Kepada semua yang berugama Islam:
Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri - Maaf Zahir dan Batin
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY!
I join the call to All ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA:
Four Principles of Empowering Peace
In this regard, peace associated with fear that inhibits us from full participation in public affairs is but pseudo peace.
True peace must be empowering and inclusive to allow all Malaysians to contribute to and enjoy the national life. True peace requires rule of law and protection of human rights. It is therefore political, but in no way partisan.
We call upon every Malaysian citizen and organization, especially the politicians and political parties, to sign up to the following principles:
1. Zero tolerance for violence as a political means
Civilized life requires restrain and self-control. Conflicts should be solved through dialogues, deliberation, debates or litigation. There must be zero tolerance for the use, threat or incitement of violence as a political means, regardless of circumstances or subject matters.
In this sense, the perpetrators of the cow-head protest should be charged for incitement of violence, not sedition or illegal assembly. The thugs who threatened to rape Rodziah Ismail and to murder Khalid Samad, the elected representatives in Shah Alam, must be investigated and prosecuted for criminal intimidation. The threat of sexual violence, a common trait in many communal conflicts, is especially alarming and absolutely intolerable.
2. Fighting Hatred with Reason
Hatred exists in every society and can only be effectively eliminated by reason, not law. Given a vibrant public sphere, the flaws of hate speeches can be exposed and the perpetrators shamed. Legal suppression only weakens the society’s resistance to hatred by removing the need for intellectual rigour and moral courage to confront bigotry.
The latest harassment of Malaysiakini by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for featuring video-clips of the cow-head protest and the Home Minister’s press conference justifying the act is not only violating freedom of expression, but also protecting violence from public shaming.
3. The State’s Duty to Protect Political Participation
The state which monopolizes the legitimate use of violence should exist only to protect citizens from private violence, not to inflict more violence than necessary. The state’s coercive power therefore must never be used against peaceful political activities. Instead, the state has the duty to protect political participation.
Instead of arbitrarily arresting over 160 1BLACKMalaysia protesters, lawyers on duty, 589 Anti-ISA protestors and bystanders, the anti-PPSMI, Kampung Buah Pala and Hindraf protesters, and using unnecessary violence, the police should have only controlled traffic and maintained order. After all, the validity of the protesters’ causes should be judged by the citizen, not the police or the Executive.
4. Upholding Elected Government
The threat of political violence is greatest when political elites resort to means other than elections to attain power. Democracy is the only guarantee for political stability and peace. Politicians and political parties must therefore do their best to win elections honestly, not usurping power after elections. Otherwise, democratic breakdown may lead to coups or revolutions.
The Perak coup has seen an elected government being overthrown by a host of unelected institutions including but not limited to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Election Commission (EC), the Judiciary, the bureaucracy and the police. The partisan investigation of MACC in Selangor amidst the Barisan Nasional’s express wish to takeover the state had led to the death of Teoh Beng Hock, the first of a state official in the custody of a federal agency. If there is no firmed commitment from both sides of the political divide to democracy, the next election may see the military being the next unelected institution dragged into political struggle.
On the auspicious birthday of Malaysia, which should have been made a national holiday 46 years ago, let us all vow to make empowering peace the basis of public life of our nation so that all of us may enjoy real freedom.
Four Principles of Empowering Peace
In this regard, peace associated with fear that inhibits us from full participation in public affairs is but pseudo peace.
True peace must be empowering and inclusive to allow all Malaysians to contribute to and enjoy the national life. True peace requires rule of law and protection of human rights. It is therefore political, but in no way partisan.
We call upon every Malaysian citizen and organization, especially the politicians and political parties, to sign up to the following principles:
1. Zero tolerance for violence as a political means
Civilized life requires restrain and self-control. Conflicts should be solved through dialogues, deliberation, debates or litigation. There must be zero tolerance for the use, threat or incitement of violence as a political means, regardless of circumstances or subject matters.
In this sense, the perpetrators of the cow-head protest should be charged for incitement of violence, not sedition or illegal assembly. The thugs who threatened to rape Rodziah Ismail and to murder Khalid Samad, the elected representatives in Shah Alam, must be investigated and prosecuted for criminal intimidation. The threat of sexual violence, a common trait in many communal conflicts, is especially alarming and absolutely intolerable.
