Racist Ignoramus Nasir Safar's Political Future Will Reveal Najib's True Intentions

By now the buzz naturally is the racism filled tirade by the psychiatrically predisposed(?) Datuk Nasir Safar, (the ugly bloke's pic is above) special officer to the prime minister. So filled with racist venom is this man, that he with such stupidity, spat it with a violence normally associated with cobras, of all places at a mulitracial gathering, a '1 Malaysia' seminar in Malacca! It certainly raises doubts about the state of his mind when he threw caution and common sense into the tong sampah and gave a lecture, which by past experience should have been reserved for a meeting of the wingnuts in Umno along with the currently in vogue Perkasa and assorted inferiority complex laden loonies or at an 'exclusive' BTN taklimat.

What is with Malacca that makes these crazies flip? On 15th October 2007 the other racist dunderhead, Malacca CM Mohd Ali Rustam spoke at a mulitracial convention of the PPP in the historic town where he basically told the delegates that Umno does not need non-Malays to govern the country! He declared that his party has ruled Malaysia for 50 years, they can rule for another 50 years more. And Umno does not need PPP, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, Sabah, Sarawak or anyone else to do this and that they can take a hike. That Umno got drubbed five months after his speech in the March 2008 GE shows the disconnect between his racist logic and the reality on the ground. Yet Umno delegates in the last party elections overwhelmingly supported him and would have voted for this fellow, making him our next deputy PM if only he was not suspended for election fraud! Not that Muhyiddin is any better.

But I digress. Within hours of Nasir Safar's ill-fated speech the heat became too much to bear and the poor sod had to resign, presumably only after being ordered to do so by Najib, because I'm sure in his tiny little racist mind Nasir probably felt he had done no wrong. In fact some others at the PM's office felt the same too. For example read this interesting bit from Bernama -- "The remarks allegedly made by Nasir does not in any way reflect the views of the Prime Minister. Datuk Nasir never intended to make any derogatory remarks. He spoke at length on the contributions made by all races in developing the country. Nevertheless, Nasir apologises for any offence caused. In light of this, Datuk Nasir will tender his resignation." A bloody cold and heartless statement. No sign of remorse or disappointment and not even an acknowledgement that the 'special officer' had drastically crossed the line of decent discourse. The crux of that PM's office bullshit is "well, Nasir did not do any wrong, in fact he's a decent chap who actually even praised the non-Malays, has no malice towards them even if he may have said a few harsh words although that was not his intention. In any case if you non-Malays out there have 'misconstrued' his good intentions, he says he's sorry and quits. By the way Nasir's speech does not reflect the PM's views." Haa!

If Najib seriously considers his special officer's act as a very wrong thing to do, then he should put Nasir permanently to pasture. But I doubt that very much and I hope that someone who can, should keep track of Nasir Safar's future from now on. There is every chance that over the next few weeks or months he'll quietly surface not far from the centre of power, perhaps even more strong and respected by his peers. You see what Nasir Safar so foolishly blurted out in Malacca has much resonance not only within Umno but also amongst a significant portion of the general Malay populace because of the party's unrelenting racist propaganda through its media machine including Utusan Malaysia and government apparatus such as BTN. In fact his speech may serve to provide much needed galvanizing power for Umno vis a vis the Malay public.

Nasir Safar will be rewarded by Najib et al because in the convoluted mind and perverse logic of Umno style racism, he is a Wira Bangsa like Mohd Ali Rustam, provided he doesn't get too big for his Bata slippers. In what form and shape that reward will come is something for us to wait and watch. Only then will we know the true intent of Najib's 1Malaysia propaganda. And please don't forget that by his racist outbursts Nasir has at least temporarily shifted the focus from other issues dogging Najib such as the Allah controversy. That should please the PM for a while. Also do remember that even if by a very rare pang of conscience Najib were to allow Nasir to drift to Gilligan's Island, there is always good old Muhyiddin who may with undisguised glee throw him a lifeline and keep him in good humour along with other like-minded comrades in arms, while waiting for the opportune moment to make his own strike.

Japanese On Signboards At The Expense Of Tamil Irks Singapore's Indians

Singapore's use of Japanese on signboards in an apparent bid to lure more Japanese tourists has roused concern among some ethnic Indians who make up almost 10 percent of the city-state's citizens, with some feeling snubbed at the exclusion of their native language Tamil.

The city-state has four official languages -- English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil -- to accommodate its multiethnic population, which is majority Chinese with sizeable Malay and Indian minorities.

Signs are mostly in English, which is the administrative and working language.

But government offices often convey policy information in the four languages and announcements for passengers at commuter train stations are delivered in the four languages, one after the other.

And all Singaporean students are required to study their native languages in school, in addition to English.

In recent years, however, multilingual signs have mushroomed at Changi international airport and at tourist hotspots bearing only three of those four languages plus Japanese, with Tamil not among them.

The increasing appearance of such signs is widely seen as a deliberate policy to make Singapore more tourist-friendly to non-English speakers, including Japanese.

Last year, Japan was Singapore's sixth largest source of tourists after Indonesia, China, Australia, India and Malaysia.

Thamiselvan Karuppaya, a 40-year-old ethnic Indian real estate agent, applied to speak Friday on the issue at Speakers' Corner, a park in Singapore's financial and business district that has been designated since 2000 by the government as a venue for citizens to air grievances.

But he had to abandon his plan after the police objected on ground the issue touches on racial sensitivities.

Singapore forbids speakers at the park from touching on race and religion for fear it might ignite tension among the races in the wealthy Southeast Asian state, which though peaceful now, saw violent riots between Chinese and Malays in the 1960s.

Karuppaya's friend Rethinam Sabapathy, 51, told Kyodo News that some street signs near the country's biggest Hindu temples also fail to use Tamil.

"All this doesn't make sense. It's a mistake. They are trying to attract more Japanese by using Japanese language for the signboards. But as Tamil speakers, we have a slight feeling of 'unwantedness' creeping into us," Sabapathy said.

