A NEW POWER IS RISING IN MALAYSIA.

Oh! Malaysia, what has the radical Islamic thinking done to you! They have desecrated the spirit of your constitution. They have robbed the soul of this multi religious nation. They are now at your gates assaulting your body of multi racialism.


On the 2nd week of December, they tore down the Kuala Masai orang laut church and the Permas assemblyman from MIC defended the move.

On the 3rd week of December, their unseen hands disregarded the views of Muslim women. They pressured and passed the Islamic Family law reducing Muslim women to second class status. Elements within the government of the day enforced the passing of this law.

On the 4th week of December, they ensured that the high court ruled that "it had no authority, let alone overrule, a sharia court decision that a dead man who practised Hinduism up until his final illness, visited a Hindu temple, ate pork and drank alcohol should be buried according to Islamic rites............"


........ and as the worldwide spread of extreme Shari'a law creeps on to our shores and establishes their toe hold within our country, let us be wary that a powerful shadow "Shari'a government may come to power not by the will of the people, but through the Machiavellian machinations of small groups".
This multi religious democratic goverment that we have endorsed with our votes must uphold the religious rights of all Malaysians. They must ensure that the original principles of the constitution are not subverted from within nor negated by un-elected religious authorities. A new power is rising, the challenge must not go unanswered.

TRAITORS, BIGOTS AND TURNING A BLIND EYE

Should we accept the National Registration Department's apology for the mistakes made in our MyKard ? To mis-quote W Chuchill, "Never in the field of data entry was so much owed by so few to so many". The NECF has pointed to a 25% error rate in their sampling and even if the error is drawn down to 10%, 5% or even 2.5% something is still very wrong within the NRD.
If international pollsters generally allow a +/- 3 point sampling error on issues of non national interest then the Malaysian government cannot and should not consider the error of even 1% made in the MyCard to be an honest mistake.
Can we with our national interest in heart close yet another chapter of "honest mistake" and move on? The government must identify those who in it's ranks, seek to skew the truth, then act accordingly and not to turn a blind eye. The last national census was in 2000, can we be faulted if we question it's integrity ?

Easy step to amend religion in MyKad

Link : TheStar - BY M.KRISHNAMOORTHY

PETALING JAYA: The controversy over errors in the status of religion of MyKad holders has been resolved. “Those faced with the predicament need only fill up one form (Form A) to rectify the mistake,” NRD director-general Datuk Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad told The Star yesterday.
”There is no need for a statutory declaration before the Commissioner of Oaths or a baptism certificate from a church or a letter from a temple priest, or any other documents,” he said about the hassle-free step by the NRD for those wanting to rectify the mistake, and have the correct religion stated on their MyKad. In recent months, there had been complaints from many MyKad holders claiming that their religion had been wrongly registered in the cards.
The complaints were about having to produce a statutory declaration, baptism certificate or letters to prove their religion. Some said they had to pay for the mistakes made by the NRD. The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia (NECF) had urged the Home Affairs Ministry to rectify the situation.
Its secretary-general Rev Wong Kim Kong had said the situation was serious, as he had recorded a 25% error rate in the samplings he had carried out on church members around the country. ”The problem does not lie with the people but with the officers recording the information inaccurately,” he said.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho together with Home Affairs secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat worked to solve the problem.
NRD public relations officer Jainisah Mohd Noor apologised on behalf of the department for any inconvenience caused to the public. “The NRD apologises for the problems encountered by all those affected,” she said. Abdul Halim said those 18 years and above could submit Form A individually. However, those below 18 must get the forms endorsed by their parents.
Asked about complaints as to why the new simplified procedures were not put up on the department's website, Abdul Halim said that he would direct the officer-in-charge to make the changes.

