Sivin Kit’s Garden

To the arrogant Mr. Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar

I wonder whether Mr. Home Minister will take these words to heart?

We are not stupid. If you have grounds to say that Raja Petra is publishing “libellous, defamatory and slanderous” stuff, please take him to court and seek legal recourse.

You are supposed to be a lawyer. So please start behaving like one and do not make arbitrary decisions whch are essentially politically motivated. Stop grand standing since it only reflects your personal inadequacies. I have been reading Petra’s blog and I know how careful he can be. His comments and analyses are fact based and the information is from impeccable sources.

Yeh, yeh, kita menang!

Doesn’t look like RPK is backing down, is he?

Raja Petra Kamarudin no longer owns Malaysia Today. Raja Petra may have started the original Malaysia Today. But he does not own it any more. Malaysia Today has been replaced by the son of Malaysia Today. And the son of Malaysia Today is owned by the people of Malaysia. The people of Malaysia are keeping the son of Malaysia Today going. It is now called MT Harapan Malaysia and you can access it at mt.harapanmalaysia.com .

Spread this message far and wide. Tell all your friends and family that Malaysia Today has died. It died at 6.00pm on 26 August 2008, the time and day that Anwar Ibrahim won the Permatang Pauh by-election with historic results and which has now triggered his march to Putrajaya. But also tell your friends and family that the son of Malaysia Today has taken over the fight of its father. And this son is called mt.harapanmalaysia.com. Also tell them that the fight is going to get fiercer. The son wants to avenge the death of its father. And don’t forget to also gloat to your friends and family: yeh, yeh, kita menang!

For the love of this country

The comments after the poem is worth reading …

After this, I will probably try to stay away from UMNO politics. Going down this road of commenting on them has been “fun” at times, but I think I’ve had enough. No amount of criticism is going to do them any good, and it surely isn’t serving me a higher purpose.

For the sake of nation building, and what little, if any at all, that I can contribute, I think it’s best we keep our minds open, our thinking caps on, and be constructive.

Hang them idiots@MCMC

Jeff Ooi the comeback blogger with a vengeance?

RPK can be penalised if he missteps any of the Malaysian laws. He knows that as he is now facing various police harassment over alleged seditions and civil suits from what he wrote about the Police Force and about the C4 murder of that Mongolian woman, just to quote a few.

But MCMC cannot prosecute RPK while these cases are being disposed by the Bench. By so doing, MCMC is sucking up to their paymasters at Putrajaya.
Therefore, I ask all Malaysian bloggers — and editors from the mainstream media — to stand up to this challenge, hang the MCMC in the international arena. Because of the S T U P I D I T Y at MCMC, Malaysia is now a banana republic.

Malaysia Today

The potential future MCA president speaks …

Under the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees, the government has promised that there would be no censorship over the Internet. I do not understand why MCMC is resorting to this.

Raja Petra, who runs the portal, is already facing several charges in court. We should let the courts decide on his fate.

Forcibly blocking access to his website only lends more credence to his writings. In fact, it is foolish to think that online censorship works effectively. There are still many other ways for surfers to access the portal.

Permatang Pauh: What BN leaders say

A classic "you did not lose, and I did not win" kind of reaction

Merdeka comes to Permatang Pauh, Anwar on his way to Putrajaya?

Susan Loone’s blog was another favorite of mine for this by-election.

Rise of PP voters as pioneers of Bangsa Malaysia generation shaming Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC leaders for their race politics

A very excited YB Lim Kit Siang cheering on.

Malaysia Today blocked! Order from MCMC

But MT moves here … for a while.  How about sites like this?

16 September beckons…

Wow, Anil has got stamina to blog on and gives us a bonus piece:

Victorious Anwar on path to power

Then Anil did get some honest feedback below

My “disgusting” coverage: Blogger crackdown looms?

(Picture from The Nut Graph)

Official: Anwar gets BIGGER majority

I love the internet age … the speed of information is so cool!

9.50pm: Official EC tally - Anwar got 31,195 votes, Arif Shah, 15,524, Hanafi, 92. Anwar won with a majority of 15,671.

Anwar’s wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, won the seat with a 13,388 majority at the March 8 general elections.

The official voter turnout is 81.1 percent, or 47,410 out of 58,459 registered voters - which is much higher than what the EC has stated earlier. There were 599 spoilt votes.

