. However, he stressed that as a leader of the Indian community, the decision must be made by the community and not by outsiders. "If the Indian community decides that they dont want me...I'm prepared to go even now...I'm prepared," the Works Minister told reporters when asked to comment on the party's preparation for the March 8 general election after delivering his keynote address at the Pan Commonwealth Conference on Professional Services Trade here. Samy Vellu, who is the sole cabinet minister from the Indian community, also said that this might be the last election he is contesting. "Next term I wont go (to contest ). This maybe my last term," said the eight-term Member of Parliament for Sungai Siput.

The Johor-born first contested the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in the fourth general election in 1974 and has held the seat since then. On his post as MIC president post, Samy Vellu said that he could not just leave the party but would give up the post at the appropriate time. Samy Vellu, who has been the party president since March 22, 1981, said that he was not going to lead the party forever. "If I just leave the party now, the party will go into disarray. It is not that I'm going to be there for 100 years. I dont live for 100 years. Everybody's got a time to go," he said.

To a question, Samy Vellu dismissed rumours that there is friction between him and his deputy, Datuk G.Palanivel, saying that he would not allow anyone to divide the party by spreading such hearsay. “If you want to destroy a party, you must divide the leadership in the party. There are a lot of people trying to do that. But we will not allow that to happen. I will hand over the party to the man next to me and go (when the times come)” he said. On the MIC's candidates list for the general election, he said it was finalised days ago but he did not discount last-minute changes.

“I'm ready to see the Prime minister (to submit the list), if he wants to see us today,” he said. Asked about the necessity to make last-minute changes, he said he wanted to pick the best candidates for the election.
“It is like in a race. You first bet on a horse. If that horse does not make it and you find the other horse is better, you quickly change to other horse.

"It is not a question of betting on the other horse but the question of getting the best horse,” he said. Samy Vellu said he was very unhappy with the services rendered by some of the MIC elected representatives "and so I've decided to make a very big change".
"I'm putting in a lot of new faces…putting in a lot of professionals and putting in some members who are not highly qualified but politically active and who know how to do political work. "So these are the criteria I use,” he said.
Asked whether the current MIC MPs and state assemblymen who had served one term would be given another chance, he said it would depend on whether they had fared well.
“Politics is a performance. You must be seen doing things. You can be a very good man. You just get the seat, win the seat and after that don’t act (work) at all. (Then) it can be (just) one term,” he said.
Samy Vellu also reminded MIC divisional leaders that seats were allocated for the party and not for the divisions. He said there had been cases of divisional chairmen claiming seats for themselves because the seats were in their divisions. “I said if you take that (argument, then) I can’t contest in Sungai Siput next time. The president of the party has no place to go (to contest) because I am at the headquarters,” said Samy Vellu who does not hold any post at divisional level.

ABOVE & BELOW:Everywhere Samy goes, he is now confronted with mini demos

He said he would still give a chance to those who had served more than two terms, provided that they had performed well. Asked on the incident in Butterworth last Saturday in which his car was obstructed by a group of people from leaving the compound of a school where he had earlier attended a function, Samy Vellu said the group was asking him to help them secure the release of those arrested at an illegal rally in Kuala Lumpur the same day. “There is no indication that they hate me. They came to my car to ask me to tell the Prime Minister to release them (those arrested). That’s all they asked. They didn’t say anything about politics,” he said.

= == == = == = == == = = a final rescue attempt by Prima fro Samy
February 19, 2008 19:08 PM

We're Merely Rejecting Inefficient MIC Reps, Not Samy Vellu, Says Prima

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The Indian community is only unhappy with MIC elected representatives who did not function efficiently and not with party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, says Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations (Prima).

Its president A.Rajaretnam said the Indians were prepared to support the MIC as they did in the last general election but the community was concerned whether the candidates fielded in this election would discharge their duties responsibly and diligently. "I'm not saying MIC leaders have failed in their duties. We want responsible leaders to fight for the Indians' interests," he told reporters. On MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu's leadership, Rajaretnam said the Indian community still needed Samy Vellu to lead the party as he had proven his mettle to create opportunities and struggled for Indians' rights.
He also welcomed Samy Vellu's decision to infuse 80 per cent new blood for the party's 19 state and 30 per cent newcomers for the nine parliamentary seats. The MIC made a clean sweep of all the nine parliamentary and 19 state seats in the 2004 general election. It was reported that three incumbent members of parliament and nine state assemblymen would not be renominated to contest in this election. A total of 155 Indian-based organisations, with a membership of more than 500,000, are affiliated to Prima. Among them are Malaysian Indian Youth Council, Malaysian Indian Development Association, Malaysian Telugu Youth Association and Malaysian Tamil-Christian Rights' Association and Indian Women Association

Malaysian Indian Ethnic Cleansing : Apartheid in Malaysia

This is the truth and see for yourself the facts and figure. I recommend to download this video and other similar videos from youtube and burn it into cds. Distribute to as many people you can. Make sure this 12th general election is a good slap for BN and UMNO particularly. Email me for technical advice. Jai Makkal Sakthi.
Vote Just any Opposition Party, Say NO to Barisan National.

Boycott all local newspapers, dont waste time buying lies

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
MORE PICS & Video – RTM T V “Conspiracy” Propaganda Campaign with BN on “Mereka Berkonspirasi” & “Berlainan Parti, Satu Identiti” – PAS+ DAP+ PKR = BA
The relentless use of the electronic airwaves over the RTM networks is now in top gear showing footages of the recent Street protests and rally and labeling them as “Mereka Berkonspirasi” is a gross abuse of the RTM TV networks. We have (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad Sunday advising component parties of the coalition against using government facilities, including public buildings and canopies, for the March 8 general election campaign (see report Below), yet RTM TV on its own initiative is running these footages in support of the BN



There were first shown in RTM1 networks and now find its way to the RTM2 programmes. After each showing, people are interviewed condemning these protests and street rallies.

At the height of the protests, these were shown and labeled as “Bukan Budaya Kita”. Now with the election coming soon, these propaganda visuals are in full swing. To add to the “Berkonspirasi” theme, they are also resorting to associating the three main different opposition parties as of the same identity using the words “Berlainan Parti, Satu Identiti”. And Najib has conveniently grouped them as the Barisan Alternatif (BA).


This propaganda is trying to associate the DAP with PAS as of the same identity – another scarce tactic that was effective in the 1999 elections that the DAP paid a high price. The BERSIH organization should highlight this issue as a gross UNFAIR PRACTICE as the opposition was denied the airtime
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February 19, 2008 00:09 AM
Don't Sacrifice Future By Voting In Opposition, Says Najib


IPOH, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tonight reminded the people not to sacrifice the future of the nation and their children by placing their faith in the opposition, which purportedly has formed an alternative front called the Barisan Alternatif (BA). He said the BA was more of a hidden arrangement by the opposition parties to face the general election unlike the Barisan Nasional (BN), which was a coalition for all times. "Are we to gamble the future of our nation and children... will we be able to sleep in peace if this so called BA is administering the country," he said when attending a dinner hosted by the Perak BN election machinery at the Menteri Besar's residence here.

Najib, who is also the BN's election director, said the opposition parties, who were merely trying to copy the BN in forming an alliance, were actually extremists in disguise. One wanted to form a theocratic state while another harboured visions of a secular nation on the premise of a Malaysian Malaysia, he said. "Another party we can deem as irrelevant, which is the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)... we don't know where to place this party as it holds only one seat in Parliament but is talking big about wanting to contest here and there," he said to thunderous applause from those present.

The Deputy BN chairman also described PAS a party which always kept changing its tunes, at one time calling Umno members infidels then trying to introduce hudud laws but when both of these did not go down well with the people, started to bring up the issue of a welfare state to gain popularity.

He said the BN's concept of power-sharing spoke for itself as it had been proven for 50 years now. Najib said the BN would be coming out with its "bullets" one by one to show what the opposition really was when campaigning for the election began. He urged BN supporters in Perak to get closer to the electorate toensure a bigger victory for the coalition in the state this time around. Also present were Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali and PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas.
= == = == == =February 17, 2008 15:53 PM
BN Parties Advised Against Using Gov't Facilities During Election Campaign

KANGAR, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad Sunday advised component parties of the coalition against using government facilities, including public buildings and canopies, for the March 8 general election campaign. He said they would have to apply to lease the facilities if they wanted to use them. The BN should be cautious so as to avert problems which might crop up later following the use of government facilities during the campaign, he told reporters after attending an election briefing pertaining to the Kangar parliamentary constituency near here.


He said that so far, no report had been lodged against BN component parties on the use of government facilities in their campaign. Mohd Radzi, who is also Umno secretary-general, said Umno supporters would be allowed to carry posters, banners or flags bearing the party symbol as of this general election as it was registered with the Election Commission three days ago. He also advised BN leaders to adhere to all the stipulated conditions of the election campaign, and to be wary of hosting programmes which could be seen as "buying" votes.


