masterwordsmith-unplugged

If you have yet to read about it, CLICK HERE for more about the decision made by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC.

Every Saturday night in China, millions gather around their televisions to watch Interviews Before Execution, an extraordinary talk show which interviews prisoners on death row.

In the weeks, days or even minutes before they are executed, presenter Ding Yu goes into prisons and talks to those condemned to die.

Combining clips from the TV show, never-before-seen footage of China's death row and interviews with a local judge who openly questions the future of the death penalty in China, This World reveals a part of China that is generally hidden from from view.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO CLIP that Mr LYK kindly shared.

The following article written by Sairana Mohd Saad was first posted in The Malaysian Insider. Thanks to Angela who sent me this article. I am so happy that there are Malysians like Sairana who dare to speak up to defend what they believe is right and true and supported with observations from personal experiences and observations. To see Malaysians from all walks of life clamouring to get into the stadium for the rally last night and how those stuck in major traffic jams honked in solidarity is certainly a heartwarming experience that the more try to divide and rule, the more Malaysians will unite! In the midst of injustice, hope prevails and unity thrives.

I am a Malay and I am not an ingrate — Sairana Mohd Saad

According to my birth certificate, I am a Malay. Based on my skin colour and sharp features, I should be from Penang. The truth is, both my grandparents sailed to Malaysia, therefore I was born an Anak Selangor, eventually got trained abroad and am married to a foreigner. Most Malaysians would call me “rojak”. To me, I am a Malaysian, with rights to speak up. Period.
The most recent Malaysian tragedies, GE13 and Utusan’s jacket wrap have left my blood boiling. Then, we Malays were branded as greedy and ingrate. I can’t keep this to myself anymore, I need to respond.
Dear prime minister, before I begin, allow me first to inform you that these experiences and views are personal, and are not based on hearsay or cyber trooper stories.
Why I am not an ingrate?
I was a child who lived through Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s systems and policies, and I still have very high respect for him. He had a good control over the country, his wife and the entire globe. Yes, he probably is vocal, but at least he knew his stuff well. He knew when to cut the gangrene when needed. That is the reason why Malaysia is so synonymous with Mahathir and that is the reason why he is still around as “The Doctor in the House”.
My fortune of getting a JPA scholarship, back in 1988 was because of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and France, so, in a way or another I contributed to the bilateral relations, I’d like to think. I studied Mass Communications, at an era where communications and PR was unheard of. Not to sound boastful or arrogant, only fifty per cent of students sent to France came back with a scroll, because it’s not a walk in the park to learn the language in a jiffy! Because of that, I can see through the way your messages are being spun and played. I can see through the tricks and I can see through the deceits.
Upon my return, I surrendered myself to my sponsor, but I was relieved of national duties. Fact no. 1 — I am not an ingrate. If I wanted to, I could have chosen not to come back, some did. But I didn’t. To add to that, I brought home an intellect, who now serves the finest university in country. (Yes, I also received major insults from an immigration officer in 1993, for not choosing a Malay man). To cut long story short, his PR was rejected three times, and was accepted only after 11 years. Sigh.
So, fate has it that I worked for Fortune 500 companies for the first 10 years, before I wanted to have a taste of the local flavour. I learned about Returns on Investment, I learned about Cost Savings, about Profit and Losses, and most importantly I was moulded the Western way, with good ethics, discipline and right mental attitude.
That’s what I knew about being in the Corporate World. The bosses I served were Catholics, Jews, Orthodox Christians, etc. and were very professional. They used to call me a Banana, yellow on the outside but white in the inside. With them, my forthrightness did not pose a problem. They knew that polemics were healthy for as long as it did not get personal.
The truth of the matter is that I am still a Malay, therefore I should be less vocal to be accepted and now I am told to be grateful.
The fact is I don’t know what to be grateful for.
No.1 – When I got the scholarship, I was also doing the country a favour too, wasn’t I?
No.2 – Every time I received a handsome bonus, half of it would go to LHDN? I pay taxes for income, house, the land, the door, the import duty for my car, toll, service tax, soon GST, etc. etc.
No. 3 – I am from the middle class, and whatever I am getting from the government, everyone else gets it too. So, what’s the big deal?
Look, I have tried to serve and give back to the government. I have tried working for a government agency. I thought of giving back to society. I thought of serving the rakyat. I had the best intentions and what happened was I was exposed to the worse phase of my career. I was forced to compromise on my values and beliefs. I had to sign on documents which figures were false. I had to agree on spending rakyat’s money inappropriately. Often, my arms got twisted and that was when, I had to say, thanks but no thanks.
I am not here to open a can of worms, but I hope you get the message that the picture is not as rosy as you think it is. Your generals, Sir, are not that great after all.
Sir, personally I think you are a sharp guy. I have sat in meetings with you. And I think you do feel for the Rakyat. But, again, your generals, Sir, are not up to mark. I am sorry. You don’t have the right people surrounding you. You are not getting the right advice, nor are you getting the right reports being sent to your desk.
Here’s why: Reports that are being sent to you are filled with cosmetic changes. Those feel good stories you publish in the sponsored newspapers are not doing the trick anymore. That is why Malaysians have no more trust in you or your administration.
People like me, who have had firsthand experience, have no qualms about sharing our experience. I know I am not alone. I know others have their fair share of their stories too.
Sir, please don’t blame the Chinese because we Malays are also part of the tsunami. But we are not ingrates. We are just tired and fed up of lies after lies. Although we don’t really fancy the other parties, we don’t have a choice but to deny a vote for you. We really don’t have a choice. Believe you me.
Every day, someone is getting robbed, raped, killed, but yet, your report says crime rate is going down. I fear for my safety all the time. We also don’t get it that you constantly repeat those goodies you’ve given, so why give in the first place, if your only intention is to mengungkit till the end of time? After all, it’s just a spin-off of our taxes paid, so where is the big deal, again?
Najib, your popularity has dropped big time. Even Kim Kardashian understands that to be popular, one has got to be liked. Whilst we understand your perhaps sincere intention of wanting to complete your Transformation Episodes, actually, we Malaysians, the 50.8 per cent, are not really bothered about the ETP, GTP, RTP, and all the other

