政治马戏笑死国际

Thankfully, I managed to get my Chinese column in Oriental Daily printed on Monday last week for I was discussing the issue of Wee Meng Chee, which as become a "political circus", while Malaysia became the butt of jokes by the international community. For on the very next day, the all powerful Internal Security Ministry headed by none other than the Prime Minister himself, issued an instruction to stop all further discussions and reports on the issue, well, except when its raised by the all-knowing Prime Minister himself, and his deputy.

Once again, I'll reiterate that I do not wholly agree with the content of Wee's songs, particularly in his use of coarse language as well as when he touches on religion. However, it becomes absolutely ridiculous when senior ministers of the Malaysian cabinet all took turns to jump on to the bandwagon to take potshots at the 24 year old student, threatening him with anything from detention under the ISA, withdrawing his citizenship and even charging him for treason!

The funniest of it all, must be Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz's highly thought provoking remark, when he wanted to take action against YouTube.com. If only our Ministers could act against all the other ills plaguing the country with equal seriousness and gusto.

(And Wee's back, now with his debut album to be released on 2nd Sept)

政治马戏笑死国际
潘俭伟

马来西亚内阁全然变成了一束国际笑话：一位24岁、年轻有为又潇洒的旅台生--黄明志只是唱了一首歌上载到YouTube.com网站，就足以使整个内阁直跳脚。

雪州前任州务大臣、巫统宣传主任莫哈末泰益及马六甲州首席部长阿里鲁斯旦建议政府撤销黄明志的公民权。首相署部长纳兹里要援引煽动法令控告黄明志。外交部长赛哈密提出把黄明志从台湾引渡回国的问题。。。。。。

还有，青年及体育部长阿莎丽娜威胁要援引内部安全法令扣留黄明志。教育部长希山慕丁及副首相纳吉把黄明志标签为“叛徒”。这可不是开玩笑的！叛国罪唯一的惩罚就是死刑。

马华的卫生部长蔡细历医生还特别代表黄明志向国人及政府道歉。然而，蔡细历在代表黄明志道歉时，却当着黄明志父亲即黄安熙面前通过电视及平面媒体再痛骂一顿，甚至批评黄明志是个“天真”、“幼稚”及“不成熟”的年轻人。

我们的内阁部长好像个个都特别空闲，以致没有其它更重要的事情急须处理。

过去3年来，马来西亚的犯罪指数飙升45%。我国外来直接投资额在过去10年内降低45%，反观城市的生活消费越来越高。耗资46亿令吉设立的巴生港口自由贸易区，引发涉嫌贪污及滥权的大问号。

根据最新公布的上海交通大学“世界500所最佳大学”排行榜，我国没有任何高等学府列在榜上。然而，我们亲爱的部长从来不认为这些属于国家大事，似乎不比黄明志所撰写的歌词来得严重。

即使黄明志道歉之后，内阁经过商议后还是决定要把黄明志提控上庭。如果我是黄明志，我很自然地反问：若是这样，我为何要先道歉呢？至于那些通过互联网发表威胁我及家人安全的人，为何没有面对同样的待遇呢？

最有趣的是，纳兹里竟然说除了援引法律对付黄明志之外，政府还要对付YouTube。纳兹里这番言论是否有点太“天真”、“幼稚”及“不成熟”？

YouTube是美国网络巨人Google的子公司。Google市值高达1千560亿美元（5千460亿令吉），或相等于占马来西亚国内生产总值的一半。最根本的问题还是Google的电脑伺服器未设在马来西亚。那么，政府又有什么权力“对付”Google呢？

要是这些内阁部长能够以同样程度的激情、热心与关心，去面对并解决其它领域包括经济、罪案、教育等方面的问题，我国人民肯定受惠无穷。只可惜，这些国阵领袖不仅成了马戏团的小丑，他们还成了国际社会见笑的卡通政治人物。

Malaysia-Today Censored?

Update: It has now been confirmed. Malaysia-Today has been censored by the Government and it spells the end of Mahathir's Multimedia Super Corridor. When a Bill of Guarantee deemed sacred is infringed, then there is nothing else credible in it. Let's hope it spells the end of this UMNO-led government as well.

I have received information that the ultra-popular Malaysia-Today website operated by Raja Petra Kamaruddin may have been blocked and censored altogether by the Malaysian authorities, and cannot be accessed via TMNet connections.

You can still access the website via the mirror site @ http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com.

Well, it may look like the end of the Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees which has promised no censorship and there may be plenty of truth in the exposé by Malaysian Insider yesterday on the fact that bloggers are being targetted next.

Let's just hope that we are wrong about all this.

No Action Against UMNO Supporters' Website?

I wrote in an earlier post with regards to the police report that I made 2 weeks ago with regards to a highly inflammatory article posted on Kelab Penyokong Maya UMNO website, which was particularly offensive to Christians. This was also reported in Malaysiakini.

I've just followed up with the investigating officer for the case, and the only response I obtained was "masih dalam siasat". It has been two weeks, much more than the time taken for the police to take Raja Petra in for questioning with regards to a police report made by UMNO which alleged that the former insulted the Agung and Islam. That's double standards for you.