"The Japanese are very nice people known for manufacturing good cameras and for their sumo wrestlers, but it's wrong to put up Japanese language because they come here to get the real multicultural flavor of Singapore," he said.

In response to inquiries from Kyodo News, Rebecca Lim, deputy director for Infrastructural Development at the Singapore Tourism Board, said multilingual signs in Singapore are meant to serve the needs of tourists, especially those who are non-English speakers.

She said the agency encourages multilingual signs that "take into consideration the needs of our non-English speaking visitors from key visitor-generating markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Japan."

This is why Chinese, Malay and Japanese were added to English for signs at the Changi Airport, she said in an email response to Kyodo.

Aside from the signboard issue, Sabapathy, who works as a horticulturalist, said ethnic Indians do not feel marginalized as the government does promote their native language by ensuring the continuance of a Tamil newspaper, the state-run broadcasting station runs a Tamil radio channel and brochures explaining government policies also include Tamil.

Singapore's local population of 3.6 million is made up of 2.7 million ethnic Chinese, 491,000 ethnic Malays and 313,000 ethnic Indians.

If foreigners working in the state are included, Singapore's population is 4.6 million.

In a statement Friday, Singapore police said they have informed Karuppaya the issue he was planning to raise in his speech "is a sensitive one impinging on race."

"Singapore is a multi-ethnic society and maintaining community harmony is a key imperative that we must not take for granted," it said.

Japan was once the shining star of Singapore tourism but it has in recent years been overshadowed by tourists from emerging Asian economies flocking to Singapore in ever greater numbers due to buoyant economies and a boom in low-cost airlines. (Read the whole report HERE.)

***** Whether under Malay or Chinese hegemony, it looks like the Indians are the ones who get shafted! And what better excuse than 'race is a sensitive issue' to stifle expressions of their unhappiness over the matter? It seems that Singapore and Malaysia do have more things in common than we thought.

Made-In-Malaysia Racism

From the Letters To The Editor section in today's The Star with the title
Let’s shut out the racial instigators

"While we gasp in horror when we hear others talking bad about our race, some of us, particularly among family and friends, do practise racism without us realising it!

It is just like gossip – we pretend that it isn’t nice to gossip but we do try to eavesdrop or korek-korek when we hear people gossiping.

The Malays fear that the Malay culture will be diluted or, worse, be wiped out when one talks about Bangsa Malaysia while the Chinese fear that the Malays will impose their ketuanan on them, and the Indians and other minorities are staring at being left out of the development of the country.

And it doesn’t help at all when a politician utters racial slurs that another politician from a so-called multi-racial party from the same front or the opposition decides to hammer away instead of doing what our forefathers did, which was discussing the issue privately.

Each and every politician quickly pours fuel into the fire that in turn creates a pattern of both fear, anger and revenge.

And worst still, we now have bloggers writing articles that are deemed seditious by the government. Time and time again, reminders and warnings have been given, yet these bloggers are not only disregarding court summonses but are also openly instigating the public to turn against the establishment.

If they can ignore the law, perhaps so can we, the respectful public.

In my opinion, discussing behind closed doors whenever we have problems is the best solution and this will also shut out the kaki panas kepala-kepala as well as instigators.

Whether we like it or not, we are here to stay permanently and before we try to tell others how to clean their house, we must first clean our own house.

Diversity colours Malaysia and thank God we are indeed different. But instead of using diversity to bridge the difference, we are using differences to widen the bridge of diversity.

As far as people like me, the non-decision makers, are concerned we don’t have issue with other races at all.

Politicians and bloggers can come and see us any time but to do that, they have to leave their phalanx of politician buddies and their computers and feel the ground that is holding us all. That ground is called Malaysia and it is OUR home."

A COMMON MAN,

Kuala Lumpur.

***** 'Common Man' has a point when he says that some issues, especially the 'sensitive' ones, are better discussed in private. I can understand his concern that matters may get out of hand if 'too much' is debated publicly.

However one must hasten to add that this is the strategy which has been employed over the past few decades with no apparent improvement. Even a zillion years of negotiating privately will not yield results if the status quo is maintained and where an openly racist scum like the Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail is allowed to continue spitting his venom with impunity.

Just imagine if the roles had been reversed and a chinaman had been brave (and foolish) enough to speak in such tones about the Malays. Umno would have gone to town with that statement and demanded the full force of the ISA be brought to bear on him. And you know what? Pak Lah would have gladly obliged and may have even gone further and revoked the courageous and foolhardy sod's citizenship.

This is the racial politics which Umno has been playing all these years. It would not be surprising if the majority of Umno members share the views of the Bukit Bendera bastard. For that matter don't even be surprised if a large number of Malays generally agree with the racist diatribe of the bugger. By cunningly taking advantage of the fears and prejudices of the Malays, Umno has over the past few decades been continously feeding 'communal poison' to them and in a Pavlovian way, reshaping their psyche.

So successful has Umno's devious scheme been that attempts to even slightly alter Malay perception will prove refractory. Therefore would sending the Bukit Bendera bum to Kamunting really solve the issue? Is there any viable solution to our national disunity problem? I really don't know. Many have placed their hopes on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. For the sake of all Malaysians, DSAI will have to work hard and strive to achieve meaningful muhibbah which at least partly existed fifty years ago and which Umno totally destroyed in the intervening decades.

Najib: Govt Has Never Restricted Non-Bumis Pursuing Higher Education In The Country. Is This True?

From Bernama

Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government have never restricted opportunities for non-Bumiputeras to pursue higher education in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak said Monday.

He said various changes have been made by the government over the last few years to make education in the country more liberal and open.

These more liberal and open educational policies benefited the non-Bumiputera communities, he told reporters after a visit to the BN election operations room in Sama Gagah here.

He said the picture portrayed by the Opposition on educational opportunities for Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras was incorrect altogether.

Najib said the issue of education could not be viewed from one angle but should be seen from the viewpoint of changes to the educational sector and the national education policy initiated by the BN government.

Najib said the government provided ample opportunities for all communities, including non-Bumiputeras, and the issue should not be politicised by the Opposition, especially in the Permatang Pauh by-election, polling for which is on Aug 26.