Recently, I came across this blog post which is so relevant to Malaysia.

Excerpt:


Look under. Look over. Look up. Look down. Look around. What do you see? All around us, we find unfairness. We live with it at home, work, play, school…everywhere. Life is never fair. Regardless of who we are or what we do, unfairness finds us-it does not discriminate.Here’s why. The free choices that we make affect not just us but others. Their choices do the same. Then add randomness and uncertainty into the system, and the world becomes very unpredictable. That’s simply how our universe works. However, while this presents immeasurable difficulties it also creates an interesting and challenging place to live.

Doing all the right things, only to have an unforeseen event affect the outcome is frustrating. Having to abide by leaders who have no business leading is demoralizing. Being born to lousy parents is a cruel twist of fate. Never seeming to find the “right” person to spend one’s life with is tragic. Being betrayed by someone you trusted can make your blood boil. All of these situations are examples of life’s unfairness. It’s true that we can never completely eliminate unfairness, but we certainly can do our part to minimize its impact.

Counseling others to accept that life is unfair is a role all leaders need to play. Much of the frustration at work has unfairness at its core. When we begin to take these things personally, we lose objectivity and risk making poor decisions. Wasting time brooding about untenable situations adds no value. Let the competition do that, to their own detriment. We must instead learn from the experience and forge ahead. Helping others to accept that life is unfair, and moving forward anyway, is one of the most important gifts a leader can give.

CLICK HERE for more.

Thanks to YK who sent me the following article.

 An Indonesian judge by the name of Marzuki was sitting in judgment of an old lady who pleaded guilty of stealing some tapioca from a plantation.

In her defense, she pleaded to the judge that she was done the deed because she was poor and her son was sick while her grandchild was hungry. The plantation manager insisted that she be punished as a deterrent to others.

The judge going through the documents then look up and said to the old lady, “I’m sorry but I cannot make any exception to the law and you must be punished.” The old lady was fined Rp. 1 million (USD 100) and if she could not pay the fine then she will be jailed for 2 and a half years as demanded by the law. She wept as she could not pay the fine.