BETHLEHEM

As the Christian community celebrates Christmas tomorrow, let us not only remember and be thankful for the wonderful message that this little town of Bethlehem brought to us 2,000 years ago, we should also remember the ordinary Palestinians in Bethlehem who are still living there in this uncertain political and economic time.
This narration of the first Christmas has been translated in 2,377 languages either in it's entirety or in parts. Here are 4 versions of it - English, Arabic, Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesia.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Luke 2:11-20 (New International Version)

¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

20-ﺎﻗﻮﻟ 2:11- (Arabic Life Application Bible)

¹¹ فَقَدْ وُلِدَ لَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي مَدِينَةِ دَاوُدَ مُخَلِّصٌ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ الرَّبُّ.

¹² وَهَذِهِ هِيَ الْعَلاَمَةُ لَكُمْ. تَجِدُونَ طِفْلاً مَلْفُوفاً بِقِمَاطٍ وَنَائِماً فِي مِذْوَدٍ».

¹³ وَفَجْأَةً ظَهَرَ مَعَ الْمَلاَكِ جُمْهُورٌ مِنَ الْجُنْدِ السَّمَاوِيِّ، يُسَبِّحُونَ اللهَ قَائِلِينَ:

¹⁴ «الْمَجْدُ لِلهِ فِي الأَعَالِي، وَعَلَى الأَرْضِ السَّلامُ؛ وَبِالنَّاسِ الْمَسَرَّةُ! »

¹⁵ وَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ عَنِ الرُّعَاةِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ، قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ: «لِنَذْهَبْ إِذَنْ إِلَى بَيْتِ لَحْمٍ، وَنَنْظُرْ هَذَا الأَمْرَ الَّذِي حَدَثَ وَقَدْ أَعْلَمَنَا بِهِ الرَّبُّ!»

¹⁶ وَجَاءُوا مُسْرِعِينَ، فَوَجَدُوا مَرْيَمَ وَيُوسُفَ، وَالطِّفْلَ نَائِماً فِي الْمِذْوَدِ.

¹⁷ فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا ذلِكَ، أَخَذُوا يُخْبِرُونَ بِمَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ بِخُصُوصِ هَذَا الطِّفْلِ.

¹⁸ وَجَمِيعُ الَّذِينَ سَمِعُوا بِذلِكَ دُهِشُوا مِمَّا قَالَهُ لَهُمُ الرُّعَاةُ.

¹⁹ وَأَمَّا مَرْيَمُ، فَكَانَتْ تَحْفَظُ هَذِهِ الأُمُورَ جَمِيعاً، وَتَتَأَمَّلُهَا فِي قَلْبِهَا.

²⁰ ثُمَّ رَجَعَ الرُّعَاةُ يُمَجِّدُونَ اللهَ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ عَلَى كُلِّ مَا سَمِعُوهُ وَرَأَوْهُ كَمَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ.

路 加 福 音 2:11-20 (Chinese Union Version (Simplified)

¹¹ 因 今 天 在 大 卫 的 城 里 ， 为 你 们 生 了 救 主 ， 就 是 主 基 督 。

¹² 你 们 要 看 见 一 个 婴 孩 ， 包 着 布 ， 卧 在 马 槽 里 ， 那 就 是 记 号 了 。

¹³ 忽 然 ， 有 一 大 队 天 兵 同 那 天 使 赞 美 神 说 ：

¹⁴ 在 至 高 之 处 荣 耀 归 与 神 ！ 在 地 上 平 安 归 与 他 所 喜 悦 的 人 （ 有 古 卷 作 ： 喜 悦 归 与 人 ） ！

¹⁵ 众 天 使 离 开 他 们 ， 升 天 去 了 。 牧 羊 的 人 彼 此 说 ： 我 们 往 伯 利 恒 去 ， 看 看 所 成 的 事 ， 就 是 主 所 指 示 我 们 的 。