Meanwhile, outside Tuanku Bainun Teaching Institute, thousands of jubilant PKR supporters have gathered to embrace their leader’s return to Parliament.

PKR vice-president Azmin Ali is already there to address the crowd numbering some 6,000. Other party leaders like R Sivarasa and Tian Chua are also there.

Anwar is expected to address this ecstatic group of supporters later as well. Tian said that the overwhelming victory showed that "the prime minister’s racial politics is bankrupt".

The EC made the official announcement at 10.05pm. Only Anwar and Hanafi were present at the announcement.

Anwar claims landslide victory

Nice graphics from Malaysian Insider …

Permatang Pauh: The end game

The opening photo makes me giggle. But seriously, we live in a crazy time.  And it’s not a joking matter.

IT has been a long, bruising battle, filled with attacks and parries of increasing intensity that seem straight out of Sun Tzu’s fabled Art of War. Every day has brought new, sometimes disturbing developments in the campaigning for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election

The voters in this predominately rural Malay constituency, and the public at large, have been treated to a “dirty tricks” campaign that has thrown in everything but the kitchen sink. Take your pick from slander, swearing, sex, assaults and harassment, to allegations of electoral fraud, vote buying, a dubious doctoral degree, and even death threats.

Permatang Pauh and beyond

What an opening statement …

Barring massive electoral fraud, Anwar is one by-election and two weeks short of returning to Parliament.

Ustaz puts BN campaign in tatters

Anwar campaign undermines Saiful’s Quran oath

Fascinating how I got the news from bloggers on the ground first, and now reading the afterthoughts and tidied up versions. Times have changed.  We get really raw news, and then we get the published news.

Imam was ‘ordered’ to witness Saiful’s oath (videos)

Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about as far as "raw", equipped even with videos! And Chris Choong, I spotted you in a picture! Keep up the good work Mafrel!

Nurul Izzah: It’s not about my father, it’s about the future of Malaysia

I agree … while we can’t run away from personalities in politics, there’s a bigger picture at stake.

Anil Netto has been consistently giving quality on the ground reports. Thanks.

LIVE from Penanti

BN propaganda onslaught over television

The moment of truth draws near

Anwar slams govt for overcrowded general hospitals

Giant-killer Kumar joins the fray

Pas backs Anwar for PM: Hatta

Aliran Monthly has a digital version!

Haris Ibrahim is another one whose passion and commitment is contagious! The SMS campaign says it all …

Barisan Rakyat’s campaign to send Anwar to Parliament (3)

BN akan gunakan bermacam tipu helah untuk menewaskan Anwar pada 26 Ogos. Jika anda didaftar untuk mengundi di P/Pauh, jangan hampakan rakyat, negara dan masa depan anak-anak kita. Jangan abaikan tanggungjawab anda untuk mengundi pada 26hb Ogos. Sehati sejiwa sama-sama kita selamatkan negara kita. Undilah D’ Sri Anwar. Sebar kpd kwn2 di P/Png & P/Pauh.

國陣将使用各种各样的把戏击败安华。 如果你有在P/Pauh登记投票，不要辜负人民、国家和孩子们的希望。履行你们投票的责任。让我们齐心齐力保存我们爱的国家。投票安华。传发此信息给我们在檳城的朋友。

Barisan Rakyat’s campaign to send Anwar to Parliament (2)

Media massa arus p’dana akn m’perdayakan rkyt & m’cari helah utk gagalkan Dtk Seri Anwar Ibrm di P/Pauh dgn berita palsu - m’jatuhkan nama Dtk Seri & menanam rasa syak wasangka. Jom boikot! Jgn beli s/kabar & jgn p’caya berita radio/TV. Sebar kpd kwn2 di P/Png & P/Pauh.

“主流媒介将欺骗人民并且想尽办法阻止安华在檳城的计划，损害他的形象和造成人民对安华起怀疑。 我们抵制! 不要买报纸，并且不要相信广播和电视新闻。“传发此信息给我们在檳城的朋友。”

Politik UMNO / BN politik kaum. Politik kaum BN hancurkan perpaduan rakyat. Jangan diperdayakan dengan politik kaum UMNO / BN. Politik Pakatan Rakyat/ Anwar menyatukan rakyat. Rakyat sehati sejiwa menyelamatkan negara yang dicintai. Undilah D’ Sri Anwar pada 26/8/2008. Hidup rakyat. Sebar kpd kwn2 di P/Png & P/Pauh.