The judge then took off his hat and put in Rp. 1 million into the hat and said, “In the name of justice, I fined all who are in the court Rp. 50 thousand (USD 5.50) as dwellers of this city and letting a child to starve
until her grandmother have to steal to feed her grandchild. The  registrar will now collect the fines from all the accused.”

The court managed to collect Rp 3.5 million (USD 200) whereby once the fine was paid off, the rest was given to the old lady ….including the fine collected from the plantation manager.

-Author unknown-

 

It was only this evening that I came across this article which I believe every Malaysian should read. Citizen Nades has rightly pointed out that some can't see the wood for the trees! Please leave a comment to share your response. Thanks.

THE Olympics is over but for the British media, the fever is still running high with interviews, post-mortems, analyses and commentaries on what has been described as the best ever performance in 100 years.

On the home front, Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Pandelela Rinong Pamg are being heaped with praise, which they both rightly deserve. They did the nation proud and have set the standards and the tone for others to follow.

In the meantime, there are many equations and variables that are being drawn in relation to medals and medal winners. Comparisons have been drawn showing the populations of participating countries and the number of medals won. There's also a computation as to the number of medals to the size of the contingent.

Even more succinct is the amount of money the country spent in preparing the athletes against the medals won. Britain's 64 medals including 29 golds cost £4 million (RM20 million) apiece. Others have spent more while most have spent less. Judging by the British standards, our medals came at half their cost.

Malaysians have been told that the quest for a first ever gold medal at the London Olympics did not materialise but National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong told reporters in London that it is "still deemed a success."

"As for winning a gold medal, we did not succeed but it is not a failure because our medal haul equalled the Atlanta feat. The London Olympics also showed that we don't have to depend on badminton alone for medals," he said.

We will leave these remarks to be deciphered and interpreted by those in the know, but what we already know is that Zolkeples has admitted that the "Road to London 2012" programme with a RM20 million budget and aimed at winning the country's first ever gold medal in the Olympics, did not reach its objective.

So, the definition of the words – success and failure – gets blurred as we go along, and depending on who is saying it and who is analysing it, the variation could be a mile.

What is more significant to taxpayers is that money, all RM20 million of it was used properly in the preparation of the athletes and not for junkets and holidays.

Because it has been the usual practice of the NSC and the Sports Ministry to keep the expenditure and the figures a secret, we can only speculate as to whether the sum included the cost of sending NSC and other sports officials to various events in preparation for and to the London games.

If the work of these officials is to "monitor" our athletes and distribute Malaysian flags and organise the support group, then it is money wasted. If they are on the sidelines to hug the players and steal the limelight from the coaches, then it is certainly not justified.

However, if they are there to give their expertise or offer advice to enhance the performance of the athletes, then this cannot be questioned.

There is nothing wrong with the taxpayer exercising his right to know how much was spent on each athlete and each of the various disciplines.

Let it be said that no one is grudging the money spent but what is asked for is some form of accountability. It's not just the Olympics that you notice the presence of officials but at other qualifying meets and major competitions.

What are their roles in these instances? Just because they hold the purse strings, can their expensive outings be justified? Other than the Olympics which come under the purview of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, other sports are governed by the respective national associations.

Today, four years after the Brickendonbury debacle where grandiose plans for a training centre had to be aborted, Malaysians are still in the dark as to how much was spent on travel and professional fees. Pushed for details, the answer has always been "sulit".

There is no such thing as confidential when it comes to accounting for people's money, unless of course it is spent on defence systems or procurements which may be of a sensitive nature.

Let's start the "Road to Rio" programme with a full blast from the past – a complete set of expenditure and where the money went in the quest for gold in London. This will be rewarded with a deserved a gold medal from the rakyat.

Wonderful news!!! Following public outrage and sustained protests over their arbitrary detention, the EO 6 or PSM 6 they were released at 5.30pm at the Jinjang police station today. They were detained since July 2 for undefined charges during the Bersih 2.0 crackdown.

At that time, the six PSM members - Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, M Sarasvathy, M Sukumaran, A Letchumanan and Sungai Siput parliamentarian Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj - were detained on suspicion of planning to wage war against the King.

