The 'Rewards' for Working Within the System

I really feel sorry for ex-YB Loh Seng Kok. We used to attend the same church for a while. He came across as someone who is humble and approachable. I read that his constituents are generally happy with his service. I also salute him for raising 'sensitive' issues in Parliament (in fact I emailed him to thank him for speaking up for our rights and he responded promptly to thank me for my support) which incurred the wrath of UMNO Youth and more or less contributed to the end of his political career rather prematurely. Of course there may be other factors at play as reported in theSun today.

So what are the rewards of a BN MP who is not only service oriented but dare to speak up in Parliament? You will not only be dropped but humiliated as well. Zaid Ibrahim is another example.

I was in a coffee shop in Kuchai Lama this evening. Along came the BN candidate for Seputeh Parliament seat and her gang of supporters. She is in her twenties and there were a no. of youths among her team as well. I'm sure some of them are sincere in serving the people. Some may join politics as a stepping stone to wealth and riches. For those who are sincere I feel sorry for them. In the end they will either be corrupted by the system or be unceremoniously dumped like Loh Seng Kok and Zaid Ibrahim

Sometimes when a system is beyond redemption we should Just Change It!

People of Kelana Jaya, you may question PKR's choice of fielding Loh Gwo-Burne. Please read the People's Parliament where there is more or less a consensus that whatever doubt you may have about this young fella, you should give him the benefit of doubt especially when he has taken a tremendous risk in returning to Malaysia to testify at the Royal Commission. Please ask Lee Hwa Beng whether he is ready to put his political career in jeopardy by speaking up without fear or favour.

Edward Lee for Selangor State Assembly

Met Edward this afternoon after more than 15 years. I knew him when I volunteered for Malaysian Care Day Training Centres. These are centres to equip children with mental disabilities with social skills, vocational skills etc. In short helping them to become independent adults.

Edward used to fetch these children for outings to places like Port Dickson. The children just adored Edward. This is because he has so much love for them.

I lost touch with Edward after I stopped my voluntary work, went back to Ipoh to do my chambering. Didn't really take notice of the Save Gasing Hill campaign, Puchong incinerator controversy or the MPBJ billboards fiasco where Edward was actively involved. Even when I saw his picture as the candidate for Bukit Gasing State seat, it didn't cross my mind that it was the Edward I knew. Not until I read his resume. 15 years have added a lot of white hairs to his head. But it didn't diminish his love for those people with mental disabilities. He shared with me that he still keep in touch with some of the students and would take them out every now and then.

Yes, as Zorro says 'Edward is really God sent to the people of Bukit Gasing'

I envy the folks of Bukit Gasing for having such a candidate as Edward Lee, someone whose track record in the public arena is impeccable as well as someone who is full of compassion for those who often cannot speak for themselves.

Edward Lee - The next State Assemblyman for Bukit Gasing. Amen

For more of his track record click here.

For his manifesto click here

Tony Pua for Parliament!

Tony Pua is the DAP candidate for PJ Utara Parliament seat. I'm not a voter of PJ Utara but I'm trying to help him to get into Parliament in whatever ways I can. Becoming a polling agent, raising some funds among my friends and colleagues, sharing with friends I know who will be voting in PJ Utara etc. Why do I choose to support him?

Just came back from a ceramah where I heard him speak. It was the second time I've heard him speak. The first was in a private gathering in a home where he spoke on the economy in particular inflation. Tonight he introduced himself for the first time to the voters in PJ sharing a bit of his background.

He came from a not well to do family where his father was a poultry farmer and mother a housewife. He managed to get an ASEAN scholarship after Primary Six to study in one of the best schools in Singapore. From there he obtained a scholarship from MTC to study Philosophy, Politics & Economics in Oxford. He didn't want to work for a cigarette company after graduation and providentially MTC allow him to break his bond. Worked as an IT consultant and later formed his own company and got it listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Sold his company and enter into full time politics early 2007.

He was asked many times why is he so stupid to gave up all and enter into politics with an Opposition party where there is no money to be made. He admitted that by selling his company, it has ensured that his family has been taken care of financially. But he certainly can go on and make more money. But he decided that sum of the good he can bring to the people by becoming their representative will be much more than the good that he can bring to himself by earning more money. (speaking very much like an economist)

Tony is an example to all of us in putting the interest of others above our own interest. That is why I support him.

