Doctor : Saiful claims he performed oral sex...

A doctor who testified at the Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial today said swabs were taken from complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's mouth because the latter claims he was asked to perform oral sex.

This was told to the Kuala Lumpur High Court by Kuala Lumpur general hospital emergency care specialist Dr Khairul Nizam Hassan.

Upon cross-examination by defence counsel Sankara Nair this afternoon, Khairul Nizam said that he took swab specimens from Saiful's throat and tongue after the latter told him that he was forced to perform oral sex by a high-profile figure. Khairul Nizam mentioned the alleged act in passing when cross-examined by Sankara on why he did not perform a Touch DNA procedure on Saiful.

I took specimen through cotton swab on the victim's nipple area, saliva from the mouth where the victim alleged he was asked to perform oral sex, said Khairul Nizam.

Did Saiful wash away evidence?

Explaining why the Touch DNA procedure was not performed on Saiful's back or buttocks, Khairul Nizam said this wasn't necessary.

I only conducted examination on Saiful from his navel up and not anything below. (Surgeon) Dr Razali Ibrahim performed the examination of Saiful's anus as he was a specialist.

I did not took specimen from other areas as the victim told us that he had washed and cleaned himself, he said.

This statement ran contrary to Saiful's testimony last year, when cross-examined by lead counsel Karpal Singh, said he did not wash his anus in order to preserve evidence. At that time, Saiful told the court that he only took a morning shower but did not washed his private part and anus.

At another time during Saiful's cross-examination the victim had said he had Ada mandi tapi saya! cuci ta k habis. Saya cuci sikit (Yes, I had a light bath, but I did not clean thoroughly. I cleaned just a little bit).

Khairul Nizam adds that there was no need to perform a Touch DNA because the victim only came to the hospital two days after the incident. Based on what we sought, we think it is better to go ahead an examine the part where it was alleged (violated) by the perpetrator, the witness said.

Saiful looked unusually calm

Dr Khairul Nizam also told the court that Saiful was unusually calm, compose when the team of three doctors met him. It did strike me. I enquired about this from Saiful. He told me that he had thought about (his situation) thoroughly and was prepared to face the consequences. In some sexual assault cases, some patients would be traumatic while others chose to remain calm, he told the packed court room.

Khairul Nizam was responding to questions from Sankara on whether it was odd for sexual assault victims to be calm, since this reflects the psychiatric or psychological state of the victim.

Siew provided a similar testimony in the morning. He said that Saiful was calm and composed throughout the three hour examination which began at about 9.12pm on June 28, 2008 two days after the alleged sodomy act. Khairul Nizam added that Saiful had been at the hospital's One-Stop Crisis Centre under the Accident and Emergency Unit since 5pm waiting for a team of doctors to examine him.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is charged with sodomising Saiful, his former aide at the Desa Damansara condominium between 3pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

source:malaysiakini

Doktor Khairul kata, beliau telah mengambil spesimen daripada bahagian mulut dan tekak Saifool. Tak kan Saifool tak makan dan minum selama 2 hari seperti mana dia kata dia tak basuh juboqnya selama 2 hari!!

Biar betul.....

cheers.

Dr M: Taib must not get into a Mubarak situation

Joseph Sipalan

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamedtodaysaid that Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud should have a successor ready before he considers stepping down after three decades in power.

Mahathir, himself having served as prime minister for 22 years before resigning in 2003, said it is best left to Sarawakians to decide on Taibs continued leadership, but stressed that it must be an orderly process.

It is up to the people of Sarawak to decide (when Taib should step down). I think they know best, he said at a press conference after launching the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia in Shah Alam.

But if he does step down, he must have someone to replace him, or else it will be like (Hosni) Mubarak he stepped down and I dont see any successor to take over, he said referring to the deposed Egyptian president, who stepped down from power last Friday after 18 days of massive protests demanding that he quit.

Earlier last week, Taib (left ) admitted that he is willing to step down from his post, which he held since 1981, if he can find a credible successor to take his place.

This left opposition politicians in the nations largest state incredulous, with Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian calling it a joke.

Filed under: corruption, Human rights, Politics Tagged: Anak Sarawak Bangsa Malaysia, corruption, Human rights, Sarawak politics, Save Sarawak, Taib Mahmud

A 7 days deadline for Mahathir to tell the truth...

Karpal Singh became the second DAP top leader after party advisor Lim Kit Siang to challenge claims by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that he had met opposition leaders in 1987 and assured them they would not be placed under arrested. Karpal, who is DAP national chairperson and member of parliament for Bukit Gelugor, said Mahathir's stand to that effect was far away from the truth and challenged the latter to name the opposition leaders that he met as well as the time and venue of the purported meeting.

I state, with all the force at my command, that there was no such meeting, said the veteran lawyer and politician, who was detained during 'Operation Lalang' under the Internal Security Act from late 1987 to early 1989.

If Dr Mahathir does not respond to my challenge to him within seven days, it must be presumed that Dr Mahathir is not telling the truth... It is a very serious matter for a former prime minister to publicly lie, Karpal added. Mahathir was quoted as saying that he had actually met with opposition leaders to guarantee them they would not be prosecuted.

Lim Kit Siang had said four days ago: I never met Mahathir and he never gave me any assurance that I would not be arrested before the launch of Operasi Lalang on Oct 27, 1987... let Mahathir name the opposition leaders he had met!

In his statement today, Karpal said Mahathir's claim that it was the police who caused the detention of 106 people during Operation Lalang could not be true as it was Mahathir himself who signed the detention orders after the recommendations were made to him by the police following investigations.

The police could not have forced Dr Mahathir t! o sign t he detention orders at gun-point. Dr Mahathir was then also Minister of Home Affairs and the police were directly under his charge, and not the other way around, Karpal pointed out.

Furthermore, Karpal noted that following his release from ISA detention following his habeas corpus application on March 9, 1988, it was Mahathir himself who ordered his re-arrest and on April 16, 1988 signed the detention order for Karpal under the ISA.
As for former inspector-general of police Hanif Omar who backed Mahathir's claim that it was the police behind the detentions and not the then-premier, Karpal said this was equally untruthful.

Tun Hanif should not add credence to Dr Mahathir's preposterous claim, nearly 24 years after Operation Lalang when, clearly, Dr Mahathir is not telling the truth.

It is a shame that Tun Hanif should throw his dignity and self-respect to the winds just to please his former master who was responsible for his Tunship and heading Genting after his retirement, said Karpal in reference to Hanif's honorary title and the multi-million ringgit gaming corporation of which Hanif was made a director. Mahathir, however, yesterday reiterated his stand on his meeting with opposition leaders prior to Operation Lallang and accused DAP leaders, instead, of lying.

"They are lying. I have no reason to make that claim unless it had happened.

"But I don't expect the opposition leaders to be grateful of what the government has done especially if it came from me," he told journalists.

source:malaysiakini

cheers.

Taibs Valentine dilemma: What to get for the girl who has everything

Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

A VALENTINES DAY FICTION Taib is facing the worst crisis of his life. It has nothing to do with his disagreement with the prime minister. It is not connected with the demands of his party-members who want his wholehearted attention towards the upcoming State elections.

At first, many people thought he was still angry with his deputy, George. George was careless and allowed the media to find out that he had quietly married a younger woman. Taib was cross because he did not want people to think that he was imitating George.

Nevertheless, Taibs dilemma is nearer to home.

He has been given an ultimatum by his new wife. Today, is Valentines day and he just feels too old for all that lovey-dovey stuff. After all, what do you give a girl who has everything. All of his state and parts of the world and the French Riviera are already hers.

Taib did not forget the card, just in case people thought his declining years affected his memory. He does not have Alzheimers at least not yet.

He had the gilt-edged card ready specially made in a neighbouring country. It was more than just gilt-edged. There was so much gold in the card, more than in a wedding band and where most people have glitter glue, Taibs glitter was made with real diamonds. The whole card had to be flown by special jet, accompanied by a handful of armed security guards.

Taib is a good husband and he did not forget the roses, either. People wrongly assume that the commercialisation from Valentines day is what makes the roses so expensive. That is not true.