Along the way, the charge was changed several times and one of the charges included allegations that they could be ringleaders of the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.

Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar confirmed the release of the six from detention under the Emergency Ordinance in a two-paragraph media statement. He clarified that the Attorney-General will decide on the next course of action for the six of them.

According to various online news portals, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan and their lawyer Edmund Bon also confirmed the six were released at 5.30pm.

This news is certainly most heartwarming. At the candlelight vigil last night which was held at Speakers' Square, Esplanade, Dr Prema Devaraj aired her concerns for her brother who had started his hunger strike. When Chon Kai's girlfriend gave a note of thanks to all supporters, she broke down and asked for more vigils to show solidarity and to pressure the government to release them.

I am sure concerned Malaysians are deeply relieved. However, the fact remains that the EO and the ISA must be abolished lest innocent Malaysians can be victimised through the indiscriminate use of this law. Let's continue to campaign for those repressive and Draconian laws to be abolished.

Throughout history, we can see that barriers have been raised between races in many parts of the world, even our own. This poem, "The Caged Bird" is another favorite of mine written by an American poet that I admire greatly - Maya Angelou.

Born as Marguerite Ann Johnson in 1928, she is an American poet, playwright, author, producer and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. She has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" and is best known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (1969) which was nominated for a National Book Award and show the unity of Angelou's central themes: the injustice of racism and how she fights it. A highly respected writer, it is no surprise that she has won over 30 honorary degrees.

RATIONALE FOR THIS POST
I am doing a post about this poem tonight because its message is particularly relevant to us in the light of recent developments in our country. As I surf the net, I can feel the onslaught of vehement comments from various parties expressing their outrage and in many ways, many of us are like the subject in the poem - THE CAGED BIRD.

Divisions and inequalities have existed between African Americans and whites since long ago. For more than one hundred years African Americans have lived in a world where ongoing white supremacy and African American inferiority exist and have unjustly endured many injustices, ranging from slavery, discrimination, segregation, and racism.
In history, ultimately the opportunities have existed for whites; African Americans have been oppressed, segregated, and held back.

In Maya Angelou’s poem, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” there is a clear parallel between the caged bird and the free bird, and the African American man or woman and the white man or woman. While Angelou never mentions either race it is clear that she does so through the metaphors she uses to send the points she wants to get across to her audiences. Angelou’s words speak out to an all African American audience to relate to, understand, and share the feelings of oppression and segregation, and feelings of jealousy toward the white race. Maya Angelou also speaks to an audience of mixed races and I believe many of us can identify with her voice...


MY LITERARY INTERPRETATION OF THE POEM

In this poem, Angelou tells a tale of sorrow, and desire, comparing a free bird to a caged bird. Beautifully written, it opens your eyes to the sad truth about segregation, through a wonderful blend of similes, metaphors, rhyme, repetition and assonance.

Angelou uses the metaphor of a bird struggling to escape its cage described in the Paul Laurence Dunbar poem, "Sympathy", as a "central image" throughout all of her autobiographies.

Similar to the elements within the prison narrative, the caged bird represents Angelou's imprisonment from the racism she sees as inherent in Stamps, Arkansas, and her continuing experiences of other experiences she views as imprisonment, like racial discrimination, drugs, marriage, and the economic system.This metaphor also invokes the "supposed contradiction of the bird singing in the midst of its struggle".

This poem has a deeper meaning that is the ongoing plight to end the racial segregation in the United States but can be applied to our country where we have two groups of power in conflict with each other.

Maya Angelou expresses in her poem with the use of two opposite lives living in the same society, with the free and caged bird.

White people represent a free bird able to "[leap] on the back of wind", and do as he, or she chooses. The line "The free bird thinks of ... the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright law and names the sky his own" demonstrates that most of the white society cares more about their wealth and very little about the black community's oppression. Does this sound familiar?

Angelou also implies that black citizens of the United States are very much like a caged bird, "his wings are clipped and his feet are tied..." except for that the bars on a black citizens cage, that restrict him from the joys of freedom and give him a "grave of dreams", are not made of cheap metal or plastic, but of racist oppression, discrimination, and segregation. Again, does this ring a familiar tune in your ear?