¹⁶ 他 们 急 忙 去 了 ， 就 寻 见 马 利 亚 和 约 瑟 ， 又 有 那 婴 孩 卧 在 马 槽 里 ；

¹⁷ 既 然 看 见 ， 就 把 天 使 论 这 孩 子 的 话 传 开 了 。

¹⁸ 凡 听 见 的 ， 就 诧 异 牧 羊 之 人 对 他 们 所 说 的 话 。

¹⁹ 马 利 亚 却 把 这 一 切 的 事 存 在 心 里 ， 反 复 思 想 。

²⁰ 牧 羊 的 人 回 去 了 ， 因 所 听 见 所 看 见 的 一 切 事 ， 正 如 天 使 向 他 们 所 说 的 ， 就 归 荣 耀 与 神 ， 赞 美 他

Lukas 2:11-20 Parokinet

11

Hari ini telah lahir bagimu Juruselamat, yaitu Kristus, Tuhan, di kota Daud.

12

Dan inilah tandanya bagimu: Kamu akan menjumpai seorang bayi dibungkus dengan lampin dan terbaring di dalam palungan."

13

Dab tiba-tiba tampaklah bersama-sama balatentara sorga yang memuji Allah, katanya:

14

"Kemuliaan bagi Allah di tempat yang mahatinggi dan damai sejahtera di bumi di antara manusia yang berkenan kepadaNya."

15

Setelah malaikat-malaikat itu meninggalkan mereka dan kembali ke sorga, gembala-gembala itu berkata seorang kepada yang lain: "Marilah kita pergi ke Betlehem untuk melihat apa yang terjadi di sana, seperti yang diberitahukan Tuhan kepada kita."

16

Lalu mereka cepat-cepat berangkat dan menjumpai Maria dan Yusuf dan bayi itu, yang sedang berbaring di dalam palungan. Luk 2:17 Dan ketika mereka melihatNya, mereka memberitahukan apa yang telah dikatakan kepada mereka tentang Anak itu.

18

Dan semua orang yang mendengarnya heran tentang apa yang dikatakan gembala-gembala itu kepada mereka.

19

Tetapi Maria menyimpan segala perkara itu di dalam hatinya dan merenungkannya.

20

Maka kembalilah gembala-gembala itu sambil memuji dan memuliakan Allah karena segala sesuatu yang mereka dengan dan mereka lihat, semuanya sesuai dengan apa yang telah dikatakan kepada mereka.

KICK THE RIGHT BUTT.

At the warong kopi where I frequent, some smiled politely, some laughed but almost everyone agreed that what our irrepressible ex PM expounded in his hour long speech at the inaugural Perdana Global Peace Forum is something worth considering. Vote out those whom you do not agree, be it about war or even on the manner of freedom you would want. This is of course in line with democratic norms and will work out well with countries that subscribe to the Athenian democratic ideals.
However, there are dozens of countries under the crushing heels of dictators who will never be allowed to have their free open vote to vote out these despots. So how will the oppressed free themselves? The global community has imposed economic and political sanctions on some of these evil regimes and whilst the free world have the luxury of time to wait for whatever little effect it may have, the suffering of the people in these countries, continues and grows.
In the comfort of our setting and with a glass of non alcoholic drink in our hand we clink and toast, we rail against just wars that set the oppresed free. We choose to walk the easy road of false peace, to placate the strong oppressors and to continue to ignore the rapes, the beatings, the starvations and the fears of the oppressed weak. So whilst many seek to glorify themselves on their humanness in the international arena, let's remember whilst the UN sat and debated it was just military intervention that stopped the genocide of the Tutsi and moderate Hutus in Rawanda, the Muslims of Bosnia and the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds of Iraq.
Let's kick the right butts, the butts of the those who line up to uphold the rights of dictators who take away...the freedom of choice from the weak.