Muslims are not allowed to celebrate Valentines day ! and as t hey make up 60% of the population, there should have been enough roses spare for the non-Muslims.

The real reason roses are expensive is because the whole stock of roses has been bought up by Taib for his young wife. Several days before Valentines day, many Malaysians and Singaporeans were suffering from Taibs buying power. That is why many couples had to make do with cheap imitation roses.

In fact, sources close to the Taib household, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the Taib mansion resembled a wholesale rose market in Holland.

The poor maids and housekeepers are exhausted, rushing around spraying the blooms to keep them fresh and fragrant.

Wasnt the new Mrs Taib ecstatic? No. She was most definitely not!

So Taib arranged for his private jet to fly her out, armed with several blank cheques, credit cards and wads of cash, for a shopping spree in Singapore. But she would have none of that.

He suggested HongKong. She said No.

He thought she was homesick and preferred Dubai for shopping. Again, she said, No.

It turned out that she had allegedly given poor old Taib a whole weeks supply of Viagra and was hoping to use it after she had cooked him a nice candle-lit middle eastern meal.

Unfortunately Taib has had his fill of fattoush, tabouli and kibbeh. And he had other plans.

After the mornings session discussing strategy for the State elections, Taib wanted to put his feet up, watch a rerun of Wayne Rooney on the previous days Manchester United match on television and eat his favourite laksa.Unfortunately, the belacan base in the laksa is too nauseating for his wife.

Obviously the motivational speaker Siti Nor did not do a good job telling Muslims that Valentines day was taboo. Otherwise, Taib would not have this problem.

Right now, his immediate task i! s to per suade her to come out of her room. She has barricaded herself in there, is packing her bags and has planned to fly back to her mother.

Taib has never had a worse dilemma than this and both state and general elections are not as daunting. Even a face-off with a former prime minister a real dragon dictator - was never like this.

Filed under: corruption Tagged: Anak Sarawak Bangsa Malaysia, corruption, Human rights, Save Sarawak, Taib Mahmud

Perempuan pun Mati Syahid di Mesir

Sewaktu berlaku demonstrasi Mesir, banyak yang jatuh syahid kerana dibunuh oleh pihak pemerintah Mesir yang desperado. Para keluarga syuhada' ini meletakkan gambar-gambar ahli keluarga mereka yang syahid di Dataran Tahrir untuk disaksikan oleh semua orang di Mesir.

Yang menyayatkan hati Tulang Besi adalah diantara yang syahid ini adalah dari kaum hawa juga. Begitu zalim puak-puak Mubarak ini, mereka membunuh tanpa kira. Mereka tidak kira lelaki atau perempuan.

Wahai Najib. Apa Bezanya Malaysia dengan Mesir?

Tiba tiba, Presiden UMNO mengeluarkan kenyataan:

Firstly, we cannot equate what is happening in Egypt with Malaysia because things are very different in the two countries, he said when asked what Umno and BN could learn from the middle eastern country.

Saya nak tanya pada Presiden UMNO: Apa Bezanya regim UMNO dengan regim Mubarak?

Persamaan yang paling jelas adalah:

1.0 Kronisma yang berleluasa.

2.0 Korupsi yang diamalkan di setiap peringkat

3.0 Masaalah kenaikan harga yang yang semakin menghimpit

4.0 Sistem pengangkutan awam yang TIDAK MENCUKUPI

5.0 Kadar pengangguran yang tinggi

6.0 Tahap pendapatan rakyat yang tidak berubah banyak semenjak tahun 80an

7.0 Pembaziran yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan dalam kadar yang begitu besar

8.0 Jurang kekayaan di antara yang kaya dan miskin semakin membesar, Hanya kroni UMNO dan UMNOPUTRA sahaja yang boleh kaya. Yang lain semakin merempat.

9.0 Menggunakan Akta-Akta yang menzalimi rakyat serta mengekang kebebasan bersuara

10.0 I.S.A.- Tahanan ditahan tanpa bicara serta tahanan juga disiksa sewaktu ditahan

11.0 Penggunaan Polis Rahsia untuk tujuan politik. Kalau Malaysia=S.B., Mesir = Mukhabarat

12.0 Melacurkan SPR untuk kepentingan pemerintah.
12.1 Kalau di Mesir, lebih ekstreme sehingga memberikan kemenangan kepada NDP
sebanyak 90% kerusi dalam piliharaya Parlimen yang lepas.
12.2 Di Malaysia, SPR dilacurkan untuk mensabotaj kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat sehingga
jatuhnya Kerajaan Perak.

13.0 Kekayaan negara dibahagi-bahagi kan kepada anak beranak dan kroni parti pemerintah

14.0 Masa PLUS diberikan kepada UEM, 4 dari "pemilik" UEM duduk dalam Kabinet yang membuat keputusan pemberian konsessi tersebut. Di Mesir, ahli-ahli korporat duduk dalam kabinet Mesir.


dan banyak lagi kalau nak sebut tak c! ukup sat u laman.

Cumanya, UMNO masih lagi terselamat kerana:

1.0 UMNO memainkan isu Melayu secara "overdrive" walaupun isu-isu yang dimainkan itu fitnah semata-mata

2.0 Rakyat Malaysia masih belum kelaparan seperti di Mesir

3.0 Kita masih ada minyak lagi, yakni, kita masih belum menjadi "importer" minyak.

Jadi, kalau nak kata sama, TERLAMPAU BANYAK PERSAMAAN antara regim Mubarak dgn regim UMNO.

Cumanya, UMNO bernasib baik kerana isu Melayu dan kita masih ada minyak

Tulang Besi

Where Have All The Good Romances Gone? #LoyarBerkasih

14 February, 2011 By Wai

To commemorate Valentines Day, heres a lamentation on the state of the romance genre in movies today