Asked on his candidacy in the election, Mohd Radzi, who is the Home Minister, said he was leaving the matter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. "If he wants me to quit, I will quit. If he wants me to contest, I shall contest. For now, I want to work for the party," he said. Asked about a statement by Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim that the two Cabinet ministers from the state -- Mohd Radzi and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid – had been nominated to contest in the general election, Mohd Radzi said he was not aware of it.

= = == == = =Watch the Sample RTM TV Conspiracy

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posted by multidimid at 2:25 AM

Monday, 18 February 2008
AN APPEAL TO ALL MALAYSIAN VOTERS

Let me start off by making it clear that this is a partisan piece of literature, designed to convince Malaysian electorate to vote for, and help out the opposition this coming elections.

The first question to be asked is, why vote for the opposition? To answer this question, we have to ask 2 further questions:

1) What has the government done wrong?

2) What could the opposition do differently?

To answer the first question, we have to first understand what GOOD GOVERNANCE is all about, and how this works in a DEMOCRACY. Brace yourself for a serious discourse, because this is not an easy topic.

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY

GOOD GOVERNANCE simply means a leader has a vision for the country, is honest about how he’s going to achieve the vision, and proceeds to implement the vision successfully.

A democracy is the best way to choose a “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. This is a quote from Abraham Lincoln, the American President who brought equality to the blacks.

In a democratic system, there is FREE and FAIR ELECTIONS, meaning every candidate vying for a seat is given enough time to express his proposals to the public. There is OPEN CONTEST OF IDEAS, like what is happening right now between Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama (of the Democratic Party), and later, one of them with John McCain (Republican Party). The voters get to hear from both sides so that they can make an INFORMED DECISION as to who to vote.

Voting is equivalent to an exercise of CONSUMER RIGHTS. Let’s say you want to buy a digital camera. First, you look for information from a manufacturer who has a broad range of products, and pick something you like, for instance a compact camera that’s easy to carry, have 3 times optical zoom, 1 gigabyte internal memory etc… but you may not like the price, so you go and find some other catalogues for other products. After thinking about various models, comparing specifications and prices, you come to an INFORMED DECISION which one to buy. The decision is highly satisfactory because you matched your expectations to that of the product.

Coming back to elections. The selection process of the right leader must be exercised like purchasing a camera you desire. Therefore you need all the information you need. Towards that end, the ELECTORAL SYSTEM must be CONSUMER FRIENDLY so that you have all the information easily assessible for you to make that INFORMED DECISION that is highly satisfactory to your needs.

The primary aspect of DEMOCRACY is therefore FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. This freedom, as the BN government has oft pointed out, should not be abused. I say fair enough. But to avoid it being abused, there is always the law of defamation and the Sedition Act. When someone tells a lie about someone else, the victim can always sue for defamation to protect his reputation. When someone says something that incites hatred in another race, or wants to overthrow the system of governance of the day (for example converting a democracy into a kingdom like Brunei), the remarks are seditious and the culprit can be prosecuted and thrown in jail. Otherwise, the press should be free to report both sides so that the process of choosing the desired leader is CONSUMER FRIENDLY and the choice is based in INFORMED DECISION.

To answer the first question

Now, going back to the first question. Has the BN government practised GOOD GOVERNANCE and encouraged DEMOCRACY? The answer is plain for all to see, and should be met by a deafening no.

Depending on how you have been exposed to ALTERNATIVE VIEWS, you would probably disagree that the government hasn’t done enough to qualify for GOOD GOVERNANCE. But I beg to differ and I will tell you why.

1) Corruption of the Judiciary

You have probably heard of the Lingam clip, and the Royal Commission of Inquiry that is set up to investigate. This sounds like a responsible government, except that the Royal Commission of Inquiry has not investigated into case fixing.

First, a bit of background on Lingam clip. Long time ago, the Bar Council (the legal body that lawyers belong to) raised the issue that a lawyer went on vacation with the Chief Justice of Malaysia (big boss of judges in Malaysia*).

This is very serious because how can a judge, hearing a case involving the same lawyer, go on vacation together?

This means the judge will likely be biased, which means the other side of the litigation is sure to lose.

Fast forward to last year. In Lingam tape, it is evident that Lingam was busy fixing judges for promotion, which means the allegation of him vacationing with Eusoff Chin, the then Chief Justice, was also likely to be true. If that is the case, then when Lingam appears in any case involving Eusoff, or people who are associated with Eusoff (his gang of judges), the other litigants are sure to lose.

So isn’t it important that case fixing be seriously investigated? The Royal Commission of Inquiry has said no to investigating case fixing. And the only reason is they are instructed by Badawi administration not to do so. Why? Because if a judge can be bought, they can also be bought by the Executive*, with promises of future corporate positions and untold wealth. After all, Malaysia is actually a very rich country.

Those who are affected by a corrupt judiciary is not going to be just the likes of Anwar, Lina Joy etc… but anyone, including the Pakciks and Makciks in kampong.

Imagine a young Malay girl getting raped by a Chief Minister. If a judge can be bought, he can say the prosecution fails to prove, despite evidence to the contrary.

Imagine makcik has a piece of land, and an UMNO state councillor is interested in that piece of land. The state councillor conspires with the land officer to compulsorily acquire the land at a cheap price, then flip it for an easy profit. The makcik goes to court to challenge the valuation of the land officer, but the judge being bought says there is no case. The makcik loses the land. These things have not exactly happened but it is not surprising that they will. We are in fact close to them happening.

When an ex Melaka Chief Minister was accused of raping a Malay schoolgirl, the Attorney General said there was no case. On the contrary, Lim Guan Eng (now Secretary General of DAP) who brought up the matter was convicted of Sedition and went to prison.

Currently, there is a case law decided by Eusoff Chin that says that if someone forges your signature and transfers your land to some innocent third party purchaser, the third party purchaser will get your land and you will lose yours. This decision has given rise to increase in land fraud cases.

So it is obvious now that the Judiciary is important, and its independence cannot be compromised. The Bar Council has proposed, as have a fair minded UMNO MP Zaid Ibrahim (who by the way have been axed by Badawi from standing in the coming elections), that an independent commission should be set up to oversee the selection, appointment and promotion of judges. But the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri has refused to entertain this idea because he will never be convinced.

The idea that the judiciary is not independent is also driving away foreign investment. Who would dare to invest here when in case of a dispute between an UMNOputra and the foreign investor, they won’t get a fair hearing?

This reason alone, is enough for a government to be brought down in a real DEMOCRACY because it is that serious. But in Malaysia, it may not be enough. But don’t worry, there are many more examples of BAD GOVERNANCE.

* This is a lesson in basic Constitutional Law.

We inherited our DEMOCRACY from United Kingdom, where a government which is led in name by the Yang DiPertuan Agong is actually run by three separate organs of government.

One is Parliament, the other is Executive and the third is Judiciary.

The role of the Parliament is to make laws, based on the wishes of the voters. It is the supreme policy making body on the land. The Executive carry out the policy made by Parliament, implement the laws passed by Parliament and enforces the law.

The Executive runs the country on a day to day basis and takes care of all the nitty gritty issues from your potholes to rescue and relief operations in case of a natural disaster. The Executive runs the police force and the army.

The Judiciary is a place where any dispute between the different organs of government, or the dispute between the government (usually the Executive) and private citizens are resolved, based on principles of justice and fairness.

The Judiciary is the organ that stands firm on questions of Constitutional freedoms and individual rights.

In Malaysia, the political reality is that since the Executive consist of Parliamentarians of the majority party in power, the Parliament is a rubber stamp for the Executive to push through its agenda. Therefore, no one really bothers with separation of power between the Executive and Parliament, even though it is still important.

What is more critical is the separation of power between the Executive and the Judiciary. The Executive may implement policies that are against individual rights. A civilian will have nowhere to run to except the Judiciary, so if the Judiciary is not independent, all hopes are lost.

We only need to see how an Executive and Judiciary working in collusion can really bring serious damage to the administration of justice in Malaysia, from those Lingam case fixing incidents, to Anwar and to a certain extent, to Lina Joy.

2) Corruption in general

The single largest complaint here is that when Badawi came to power, he recognised the seriousness of corruption, and made it his battle cry.

3 ½ years down the line, and the rakyat is crying because not a single big fish is brought to book.

JP Morgan estimates that since NEP has been implemented, Malaysia has lost RM100billion to corruption. This is by any measure a very massive amount.

Imagine how many foreign experts we could have hired, free university education for all, cheaper cars and houses Malaysians could have had if money was not wasted to corruption.

We could have surpassed Korea, Taiwan and Singapore instead of now struggling to compete with Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

We could have connected everyone in Malaysia to broadband.

We could have world class healthcare for all Malaysians.

The only people who have benefited from corruption is UMNO leaders and their sycophants in MCA, Gerakan, MIC, PBB, SUPP, PBS or UPKO.

It is also for this reason that UMNO becomes very combative everytime someone asks for a revision of the New Economic Policy, which purports to eradicate poverty amongst the Malay poor. But this is all a farce because they have every reason to keep the Malay masses poor so that they can justify the continuation of the NEP and continue to pocket in the bribes and commissions that comes with each government procurement contracts.