2. Fighting Hatred with Reason
Hatred exists in every society and can only be effectively eliminated by reason, not law. Given a vibrant public sphere, the flaws of hate speeches can be exposed and the perpetrators shamed. Legal suppression only weakens the society’s resistance to hatred by removing the need for intellectual rigour and moral courage to confront bigotry.
The latest harassment of Malaysiakini by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for featuring video-clips of the cow-head protest and the Home Minister’s press conference justifying the act is not only violating freedom of expression, but also protecting violence from public shaming.
3. The State’s Duty to Protect Political Participation
The state which monopolizes the legitimate use of violence should exist only to protect citizens from private violence, not to inflict more violence than necessary. The state’s coercive power therefore must never be used against peaceful political activities. Instead, the state has the duty to protect political participation.
Instead of arbitrarily arresting over 160 1BLACKMalaysia protesters, lawyers on duty, 589 Anti-ISA protestors and bystanders, the anti-PPSMI, Kampung Buah Pala and Hindraf protesters, and using unnecessary violence, the police should have only controlled traffic and maintained order. After all, the validity of the protesters’ causes should be judged by the citizen, not the police or the Executive.
4. Upholding Elected Government
The threat of political violence is greatest when political elites resort to means other than elections to attain power. Democracy is the only guarantee for political stability and peace. Politicians and political parties must therefore do their best to win elections honestly, not usurping power after elections. Otherwise, democratic breakdown may lead to coups or revolutions.
The Perak coup has seen an elected government being overthrown by a host of unelected institutions including but not limited to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Election Commission (EC), the Judiciary, the bureaucracy and the police. The partisan investigation of MACC in Selangor amidst the Barisan Nasional’s express wish to takeover the state had led to the death of Teoh Beng Hock, the first of a state official in the custody of a federal agency. If there is no firmed commitment from both sides of the political divide to democracy, the next election may see the military being the next unelected institution dragged into political struggle.
On the auspicious birthday of Malaysia, which should have been made a national holiday 46 years ago, let us all vow to make empowering peace the basis of public life of our nation so that all of us may enjoy real freedom.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Anak Bangsa Malaysia, indeed!
Sharyn Lisa Shufiyan, 24 Conservationist
“Both my parents are Malay. My mum's heritage includes Chinese, Thai and Arab, while my dad is Minangkabau. Due to my skin colour, I am often mistaken for a chinese..
I'm happy that I don’t have the typical Malay look but I do get annoyed when people call me Ah Moi or ask me straight up "Are you Chinese or Malay"
Like, why does it matter? Before I used to answer "Malay" but now I'm trying to consciously answer Malaysian instead.
There's this incident from primary school that I remember till today. Someone told me that I will be called last during Judgement Day because I don’t have a Muslim name. Of course, I was scared then but now that I'm older, I realise that a name is just a name. It doesn’t define you as a good or bad person and there is definitely no such thing as a Muslim name. You can be named Rashid or ALI and still be a Christian.
I’ve heard of the 1Malaysia concept, but I think we don’t need to be told to be united. We've come such a long way that it should already be embedded in our hearts and minds that we are united. Unfortunately, you can still see racial discrimination and polarisation. There is still this ethno-centric view that the Malays are the dominant group and their rights must be protected, and non Malays are forever the outsiders.
For the concept to succeed, I think the government should stop with the race politics. It's tiring, really. We grew up with application forms asking us to tick our race. We should stop painting a negative image of the other races, stop thinking about 'us' and 'them' and focus on 'we', 'our' and 'Malaysians'.
No one should be made uncomfortable in their own home. A dear Chinese friend of mine said to me once, "I don’t feel patriotic because I am not made to feel like Malaysia is my home, and I don’t feel an affinity to China because I have never lived there.
I know some baby Nyonya friends who can trace their lineage back hundreds of years. I'm a fourth generation Malaysian. If I am Bumiputra, why can’t they be, too? Clearly I have issues with the term.
I think the main reason why we still can’t achieve total unity is because of this 'Malay rights' concept. I'd rather 'Malay rights' be replaced by human rights. So unless we get rid of this Bumiputra status, or reform our views and policies on rights, we will never achieve unity.
