Anwars "must do" list.

"Anak Melayu anak saya, anak Cina anak saya, anak India anak saya." (The Malay child is my child, the Chinese child is my child, the Indian child is my child.)-Anwar Ibrahim

Well the above quote was uttered many times right till the last days of the 10 days of intense campaigning for the Permatang Pauh Parliament seat won by the Pakatan Rakyat's coalition candidate Anwar Ibrahim.

Now we the rakyat of " Bangsa Malaysia" are anxiously waiting to see if what was spoken and promised will indeed be converted to reality or just another poiticians lip-service and while I'm on the subject of "promises", I hereby am giving the "PM-in-waiting", Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a " must do" list in order to restore the depleted faith, we, the Bangsa Malaysia rakyat, have in the current government of the day;

1.Abolish ISA
2.Independency of the Judiciary- and I mean absolutely independent
3.Scrap the National Service Programme
4.Revamp the entire Police Force- kick every and any police officer who is found to have abused his/her power.
5.Transparent government departments and government servants- who 's job is to serve the tax-paying rakyat who directly or indirectly pay the servants' wages and not act like they are doing us, the rakyat, a favor !!
6.Find Nini, Asmawi and Nurin's killers
7.Increase and balance the various races intake into universities, government departments and the police and armed forces
8.Review the printing and publication acts, no such thing as yearly approvals for KDN permits
9.Our education system is churning morons out into the streets every year - get real professionals as advisers and not half-baked and self-acclaimed academicians writing the school text books on all subjects
10.Bring back moral studies for ALL in schools from primary to secondary levels and make it compulsory
11.Shut down MCMC
12.Delete the word "bangsa" in all official govermnent and forms
13.Protect and vow to never arrest/harass bloggers
14.Reopen all files of past crimes/abuses committed and let your "independent judiciary" work on them
15.Slap all cheating taxi drivers and revoke their license/permits immediately as they are the scum bags of tourism promotion in this country
16.Sack the election commissioner
17.Sack the IGP
18.Shut down the football association of Malaysia and introduce beach-volleyball "ala Brazil"
19.Kick the arses of all occupants (past and present) invited to zorro's "fart" chamber and my "rogues gallery"
20.Level playing field for all in all sectors both private and public
21.No more bull-shit and flip-flops will be tolerated- kapish ?

And I WILL be watching very closely will a critical eye !

And that folks is my "wish" list and Anwars "MUST DO" list for all Malaysians this Merdeka !

the final countdown !!!

1.15pm-26-8-2008: Word from friends on the ground- Anwar IS indeed on the way to Parliament for sure and it is now only the question of the margin to entertain the rakyat as a little over 50% of the electoral have already come out to vote.

up-dates:11.15 am.
Reports by Gus on his rounds with other friends came many times and from various spots along the way to the polling stations on my hand-phone as Pet, Haris, Bernard and I were positioned at the "blog-centre" at Mahaa Sri Restuarant some miles away from Permatang Pauh. Minor skirmishes and provocations from morons out to create trouble were reported but nothing of grave concern.

up-dates: 10.50am.-from Permatang Pauh.(as observed by Gus on the spot )
The people of Permatang Pauh chose to walk on the BR side of the road rather then the BN side to the polling stations. Also reported was voters checking the electoral roll in the BN side had their ic's photo-stated and were given a "red string" to wear.....hmmmm....I wonder why ??

up-dates: 2:30pm.
Had to head back to Kuala Lumpur....urgent business needs to be attended. So sorry folks you just have to go to zorro or haris to get the latest on-the-spot news.On the way saw at least 7 FRU trucks heading towards Permatang Pauh and 4 military trucks going in the same direction in heavy thunder-storm near Sungei Bakap....and I arrived into Kuala Lumpur around 7:30pm after a couple of stops.

But the general feeling is good.....change is always good !!

latest up-date:10:20pm

Got word from Permatang Pauh that Guan Eng has arrived at Institut Penguruan Tuanku Bainun where the official results will be announced later where thousands of PKR supporters have gathered.A terrific party is immenent and everyone is in high spirits .....nobody is in the mood to cause any trouble as victory parties are for the victors !!

breaking news ! breaking news ! breaking news !