Im not your typical guy filmgoer. I can appreciate romance movies and chick flicks every bit as much as (and sometimes even more so than) women do. To me, a good film is a good film, regardless of genre.And therein lies the problem.In recent years, theres been a serious dearth of genuinely good romantic films. At least by mainstream Hollywood. Please note that "romance movies" are a totally different concern from "love stories". A romance is a genre in itself, which has all the conventions and trappings that make it what it is, whereas a love story can exist in any genre. For example, "The Terminator" is a gritty, violent science-fiction film featuring killer cyborgs. But at its heart it is a love story between a soldier from the future and the woman hes been sent to protect.So before I get into my lamentation, lets establish the ground rules first. To qualify as a romance flick, the entire thrust of the story must be about an attraction between a man and a woman. Im keeping it heterosexual, not because Im anti-gay, but because the topic is strictly mainstream romance. So, as poignant and heartfelt as the cowboy love affair was in "Brokeback Mountain", stuff like that doesnt exactly scream date movie for Joe & Jane Public.Another rule is that the film has to be marketed as a romance film. Theyre easy to spot. Trailers for romantic-comedies always come with a breezy pop song du jour, and always have a cutesy tagline (eg: "Would you give first love a second chance?"). The posters for them almost always have the impossibly attractive couple in such close proximity that PAS Youth would immediately want to "ban this filth".Right. ! Now that weve got things clarified: do you know of any recent Hollywood films that fit this category AND are solid films in their own right? I dont. The ones that Ive seen are anything but good. Guilty pleasures, perhaps. But certainly not intelligent, original, well-written works by any reasonable standard. The sad truth is that romance movies, especially rom-coms, stick to formula like glue. Why? Filmmaking by committee.Hollywood showbiz is a business, first and foremost. And like all businesses, risk management is crucial. Before a film is premiered it goes through stringent focus group research. Opinions are sought. Requests are met. Boxes are ticked. Cliches are fulfilled. And so, at the thrilling climax, the ruggedly handsome Name Actor, realising he screwed up royally/still loves her, chases the quirky but gorgeous Name Actress to the airport/train station/church wedding, only to find out hes too late? But wait! Hes not! She decides to give him a second chance, and they live happily ever after the end credits.Theres a reason why this formula exists. Its for the same reason why fast food is so popular. Its light, its familiar, it gives the consumers exactly what they expect in a shiny, happy package. And just like fast food, too much of it is bad for you; yet no one really cares. At least not those with an undemanding palate. Forgive me for sounding elitist, but women (and men) viewers deserve better. Actually, the same malaise afflicts other genres as well, like action-adventure. Its all formula nowadays, with the same belaboured emphasis on explosions and CGI over well-written characters and fresh ideas.But I LIKE fast food movies, you might say. They make me happy, and I dont have to think so much. Theyre just easily consumable, forgettable fun. Absolutely. Romance movies nowadays are forgettable. But why should they be? We used to have UNforgettable romantic films. Have our standards dropped so low as to accept any templated, mass-produced nonentities from the Hollywood machine?Quick, give me a memorab! le line of dialogue or a powerful emotional scene from any one of the following flicks: "Shes Out Of My League", "The Bounty Hunter", "Leap Year", "The Back Up Plan", "When In Rome", "Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past", "Did You Hear About The Morgans" or "Letters To Juliet". I could go on (and on) but I think you get the drift.Contrast that with something like "Ghost". The film is filled with memorable dialogue and powerful emotional scenes. My favourite is the moment where the lovers, separated by the death of the hero, have one last slow dance together. Its achingly beautiful. Besides featuring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayzes finest screen performances, the film is considered a genre classic. Speaking of the late, great Swayze, who can forget his role in the film many girls of the 90s consider their rite of passage into womanhood: "Dirty Dancing". It wasnt just the dance moves that were electric, there was a palpable erotic charge in every look and gesture between the leads. Now thats the kind of stuff that gets you in the mood for love."Pretty Woman" is another great example. Richard Gere was so goddamn charming, even straight men were won over. And Julia Roberts has never been more lovable than she was here, playing the hooker with a heart of gold. Whats also essential to the films magic is that the writers were savvy enough to play with the conventions of the Fairy Tale. In the end, it is the damsel who "saves" the white knight by liberating his cold heart, and its a very empowering notion for women. Of course, nowadays every single chick flick is about female empowerment. But the irony is that these characters are not fulfilled until they get the man of their dreams. So it all rings hollow.Ah. Then theres the big daddy of romance movies, "Titanic". Say what you will about James Camerons shaky grasp of sensitive, nuanced dialogue. The entire film was meant to be larger than life, as was! the lov e story between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Everything was painted in broad, grand strokes. The important thing is, the romance worked. It recalled the kind of schmaltzy, old-fashioned love stories from the Golden Age of Hollywood that they dont make any more. Literally.A point to observe is that the classics I cited are all big Hollywood studio pictures. And most of them were still subjected to focus group testing. The crucial difference is, at their source, they were conceived as stories first and products second. Today, its the other way round.Outside of todays big studio system however, you will find quite a number of gems. "Once" is a delightful indie musical from 2006, about two struggling musicians who find each other through their songs. "Falling Slowly" is one of the most affecting ballads ever sung on screen. Its power lies in its simplicity and its honesty. No wonder it won an Oscar for Best Song.Another favourite of mine is "(500) Days Of Summer". Although released under the Fox Searchlight banner, this is very much an independent film in budget and in identity. Interestingly, the gender roles are reversed, making Joseph Gordon-Levitts character the hopeless romantic and Zooey Deschanel the pragmatic, emotionally-detached one. I wasnt terribly impressed by Deschanels performance, but Levitt is phenomenal. And director Marc Webb brought a whimsical visual style that really elevated the simple story of love found then lost. By the way, the somewhat downbeat ending would never have survived in the studio system. Thats exactly what makes it a great romance film. Love stories dont always have to be about happy endings to be satisfying.The depressing fact is that the more audiences support the big-budget studio-manufactured fluff, the less well see of the indies that really engage both the intellect and the emotions. Personally, I believe theres a place for the fast-food flicks,! but eve n fast food companies are now moving towards healthier alternatives on their menu. Why shouldnt it be the same with our choices for films? This decade sorely needs some classics of its own.Or at the very least, romance films that are made with love.Storyteller by trade and dreamer by nature, Wai has been deeply nuts about the celluloid world since the first time he discovered he could watch a story instead of reading it. But he likes writing about it. Wai goes by a single name because he likes to avoid any "Imperial entanglements" (a.k.a. "conflict of interest with the powers that be" for those of you who dont speak Star Wars) in his employment. Plus, cool people use one-word names. He has just set up a movie website, the first of its kind in Malaysia, in an effort to foster greater filmic knowledge for the rakyat. Check out Electroshadow.

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Tags: anti-gay, cutesy tagline, Demi Moore, Ghost, Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood, Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, love stories, Patrick Swayze, Pretty Woman, Richard Gere, Titanic, Valentine's Day

This entry was posted on 14 February, 2011 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Food, Drink &.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Taib’s ‘land grab’ infuriates party faithful

By Keruah Usit In an unprecedented show of dissent by members of Abdul Taib Mahmud’s own party, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB), Malay and Bidayuh villagers from Sampadi, Lundu, gathered at the Kuching High Court yesterday to voice their anger. The villagers were dismayed at the takeover of their smallholder oil palm farms by Polar Horizon, a subsidiary of Titanium Management, a conglomerate owned mostly by Abu Bekir Taib, son of chief minister Taib Mahmud. A large crowd of villagers from Lundu cheered when a sub-branch chairman of Taib’s own party spoke out against the provisional licences to 1,500 hectares of land around their villages, awarded by Taib to Polar Horizon, benefitting his own son. As self-appointed minister of planning and resources, Taib wields power over granting or ‘alienating’ enormous parcels of land for ‘development’. Earlier this month, the Sampadi villagers were given summary notice to vacate the land within 30 days. “They never informed us … we were taken by surprise,” said Jamain Mahmud. Jamain, no relation to Taib, is the former ‘ketua kaum’ or village chief, and current PBB sub-branch head, in Kampung Sungai Cina in the Sampadi area. The communities resisted the eviction notice, and Polar Horizon began legal action against them. When the villagers appeared in court yesterday, they filed a countersuit against Polar Horizon and the state government, claiming the provisional licences had encroached onto their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land. “We’re only asking for consideration for our land, which has already been settled and planted with oil palm. We’ve already done all this (ourselves). What the government has been calling for, (saying that) NCR land must be developed, we’ve done,” said Jamain. “But why did we not get (the rights to) the land? People who never opened up the land got the land.” The villagers’ lawyer, land rights activist See Chee How, condemned the land takeover. “This is the most blatant and outrageous land grab among all the cases we have handled,” he said. Jamain, and eight others named in the counterclaim, represent 481 other villagers from Kampung Sampadi, Kampung Sungai Cina, Kampung Setia Jaya and Kampung Kangka, just over an hour’s drive east from Kuching. Najib’s dilemma The Sampadi villagers urged the state and federal governments to protect their native rights, enshrined in the constitution and Sarawak’s Land Code. In their defence statement, they argued the land is “fundamental to (our) social, cultural and spiritual survival as native people of Sarawak.” The pointed appeal by the grassroots to the federal government highlights Prime Minister Najib Razak’s dilemma, in deciding whether to continue supporting Taib as state BN leader, or to remove him. International publicity has swirled around Taib’s immense wealth, and allegations of corrupt practices in land acquisition, producing multimillion ringgit windfalls for his children and family. “We hope Pehin Sri (Taib) as Sarawak’s chief minister, will take responsibility for this matter. I am a (PBB) party member from way back, I have worked in my area, but no action has been taken (on our behalf). So there’s been no use in all our previous campaigning for PBB, because we have been sidelined,” Jamain said. “To put it bluntly … don’t rob us of our rights, our NCR land. This is the land we have survived on from our ancestors’ generation,” he stressed. His words were echoed by cries of “don’t chase us out!” from other villagers. The villagers explained to the High Court that Kampung Sampadi had been established by 1902, and that they relied on their land for their livelihood: for fishing, for paddy cultivation, and for planting crops such as durian, rambutan, jackfruit and cassava. Since 2007, they had also begun oil palm cultivation, in collaboration with Rona Hijau, a company based in Sibu. In court, the villagers presented locality plans and maps produced as a result of surveying work performed by the Land and Survey Department since 1988. Hundreds of parcels of NCR land had been surveyed and identified, they pointed out. “It is unknown why titles have yet to be issued to the native landowners,” their lawyer See Chee How told Malaysiakini, with some sarcasm. Large scale oil palm plantations and timber concessions run by wealthy companies, closely tied to the state’s political elite, have caused the loss of huge tracts of NCR land. As a result, NCR landowners have filed more than 230 lawsuits against the state government. These lawsuits are a political time bomb for Taib’s party, ticking away in court, and spreading anger among rural communities throughout the state. In contrast, oil palm small-holdings worked by NCR landowners themselves have lifted some communities out of poverty. “To the Land and Survey (Department), we say, come down to see us, ‘turun padang’, see for yourselves,” Jamain urged. He explained the villagers had appealed repeatedly to the Land and Survey Department, as well as their elected representatives, to recognise their NCR land. But their pleas and signed petitions had bore no fruit. When asked whether he still supported Taib’s party, Jamain replied, “I can’t say. As PBB branch head, I have to speak up for the people standing behind me. There’s no use being branch head if I don’t fulfill my mandate, and all our villagers’ rights are gone.” His words were greeted with applause from the other villagers present.