Because of the caged bird's oppression, "[he] sings with a fearful trill of things unknown and longed for still", like how civil rights activists wrote papers, gave speeches, and organized protests for equal rights in America so no citizen felt as if he was in a cage.

When Angelou says that the black citizen's "tune is heard on a distant hill," her message is that the white society is can hear their cries for equality but only faintly. Finally in her last line of the poem, she says, "for the caged bird sings of freedom", she means that the plight for equality is slowly improving, but is nowhere near the end, and the only way to get to the end is to make everyone aware of this social injustice.

It is very clear that Angelou believes in equality for all of mankind and declares through her poem that even though there are social injustices in life, hope and persistence can lessen, and eventually get rid of segregation. This poem tries to show that even though the free bird and the caged bird are still birds, one is free and the other is a prisoner, despite that they both deserve freedom and the opportunity to be happy.

CONCLUSION


The themes decipherable in this poem are universal and truly go beyond the confines of the United States of America because many may feel very much caged in their own countries as oppression of many sorts continue because of certain groups.

The cry of many that we can hear or see in cyberspace are like the cries and songs of the caged bird who yearns to sing when trapped within, 'caged' or restricted. It doesn't show just the black race; it shows religion, or how a person can just be so frustrated when caught in the struggles of life. Drowning, trapped, encased, and they cannot get out. While another person is enjoying their life of freedom, with only the care of what was happening next in THEIR life and without a care for other people, the caged bird seems to be going insane, beating it's 'wing' against the bars until it bled. Am I hitting familiar notes????

When Maya Angelou tries to explain the process of drowning, she does not tell how or why the person got into the water or what he needs to do to get. What she does offer is two people in the water.

One can swim and the can't. She doesn't offer a solution for the caged bird, just the status of his being. It is the plight of the cage bird that important here. It is anybody's story. In the end its not about the cause or solution. It is about being. If we think hard and deep enough, we can empathize with Maya's thoughts, emotions, pain and outrage as expressed in poetic form.


This poem is symbolic of what anyone can go through in life when faced with adversity.They can give up or keep growing feathers until they eventually get strong enough to fly away!!!

Oleh kerana masa singkat untuk menyedarkan pihak pengundi tentang isu-isu semasa di negara kita, saya terpaksa blog dalam Bahasa Melayu untuk menarik minat khalayak yang lebih besar walaupun saya tidak begitu fasih dalam Bahasa Malaysia.

Pagi ini, pemimpin Parti Hak Asasi, P Uthayakumar telah ditangkap polis manakala sekatan jalan diadakan di sekitar bandaraya Kuala Lumpur bagi memastikan perarakan yang dianjurkan parti itu dan sekutunya. Perarakan itu diadakan untuk membantah novel 'Interlok' karya sasterawan negara, Datuk Abdullah Hussain menggunakan terdapat perkataan 'paria' yang dianggap menghina masyarkat India. Hindraf bagi membantah tindakan dan pentadbiran 'rasis' oleh Umno di negara ini menemui kegagalan.

Menurut laporan di Malaysiakini, Menteri Belia dan Sukan Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek mengatakan bahawa "golongan muda kini sudah menunjukkan kecenderungan menyokong kerajaan BN yang memahami dan memenuhi kehendak golongan tersebut. Beliau menyatakan bahawa golongan muda melihat kepimpinan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak sebagai pemimpin yang banyak memberi inspirasi kepada mereka.

Ahmad Shabery berkata golongan muda kini menyedari bahawa Pakatan Rakyat yang terdiri daripada PAS, DAP dan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) dipimpin oleh orang tua yang tidak sealiran dengan kehendak mereka.

Kenyataan begini kian membimbangkan saya. Apakah implikasi kenyataan itu?

Bekas Perdana Menteri Malaysia TDM, waluapun berumur lebih 80'an, kian memberi kenyataan akhbar dan aktif dalam bidang politik walaupun sudah bersara daripada perkhidmatan kerajaan.

Keupayaan dan kecenderungan seseorang tidaklah 100% bergantung kepada umurnya. Walaupun seseorang sudah tua, maka dengan pengalamannya dalam hidup seharian, dia lebih memahami keperluan dan kehendak kalangan orang mudah dan tua.