The BN deputy chairman was asked to comment on a statement by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his "ceramah" (talk) that he supported the proposal by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for a 10 per cent intake of non-Bumiputeras into Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Anwar, 61, is involved in a three-corner contest with Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, 51, of the BN and Hanafi Mamat, 61, of the Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akin) in the by-election.

The by-election has been necessitated by the resignation on July 31 of the member of parliament, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, to pave the way for her husband, Anwar, to contest and become an MP.

Najib said the government had approved legislation providing for the setting up of private colleges and universities to open up opportunities for non-Bumiputeras to pursue higher education, replaced the quota system with a meritocracy system and extended the National Higher Education Loan Fund Corporation (PTPTN) scheme to all communities.

"We have also allowed private colleges, such as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), to upgrade and recruit more students. Gerakan also has a university and, yesterday, MIC officially opened its Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) university," he said.

As such, he called on the Opposition not to politicise the issue of education in an attempt to garner the votes of the Chinese and Indian communities.

He said the issue was used as capital to draw non-Malay support for Anwar as the support of the Malays and Muslims was divided between Umno and PAS.

***** How many of you feel that Najib is accurate in his claim that the government has provided ample opportunities for all communities, including non-Bumis? The lack of tertiary education opportunities is one of the sorest points in the long list of non-Malay grouses and dissatisfaction with Umno. The non-Bumis have been given the short end of the stick for the better part of four decades partly because the so-called Chinese and Indian parties in the BN have remained deaf and dumb all these years.

But now in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-elections, knowing that the non-Malays are extremely pissed off with Umno and its continous use of the race and religion card, Najib is making this empty claim. To be fair he has every right to claim what he likes just as the people have the right to give Umno the boot in this and other elections. Say no to racism.

Gerakan Leader Calls For Party To Quit BN

From Bernama

Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the remark by women's head Datuk Tan Lian Hoe who wanted the party to reconsider its position in Barisan Nasional (BN) was an internal problem and would be resolved by the party itself.

He said Tan had not communicated to him of her opinion and he was surprised after being told about what she had said.

"I will handle the issue within the party. This only reflects that there are opinion differences among party leaders and it shows the democratic process does exist. And we will discuss the matter within the party," he said.

Earlier, he accompanied Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in a meeting with leaders of Chinese non-governmental organisations and Islamic religious class teachers here Sunday.

Tan who is Deputy Information Minister, told reporters after the annual conference of Perak Gerakan delegates in Ipoh Sunday that party grassroots were unhappy with BN leaders who used racial issues to gain political support.

Dr Koh said that probably, Tan raised the matter because as Deputy Information Minister, she received information from the Chinese community and grassroots.

It would not become an issue, he said and added that he would continue to campaign for the BN candidate in the Permatang Pauh by-election as Penang BN chairman.

Meanwhile, Abdullah when asked to comment on the matter, said he had not been informed of it.

***** So the call for minor players in the BN to quit has started. About time too. How long can these also-rans continue to put up with Umno and its persistent race-baiting? Despite the expected pathetic response by Dr Koh Tsu Koon, it'll only be a matter of time before the lone voice of Datuk Tan turns into a flood of discontent and anger. Are MCA and MIC listening?

In Malaysia It Pays To Hurl Racial Abuse At Students. Racist Teacher Rewarded.

From AsiaOne, Singapore

It obviously pays to hurl racial abuse at students, going by what happened to the teacher who did so at a school here. The 35-year-old history teacher from SM Telok Panglima Garang was not only transferred to a smart school but to one located nearer her house.

To add insult to injury, no disciplinary action was taken against her.

It is understood that her letter of transfer stated that she was being transferred due to concerns for her security and not because she had committed an offence.

Several parents and non-governmental organisations gathered in front of the school yesterday demanding an explanation from the headmaster for letting her off with just a slap on the wrist.

However, the headmaster refused to meet them, saying the matter was no longer related to the school since the teacher had been transferred.

Coalition of Indian NGOs secretary G. Gunaraj said the transfer showed the teacher had got away scot-free.

"In fact, she even got a better deal. She is now in a better school and one that is nearer to her house."

He said this set a dangerous precedent as others may think they too can get away scot-free uttering racial slurs.

He said the Education Ministry should be serious in tackling the issue as what the teacher had done could affect racial harmony.

Gunaraj said some teachers in the school were blaming the affected students for lack of a history teacher.

"This should not be the case. Does it mean that students should keep quiet, no matter what a teacher does?"

In the incident last month, the teacher allegedly told students of a certain ethnic group in a Form Four class that she "wanted to test their level of patience" and then began abusing them with derogatory words.

She even wrote the words on the blackboard. Two students later lodged police reports against her.

Several days earlier, she had allegedly entered a Form Five class and called the students using a derogatory word. She also accused them of being gangsters and thieves.

She was also alleged to have ordered the boys to do push-ups. When some of them could not do so, she allegedly stomped on their backs.

Last Monday, nearly 500 parents and members of the public gathered to protest in front of the school.

Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the ministry had instructed the State Education Department to initiate an inquiry and that the teacher "had some explaining to do".

State Education director Ashah Samah said she had wanted to transfer the person out of the state but had acceded to a request from the teacher to remain in the district.

She said the transfer letter was issued by the district education department and that she would investigate claims that security had been stated as the reason for the move.

***** When the whole education department itself is bloody racial to the core, can we expect any meaningful and reasonable action by these people against a fellow racist? Just read the statement by the State Education director Ashah Samah. She said that she had wanted to transfer the person out of the state but had acceded to a request from the teacher to remain in the district! What compassion!

When the government itself practices open discrimination and racism can you expect something better from these nutcases? Malaysia Boleh!

Update: Samy Vellu: Why ‘reward’ racist teacher?

MCA Seeks Unbiased Review Of Syllabus & Contents Of History Textbooks. There's No Chance Of This Under An Umno Govt

From today's The Star.

The MCA has recommended that a multiracial committee similar to the one formed to fine-tune the Ethnic Relations module be set up to review and finalise the syllabus and contents of History textbooks.