Also, some additional quick words to add - there as been 2 negative comments made on other websites with regards to the action which I have been taken.

Firstly, someone suggested that the remarks was purely targeted at Raja Petra, and had nothing to do with Christianity. I beg to strongly differ. To quote Raja Petra himself, its quite one thing to insult him with all the names you can think of, but it's quite another of accusing him of being a closet Christian, and hence believing in a false God.

Secondly, someone else suggested that by lodging a police report, I'm supporting the authoritarian Sedition Act. Again, I beg to differ. I don't support the sedition act, particularly not in its current overbearing and limitless form. However, I support the principle that the law applies to everybody and selective prosecution in itself, is a crime of the Government.

It is necessary to show that the Government's action in cracking down on bloggers has nothing to do with "sedition", and everything to do with illegal crackdown on dissent, and attempts to expose the relevant scandals and misdeeds of the Government.

The fact that the article has not been taken down, and no apologies have been made to date, demonstrates the clear intent of the Government to stifle the truth. It didn't matter that the article on KPMU wasn't telling outright lies, as they were told in support of the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional Government. However, if bloggers and other writers publish articles which exposes the truth which are unfavourable to UMNO and Barisan Nasional, the might of the Government machinery will fall upon the person, just as in the case of Wee Meng Chee.

A Monkey's Last Stand

A picture essay by TV Smith.

Bukit Melawati, 22nd August 2007: Despite his patriotic stand, he will soon be stripped of his citizenship and banished to another country. Perhaps, our monkeys were already doomed when people in authority likened bloggers to them. The Cabinet has literally signed their death warrant by withdrawing protection for the so-called urban monkeys under the Wildlife Protection Act. How can we stand tall as a nation, when we so casually shrugged-off our responsibility to protect the weak and defenseless? Continue reading the monkey's plight here.

Action Against UMNO Supporters' Website?

As mentioned in my previous post, I lodged a police report on a highly seditious and incendiary article posted only by Kelab Penyokong Maya Umno (KPMU). This has also been reported in Malaysiakini today.

The whole point of the article was to insinuate and accuse the fact that Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin was not a true Muslim but instead a closet Christian, but in doing so proceeded to hurl various hurtful, unfounded and grossly insulting remarks with regards to Christianity and its believers.

Raja Petra himself have responded to the article by rightly pointing out that if KPMU, whom Raja Petra accused of being the Cyber Troopers engaged by UMNO, has a bone to pick with him, then pick the fight with him, and not go one to hurl uncalled for insults using coarse language at others, including his family members and the Christian community.

I urge the Kelab Penyokong Maya Umno boys to play fair. Call me a swindler, someone who runs away to Thailand to secretly marry the Sultan’s daughter, gay, sex pervert who shags animals, male prostitute, gambler, mother-fxxxer, or anything at all you so wish. I can take it.

I appeal to the Kelab Penyokong Maya Umno boys to be a bit more sensitive to the feelings of Christians. By all means engage Malaysia Today. But please spare the Christians.

While the "insulting Agung and Islam" case against Raja Petra lodged by UMNO has been incredulously based on comments left on his blog, in this case, the owners and editors of the site have published KPMU's article which is really a direct insult to a multi-racial and multi-religion Malaysians.

Hence we can only hope that the police will be equally efficient in calling up the Editor of KPMU, a Dato' Siddiq Akmal Ismail for interrogation within 2 days of the report being filed. So far, after a day, I've just been asked to make my statement at the Mutiara Damansara police post earlier this evening. (no

Like the cases of Malaysiakini in 2004 and Nathaniel Tan a month ago, their computers were confiscated, will the Police do likewise to KPMU since the hosting company is based in Kuching and the data centre is located in Telekom Malaysia?

For the police report, I've specifically taken the liberty of using the summary extracts compiled by 5xMom

Repot Polis Bertarikh 7hb Ogos 2007

Saya, Pua Kiam Wee, yang beralamat 55-M Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, ingin membuat report mengenai laman web Kelab Penyokong Maya UMNO (KPMU) yang beralamat web http://www.kpmu.net.

Dalam satu rencana bertajuk 'Riwayat Raja Petra II' tanpa tarikh yang baru diterbitkan di laman web - http://www.kpmu.net/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=129, KPMU telah membuat tuduhan yang teramat menghina terhadap kaum beragama Kristian. Penulis, penyunting, penerbit dan pemilik laman web KPMU perlu ditahan polis dan disiasat atas undang-undang hasutan (Sedition Act).

Penyunting laman web KPMU adalah Dato' Siddiq Akmal Ismail.

Rencana tersebut menuduh bahawa Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, pemilik blog “Malaysia-Today” bukannya beragama Islam. Sebaliknya dia beragama Kristian. Antara seksyen-seksyen rencana tersebut yang jelas tidak bertimbang-rasa terhadap penganut agama Kristian in Malaysia, dan akan membawa keadaan cemas dalam hubungan antara rakyat berbagai kaum, adat dan agama di negara kita, termasuklah:

1. Tuduhan bahawa Tuhan agama Kristian palsu dan tidak wujud:
   
   “Ada jugak yang I dengar pernah nampak dia singgah ke gereja bersama dengan isterinya. Buat apa lagi? Dah tentu lah itu cara dia mengingati tuhan nya yang palsu tu.”
   
