I read with much concern an article that highlighted the possibility of limited access to some sites because of certain possibilities. You can read more about it HERE. Today, many people from all over Malaysia had difficulties accessing Malaysia Today and generally, many have observed a slower speed in online surfing since last week.
In view of such developments, I wish to make a simple request to all readers/subscribers/visitors/friends of this blog and my two other blogs.
Could you please send me an email (SUBJECT HEADING: CONTINGENCY) at this edress mwsunplugged@gmail.com? If anything happens in cyberspace, I will email you as to what are the necessary steps to take to overcome certain hiccups. The rationale need not be explained for obvious reasons.
When you do email me, kindly use a genuine email address and state your name or nickname that you use when you comment in my blog(if you are a regular commenter) and also your location (not specific address but just your state) for me to verify the authenticity of your email. Readers who previously corresponded with me need not send me this email.
You will get another email from me from another edress if/when the need arises.
I covet your patience and also your cooperation in this matter. So sorry to inconvenience you. I would hate to lose touch with you dear reader, especially the genuine and sincere readers. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Have a nice day! Do leave a comment if you wish. Thanks!
31 comments to A SINCERE REQUEST TO MY READERS/SUBSCRIBERS
-
Kenneth Obviously, nothing is more valuable and powerful than friendship - friendship with people around the world, friendship with our neighbours and those in our community.
The time has come for us to make even greater efforts to forge wonderful friendships with as many people as possible.
Suffice to say that friendship is a great asset!
-
Unknown Dear Kenneth
What a beautiful and inspiring comment you have shared here! Most refreshing! Thanks.
To be honest, I have been disappointed many times by friends but it has not hindered me from seeing the beauty of friendship with real and sincere persons.
At my age, it is difficult to make friends due to many reasons - which is why I used to tell my students that the best friendships we can share are those developed in school when we were young, carefree and shared many wonderful moments together.
Nonetheless, I am thankful that via blogging, I have managed to make a considerable number of good friends.
Do take care and have a lovely evening.
Warmest wishes
-
Anonymous DS Anwar Ibrahim said Zulkifli, the Kulim Bandar Baharu MP, had "crossed the line," going against his advice not to "cause tensions."
Haha, we are awaiting the birth of yet another Hopping Frog!
-
Boleh Man Friend is like a great bra, close to your heart, helps to hold you up and has your back covered too!
-
Unknown Dear Boleh Man,
What a witty and beautiful analogy!!!
How true indeed!
Thanks for sharing. Take care and God bless you.
Best wishes
-
Village Boy It is very unfortunate that the world is again facing tumultuous times.
There will always be emotional and jealous people around us who are trying their level best to bring us down to their level.
Well, the important thing is not to be defeated by them. On the contrary, the key is to work wholeheartedly for the sake of good and justice.
Hopefully, the truth and actual proof will demolish jealous attacks.
Regards
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 5.44 pm
It appears that this frog's gestation period is overdue for we had been awaiting its birth...
Sighs. What will happen to Malaysia?
Honestly, I wish many would think before they speak and realize the far-reaching consequences of one's speech or actions.
Take care and have a restful evening.
Salam
-
Unknown Dear Village Boy
How true are your statements!
It is easy for some to be overcome by greed and corruption...to be blinded from seeing the truth. We have to start with ourselves and see what we can do to help make the world a better place. From bitterness to betterment...
Take care and many thanks for your wise observations.
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 7.23 p.m.
Thanks for being so understanding and supportive. God bless you.
Best wishes
-
Anonymous Whoooooooooa Denim Girl,
Lu ala satu storm here.
I guess I will make some "I am a proud cybertrooper" pins and start selling.
The way I see it, many people will be tagged "cybertrooper" if they ever say something about DAP. :)
There is something you gotta learn, Denim Girl, about the DAP hierarchy.
First, there are the Royals.
Lim Guan Eng, Gobind Singh Deo, Danny Law are Royals.
They have direct protection from the Chiefs.
Nobody, not even God, can touch the Royals.
Next comes the Menteris.
Chow Kon Yeow, Teresa Kok, Chong Eng are the Menteri.
They do not have direct protection from the Chiefs, but they have done great things for them, so their positions are somewhat secured.
Next comes the commoners.
Those are disposables.
They can be blamed for anything and everything before they are kicked out of DAP, as "criminals".