Its education bureau chief Senator Datuk Lee Sing Chooi said a review paper providing recommendations to improve the syllabus had been submitted to Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

“As citizens of a multi-ethnic, cultural and religious country, it is paramount to give due recognition to the history of each community in an unbiased manner.

“The subject should not just focus on one section of the community while neglecting to mention the roles and struggles of all communities,” he said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

He said information on major civilisations throughout the world should be expanded further to keep abreast with general knowledge and to encourage the understanding of international relations and history.

“This will provide a more balanced paradigm for our future generations and offer them a more competitive edge in embracing the challenges of globalisation,” he said.

Lee said personal convictions that might influence impressionable youths should be omitted from the contents of the textbooks.

“Terms which will spark feelings of uneasiness, resentment and result in rifts in our multiracial country must be avoided.

“The younger generation should be provided with a well-balanced perspective to instil unity and to share a common burden of nation- building and progressive outlook for the benefit of all,” he said.

At a separate press conference, Hishammuddin said he would study the syllabus and contexts of the textbooks in a comprehensive way.

“The National Education Blueprint (2006-2010) is for us to bring transformation to the educational field, and within these five years we will listen to constructive suggestions,” he said.

Lee together with The Review Paper project coordinator Loh Seng Kok and Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research CEO Fui K. Soong later issued a joint statement addressing the same sentiment.

***** If MCA genuinely wants to see a more accurate depiction of the nation's history, it should first change its support from BN to Pakatan Rakyat. There is simply no way that the fanatics in Umno would allow the truth to be told. They would prefer to wallow with pride in the fictional muck that they have created over the past fifty years.

In any case, even if some honest umnoputera (if we can find one and Hishamuddin definitely does not fit the bill) attempts to provide an unbiased version, he'll be hooted and booted out of the party. Certain historical half-truths, like ketuanan Melayu, a vague 'social contract', the unrestrained romanticising of Malay warriors and freedom fighters, the near total omission of the contribution of non-Malays in nation building, the over-emphasis on things Islamic and a pro-Arabic slant are essential for the continued survival of Umno.

MCA is either possessed with exuberant optimism, remarkable naiveté or is in perpetual denial mode for expecting meaningful changes to the syllabus and contents of our history books from Umno, home to the most rabid cultural and racial zealots in the country.

An Obama Presidency - Whose Race Problem?

Lots of Americans Accept Obama. But Will The World?
"Will Americans vote for a black man?" I've been asked this question by foreigners of various origins a dozen -- or maybe three dozen -- times since the U.S. presidential campaign began for real in January. Now we have the answer: Yes, Americans will vote for a black man. Which means that it is time to turn this rather offensive question around: Will foreigners accept a black American president?

I realize that this, too, may seem like a rather offensive question, particularly if one believes everything that one reads in newspapers. Germany, to take one random example, is at the moment experiencing something like its own version of Obamamania. The media appear to see the Democratic candidate as what a Der Spiegel journalist calls "a cross between John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr."; the German foreign minister has been heard chanting "Yes, we can!"; and Obama T-shirts can be spotted in the hipper quarters of Berlin. This sort of enthusiasm isn't unique to Germany: British, French and even Polish newspapers splashed Obama and his candidacy on their front pages this past week, most accompanied by laudatory articles that solemnly proclaimed, "America has changed."

But has Europe changed? And have Asia and the Middle East changed? I hate to put it so crudely, but -- European newspaper reporting to the contrary -- racism is not unique to the United States. The situation of ethnic minorities in Europe and Asia is completely different from that in the United States, and in many ways our societies aren't comparable: Most nonwhite inhabitants of European societies are recent immigrants, not descendants of former slaves, and the particular circumstances of, say, the black Christian population in Arab-dominated Sudan are unique.

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that there is a distinct dearth of nonwhite politicians in Europe. The Indian caste system has an element of skin-color discrimination built in. Arab societies have their own history of trading in black slaves, and the existence in the Arab world of prejudice against black Africans is no secret. Periodically, African students in Moscow are beaten up on the street. Though it is certainly more severe in those countries that actually have large nonwhite populations, unreflective racism exists even in parts of the world that have barely any darker-skinned or nonnative inhabitants. Japan has been singled out by the United Nations for racist treatment of foreigners. And while some of the stares that black Americans say they get on the street in Warsaw or Prague reflect simple curiosity, some, I'm told, contain an element of hostility, too.

A President Obama wouldn't have to worry too much about angry stares from people at bus stops, of course, and it is fair to assume that prejudices harbored by the odd foreign leader would vanish in the presence of the American president. In the rosiest scenario, an Obama presidency -- or merely an Obama candidacy -- might even force a broader international discussion of race. Andrew Sullivan wrote eloquently last year about the way in which Obama's face, by itself, will help change America's image around the world. By the same token, candidate Obama -- merely by being who he is, and looking the way he does -- could begin to change European, Arab and Asian attitudes about race. Millions of Africans would surely treat an American president of African descent as "their" president, just for a start.

But in the meantime, do not be surprised if there is some backlash as well. A hint of what might be hiding behind those enthusiastic headlines emerged last week in Obamamanic Germany, where a Berlin newspaper, Die Tageszeitung, put a photograph of the White House and the headline " Uncle Barack's Cabin" on its front page. The editors argued that their intention was satirical, but since the same newspaper has also referred to the current U.S. secretary of state as "Uncle Tom's Rice," it is clear that they understood the nastiness of the "Uncle Tom" connotation perfectly well.

Listen carefully, too, when foreigners start worrying about Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. Though this is a legitimate concern, I occasionally catch a racist undertone in this kind of conversation. "How could a black man possibly understand European/Middle Eastern/South Asian politics?" is what my interlocutors sometimes in fact seem to be saying.

The correct response, of course, is that plenty of white men don't understand European/Middle Eastern/South Asian politics, either. But not everyone, everywhere, is going to understand that. Foreign coverage of U.S. politics always reveals a lot about foreign countries, but never more so than in this election season. (Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post)

***** I don't know about the rest of the world, but Malaysians will embrace an Obama presidency without reservation. It is only when accepting an Obama-like figure as our own leader that serious objections will crop up and the contentious question of race and religion will rear its ugly head.