Sarawak's Tutoh Apoh School to Get Muhyiddin's Special Attention

(Bernama) A rural secondary school which is the most flood-prone in the country will get special attention from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when the deputy prime minister begins a two-day visit to Sarawak on Thursday. Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, is scheduled to attend a briefing at and tour Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tutoh Apoh in Long Panai, Baram, for which the federal government had allocated RM50 million for a new building in view of its dilapidated and flood-prone condition. A statement from the Deputy Prime Minister's Office said Muhyiddin is also scheduled to meet the people, most of whom are from the Orang Ulu community, in Uma Beluvuh, Long Panai. Earlier, Muhyiddin is to fly by helicopter to Ulu Lubai, Limbang, to attend a reception in recognition of the status of Sekolah Kebangsaan Ulu Lubai as one of the second cohort high-performance schools and then go on a walkabout at Rumah Panjang Tugang, Ulu Lubai. In the evening, he is to meet the people at the Batu Niah community hall in Miri and fly back to Kuching for a "Chap Goh Mei" reception with the people at the Hilton Hotel. On Friday, Muhyiddin is scheduled to go to Pusa in Betong for a walkabout and a meet-the-people session in Pusa town and visit the "gula apong" (nipah palm sugar) and "kuih sepit" (a traditional crispy biscuit) cottage industries in Kampung Pusa. He will also go to Kampung Manggut, Spaoh, in Betong to attend the opening of the Tuie-Supa-Manggut road and then proceed to Debak, also in the Betong division. In Debak, Muhyiddin is scheduled to attend Friday prayers at the Darul Solihin mosque and attend a luncheon with the people there. The deputy prime minister is scheduled to fly back to Kuala Lumpur from Kuching in a special aircraft in the evening.

* Teresa Kok: V-Day link with Christians baseless, misleading

By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — DAP’s Teresa Kok said today it was baseless and misleading for a Muslim preacher and the Selangor Islamic Department (JAIS) to link Valentine’s Day to Christians, adding to the growing chorus clarifying the February 14 celebration. The Selangor state executive councillor said the sermon prepared by JAIS, and preacher, Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood’s comments, were both prejudiced and irresponsible because they were based not upon facts but upon urban myths. “Such comments are dangerous as they are likely to stir disgust and disdain for Christianity,” she said in a statement today. The Seputeh MP said that Valentine’s Day is an occasion, much like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Children’s Day, to signify appreciation of loved ones. “To celebrate or not is entirely up to each individual. Furthermore, Valentine’s Day has long since been capitalised upon by marketers as a commercial opportunity for themselves, and not one that is promulgated by Christianity. It is universally celebrated secularly. “As a motivational speaker, Siti Nor Bahyah should have been much more careful with her choice of words, and not spread her prejudiced views as the truth. In doing so, she has abused her position by giving her sphere of influence a false and misguided impression of Christianity,” she said. She urged Siti Nor Bahyah and JAIS to be more careful when it comes to comments that go beyond the Islamic sphere, but stopped short of demanding an apology. “There needs to be constant frank inter-faith dialogue to promote mutual understanding to ensure that such incidents do not occur ever again,” Kok said. According to a sermon prepared by the Selangor’s Islamic authority, Valentine’s day is celebrated in many ways, starting with greeting cards, flowers and dance parties. “In fact some celebrate it with a date which would eventually lead to illicit sex. Clearly the celebration is not part of Islamic teaching, it violates the syariah and contradicts the universal code of ethics,” it added. Citing the Catholic Encyclopaedia, the sermon claimed Valentine’s Day is celebrated to honour a Christian priest who was imprisoned in Rome for his belief and remembered for his love letters addressed to the daughter of prison official. “Clearly the celebration of Valentine’s Day is related to the incident, so as a Muslim who believes in Allah and accepts Muhammad as the messenger, is it appropriate for us to celebrate Valentine’s Day?” said the sermon. Valentine’s Day falls on February 14, and generates revenue for restaurants, hotels and retail businesses. Jais pointed out that there were 257,411 births out of wedlock between 2000 and 2008, and blamed Valentine’s Day celebrations as one of the causes. “Therefore every Muslim, especially teenagers, must abandon the tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day, which was meant to corrupt the Musim community,” it said. “Remember that the Jews and Christians would continue to deceive Muslims. They will do everything undermine the Muslims’ belief and personality,” said the sermon. Jais also called on the media and social networking sites not to promote Valentine’s Day. The Muslim preacher, Siti Nor Bahyah, had said in a television programme on TV9 more than a year ago that “vices, going to discos and couples meeting in private are Christian traditions.” She had also called Valentine’s Day a Christian festival, claiming it started as a celebration to commemorate the fall of the Islamic administration in Spain. The recording of the show has since been uploaded on video-sharing site YouTube and viewed by close to 100,000 visitors. The Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) Youth wing had also demanded an apology from Siti Nor Bahyah, calling her remarks “derogatory and irresponsible.” Both the city Islamic Department (Jawi) and Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) have banned Muslims from celebrating Valentine’s Day, calling it a Christian tradition in a Friday sermon delivered in mosques. A 2005 religious ruling by the National Fatwa Council said the celebration has Christian elements and the “practice is mixed with immoral acts contradictory and forbidden by Islam.” The federal Islamic Development Department (Jakim) had announced it would start its own anti-Valentine’s Day campaign to remind Muslim youths of the danger of the celebration. PAS Youth has also planned similar campaign after backtracking on its earlier declaration to launch a crackdown on Muslims celebrating Valentine’s in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states. Malaysia will celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on February 15 with a public holiday. Some conservatives are concerned young Muslims might be involved in immoral activities ahead of the religious occasion.