Back to the Royals.
No matter what the Royals did. No matter how they did it. No matter what outcome, no one, not even God, can say anything but PRAISE.
You have to praise the Royals, or the Chiefs ain't gonna love you.
So sing praises to the Royals.
Heap all types of praises on them, the more the better.
Fabricate all types of "heroic stories" for the Royals, the more "touching", the better.
So we have stories like "Lim Guan Eng went to jail for the people", so... sooooo touching, ooooh, I wanna cry already.
Yes, Guan Eng did go to jail, but not for the people.
He went to jail because he made a big mistake - He tried and failed to frame someone with statutory rape.
But hey, Denim Girl, you never heard that story, right?
Haha !
Welcome the reality show, DAP style.
Denim Guy
PS. I am not from BN.
-
Anonymous No one agrees with other people's opinions; he merely agrees with his own opinions expressed by somebody else.
It's sad, sad world!
-
Anonymous When we are living our lives victoriously, we will make a meaningful impact on people, and gain the trust and respect of others.
Through our exemplary behaviour and character, we can transform others into allies.
Nevertheless, when we let ourselves be defeated, not only do we feel miserable ourselves, but others will not want to stay around us.
Hence, let's live courageously!
-
Anonymous This Zul Nordin guy is not just thrash, he is a racist, insensitive to other races and worst of all a trouble maker for PR. DSAI should be bold and get rid of people like this. Ungrateful prick! Won on a PR ticket! PR represents all races, not just Muslim Malays!
- Derek De Souza
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 8.50 p.m.
Many thanks for your call for us to live courageously. We are living in the most challenging times and we have the opportunity to shape history and should not let this chance slip by. Take care and have a lovely evening. Thanks for that much needed dose of inspiration!
Warmest wishes
-
Unknown Dear Derek De Souza
Many thanks for that affirmative stand. As I mentioned earlier, we are indeed living in challenging times. Leaders MUST rise to the occasion and take remedial steps lest they pay the price of wrong decisions or passivity or even apathy! We cannot rest in complacency at all and everyone, regardless of status, must unite against the enemy strategically, leaving no stone unturned and leaving no room for rebuttals or counter-attacks.
Take care and have a lovely evening. Thanks for swinging by. Do keep in touch.
Warmest wishes
-
Anonymous The post you had linked to malaysia-today is basic scare mongering. Malaysia government do not need to hire 200 hackers to do what it already has the capability of doing.
When Abdullah was the PM he announced the setting up of a centralised center , a national firewall to defend the nation against external intruders. The plan and pronouncement was noble but the intention was insidious.
Shortly after najib took over the center was opened and all internet traffic is routed through this security center. All packets going in and out of malaysia has to go through this center.
This is the worst security decision to have been made by the malaysian government. No one in his right mind would put all his eggs in one basket and that is precisely what the malaysian government had done. The "natural diffusion" and distributed transference of data in the web configuration was precisely to defeat the break down of one or even large percentage of the network. Only in bolehland do we used the reason of security to befool the public.
With this center the government is now able to filter any and all internet traffic right down to the individual packets. They now possess tremendous capability to harass, to launch denial of service attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, password stealing, planting of viruses etc.
Most of these tools are idiot proofed and could be used by any idiots. So it is unlikely that this report is true.
A short story.
Shortly after Malaysia-today was attacked I tried to access it through vpn(virtual private network) with a gateway in germany. I was able to get through the block in malaysia for a shortwhile and then nothing. I did a diagnostic of the connection and the information that came back revealed that this center was fully operational.
The diagnostic report revealed that my connection was alright, my setting was correct, the german server was fully working but the connection at the malaysia gateway - not the isp gateway was having problem. It would appeared that someone was sitting in the middle watching the traffic (it must be terribly exciting to watch grass grow ;-)).
That was the clearest evidence that malaysian government already has the capability to block or mess with any internet traffic.
What is the way forward ? Internet 2 ! But governments of the world are reluctant to use or launch this mainly because they no longer have the capability to manipulate and control the flow of information.
One other point of note is that email is open and it is a simple matter for the "man-in-the-middle" to read all that you have written.
If security is what you are concerned about then use pgp(pretty good privacy).