巫統/國陣的政治种族的政治。巫統/國陣的种族政治将毁坏和谐。 不要被唬弄。安华的政治将让人民团结。人民齐心齐力保存我们爱的国家。26/8/2008投票安华。人民万岁。传发此信息给我们在檳城的朋友

Tell UMNO we do not fear them! We will fight them to the end!

Once you’ve heard or met RPK in person, you will feel the heat!

poor Todd Bentley

Todd Bentley’s divorce and ministry: Who is responsible?

I confess I’m a little late in following the news surrounding Todd Bentley. My curiosity increased after someone told me on the phone that there are churches in Malaysia really "into" this new revival. I’m not sure how this is going to play out… but Maggi’s blog posts here are helpful.

It would be better, in my view, more holy and more loving, to grasp the fact that true religion only begins at a place of brokenness; that there is no such thing as a level of anointing in spirituality that innoculates us from being thoroughly human. As a wise friend of mine used to say, "the ground is level at the foot of the Cross."

Me? I still don’t like Bentley’s religion, and have no reason to defend it. I much prefer being human to being religious. But I’m not going to use his personal situation to flay him with. I started the day with a prayer for him and his family.

* * *

Now I’m no fan of ministers who begin to believe in their own publicity. But I have been in the company of similar proclaimers of prophecy before now, and I’ve seen how quickly people will abandon their proteges and conveniently forget their grand words of prophecy when they don’t cash out. And although it’s true that people are responsible for their own actions, it’s also true that in this case a whole crowd of older people, in whom a great deal of authority and respect is invested, took part in commissioning a young and obviously vulnerable man. I don’t know where they are now. But in the midst of the current web-trashing of Mr Bentley, I hope that the "Apostles" who commissioned him are repenting their extravagant words, and taking genuinely good care of him and his wife and kids.

10 Practical Uses For Psychological Research in Everyday Life  (HT: Guy Kawasaki)

A pretty good list.

5 Tips for Telling Better Stories (HT: Keith Ferrazi)

Good reminders.

25 Painless Ways to Free Up an Hour a Day for Your Goals

self-mastery is a life-long training process.  It’s more than trying!

The Permatang Pauh By-Election is surely going to dominate our minds the next few weeks, so I’ll do my part today  with extra links and then move on to other stuff

Titbits on P44 BE

It’s great to have friends up north to tell us juicy details on the ground … I felt the same way on point no. 11.

Wise words, not flowery language

Josh is right, it’s more than the ability to speak a language, the question is what values to we really hold on the inside, and represent on the outside in totality. 

What is the big deal if Arif Shah’s command of Mandarin is impressive? It is merely a personal issue, and I am more interested in his political ideals and the political entity that he is affiliated with.

So long as BN is mired in its racist ideology and shows no will to initiate far-reaching reforms, I don’t see the merit for it to be given the mandate, not even if some of its members could cast a spell on the crowd using the angelic language.

DON’T BE LOUD

Some advice loud and clear for all …

If indeed this by-election will shape the direction of politics for the entire nation, supporters for the possible future leader of the nation should think quick and deep about their continued presence in PP. They need to be asked (and to ask themselves) what they are doing in PP. Will their continued presence add value to their candidate’s campaign? Do they have specific roles to play or are they there to take on the atmosphere or gain experience to put into their cv? A battle-field is not a place for by-standers or curiosity-seekers. Better for saudara candidate that excess humanity leave the scene to those who are there to do their work. Don’t consume electricity and water or occupy roadway and parking. Come away and follow the campaign through alternative media like Malaysia Today.

For those who remain to really assist the campaign, be very careful of how you tread in PP, how you talk, how you behave. Put on ordinary clothes, choose agreeable colours, always and in every situation be courteous, considerate and respectful of the locals. Beri laluan dan ruang kepada orang kampung. Adopt local customs and ways.

Yes we have an important message to convey to voters but do so in the fashion of the new politics we are trying to usher in. Don’t take on the bullyish, crude, arrogant, hooliganish manners of the outgoing regime. Reformasi is our goal but it is not just a word we shout on the street but a manner of behaving and dealing with the local folks. To be convinced they need to see us as reformed people with refined manners.

Is Anwar Ibrahim a reformist?