What Arts Ed and MyBalikPulau is all about

If you and I are of the same generation (born year 1988), plus minus a few years, you would probably agree that our History education sucks. Mindless memorisation of useless facts, overemphasis on naming the correct years and characters, uncreative and dreadful learning experience, and the oh-so-clearly disproportionate reading of "world" history, all for the sake of getting an A for the SPM History paper. Coming from top school in Penang where we were groomed for As by practicing on revision books, trial papers, forecast papers, and past-year papers, I got my very well-deserved A. This A, however, represents nothing but a failure in our History education. In the Form 1 textbook that we used, it tells you why you should learn history. One of them is to "mengenal jati diri". Till today, I still have no idea what that means. We all learned 'history' because it is a compulsory subject in SPM. In 2006, I got myself involved in a heritage project sponsored by Digi. Digi conferred the title of 'Amazing Malaysians' to a heritage champions in this country and these heritage champions had to carry out a heritage project with young people. I was a participant under Amazing Malaysia Janet Pillai (of Arts-Ed), and that year was the turning point of my life. At the age of 18 years young, I was one of the oldest participants in the project. At the end of the project, we were to stage a musical drama on the history of George Town. For three months, we spent our weekends discovering for ourselves what heritage is. We had the privilege of being brought on historical walks around George Town, we scoured the streets to document the sight and sounds of George Town, we spoke to and interviewed people about old George Town, and we learned about performing, making music out of random objects, boria, gamelan, wayang kulit, and composing. I came out from that project a transformed person. I found history amazing, I found Penang amazing, I learned different ways of learning history, I learned to be inclusive of people, I learned that I very much enjoy performing, I learned humility, I learned to work with people of different ages and ethnic groups, and most of all, I had fallen in love with Penang. People around me see me as "the Penang girl". Some would claim that I'm the unofficial Penang tourism rep for always being so gung-ho about Penang. I am the unpaid tour guide for my non-Penang friends because I am almost always so willing to show them around. I am so Penang that one can take me out of Penang but they can't take the Penang out of me. Oh do ask my friends... Now, we have the learning of our national history in place but what I find missing is the learning of our local history. If you are from Banting, what do you know about Banting's history? If you are from Ipoh, what do you know about Ipoh's history? If you are from Kulim, what do you know about Kulim's history? This is basically what Arts-Ed, the NGO trapped in the recent Balik Pulau controversy, does. Or at least what they have done for me. Through them, I learned the value of local history. For people unfamiliar with the "Arts-Ed" style of executing a project, Arts-Ed works with young people in creative ways. Things one does not get do do in school. We use cameras to take pictures, produce photo exhibitions, shoot and edit videos, compose lyrics from interviews, create dance moves through observation of people's movements, perform history of the common people, produce booklets and newsletter, carry out visits and tours. I learned that history is not limited to textbooks and history experts but what the average layperson experiences and remembers are also part of history. There are stories and legends about the place we live that we can never read from books. Things like coolies running to the port with their handcarts to carry sacks of spices, that they were paid 50 sen for each bag they carried, the system of loading and unloading goods from the ship to the boat, the 'stairway' arrangements of the sacks, and that the head of the coolies were called 'tandaal', and the division of profit between the coolies and the 'tandaal'. History books do not tell me this. Laypeople do. Arts Ed encourages young people to leave their books and collect stories. These are called oral histories. Stories that are transmitted verbally, that some of us youngsters classify as 'grandmother stories', and will be lost when its bearer dies. And when you learn how cute, distinct, and special the place you live is, that's when you learn to love the place you live. This is what Arts-Ed is doing in Balik Pulau. Documenting and presenting oral history of the people of Balik Pulau, preserving them so that the younger generation would know, understand, and carry them on. As a proud graduate of Arts Ed's projects, it saddens me that the only NGO who gives a voice to young people, who works in creative ways, who educate for free (almost), who believe that everyone has a right to tell their story, and runs on fewer women-power than the number of fingers on your one hand, is now accused of spreading fallacy, a scapegoat and victim of a political agenda. How irresponsible for people ignorant about the learning of history nor care about them to put Arts Ed in a bad limelight when they themselves are not clear about Arts Ed methodology of education. Muhammad Farid Saad, here's a lesson on history. History does not belong to experts. History does not belong to the state. History belongs to everyone and we all have a say in history (yes, that includes you). Your recollection of history matters just as much as the laksa uncle's and the aunty jus buah pala's. As have been clarified, 'MyBalikPulau' is not a textbook and is was not intended to be so, it is but a compilation of oral history. Stories from uncles and aunties. People whose opinions and memories will never ever appear in the history books just because they are not history experts. Will you deny them a chance to share their history of Balik Pulau? Though you may never have the chance to be in Arts-Ed's programs (as they usually only for young people) I hope you will make the effort to learn about Arts-Ed and their ways because they have changed my life. They have played a major role in shaping who I am today and I hope other children will have the chance to experience what I have experienced. Someday, should I become the chief minister of Penang, I know that Arts-Ed has started this path for me.

Love - In Other Words #LoyarBerkasih

14 February, 2011 By Adrian Chew

As everyone gets in on the Love fest this week, Adrian Chew sounds a reminder to us to feel and look a little deeper.

For those who hold on, it is beautiful forever | Credit: http://bit.ly/faN77EON A RAINY NIGHT MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, I was driving an old Volvo 240 through the narrow streets of Kuching, unfamiliar with the car and fumbling between the levers for the turn indicators and the windscreen wipers every time I reached a junction.I was alone at the front trying to drive the car steadily and trying even harder to impress the two passengers at the back that I knew my way around the city when I really didnt.This was his car, her night, their city. I was only visiting.In the darkness of the car, they were seated at opposite ends of each other on the backseat. Their shoulders were hunched; bodies turned towards their own windows. In their hands were bulky mobile phones that they held close to their faces, thumbing the keypads and giggling as message alerts sounded intermittently.Like teenagers in love. I sighed to myself as I looked at them in the rear view mirror - both just inches from each other but sending text messages to each other as if there were continents apart.There they were, sickeningly sweet and gooey, my aunt and my uncle - both in their late 50s, the most loving couple Ive ever come across - behaving the same way Im sure they did some 40 years ago when they passed love notes in their school classroom. Aging classmates at class reunions must surely look at them and remark, "Ah, heres one that was built to last. One thats defied lifes hurdles and obstacles; an enduring love story of eternal romance."Yeeeech.Now, let me tell you whats true and what isnt.These things are true: Your lovers roses will droop and wilt. The wallpaper in your love nest will pe! el. Your cherished photographs together will fade and stain. Mould will grow in the bathroom sealant. Your pet dogs poop doesnt turn white anymore because dogs these days eat commercial dog food loaded with rice and corn, and not real bones with real calcium. Many hopeless romantics who travelled to Indias Ashrams after watching Eat, Pray, Love totally hated their experience. I also personally know of a friend who got pick-pocketed in Bali during her search for the medicine man.These ones arent: Love is unconditional. Love is timeless. Love is real. All you need is Love. Romance is beautiful.For a start, love is not unconditional. If youre born ugly, chances are even your mother would reject you. Im not making this up. Its scientific and comes from a study by Harvard University. Unconditional maternal love? Think again.Theres no such thing as love. Its just not real. Adam probably cooked up the idea as an excuse for his stupidity in conspiring with Eve to bite the apple.Its a lazy, catch-all word employed by the lazy lover to sum up the jumble of emotions that come from being in relationships; a word used mainly to appease the womenfolk and sometimes complemented with chocolates, diamonds and ribbons. Saying "I love you" and "We fell in love at first sight" is a velvety cover-up of the cruder truth, which is - "Me see you. Me track you. Then me club you on head. And me drag you to cave."Love, some say, is what happens when you set your friendship on fire. The simple appreciation of just being able to spend time with our friends becomes kindle and the beauty of that simplicity is consumed in the flames, substituted with a lovers unreasonable demands and expectations. It becomes an unforgiving game of complaint, punishment and reward.This unrealistic belief about Love is at its zenith when those afflicted by it make wedding vows of unconditional acceptance. They are then licensed to hurt and be hurt; to scream that theyre not being listened to enough and to c! laim an entitlement to more attention. It turns them into blinkered beasts of burden, no longer interested in taking in the reality of what surrounds them but obsessed with the fantastical quest to reach Loves promised destination where all is perfect and beautiful.Using marriage as an example again - acceptance is what takes place when a couple frolic with that initially clever solution to the problem of loneliness. At a time when the intended spouses physical attractiveness still ranks high and the emotional ropes that bind them untested, acceptance (and total submission) is easy to declare. Dont forget, theres the wonderful notion of l-o-v-e to honey-coat any early signs of uneasiness.But after the sugar wears off, despair must surely set in. All that craving for closeness and intimacy soon gives way to pleadings for more room and breathing space. Suddenly his laughter, so enthralling in the heady days of the relationships, starts to sound annoying. Those piercing eyes so captivating before now inspire instead secretly held wishes shed undergo cosmetic eye surgery.Love, you see, is about being possessive and self-centred; its essentially about me disguised as us to justify the involuntary sharing of space, feelings and material things. Mutual happiness gives way to something grotesque; a death grip that bruises and suffocates. Loves passion is wild and untempered, burning fast and full of destruction.Those who fear this reality and refuse to adapt out of romantic stubbornness will soon find themselves growing weary of the dimming matrimonial bliss. Pop a few children into the mix and thatll really screw the Confusometer up even more. Love, it soon becomes apparent, is a sinister imaginary friend who teases you into believing and then leaves you when all breaks down.So whats left when the illusion of Love is shattered?Many things, actually.Love is that great stage-hogger whose exit finally allows a storys true talents to shine through:Acceptance: how we accept and understand ! our part ners flaws and shortcomings. Commitment and fidelity: keeping promises, staying when youth is gone and beauty wrinkled. Tolerance: Our ability and willingness to tolerate their inability to change. Displaying patience, Kindness and Forgiveness when emotions collide. Knowing that we sometimes say the right words simply by not speaking but by Listening instead.Though I must reluctantly admit that Love may be the sum of all these, it is still an oversimplification. As a word, its use is selfish and unfair; it unduly takes credit for something thats clearly the work of others. Truth be told, it is merely a romanticised abbreviation of the many human qualities that fluctuate between Acceptance and Tolerance.These plainer things devoid of ornaments, I suggest to you, are the true virtues we should acknowledge. These determine the success of our relationships and not that dismal farce called Love.

