Why Malaysians Marched on August 1st.

Last Saturday 1st August 2009, tens of thousands of Malaysians had a peaceful march to protest and request for the abolishment of the draconian Internal Security Act or ISA which has been used by the Barisan Government or specifically UMNO to arrest and put people, who they consider a threat to National Security in prison without a trial. However since its introduction, this ISA was abused and being used by the Government to arrest anyone they dislike and at their whims and fancy!Following the Protest March, our Prime Minister came out with a question Why March? I wanted to make some sort of response to what he mentioned but someone else, did a fantastic job at that. I would have never been able to articulate my thoughts as well as this article Why Malaysians March!

There is another well written article in response to Datuk Mukhriz, the son of former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad and it is equally good and the sarcasm is beautifully displayed. You can read the full article HERE!

I am now 62 and has been living in this beautiful country since the day I was born here. I saw this beloved nation growing from Independence, to some glory days of Nation building to the arrival of a dictator who ruled 22 years bringing this Nation into her present state of decay and unless there is a political will to change things, then we can only have darker days ahead like more corruption, racism and injustice I saw the deterioration from racial harmony to the current polarized state, the mistrust and the the increase in racism in the Barisan Government. This recent march was a joy to see once again how Malaysians from different races, religion and persuasions come together to send a strong message to the Government saying that we want change and starting with the abolishing of the ISA! I can feel the emotions of patriotisim rising up and begin to witness the early stage of a truly One Malaysia which is so different from the empty slogan of our Prime Minister's "1Malaysia"

Cry For Justice

Today is a significant day. Tens of Thousands of Malaysians of different races, religions and creeds unite together to send an ultra-strong message to the Barisan Government to abolish the Internal Security Act or ISA in short.

What is so significant is the sense of unity among the different races in Malaysia. It is rare to see such unity except perhaps for our early Independence Celebrations or when Malaysia is in the Thomas Cup Finals. Many supporters were unable to reach the city to participate due to closure of roads by the police. I followed all the real-time Tweets with anilnetto!

For the sake of those who do not understand the issue of ISA in Malaysia, I just briefly fill in some details here. The ISA was created in the days where we were fighting the Communists who were armed and intended to over-throw our Government. Now, this Law is has been abused by the present Barisan Government to arrest whosoever they deem dangerous even if these people were not armed groups or any real threat to the stability of Malaysia. Read more HERE!

I believe that most Malaysians would not object to have such a Law if it is being used fairly or with justice such as in the event of terrorists attack and not at the slightest excuse to harass politicians of different view points. Currently, any protests by politicians on the corruption of the Government can be threatened with this draconian Law. Something that supposedly for our protection has become a monster to suppress people. The most ridiculous was the arrest of Theresa Kok under the ISA all because of someone spreading some lies about her! Furthermore the news reporter who wrote about this matter was also arrested under ISA! It is such injustice and many more that the people rise up against the ISA!

What I find truly amazing is that there are still some who miss the whole point in this Protest march! They are more concerned about shops being closed, hawkers losing their daily sales due to the Protest. Why can't we look further than just money and business? What about issues like Justice, Corruption and Oppression by the Government? If we choose to keep quiet, then, when worst things begin to happen, it may be too late for anyone to do anything anymore! Bad things happen because people choose to keep quiet!

Malaysians In Mourning.

Justice For Teoh Beng Hock

Life’s Long And Winding Road!

Taken from a Beatles Song, this title befits our lives in Malaysia during this period of immense changes and challenges facing the Nation and the citizens. Politically people are getting tired as well as fed-up with all the internal squabbles within the Opposition Coalition and with the ruling Barisan Government. I wonder how can these elected representatives do their work with so much in-fighting within and with-out!

It appears that the Judiciary, MACC (Anti-Corruption) and Police are serving the Barisan Government rather than being neutral. Opposition Parties were hassled over trivial things, investigations, police supervision even for an annual Party Dinner! On the other hand the questionable building of the Palatial House of ex-Chief Minister of Selangor was not investigated!

Lately I received an excerpt purportedly written by Hannah Yeoh the Subang MP which I feel can help us, ordinary citizens to grapple with important issues and why we must PRESS-ON and demand changes to the present corrupt practices that so blatant and rampant! Enjoy reading!