   
2. Tuduhan bahawa penganut Kristian adalah pemabuk:
   
   “Biasalah kalau dah kafir tu, mestilah dia dengan arak tak dapat dipisahkan. Umpama orang mabuk yang mengantuk tidur dengan botol arak-araknya. Confirm la bangun pagi wain dah tentulah dalam gengamannya.”
   
   
3. Tuduhan bahawa penganut Kristian di Malaysia berniat menghapuskan kaum Melayu:
   
   “Orang macam ni memang tak boleh di percayai. Manusia yang bertopengkan Islam sedangkan pada dasarnya jiwanya masih kristian dan cuba untuk menjatuhkan bangsa melayu.”
   
   
4. Tuduhan bahawa penganut Kristian adalah orang liar dan "deviant":
   
   “Keturunan yang mengalirkan darah kristian dalam tubuh anak-anak,cucu-cucu serta semua generasi petra yang akan datang akan terus menjadi songsang.”

Tuduhan-tuduhan di atas langsung tidak berasas dan diterbitkan bertujuan menghina penganut Kristian dan menghasut perasaan sakit hati, marah, kecemasan dan menimbulkan ketidak-tenteraman antara rakyat Malaysia.

Pihak polis mesti memberikan perhatian dan tumpuan terpenting dalam urusan kes ini supaya kesemua pihak yang bertanggungjawab akan dibawa ke mahkamah secepat mungkin.

Siasatan terhadap Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin dapat dilaksanakan dalam masa yang singkat sekali, dua hari selepas satu repot polis yang diserahkan oleh pihak UMNO di mana Raja Petra dituduh menghina Agung dan agama Islam. Kami berharap supaya pihak polis akan bertindak dengan kecekapan dan kepantasan yang sama.

Salinan rencana KPMU ada dilampirkan bersama report ini.

Halaman web tersebut dikendalikan oleh Hive Hosting Sdn. Bhd., yang beralamat 9A Lot 539 Section 10 KTLD Rubber Road Commercials, Kuching, 93400. Syarikat tersebut bertelefon +60.82234588 dan berfaks: +60.82234588. Manakala, server laman KPMU berada di pusat data, Telekom Malaysia. Matlumat di atas boleh diperolehi dari laman http://whois.net, seperti yang juga dilampirkan dalam repot ini.

We look forward to the fair and just Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has preached responsibility in blogging, who is also the Internal Security Minister, to act without fear or favour.

阉割人民嗓子

Here's my last week's column in Oriental Daily entitled "Repressing the Voices of the People". It focused on the arrest of Nathaniel Tan for alleged ownership of OSA documents, as well as the interrogation conducted on Raja Petra for allegedly insulting the Agung and Islam.

The sheer idiocy of the allegations raises the questions as to whether the Police are completely incompetent? Or are there more sinister motives behind these moves? On top of that, don't the police force have more urgent matters to attend to such as the accelerating crime rates in the country?

Well, the Police as been "efficient" in handling the cases of Nathaniel and Raja Petra. I have now lodged a police report on a literally seditious web article from an UMNO supporters' website. We'll see if the police acts differently. More tomorrow. ;)

阉割人民嗓子
潘俭伟

今年一月，两位博客即黄泉安与阿希鲁丁被巫统控制的《新海峡时报》起诉诽谤。前个星期，另一位26岁、美国哈佛大学毕业的年轻博客被警方援引官方机密法令扣留。警方宣称他拥有指国内安全部副部长佐哈里涉嫌贪污的文件。

上周，随着巫统宣传主任莫哈末泰益针对《今日大马》在7月11日刊登一篇被指侮辱最高元首与回教的文章向警方报案后，警方传召《今日大马》网站负责人拉惹柏特拉录取口供长达8小时。然而，事实又是怎么一回事呢？

陈仁义被扣留4天期间，警方明显没有针对所谓佐哈里被指涉嫌贪污的文件展开调查。由于有位无名氏在陈仁义部落格留了一个网址，链接到相关指佐哈里涉嫌贪污的网站，结果陈仁义就有难了！事实上，这个网站跟陈仁义毫无关系。

其实，许多平面媒体曾引述佐哈里涉嫌贪污的资料，但警方为何没有调查相关媒体负责人呢？至于拉惹柏特拉个案，他在7月11日不曾撰写任何文章！在盘问时，警方告诉他只是针对读者在其网站的留言。警方为何连文章与留言都分不清呢？

警方的专业精神去了哪里？当巫统领袖报案时，为何警方会立即采取行动？然而，当《今日大马》或其它博客或网站揭露官方人物涉嫌贪污的证据时，警方却选择不理不睬。

摆在眼前的问题是，我国的警队为何竟沦落为执政集团的工具？到底是警方的专业能力成疑，甚至有者还不懂得掌握最基本的电脑操作，更妄论要成为电子世界的“特级警察”，抑或是他们有更阴险的目的？