Dalam laporan DI SINI, beliau berkata belia India tidak sepatutnya terpengaruh dengan Hindraf kerana isu yang mereka ketengahkan adalah tidak berasas, satu pembohongan dan tidak benar. Katanya semua kaum di negara ini mempunyai isu tetapi kerajaan dapat menguruskan semua isu tersebut dengan baik.

Kejadian pagi ini seperti yang dilaporkan di SINI, menunjukkan bahawa realiti tidak sama dengan kenyataan.

Samada seorang mampu berkhidmat demi negara bergantunglah kepada hatinya, hasratnya yang tulen, kebolehannya dan juga keupayaannya dalam bidang politik dan lain-lain faktor - umur merupakan salah satu aspek saja.

Warganegara Malaysia mestilah sanggup mengundi dengan hati demi pembangunan negara. Tibalah masa agar kita berfikir tentang gambaran yang lebih besar dan kebaikan yang lebih besar bagi semua warga negara tanpa memandang jenis kelamin, kelas bangsa, atau agama.

Diharap setiap warganegara Malaysia setia dan sudi mengundi apabila masa tiba untuk Pilihanraya Ke 13. Sila KLIK sini untuk lagu SETIA.



Dengan hasrat dan impian yang sama, marilah kita mengejar harapan bahawa pada satu hari, kita semua boleh hidup dalam suasana yang berharmoni dan bersatupadu.

*Sudah lebih 20 tahun saya tidak menulis dalam BM. Saya minta maaf untuk semua kesalahan bahasa dalam posting ini yang saya tulis kerana aku mencintai Malaysia. Sekian, terima kasih.

English translation of this article is available HERE.

• needs
• concerns
• our children's education and that of our descendants
• our wallets that are getting lighter
• hurts at being called derogatory names
• our pleas that have fallen on deaf ears
• our frustration at being sidelined
• anger at the many unexplained deaths such as TBH, Kugan and many others
• our reaction to the many reports about corruption
  

Yesterday, the IGP gave a warning HERE that legal action will be taken against anyone attending an unlawful gathering sponsored by Hindraf that is expected to be held at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Sunday. This statement did not go down well with many because others who announced their intention to protest did not receive similar warnings.



This morning, Malaysiakini reported HERE that the police arrested Human Rights Party (HRP) leader P Uthayakumar and erected roadblocks around Kuala Lumpur in the bid to stop an 'anti-racism' rally organised by it and its affiliate Hindraf in the city centre today.

As many of us already know, the rally was aimed at protesting the controversial 'Interlok' novel by national laureate Abdullah Hussain because many have criticised for containing racial slurs and stereotypes against the Indian and Chinese communities.

At 8a.m., Uthayakumar was intercepted by the police as he left his apartment in Pantai Hillpark, Kuala Lumpur,.

According to an SMS message to Malaysiakini from Uthayakumar's younger brother Waythamoorthy who lives in London,he was handcuffed and taken in a white van.

Malaysiakini reported that Uthayakumar was taken to the Pudu district police headquarters for questioning.

Extract from the report:

In addition to Uthayakumar, 17 other persons suspected of being participants in the rally have also been taken in by the police this morning - seven at KLCC and 10 at the Renaissance Hotel.

Their identities have not yet been ascertained.

Meanwhile, the police have locked down Kuala Lumpur city centre ahead of the planned demonstration.

Roadblocks, some set up as early as 5.30am, have been reported on Jalan Ampang, Jalan Kepong, Jalan Cheras, Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Duta–Sungai Buloh Highway, among others.

The march was supposed to have begun at the KLCC, but plans were apparently modified following the large presence of police personnel this morning.

An estimated 200 uniformed and plain-clothed police officers - including four trucks with Light Strike Force (LSF) personnel - have been stationed on Jalan Ampang between Avenue K and the Petronas Twin Towers.

Reporters have been told to stay put near the bus stop on the KLCC side, but such directions are intermittently broken when a commotion breaks out elsewhere.