Old Couple | Credit: http://bit.ly/e6aOcKSo, remember. Remember that Love is nothing more than an elaborate book cover. A story that endures owes it timelessness not to that cover but to the authors prose and heartfelt words that line its pages.That rainy night more than a decade ago, as I sat in the restaurant with my aunt and uncle; just the three of us for her birthday, I looked at them and wondered about their story.My aunt moved her chair slightly closer to mine and asked me to help her read the menus small print."I left my glasses at home", she explained.And just then, my uncle pulled out a small case from his jacket, opened it and placed next to my aunts hand her folded bifocals."But I remembered."Adrian Chew writes about many things. But mainly he writes in search of his voice. Follow his journey through the world of writing on Readin! gMonk.co m and also on twitter @Reading_Monk

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Tags: #loyarberkasih, Feelings, fidelity, forgiveness, kindness, Love, marriage, Matrimony, Patience, relationships, romance, Tolerance, Understanding, Wedding

This entry was posted on 14 February, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Let's Talk About Sex. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

One Response to Love - In Other Words #LoyarBerkasih

Pei Ling on 14 February, 2011 at 10:20 am

the ending was a keeler *thumbs up*

Taib Mahmud: Blood’s thicker than water

from Hornbill Unleashed by Hornbill Unleashed

KERUAH USIT

Over a hundred Malay, Bidayuh and Iban Native Customary Rights (NCR) land owners from five villages protested at the Kuching Court Complex on Friday against Polar Horizon, a company owned mainly by Abu Bekir, the son of Sarawak’s Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.

Polar Horizon had filed a suit last November against a well-known Sibu-based company, Rona Hijau, as well as the native landowners, seeking to prevent them from remaining in the oil palm smallholdings in Sampadi.

The landowners had begun developing their NCR land by planting these oil palms since 2005, and had applied successfully in 2009 to the National Resources and Environment Board (NREB) for approval for a joint venture with Rona Hijau.

It has been widely reported that the NCR landowners had accompanied their lawyer, See Chee How (left) of Baru Bian Advocates and Solicitors, in filing their defence and counterclaim against Polar Horizon, seeking to prevent the loss of their ancestral land, and the oil palm smallholdings.

But the news reports have left out various intriguing details regarding this land tussle.

PBB members’ land was not spared

The five villages, Kampung Sampadi, Kangka, Riam, Sungai Cina and Stoh, trace their histories back more than a century, according to the communities’ legal submission.

Kampung Sampadi was first occupied in 1902 by a group of Malay Kadayan. The name of the settlement at that time was Kampung Tanjung Gersik.

Kampung Sungai Cina, a traditional Malay village despite its name, was first established under the late Ibrahim bin Bujang, around 1920. The Malays enjoyed good relations with the few Chinese families in the area, but the Chinese had mostly moved away by the 1960s.

Kampung Stoh was established in the early 1920s by the ancestors of several local Malay families, while Kampung Setia Jaya (also known as Kampung Ulu Riam) was set up in the late 1940s by pioneering families led by the late father of Bujang bin Putit, currently the Ketua Kaum or village head.

Kampung Kangka is a longhouse situated at the foot of Gunung Shahbandar in Lundu. It was first occupied in 1928 by families led by Sambang anak Daik, after the White Rajah Brooke had given them the land.

Most of the landowners are members of the dominant BN party helmed by Taib, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB). The local MP, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who is also Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, is from the PBB, as is the state assembly representative, Adenan Satem.

Adenan was once next in line to succeed Taib (right) as chief minister, before he fell out of favour, thanks in part to his cavalier attitude towards the Iban. He has since been brought back into the cabinet as Taib’s special advisor and publicity chief.

Local villagers say they appealed to their elected representatives to intercede with Taib’s ministry, but to no avail.

Loyal BN supporters at risk

Taib’s land deal has affected not only local PBB grassroots leaders, but also a politically well-connected and loyal supporter of Taib and the BN, in Rona Hijau. Polar Horizon sued this company as the first defendant, with the villagers as the second.

To Sarawakians in the know, Rona Hijau’s name is closely linked with a Sarawak giant – Rimbunan Hijau, owned by tycoon Tiong Hiew King.

Rona Hijau is a joint venture between Pertumbuhan Abadi Asia and three other companies representing the NCR landowners, to develop the land with palm oil. Pertumbuhan Abadi Asia is majority-owned by Tiong Hiew King (left), the patriarch behind Rimbunan Hijau, and one of the wealthiest men in Malaysia.

From its roots as a logging concern, Rimbunan Hijau has become a public listed company with assets in plantations, property, media and banking. Tiong owns the influential Sin Chew Daily News group.

The Sibu Mayor and SUPP Lanang MP, Tiong Thai King, is his younger brother. The powerful Tiong family are cosy associates with the SUPP, a BN component with a Chinese majority, but the SUPP’s leverage on power is obviously shrinking.

Beneficiaries of other people’s land

The Sarawak government has issued Polar Horizon, a company setup in September 2007, provisional leases over three plots of land totaling 1,500 hectares in Sampadi Land District, claimed by the five villages as NCR land.

The land leases indicate that the three plots of lands were alienated to the company as part ‘payment in kind’ for the construction of JKR Contract Number PWD/HO/B102/2000. This means Polar Horizon obtained the land without paying a single cent.

Polar Horizon shareholders are husband Michael Ting Kuok Ngie and wife Rose Yiu Choo Kiu. These are hardly household names, but Michael Ting is a wealthy business partner of Taib Mahmud’s son, Abu Bekir, in Titanium Management, and Polar Horizon is a subsidiary of Titanium.

Titanium’s ownership is shared between Abu Bekir (left in pic) (1,430,000 shares), Michael Ting (120,000 shares) and Chung Soon Nam (850,000). The Sarawak Report website hasidentified Titanium as the beneficiary of other vast tracts of NCR lands.

All in Taib’s family

It is ironic that premier Najib Abdul Razak recentlywarned businesses against backing the opposition, as the Sarawak and Parliamentary elections draw near.

In Sarawak, businesses outside the Taib family empire, even if they had previously profited from Taib’s three decades in control, have now been put on notice: their business interests are at risk where land development is concerned, if there is any conflict with Taib’s family.

Rona Hijau’s court documents stated RM17 million had already been spent on the joint venture with NCR landowners. The interests of the Tiong family, and PBB members in Lundu, are clearly of no concern to Taib, as he continues to dispense more and more land, under his ministerial powers, to family interests.

Crony businesses and BN party members must now be aware that none of them is safe, and support of Taib offers no guarantee of protection.

As Taib has said himself, blood is indeed thicker than water.

KERUAH USIT is a human rights activist – ‘anak Sarawak, bangsa Malaysia’. This weekly column is an effort to provide a voice for marginalised Malaysians. Keruah Usit can be contacted atkeruah_usit@yahoo.com

Mamak Gets Jealous Over Liberal KJ

Valentines Day, KJ Sabotaj TPM

from Anak Omak by Anak Omak

Cepat-cepatlah masuk PKR..