政府岂不是承诺不会限制互联网的资讯流通吗？如今，随着更多政府高官的丑闻被揭发后，为了阻止真相进一步流通，官方只好利用高压手段，并以凶猛的偏执态度对付博客？

难道警方除了骚扰拉惹柏特拉和其他博客之外，就没有更重要的事情做了吗？与其耗时间跟自己的影子过意不去，警方倒不如专注打击日益猖獗的罪案，进而根除国人对犯罪的恐惧感。

@ Nathaniel's Vigil

Thanks to Malaysiakini who recorded the event, my little impromptu speech at the vigil for Nathaniel Tan on Saturday evening seeking his release was captured on video ;)

Before me, you can hear Nathaniel's sister, Cheryl sing, and Nik Nazmi addressing the crowd. You can also catch other Malaysiakini on the vigils as well as his release on Malaysiakini.tv.

And as he has been released from detention by the police, he has graciously agreed to speak to us about his detention tomorrow evening @ KL & Selangor Assembly Hall ;) So see you guys there!

No to a Police State in Blogosphere

Nathaniel Tan, a 26 year old dedicated blogger, a Harvard University alumnus and an aide to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been arrested under the Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) over allegations that he had documents linked to Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Johari Baharom’s alleged involvement in corruption.

To demonstrate our solidarity with Nathaniel who has been dealt with great injustice, to show our steadfast refusal to let the Government curb the democratisation impact of blogs and the Internet, and to voice our displeasure at the OSA, we are organising a forum with invited speakers from across the civil society with details as follows:

Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Date: 19th July 2007 (Thursday)
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission is Free; Bring Friends

The panel of Distinguished Speakers include:

• Nathaniel Tan, Blogger & Aide to PKR Advisor*
• Jeff Ooi, Protem Vice-President, All Blogs Malaysia
• Harris Ibrahim, Lawyer & Founder of The People's Parliament
• Nurul Izzah Anwar, Special Assistant to PKR Advisor
• Lim Guan Eng, Secretary-General of DAP
• Tony Pua, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General

Chairperson: Soon Li Tsin, Journalist & Blogger

* We will be inviting Nathaniel to speak to us and relay his experiences at the Forum should he be released from remand on Tuesday, 17th July or before. We'll also be trying to leave as much time to the floor as possible, so as to enable greater interaction at the forum.

And for those who would like to find out a little more about the young man who wants to do so much for his country, check out the write up at Jeff's blog.

A quick note on the OSA:

The OSA in its current form allows for a government to administer this country covertly and in defiance of the accountability and transparency that is crucial to democratic process. As human rights lawyer, Malik Imtiaz says, "this impacts on all our lives in more ways that we can begin to understand as the government is given a means to thwart legitimate public interest by the forced suppression of material and relevant information."

See you there!! ;)

Candlelight Vigil for Nathaniel

More activities are being planned for Nathaniel as I write. Leaders of both DAP and PKR have unreservedly condemned Nathaniel's arrest.

Meanwhile, there's a candlelight vigil for Nathaniel tonight (Sunday 15th July) at 8.00pm outside the Dang Wangi Police Station (Jalan Stadium, near Merdeka Stadium). Let's show that we are not cowed by irresponsible, vindictive, unethical (I can go on...) police and government actions. See you guys there!

Comment Moderation

It is with great regret that I have decided to switch on comment moderation with immediate effect. If you have followed my blogs, I have allowed plenty of alternative views as well as criticism (directed at me or my views) in the comments.

However, for the past 2 weeks, a few incorrigible brats (under whose payroll, I have to wonder) have decided to vandalise this site to incite unconstructive name calling, racist remarks and other better-left-unmentioned responses. I have been patiently and diligently deleting these comments but it becomes difficult to maintain when I'm running all over the place.

We know that these offenders are in the minority, and hopefully after a short while, I will be able to return the blog to a unmoderated status.

In the mean time, I can only ask for our regular and loyal readers to be patient as your comments will not appear immediately on this blog. I'll try to access as frequently as possible to "process" these comments. And certainly, I'll apologise for any inconvenience caused. But don't worry, constructive criticisms, personal or otherwise, continues to be welcomed. ;)

Overseas Business Networking Trip

Hi guys. My access to internet is terrible at the moment as I'm on in working business networking trip to Hong Kong with the Penang Chief Minister. Should be back in action again next week, hence apologies for the lack of posts as well as slower replies to emails and comments. ;-)

Blogs in Vogue

What's the biggest difference this recent election made? In my opinion, it has to be the Government's 180% turn with regards to its attitude towards blogs.

Datuk Abdul Ghapur Hj Salleh of KALABAKAN asked the Minister of Information on 21st May 2008 that

...ternyata media generasi baru khususnya 'blog' membawa pengaruh yang besar ke atas trend pengundian pada pilihan raya yang lalu. Apakah Kementerian merancang untuk menyertai media generasi baru yang teramat berkesan ini.