This reason alone is enough to boot out any government in a real DEMOCRACY, but no, in Malaysia, this may not be enough. So let’s move on to consider other failures at GOOD GOVERNANCE.

3) Deterioration in Public Safety

This is actually a very obvious failure on the part of the government. Statistics don’t lie, and they show that 6 women are raped every day in Malaysia.

Crime rate shot up 13% last year.

Badawi is the Internal Security Minister and directly oversees the police force.

Rise of crime and lawlessless is therefore directly attributable to him.

What’s the use of commodities prices going up in rural areas, benefiting the rural Malay folks, when they come home finding that their grandchild or daughter has been abducted, raped and murdered?

What’s the use when people in high places can get away with crime?

What’s the use when the Inspector General of Police himself faces claims of corruption?

Remember the Police Commission set up to reform the police force? It was set up because the previous IGP bashed up Anwar in prison. It was set up because there were several deaths in police remand, and the police was trigger happy, gunning down both innocent civilians and criminals alike.

Remember when Badawi promised to follow the recommendations of the Police Commission?

Well, the Police Commission recommended the setting up of a Police Ombudsman that will investigate and discipline the police should they step out of line or be corrupt.

To the dismay of the rakyat, Badawi has broken his promise and instead try to push to the public a dummy commission called a Special Complaints Commission that is more of a grand complaints referral body more than a body that has teeth.

We need a Police Ombudsman desperately, and BN has failed us. In another real DEMOCRACY, this would have been reason enough to boot out BN, but maybe not in this country.

4) Islamisation

First of all, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and earlier Supreme Court decisions made it clear that whilst Islam is our official religion, we are not an Islamic State. The Constitution is a secular one, i.e. it can be changed based on plurality of moral values and not solely on dictates of Syariah law. Yet, Mahathir had the temerity to declare us an Islamic State, when faced with electoral pressure from PAS. It is clearly political chicanery because failing to fight on the platform of justice and fairness, UMNO has to fight on a plat form of who implements more FORMS of Islam. To make it worse, Najid repeated what Mahathir said not too long ago. There are consequences to this declaration. It has emboldened and unleashed new and radical Islamic forces in this country, resulting on the following transgressions of human rights.

Lina Joy comes to my mind as the most sensational victim of UMNO chicanery, in its attempt to secure the Malay vote base. Complicit in this grand design are the judges who decided on Lina Joy case. They abandoned our secular Consitutition and decided that freedom of religion does not apply to Malaysian Malay Muslims. There is serious travesty of justice when a person is not free to choose his or her religion.

Despite being promised that BN will treat all races equally, fairly and justly, even as recent as prior to dissolution of the Parliament, it has been demonstrated again and again that BN pays lip service to things it promises. Syariah law and Syariah jurisdiction has been eating away into the territory of civil law, with the help of civil court judges who simply lacks the moral courage to stand up for what is right, and instead of deciding based on principles of law, has decided to rule based on their religious convicitions. Today, a divorcing parent can easily convert to Islam just so that there won’t be a fight for custody of the child, who will AUTOMATICALLY be given to the convert’s custody. If this is not travesty of justice, I don’t know what is.

Islamic Authorities, for some perverse reason, has been very callous in snatching dead bodies during funeral rites of other religions, claiming that certain bodies have converted to Islam usually shortly before death. Flimsy evidence of conversion has been accepted by the Syariah courts. The Islamic authorities seem to prefer to accept that someone has converted to Islam, rather than investigating whether the conversion is real, or is fraudulently engineered so that some member of the family will benefit from exclusive inheritance of the deceased wealth to the exclusion to all other non-Muslim members of the family.

Any of the above cases are by themselves enough to spark public outcry and national condemnation in a real DEMOCRACY, but not in Malaysia. Let’s look at the last straw.

5) Lack of national competitiveness

Despite claims by Badawi that our government is moving along fine, we are not.

As already been pointed out, we have lagged far behind Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, which we were healthily competing against only a decade ago.

Our education standards have dropped to such dismal depths that we no longer have any world class universities, not even University of Malaya.

Our graduates are unemployable, and most end up with the government as the employer of last resort. This goes to explain why the standard of our civil service is appalling.

Badawi does not have any visionary ideas to move our economy forward. This is another reason why a number of more developed Malaysian states could be made as exemplars of what GOOD GOVERNANCE can do, if we just give the opposition a chance.

GRUDGING DEMOCRACY

There are many other failures of BN, but the above five sums up the most serious transgressions of human rights and exemplifies the state of lawlessness and BAD GOVERNANCE in Malaysia.

What makes this worse, and also explains why BN is still in power, is that BN hates real DEMOCRACY. As pointed out above, people can only select good leaders if they get to make INFORMED DECISIONS. INFORMED DECISIONS can only arise if people are exposed to ALTERNATIVE VIEWS.

Malaysians have been fed with controlled truth for as long as I can remember. Assuming a news item consist of 2 items, but the second item is unfavourable to the government. You will find that the second item will not be shown over RTM, TV3 and the rest of the broadcast channels in Malaysia. The second item will also not show over mass circulation papers associated with UMNO or MCA such as News Straits Times, the Star, Utusan Melayu etc… even Nanyang and to some extent SinChew has been compromised. To an ordinary reader who is not exposed to ALTERNATIVE VIEWS found in the internet such as Malaysia-Today, or various blogs belonging to opposition MPs such as Lim Kit Siang, they would have absolutely zero idea what the second item is, and therefore assumes nothing is wrong with the government. This is called half truths. In law, half truths are no better than a lie.

Another way is to black out the news. During the Bersih rally, the mass circulation media did not report the matter even though 50,000 people gathered to go to Istana Negara, and this was reported by all overseas press rooms.

The third method is to outright lie. The press do not do this, only government officials would. For instance in the Bersih rally, the press finally conceded that it has to be reported because it could no longer be hidden, but the officials put the number of people turning up at the rally at 10,000, instead of 50,000. The sad thing is to someone who only reads mass circulation media, he or she would not know whether the figures are right or wrong unless there is comparison with something else, in the form of ALTERNATIVE VIEW.

The last is to misrepresent the situation, and sometimes, the press deliberately works hand in glove with the officials to achieve this. For instance, world press reported the latest Hindraf rally on 16 February, Saturday, as a peaceful protest where people tried to bring roses to Badawi to urge him to release the 5 Hindraf activists who are detained under ISA. Badawi alleged instead that Hindraf aims to disrupt the elections by putting fear in people to prevent them to come out and vote! Though it is fair for a politician to have his own views, we find a deafening silence from the compliant media, with no one asking him HOW was Hindraf going to be able to disrupt the elections when they neither have the numbers nor the machinery to disrupt a nationwide held event.

Further proof of abuse of the mass media is how the tv is showing repeatedly violent protests and juxtaposition with opposition leaders, implying that the opposition stands for violence. The facts are, there would have been no need for any tear gas canisters or chemically laced water to be fired into the crowd, and no scene for the foreign press to have a field day talking about, if the police would have just allowed the assembly to go on. These were peaceful people, pakciks, makciks, office workers etc… trying to make themselves heard, and not some paramilitary extremists.

If we had real DEMOCRACY, these biased reporting would have been roundly condemned. But not in Malaysia. The next time to turn on the tv, just take it with a pinch of salt.

There are other transgressions of DEMOCRACY, especially one perpetrated by the Election Commission. The Election Commission is complicit in gerry mandering that is technically disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Malaysian voters by creating skewed quality of votes. Two constituencies may send two MPs to Parliament, but one represents 100,000 voters, and another just 10,000 voters. 90,000 voters have technically been disenfranchised.

But the rot does not stop here. There are allegations of phantom voters, vote rigging and abuse of postal votes to shore up BN candidates (especially important ones) from losing their election.

The Election Commission has silently ignored a storm of evidence of irregularities, and in fact had the temerity of arguing that those evidence should not be held against them because they are so “minor”.

Our Election laws are clear that electoral bribes are prohibited, yet the Election Commission tai-chis the responsibility to ACA and Police to book candidates caught for offering bribes, when clearly they are empowered to enforce the Election laws.

The electoral appeals process has been cut down to make the decision of an Election Court non-appealable, and coupled with a corrupt and compliant judiciary, may spell doom for opposition candidates even after they win, especially if the wins are not clear and decisive.

I only wish to point out one case, involving another travesty of justice. Our former Chief Justice, when he sat in the Election Court to decide on a case of Wee Cho Keong, then duly elected MP for Bukit Bintang, decided wrongly that no new elections were required after disqualifying Wee on account that contempt of court is a criminal matter instead of a civil matter, and in fact awarded the election to an MCA candidate who merely secured the third highest votes for that constituency.

CONCLUSION

What we have above, is a systemic failure of GOOD GOVERNANCE. Systemic means serious, system wide. Massive. It means beyond repair.

It means we need to do something with our votes, and we need to make the right decisions.

You may think that I will be imploring you to vote for the opposition now. No, not yet, because I know you have other concerns. Let me address some of these concerns.

a) May 13

At times like this, the government will raise the spectre of another May 13. Chew Mei Fun of Petaling Jaya Utara already did. It is disingenuous for UMNO to ask her to do it, so that it does not look like it came from UMNO, but from a fellow Chinese. But make no mistake, MCA is colluding with UMNO in this regard.

