Sunday, July 29, 2007

MORE PICS – Malaysian Bloggers Attacked; PM Abdullah: Not above Law; Nazri Proof of Slander in Allegations; Dr Lim‘s Warning; Khairy: Charge them

UPDATE: 29 Jul 07, Latest response from Mat Taib and speaking in English,





ABOVE:Malaysiakini weekend report (H E R E ) cleared two top brass from any corrupt wrong doings and PM Datuk Ahmand Badawi fresh from his sojourn & extended honeymoon in Australia commented that this matter is "closed"- short of banning it from being mentioned at all. And he also responded to the current blogging scene and the investigation on Raja Petra.
Dr Lim Keng Yaik, Minister:

“I warn bloggers who try to break the laws of the country. That is different from Bloggers censorship. I have already sent word to MCMC. It doesn’t matter if the blogger is residing locally or internationally. The punitive action will be the same for both cases"

Malaysian Bloggers under further Attacked; PM Abdullah: Not above Law; Nazri Proof of Slander in Allegations; Dr Lim‘s Warning; Khairy: bring them to book

Once again Nazri shows his ignorance and confusion. He mentioned that the rejected allegation by Ramli is proof of slander by bloggers. Is Ramli – the whistle blower a blogger? Ramli stuck out his neck and lodged reports after reports and the outcome is the same – mere assumptions they claimed. There might be smoke without fire but a blown up fire without smoke? Why is the fear, let the blogs flourish spontaneously as Life is spontaneous?

And Radzi, UMNO Secretary-General of UMNO has the audacity to ask for “ideas and suggestions for the betterment of the government”. So many have been given through the years and they just ignore and refused to acknowledge them and now he is asking for more ideas. The chorus is asking for that pound of flesh on deviant bloggers who dared. The fact is Government is worried over peoples’ confidence being eroded by bloggers as mentioned by Nazri. They want control and action be taken to stem this criticism. The red herring used is the mentioned of sensitive issues posted on blogs by cementers – what a smart diversion from the real issues at hand.
= == = == = == = == = = == = = and Najib's latest Spin, 28th July 07

July 28, 2007 20:14 PM

NEP: Uplifting Malays After 400 Years Of Colonisation

YAN, July 28 (Bernama) -- The government's introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) was not to discriminate the non-Malays but to uplift the Malays who lagged behind after 400 years of colonisation, said Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. "While they were under colonial rule, the Malays became a people with low self-esteem and lacked confidence, and with most living in poverty. "Then the government introduced the NEP with the aim of uplifting the Malays to be able to compete with the other races who were doing better economically. "So, if there's anyone who says that the NEP has discriminated the non- Malays, then we can say that we are correcting the discrimination endured by the Malays during 400 years of colonisation," he said when opening the Jerai Umno divisional delegates' meeting here today. Najib who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said without the NEP, the Malays might still be "destitutes in their own land" today. He said the Chinese and Indians were generally not against the NEP but were rather unhappy with its implementation. "Therefore, we had to improve the NEP's implementation because if it becomes acceptable to all, it would create a peaceful and just society," he added and criticised the leader of an opposition party who now condemned the NEP but was championing it when he was in Umno and holding a post in government. Najib also wanted the Malays to reject the struggles of PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat which he said could not bring progress and success to the Malays.

He said PAS' struggle was irrelevant to the Malays as it had failed to prove that it could enhance the greatness of Islam, while its 17 years of ruling Kelantan had not brought development to the east coast state. "There's no party other than UMNO which could ensure the progress and achievements of the Malays, as well as uphold the sanctity of Islam and bring about a civilisation pillared by Islam in this country," he added. Earlier, Najib attended a durian feast with government officials and local community leaders followed by a people's feast which was also attended by Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

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July 28, 2007 22:52 PM

Bloggers Who Slander Must Be Brought To Book, Says Khairy
KIMANIS (Sabah), July 28 (Bernama) -- Umno wants bloggers who resort to slander to be brought to book, said Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin. He said these bloggers did not think about the sensitivities of others and the repercussions their writings can cause.