-
Anonymous When malaysia-today was first blocked it was the government initiative but the following few days it was the admin of malaysia-today who made it appeared that they were under siege. It was engineered by them to give the impression that they were blocked by the malaysian government. I collected quite a bit of information and presented in malaysia-today and other places but it was basically shouted/voted down and finally deleted. In all the blogs which was mt friendly my post was never allowed to see the light of day.
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 9.17 p.m.
Many thanks for your expert view and advice. I used a VPN and had similar experience as yours.
I do appreciate your contribution to my blog with your learned comment and hope that you will continue to share your expertise with us.
If you feel led to do an article on any topic that would benefit Malaysians, please feel free to send it to me at the email address listed in this post and it will be my pleasure to post it and credit to you with whatever nom de plume you desire.
May the Almighty bless you and yours always.
Salam
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 9.27 p.m.
The expert opinion of another reader preceding your comment can dispel your suspicion about the issue you highlighted.
As you can see, your comment is here in my blog and it will not be deleted. I believe in freedom of expression. Many other readers ask me why I post comments which go against the grain of my post. The idea of blogging is to allow an open forum. I do not practise censorship with the exception of obscene language. So far, in the 19 months that I have been blogging, I have only had to censor ONE comment because of a four-letter word.
Thanks for taking the time to swing by my blog and to leave your comment.
Do take care and keep in touch.
Have a restful evening with your loved ones.
Best wishes
-
stephen This is getting pretty interesting!! I'm watching from the sidelines and all this makes like a spy novel full of intrigue and subterfuge!!
It could be all mirrors and smoke.Very hard to ascertain who's talking straight.I reckon one must thread carefully and filter out the truth from all the noise and static.
The only way out would be to gauge the actions and results rather than mere words.Like I said before, a matter of choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea,however, as you said, sometimes taking a dip in the sea could buy you time for a life preserver to be thrown in!
Good luck!
-
Unknown Dear Stephen
Thanks for making me smile with your witty remarks and observations. I am so jealous that you can watch all this without an adrenalin rush or increase in blood pressure.
Definitely lots of mirrors and smoke. Definitely have to exercise wisdom, caution and objectivity with no feelings.
Funny how the older I get, the less highly strung I have become. I used to be so highly strung hehee. Guess this is the advantage of ageing :-) - moderation and objectivity with the right dose of passion, vision, motivation and a deep commitment to the mission.
And we definitely need all the luck and prayers from everyone, most of all from the heavens!
Take care and have a lovely restful evening.
Shalom
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 8.11 p.m. and Denim Guy
Thanks for your comments....I appreciate your observations and clarifications. Sorry to respond to both of you in the same comment but am doing so as the content is probably similar.
Just want to clarify to you and other readers:
* I do not worship DAP or any of its members.
* I do admire some leaders for some of the things they did in the past, not necessarily ALL that they did/said or did not say or do.
* The same thing applies for PKR and PAS.
* Personally, the TWO persons I admire the most in Pakatan would be YB Dato' Nizar and Zaid Ibrahim.
* My style is not to attack a party or a personality on a personal level and this stand is applicable on both sides of the divide.
Sadly, some misconstrue it as a weakness or even ignorance or cowardice.
However, for journalistic purposes, I believe I must observe objectivity in writing.
I am aware of the LGE issue and points that you have raised and also the counter arguments.
But like what I said before, this war is not about DAP vs the rakyat.
To me, it is important that we fight the bigger and worser enemy first.
Tragically, Malaysians don't have much of a choice as they have to choose between the lesser of two evils.
We know the inherent nature and weaknesses of BN. The same for ALL other parties.
No one in this entire universe is perfect without flaws.
BUT
in the political sphere, one party is MORE corrupt than the other parties.
That is what makes the difference.
The other parties may not be perfect but at least they don't cheat the people and sell them out. The other parties do not stoop to despicable acts.
We have to see who is the enemy and which battle is worth fighting.
Thus, despite its weaknesses, PAKATAN RAKYAT IS THE BETTER CHOICE and is NOT the enemy.
Let's look at the bigger picture.
That is how I feel and I hope as many pro-PR readers feel the same way.
Let us not get distracted by all other idiosyncrasies or inherent weaknesses.
Golly! Anyone from the other side of the divide reading this will be in throes of orgasmic delight to see how some are condemning DAP or DSAI etc.
Let's remember what is important.
What is the immediate objective.
And then settle other details later.
