Random Links 296 (“I’m not feeling too good” Malaysia Edition)

Hindraf outlawed

Gov’t declares Hindraf an illegal organisation

Was this really necessary?

How can you stop the rain from falling down? How can you stop the sun from shining?

Haris chips in . with an interesting question:

“How do you ban, disband or incarcerate this spirit?“”

YBhg Azman Ujang… We have a problem

It’s getting a little bit tiring. but then people need to be held responsible in times like this .

The Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) is a media institution that trains journalists for the country.

Your CEO, Chamil Wariya, is a seasoned writer who ‘nomaded’ from Utusan Melayu Group to TV3 and then to journalistic oblivion, often times due to circumstances forced by political masters who assumed and/or vacated the political musical chair. I must also say that many in the media circle do believe he also ghost-writes Dr Khir Toyo’s biography once upon a time when vitamins M ran low.

To be frank, that MPI picks him up as the chief to train our journalists is not a bad thing. Being fed years on Umno’s life support system over extended years and judging from his experience in producing news, Chamil is a deft hand in spinning news if situation warrants it. Which is not a bad thing, really, as there are already tycoons who do journalism as a hobby.

What is bad is when he writes a short story (cerpen) in an Umno-owned paper that spits venom. The most recent incident was last Sunday, in Mingguan Malaysia (October 12, 2008). Chamil has never been known as a cerpen auteur, let alone a polkished dark humourist.

The cerpen is titled ‘Politik Baru YB J’. The stinger is embedded in the epitaph:

YB Josephine adalah ancaman terhadap keharmonian. Lebih baik riwayatnya ditamatkan supaya masyarakat berbilang kaum boleh tinggal aman damai di negara bertuah ini. Saya berkorban untuk masa depan.

YB Josephine was shot dead — suicide-killer style — in a Malaysian setting. But, who is this YB Josephine or YB J among us Honourable Members of Parliament?

The sword of Damocles

Just in case our fire against the ISA is flickering .

The sheer level of incompetence and bad faith on the part of the police and the home affairs minister has been debated ad nauseam online, and even in the mainstream media. After all, Teresa Kok is one of the last people you would identify as a racist or someone who plays the race or religious card to incite hatred. I shall not repeat these arguments here.

But for a few hours and days after her arrest, my heart was beating just a tad faster. In my line of work, the ISA is like the sword of Damocles hanging over the head, ready to drop at any time. For opposition politicians like me, we tend to ignore the fact that it’s there. I personally take comfort in the fact that I’m not as big a fish as I’d like to think. Therefore, I liked to assume I was far behind in the queue to Kamunting.

Teresa’s arrest, however, changed all that. It demonstrated that despite not having committed any crime, as long as there are parties that wish to frame you for "crimes" you never even committed, the threat of the ISA is real and immediate. By "parties", I am referring particularly to influential leaders from Umno or Barisan Nasional in complicity with some of the mainstream media like Utusan Malaysia.