Citizenly rantings.

Greece. The eurozone crisis. World economics. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The latest in the Arab Spring. The junta in Myanmar. World politics. How secure is Android against hackers now? The Holocaust. The Inca Empire and its downfall. The Boston Tea Party. Vietnam, Cambodia. All of world history. Theology of the Body. More on the Hagia Sopia, Allhambra, Angel Falls, Stonehenge, the Yellow River, the moai. (Real) Malayan history. Gila monsters, Jesus Christ lizards, red-eyed tree frogs, flap-necked chameleons, salamanders, sloths (these creatures are incredible). The state of migrants and refugees in Malaysia. Leptospirosis, osteoporosis. Winston Churchill. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky. Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, more Robert Frost, Mark Twain. Hamlet, Julius Caesar! And brands. Dorothy Perkins, Ducati, the history of them all.

That isn't even near half the list. Oh, SPM. Just come and go already so I can begin to fill my brain with knowledge that actually counts instead of "moral values" and intergration of graphs that I will never apply.

But I am studying Sejarah. This will totally come in handy one day in not making me look stupid like: A law minister who doesn't know the law
A law degree?! Someone please send Nazri Abdul Aziz back to FORM 5. Sejarah Tingkatan Lima, m/s 163 clearly states "semua jenis undang-undang yang bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan Malaysia adalah tidak sah." It does not take a genius to figure that since the court has ruled Section 15(5) of the UUCA as 'unconstitutional', the act is totally invalid now.

Lesson of the day: do not take your high school education lightly else you want to end up looking the fool like this de facto law minister. Not even if it's a Sejarah syllabus you don't completely believe in.

Enough of this.

Way to go!
by Raya Petra Kamaruddin

Sometimes I wonder whether Hitler could have been right after all. He took action against gays and Jews and so do we. He dreamed of a national car and so do we. He wanted the tallest, biggest, longest, etc. building to be erected in Germany and so do we. He believed in Ketuanan German and so do we -- Ketuanan Melayu. Nazi Germany and Malaysia are almost like carbon copies.
Comment written by malsia1206, November 04, 2011 19:07:33
Maybe, maybe not. There are 2 glaring differences. Hitler sports a moustache. Not Mamak. And Hitler never utter "apa nama" during his time.
And look at Germany after 50 years of devastation since WWII. Compare with Malaysia after 50 years of "Merdeka". The comparison is indeed humiliating by any language.

THIS. What a way to view our situation.

But then you get people who, while are totally entitled to freedom of speech, come up with things like:
Chua, ask Umno why M’sia is already an Islamic state
It's not that it isn't reasonable, it's just that...well, I'm sure certain points could have been sent across a leetle more eloquently and without such...crudeness. Tsk, these citizen journalists so lack ethics.
Oi. Mengata dulang paku serpih, mengatakan orang dia yang lebih. Heh.

But more citizen journalism can wait for a while. SPM really is only nine days away, even if I don't care. Back to state papers it is. -.-

All there is to say.

Our dear MCA president Dato' Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was quoted in the papers today.

Like he always is.

In fact, that's about the only thing you can be assured you will read in the papers within the week, apart from the daily page 2 headlines of "Najib says" and "Muhyiddin says".

Yes, Chua Soi Lek is a man of many, many words. He has words of how the Pakatan is showing total disunity in the face of the hudud issue, how DAP should leave if they can't except it, how their leaders are not keeping their promises, how they are epic failures in running Selangor and their other states, how BN has always kept its promises, how people should vote for BN because of that, how Pakatan are total washouts, how BN should be venerated by all, and...that's about it. Yes, there are certainly many words and phrase one can use to effectively describe how the opposition is failing - so much so that it's all he needs to say to get his name in the paper every couple of days.

On second thought, that's pretty much whatever Muhyiddin is quoted as saying, too.

If you actually search for Chua Soi Lek on The Star's search engine, you will discover - to no surprise if you actually read the paper everyday - that the only thing Chua Soi Lek does is say stuff. "...said Chua Soi Lek," and "Chua Soi Lek said," are quite literally the only phrases that appear on your page, so much so that this guy seems to be setting a track record of how many times he can be quoted successively. In light of his desire to maintain this, I'm sure we can excuse him for not actually appearing to do anything besides lounge around in a plushy armchair with a microphone in front of him.

At least Muhyiddin visits schools and actually makes decisions on our education system, unpopular though they may be.

Najib, at least, makes far more diplomatic, politically and socially acceptable statements and decisions to boot - which is of course part of his job as Prime Minister. However, Chua's statements are all targetted at undermining the opposition and (attempting to) raise favour for Barisan. Najib is just making confusingly contradicting statements like this that do nothing to convince people of his competence. Lucky for him though, there are only so many people who actually notice.