First of all, it really begs the question – can May 13 ever happen again? Consider this. Last time, there was a groundswell of discontent amongst Malays that they are backwards. UMNO elements took advantage of the situation, incited some Malays to run amok, and the rest is history. This time round, there is a very large middle class in Malaysia with their houses and assets and jobs to go to everyday. They will not riot because there is no reason to, and they don’t want to risk damaging their livelihood and assets. There is no longer incentive to riot. Therefore, May 13 can never happen again.

And consider this. If there is really a riot, who do you think instigated it? If the opposition wins, would it be to their benefit to instigate violence so that emergency rule may be declared by Barisan Nasional? Of course not. Riots can only be instigated by the loser. So don’t you believe that if the opposition wins, they will cause violence. All BN is saying is if they lose, they will cause violence. Which makes that this is a threat to prevent you from voting against them. But think carefully – would you vote someone who threatens to punish you with violence if you don’t vote for them? I think the answer is no.

As voters, we should not be cowed by threats, and we should vote with our best intentions and take possession of our votes. Don’t ever let regret haunt you down the years, regret that you did not do what is right, but what you thought was safe. There is no satisfaction in that, especially when it turns out safety is not what you imagined it to be, but something fleeting, depending on the political expediency of UMNO.

b) Chinese vs Chinese, loss of minority representation in the government

MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and PBS are imploring the relatively minority races, i.e the Chinese, Indians, Kadazan and Dusuns, to continue voting for BN, so that there will be continued representation of their interest in government.

I find this truly a mockery, for a few reasons.

1) They have not stood up to unilateral declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state, and the attendant problems that the declaration brings, as demonstrated amply above

2) They have not stood up against endemic corruption in the Judiciary and in general, because they are part of the problem

3) What they do is to give UMNO a semblance of legitimacy in pushing through its radicalist agenda that only serves to benefit UMNOputras and their sycophants in MCA, Gerakan and MIC

So this begs the question. Is there a point in voting for MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP or PBS if they have not represented the voices of the minorities for the past few years? Why give UMNO the legitimacy, allowing UMNO to claim that its decisions have the support of these parties, who purportedly represent the respective minority races in this country?

But granted, it is still not easy for voters to vote out MPs who have provided good services within their constituencies.

My answer is this. As an MP, the first role must be to scrutinise policies so that they are good for the constituency and the people at large. An MPs role, though as admirable as it may seen, is not about covering up potholes, fixing streetlights, or doing fundraising to build a single school or two for the entire Chinese or Indian community. If an MPs role in BN is reduced to these, then we might as well not have such MPs.

I know there will be a particular headache for Penang, as it appears that the wind is on the back of DAP. Many Penangites would be deliberating on whether they should support DAP, as they are concerned that Malays will continue to support UMNO, resulting in, if UMNO wins more than half state seats, there is every chance that Penang will get a Malay Chief Minister.

I will only have this to say. As it is, Gerakan led state government is only a façade. The power behind the Penang administration already resides with UMNO. I will argue that it makes no difference whether Gerakan or UMNO leads Penang.

Also consider this. If UMNO leads Penang and punishes the Chinese in any way at all, come the next elections, BN will find itself in deeper trouble, because Gerakan and MCA as a party will still be in existence, and it would be amply demonstrated that they have failed to check on UMNO. And UMNO will be finally be directly scrutinised for its treatment of the Chinese and Indians in Penang, as it no longer could hide behind Gerakan and pull the strings.

So it should not matter if UMNO manages to survive to form the next state government when Gerakan and MCA fall.

Penangites must vote with their conscience, and do what is best not only for themselves, but for all of Malaysians.

c) What about all the goodies being given out by BN this near to elections as indication that they are willing to change?

The short answer to that is, this near to elections, any promises or goodies given out is clearly a reflection of fear more than anything else. We only need to look to Ijok to realise how much the government is willing to bend over backwards to beat Anwar. Ijok had decades of development brought up to speed in just a few weeks. It is therefore insincere and I wouldn’t lose sleep thinking this through. Besides, BN’s conduct is criminal.

Giving out goodies, or promising to give out goodies this near to elections constitute Electoral Offence of Bribery.

But consider this, if BN gives, please take, because grants, promises to build schools, give lands etc… these are government property, meaning property belonging to the people, and not properties of BN. Consider it a gift by the general rakyat of Malaysia, and the taxpayers of Malaysia, to these few special classes of voters.

Since the gifts do not come from BN but from the government and the taxpayers, there is no need to feel guilty taking them, yet voting for the opposition.

The Deputy Prime Minister has just lambasted Felda settlers for being ungrateful even after the government has given them houses etc… because they are asking more. This near to elections, one must wonder why Najib would say such things to drive away voters. The answer is simple. Felda settlers are waking up that if they want anything from the government they better get it now, otherwise it’s just empty promises. Najib’s tirade is also indicative that once the voters have acquired the wisdom to get as much as possible before the elections, BN will no longer have the means of giving to all. It makes no sense when you have to bribe the entire nation to win. You might just as well have good policies in place and forget about the sweeteners. This is, I think to Felda settlers’ credit, a message to all voters that bribes are no longer useful, and cannot replace real GOOD GOVERNANCE.

d) But shouldn’t Badawi be given more time to put into effect such serious reforms?

The short answer to this is, you need a blitzkrieg approach against corruption. By going slow, any potentially damaging evidence would have been destroyed or hidden by now, witnesses bought or disposed of.

Badawi had the temerity to say that he lacks evidence. This only shows that ACA has failed as an enforcement agency, because they are not doing a very good job investigating. It also means Badawi is not serious in ridding the nation of corruption because if he is, he would have made the necessary changes to the Anti Corruption Act, increase funding and officers, technology to ACA, or for that matter making ACA independent so that it can truly act without fear or favour.

In the 3 ½ years of Badawi Administration, Badawi has launched over RM1 trillion worth of economic corridors. Contrast this with all of KLIA, Petronas Twin Towers etc… the mega projects of Mahathir times, which did not even add up to RM20 billion. More significantly, contrast this with FDI last year, which is in a single digit. Now, Badawi is expecting to get RM1 trillion? There are pipe dreams, but this one tops it all.

And what are the real values of such economic corridors, if not more real estate development with hardly any software leap within?

In his tenure as Internal Security Minister, crime rate has drastically gone up. He did not take up DAP’s recommendation to increase the number of beat officers on the ground. Crime rate is not expected to go down. How many more days to past, each with 6 women being raped, before real reform takes place?

He had 91% majority in Parliament, yet he did not find an effective solution to the Civil/Syariah conflict, or the body snatching cases.

He cannot string a coherent and sophisticated answer when interviewed, and in the process embarrasses all Malaysians.

Najib in 1988 thereabouts threatened to bath the Chinese in blood because of Siuqiu demands. Hisham waved his Keris at the Chinese at consecutive UMNO general assemblies. Khairy threatened the Chinese not to take advantage of UMNO at an UMNO assembly. Melaka Chief Minister asks the Chinese and Indians to balik kampong because BN does not need them to win elections. These few politicians may not be as sleepy as Badawi, but they are radicals, and dangerous to the long term well being of Malaysia. And Badawi failed to reign them in, none of them was even investigated and prosecuted for Sedition.

Badawi promised, but failed to give us our Police Ombudsman, instead proposing a dubious Special Complaints Commission that is just another glorified government department to channel complaints of police abuse and corruption. It is another typical case of UMNO hypocrisy where the judge judges himself, and therefore demonstrates first rate breach of natural justice.

Badawi also promised a dialogue between civilisations to resolve sticky inter-religious conflicts in Malaysia, but at the last minute, he caved in to Islamic pressure within the country.

Badawi further promised to seriously consider an independent media commission which self regulates the mass media, but until today, this civil society initiative too has been met with a stone wall.

3 ½ years is a long time. It is ridiculous to expect the voters to believe that only now, so near to elections, that they are just beginning to implement the much needed reforms. How long does it take until fruition? Another 20 years? Clearly that cannot be the case. This election is a referendum on Badawi administration. In the voters’ assessment and report card, Badawi scores a perfect zero.

To answer the second question

What would the opposition do differently and why support them?

I think the jury is still out there as to what PAS has done for Kelantan. Non-Muslims will find it hard to support occasional patriarchal approach taken by the Kelantanese Government, especially on gender issues and expected dos and don’ts including separate lines in Supermarkets, seats in Cinemas etc…

There may also be questions as to the state of economic development in Kelantan. This is probably the one area that I cannot comment on because I don’t have enough research materials to comment on it either way. PAS should explain about the state of economic progress in Kelantan and be willing to subject it to public scrutiny. But perhaps to put things in perspective, Kelantan is not the poorest state in Malaysia. Sabah, under an UMNO administration, is, despite having rich resources.