Boycott Utusan Malaysia and Mingguan Malaysia For Fanning Racial Hatred Says Pakatan Rakyat

The Pakatan Rakyat alliance has called for an immediate boycott of Malay newspapers Utusan Malaysia and Mingguan Malaysia for what it said was unfair reporting and for allegedly fanning racial sentiments.

In a joint statement issued at a press conference in the lobby of Parliament, Opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the mainstream media had shown signs of opening up since the results of the March 8 polls.

However, many publications still gave wider coverage to Barisan Nasional and its component parties, while stories on Pakatan Rakyat tended to be full of distortion and misinformation to discredit the alliance parties and their leaders, she claimed.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat president was accompanied by alliance members DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PAS deputy president Nasaruddin Mat Isa in reading out the joint statement.

Dr Wan Azizah said the worst were the two aforementioned newspapers, which she claimed unfairly criticised and demonised Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

She also alleged these publications were always trying to provoke narrow ethnic sentiments, "clearly with the intention of creating anger among Malays against Pakatan Rakyat component parties." (The Star)

***** A boycott call probably won't work or at best will have only minimal effect. Those who are regular readers of these newspapers are 'hooked' on them and many will believe every word published no matter how ridiculous or far-fetched. The better alternative would be to rebut every silly and chauvinistic article or report head-on and hope for the best.

MIC To Push For More PSD Scholarships. There's No Point Pushing, Just Leave The BN

The MIC Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the low percentage of Public Service Department (PSD) overseas scholarships allocated for Indian students and hope the government will increase the number, party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said.

He said last year only 34 Indian students had been successful in their application.

The party received 194 appeals, some of them securing 12A1 in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations, Samy Vellu said in a statement.

The party has prepared a list of the 194 appeal cases comprising among others, two student with 12A1, three student with 11A1 and 41 student with 10A1.

"I will request the MIC representative in the Cabinet (Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramanianm) to bring up the appeal cases in the next Cabinet meeting (on Friday)," he said.

Samy Vellu said he had also discussed the matter with the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan and would follow up with him soon on the matter.

"I hope the government will consider the appeals by the students, especially those with excellent grades," he said, adding that some of the parents of the students were from poor background.

He suggested that the PSD set a minimum requirement similar to that for the matriculation courses in selected universities and Form Six in fully-aided schools where PSD scholarships would be offered to all students who scored 9As in their SPM. (Bernama)

***** All that these appeals will do is to get a few more morsels thrown at the doorstep of the PSD for the MIC to pick up like a stray dog.

The long term solution is for the MIC to get real, accept the fact that the bastards who are ruling and administering have no qualms in discriminating even the most impoverished high achiever and leave the BN at the earliest.

At this point in time the Pakatan Rakyat offers the most sensible and fair alternative. There is no shame in admitting that the MIC has been wrong all these years in supporting racists and supremacists. If they make the move now, chances are that the other spineless lackeys like the MCA and Gerakan will sooner or later follow suit. Then we can put the the true betrayers of the nation's trust in their place.

The Clintons - Seeds Of Destruction

The Clintons have never understood how to exit the stage gracefully.

Their repertoire has always been deficient in grace and class. So there was Hillary Clinton cold-bloodedly asserting to USA Today that she was the candidate favored by “hard-working Americans, white Americans,” and that her opponent, Barack Obama, the black candidate, just can’t cut it with that crowd.

“There’s a pattern emerging here,” said Mrs. Clinton.

There is, indeed. There was a name for it when the Republicans were using that kind of lousy rhetoric to good effect: it was called the Southern strategy, although it was hardly limited to the South. Now the Clintons, in their desperation to find some way — any way — back to the White House, have leapt aboard that sorry train.

He can’t win! Don’t you understand? He’s black! He’s black!

The Clintons have been trying to embed that gruesomely destructive message in the brains of white voters and superdelegates for the longest time. It’s a grotesque insult to African-Americans, who have given so much support to both Bill and Hillary over the years.

(Representative Charles Rangel of New York, who is black and has been an absolutely unwavering supporter of Senator Clinton’s White House quest, told The Daily News: “I can’t believe Senator Clinton would say anything that dumb.”)

But it’s an insult to white voters as well, including white working-class voters. It’s true that there are some whites who will not vote for a black candidate under any circumstance. But the United States is in a much better place now than it was when people like Richard Nixon, George Wallace and many others could make political hay by appealing to the very worst in people, using the kind of poisonous rhetoric that Senator Clinton is using now.

I don’t know if Senator Obama can win the White House. No one knows. But to deliberately convey the idea that most white people — or most working-class white people — are unwilling to give an African-American candidate a fair hearing in a presidential election is a slur against whites.

The last time the Clintons had to make a big exit was at the end of Bill Clinton’s second term as president — and they made a complete and utter hash of that historic moment. Having survived the Monica Lewinsky ordeal, you might have thought the Clintons would be on their best behavior.

Instead, a huge scandal erupted when it became known that Mrs. Clinton’s brothers, Tony and Hugh Rodham, had lobbied the president on behalf of criminals who then received presidential pardons or a sentence commutation from Mr. Clinton.

Tony Rodham helped get a pardon for a Tennessee couple that had hired him as a consultant and paid or loaned him hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over the protests of the Justice Department, President Clinton pardoned the couple, Edgar Allen Gregory Jr. and his wife, Vonna Jo, who had been convicted of bank fraud in Alabama.

Hugh Rodham was paid $400,000 to lobby for a pardon of Almon Glenn Braswell, who had been convicted of mail fraud and perjury, and for the release from prison of Carlos Vignali, a drug trafficker who was convicted and imprisoned for conspiring to sell 800 pounds of cocaine. Sure enough, in his last hours in office (when he issued a blizzard of pardons, many of them controversial), President Clinton agreed to the pardon for Braswell and the sentence commutation for Vignali.

Hugh Rodham reportedly returned the money after the scandal became public and was an enormous political liability for the Clintons.