And the short reply from the Minister was:

Kerajaan melihat perkembangan penyampaian maklumat dan pandangan rakyat melaluik blog sebagai satu perkara positif sejajar dengan kepesatan teknologi informasi. Semua pandangan yang dikemukakan melalui blog juga dilihat sebagai pandangan rakyat yang perlu diberi perhatian oleh Kerajaan.

Pihak Kerajaan sentiasa memantau laman-laman blog yang ada namun tidak bercadang untuk mengawal dan menapis laman-laman web dan blog berkenaan.

This wasn't the first time the question has been asked in this Parliament sitting, and what's more, they have mainly been asked by Barisan Nasional parliamentarians.

The previous Minister of Information, the infamous Zainuddin Maidin was defeated in Sungai Petani, and obviously the current one, Ahmad Shabery Cheek doesn't want to meet the same fate as his predecessor. ;-)

Taking a short walk down memory lane, let's recall how this same administration was just pooh-poohing blogs and of course, bloggers ;-)

• Aug 23, 2006 - "Pengendali Laman Blog ibarat penembak curi", then deputy Minister of Energy, Water & Communication.
  
  
• March 13, 2007 - MALAYSIA'S tourism minister has sparked a controversy among the local Internet community by reportedly describing bloggers as 'liars' and 'mostly jobless women'. The Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh quoted Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor as saying last week: 'All bloggers are liars. They cheat people using all kinds of methods. 'From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.'
  
  
• March 20, 2007 - Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin today asked newspapers not to quote from blog websites when writing news stories as the source of the information cannot be considered authoritative. He hoped newspapers would be more responsible by quoting only authoritative sources as many bloggers were relying on newspapers for credibility.
  
  
• April 5, 2007 - BLOGGERS using locally hosted websites may be asked to register with the authorities, Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said. He said registration was one of the measures the Government was considering to prevent the spread of negative or malicious content on the Internet.
  
  
• April 6, 2007 - Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin Friday lent his weight to a proposal to register blog sites, especially those which are politically-motivated. He said the mainstream media were subjected to registration, monitoring and specific laws, and as such, there was no reason why the same should not apply to blog operators.
  
  
• May 05, 2007 - Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said today Malaysia has to classify web bloggers as professionals and non-professionals as a mechanism to prevent misuse of blog sites.
  
  
• July 28, 2007 - "There are no laws in the cyberworld except for the law of the jungle. As such, action must be taken so that the "monkeys" behave," [Khairy Jamaluddin] told reporters after opening the Papar, Kimanis and Sipitang Umno Youth annual delegates conference.
  
  
• July 29, 2007 - The people must wise up to "goblok" (political bloggers) because some of them were willing to become tools of others to destroy the nation, said Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin. He said these bloggers belonged to groups with limited knowledge and had evil intentions.

Now while the above probably doesn't list everything, they certainly brought back 'fond' memories ;-) What a difference a year makes!

Blog Forums

Can't get enough about blogs? Our clueless professional ministers castigates unprofessional bloggers? Is there a blogmania in Malaysia at the moment? Or what's the big fuss? Well, you'll get to hear all about it in the coming weeks (where I'll also be lending my voice), starting this Saturday at Nanyang Siang Pau and the following Saturday, at the Bloggers United Malaysia (BUM) Gathering.

1. Nanyang Forum: Bridging Blogs and the Malaysian Public


We are in an effort to promote blogging across the multi-lingual platform in the country. Nanyang Siang Pau, a vernacular newspaper, is organising a public forum targetting the youths this Saturday. It will be conducted primarily in English, with splashes of Mandarin if needs be. Admission is free.

Malaysian Bloggers: A Challenge to Opinion Space?
Date: Saturday, 12/5/07
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Auditorium, Nanyang Siang Pau HQ, Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya

Speakers:
1. Tony Pua, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng
2. Jeff Ooi, Pioneering Malaysian Blogger
3. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Special Assistant to Parti KeADILan Advisor, Anwar Ibrahim
4. Soon Li Tsin, Blogger and Malaysiakini Journalist

Moderator:
Dr. Ei Sun Oh, Lecturer, Speaker, Columnist & Blogger

We hope to get as many bloggers and fans of blogs to attend this event. Contact Ms Thing Thing at 012-213 7250 or 03-7872-6913 for details.

The event is supported by Persatuan Belia Xiang Lian, ntv7 and Spritzer.


2. Blogs United Malaysia (BUM) Gathering 2007

The theme we’ve chosen is Embrace & Engage. Well, that’s the whole objective of the gathering - to embrace the blogging phenomenon in Malaysia and to engage it by blogging (for those who haven’t yet). This event is held in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd.

Date: 19th May 2007
Time: 6.00pm – 11.00 pm.

* Forum: 6.00pm - 8.00pm
* Drinks: 8.00pm - 8.30pm
* Buffet: 8.30pm - 11.00pm

Venue: The Lake View Club, Lot 3606, SS12/1, Subang Jaya, 47500 Petaling Jaya
Contact: +603 3733-8342

The club also has a prayer room available for use. Fits 8 persons max.

Closing deadline extended to May 15, 2007 by 4.00pm as we have to inform LVC’s KampungKu Restaurant on the exact number of guests to cater for dinner buffet. Please see payment page. All else, please send all correspondence to howsyh[at]gmail[dot]com.