Vote out war loving leaders: Dr M
Link : Sun2Surf R. Manirajan

KUALA LUMPUR: Vote out war-loving leaders and their policy of violence - this is the battlecry for an international movement which former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad set in motion yesterday.
"What I have suggested are all do-able. We must stop this madness, these killings, this idea that the ones able to kill the most are the victors, are right, are the ones who should rule the world," he said.
"What kind of a civilisation would we have with mass murderers as world leaders?"
Suggesting the promotion of peace as the premier agenda for democratic elections worldwide, Mahathir recommended the setting up of an international pro-peace anti-war non-governmental organisation (NGO) to network global lobbying.....
Mahathir said peace should be promoted as a creed for everyone and made an issue for the security of states, the regions and the world, and no country should resort to war and the destruction of the security of others to promote its own security.
"We need to define acts of war and terror and we need to provide proper punishment for people who commit mass killings of the innocent," he said.
"The idea that only the victors have the right to prosecute the losers is neither just nor right."
It may not be possible to bring the guilty party or leaders of the powerful before the court but such people may be tried in absentia.
"If found guilty, this should be widely published and rogue gallery pictures distributed. The rest of the world should shun such people and treat them as pariahs," he said.
At the end of his hour-long opening address, themed "Peace Dividends, War Profits", Mahathir received a standing ovation from the 2,000 speakers and guests at the two-day forum in Putra World Trade Centre.
The former premier also said the press must also be an active partner in the worldwide struggle for peace and the internet used extensively so that alternative media would be available to publish and expose lies, be downloaded and distributed.
The United Nations, he added, must also be democratised and the veto of the permanent five must be modified "so that no single one of them can frustrate the whole organisation"......

MALAYSIA'S 1941 PEARL HARBOR ?

I was laid low for most part of the past week by flu whilst I was in KL and in true Penang style, gasped when I was billed by a GP in Jalan SS2/66 -RM62 for a small bottle of cough syrup (?) and some pills meant for flu. Even as I continue to feel the effects of a bad flu, I reflected on the impending avian flu pandemic. Almost two months past, it was the hottest topic within each relevant government agencies. Today hardly a flutter, unfortunately unlike birds, the agencies apparently shifted into stealth mode and probably hibernated.
In its effort to combat the avian flu, the Malaysian Health Ministry (MOH) has currently set aside 21 hospitals for containment of the avian flu. This was the core strategy in its fight against SARS. It worked but with H5N1 where transmission will be basically airborne such strategy may not be effective enough. In the US, one of the major platform in this fight is vaccines and anti viral drugs - a request for US7.1 billion has been put through. In Malaysia for this life and death fight, an additional budget of RM60 million (US16 million) has been allocated and presently there are enough stocks for only 60,000 people. This is far short of the initial MOH September promise in ensuring that 10.4 million Malaysian will be covered.
Education of the public, a key in controlling the spread of H5N1 has also failed to take off. Strike a conversation with Joe-public and the best case feedback is "bolih mati-lah". Public servants dealing with health issues are not much better informed.
As the avian flu fire rages even more closer and fiercer, let this not be Malaysia's "1941 Pearl Harbor" where almost everthing was known but nothing much was done.

Previous Blogs
WHEN BIG BAD BIRD PAYS US A VISIT. - July 8th
FROM SARS TO AVIAN FLU - August 28th
CATEGORY 5 "HURRICANE AMESELES" SIGHTED -Sepetember 24th