Both Clintons professed to be ignorant of anything improper or untoward regarding the pardons. Once, when asked specifically if she had talked with a deputy White House counsel about pardons, Mrs. Clinton said: “People would hand me envelopes. I would just pass them on. You know, I would not have any reason to look into them.”

It wasn’t just the pardons that sullied the Clintons’ exit from the White House. They took furniture and rugs from the White House collection that had to be returned. And they received $86,000 in gifts during the president’s last year in office, including clothing (a pantsuit, a leather jacket), flatware, carpeting, and so on. In response to the outcry over that, they decided to repay the value of the gifts.

So class is not a Clinton forte.

But it’s one thing to lack class and a sense of grace, quite another to deliberately try and wreck the presidential prospects of your party’s likely nominee — and to do it in a way that has the potential to undermine the substantial racial progress that has been made in this country over many years.

The Clintons should be ashamed of themselves. But they long ago proved to the world that they have no shame. (Bob Herbert, New York Times)

Samy Vellu Admits Government Ignored Non-Malays, BN Partners Not Treated As Equals In Coalition

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has told the Internet news portal Malaysiakini that Barisan Nasional should change its mindset whereby equal opportunities must be given to all Malaysians, reported Malaysia Nanban.

He said it would be perilous for the Government if Barisan continued to ignore the other communities.

He also denied that the component parties were subservient to Umno but admitted that they were not treated as equals in the coalition.

He said the downfall of Barisan in the recent general election was due to the dissatisfaction of the people.

He said that while the Government had introduced programmes that were supposed to benefit all the people, they benefited one particular race when implemented.

He said that for Barisan to win the support of Malays and the other communities, it must come out with comprehensive programmes to uplift the economic status of the people in business, their participation in industry, licences and the vendor system that will bring benefit to all in the country.

The Youth and Sports Ministry will soon launch Rakan Cyber as part of Rakan Muda programmes to introduce youths to information and communication technology , reported Tamil Nesan.

Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said his ministry would also provide a blog in two months’ time for them to exchange views and express their opinions. (The Star)

***** Why does it take non-Umno BN political leaders like Sam to come clean only after getting hammered in the elections and losing their cabinet posts? Why didn't they have the guts or the conscience to fight for the rights of their constituents, whom they claimed to passionately represent, when they were in a position to do something positive much earlier?

No matter how much they whine now it is of no use, because we the citizens have been saying these things for a long, long time and all that the BN slaves did was to deny it over and over again and instead placed racist Umno on a pedestal and claimed that everyone was being treated equally! A bunch of hypocrites all of them.

DAP Urges Government To Resolve Citizenship Issue

Opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) national organising secretary Tan Kok Wai, who is also Cheras Member of Parliament, said it was time for the Government to resolve the rampant citizenship problems, particularly in Sabah.

He said the Government should now have the formula because for many decades the problem persisted, where the situation was divided into two categories of people, namely citizens and non-citizens, which he described as unfair.

"This situation is common in Sabah, where locals married foreign spouses resulting in their children becoming stateless," he said here.

According to him, the reason is simple because those born in 1963 or before, could automatically acquire Malaysia citizenship and those born after 1963 were issued red identity cards (permanent residents statue), while those born in Malaysia after 1963 were given green identity cards (temporary residents status).

Tan regretted that such people were subjected to frustration over their status due to perennial delays by the National Registration Department (NRD).

He pointed out that a bigger problem stemmed from inter-marriages between Malaysians and their spouses from Indonesia, China and the Philippines, among others, resulting in their offsprings being 'stateless'.

"These children often face problems going to school and in job application," he said. (Borneo Bulletin)

***** The Home Ministry is among the worst performers in government. The ministry is infested with chauvinistic and racist vermin whose only pleasure in life is to inflict as much misery as possible to everyone who deals with them. A thorough overhaul of the officials there as well as a psychiatric assessment of those posted to that infernal department must be done at the earliest.
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Who Speaks For Islam? What A Billion Muslims Really Think

By Aijaz Zaka Syed

Opinion polls fascinate me. They are, if honestly conducted, perhaps the best possible way to gauge public opinion. At a time when spin is the norm and global media is controlled, manipulated and dictated by powerful cliques, corporate interests and governments, it’s not easy to get a clear picture on any given issue.

This is especially true when the story involves marginalised minorities and dispossessed groups. And of late the Muslims, currently the world’s favourite punching bag, have been at the receiving end.

After the spectacular assassination of Marxism and disintegration of Soviet Union, the West found itself a new enemy in Islam.

The 9/11 attacks in the US and 7/7 strikes in the UK were only excuses, not the causes, to hasten this process. They might have contributed to the current hysteria against everything Islamic but they never were the Original Sin as we’ve been given to believe.

Myths like this have been demolished in a most interesting survey conducted by Gallup. What makes this opinion poll like no other is that it has been conducted over a period of six years, beginning after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Gallup conducted research in 35 Muslim countries, interviewing more than 50,000 people, to come up with what it calls the first comprehensive survey of Muslim world opinion.

And the results have also given birth to a book called, 'Who Speaks for Islam? What a billion Muslims really think' by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed.

The poll and the book offer a much-needed reality check on the relations between the West and Muslim world. Some of the findings are genuinely surprising and revealing even for someone like me who has been obsessed with the issue.

Many conclusions of the poll only go to confirm what we in the Middle East and Muslim world have always known but couldn’t succeed in putting them across to our friends in the West.

For instance, the fact that it’s not Islamic teachings that drive some individuals to violence but historical injustices inflicted and perpetuated by some Western powers. Which is why one so hopes that the urgent message this poll seeks to convey reaches the Western audience — and the wider world. It would be such a shame if it doesn’t.

Because, as Dalia Mogahed argues in the book, Who Speaks for Islam…, this ostensible conflict between Islam and West is far from inevitable.

Many concerned commentators including this humble hack have repeatedly argued that what is fuelling the so-called clash of civilisations is not some absurd hatred of the Christian West sanctioned by Islam but Western ignorance about Muslims. The poll backs this argument.