PAS took control of Terengganu previously, but in 2004 lost Terengganu. It cannot be denied that the debacle is attributable to the denial of Wang Ehsan. Terengganu is oil rich, but the profits are made by the Federal Government. As a token of appreciation, the Federal Government returns part of the profits to Terengganu for development and administrative purposes. When PAS took over the state government, Mahathir denied them the Wang Ehsan, essentially punishing Terengganu voters. This is one incident whereby voters are basically forced at gunpoint to vote for BN.

As for other states, none of them have ever fell to opposition hands before, except when Gerakan was in opposition in the past, under Lim Chong Eu. Lim Chong Eu brought about unprecedented development to Penang.

What this demonstrates is that regardless of whether the state government is formed by the government or the opposition, they can be run effectively and the economy can flourish if there is GOOD GOVERNANCE. And it is especially true that the economy of any state in Malaysia can flourish even in opposition hands if they don’t have to rely on grants from Federal Government. Terengganu is an odd case, but Penang, Selangor and Sabah are completely self reliant, if not more. There is little net loss to voters in those states if the opposition takes over.

It must be borne in mind that opposition parties do not have taxpayers funds to implement mega projects like BN. Therefore, it is a fallacy to expect them to bring about development even if they win certain constituencies. There is only one role that the opposition is expected to do in any real DEMOCRACY, and that is to have their own programs to help the local community, and to force change in government policy.

If you investigate, you will find that DAP, PKR and PAS have certain local programs. And they are now a potent force to provide checks and balances on the government. Lim Kit Siang has been punching several levels above the weight of DAP in Parliament to bring the concerns of the people into the open. Anwar has been actively campaigning on a platform of justice and fairness for all, and has been the first opposition party to dare to demand for the scrapping of NEP and replace it with merit based system. DAP has come up with creative ideas about buying back highway concessions so that taxpayers do not have to continue to pay to the profits of these companies. DAP has further come up with ideas, in its alternative budget, on how oil money can best be utilised to lift our standards of education, and upgrade the human capital, as the foundation to make our economy more competitive. PKR has further spoken of free tertiary education for all, which will end once and for all the issue of unfair bumiputra quota where even 5A STPM achievers cannot find a place to do medicine.

The opposition parties are not in power. It is not possible for them to implement their proposed agenda without taxpayers funds. What voters need to do is to observe what the opposition parties have been doing for their creditbility. They have been nothing but consistent. DAP and PAS may disagree, but at least they dare to openly agree to disagree and focus on common agenda such as free and fair elections.

We may never know if for instance, Anwar can become a good PM, or Lim Guan Eng can become a good Chief Minister of Penang. But note that if the voters are able to topple an entrenched system that has been around for 50 years, what’s to stop them from bringing down Anwar or Lim Guan Eng come the next elections? And don’t forget that even if somehow, BN is to become opposition, they will likely be a far more formidable opposition compared with the small number of opposition we have today. They will want to pick on all the fault of the party in power because it is their job to do so. There is no incentive then for the current opposition to screw up because once they lose power, with their credibility in tatters, it will be difficult to rebuild that image again, unless all the leaders change.

For these reasons, there is every incentive to support the opposition no matter which party they are from, because clearly, BN is beyond redemption. The rakyat voted in the Badawi government with overwhelming majority back in 2004 because he promised all rounded reforms, denied to the rakyat during Mahathir times. But he has since squandered all the goodwill and political capital because he was busy building a dynasty for his son in law. The rakyat should make it known that there is a price to pay for broken promises.

There is also another reason to vote the opposition. BN does not need 2/3 majority to effectively run this country. Contrary to what BN claims, 2/3 majority in fact makes it easy for BN to abuse its powers, as absolute power corrupts absolutely. With 2/3 majority, BN can amend the Constitution, meaning they could technically turn Malaysia into a Republic by ridding of the institution of rulers, or for that matter, if they think politically expedient, turn Malaysia into an Islamic state, just as Mahathir and Najib have mentioned.

We only need to see how BN has abused the 2/3 majority by increasing the retirement age of Election Commission members, with the sole reason to ensure that the current Election Commission Chairman will favour BN in the coming elections. This Election Chairman has been caught telling the press that only BN can rule this country effectively. As the chairman of an independent commission dedicated to providing a free and fair electoral process, his admitted preference is truly shocking, for how could he now act as an impartial referee in a competition?

WHAT NEXT?

If you are convinced by now that your vote belongs to the opposition to bring about the much needed change that we need and deserve in our beloved country, you should now learn how to vote, and how to help the opposition observe potential electoral fraud. For such knowledge, I encourage you to visit the website of Bersih. Most important, should you decide to vote for the opposition, you must vote overwhelmingly by persuading your family members, neighbours and friends to do so. It is not good enough to have razor thin wins, because BN will still have means to turn the results around either by last minute injection of Postal Votes, or through a compliant Election Court. It would be even better if you could make some donations to the opposition parties as they are virtually going to be buried under BN spending, as well as help as polling agents etc… during the election day itself. And if you find this piece of writing useful, do help spread it around a little.

If you are not yet convinced, I urge you to keep an open mind and go to the internet and browse through articles and commentaries from Malaysia-Today or various blogs belonging to opposition MPs as well as other personalities in opposition. See for yourself that the disparate but vast number of people has the same idea, and that is BN is beyond redemption and they need to be taught a lesson. We must, as a friend of mine said, put the fear of God back in them so that they may serve us, and not to be served by us.

Posted by HIRO at 10:35

Why are the elections being held now?

Malaysia’s snap election

Feb 15th 2008
From the Economist Intelligence Unit ViewsWire


Malaysia’s government is likely, just, to win next month

Following Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s decision to dissolve parliament on February 13th, Malaysia’s Election Commission has called a general election for March 8th. Although Mr Abdullah’s popularity has suffered in recent months amid rising inflation and social discontent, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition hopes to win a new electoral mandate before economic conditions deteriorate and opposition parties manage to forge an effective alliance. This tactic is likely to succeed: the Economist Intelligence Unit expects the BN to retain its two-thirds parliamentary majority, although the coalition is unlikely to trounce the opposition as comprehensively as it did at the last election, in 2004.


Why now?

The BN has called an early election not because its position has strengthened in recent months, but because it fears that its position will weaken further before its current term expires in May 2009. Malaysia’s economic environment remains generally positive, but it is likely to weaken in the months ahead. The government has struggled to keep commodity-led price increases in check, and has been forced to take measures to end an embarrassing shortage of cooking oil. The government also needs to raise fuel prices to cut its unsustainably high fuel-subsidy bill, which is likely to lead to a sharp rise in the consumer price index. In January it also became clear that the US may be heading into a serious slowdown, hitting Malaysian exporters harder than previously expected.


Politically, one incentive for the government to call an election in March is to take advantage of a weak and divided opposion. Although the three main opposition parties—the multi-racial Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the left-wing, predominantly ethnic-Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the conservative Islamic Parti Islam sa-Malaysia (PAS)—showed a united front campaigning for electoral reforms in recent months, talks aimed at hammering out seat-allocation pacts for the election have made slow progress. Another incentive for an early election is to ensure that the BN’s greatest potential adversary, Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, cannot take part. Mr Anwar, who was convicted of corruption in 1998 and released from jail in 2004, is prohibited from standing for political office until April 2008.


The BN is also increasingly worried about rising social discontent. The authorities were surprised late last year by demonstrations in favour of electoral reform and by separate protests, organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), citing discrimination against the country’s ethnic-Indian population. Meanwhile, high-profile political scandals including allegations of judicial corruption and the murder trial of a top aide to the deputy prime minister have contributed to a drop in the government’s approval ratings.


Electoral calculations
On March 8th the BN is likely to score another decisive electoral victory. But the ruling coalition is unlikely to achieve a landslide as spectacular as in 2004, when it won 198 out of the total of 219 parliamentary seats. This year, 222 are seats are up for grabs, so the BN only needs to win 149 seats to secure a two-thirds majority in the next parliament. We expect the BN to lose around 10-20 seats, but it will retain its two-thirds majority even if it loses 50 seats.


The most crucial aspect of the election will be how ethnic Malays vote and how many of them support opposition parties rather than the United Malays National Organisation, the largest component of the BN coalition. Although Malays make up 60% of the population, they account for over 80% of registered voters in some parliamentary constituencies. Pro-Malay gerrymandering also magnifies their electoral influence. In the 2004 election, the BN won less than 65% of the popular vote but captured 90% of parliamentary seats, including nearly all the seats in eight of the country’s 16 states and federal territories. If voters in these states vote the same way next month, the BN will be guaranteed more than half of the seats in the next parliament even before the results from the rest of the country are taken into account.


The extent to which the BN can retain its parliamentary dominance will also depend on its ability to drum up the support of Malaysia’s ethnic-minority communities. This support has been diminished by fears of marginalisation and creeping Islamisation. Regaining the traditional support of the ethnic-Indian community is a high priority. The government was shocked by the dissatisfaction among the Indian population that erupted into the open on November 25th 2007, when some 30,000 demonstrators protested in Kuala Lumpur in defiance of police orders. The protest indicated the declining appeal of the main ethnic-Indian party, the Malaysian Indian Congress, which is part of the BN. Without the support of the Indian community, the BN’s hold on marginal constituencies could be at risk–although the recent demonstrations also strengthened support for the BN among conservative Malays, who oppose any change in the government’s pro-Malay policies.