Which battle are you fighting? I believe you are in the PR army....
Take care and my thanks to you for your honest comments.
Warmest regards
-
Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 5.22 P.M.
That MP was making a general statement that was not in reference to you or other critics.
Bear in mind that even Malaysia Today was inaccessible so you can imagine how some are hard at work.
I do not have the exposure and experience like you do but I have the heart to effect for positive change in our country.
Thank you once again for taking time to clarify the background of the familial connection. To me it matters more that we fight the bigger enemy.
To a very large extent, you have the right to feel anger and outrage. Many Malaysians have a diversity of their own grouses as well.
However, like what I said before, we have to see who is the bigger enemy. And it is not DAP.
In this blog, I have advocated a third force.
I opine that we vote PR into power first to kick out the other side and then work hard to ship them out if they do not perform.
Currently, some may be arrogant because it appears that there is no alternative but if one thinks far and deep, there ARE alternatives.
Let us work together to battle the big enemy first. We cannot afford to be divided - not at this crucial stage.
Once again, thanks for your honest comments. I appreciate your openness and the passion against lies, arrogance and the courage to speak up. Take care and God bless you.
Best wishes
-
Antares I suggest we stay cool and let Jibby & his Witch Queen do all the panicking. We have no reason to fear. They have EVERY reason! :-)
-
Unknown Dear Antares
As always, you are the sobering and inspiring guardian angel in my life! Thanks for that timely reminder. Take care and catch up again real soon!
Hugs
-
jtba Dear MWS ,
I pasted parts of your reply
of Jan.26 , 1237am.
Quote
Thus, despite its weaknesses, PAKATAN RAKYAT IS THE BETTER CHOICE and is NOT the enemy.
What is the immediate objective.
And then settle other details later.
Which battle are you fighting? I believe you are in the PR army....
Unquote.
I humbly opine that we must not be so blinded in wanting a change from BN , that we be so irresponsible in not being critical of PR when PR renegades
on their manifesto promises .
The DAP/PKR has done exactly that with their promise for Municipality elections .
This is not just a matter of a character flaw of a politician... this is the most basic & fundamental issue of FAILING to deliver a promise and being unprincipled .
In the past , folks accepted the
' minor wrong doings " of the BN
party , and gave all the usual excuses such as ... " no party is perfect , give them time ,they will look after our Race , etc ..." , and this proved to be a major mistake as BN politicians just grew & grew to be the UGLY politicians they are now .
If we allow / accept DAP / PKR to behave ( re : Municipality elections ) in such an tidak apa attitude towards their promises , are we not going down the SAME path our parents did in allowing Alliance / BN to grow until they
RULED( or is it MISRULED ?) the electorate ??
An analogy - would you allow your children to pick up bad habits such as not performing their promises , cheating in exams , etc ,when they are young ,with the hope that you will
sort out their flaws when they are in adulthood ?
Or use the excuse for him and say it's ok , as relative to the other BAD boys he at least isn't doing drugs ?
Dont;t vote for BN , but DAP / PKR must also deliver their promises , otherwise vote for the
THIRD FORCE .
I am a strong supporter of your idea of a THIRD FORCE , not so much as to fight against DAP/PKR/PR , but more so to give the voice back to the People to DEMAND that DAP/PKR be more responsible in delivering their promises
The THIRD force will never win any State , but becos they may be the 'king maker ' for the State Assembly , the PR will then realise that they must have fouled up for folks to want to support the THIRD force .
ONLY THEN , will DAP/PKR accept their mistakes , otherwise , like many have expressed , they just ignore our protests as being pro BN , when in actual fact , we are being pro-Rakyat , pro- Nation.
I hope you will among the leaders of the THIRD FORCE .
Salam .
jtba.
-
Unknown Dear JTBA
Many thanks for your insightful analysis of the situation. I appreciate your elegant, diplomatic and rational take of the situation.
I believe we should take them to task - whichever side they belong to.
It is their responsibility, if they truly and sincerely desire to serve the country, to deliver their promises and steer the country ahead by putting collective interests above their own.
I agree with your view and arguments.
The problem is - many Malaysians complain and do nothing about it. We have to push boundaries and corner ADUNs and MPs regardless of whether they are BN or PR.
We have to show them that we mean business.