A huge majority of Muslims regardless of where they live, whether in Sunni Saudi Arabia or Iran, they are surprisingly well informed about the West, its values and ideals.

In fact, most of them admire the West for its scientific achievements, economic progress and celebration of knowledge and excellence. The West is admired by the Muslims for the political freedom, democracy and rights it offers its people. There are other findings that are equally interesting. Contrary to common perceptions in the West, the majority of respondents think men and women have equal rights.

A whopping 94 pc of Indonesians, the world’s largest Muslim nation, share this view. In Islamist Iran, the figure is 89 per cent. And in the much-reviled Saudi Arabia, it’s 73 per cent.

A great majority of Muslims also believe a woman can work outside her home in any job for which she is qualified (88 pc in Indonesia, 72 pc in Egypt and even 78 pc in Saudi Arabia). And they also believe women should be able to vote without interference (87 pc in Indonesia, 91 pc in Egypt, 98 pc in Lebanon).

What about the legendary Muslim sympathy for terrorism? While 6 pc of the Americans think attacks involving civilians are ‘completely justified,’ in Saudi Arabia, this figure is 4 pc. In Lebanon and Iran, it’s 2 per cent.

And mark this, it’s important. The majority of Muslims absolutely rejects violence and terrorism. In fact, many of the respondents quoted Quranic verses to point out that extremism goes against Islamic teachings.

Going by these findings, would any reasonable person in his right mind blame Islam of championing extremism and violence? And remember, this survey was not sponsored by Al Jazeera, Bin Laden’s favourite channel, but by Gallup, the biggest name in the business.

So what is it then that drives the West and Muslim world apart? The answer lies in Western indifference, nay casual contempt, for a billion believers and all that they believe in. I am not saying this; Gallup poll does.

Again this shouldn’t come as a surprise. While admiring Western values such as democracy and freedom, Muslims feel these values are conveniently cast aside when it comes to applying them to Muslim world.

More than 65 pc of Egyptians, Jordanians and Iranians believe the US will never allow people in the Middle East to run their own affairs and chart their own course.

When the Gallup pollsters asked Muslims around the world what the West could do to improve relations with the Muslim world, the most frequent responses were for the West to demonstrate more respect for Islam and to regard Muslims as equals, not as inferior.

The Western contempt for Islam, especially the ignorance of Americans, is not something that is imagined by us. The poll findings speak for themselves.

The majority of Americans (66 pc) admit to having “some” prejudice against Muslims; one in five say they have ‘a great deal’ of prejudice. Almost half do not believe US Muslims are ‘loyal’ to their country; and one in four doesn’t want a Muslim as a neighbour!

Given these views, is it any surprising that Muslims are invariably portrayed in the US media, including that big propaganda machine called Hollywood, as terrorists?

If the Muslims harbour some degree of anti-US sentiment, it’s not because of what the Americans are; it’s because of what they do or have been doing in the Muslim world. But how would you explain the deep-seated paranoia and Islamophobia in the US and West?

Whatever its causes, this divide is most unfortunate and unnatural. Because there is a great deal lot that unites the Muslims and the Americans. In an increasingly materialistic world, they continue to hold on to their belief in God.

Unlike in Europe and much of the world, religion plays a healthy and positive role in the day-to-day life of the Americans as well as Muslims. They both cherish universal values like honesty, truthfulness, hard work, accountability and being always loyal to your family.

Just look around. What we have in common is much more than what we do not — notwithstanding what the Bushes and Bin Ladens of this world would have you believe. Which is why this divide is such a tragedy. We Muslims want to bridge this gulf. Is the other side equally willing? (The News International)
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Malaysia: People's Verdict And Government's Defiance

Malaysian government’s refusal to free M.Manoharan, who was elected to the Selangor State Assembly in the last elections but still kept in custody under the Internal Security Act, was condemned by the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), reported AFP on Sunday. "It shows that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi's administration has not really heard the voice of the people in the March 8 political tsunami to change towards a more democratic and accountable Malaysian society. The ISA detentions are used as political instruments to suppress dissent. It has no relationship whatsoever with national security," said DAP leader Lim Kit Siang to AFP.

Five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), including Manoharan were arrested in last December under Internal Security Act and three of them were charged for allegedly making speeches inciting hatred. All of them were detained for two years by an order signed by Mr. Badawi, who was also the then Internal security Minister.

The leaders were the main organizers of an unprecedented massive rally of around 10,000 people of Indian origin against discrimination in Malaysia in November last year.

The draconian Internal Security Act of Malaysia provides for detaining any individual for up to 60 days without a warrant, trial and without access to legal council. After 60 days the Minister of Home Affairs can extend the period of detention without trial for up to two years, without submitting any evidence for review by the courts, by issuing a detention order, which is renewable indefinitely.

Besides the five leaders, 31 Indians were charged with attempted murder, in connection with the head injury of a policeman during the banned demonstration. “This is the first time in the history of Malaysia that an unlawful assembly has been charged with attempted murder”, said their defence lawyer, reported by Indian Express, last December.

The public opinion of the Indian community, shaped by the grievances of discrimination and the awakening coupled with the demonstration, had a big impact in the March elections. For the first time since 1969 the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has lost its two third majority in the Parliament and lost the governance of five states to the opposition. The mood of the Indian community was already reflective in the poor attendance to the Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves in January, heeding the call of Hindraf.

Being in detention Manoharan contested the elections on a DAP ticket, and had an impressive victory in Selangor, defeating the sitting candidate.

"Branding some one a terrorist is not the prerogative of some individuals sitting in power. The verdict of the concerned people is supreme. Laws, constitutions and all human institutions without exception are made and unmade by people in need. Mr Badawi should learn to respect the mandate of the people and release all leaders of Hindraf", said a political activist of Malaysia to TamilNet.

In the meantime, Mr Samy Vellu, the leader of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component of the ruling front which suffered the worst in the last elections, said on Sunday that he would seek the release of the Hindraf leaders with the prime Minister, according to AFP and Malaysiakini reports. He was (earlier) throughout justifying the detention.