Happy Valentine's Day ..... Hahahaha, tak habis-habis soal Valentine tak ikut ugama. Dari zaman aku sekolah lagi dah jadi isu. Sampai sekarang masih dibincangkan. Tiap kali nak dekat 14 Feb, benda ni timbul. Zaman aku muda dululah, yang duk sibuk kata tak sambut Valentine ni orang single dan bagi yang ada couple, jenis yang control macho pun kata tak nak sambut. Kalau sambut maknanya duit terbang dan 'terikat'. Kecewalah pulak awek lain ... senang2 cakap je tak suka sambut.

Sebenarnya kita banyak terikut2 dengan orang hal Valentine ni. Bunyinya pun sedap ... macam velentino, italy tuh....Tak silap aku, Valentine yang ori takde kena mengena pun dengan hari kekasih. Atas sebab2 yang aku malas nak cek, ia diromantikkan. Dan atas sebab2 komersil, ia dipromosikan secara besar2an sebagai Hari Kekasih dimana ia melibatkan 'hadiah' antara pasangan kekasih. Ada hadiah pakai duit, ada hadiah tak pakai duit hahahahaha....

Kalau diberikan alasan untuk mengeratkan kasihsayang antara suami isteri memanglah takde masalah, tapi orang pertikaikan pulak kenapa nak kena sambut hari tertentu .... malas aku nak komen bagian tu. Bila dah jadi laki bini, ikut pandai dioranglah .... Tapi isu yang sering ditimbulkan adalah bila yang belum kawin berlagak macam dah kawin atas nama Hari Valentine. Lesen besar tuh ..... Hari Valentine dah tukar jadi Hari Pengorbanan ! Belum kira pesta2 dan acara2 yang pasti melibatkan hal2 yang haram.

Tak perlu explain panjang2, inikan blog politik. so..... sekarang kita masuk bab politik.

Bila Pas mula timbulkan perkara, aku senyum dah. Nampak sangat angle politik dia. Macam formula LGE dan Melayu , Pas pun ada formula dia - Apapun yang Pas buat semua ada kaitan ngan politik. Yang aku nampak, Pas pasang jerat nak perangkap Umno.

Umno relaks je. Diluar jangkaan Pas, Dap pun melenting. ( atau berlakon ? ) Kerajaan tak masuk perangkap bila JAKIM keluarkan kenyataan Islam tidak menganjurkan Valentine ( macamlah orang tak tahu.... ) dan Muhyiddin sambut dengan mengatakan nasihat itu untuk umat Islam saja. Ng Yen Yen pulak melenting , bodohnya.... macamlah dunia baca Harakah ! sampai pelancong takut nak datang Malaysia.

Betullah... pemimpin Mca kena hadir kursus cara2 permainan politik Pas. Tapi takpelah, itu bukan benda yang aku nak tulis. Bila JAKIM dan Muhyiddin dah main beregu baaaiiik punya kasi cover line, tiba-tiba muncullah Mamat sorang ni, berlagak tunjuk betapa liberal pemikirannya, betapa open minded cara Islamnya yang moden, betapa hard-up nya dia kepada pujian orang kafir.

Siapa lagi kalau bukan orang yang terang2 kata Melayu kena bodek cina untuk mendapatkan sokongan mereka kalau mahu Melayu terus relevan..... - Ketua Pemuda Umno, KJ.

It’s all right to observe Valentine’s Day, says Khairy - The Star 12/2
(Terjemahan saya )
Katanya - selagi orang tak buat maksiat, OK kalau nak sambut Valentine.

Masalahnya lebih ramai yang buat maksiat dari yang tak buat. Bukan maksiat beromen dan main je, tu yang berpesta minum arak, berdisko bla bla bla.... pendekkata lebih baik tak sambut dari disambut. Tak ada ruginya kalau tak sambut pun. Yang KJ bersungguh nak pertahankan tu apasal ? Dia nak sambut ngan bini dia, sambut jelah. Tak payah nak cerita kat paper.

Tak payah nak tunjuk pandai bab ugama kalau tak tahu. KJ masih Ketua Pemuda Umno merangkap Ketua Pemuda BN. Ke sengaja nak sabotaj ?? Tak cukup dengan tu, siap sindir lagi kalau nak haramkan Valentine, kenapa tak haramkan sambutan Tahun Baru 1 Januari ?

dahla keduanya bawa maksud yang berlainan tapi yang lebih penting ( takkan KJ tak tahu benda ni ? ) Pas memang tak sambut mana pun 1Januari !!

Adoi bodohnyalah Ketua Pemuda Umno ni ..... Aku ingat lebih baik tarikh persaraannya dari politik dianjakkan kedepan .... esok ke, tak pun sempena Hari Valentine 14 Februari 2011 sebelum KJ mendatangkan lebih banyak masalah yang tak diundang.

Korang sambunglah pulak .... teruklah ko kena KJ ...

Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #53

Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital

Adding Value to a Routine Airport Taxi Ride

The second anecdote concerns an airport trip in Atlanta my wife and I took after a medical convention. On discovering that a limousine was only slightly more expensive than a taxi, we decided to go in style. We stepped into this luxurious limousine, with the driver in tuxedo no less, dutifully opening the door and helping us in. I felt like a celebrity, or perhaps a sultan. The driver inquired of our flight and he immediately phoned ahead to find its status. As the flight was going to be delayed, he suggested we take the scenic country road. Normally he would charge extra for such a detour but since he would be saving gas by not getting stuck on the freeway at peak commuting time, he would dispense with it. Delighted, we cheered him on. He also welcomed us to some complimentary beverages and fresh fruits from his small fridge. We felt vindicated; the extra cost more than compensated by the freebies!

The driver too was very informative. We drove by some stately historical mansions around the city with his giving us a running commentary on the history. We felt as if we were being taken through the Civil War, tracing the destructive path General Sherman took. It turned out that our driver was a history major at the local university. The point is, he was more than just a driver. Because of his education he was an informative tour guide and a history lecturer to boot! He added value to a routine airport trip, and we tipped him accordingly.

Contrast that with our experience recently at Malaysias spanking new multibillion-dollar Sepang airport. First, the limousine was nothing more than a fancy taxi. Second, the poor driver spoke not a word of English (imagine serving an international airport!) and only a smattering of Malay. As we had not been to Malaysia for sometime, we were suitably impressed fir! st with the airport and then with the gleaming new freeways and all the new constructions. But for every question we asked the driver, we received a grunting, Tak tau (Dont know). And when we reached our hotel, because of the lineup at the entrance, he tried to drop us by the curb. After we protested, he reluctantly drove us up to the lobby. He never so much as got out of his seat to help us. And this character expected a generous tip from us! Unlike my Atlanta driver, this Malaysian driver was probably a school dropout.

My last example is from Japan, a country famed for producing top quality goods. One of the reasons is that Japanese workers are highly trained and well educated. They all have at least a high school education. William Deming, the American quality control guru, was revered there for his work on statistical quality control. He wrote about a factory that tried very hard to improve the already high quality of its products. But it reached a plateau. Try as the workers might, they could not better their figures.

One day one of the workers noted the machines were shaking from the rolling of a nearby freight train. She immediately sensed the significance and intuited the cause of the factorys product defects. Sure enough, on further analysis she found that statistically, goods produced on days the train was not running had a lower rejection rate. Supported by this finding the company decided to build a deep moat around the factory to shield it from the trains vibrations. It worked, further dropping the already low rejection rate of the factorys products.

If factory workers were merely simpletons working like robots, the significance of the train would have been missed. Again this proves the importance of education and training even for factory workers. Training and education alone are not enough by themselves. Workers in authoritarian countries may be equally well educated and highly trained, but because of their environment of repression and tight control, it is unlikely for ! them eve n if they were aware of the problem to even think of alerting their superiors.