Speakers

Jeff Ooi, Marina Mahathir, Tony Pua, Tian Chua and R. Nadeswaran (of Citizen Nades fame) and Sonia Randhawa (executive director of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia). Ahirudin Attan (Rocky) will be a special speaker.

Each panellist will share their thoughts based on their field of activity, expertise and experience stating whether they agree or disagree with the following statement:-

That the media environment under the present Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration is more open and liberal compared to the previous administration under Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Special speaker Rocky will speak on the National Alliance of Bloggers.

Hope to see you all there! :)

Raja Petra Bailed

OK, I must confess I did a little boo boo this morning ;-)

After 15 minutes of circling around, I finally found the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court where the Malaysia Today writer was scheduled to be freed on bail this morning.

I arrived early before 9 and was informed that Raja Petra will only arrive at 9.45 am. Happily, I wandered off with Wan Hamidi, who is rumoured (heh!) to have quit New Straits Times to join my boss in Penang in the coming months, for a cup of teh tarik.

Mana tahu, as I was happily strolling back to the sessions court at 9.40, I saw a group of supporters outside the court from a little distance, and Raja Petra was already being driven off!

Sigh, and I sheepishly joined the crowd, including the media who was present who all looked at me "knowingly" that I missed the "show". And now I need to go back and report to my boss that I umm..., "failed" to represent the Chief Minister of Penang to show his (and my own of course) moral support for the ordeal he is going through.

Readers may be reminded that Sdr Lim Guan Eng was also jailed for 2 years on sedition charges, which resulted in his disqualification as a Member of Parliament (and losing all benefits, including his pension and gratuity), plus the non-renewal of his accounting practice license from the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). But this things some how have a way of coming around. ;-)

With regards to the sedition charge by the Government, which I've yet to "formally" register my position on my blog - my position is clear, and so is the Party's, that without going into the merits of Raja Petra's allegedly seditious article, the Government's use of the sedition act is a clear cut abuse of an oppressive law.

If the Deputy Prime Minister or his wife so find that the articles published were misleading or factually inaccurate, they should take the necessary civil suit route to resolve the matter, and not clearly using and abusing the state machinery.

DAP leader in Parliament, Sdr Lim Kit Siang made it the number 1 item on his agenda, "The Empire Strikes Back" in his first speech in the 12th parliament. See also the video of his speech here.

Blogs in Parliament

Blogs are all-rage now, it appears.

Fong Chan Onn (ALOR GAJAH), probably one of the last persons you'd expect to raise questions with regards to blogs, raised the following question today during Question Time:

[Adakah] Kementerian ingin menjadikan blog sebagai media alternatif untuk menyebar matlumat mengenai rancangan-rancangan Kerajaan memandangkan cara ini adalah sangat popular di kalangan orang muda?

The new Minister of Information, Ahmad Shabery Cheek responded quickly by saying "yes", they intend to do so, and the recent "Blog" programme on RTM is very popular and achieve very high ratings.

Unfortunately, both supplementary questions went to Barisan Nasional MPs (PONTIAN, the other) instead of the usual 1 to each side of the bench. The Speaker appeared a little embarrassed by the error, as it was followed by whistles of disapproval from the opposition bench. Both active Yang Berblogs in the house stood and didn't get our questions asked. I was planning to be cheeky and get the Speaker's attention that the Father of Malaysia's Blogs (Bapak Blog Malaysia), JELUTONG, should be given the chance to ask a question! ;-)

OK, so I chickened out. ;-)

Anyway, this was my intended question:

Adakah Kementerian Penerangan tidak lagi berpolisi di mana media massa arus utama (mainstream media) tidak dibenarkan mengangkat berita ataupun "source" daripada Internet dan Blog?

Dan adakah ini bermakna kerajaan tidak lagi menganggap penulis blog sebagai "penembak curi" ataupun "suri rumahtangga yang mengganggur" sepertimana diperinci oleh Menteri Penerangan yang lalu?

You are welcome to help me dig up the links to the articles whereby the former Minister of Information controversially claimed bloggers comprised largely of unemployed housewives! Heh...

World Press Freedom Day

The World Press Freedom Day falls on the 3rd May.

To be frank, while I've been a firm believer in the freedom of the press, and that the printing and publications act in its current form in Malaysia must be drastically revamped, I've never really been an activist in this sphere (well, we can't be everything). I've always focused more on education and economic issues faced by the country as I would regard those as areas in which I have "comparative advantage" ;-)

Therefore, when I'm cited in the latest Economist article, "Getting the Word Out", as one of the newly elected opposition members of parliament (together with Jeff Ooi, who inspired me into blogging in the first place) who forms part of this new wave of "getting the word out" via the alternative media, and an implied role in the events which has overtaken the country over the past 2 months, I feel a little shy-lah.