Indians constitute about nine percent of Malaysia’s population of which the large majority are Tamils. (TamilStar.com, Sri Lanka)
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Whites Flee Racially Mixed Schools

Irrational Fear
Australian schools face ‘white flight’ crisis, says a new report. Students avoid schools with kids from Asian background
White students are fleeing public schools in Australia to avoid studying with Aboriginal, Muslim and Asian pupils, a report said on Monday.

A confidential survey of school principals revealed serious concerns about “white flight” undermining public education and social cohesion, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The findings, described by some teachers as “de facto apartheid,” were presented to the New South Wales state government in 2006, but were not released, the paper said.

In some remote rural parts of the state, Aboriginal students reportedly fill public schools while white students attend Catholic and other private institutions. Around Sydney, the parents of some Anglo-European students are avoiding what they see as predominantly Lebanese, Muslim and Asian schools, the Herald said.

“This is almost certainly white flight from towns in which the public school’s enrolment consists increasingly of indigenous students,” the survey found. “The pattern is repeated in the Sydney region. Based on comments from principals, this most likely consists of flight to avoid Islamic students and communities.” Education Minister Julia Gillard criticised the attempt to avoid racial mixing in schools.

“Part of growing up and part of being an adult in Australia today is you have got to have the ability to mix in multicultural Australia,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “I would have thought that parents would value as part of the education experience, their child being in multicultural Australia, learning about different cultures, learning about diversity — because that is the nation they are going to live in.”

But in a reversal of the bussing of black schoolchildren into white areas in the United States in an attempt to end racial segregation, white pupils are in some cases taking buses across state borders to attend predominantly white schools, the report said. (DNA)

***** Irrational fear and phobia founded upon insularity, lack of education, ignorance and prejudice are the most difficult to overcome. Perhaps the government there should send these parents over for a visit to Malaysia and Singapore. That should probably aid in dispelling their misgivings.
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Malaysia's Elusive Dream Of Color-Blind Politics

They're All The Same
Born out of the "Reformasi" (Reform) movement in the 1990s, the political party of Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim vows to break away from race-based politics that has long dogged the country.

But multi-racial Parti Keadilan is struggling to unite a fundamentalist Islamist party and a secular Chinese one to form a credible front to challenge the ruling coalition.

In a country where race-based politics is well-entrenched and mistrust among opposition groups runs deep, Keadilan's push for color-blind politics may remain just a dream.

In Anwar's political base in the northern town of Permatang Pauh, locals see the opposition parties as strange bedfellows because of their vastly different ideologies.

"The Islamic party cannot be trusted," said Chan Kok Heng, a 50-year old ethnic Chinese auto mechanic in Permatang Pauh, a semi-rural enclave in Penang state.

"They are sweet talkers, but once they turn around, they can change their tune," he said as he worked on a beat-up red 1970's Toyota in a wooden garage.

Ten years after touting an alliance capable of toppling the ruling coalition, Malaysia's opposition parties head to March 8 polls divided, with dim hopes of forming a union.

Together, Keadilan, the hardline Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) and the mainly Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP) had only 19 of the total 219 seats in the last parliament.

A fragmented opposition force for the past 50 years has meant minimal checks on the ruling coalition, which holds sway over the media and parliament. Recently, a videoclip allegedly showing a lawyer brokering the appointment of judges has raised questions about the independence of Malaysia's judiciary.

Anwar said Keadilan is working separately with DAP and PAS despite the absence of a formal pact. "The only difference is that the three of us cannot be together -- for now," he said in a recent interview.

SHAKY ALLIANCE

The prospect of a strong opposition alliance that can rival Barisan Nasional looks dim for now.

Keadilan has found it tough to bridge the yawning gulf between PAS and DAP's ideologies and broaden their appeal beyond a select group of followers.

Many Malaysians, especially non-Muslims, still view PAS suspiciously. Seen as a fire-and-brimstone clique of bearded clerics in flowing robes, PAS's advocacy of sharia law to punish Muslims with amputation and stoning has won it only a small group of supporters.

An earlier partnership between the three -- a loose coalition known as Barisan Alternatif -- foundered in 1999 when PAS's pledge to form an Islamic state frightened the Chinese.

Keadilan was seen as the best bet to unite PAS and DAP. Apart from being multi-ethnic, it is led by Anwar who has a sizeable following among ethnic Malay voters but is seen as inclusive enough to draw minority ethnic Chinese and Indians.

But Keadilan's strategy of trying to straddle the spiritual and the secular to achieve broad-based appeal has had limited success. "Because the politics of this country is basically ethnic politics, Keadilan becomes less appealing to the Malay crowd because of its relationship with DAP," said political sociologist Rustam Abdullah Sani.

"And then it becomes less appealing to the non-Malay side because of its relations with PAS."

The upcoming polls could be make or break time for Keadilan which has seen its support wane after winning five parliamentary seats in 1999, the year it was formed.

It has only one parliamentary seat now and there are fears that its appeal was largely founded on sympathy for former deputy premier Anwar whose sacking in 1998 turned huge swathes of ethnic Malay voters against Barisan Nasional.

But some say the tide of support could turn in favor of the opposition in this month's polls, due to voter discontent about the rising cost of living and racial and religious discord.

"If they can win substantially, they will have to work out some kind of structured united front," said political columnist Zainon Ahmad.

"I think especially in urban areas, Chinese and Indian areas, there is going to be a change in favor of the opposition. (Reuters)

***** The sad truth is that most Malaysians are mired in racial prejudice. Perhaps due to the racist divide-and-rule policies of the government or the diversity of the ethnic groups here or both, Malaysians generally have 'self-compartmentalised' themselves and practise a self-imposed segregation where they have no time for or feel comfortable with fellow human beings of a different race.

Our separate school systems sadly instill and repeatedly reinforce age-old, traditional, unfounded prejudices from a tender age and by the time a child reaches adulthood the racist mentality is well ingrained.

In many ways we are a nation of psychologically stunted individuals and it would take decades of 're-tuning' before we as a nation find non-racial politics and governance palatable and acceptable. Until then be prepared for more of the same from BN or the opposition.