And here's the biggie ! Anwar has won the Permatang Pauh seat by a whopping 15,671 votes !!

So let the show begin ! Cheers !

My day in Permatang Pauh !

Well folks , I drove into Simpang Ampat around 4pm. today after a busy "treasure hunt" weekend in Penang, to meet up with a motley bunch of socio-political bloggers like Pet, Haris , Bernard, Din Merican and Gus Gan who have set-up "blog-base" in the "swankest" hotel in town.....a humble 2 storey and 1 star hotel where a room to stay in, is almost impossible! I even had to throw names at the reception, to secure a much sought-after room for the night !

All the way into town I was side-peeked with suspicious glances by the locals. Probably this was the first time this many "out-siders" both Malaysians and foreign media crews had converged into this sleepy hollow by the hundreds. I did say before ....the world is watching us !

I passed rows and rows of shabby pre-war shophouses which have long been abandoned for reasons only the owners would know. The town probably is experiencing a wave of outsiders making a bee-line to catch the last day of "ceremahs" and to witness history in making !

Politicians, dignitaries, foreign tv crews and supporters from all walks of life dropped by this Mahaa Sri restaurant which is on the ground floor of the hotel and wi-fi friendly where all the heavy-weight bloggers, dressed in very casual and light attire, were busy hunched over their lap-tops up-dating and moderating their blogs and posting events of the day.

I for one would find it hard to come back here for any reason other then to be in the thick of the "mother of all by-elections" !!

Whatever the out-come of the results tomorrow, this town will be remembered for only one thing.....a dreary town which changed a new or again festered a corrupt, government, and I am all for change.

Change is always good !

**updates 2.40am-26-8-2008 (D-Day):

Went to the final "ceramah" with the same motley group around 9.30pm. in a field I swear I would never find on my own in a drizzle. We made our way by foot for the last 500 meters with the sea of people from all walks of life moving in one direction, armed with umbrellas by the hundreds in the drizzle towards an open field surrounded by factories .As usual, Pet was the main attraction and played well to the local crowd that was clapping and cheering when they finally recognised their hero and he as usual obliged everyone with a pose for photographs.

Once inside I was shocked at the size of the turn-out and even the drizzle couldn't dampen their spirits ! It didn't matter if I reported that there were 30 thousand or 3 thousand people.

And of course hovering above in the sky was the ever present "eye in the sky" searching with spot-lights on, for the sight of the "ceramah".....guess this time they missed the venue by a mile because of the gloomy weather coupled with the darkness of night ! About 25 journos both local and foreign had set up their equipment early and filming everything in sight, and interviewing people at random in the drizzle.

One by one the speakers from the current "opposition" coalition spoke, from Jeff Ooi to Azmin to Zaharin to Wan Azizah to Husam Musa to Guan Eng to his daddy Kit and each sentence uttered, being greeted with loud thunderous clapping and cheering and chanting ! It was magic to see those faces of simple yet anticipating locals, wet yet undeterred to leave to the more comfortable safety of their homes, mesmerised by the sight and voices of their heroes !

The wet night air was filled with hope and amid the muddy field lay the reason to this nights affair.....Anwar, the man who they hope to send to parliament and lead them out of the messy and corrupt situation they have endured for the past 50 years or so!

I left the venue around 11.50pm with a runny nose and cloths soaked to the skin but with the hope of a brand new day when the sun rises in the morning.....and the begining to an end.

People of Permatang Pauh hold the answer to that hope.......the rest of us will just have to pray !

Good night Malaysian where ever you are !

jottings of a young mind- Andrea Bakhita !

Today we read in the Malay Mail how our beloved Prime Minister takes to task our commuter trains....maybe he should have read these postings of a 14 year old, months and months ago, who had on numerous times high-lighted the deplorable state of our commuter services.

Right from smelly passengers ( she literally has to press her pretty nose up the smelly armpits of taller "dozing" passengers hanging on the straps of moving trains and also because of her pint-size !!.... and in trains packed like sardines too !) to observing the malaysian commuters' train boarding etiquette to safety in the stations.

So simply go here and here and here and even here and read the jottings of a young mind........the future of this country and a damn responsible blogger.

My oh...my, this young lady has really been pissed-off for so long and only now the good PM is addressing the situation !.......hmmmm....take your time Pak Lah.... take your time !

of 2nd. class citizens and such !