At the same time, because of the delicate situation, the best way is to do it in a face-to-face or official situation for if things go out of hand in a cyber debate, the opposing side can use it to THEIR advantage and at the end of the day, the rakyat will be the losers.
So if our ADUNs are not doing their job properly,we have to be the unofficial third force.
The sad thing is people are disgruntled and disillusioned by past trends and feel that it is pointless to complain.
Cannot!
A simple illustration here...The other day, I took a friend to a Thai restaurant and specifically told the waiter that she is allergic to seafood so we wanted a tom yam fish soup with no other seafood.
She then served us tom yam seafood and my girlfriend said - It is ok...Never mind. No need to create problems. She will abstain from it and promptly assigned me to finish the soup + seafood. Golly! Risk my cholesterol level and health for someone's mistake?
No way.
Most politely, I brought the matter to the Maitre'd's attention. He apologised profusely and later served us tom yam fish soup.
See, if we keep quiet and suffer in silence, nothing will happen.
Also, we do not have strong watchdog organizations. We definitely need a third force for check and balance. Thanks for your support of my proposition.
Er...I am too old already to be a leader :-) but thanks for that heartwarming and kind encouragement.
Truth is, you and many bright young Malaysians must prepare yourselves now to be the leaders of tomorrow. Serious!
Take care and God bless you.
Cheers
-
jtba Dear MWS ,
Trust me , I know your point about apathy .
I brought up issues about the MBPJ 2010 Budget and many folks in my Section in PJ agreed with me and encouraged me to go for the jugular.
However , when I asked the members in my Residents Association to email or SMS the MBPJ Councillors their happiness or dissatisfaction on the (lack of ) performance of the PKR appointed MBPJ Councillors , none of my 450 members did anything.
Regarding the point on taking the issue to the ADUN / MP, it's even a bigger disappointment .
I wrote officially to the MBPJ councillors , then to the Mayor , the MP's ( Tony Pua , Hee LS) , State Exco , MB , and even to Anwar about the poor KPI of their Councillors , and NONE of them even bothered to reply.
Mind you , my letter was on a Residents Association letterhead representing 450 households in PJ.
Now you understand my stance that the politicians will only listen to those with a position of strength. Only an Independent/3rd Force will make them eat humble pie , and listen to the real day to day needs of the PJ folks.
If they already treat us so badly when they have 5 States , will they be any better when they have Putrajaya as well ?
A THIRD FORCE is a NECESSITY for the State Seats.
Put your Municipality issues under the microscope and you may perhaps understand my harsh stance .
Salam.
jtba
-
Unknown Dear JTBA
Ah - writing letters does not work anymore. Have to schedule for appontments, see them face-to-face for a pow-wow.I am glad I am not involved in this yet...In my neighbourhood,
Also, I have learned that in many situations, there is a price to be paid and not many are willing to do so and have no qualms about sending a lamb to be slaughtered. It is important to have good leadership and a high level of commitment. One may have the heart but if all else is not ok, then whatever plan will fall through.
Sorry for the cynicism. I appreciate your sincerity and earnestness but have seen and been through much to know that we must persevere no matter what!
I know you will!
Take care and have a lovely evening.
Cheers
Anonymous Why am I not surprised by what the DAP MP has told you?
They are saying that "cyber troopers" are saying bad things about them, right?
Which means, ordinary citizens like me who never get any kang tao from BN suddenly find ourselves with an additional label "cyber-trooper" just because we say something that the DAP doesn't want to listen.
I have dealt with DAP for a long long time, the faces may have changed but the mindset remains - they are right, they are always right, and no matter what happen, they will still be right.
And if you dare to say anything differently, you are it !
You are from "BN", "MCA", "Gerakan", "UMNO" (take you pick) and you are out to destroy DAP.
They can't take criticism, even suggestive criticism also they do not want to hear.
And by the way, go ask the people who work in the bank business. Danny Law used to work as a bank teller before he resigned and work full time for DAP.
Ask the old timers in the bank officers' circle about Danny Law and I guarantee you people will start shaking their head.
And yes, Danny Law IS the cousin of Betty Chew, wife of Lim Guan Eng.
I used to work in the same bank (different branch) as Danny Law and we have heard so much about this Danny he became the butt of jokes amongst us.
And yes, he also boasted to everyone that his cousin marries Lim Guan Eng.
At that time we didn't know who Betty Chew was. Now we know.