US Officials Practice Bird Flu Response

Link : Washington Post By Charles Babington

Readiness for a possible avian flu pandemic requires not only government action but also preparations by families, businesses, schools and churches, White House officials said yesterday after conducting a drill on the topic.
"We all must be prepared, and we all have a role to play in the nation's preparation," Frances Frago Townsend, White House homeland security adviser, told reporters after the four-hour drill, which involved some Cabinet members, military officers and others. The "tabletop exercise" was meant to gauge government responses to a major U.S. outbreak of bird flu, which has killed at least 69 people in Asia since late 2003.
Townsend declined to give details about the drill or its results. "It's meant to push federal resources to the breaking point and to ensure that we're prepared, that we identify gaps and then we plan to fill them," she said. "We accomplished that this morning."
In such drills, she said, participants are presented with a scenario, identify options and ask whether each of the federal agencies has a plan to fill gaps that have been identified. "And, quite frankly, I think we did quite well.".....
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the federal government alone cannot handle a major flu outbreak. "State and local governments, state and local communities, schools need to have a plan, businesses need to have a plan, faith organizations need to have a plan," he said. "The public health community understands a pandemic. . . . It's now time to engage a broader community so that we have a true nationwide response effort that's not only planned, but exercised and ready."
Neither he nor Townsend offered specifics for possible plans, but each urged Americans to seek information from the Web site http://pandemicflu.gov/ . Leavitt plans to visit health officials in every state to discuss strategies.
He and Townsend said vaccines and antiviral drugs will be central to combating a major flu outbreak, and they urged Congress to fund Bush's request for $7.1 billion to speed production of such drugs..
Leavitt said: "We need to have a domestic surveillance system. When it happens in the United States, having the capacity to know what's occurring within the health care system is of vital importance."
Townsend said: "We currently have no evidence that a pandemic flu in this country is imminent. That said, we are fairly warned, and the time to prepare for that pandemic is now."

...AND THE WOUND CONTINUES TO FESTER?

In a move to do damage control on a possible minor fallout with Russia over the benzene spill and more importantly, to apportion responsibility due to the lapse of credible information between Harbins 3.5 million and the state Chinese Communist Party, the totalitarian goverment fired the chief of the State Environmental Protection Agency.
In Malaysia, with the setting up of the “The Commission of Inquiry (COI)” for the nude ear squat incident, the "warong kopi" expects clear explanantion as to how widespread this practice is and how this culture of tolerance for such humilating nude ear squat search could have come into official acceptance. COI's responsibilty should also be extended to probe other police misdeeds like the deaths of detainees during lock up and specifically the 2am home raid on the 3 Chinese nationals.
To add salt to the "nude ear squat" wound, the Malaysian goverment has also been humiliated internationally even from within their own ranks with loose lips rattling. It is time to take stock of the situation, perform immediate damage control and be seen to make those responsible suffer the consequence. There should not be any back pedalling and going painfully forward would only be for the greater common good for the future of the police force and the country.

China environment chief resigns over toxic spill
Link : Reuters - By Brian Rhoads

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's environment chief resigned on Friday following a two-week crisis over a toxic spill that polluted a northeast China river, forced the shutdown of tapwater supplies to millions of Chinese and raised alarm bells in Russia.
Xie Zhenhua, chief of the State Environmental Protection Agency since 1993, resigned and was replaced by the former forestry director Zhou Shengxian, Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement by the country's cabinet.
State television said Xie had resigned due the administration's failure to address the crisis. The State Council, or cabinet, and Communist Party had approved it.
The administration "as the main body for environmental protection did not pay enough attention and fell short of the evaluation about the possibly severe results out of the incident. Thus, it holds the responsibility for the losses," China Central Television said......

The move is also in line with a campaign by President Hu Jintao to instill official accountability in the highest levels of government, dating back to the sacking of the health minister and Beijing mayor after a cover-up of the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003.
"A reckless pursuit of economic growth and a lack of emergency response mechanisms have seen China experiencing a high rate of environmental disasters," Administration vice Minister Wang Yuqing was quoted as saying.......

The toxic slick forced officials in Harbin, a city of 9 million people downstream from Jilin in Heilongjiang province, to shut off its water for five days. The slick passed the city on Sunday and is making its way through Heilongjiang toward the Russian border.

The environment director, Xie, had "contended that the toxic chemicals were gradually diluted as they were carried down the river, so 'it was not to late' to inform the Russians then," Caijing Magazine said."In the realm of foreign relations, however, such an explanation does not go over too well," it said......

Regional governments were giving tacit consent to discharges of pollutants into rivers and some had approved polluting businesses that the central government had banned, Wang said......