The question on "Can you trust Anwar?" always emerges on and off … then I would hear a reply, "Do you trust ______________?" (Fill in the blank with any other politician or fellow human being").  After moving away from guessing one’s inner motivations, we can have more progress in the discussion over stated positions and agendas.

Bad day for BN

One of the first things many of us were wondering was who will be the first component party to pull out of the BN.

Gerakan leader endorses Anwar

Is this the tip of the iceberg?

God, is this a sign?

Great pictures on the ground and on a tree!

Ezam in full force against Anwar in Permatang Pauh

Glimpses on another side.

Shafee to RPK: Face me in court

This is going to be the side show with equal interest to many.

New DNA Bill

Tony raises the question which is on a lot of our minds:

Are laws being changed just to ensure that a successful upcoming prosecution of some prominent personality? Are goalposts being shifted against the natural course of justice?

Roles reversed, BN the David against Anwar the Goliath

The media loves to use Biblical imagery when it fits them.  We need to get a copyright on the David and Goliath story, then we’ll save some energy from needing to work so hard for fundraising. Anyway, whatever they say, who’s really the David, and who’s really the Goliath … God knows! 

Saiful: Sodomy wasn’t consensual

Anwar questions accuser’s timing

Talk about timing … talk about content …

Barisan Rakyat’s campaign to send Anwar to Parliament

The quiet but firm Barisan Rakyat arises again? I could feel a similar current in the main stream media similar to the build up to March 8th elections. The SMS Haris is asking us to send says it all …

Media massa arus p’dana akn m’perdayakan rkyt & m’cari helah utk gagalkan Dtk Seri Anwar Ibrm di P/Pauh dgn berita palsu - m’jatuhkan nama Dtk Seri & menanam rasa syak wasangka. Jom boikot! Jgn beli s/kabar & jgn p’caya berita radio/TV. Sebar kpd kwn2 di P/Png & P/Pauh.

Hopeful in Permatang Pauh

A new independent Malaysian news site .. emerges!

For Heaven’s Sake: Missing the point

When a Jesuit scholar from Malaysia speaks like this, some of us sit up and listen

To read the story of Sodom as a condemnation of homosexuality is to miss the point of the text completely. This misreading deprives our schooling in morality of a powerful tale about how sex, whether heterosexual or homosexual, should not be used as a weapon of domination. What is also lost by such a reading is the key notion of hospitality: that in generously honouring the strangers in our midst, and being humble before them, we unknowingly give honour to the Divine. Seeing in the text a condemnation of consensual homosexual acts also lends divine sanction to prejudice against homosexual persons. Wherever else one may seek for justification to label homosexual acts a sin, or a crime — and we should never confuse these two categories — the story of Sodom is not the place.

Christian politicians

There are those who got "thrown" into being a Christian politician by the waves of history (or the nudge of God, depending on perspective). But some clarity on vocation would help.

Unless one takes a truly separatist view of the Christian life and wants to preclude anybody with political influence from being a member of the church, then one has to grant that some Christians have the specific vocation of working out the details of seeking justice in political life. This is not the only task of the Christian life, nor is it the primary task of the church. But it is a genuine vocation for Christians, one just as worthy as farming or schoolteaching. If we are clear about the distinct vocations to which Christians are called, there is no reason for Christians to fast from politics or apologize for their involvement in it.

The Politics of God and the Politics of Man by Jacques Ellul (Free online book)

Second Kings the most political book in Scripture?

We believe that every book of Scripture should be taken for what it purports to be. This is the first principle of interpretation. In any biblical writing we can readily see other things than what it seems to be, but these ought to be secondary and relatively unimportant compared to what the writing itself says it is and seeks to be. For it is perhaps there that we shall find the meaning that God intends us to see in this work. Or, very explicitly, this Second Book of Kings describes for us God’s interventions in a period in the history of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel.

It seems to me, then, that this Second Book of Kings is characterized by two aspects of revelation. The first is political in the narrow sense; the problems in most of the texts are political. The problem is Israel’s situation as regards political power in relation to the Syrians, the Assyrians, the Edomites, and the Egyptians. It is Israel’s decadence as a kingdom. And we shall see directly the place, the presence, and the action of God in this area of human life.