Around 9.15am, about 80 in groups of 10 to 30 HRP/Hindraf supporters marched from Renaissance Hotel towards KLCC, shouting 'Makkal Sakthi' and other slogans - were arrest in front of Maya Hotel.

hindraf mass rally against umno and interlok 270211 5Veeramani, a Malaysiakini citizen journalist wearing a 'Citizen Journalist' t-shirt, as well as a reporter from Tamil daily Makkal Osai, were among those taken in while reporting on the event.

Kedah HRP chief Ramu Ramasamy and a Penang HRP leader were among those arrested. Both have been brought to the Sentul district police headquarters.

HRP information chief Jayathas was arrested around 10am and brought to the Jinjang district police headquarters.

According to a police source, 78 people have been arrested.

Amidst the commotion, a small group of students belonging to the Association of Tamil Students Malaysia, held a small demonstration on Jalan Mayang, off Jalan Ampang, near the Australian High Commission against the Interlok novel. They were dispersed without any arrests.

By about 10.20am, activity at the KLCC area appeared to have died down considerably with police personnel standing down.

The action by this time had moved to the Kootu Malai Pillayar Temple near the Pudu bus station, where scores of HRP have gathered and shouted 'Hindraf Velga!' 'Haramkan Interlok!' and 'Jangan hina kaum India' (Don't insult the Indian community!)

March proceeds to Pudu IPK

They carried banners supporting their anti-racism and anti-Interlok campaign.

After chanting for about half an hour, they proceeded to march towards the Kuala Lumpur contingent police headquarters.

They included about six disabled persons and Manoharan, who is also Kota Alam Shah state representataive.

By about 11.45am, the crowd had swelled to a procession of about 200 moving towards the contingent police headquarters.

Water cannons were seen on standby at the headquarters.

During the march, the police drove two patrol cars into the crowd, forcing the HRP/Hindraf supporters to break up into two lines and onto the sidewalks flanking the road.

rally proceeds to Pudu IPKUpon arrival at the contingent police headquarters, the demonstrators demanded that Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Amar Singh release those arrested within the hour.

As of 11.40am, according to a police source, at least 183 have been arrested over the aborted HRP/Hindraf rally.

If the police refused to heed their demands, said the demonstrators, they would camp outside the police station. They made the assurance, however, that they would not block traffic.

At a press conference in the police station, meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur police chief Zulkifli Abdullah (right) clarified the number of those arrested was 109, not 183 as earlier reported.

183 was the total number of those picked up in the police operation, including by-passers and curious onlookers. These were later released.

Those who were held over involvement in the rally were from the ages 18 to 66 years old, and included eight women and eight HRP leaders, said Zulkifli.

Explaining the police action, Zulkifli (right) said: "We were forced to act to stop those who were planning the gathering as they were still adamant to proceed despite the permit for the gathering being rejected," he said.

Zulkifli also said two men had claimed to be alternative media journalist.

Malaysiakini understands that a group of unidentified persons posing as Malaysiakini journalists with counterfeit press tags, were spotted trying to pick fights with the police at the Kuala Lumpur contingent police station, claiming they were from the news portal.

All of those arrested were being detained and investigated under Section 27(5) of the Police Act, for participation in an illegal assembly, said Zulkifli.

He added that the eight identified as leaders of the HRP were also being investigated under section 45(1) of the Societies Act for being involved in an illegal organisation.

The Kuala Lumpur police chief said that he was disappointed with the people behind the gathering who had proceeded despite being told not to.
Zulkifli said further that he is also grateful to 13 Indian Ngo leaders who had volunteered to talk the Indian community out of participating in the illlegal gathering today.

Around 12.30pm, the bulk of the crowd at the contingent police headquarters dispersed, leaving behind only about 20 to continue the protest.

Many headed in the direction of Jinjang district police headquarters, where HRP leader Uthayakumar has been detained.

It was reported that police checkpoints were set up on the way to the station.

About half a dozen FRU personnel and two dozen uniformed police officers had stationed themselves at the gate inside the Jinjang police station in anticipation of the crowd.

By 4pm the crowd across from the station had grown to over 200, shouting 'Hindraf vaalga!' and other slogans.

'We will stay here until Uthaya is released!' many of them were heard saying.