In recent weeks the government has used a mixture of inducements and threats to bolster its support among Indians. Examples of the latter include the detention of Hindraf members thought to be the organisers of the demonstration in November, who may be held without trial for two years under the Internal Security Act. The police have also opened investigations into Hindraf’s funding activities and a possible link with terrorist activities. At the same time, however, the government has tried to appear openly concerned about the problems facing ethnic Indians. Mr Abdullah has pledged to combat poverty, while in January another top official promised that the government would ignore gender, colour and creed when recruiting civil servants. This implies a radical, if unlikely, change from the current policy of favouring Malays.


The opposition parties’ chances of winning more seats in the next parliament will depend on their willingness to unite. Since his release from prison in 2004, Mr Anwar has failed to bridge the ideological divide between the DAP and PAS. (The two parties fell out in 2001 because PAS refused to renounce its intention of imposing Islamic law.) However, following a political rally in November 2007 organised by Bersih, an umbrella group of political parties and lobby groups campaigning for electoral reforms, the opposition has begun to show signs of greater cohesion. Extensive Internet coverage of the Bersih demonstration has helped to raise the profile of the opposition parties, which have limited access to other media. With no time to lose, Mr Anwar will now try to solidify a strategic political alliance between his party, the PKR, and other opposition parties.


After the election

Assuming that the BN wins another parliamentary majority, what will be the policy focus of the next government? Despite the rise in discontent among Malaysia’s ethnic minorities, social policy will continue to favour ethnic Malays. This, along with the growing trend of referring court cases relating to Islam to sharia courts, is likely to fuel concerns about creeping Islamisation, which in turn could spark more protests and demonstrations by Hindraf or Chinese activists.


On the economic front, an electoral victory would enable the BN to implement a much-needed hike in fuel prices and in electricity and gas tariffs. The government might also sanction another increase in civil-servant pay to boost consumption and hence partially offset weakness in the external sector—although the pay rises would fall far short of the 7-35% awarded in 2007. Finally, the new government will focus its attention on attracting investment into regional hubs, and will start drafting the next five-year plan, the Tenth Malaysia Plan (2011-15).

Tribute to Athi Nahappan and Janaki

A short write up of the Athi Nahappan family. Indians must be proud of them. It is worth while remembering that Tan Sri Nahappan was the last second MIC minister in the cabinet. Thereafter Samy Vellu manoeuvred his way not to appoint a second leader. After that there was only one sheep that led the flock of other bleating sheep who sometimes forget even to bleat and that they are sheep and not goats.

Tribute to Athi Nahappan and Janaki

(Media Conference Statement welcoming Ishwar Nahappan as the latest member for DAP in Penang on Sunday 10.2.08)

Let me introduce Ishwar Nahappan, who has taken the momentous step to join the DAP.

But let me say a few words about his parents, TAN SRI and PUAN SRI ATHI NAHAPPAN who were instrumental in the formation of the MIC and who independently contributed much to our country.

Athi Nahappan has an honoured and unblemished name in the annals of Malaysian history, and among his most famous contributions to Malaysia is the report bearing his name, the Athi Nahappan Report on Local Government where he called for restoration of local government elections.

In 1974 , Athi Nahappan , who was then the deputy president of MIC , was appointed deputy minister for law by TUN Abdul Razak (the father of Dato Najib Razak). In March 1976 TUN Hussein Onn (the father of DATO Hisamuddin ) appointed Dato Nahappan as the second cabinet minister representing the MIC - Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of law and justice portfolios.

Tragically , just two months after his appointment as full minister , DATO Athi Nahappan died of a sudden heart attack while he was personally addressing a dinner gathering held in his honor by over a 1000 MIC members and other leading Malaysian Indians from all over the country.

Athi Nahappan was a totally self made man who came to Penang at the age of 9, alone with his father, not knowing a word of English or Malay.

He studied at the Bukit Mertajam High School where he was an outstanding scholar . With the advent of the war he worked as a Tamil Journalist for various publications and in 1947 at the age of 22 , he became the youngest ever editor of the Tamil Nesan , a newspaper which was purchased by DATIN Indrani Samyvellu some years ago ( and now functions as the unofficial organ of the MIC ).

In addition to his exactly 30 years of close association with the MIC, Tan Sri Nahappan had a very successful, legal and an illustrious governmental and political career . It was a different era when there was some level of meritocracy in this country and the best were selected to get the job done.

• He was Malaysia's observer and representative to the UN's Cobbold mission enquiry on admitting Sabah as part of Malaysia.

• He represented Malaysia with Tun Ismail to the United Nations.

• He was Chairman of the Rent control tribunal of Malaya . This tribunal was very important to the early development of KL and our cities as many properties were rent controlled .

• He was a Member of the Federal Capital advisory board .

• He was Chairman of Pemadam.

• He was largely responsible for driving through various pieces of law reform legislation, including the non muslim law reform (marriage and divorce Act 1976 ).

• He was Chairman of the Royal Commission of enquiry into the workings of local government in Malaysia . This report which became eponymously known as the " Athi Nahappan Report " was a 2 feet high 4 voulme report and is regarded as one of the most comprehensive and erudite reports ever published by the Govt of Malaysia. It sits in the Harvard library as a basis for how local governments should function.

It is a tragedy that this report has not been accepted by the leadership of this country for fear that the adoption of the recommendation would mean that fundamental democratic rights would be returned to the people .

Athi Nahappan was a gracious and honest politician with great integrity. It was a tremendous loss for the Indian Community that he was only able to serve for two and half years as deputy president of the MIC and minister of this country . The history of the MIC and the deep rooted problems that the Indian Community are now facing would have been undoubtedly different .

Now let me turn to Puan Sri Janaky Athi Nahappan .

Puan Sri Nahappan who was born in Malaysia has had a most colourful and interesting life . At the age of 17 she joined the Indian National Army and rose to the rank of Captain and Second in Command of the Rhani of Jhansi Regiment , the only woman's regiment in the INA. She fought the British on the Burma India border. In 1945 while retreating by foot from Mandalay to Bangkok the INA including the Rhani regiment was heavily bombed by the American Air Force.

After the war , she together with other INA veterans, became founder members of MIC under the leadership of Mr John Thivy . The MIC which was formed in 1946 is the second oldest political party in Malaysia .

Puan Sri has served in various capacities in the MIC . She was Chairperson of the MIC Batu branch , a CWC member and Chairperson of the Wanita MIC . She was also appointed a Senator in the Malaysian parliament representing the MIC.

Apart from her political career , Puan Sri Nahappan was also very active in various social organizations including the Girlguide Association where she was the State Commissioner for Selangor , National Council of Women's Organizations and other Social Welfare Associations.

She has received numerous awards and recognition both nationally and internationally from the King and the former Prime Minister of Malayisa and Lady Baden Powell .

She is the first woman of Indian Origin outside India to be awarded one of India's highest title ie Padma Shri by the President of India for her social welfare services and to the Indian National Army .

We would now like to welcome the son of these two great Malaysian Indians as a member of the DAP . A few words about Ishwar Nahappan.

Ishwar, like his father , is also a lawyer by profession. After qualifying as a lawyer Ishwar worked as an investment banker in London for some years before being transferred back to Malaysia a few months before his
father died. He continued to worked in KL as a banker with Standard Chartered Merchant bank and the Bank of America.

In 1980 he was called to the Malaysian Bar and successfully built up a practice specializing in Corporate, financial and banking work . In 1985 with the help of financial institutions Ishwar acquired control of a company listed on the London Stock Exchange and became Executive Chairman of the Company. This company had operations in UK , Malaysia , India , Singapore , Hongkong and Australia . In 1995 Mr. Nahappan sold his interests in the company. He was Chairman of 2 other public companies , in India and Singapore.

Since then he has been managing a Private Investment company based in Singapore . Ishwar is married with 4 children . His interests include Asean and Indian History, Malaysian Politics and Contemporary Asian Art .

http://aarvidi. wordpress. com/2008/ 02/10/illustriou s-indians/

Media Statement by Ishwar Nahappan on joining the DAP in Penang on Sunday, 10th February 2008
Posted by Raja Petra
Sunday, 10 February 2008

My father, Tan Sri Athi Nahappan died, 32 years ago. On April 4th 1976, one month before he died, he made a speech at a dinner in his honour by the Penang State MIC at Wisma Perseketuan.

Let me read you a paragraph from his speech.

(Quote) "The Government is now concerned with the eradication of poverty of all the races. This will be emphasized in our 3rd Malaysia Plan.