A Christian Perspective on Political Thought

A comment cut through in our conversations on Monday.  We need a introductory course for Christians in Malaysia on the political process that we are involved in.  We live in an environment of "power" - whether it’s "power-sharing" or "power-play" - the question remains what does all this mean for us?  And how shall we play a role in this?

Speech by President of MCCBCHST

I was there to hear this …

Most importantly, all Malaysians must feel that they have adequate access to justice.

In that regard, we in the MCCBCHST wholeheartedly support the initiatives of Yang Amat Berhormat, as announced by the Minister of Law Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, to restore the judicial power of the Federation in the Courts by restoring Article 121 (1) of the Federal Constitution to its pre-1988 position. 

I hope that the Government will pursue that proposal so that our democratic institutions are restored.

From the standpoint of religious cases in the courts we also support the urgent need for a Judicial Appointments Commission. Public confidence in the Judiciary is very low, and this is not healthy for democracy to flourish.

Religious development can only properly take place when all our institutions are properly restored.

Our Judges must show to the rakyat that they are above personal prejudices, and that when a person appears before a Judge he can expect that Judge to disregard his personal religious feelings and convictions and apply and uphold the law and the Constitution without fear or favour.

Taking back our judiciary(1)

The petition continues …

I had lunch with an UMNO man today.

“Do you think the people power momentum can hold?”, he asked me.

This was my reply.

“In September through to October last year, it took over one month to garner just over 5,000 signatures for a petition to the Agong. I launched another one on Monday at about noon, also relating to the judiciary. We are almost at 4,000 in just over four days. No, the momentum is not holding. it is growing”.

Breaking the rule of whose law?

Like it or not, right now what is dominating the minds of many would be issues surrounding politics and the rule of law in Malaysia.

Serious doubts and questions were asked by the Bar Council and the public, mainly through the alternative media, on the veracity of the charges made in the police report. Yet, the questions posed were replied by affording denials, almost evasive if one were to recall the media statements made by Hospital Pusrawi on the medical report of Saiful Bukhari.

The call by the Prime Minister himself for Anwar to "deliver" his DNA to the authorities is another incident which smacks of legal and scientific ignorance. The public demanded answers and obtained denials. They may have been "answers" but in fact, they created further questions and undoubtedly fuelled further speculation. More damaging, the "rule of law" as practised in Malaysia, now hangs precariously for the whole world to see.

The controversial trials of Norita Samsudin and Datuk Norjan Khan and, lately, of Altantuya Shariibuu certainly beg the question of whether the rule of law is in place. In the eyes of the public, the institutions of justice have not "delivered" up to expectations. The lack of public confidence automatically means the lack of "legitimacy". In short, the rule of law cannot exist in the true sense when it is administered by a questionable system.

The philosophy of punishment is deterrence. Yet, there would be none should the delivery mechanism be tainted with abuse and doubted by the people it serves.

Rule of law demands categorical commitment to democracy and basic protection of human rights. Anything less means that we are not entitled to invoke it as a tool to justify action. The rights of not one but all citizens are at risk without a vigorous application of a truly democratic rule of law.

Abdullah loses more with sodomy case

More and more analysis will be forthcoming day after day.

A Cabinet minister wondered: "We don’t really need this at this time. Why didn’t Pak Lah just indicate to the authorities that he did not want this case to proceed.”

Abdullah’s supporters said that the PM has tried to keep an arm’s length from the police investigation into the case, not wanting to intervene when government officials and Cabinet colleagues complained about the slow pace of the police probe and the seeming disregard by the police for the need to win the public relations battle.

When the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided to charge Anwar today, several government officials sighed. They wondered why the authorities summoned him to court a day after the Election Commission had set Aug 26 for the Permatang Pauh by-election. They argued that this would only reinforce the perception that the timetable of the case was being dictated by political considerations.

Would it not be better if the court date was pushed back? they asked. Abdullah listened and appears to have done little else.

A senior Umno official told The Malaysian Insider: "The PM believes that based on the evidence provided, this is the right thing to do. This is not about political points.”

Anwar’s Sodomy II - let professionals in AG’s chambers rethink and drop the medieval prosecution

Looks like the phrase Sodomy II is going to stick!

FACE TO FACE: Nurul Izzah Anwar

A friend mentioned that the Lembah Pantai is like a celebrity where people like to take photos with her.  I think she’s got great potential and with the right team of advisers as well as workers, she can go far.  Of course, the road ahead is more than bumpy!