These three anecdotes give a qualitative sense to the differences in the caliber of the workforce in different countries. The UN Development Program (UNDP) has created its Human Development Index (HDI) to quantify these differences. The HDI is actually a measure of the quality of the populace and thus indirectly, the workforce. Marked variations occur not only between but also within nations. The UNDP used a variety of measures to assess HDI, among them health indices, literacy rate, percentage of students completing high school, and per capita income.

According to the 2001 Index, Norway leads the way with United States, sixth. At the bottom are the three African states of Burundi, Niger, and Sierra Leone. Malaysia stands at 56 (it was 61 in 2000, and 56 way back in 1999). We are right behind Russia but ahead of Bulgaria. The three model states I discussed earlier stand at: South Korea, 15; Ireland, 18; and Argentina, 34. Our ASEAN neighbors are headed by Singapore at 26; Brunei, 32; while Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia rank respectively at 60, 70 and 102.

Within Malaysia I would anticipate significant differences between regions, sexes, and most significantly from the political viewpoint, between Bumiputras and non-Bumiputras. As an aside, because of the sensitive issue of race in Malaysia, it is important that we appreciate the nuances and differences in these figures and be cautious in attributing the differences purely to race. Apparent differences in the school dropout rates between Malays and non-Malays for example, may not be due to race, rather to urban and rural factors. Until we can sharpen our statistical analysis, we should not be quick to attribute differences purely to race.

Another equally important factor is how the nation treats its talented and gifted. Every year we read in the popular press about students, usually non-Bumiputras, who have done well in their public examinations,! only to be denied admission into Malaysian universities. A lucky few would be offered scholarships by foreign entities. Not surprisingly these individuals rarely return, their talent forever lost to the country. Nor is the treatment of bright young Bumiputras any better. It is widely acknowledged that Petronas scholars are among the best. Having met many of them, I agree. I congratulate Petronas for its ability to attract these promising young Malaysians. But when I meet these students I am struck that many of them are pursuing a field of study that is not their first choice or even one they really like. They simply accept the scholarship because that is the only way to get their studies funded or for going overseas. I wonder at the missed opportunities and unfulfilled dreams had these students been given the freedom to choose their own courses.

Malaysia has considered development mainly in physical terms factories, roads, ports and airports. A more enduring and effective strategy would be to improve the nations greatest asset: its people. Enhancing the quality of the citizens, quite apart from being the right thing to do, would also better prepare the nation to meet the challenges of globalization.

Next: Enhancing Human Capital Through Better Health

Taib Mahmud: Bloods thicker than water

KERUAH USIT

Over a hundred Malay, Bidayuh and Iban Native Customary Rights (NCR) land owners from five villagesprotested at the Kuching Court Complex on Friday against Polar Horizon, a company owned mainly by Abu Bekir, the son of Sarawaks Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.

Polar Horizon had filed a suit last November against a well-known Sibu-based company, Rona Hijau, as well as the native landowners, seeking to prevent them from remaining in the oil palm smallholdings in Sampadi.

The landowners had begun developing their NCR land by planting these oil palms since 2005, and had applied successfully in 2009 to the National Resources and Environment Board (NREB) for approval for a joint venture with Rona Hijau.

It has been widely reported that the NCR landowners had accompanied their lawyer, See Chee How (left) of Baru Bian Advocates and Solicitors, in filing their defence and counterclaim against Polar Horizon, seeking to prevent the loss of their ancestral land, and the oil palm smallholdings.

But the news reports have left out various intriguing details regarding this land tussle.

PBB members land was not spared

The five villages, Kampung Sampadi, Kangka, Riam, Sungai Cina and Stoh, trace their histories back more than a century, according to the communities legal submission.

Kampung Sampadi was first occupied in 1902 by a group of Malay Kadayan. The name of the settlement at that time was Kampung Tanjung Gersik.

Kampung Sungai Cina, a traditional Malay village despite its name, was fir! st estab lished under the late Ibrahim bin Bujang, around 1920. The Malays enjoyed good relations with the few Chinese families in the area, but the Chinese had mostly moved away by the 1960s.

Kampung Stoh was established in the early 1920s by the ancestors of several local Malay families, while Kampung Setia Jaya (also known as Kampung Ulu Riam) was set up in the late 1940s by pioneering families led by the late father of Bujang bin Putit, currently theKetua Kaum or village head.

Kampung Kangka is a longhouse situated at the foot of Gunung Shahbandar in Lundu. It was first occupied in 1928 by families led by Sambang anak Daik, after the White Rajah Brooke had given them the land.

Most of the landowners are members of the dominant BN party helmed by Taib, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB). The local MP, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who is also Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, is from the PBB, as is the state assembly representative, Adenan Satem.

Adenan was once next in line to succeed Taib (right) as chief minister, before he fell out of favour, thanks in part to his cavalier attitude towards the Iban. He has since been brought back into the cabinet as Taibs special advisor and publicity chief.

Local villagers say they appealed to their elected representatives to intercede with Taibs ministry, but to no avail.

Loyal BN supporters at risk

Taibs land deal has affected not only local PBB grassroots leaders, but also a politically well-connected and loyal supporter of Taib and the BN, in Rona Hijau. Polar Horizon sued this company as the first defendant, with the villagers as the second.

To Sarawakians in the know, Rona Hijaus name is closely linked with a Sarawak giant Rimbunan Hijau, owned by tycoon Tiong Hiew King.

Rona Hijau is a joint venture between Pertumbuhan Abadi Asia and three other companies representing the NCR landowners, to develop the land with palm oil. Pertumbuhan Abadi Asia is majority-owned by Tiong Hiew King (left), the patriarch behind Rimbunan Hijau, and one of the wealthiest men in Malaysia.

From its roots as a logging concern, Rimbunan Hijau has become a public listed company with assets in plantations, property, media and banking. Tiong owns the influential Sin Chew Daily News group.

The Sibu Mayor and SUPP Lanang MP, Tiong Thai King, is his younger brother. The powerful Tiong family are cosy associates with the SUPP, a BN component with a Chinese majority, but the SUPPs leverage on power is obviously shrinking.

Beneficiaries of other peoples land

The Sarawak government has issued Polar Horizon, a company setup in September 2007, provisional leases over three plots of land totaling 1,500 hectares in Sampadi Land District, claimed by the five villages as NCR land.

The land leases indicate that the three plots of lands were alienated to the company as part payment in kind for the construction of JKR Contract Number PWD/HO/B102/2000. This means Polar Horizon obtained the land without paying a single cent.

Polar Horizon shareholders are husband Michael Ting Kuok Ngie and wife Rose Yiu Choo Kiu. These are hardly household names, but Michael Ting is a wealthy business partner of Taib Mahmuds son, Abu Bekir, in Titanium Management, and Polar Horizon is a subsidiary of Titanium.

Titaniums ownership is shared between Abu Bekir (left in pic) (1,430,000 shares), Michael Ting (120,000 shares)! and Chu ng Soon Nam (850,000). TheSarawak Report website hasidentified Titanium as the beneficiary of other vast tracts of NCR lands.

All in Taibs family

It is ironic that premier Najib Abdul Razak recentlywarned businesses against backing the opposition, as the Sarawak and Parliamentary elections draw near.

In Sarawak, businesses outside the Taib family empire, even if they had previously profited from Taibs three decades in control, have now been put on notice: their business interests are at risk where land development is concerned, if there is any conflict with Taibs family.

Rona Hijaus court documents stated RM17 million had already been spent on the joint venture with NCR landowners. The interests of the Tiong family, and PBB members in Lundu, are clearly of no concern to Taib, as he continues to dispense more and more land, under his ministerial powers, to family interests.

Crony businesses and BN party members must now be aware that none of them is safe, and support of Taib offers no guarantee of protection.

As Taib has said himself, blood is indeed thicker than water.

KERUAH USIT is a human rights activist anak Sarawak, bangsa Malaysia. This weekly column is an effort to provide a voice for marginalised Malaysians. Keruah Usit can be contacted atkeruah_usit@yahoo.com

Filed under: corruption, Human rights, Politics Tagged: Anak Sarawak Bangsa Malaysia, Barisan Nasional, corruption, NCR, Sarawak politics, Save Sarawak, See Chee How, Taib Mahmud