For my merdeka wish, I'd like for Malaysians to have more voice, to be respected and heard. I wish that the government would uphold the true essence of parliamentary democracy. I wish for the people to no longer fear and discriminate against each other, to see that we are one and the same.
I wish that Malaysia would truly live up to the tourism spin of Malaysia truly Asia. Malaysians to lead - whatever their ethnic background. Only ONE NATIONALITY -MALAYSIAN. No Malays, No Chinese, No Indians - ONLY MALAYSIANS. Choose whatever religion one is comfortable with.
WELL SAID LADY........YOU JUST DID YOUR GREAT GRANDPA PROUD.
MERDEKA MERDEKA MERDEKA
Sharyn is the Great Grand Daughter of Tunku Abdul Rahman
“Both my parents are Malay. My mum's heritage includes Chinese, Thai and Arab, while my dad is Minangkabau. Due to my skin colour, I am often mistaken for a chinese..
I'm happy that I don’t have the typical Malay look but I do get annoyed when people call me Ah Moi or ask me straight up "Are you Chinese or Malay"
Like, why does it matter? Before I used to answer "Malay" but now I'm trying to consciously answer Malaysian instead.
There's this incident from primary school that I remember till today. Someone told me that I will be called last during Judgement Day because I don’t have a Muslim name. Of course, I was scared then but now that I'm older, I realise that a name is just a name. It doesn’t define you as a good or bad person and there is definitely no such thing as a Muslim name. You can be named Rashid or ALI and still be a Christian.
I’ve heard of the 1Malaysia concept, but I think we don’t need to be told to be united. We've come such a long way that it should already be embedded in our hearts and minds that we are united. Unfortunately, you can still see racial discrimination and polarisation. There is still this ethno-centric view that the Malays are the dominant group and their rights must be protected, and non Malays are forever the outsiders.
For the concept to succeed, I think the government should stop with the race politics. It's tiring, really. We grew up with application forms asking us to tick our race. We should stop painting a negative image of the other races, stop thinking about 'us' and 'them' and focus on 'we', 'our' and 'Malaysians'.
No one should be made uncomfortable in their own home. A dear Chinese friend of mine said to me once, "I don’t feel patriotic because I am not made to feel like Malaysia is my home, and I don’t feel an affinity to China because I have never lived there.
I know some baby Nyonya friends who can trace their lineage back hundreds of years. I'm a fourth generation Malaysian. If I am Bumiputra, why can’t they be, too? Clearly I have issues with the term.
I think the main reason why we still can’t achieve total unity is because of this 'Malay rights' concept. I'd rather 'Malay rights' be replaced by human rights. So unless we get rid of this Bumiputra status, or reform our views and policies on rights, we will never achieve unity.
For my merdeka wish, I'd like for Malaysians to have more voice, to be respected and heard. I wish that the government would uphold the true essence of parliamentary democracy. I wish for the people to no longer fear and discriminate against each other, to see that we are one and the same.
I wish that Malaysia would truly live up to the tourism spin of Malaysia truly Asia. Malaysians to lead - whatever their ethnic background. Only ONE NATIONALITY -MALAYSIAN. No Malays, No Chinese, No Indians - ONLY MALAYSIANS. Choose whatever religion one is comfortable with.
WELL SAID LADY........YOU JUST DID YOUR GREAT GRANDPA PROUD.
MERDEKA MERDEKA MERDEKA
Sharyn is the Great Grand Daughter of Tunku Abdul Rahman
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
We are not enemies, but brothers...
The following piece jointly written by Nurul and Nik Nazmi is well worth reading
The recent demonstration by a group claiming to be residents of SS 23 in Shah Alam at the Selangor State Secretariat, where a cow’s head was paraded and then dumped on its ground is the surest sign that our country’s ethnic relations are at a critical point.
The action and rhetoric of these people go against every tenet of Islam and Malay culture. Nothing can justify their mean-spirit behaviour.
There were legitimate avenues by which they could have pursued their grievances, but instead they chose to threaten bloodshed unless their demands were met.