While all eyes are focused on the Permatang Pauh by-election, elsewhere a despicable act of torture takes place....only that the victim in question is 9 years and 10 months old and the perpetrators are our custodians of the law ( men-in-blue) and in the sanctity of a police station too !

......the 9 years and 10 months old was handcuffed to his back and police choked him, hung him upside down during interrogation.

Logeswaran was also threatened and terrorised with a parang and a gun held by policemen if he did not admit stealing the teacher's belongings. His legs were also bound and had his head banged against the wall, resulting in large swell on the back of his head.

He also alleged police attempted to burn his private parts with a lighted plastic covering but his son managed to wriggle away and the burning plastic drippings burned his right foot.....(full story here)

There you have it folks, another case of absolute abuse of power and thuggery by our men in blue against an infant !! What more can I say about our enforcers and up-holders of the law??

Will Mr.IGP care to comment on this , sir ? Or will there be another special squad formed to look into these allegations before an "inquiry" is held and in the meantime these "monsters-in-blue" who dare pick on innocents are free to intimidate the victim and his family ?? Would the perpetrators (read police) be charged for extreme child abuse and trauma ? And why must the parents get a police request (Borong 59) before a doctor in a government hospital can examine the victim ? For crying out loud it was the police themselves who are the perpetrators, so how now ??

IT is indeed sad to be a 2nd. class citizen and in the lower social strata of civil society !
Shit happens !...curiously though, only The Sun paper carried this story, hmmmmm !

**The Penal Code under Section 82 states: "Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under 10 years of age." Logeswaran is only nine years and 10 months old.

For the love of my King and country !

Have you read this article on Haris Ibrahim's blog ? If you have not , go on read it, absorb it thoroughly and presented both in bahasa or in english and do the responsible thing as a citizen and a member of our waning civil society !

Signatures to the petition to His Majesty to intervene in the matter of further appointments of judges to the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, as at 1.45pm today(14-8-2008), stands at 5,503. If you have not as yet signed the petition, you may access the same HERE.

As for me ....yes, people, I've done my part for my country ! What about you ?
Godbless my King and country ! Daulat Tuanku !

Protest...protest...protest !

Well.... another protest was held today in front of the Bar Council building here in Kuala Lumpur at 9 am. where a "Conversion to Islam" forum organised by the Malaysian Bar Council was disrupted and cut short at 10 am. by the timely intervention of the police fearing rising religious tension by the angry mob on the verge of storming the building ( here )

Midway through the forum, Bar Council president Datuk S Ambiga took to the stage and told those present that the police had advised them to wrap up the forum by 10am.

Yes the protesters have a valid right to "agree to disagree" and gather outside and protest but would it not have been of the Bar Council's better judgement to have had invited the leaders or representatives of those in disagreement to sit-in and engage in a healthy discussion rather then stopping a forum. Why do the people in power always warn of stirring race/religious tensions even before anyone is allowed to form his or her own opinion ?

Similarly any other protest by anyone else would have had the wrath of our ferocious and brute police force up in arms with water-cannons coupled with numerous road-blocks and deemed illegal for not having a permit. But when it comes to religion we, I mean all Malaysians, irrespective of religion, have this nagging feeling of suspiciously "eye-balling" each another. Why ? Should we not be strengthened by our knowledge in our respective religion to be steadfast in our beliefs ?

What irks me is, when are we ever going to discuss anything in a matured fashion about any subject without having to fear a protest ? Are we Malaysians so shallow, as to be so insecured of our faith wavering ? No I'm sure not ! Whatever their reason is, I truly and fully support the groups' right to protest peacefully even if I don't agree to the cause. We have to be matured about everything and to embrace and engage in discussion with each other on every issue and not just of selected issues only.

For God's sake, this is the 21st. gregorian century !
Hidup bangsa Malaysia !

In solidarity with BAKAQ !