So many people have been telling me just how frustrated they are with the current political situation in our country. Some have told me that they regretted voting for change because of the political instability now and would prefer returning to their old style of voting - vote for stability and forget about having a stronger opposition and greater check and balance. I shudder at the thought of this!

One needs to remember the reason why we are seeing such great resistance for change is simply because there is much to lose for those who have been in power for so long. For decades there has been so much abuse of power, unchecked misuse of public funds and plain dirty corruption. With a stronger opposition now, they stand to lose their illegal sources of income and some may even be charged and sent to prison if they are found guilty. With this in mind, they will fight at all costs to reclaim back power and to ensure they can continue to steal public funds from the people for their own enrichment. We are not just dealing with differences in politics; we are combating evil forces who will not rest till they secure back their powers and illegal sources of income.

Sometimes I feel equally frustrated and disillusioned about the political situation too. Sometimes I lie awake thinking of how to effect change in this land. Some days I cry while driving in between meetings thinking of what's left for the future generation in this land if we give up now. I have endured much verbal attack from political enemies, accusation after accusation of me not doing anything for my constituents and etc. No one truly understands the resistance we face daily in discharging our duties except for my fellow PR assemblymen.

Robert Kennedy once said ‘*Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator and change has its enemies.*’

Our enemies are resisting change but we must stand firm and continue to push for a competent, accountable and transparent government. At the end of each day, as I lay myself to sleep, I ask God for strength, wisdom and protection to face the next. I look forward to the end of the term when I can tell the people of Subang Jaya that I have remained clean and have not stolen any of the taxpayers' funds. As reminded by Raja Petra in his blog "*Please continue your struggle to make Malaysia a better place for our future generation. This country belongs to them and it is for them that we struggle.*" All hope is not lost. Come the next election, vote out the corrupt once and for all. Hang in there supporters and friends, the best is yet to come!

By :- Hannah Yeoh.

Mind Games - Logic

It seems to me that Perception, Logic and Understanding are abstract terms and played out quite differently in the human mind. What is logical to me is not so to someone else. Truth is perceived quite differently among different individuals and so is understanding.

Even in the case of people living in the same environment or social culture, the way we perceive, understand and use our logical mind to reason things out can lead us into such diverse paths that it can astound us at times. It can be scary to know that this is true! I am sure most of us know that the general ideology of what is basically good and true as taught by one's religious, moral and cultural background do share some common similarities.

Although culture, education and even exposure to life influence our way of thinking, but I believe that Politicians are people who use this fact to exploit these fragile thinking process in people to sway them towards their own agendas and purposes which can have serious and dire consequences.

Politicians in Malaysia, especially from the ruling party here, have been using fear tactics to coerce the people not to challenge certain racial and religious issues. However, questioning of how things are done hardly can be considered seditious to me. I sincerely believe that through such challenges that we can have better understanding of the issue and resolve problems better rather than sweeping them under the carpet due to fear factor!

Lately there were some writings and speeches by our local politicians that are rather outrageous and the logical process astounds me. Here are just two examples:-

Theresa Kok a local Opposition Member of Parliament wanted to sue a local News portal, Utusan Malaysia for wrongful accusation and someone said that to challenge Utusan Malaysia is to challenge the Malays????

Lately, an editor from Utusan Malaysia wrote an article referring the non-Malays in Malaysia as "Pendatang" or "Immigrants" and that their "excessive demands" hurt his feelings. It seems to me that the logic goes like this; if he, the author's feelings is hurt, then UMNO's feelings is hurt and if UMNO's feelings is hurt it means Malaysian Malays' feelings is hurt???? By the way UMNO is the leading party in the Government Coalition Party in Malaysia which basically is race based. Moreover, the writer did not give any details on these so call "excessive demands"!!!!

It is beyond the scope of this blog post nor my intent to delve into the sordid details of our local politics and if you want to understand more about the background of our local political scenario do visit some of the Political Blogs mentioned on the side-bar.

All I want to say is that it is indeed quite amazing how people come to certain logical conclusions and how some of our local Politicians use this fact to sway or slant the thinking of the people. My hope is that the Government must take a serious view of such writings and speeches of these politicians and nip them in the bud to prevent further erosion of racial harmony in our beloved Nation.

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