Poverty is to be found in every community. In solving poverty we should not think of Malay poverty, Chinese poverty or Indian poverty. There can only be one poverty and that is NATIONAL POVERTY which must be solved regardless of race. I am aware that the Prime Minister (Tun Hussein Onn) is determined to eliminate the poverty of the nation as a whole. The answer to poverty is the equal distribution of opportunities, income and wealth. The MIC is determined to work with the govt to ensure that this will happen." (End of Quote)

A few weeks ago Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said (Quote) "There are not just poor Indians, but also poor Chinese, Malays and other Bumiputras as well. This is why eradicating poverty among Malaysians, and I stress the word Malaysians, has been on our agenda and remains one of our priorities." (End of quote)
Ladies and gentleman, what Prime Minister Badawi said was first mentioned by my father 32 years ago. Obviously, nothing has changed and the Barisan government continues to make empty promises.

Events of recent months have clearly shown that the MIC leadership has dismally failed in their duty to ensure that the Indian community has had equal opportunities or equal distribution of wealth and income as outlined by my father in 1976. In fact, the MIC has totally neglected to address the desperate conditions faced by large sections of the Malaysian Indian community. This transcends every facet of human life and endeavor.

Whether it is in EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, HOUSING, CORPORATE WEALTH or simply EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES, the Indian Community as a whole has fallen behind and missed out these last 28 years. Let me give you some facts.

* There are less than 3-4% Indians studying in the Govt Universities.

* Indians comprise less than 1% of those who were given the opportunity to study Nursing in the various Government Nursing Colleges .

* Malaysian Indians have, over a fifteen year period, comprised less than 2.5% of the annual student intake of teacher training colleges.

* Malaysian Indians have received less than 1% of all scholarships awarded by Govt and Govt-related bodies .

* Less than 1% of those training as officer cadets in Military Colleges are Indians.

* For the last 15 years, Indians have numbered less than 2% annually of those who underwent training as police officers.

* The situation in the Malaysian Civil Service is even more grim and appalling. One can walk into any Govt department and you will be hard pressed to find an Indian or Chinese in the clerical and administrative sections. For example, in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in KL, out of 400 staff, there are only 2 Indians and 3 Chinese.

* The KTM , which was a traditional source of employment for the Indian Community , is recruiting less than 3% Indians on an annual basis.

* As of 6th Feb'08 , the total market capitalization of the KLCI was 764 Bln ringgit. I estimate the Malaysian Indian Community accounts for less than 1% of the listed Corporate wealth of the country .

In 1971, three foreign Indian banks then operating in Malaysia prior to Independence were merged as the United Asian Bank. A signatory to the merger documents was my late father. In 1973 the United Asian Bank started operations, with one of its management objectives, to provide capital and financial support to Indian entrepreneurial development . Another objective was to provide management training for Malaysian Indians. As a matter of interest, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was one of the bank's earliest management trainees.

Like many Malaysian banks during the 1980's , UAB got into problems from which it largely recovered . However, unlike the other banks, UAB was forced to merge with the Bank of Commerce in the early 90s.
There lies another story —– THE UNSEEN HAND OF DAIM.

Another Malaysia Indian based bank at that time was Bank Buruh. That bank, too, was also forced to merge with Bank Simpanan Nasional. Malaysian Indians effectively lost the only 2 banks that they had control of. When approached by many members of the community to prevent this happening, including a special delegation, Dato Samy Vellu , the purported leader of the Indian Community, responded " MY HANDS ARE TIED . THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ".

As a result, the Indian Community as a whole have been without the support of an Indian based Financial Institution . Now we are informed that Dato Vel Pari the Managing Director of MAIKA Holdings and SAMY VELLU's son is selling off the only remaining financial institution which the community at least has some indirect interest. That is United Oriental Assurance.

The MIC and the Govt originally refused to admit and maintained a state of denial about the genuine issues raised by Hindraf. Now that the elections are about to be announced and the Govt , in particular the PM and DPM , have softened their positions and typically distributing their token largesse, including declaring a public holiday for Thaipusam. Prime Minister, we do not want a public holiday. What we want is jobs and equal opportunities. Malaysia has enough public holidays.
Even the great Samy Vellu now admits he needs to change the MP's and the faces of MIC . The deputy PM has even gone on to suggest that the MIC rebrand itself . Dear Dato Samy Velu, can I suggest that a more appropriate brand for the Malaysian Indian Congress be "The Malaysian Indian Conmen"?

In the early 1970's when I was a student in London , Samy Vellu advised me, in a taxi drive from London Heathrow airport, the subject matter being a watch and his application to the ARIBA . I will hold that discussion in confidence but I would now like to advise him that YOU CAN CON SOME OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME BUT YOU CANNOT CON ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME . In the eyes of many, he has single handedly been responsible for the current plight of the Indian Community than any other person but even more insidious than that , he has largely destroyed their self respect and pride.

Whilst over the past 30 years, the Indian diaspora all over the world has progressed and excelled in all aspects of human endeavour , the Indian community as a whole has regressed and is today in a worse state than it has ever been.

SHAME ON YOU SAMY VELLU …… SHAME ON YOU MIC!

I have not taken the decision to support the DAP and Keadilan lightly . Prior to the elections in 1999 , totally disgusted with Dr Mahathir and everything he represented, I met Datin Sri Wan Azizah Ismail as well as Kit Siang and offered my support to both of them. At that time I was not prepared to openly support either party . However, I went on to spend some time with Kit Siang in the run up to polling day in Penang . I also spent a little time with Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj who stood against Samy Vellu . It was a David vs Goliath match. I leave you no guesses as to who Goliath was both in shape and mentality but unfortunately unlike the biblical story, David was beaten by Goliath.

In the general election of 2004, like dead men clutching at straws , so many of us put our trust in Pak Lah hoping and praying that with the departure of the dreaded Mahathir , Pak Lah would bring some fundamental change to the state of the nation and I did not offer any support to either Keadilan or DAP.

Alas, this was not to be as we have merely exchanged a wolf in sheep's clothing for a sheep in sheep's clothing, and the wool continues to be pulled over our eyes. And nothing has changed or will change with the current leadership as these failed policies will continue in different clothing. Symptoms of these failed policies include ……

1. The Evil of Corruption:
The same endemic corruption that started and flourished with the advent of the Mahathir and Daim eras continues unabated with a life of its own and always with subsequent cover ups. We have the 6.75 Bln Ringgit naval boat fiasco unearthed by none other than the auditor general and the 4.60 Bln Ringgit Port Klang free Zone Ghost town.

2. The Evil ISA:
The continuance of this evil draconian act which was used by the British over 50 years ago against communist terrorists has been viciously brought to bear on 5 innocent men who have merely identified the plight of ordinary Malaysian Citizens.

3. The Evil Police Brutality:
The recent demonstrations by 2000 peaceful lawyers defending fundamental democratic rights and the constitution was met with such ferocity by the police, with overhead helicopters and water cannons being used against them. Innocent Hindraf supporters were sprayed with chemical laced water. In this room we have a living example of police brutality. Memories are so short but it was Dato Anwar Ibrahim who was beaten up brutally by the IGP, who directly reported to Mahathir as Home Minister, who if we remember, tried initially to claim that the injuries were self-inflicted.

4. The Evil of Violence:
Pak Lah promised that the Barisan Nasional will improve the level of personal safety of every individual and it would enhance the efficiency of the police force. Individual Security has deteriorated to such a level that ordinary citizens fear to walk the streets alone even during midday or go into carparks of shopping centres. Till today the police have failed miserably in apprehending the perpetrators of the vicious sodomy and murder of a 9-year-old girl in Selayang, nor the murderer of 8-year-old Nurin Jazlin from Kampng Bahru . Without proper employment opportunities, low self esteem Indian thugs roam the streets and it was just 4 weeks ago that an Indian lady with 2 young children had her neck decapitated for her gold necklace in Taman Sentosa near Klang. In Johor Bahru, the sister of a well known Singaporean author died as a result of her head being bashed in by armed robbers while bystanders were unable to do anything. Crimes like this are becoming so rampant that neighbourhood vigilante groups are growing. And according to the Prime Minister, quote "The current police training academy cannot accommodate a surge in trainees, more centres need to be built first. The ratio of police to the population ideally should be 1:250 people but, in Subang, for example, the ratio is 1:3,000." (End of quote)
This is clearly a complete lack of planning. If the Prime Minister, who is also the Home Minister is not sleeping, who is?

5. The Evil of Communalism :
Communalism continues to be perpetrated by keris-wielding Barisan leaders who, bankrupt of real ideas or solutions, continue to play politics of the lowest order. MCA leaders are told to shut up, and they meekly sokong. Families have been devastated by the intrusion by officers to retrieve dead bodies of their kin in the name of religion. Communalism has spread to the very fabric of our schools , our colleges and universities. Even at the Primary school level, children of different races do not mix with each other and stick to their own communities. This is a sad situation and does not bode well for the future of our country.

6. The Evil of Overspending :
We have seen the reintroduction of 150 bln ringgit worth of mega projects. It remains to be seen who will be the ultimate beneficiaries of some of these mega projects but if history is anything to go by, then the spoils will be shared by the Putras of UMNO, MCA and MIC. These mega projects are taking place despite the ordinary man having to face harsh realities of rising prices of fuel , cooking oil , rice and basic subsistence commodities. This evil that is destroying the state of this nation just cannot go on ..

