Apabila ingin membeza antara kaum, kebanyakan penduduk di Malaysia kurang jelas dalam hal ini. Lebih-lebih lagi apabila ia melibatkan kaum India. Ya, memang wujud kekeliruan yang amat runcing perihal kaum India di sini. Kepincangan ini berpunca daripada satu sebab utama, yakni kejahilan, tetapi faktor-faktor lain yang turut memainkan peranan ialah pendidikan, sistem politik dan cara rakyat Malaysia yang berasal dari India dan Sri Lanka (South Asia) telah diklasifikasikan sejak zaman British.
Zombie politics, Zimbabwe-styled
http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-isa.htmlIn a Malaysian hypermodern age of “zombie politics” in which everyday becomes the night of the living dead and a last Strolling Bones-bash in a horrifying picture show wherein Texas Chainsaw murderers run amuck to the music of Michael Jackson’s thriller played backwards, the best defense lies within oneself.
The Platonic cave in each and every human being called “public servant”/”elected representative” must be a theatre of existentialism in which the absurdities of “zombie politics” must be rationally challenged.
This financial crisis is now truly global
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/18888-this-financial-crisis-is-now-truly-global
Published by The Malaysian Insider
LONDON, Feb 21 — The financial crisis has moved from Wall Street to all streets, as the economic shock causes strains and suffering in every part of the world economy.
In Florida, a state devastated by tumbling house prices and repossessions, the inhabitants are arming themselves against recession, with requests for concealed weapon permits up 42 per cent in the past 45 days. In Moscow, the murder rate has climbed by 16 per cent. At Tetsuya’s — the most exclusive and expensive restaurant in Sydney — the waiting list has shrunk from three months to 24 hours.
For sale… e-paper & p-paper
http://www.jeffooi.com/2009/02/for_sale_epaper_ppaper.php
Strictly from the grapevine.
The electronic paper.
P’ng Hong Kwang, an ex-NST and recently the Malaysian Insider frontman for Brenden Pereira, has left the news portal. By subtly distancing itself from Fox Comm and the 4th Floor Boys of late, will Malaysian Insider sustain financial viability except to put it up for sale?
With the 4th Floor Boys’ set-up crumbling by the day as Abdullah Badawi inches towards his political demise, Malaysian Insider has reached a crossroad. It was used as a “water-testing” instrument in the online media for the power-that-be. It employed the “starting a fire to dowse another fire” in its editorial strategy to a certain degree of success to beef up Abdullah’s sagging approval rate.
Was Elizabeth Wong sabotaged?
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20090219-122969.html
Published by asiaone.com
THE scandal over the seminude photographs of a state minister from the opposition- run state of Selangor has taken on a life of its own.
It is no longer an issue of personal betrayal or intrusion of privacy, which was Miss Elizabeth Wong’s contention when she lodged a police report over the photos. She said they had been taken without her consent and while she was asleep in the privacy of her own home.
The talk in some circles is now of political sabotage.
PPPA bad for business
http://www.thenutgraph.com/pppa-bad-for-business
Published by The Nut Graph
THE recent seizures of Suara Keadilan and Harakah have once again highlighted inherent difficulties posed by the Printing and Publications Act (PPPA) and its impact on our publishing industry.
One aspect that has fallen by the wayside in the rush to speculate on the seemingly arbitrary confiscation — if they were part of a routine inspection, why now?— is that such actions scare businesses.
Seizures of Suara Keadilan happened nationwide and at street-vendor level. Ministry officials carted away stock — 453 copies in one instance in Penang — and issued “last warning” letters, threatening court action should news-stands continue to sell the alleged contraband.
A question of morality
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/khalid-samad/18793-a-question-of-morality
Published by The Malaysian Insider
21 February 2009
FEB 20 — I was told that Selangor Pas released a statement which, among others, requested that Elizabeth Wong be investigated for any moral wrongdoings as a result of this “scandal??? of her nude photos and, if found to be guilty, she is then to be “suitably??? punished. The statement also talks of the need for all PR elected representatives to be morally upright so as to be examples to be emulated by all.
Unfortunately I have to comment on this statement which I believe is very ill-advised. Before that I do have to clarify that the meeting held by Selangor Pas prior to the release of the statement was a meeting of the Dewan Harian, which is made up of the state commissioner and all other appointed office bearers. It was not the full state meeting as such.
Perak Sultan has no powers to ask Nizar to quit
Published by Malaysiakini
According to the Perak constitution, the ruler has a personal discretion in the performance of two functions – the appointment of a menteri besar and the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of the legislative assembly.
MCPX
On Feb 4, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, the mentri besar, was granted an audience by the sultan to request for the ruler’s consent to dissolve the Perak State Assembly.
The next day, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also requested for an audience with the sultan as the Perak BN chief and consent was granted for him to present himself before the ruler.
The World Bank has also failed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/19/world-bank-reform-recession
Published by guardian.co.uk
Thursday 19 February 2009
As we reconstruct the banking system, we must look to this international body’s disastrous neoliberal policies
Reconstruction of the banking system must extend to the World Bank. Its influence is all-pervasive. Governments and pressure groups hang on its words. But its persisting failure to deal with the huge scale of poverty in the developing world, together with its failure to deal with, or even report, predatory corporate forces, including banking systems, places it at the storm-centre of world recovery and reform.
The bank does not have capability to lead recovery from deep recession. Getting rich quick has meant exploiting many millions on the lowest incomes and failing to satisfy their basic human rights. This subversive motive must be ascribed to the reach and dominance of neo-liberal economic ideology in the last 40 years.
Dr Azly Rahman’s Perak Plague
http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/
THE PERAK PLAGUE or, Should I too cross over for those millions of Ringgit?
That is a two million ringgit question. Or maybe fifty million these days.
How much does one get for ‘crossing over’ these days? I do not know. But if there are millions of ringgit involved, this nation will continue to rot as corrupt politicians continue switching allegiances, getting appointments to good positions, and making horror decisions for you and your children.
We must destroy this culture and heal anew. There is no choice but a total destruction of this culture.
We were convinced things will be better after the elections. We were sure that the revolution was going to benefit the masses and no party hopping would occur.