How can anyone possibly now have any sympathy to their cause in the face of such antics? They are making a mockery of the efforts of their Malay neighbours who were willing to discuss this matter in a sane and civilized manner. This is the bitter harvest of months, even years of sectarian posturing and the inflammation of ethnic fears by irresponsible elements in our society as well as politics.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must walk the talk of his 1Malaysia ideology and ensure that the perpetrators of this deed do not go unpunished. We also applaud the courage of our fellow politicians, on both side of the aisle, who have had the courage to stand up and be counted against this act of hate.
While our immediate thoughts naturally turn towards anger and revenge, we must not give into such desires because that would mean the end of the Malaysia that we all know and love, the Malaysia that is just, tolerant and progressive, which we hope will someday prevail against the forces of extremism that threaten it.
Rather, all Malaysians of goodwill, regardless of their political affiliation should come together to condemn this senseless act and find an equitable solution to the issue that give rise to it.
We must not close our hearts and minds to each other despite this and many other future provocations that will surely come as the last-ditch efforts of the reactionary forces that have blighted our country are slowly but surely turned away.
We are a better country than this; we are a greater people than this. Let me end with the words of the great statesman Abraham Lincoln, delivered to a country that was facing similar divisions like ours:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.”
We hope and pray that we can leave this sorry incident firmly in the past and move forward to a better Malaysia for our children and their children.
NURUL IZZAH ANWAR is Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai as well as Keadilan Lembah Pantai Division’s Pro-Tem Head. She graduated from Universiti Tenaga Nasional in electronic and electrical engineering before furthering her studies at the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, US in International Relations. She maintains a web presence at www.nurulizzah.com.
NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD is Political Secretary to the Selangor Menteri Besar and State Assemblyman for Seri Setia. He is also a Keadilan Youth committee member. A graduate of King’s College, University of London in law, Nik Nazmi blogs at www.niknazmi.com
The recent demonstration by a group claiming to be residents of SS 23 in Shah Alam at the Selangor State Secretariat, where a cow’s head was paraded and then dumped on its ground is the surest sign that our country’s ethnic relations are at a critical point.
The action and rhetoric of these people go against every tenet of Islam and Malay culture. Nothing can justify their mean-spirit behaviour.
There were legitimate avenues by which they could have pursued their grievances, but instead they chose to threaten bloodshed unless their demands were met.
How can anyone possibly now have any sympathy to their cause in the face of such antics? They are making a mockery of the efforts of their Malay neighbours who were willing to discuss this matter in a sane and civilized manner. This is the bitter harvest of months, even years of sectarian posturing and the inflammation of ethnic fears by irresponsible elements in our society as well as politics.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must walk the talk of his 1Malaysia ideology and ensure that the perpetrators of this deed do not go unpunished. We also applaud the courage of our fellow politicians, on both side of the aisle, who have had the courage to stand up and be counted against this act of hate.
While our immediate thoughts naturally turn towards anger and revenge, we must not give into such desires because that would mean the end of the Malaysia that we all know and love, the Malaysia that is just, tolerant and progressive, which we hope will someday prevail against the forces of extremism that threaten it.
Rather, all Malaysians of goodwill, regardless of their political affiliation should come together to condemn this senseless act and find an equitable solution to the issue that give rise to it.
We must not close our hearts and minds to each other despite this and many other future provocations that will surely come as the last-ditch efforts of the reactionary forces that have blighted our country are slowly but surely turned away.
We are a better country than this; we are a greater people than this. Let me end with the words of the great statesman Abraham Lincoln, delivered to a country that was facing similar divisions like ours:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.”
We hope and pray that we can leave this sorry incident firmly in the past and move forward to a better Malaysia for our children and their children.
NURUL IZZAH ANWAR is Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai as well as Keadilan Lembah Pantai Division’s Pro-Tem Head. She graduated from Universiti Tenaga Nasional in electronic and electrical engineering before furthering her studies at the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, US in International Relations. She maintains a web presence at www.nurulizzah.com.
NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD is Political Secretary to the Selangor Menteri Besar and State Assemblyman for Seri Setia. He is also a Keadilan Youth committee member. A graduate of King’s College, University of London in law, Nik Nazmi blogs at www.niknazmi.com
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Happy Merdeka !
Well worth watching this video presentation,,,,,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn3Zi-gwEJg
click on the link to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn3Zi-gwEJg
click on the link to watch.
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