Edmund Burke , a famous 18th Century Irish political commentator said …" ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS THAT ORDINARY MEN DO NOTHING "

I decided to stop being an arm chair politician and do something. I am here today because I believe that our nation is on a slow but steady path to irreversible ruin. Our people, and the children of our people, will not prosper or have the chance to prosper as they rightfully deserve unless we all realize the urgency of the situation, and the necessity of each and everyone of us standing up to say NO MORE!

Thank you.
Link below:

Malaysia Today: Your source of independent news - Media Statement by Ishwar Nahappan on joining the DAP in Penang on Sunday, 10th February 2008

Makkal Sakthi Posters by vasunair69

JOURNALIST WITHOUT ETHICS

Led astray by Hindraf leaders
By : Marc Lourdes

Hindraf protesters and police in a stand-off at Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning.

GIVEN that Malaysia is a country of more than 60 ethnic and sub-ethnic groups, with a people who practise all the great religions of the world, its celebration of 50 years of independence in 2007 is something that we all can be proud of. There have been times when one ethnic group or another has felt marginalised or left out of the economic mainstream; just like today, there are Malaysian Indians who feel disenfranchised.

SO, YOU AGREE THAT THERE ARE ETHNIC GROUPS LEFT OUT AND MARGINALISED?...

But like the other ethnic groups, there are many Indians who have done very well and made it to the top rungs of their profession or in business: like Brickfields' T. Ananda Krishnan, shipping tycoon Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam and the aviation industry's Datuk Tony Fernandes.

DO YOU KNOW THAT ANANDA EARNS 90% OF THE INCOME PER CAPITA OF INDIANS IN MALAYSIA?...


Indians form seven per cent of the population but the number of Indian lawyers and doctors make up almost 20 per cent of the total in the country.

ARE YOU JEALOUS ABOUT THEIR SUCCESS THROUGH THEIR OWN SWEAT AND NOT BY GOVT HELP?...

However, that doesn't detract from the fact that many Indian youth, deprived of job and educational opportunities because of poverty or other reasons, are either unemployable, unemployed or have resorted to crime. Alcoholism and domestic violence are probably highest among the Indians.

YOU AGREE THAT MARGINALISATION AND SIDELINING OF ETHNIC INDIANS LEADS TO SUCH PROBLEM?...

As much as they may want to blame the government for their plight, the community cannot absolve itself of blame.

YOU KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY...

We may all not have done enough but still, no Malaysian, whatever ethnicity, can say that the last 50 years have been one of systematic abuse, ethnic cleansing, prejudice and oppression.

YOUR FINDINGS ARE NOT IMPORTANT WHAT COUNTS IS THE SEARCH...

It may have taken a longer time to solve some problems faced by a particular community; it may have been too little to start with for others.

WHY IT TOOK 50 YEARS IS THE BIG QUESTION NOW?...

But to manipulate a people and convince them that they have been deliberately disenfranchised and marginalised is probably the most abhorrent thing any right-thinking person can do in multiracial, multi-religious Malaysia.

THAT'S PART OF YOUR CLAIM NOT OF THE RAKYAT...

And it is even more abhorrent and abominable if those manipulating the masses are those who have, despite the persecution they claim, received the opportunities that allowed them to become lawyers.

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT?...

The provocateurs of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) would certainly not win any prizes for standing up for the community. If they have done anything at all, it is to manipulate their community, disgrace their country, and tell such vile lies that even the most cynical of Malaysians would never believe.

WHO ARE YOU TO CALL HINDRAF AS PROVOCATEURS?...

Ethnic cleansing of the Indians; systematic killing of Indians by police they claimed. And when that failed, they said they did not rule out violence like in Sri Lanka. And these are the same people who carried photos of Mahatma Gandhi, claiming peaceful disobedience.

BEING MISINFORMED IS YOUR PROBLEM, YOUR UNDERSTANDING IS SHALLOW, YOU KNOWLEDGE IS POOR, IN TOTALITY YOU ARE SHORT SIGHTED...


Had they just focused on the genuine grouses and general unhappiness -- and there are many -- among the poor Malaysian Indians, they would have done a great service.

SINCE WHEN YOU BECAME THE UNOFFICIAL ADVISER TO HINDRAF?

But no. Yesterday, just like the first big rally they organised in November, the Hindraf leaders and organisers showed themselves to be what they really are: making themselves dubious heroes of the community by manipulating innocent people.

DUBIOUS HEROES? ONLY A SICK MAN AND DUBIOUS JOURNALIST LIKE YOU WILL THINK LIKE WISE, THEY BELONG TO HINDRAF AS HEROES...

They claimed they were going to hand over roses to the prime minister but they disobeyed the law and marched.

IF THE HOME MINISTER AND PDRM RESPECTED THE CHILDREN, APPROVED THE PERMIT, PARLIAMENT WOULD HAVE TURNED YELLOW AND RED ROSES GARDEN...BUT THE PM AND PDRM ARE TRYING TO PLAY THE POLITICAL GAME....

They said they would bring children and women to the rally. What really happened? There were no roses, hardly any children.

I THOUGHT YOU ARE SHALLOW MINDED BUT NOW IT SEEMS YOU ARE BLIND...GO READ THE NEWS ABOUT WOMEN AND CHILDREN BRUTALLY ARRESTED BY OUR POLICE, COWARDS...

And the organiser, P. Waytha Moorthy, was in London while the supporters faced off with the police.

HIS STAY OVERSEAS IS NON OF YOUR BUSINESS...

Waytha Moorthy, his brother Uthayakumar and the four other Hindraf leaders now detained under the Internal Security Act, did the same during the November rally.

YOUR STATEMENTS SHOWS THAT YOU ARE LIAR, COMPULSIVE LIAR...

They hid in air-conditioned comfort while thousands marched the streets defying police and taking the brunt of the water cannons and tear gas. They only came out when the protest was almost at its end and tried to claim glory.

IT IS YOU WHO SIT UNDER THE AIR-CON CONNING AND MANIPULATING THE TRUTH UNDER THE COMMAND OF YOUR PAYMASTER, UNETHICAL OF JOURNALISM...

Heroes?


YES, HINDRAF HEROES...

What kind of heroes are they? Instead of uniting the Indians, they further divide them by separating Hindu from non-Hindu Indians. Christian Indians, Muslim Indians, Sikhs, Sindhis, Buddhists -- are they not good enough for the Hindraf leaders?

HINDRAF DOESN'T SEPARATE ANYONE, INSTEAD THE PLATFORM IT STAND TO FIGHT FOR ALL HUMAN KIND IS HINDUISM. READ MORE SO THAT YOU CAN SHARPEN YOUR SKILL...


Have they helped the Indians at all? Even the media in India, to which these Hindraf leaders went running to seek sympathy against their own country, said these leaders had done more damage to the Malaysian Indian cause than help.

INDIAN MEDIA IS NOT LIKE MALAYSIAN MEDIA WHO BEHAVE LIKE SLAVE TO THE RULING PARTY. IN INDIA THEY WRITE WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR. MALAYSIAN MEDIA IS A SHAME TO JOURNALISM...

The fact is that there are 10 members of parliament from the Indian community -- nine from the Malaysian Indian Congress and one from the People's Progressive Party.

ALL TEN ARE CRONIES AND SLAVES OF THE BN, USELESS AND WORTHLESS, THEY HAVE SOLD INDIAN RIGHTS SINCE INDEPENDENCE....

But in none of those parliamentary constituencies do Indian voters represent more than a quarter of the electorate. In fact, in seven of these constituencies, the Indian electorate accounts for only between 11 and 19 per cent of the voters.

EVEN ONE SINGLE VOTE WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE...

In six constituencies, Malays form the majority and in four, the Chinese are slightly higher than the Malays.

So, if Indian votes were the criterion to win, would any Indian be able to be a member of parliament?

YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT POLITICS, INDIANS ARE THE KING MAKERS IN MANY CONSTITUENCIES, GO ASK BN...


But what does Hindraf really want the Indians to do? Vote against all these Indian MPs from the government party, they said, purportedly to enhance the "Indian cause" as espoused in their rally yesterday.

HINDRAF IS NOT VOTING OUT INDIANS BUT TRAITORS OF THE INDIAN COMMUNITY WHO SOLD THE INDIAN RIGHTS...

What if the Chinese decided to place a Chinese candidate in the four Chinese majority seats and Malays in the other six? Which Hindraf supporter would represent the Indians in parliament or government? Stupid.

WHO IS STUPID HERE? YOU OR HINDRAF? THE CHINESE, MALAY, KADASAN OR DUSUN CAN BE PLACED ANYWHERE, HINDRAF WILL NEVER SUPPORT TRAITORS, HINDRAF DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RACE, IT ONLY CARE FOR THEIR RIGHTS BEING PROTECTED BY IT BY A MALAY...STUPID!...

Could such an unlikely scenario take place?

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THIS BOLEH LAND...

Stranger things have happened.

NOTHING STRANGE HAVE HAPPEN, ITS ALL PRE MEDITATED BY BN, WAIT FOR MORE GOODIES FROM HINDRAF, VALGA MAKKAL SAKTHI...