Photos of this morning's rally are available HERE. Videos of arrest can be viewed HERE and HERE.

I will update this post later. Please swing by again. Thanks!

I am deeply saddened by THIS REPORT in The Malaysian Insider which reported that the "Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Teoh Beng Hock’s death suffered a major blow to its credibility today after the family of the dead political aide withdrew from the inquiry."

I can imagine the pain, frustration and anguish the family must have felt when they decided to pull out of proceedings after the royal panel decided to continue the inquiry despite a proposed judicial review over the appointment of deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) as conducting officers.

The panel also shot down Karpal's call for Foong to recuse himself as panel chairperson, saying that there are not enough grounds to support the application.

According to the report, DAP chief Karpal Singh, who is counsel for the Teohs, said that the family would withdraw so as not to lend legitimacy to the commission.

Malaysiakini also reported on this case. I am posting this excerpt from HERE for the benefit of those who have yet to subscribe to Malaysiakini:

Karpal argued that Foong should recuse himself as the latter is still a member of the judiciary, thus presenting a conflict of interest as the RCI should consist of independent panellists.

The panel however unanimously decided that there was no basis to support Karpal's contention.

Earlier, proceedings were stalled after Karpal objected to the commission's decision to continue with the hearing, saying that it was "unreasonable" to do so while their application for judicial review is still in process.

His co-counsel Gobind Singh pointed out that the commission runs the risk of "contamination of evidence", as the evidence presented in the earlier inquest would be considered compromised should the High Court rule in favour of a judicial review.

Shafee Abdullah, acting for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, agreed that the application by Teoh's family is an urgent and serious matter, but pointed out that the timing of the application would greatly delay the RCI.

He stressed that regardless of who wins in the High Court, there will be an appeal and it would push back the RCI proceedings by at least three months.

Shafee added that the integrity of the RCI would not be affected should it continue its hearing - should the High Court rule in favour of having a review, the commission can simply disqualify the evidence in question.

More to come later AT THIS LINK.

At 5.58pm, there were 42 comments in Malaysiakini in response to this development.

One of the comments in Malaysiakini by ChangeAgent stands out and he/she wrote:

Here is a comment I posted two days ago. Please allow me to re-emphasise on the last sentence to all fellow Malaysiakini readers: I plead with the Teoh family and lawyers to boycott the RCI and stage a walk-out en masse so as not to lend any further credence to this farcical event. I sincerely sympathise with the family and am touched by their unwavering determination to find justice for their beloved TBH. However, if truth be told, they are unlikely to find closure through this staged inquiry where the outcome has already been determined to protect the true culprits from facing the full brunt of law. It would be too cruel to see them to go through and relive the charades scripted by the BN government all over again. I hereby urge all sensible Malaysians to show solidarity with the Teoh family by remembering TBH's tragic death and sacrifices, and translating it into a resounding demand for justice at the next ballot box.

Another one named LoverBoy wrote:

It appears that the family of TBH are trying to get everything their way as suggested by some. But I hope you would consider the following. The RCI was appointed by the Agong and its duty is investigative in nature to determine the cause of death of TBH. I would accept the panel although some may disagree. What I cannot accept are the DPP and the reason raised by Gobin on possible Bias. In the review these DPP are moving for a suicide verdict and in the RCI they are suppose to assist the RCI. Now James Foong, the golden thread of Natural Justice is the issue of Bias? Can you persuade the Malaysian public that these DPP are free from Bias? Can they wear two hats when in another forum they are pushing for a suicide verdict and in the RCI they are to assist the RCI. Common sense will tell you otherwise. The other issue, can you tell Malaysia why Dr. Pornthip is not called as a witness to testify in this RCI? Karpal you did right and I support the withdrawal from the RCI.



Whatever the case, I pray all parties concerned will really have a heart for Teoh Beng Hock and his family who seek closure and justice for his death. Please leave no stone unturned to find the truth and punish those who are responsible for TBH's untimely and tragic death! Remember his widow and his fatherless son, his family and loved one not forgetting other Malaysians who are outraged by his death and subsequent developments.

JUSTICE FOR TEOH BENG HOCK, KUGAN and all who died tragic and untimely deaths.