Words. That's all we have from our leaders (and old nutters who should be branded as too senile to get politically involved and shut up before they cause more racial and religious tension) and that's all we need for chaos - unless the right words can be said. But as for now, no one seems to be saying them.

*     *     *

Blast Physics. I know I'll probably sorely regret this because getting anything less than an A for Physics will destroy any chance I have of getting a scholarship for a January intake. But I doubt anyone will actually care whether or not I've memorized Lenz Law word for word. So I have spent four hours reading unauthorized Malaysian news sources for some real education.

And though I'm actually considering going to that particular college now just for a chance to snag him (thank you dear friends for implanting the picture and idea into my head; it is truly revolting), it still isn't a top preference, I doubt I could get in and even if I could on a full scholarship, I'm not rich enough to live in that kind of environment dears. I'm sure there are other equally good-lookng, intellectual, eligible English lecturers in other colleges, because now that you've given me the idea... ;)

Newsworthy stuff.

So. Najib has announced that ISA will be repealed, along with a slew of other controversial laws.

This should be interesting.

According to the majority of Malaysian media, many officials and political leaders are in full support of him, describing the move as timely, appropriate, a step towards a better Malaysia, etc. They laud him for listening to the voices of the people and praise his unexpectedly bold move to demolish certain draconian elements of our law. He is certainly driving Malaysia in the right direction, they say.

Of course, everyone agrees to the abolishment of ISA, even the government that has continuously defended it since 1960 because only after 50-over years, more than 10 000 arrests and the backsliding of their popularity, especially after the way they handled the Bersih 2.0 rally, does Barisan realize the erroneous mistake that is ISA. To admit they were previously wrong by enforcing the act would show a sign of political weakness as it would prove that they are indeed capable of making mistakes, which can't happen because then they'd lose the next GE. And surely claims must be made that this idea was solely Barisan's, that, to quote the Prime Minister, 'they received no pressure from any quarter'  and 'only Barisan can serve the people well'.

Personally, although there is no way I wouldn't welcome the repeal of ISA (unless the new laws to replace it are even more constricting and draconian), I think better statements could be issued besides ones that run along the lines of 'Barisan is almighty and Pakatan does not stand a chance'. We can understand that this whole thing is supposed to reflect well on Barisan and all that, but really, shoving it in our faces is getting really annoying. I mean, come on. Stop showing off, especially before you make another entirely contradictory statement that Netizens are going to lambast. (Lambast - is that word not awesome?)

Due to the possibility of failing Biology tomorrow, I shouldn't be online at all. But I've decided that I've had enough of the narrow views expressed by mainstream newspapers and that the only place to find differing opinions are 'free and independant' news portals like MalaysiaKini and Malaysia Today.

I'm glad I did. You'll understand.

Forget about the papers and re-brainwash yourselves, people.

P.S. READ THIS.
And isn't it funny how Barisan uses sex scandals to overthrow their political opponents? First Anwar Ibrahim, now Mat Sabu.
If our government wasn't our government, this would be incredibly comical.
Wait, I take that back. This is comical.

The Bersih 2.0 rally, the Malaysian Government and what Sam says

For the benefit of clueless Malaysians who are still asking what on earth ‘bersih’ is all about, I shall be so kind as to clarify it for you. Bersih is…tak kotor, lah! But it’s also The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections in Malaysia, or Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil which advocates clean and fair elections – duh. The new and revamped Bersih, dubbed Bersih 2.0, has planned to take to the streets this coming Saturday in a peaceful march for the electoral system to be made freer, fairer and cleaner. [read here]

Now, the Malaysian government has responded to this rally as a major threat to the peace and security of our country. What have they done about it? Well so far they have: -

a) declared Bersih illegal through the Home Minister because it contravenes three issues in the Societies Act 1966. [read here]
And Sam says; Before I say anything, let me just clarify that I am totally for the peace and harmony of Malaysian citizens everywhere and I think propaganda inciting and stiring up people against their government should be put out immediately. But while I agree that a rally may not be one of the best courses of actions to take, that is NO reason for completely outlawing the entire organization of Bersih 2.0, which actually stands for principles our country and government desperately need right now. This just further supports the notion that the government is for unfair and biased elections and totally contradicts the Najib (why does it seem like everything his people say knock his statements down) when he said that they would be willing to hold civilised discussions. In any case, their the one's "creating a situation of unrest and worry'"by making such a big hoo-haa out of things.