* courtesy of mob1900 & zorro

so this is Malaysia...part II

This is what has become of our country....and this was reported in a foreign paper ! ( The Times of India (via courtesy of MyCen News) and for comparison reporting read The Star )...I told you before, the world is watching the circus in Malaysia ! Just curious what our ex-leader of this community, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu has to say !......the silence is deafening..... "speak up, Datuk Seri....I can't hear you !" Simply shocking, despicable and incorrigible(.....you are allowed to add more adjectives !) And so..... this is the product of the "ketuanan" system ! KULA LUMPUR: About 500 angry ethic-Indians on Monday staged a protest outside a school demanding action against a teacher who allegedly hurled racial slurs against students from the community in western Malaysia's Selangor state. According to the police report, a woman history teacher had allegedly called Indian students in a Class four and five 'Negro', 'black monkeys' and other derogatory names. The crowd began gathering outside the Banting school's main entrance near here at noon and staged a protest for two hours. The teacher had also allegedly said that the community members were stupid and prone to thievery, the Star daily reported on its website. The alleged incidents took place on July 17 and 22 when the teacher had allegedly beaten up some Indians students. A students also alleged in his report that the teacher had written the word 'keling pariah' on the board and lost her cool when the Indian students told her that they did not like being called names, it said. Coalition of Malaysian Indian NGOs secretary Gunaraj George, who was among the protesters, said such abuse would only breed hatred and racial polarisation in schools. "No one in his or her right frame of mind would have said these things. Given this, the best option would be for the teacher to be assigned to a desk job and not be allowed to be near youngsters anymore," he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong said the schoolteacher might be sacked if the allegations proved true. "The allegations were serious as no one was allowed to insult others, especially in a school environment," said Wee, who was asked to comment. The ministry was awaiting an official report before taking any action, he added.

don't play the fiddle as Malaysia burns, Mr. PM !

It seems a tad too late to implement election manifesto or promises made 4 years ago, Pak Lah, much, much too late now to right the wrongs for being deaf and blind to the cries of the ordinary peoples otherwise also known as Malaysians !!( read here for the full text )

Where you too busy taking care of the family, Mr. Prime Minister ? Why ? Didn't you notice the glaring absence of other races in your service ? Why suddenly only now you admit the civil service was dominated by a single race and you want to increase non-Malay participation in the civil services, and in your own words "to reflect the true racial composition of the nation" ? Where we, the non-Malays, did not count as Malaysians ? Has our very existence been "forfeited as a non-entity" in your eyes all along, before now ?

If you had thought of all the people, irrespective of color, faith or cultures as the peoples who rooted for you and voted you in as the Prime Minister, you would not have to go back in time to try and fulfill those manifesto NOW for your future, right ?

I do not hate you Mr. Prime Minister, no sir, that is not what I was taught both in school back in the 60's and 70's and in my "civil-service oriented" family too, and this is the exact and simple principle I teach my 11 year old daughter today- to first treat everyone as humans, never to judge anyone and all are equal before God and the word "hate" is a dirty word !

No, sir, I am not judging you.....in fact I like you very much, you were my first choice to lead this country, or so I decided then, after 22 years of the Tun..... and I am really sad to admit and confess I made a wrong choice. BUT now you are back, saying things you should have implemented 4 years ago ! Why are you confusing my conscience again ? Dare I hope to trust you this time ? Do you get good and sincere advise from the people around you ?

Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to walk alone in the streets today ? The very sound of a motor-cycle approaching me from behind gives me the shivers, Mr. PM, because I've been robbed by "parang" yielding scum-bags before...and your police were never around but can be seen by the hundreds at peaceful rallies for no apparent reason, why ? Or at dark road corners, not to protect the citizens but to harass the citizens by finding trivial excuses to collect bribes, do you know that ? And my house too was broke-in once !

You have single-handedly raised the prices, for the umpteen time, of everything that we, your ordinary citizens, need to just sustain our life daily. And suddenly now you want to review and lower the price of oil ? That is good ! But what has prompted you to do so, so suddenly ? Is it the fear of further losing your peoples confidence ? Why this flip-flop decisions now ? Can you be decisive in your imposition of "ideas" as to how to make your citizens happy, without first screwing-it up ??

And these are only just a few of the numerous other scandals and "short-comings" in your administration, Pak Lah....and I could go on and on.... !

Don't do a Nero on us, Mr. Prime Minister, please !

My family and I wish you the best, sir....if you can truly not just "think" Malay BUT walk and talk as a Malaysian for all Malaysians !

Godbless !