He is also an example to those of us who are thinking of migrating to greener pastures. His message to me was this beautiful country which we call Malaysia is worth staying back and fighting for. The non Bumi community in particular the Chinese paid a huge social price because of the NEP. Many old folks are left behind. The young ones choose to stay back in overseas after their studies. Sometimes this is through tacit encouragement of their parents. Little ones growing up without really knowing their grandpa and grandma and their relatives. This spells the demise of the extended family.

It's time to reclaim our country from plunderers of the wealth of this nation. Vote for change!

For more of what Tony and his team can do for PJ folks please click here

The 4th PM and the Dismantling of the Malaysian Judiciary

No one has done as much damage to our country politically, socially and economically as our 4th PM. The sin of the Badawi administration is to perpetuate the 4th PM disastrous policies.

What has happened so far in the Royal Commission of Inquiry over the Lingam’s tape confirmed our worst fear that we no longer has a Judiciary that administers and dispenses justice but one that can be bought by the highest bidder. The Judiciary is one institution that our 4th PM has destroyed and may never be rebuilt. Can we still be considered a functional state with a dysfunctional Judiciary?

Recently I read the account of the last days of Tun Suffian written by Tunku Sofiah Jewa (Buang, Salleh., In Service of the Law, Simplicity & Greatness, Tun Suffian's Legacy (2007), pp. 339-342). It seems that in his dying days Tun Suffian has forgiven our 4th PM and put the blame for the 1988 Judicial Crisis squarely on the then Attorney General. The reason was the AG being the Legal Advisor of the Govt did not discharge his duty in advising our 4th PM on the matter. Much as I respect Tun Suffian as a person and judge with integrity, I find it naïve of him to think that our 4th PM was prepare to listen to advice of anybody that is contrary to his wishes?

Although pre-1988, we have a Judiciary that was generally clean and independent, it has never been one that is a bulwark against the encroachment of the Executive on the fundamental liberties of the people. ( See Karam Singh v Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Malaysia [1969] 2 MLJ 129). It has also been slow in protecting the Constitution against an Executive controlled Legislature from destroying or changing the basic structure of the Constitution. ( See Phang Chin Hock v PP [1980] 1 MLJ 70). Tun Suffian was involved in both the cases. In fact in Phang Chin Hock, Tun Suffian said, 'Parliament may amend the Constitution in any way they think fit, provided they comply with all conditions precedent and subsequent regrading the manner and form prescribed by the Constitution itself. This would mean that fundamental liberties may be amended in any way, even to the extent of the total removal of any fundamental liberty (emphasis author) ( See A Critical Evaluation of Constitutional Protection of Fundamental Liberties: The Basic Structure Doctrine and Constitutional Amendment in Malaysia by Sharon K Chalil [2002] 3 MLJ xii).

The Basic Structure Doctrine essentially states that a constitutional amendment will not be valid if it causes the abrogation of the basic structure of the Constitution. It was held in an Indian Supreme Court case, '...Though the power to amend cannot be narrowly construed and extends to all Articles it is not unlimited so as to include power to abrogate or change the identity of the Constitution or its basic features .....power is not so wide as to include power to abrogate or take away the fundamental freedooms ...'

In light of Phang Chin Hock and without a Judiciary that is independent and willing and able to protect the fundamental liberties of the rakyat, how can the rakyat ever give any ruling party a 2/3 majority in Parliament with the right to amend the Constitution and with it the possibility of removing all the fundamental liberties therein ? To me that's completely suicidal.

Perhaps in their article, ‘The Doctrine of Separation of Powers and the Ghost of Karam Singh’, [2001] 1 MLJ xxi, Abdul Aziz Bari & RH Hickling may have minimized a bit the culpability of our 4th PM by concluding ‘…..perhaps one should admit that what appears to be a trespass of judicial power has been done with the consent of the judiciary itself. Indeed the trend began to take place in the 1960s, when the judiciary was regarded as its best as far as independence was concerned’. Nevertheless, in my opinion it was left to our 4th PM to hammer the final nail into the coffin of Justice.

(The above is my expanded comment to the one I posted on Malik Imtiaz's blog Disquiet on his post 'At Face Vlaue')

The Setting Sun

I was someone who used to feel uneasy in the morning when I didn't get to read the newspaper. TheStar used to be my staple diet in the morning and I would turn to Malaysiakini in the evening to read what I didn't get to read in theStar. I knew theStar was controlled and bias towards certain interests. But still I bought it every morning until maybe half a year back when I only bought it during the weekends. I totally stopped after the the way they portrayed the Bersih rally and later demonised the Hindraf leaders in preparation for their detention under the ISA. The disgust was complete. Of course there have been a few relapses especially during the weekends.