The past few weeks have seen some exciting developments in Malaysia, which despite being a democracy has had a shameful record of muzzling the press. In the general election in March, Malaysians abandoned the plodding, pro-government traditional media in droves and turned to the web—especially to a courageous and highly professional news site, Malaysiakini. Two prominent news bloggers, Jeff Ooi and Tony Pua, were elected for opposition parties. Both have been blogging live from parliament this past week as it convened following the election.

Let me put the record straight, being mentioned in the same paragraph as Malaysiakini and Jeff is certainly an honour for me, as it's like my name being mentioned with Tiger Woods in the same breath. I just hope I can live up to expectations.

This is the second time too, that we were highlighted in The Economist, the earlier mention just after elections - "Internet & Malaysian Politics: The Perils of Modernity".

As I said, expectations are high and I shudder sometimes when thinking about the weight on our tiny shoulders...

Anyway, in conjunction with the World Press Freedom Day, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is organising a "Towards Media and Information Law Reform" where Teo Nie Ching, my colleague from Serdang will be speaking.

Venue: The Annex, Central Market
Date: 4 May 2008 (Sun)
Time: 12.30 - 2.00 pm

This forum is part of a series of events held in Central Market by CIJ. For more details, check the Malaysia World Press Freedom Day blog here.

Caught Blogging in the Parliament

That's me taking my oath (pic taken off video feed)

Heh... we were finally sworn into the Parliament today ;-)

While waiting for time to pass, there were 222 members of Parliament taking their oaths individually, both Jeff who sits right next to me, and myself decided that we'll test out the systems here from right within the Dewan Rakyat ;-)

Yes, the power supply was good and the broadband access with the CAT5 cables were working fine too ;-) It's a 2MB line, could be better of course, but can't complain.

And then, Wong Chun Wai of the Star picked up Jeff's blog entry and decided to have us interviewed for blogging in Parliament. Heh, we'll see how it appears tomorrow ;-)

[update 29 Apr (Tue)]

The Star carried the story here with this picture on the front page(!) You can even watch a short clip here. ;-)

That's me sitting next to Jeff in Parliament (pic courtesy of The Star)

But, it'll certainly be interesting blogging from the Parliament from hence on ;-)

New Chinese Blog

Yes, I'm really asking for it. ;-)

I started blogging at Education in Malaysia in March 2005, and my personal blog here in November 2006. I'm now officially launching my 3rd blog, "家国思索" [jia guo si suo] which will be my personal blog with Chinese as the key language medium. The blog name "家国思索" translates roughly as "Thoughts on Motherland". Its also the title of my weekly Monday column in Oriental Daily, so thanks to the editors for the inspiration. ;-)

Why do I need a separate blog in Chinese, you might ask, particularly for those who may be unable to read the language.

Firstly, besides the language, the blog is actually a little different as it is mainly, at this point of time anyway, composed of press articles from the vernacular press and magazines where I've been covered. You will note that although the blog is "newly" launched, it has already got some 100 posts. That's because I've been covered fairly extensively in the Chinese media on various issues.

While the English mainstream media rarely covers opposition politicians, especially when we raise social and local issues, we do receive a fair bit more coverage (understatement) in the Chinese press. The difference, you can see is the extent to which the Government clamps down media freedom in the English print media, and worse, the Malay papers.

Hence, starting a Chinese blog, gives me an opportunity to keep track of all the press coverage in the Chinese newspapers, which will at the same time not overwhelm this blog with disproportionate amount of Chinese newspaper reports. Where possible I will translate some of these coverage in the Chinese media into English for the loyal readers of this blog. Similarly, I will be posting dated articles of my column in Oriental Daily onto this new blog.

Finally, I'd like to thank my two assistants, Erica and Joey, who helped put together the entire past year's collection of press coverage on the blog. It's still a work in progress as not all reports have been posted, but nevertheless, we are ready to go. While I will be posting my own blog writings myself in the future, they will assist me to put up press reports as and when they are available or published.

For readers who read Chinese, I hope you will enjoy the new site and probably get a better understanding of the work I do on a daily basis. At the same time, hopefully you can introduce the new blog to those who are more comfortable with the language.

Thank you once again for all your support! ;-)

Loose Screws

On the fateful day of 8th March, or International Women's Day, our Minister in-charge of the all important Visit Malaysia Year 2006, lashed out at all bloggers, and in particular, female bloggers as reported in Sinchew Daily.

The Minister of Tourism, Dato' Tenkgu Adnan Tengku Mansor lashed out that all bloggers on the Internet are liars, out of which 80% are unemployed women.

“All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.”

He said that bloggers spread rumours, disrupt social harmony and many bloggers are slanderous and are cheating people with their blogs.

“All bloggers are not in favour of national unity. Our country has been successful because we are very tolerant with each other, if not, there will be civil war, the Malays will kill the Chinese, the Chinese will take revenge and kill the Malays, and the Indian will kill everyone.”

He urged the rakyat not to simply trust bloggers, and gamble our future away because the achievement we gain in the 50 years of independence is not an easy task.

I don't even think my personal comments are needed on the issue. The loose screws are clear for all to see. So beyond the Court Jesters , those who always blames the rakyat and those who think we are stupid, we also have some who are just not quite "there".