b) publicly voiced out their distaste in this matter and urged the public against joining something that could disrupt the harmony of the nation, showing that off as their top priority. They have also claimed that this is not Malaysian culture and that even though people in Libya and Thailand are taking to the streets in support of their political views, for Malaysians to do that would be betrayal to our morals and traditions.
And Sam says; So we're all just going to sit here and heartily agree that street rallies have always been the culture of the Libyans and Thais. This is exactly what's keeping us so kolot or behind the times - these people who strongly oppose whatever kind of change in our political system so that we can all continue living in blissful ignorance! Should we agree, that for Libya's innocent civilians who were lost in battle, they should have never started fighting for democratic freedom? All people are doing here is rallying for democracy. It doesn't have to be violent and mob-like. Does the government think its citizens can be that uncivilised? Maybe yes for one reason - because they haven't had the skill to refine our mindsets. Shame on the education system - and it's theirs, btw.
c) gotten the media to report only what favours their side of the story, which is why you don’t see The Star publishing the views of people who actually support Bersih or get TV3 showing anything other than government politicians making their statements against it. The only place you can find people openly supporting the rally is net because the government hasn’t been able to put filters on people’s facebook and twitter accounts.
And Sam says; Freedom. Of. Press. Totally does not exist in this country. This is an obvious violation of rights - but it's a discussion for another day. In any case, I don't think the things they're coming up with aren't smart enough to convince people though. Take our DPM, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's reported statements for example. Just today, The Malaysian Insider quoted him as saying that the government should be working together with NGOs to woo voters. [read here] However, how this is supposed to happen when the organization that supports the kind of elections voters want is being outlawed by his very own party, nobody knows. Our government is clearly lacking in communication skills they way they're provide us with such badly constructed inconsistencies.


d) sent their police force out to arrest anyone seemingly associated with the movement; whether they actually are or not is something that can be worried about after they have been arrested. Conversely, they have been extremely lax regarding the announcement of UMNO Youth and PERKASA that they too will organize their own bigger, better and far stronger rallies on the same day. And while police officers are ordered to arrest people in yellow t-shirts handing out flags [watch here], totally not disrupting anything, they have done nothing about the thousands of people on motorcycles blocking the streets and inconveniencing commuters in Ipoh. [read here]
And Sam says; Did you scroll down that article and read about the silat exponents who plan on using their martial arts skills to disrupt the rally if it happens? I got tears in my eyes laughing over that! Is nobody going to take them seriously? We could have a bloody mass of bodies lying on the streets if they're left to their own devices, considering how they're assuming they have the manpower to break up a crowd of thousands of people!
But either way, this is just stupid. Nothing but a ploy for some extra cash - they arrest people, people get bailed out, money earned. And their robbing from their enemies, too.


e) highlighted how this is a prop of the opposition in an attempt to kick Barisan out of the way in the next general elections.
And Sam says; Finally, something that makes sense! The opposition, of course, have just laid themselves bare to attack - considering what they were reported to have said in The Star is actually viable. This is the only thing I find our government doing right - which we would have expected them to do, of course - defending their political supremacy. But according to The Malaysian Insider, the opposition was actually invited to attend the rally, making the thing no prop of their own. [read here] I agree completely with Lim Kit Siang and Nurul on why it is that PERKASA and UMNO Youth shouldn't be shut down for attempting to initiate their own rallies.


I don't say any of this as a show of support for the opposition and an indication of how badly I think of our government. In fact, I think if they actually spent a little more time taking into consideration the suggestions and opinions of the public and coming up with better plans and policies to suit our needs and get on the same page with each other, they'd actually get somewhere. We all talk about wanting Malaysia to be peaceful, harmonious and united, but ain't nobody going to acheive that with double standards and flawed statements.
So really, government. For the sake of the country, please pull it together. You can be do much better than this.

#2 (Read the previous post first because I want you to.)

Wat U Fighting 4 Lah?

You know, one amazing thing about social media is how it's opening up Malaysians to share their views with one another. It's nice to know there are Malaysians out there who actually see and understand that our country is flawed in many ways yet beautiful in so many others and that they want and hope for change and more freedom and equality. It's nice to know that the government hasn't managed to brainwash everyone into thinking in their terms. It's nice to know that even though Malaysian politics are a nothing but a laughing stock and never fails to prove that we have plain weirdos as political leaders, there are still other things to be grateful for. (But you know, our politicians might not be so bad if they could just phrase their sentences and opinions better.)

What is sad, however, is that very few of these kind of awesome people are running our country. Instead you have...well, it's better not to post some things in public. I wonder if becoming a politician in Malaysia would ever be worth it. Would getting into ISA be worth it? I don't know. But I just want to fight. Nearly everyone I know thinks of getting out of Malaysia, migrating for better job opportunities, for more freedom of speech and of religion, to not be squestered under our government's ridiculous schemes and ploys. They tell me I should do the same, get out while I still can. But I don't know if I want to. I want to be Malaysian. I want to fight for what I believe is right and what I believe all Malaysians deserve - peace, equality, freedom, a holistic education which we are not getting. I don't want to leave before justice is served to the people - which will be never, but it's worth a shot, right? ...Right? But that's not for you to answer. It's for me.

En. Kamal suggests I'll end up as some political leader. It's a sign.