So I turned to theSun and for sometime also bought the Edge Financial Daily to supplement the business news. TheSun was quite refreshing, presenting alternative views, exposing corruption (re Citizen Nades & Terence Fernandez) so much so it incurred the wrath of our Info Minister Zam.

I am also a long time subscriber to the Edge Weekly and Personal Money, the sister publications of theSun. Just recently I sent an email to the Edge Weekly commending them for writing an article affirming the right of citizens to take to the streets in a peaceful manner.

Sadly all these will change and in fact has changed with Vincent Tan, Berjaya now taking control of Nexnews, the company that owns these publications. In fact, in theSun today there was no mention at all of the explosive revelations by VK Lingam's former secretary at the Royal Commission of Inquiry hearing related to the defamation suit by Vincent Tan against MGG Pillai. How Lingam actually wrote the judgment for the judge in the case. Compared that to the NST which made the headline.

Guess for now I'll stick to Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and a few blogs for news. Just received a notice to renew my subscription to the Edge Weekly and Personal Money. Not sure whether want to renew.

Anyway, thank God I've been delivered from my 'morning sickness'. I don't feel uneasy anymore without reading the papers

Shall we be playing the Taps for theSun?

It's not about a word

Pastor Jerry Dusing kept on stating the above during the Kairos forum, 'Religious Liberty Under Threat'. He was not supposed to one of the speakers but was invited to share. Pastor Jerry is the President of SIB Sabah who is suing the Govt for confiscating their Sunday school materials because those materials contained prohibited words e.g. 'Allah'.

He said SIB has no alternative but to take this course of action (suing the Govt), not because of the prohibition of the word 'Allah' to be used by non Muslims, but because to tell the Govt, 'Enough is enough.' We are going to make a stand and we are not going to compromise anymore.

There has been a slow but systematic program of Islamisation in the country which Dr. Ng Kam Weng termed it as the 'Salami Politics of Islamisation in Malaysia'. Slice by slice, bit by bit, this process has crept into the fabric of Malaysian society through the public administration system, education system and now the judicial system. We have protested in the past when we felt threatened by sending memos to the Govt and normally out of 10 points the Govt will back down on 5 points and we will happy and grateful about this. But everytime we concede 5 points, before we realized the Islamisation process will be completed. I know that for years Dr. Ng has been warning the Malaysian church of this phenomenon but his warnings have fallen on deaf ears. In the interest of harmony, the church may have compromised too much.

Pastor Jerry shared that our brothers and sisters in East Malaysia faced an even greater challenge. He highlighted 3 examples where lives have been impacted negatively because of Islamisation.
i) the requirement of having the status of one's religion embedded in the Mykad. Many mistakes have been highlighted in the Press (Dr. Ng's son was made a Muslim without his knowledge!). Anyway, this problem is especially acute in East Malaysia because the term 'bin' or 'binti' which means 'son of' or 'daughter of' are freely used by the non Muslims bumiputera unlike in West Malaysia where they are normally used by Malays only. So the tendency of the data entry clerk to input the wrong religion is very high. Pastor Jerry cited actual cases where people have problems marrying because of their religious status. Christians who are baptised now found that they are Muslims when they want to get married
ii) poor students from the interior are targets of conversions when they stay in hostels in govt schools
iii) Muslim youths marrying the Christian girls and of course when children are born they are automatically become Muslims.

Pastor Jerry said what has happened in East M'sia is no laughing matter. He said this a few times because though Kam Weng was quite serious in laying out the issues that confront the church but as usual we couldn't help laughing over his witty presentation. Kam Weng looked a bit chastened I think but I saw him nodding his head agreeing with Pastor Jerry on what is at stake. The fate and survival of the Malaysian church in face of the onslaught of Islamisation.

The Govt has asked for the postponement of the case for more time to reply to the Plaintiff's submission. The more likely reason is the request was made in view of its sensitivity and the coming election. SIB has no choice but to agree as even if they object, the judge is likely to grant it. However, they managed to bargain for a concession i.e. the books be returned to them and they have got it. The submission made on behalf of SIB can be read here.

We cannot remain submissive anymore. Submission to authorities as mentioned in passages in Romans & 1 Peter, I believe is not absolute. Francis Schaeffer said that the authority is not an autonomous authority but a delegated authority. Hence, if an authority acts contrary to Scripture, then it is the duty of a Christian to resist that authority. Through peaceful and legitimate processes, of course.

Taking the Govt to court is one way. Voting them out is another way.

Let us continue to pray for our SIB brethren who have shown us the way.