And why was "Tengku" apparently so upset? Just because a female TV journalist didn't have a good experience while covering Flora Festival 2007. What a clown.

Jed Yoong Faces Police Harrassment

A sometimes controversial blogger, and often a critic of Tony Pua, Wong Chun Wai and many others, is currently being harrassed by the Police. Honestly, I'm not a fan of Jed Yoong but I respect her right to freedom of speech and I never once attempted to stop her from say her piece.

But then again, I'm no fan of the Malaysian police either, who has a tendency to beat up citizens who light up candles for a cause in a peaceful manner, and take on (or ignore) investigations at the whims and fancies of their political masters. Clearly, Jed is now being investigated for sedition for one of her blog pieces, due to police reports filed by some UMNO ultras in Petaling Jaya.

Without dwelling on the merits of her case, the police investigation against her shows the bias of the force, for a similar report I made against "Kelab Penyokong Maya Umno" last year was never investigated despite my statement being taken.

The police attempted to intimidate bloggers last year, for example with the high profile arrest of Nathaniel Tan, and it appears that they'll only continue to exert such pressure on bloggers, possibly increasingly so, after Najib takes over as the new Prime Minister.

Anyway, below is the press statement issued by Jed Yoong to all press.

PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2009 WEDNESDAY

Inspector Mohd Riduan Abd Majid (Office Phone No.: 03-26163989 / H/Phone No.: 019-9890484) from the Bukit Aman Commerical Crime Department's Cyber and Multimedia Crime Investigation Unit emailed me this morning, saying:

"I want to continue a statement recording with you. There are several questions to ask, so it will make your statement very clear. Hope you to come at JSJK Bukit Aman this evening at 5pm or 6pm. I will make it fast."

I've agreed to go in at 7pm this evening (Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009).

On Monday (23/02/2009), I went to the Bukit Aman Commerical Crime Department's Cyber and Multimedia Crime Investigation Unit and gave my statement to Inspector Riduan from about 6pm -- 10pm after he called and emailed me on the same day. I was unrepresented by a lawyer as, when asked, Inspector Riduan says he doesn't need one.

Under tremendous pressure, with my handphone taken away from me, facing two officers and one or two that came in and out, I felt I had no choice but to give and sign a statement against my wishes in order to ensure my safety. Riduan at many points refuse to allow me to give me the answers that I want and changed my statement many times to fit his preferred answers. I was also not allowed to see the police report and had no idea why I was being interrogated. However, the police were courteous and professional at all times and I am happy to cooperate with the police who are merely doing their jobs.

Following that, at about 10pm, as instructed by the police, I brought four policemen (ASP Hazizi Bin A Samad, Insp Mohd Faizal B Zainal, Insp Zurina Bt Alias and KPL 128548 Zawahid Bin Nik) to my family's house. I led the way with Insp Zuraina in the car while the others followed my car.

Before entering my house ASP Hazizi informed me that he is entering the premises and seizing my computers under the Sedition Act, which I am being investigated under. They came in drew floor plans of my house, took photos, recorded videos and confiscated my laptop, its power cable, a desktop CPU, a router and a modem. At all times, the police were professional and courteous.

The next day (Tuesday, February 24, 2009), I lodged a police report at the Brickfields police station/IPD about the the items confiscated as I am concerned that the data in the items would be tampered with as I am not the only one using the computers (which are not password protected) and I did not check the data before I handed over the items to the police.

I feel that I am being set up by the police and my rights has been violated as I've not been shown the police report, my statement taken from me under conditions in which I feared for my safety, items seized from my house and I've not been advised by the police to get legal representation.

If I have broken any laws, I wish to say that it is unintentional and there is no malice involved, what more an intent to incite hatred of any sorts. I am merely expressing my opinion using modern technology in the 21st century.

I feel that the country's laws are not equally applied to everyone but used to silent dissent, in particular ordinary bloggers with no political backing.

My blog is not particularly influential, compared to mainstream newspapers like Utusan, The Star, Sin Chew, etc, and other news outlets like TV3. These media have the potential to easily incite hatred and cause racial riots. In my view, in many cases, the Malay-vernacular press have published many articles that can be said to incite racial hatred, for instance, Utusan's frontpage yesterday that claimed DAP Hina Islam? (DAP Insults Islam?) ( http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0224&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_01.htm )

Hence I strongly feel it is ludicrous and absurd to say that I can even influence anyone what more incite racial hatred or any sort of hatred towards anyone. If anyone is hateful, they will be so without reading my blog. I am not God.

I also wish to say as a Malaysian, I am loyal to King and Country. In many posts I've always expressed my gratitude towards the country for allowing my family to have a happy prosperous live, especially under the Barisan government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad. If I've offended anyone with my honest feelings based on facts, it is not my intention to do so. In the 21st century, rulers of all kind should be open to feedback because after all they are not gods that are are beyond reproach.

It would be much appreciated if the media will carry my statement or send reporters to the Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Unit tonite. I will be there from 7pm and am not sure what time this second interrogation will end.

I've lost my handphone and can only be contacted via email now till I get a new handphone later today.

Thanks.

Jed Yoong Yui Foong
熊玉鳳