"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," he told reporters after opening the Papar, Kimanis and Sipitang Umno Youth annual delegates conference here today. Khairy said there were some bloggers who thought they were above the law.
He said this when asked about Malaysia-Today webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin being called by the police for alleged seditious comments posted on it.
Khairy added that he too had been slandered on websites but had yet to take legal action because the case might take a long time to be settled.

July 28, 2007 20:16 PM

Allegations Against Musa And Zulkifli Proof Of Slander By Bloggers
KOTA BAHARU, July 28 (Bernama) -- Corruption and power abuse allegations against Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mat Noor are proof of blogs being used to post slander, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said.


"Slander by bloggers if not curtailed will in the end cause the people to lose their confidence in the government and it is for this reason that they should be made accountable for their reports," he told reporters after opening the Kota Baharu Umno divisional delegate’s annual conference here today.
Mohamed Nazri was reacting to Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail's statement yesterday in ordering the ACA to close its investigations against Musa and Zulkifli because there was no evidence to implicate them.
The investigation against Musa was made over an allegation that he received RM2 million to release three detainees held under the Emergency Ordinance.
Zulkifli was investigated by the ACA after former Sabah ACA director Mohamad Ramli Abdul Manan lodged a report early this year alleging Zulkifli had engaged in corrupt practices, abuse of power and sexual misconduct. Mohamed Nazri advised bloggers to exercise caution in their articles so as not to cause injustice to the person/persons involved. "Why didn't the blog writers lodge reports directly to the ACA without posting them on their blogs. This is unfair and will tarnish the image of the person/persons concerned," he said, adding that it was time to control the blogs to avoid more slander being hurled against leaders.

In JOHOR BAHARU, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said the police report lodged by Umno against the operator of the Malaysia-Today website, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, was not because the party could not handle criticism, but to safeguard the Royal institution and Islam. He said that although the government practised openness, it was not a "blank cheque" for bloggers to post whatever they liked on the Internet. "No one should insult the Royal institution and Islam and Umno's action in lodging the report brought about the desired results and has since been withdrawn," he told reporters after opening an entrepreneurship carnival organised by Johor Baharu City Hall and G2 Management Sdn Bhd, here today. Shahrir, who is also the Member of Parliament for Johor Baharu, hoped it would be a lesson to everyone on the need to respect the law.
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July 28, 2007 19:00 PM
Matter Of Allegations Against IGP, Former ACA Chief Closed, Says PM
KUANTAN, July 28 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (BELOW) said today he hopes there will be no more talk of allegations of corruption and abuse of power against Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mat Noor as the matter has been closed. "I hope the matter will not be raised again as the cases have been closed," he told reporters here.

He was approached by reporters at a hotel here prior to attending the wedding of a Seri Perdana staff, Mohamad Hitam, 27, and Nurul Hanisal Judi, 25, in Kampung Balok near here. Abdullah said both Musa and Zulkifli had given their fullest cooperation to the investigations into the allegations against them. Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail announced yesterday that Musa and Zulkifli had been cleared of the allegations of corruption and abuse of power against them.
Asked about bonus payment this year for civil servants, Abdullah said he had not received any proposal on the matter from Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
When asked about the widespread speculation on the general election, Abdullah said: "Let them talk, there's nothing wrong, it's fun to hear the various stories, when talking about the election, many things will crop up."
Commenting on the blogs or forums on the internet which were inclined to play up sensitive issues and publish slanderous articles, the Prime Minister said the blogs were not a platform that allowed the operator to do anything against the law.
"The blog does not give the operator the freedom to do anything he or she likes, the operator is not above the law. The journalistic responsibility of the person, who publishes the news, including newspapers, is not exempted. "This act which tarnishes the name of the Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong is something that cannot be taken lightly, it gives them the freedom to say anything at all," said Abdullah.

The Prime Minister said he left it to the police to investigate the report lodged against the blog writer or operator of the website which was alleged to have tarnished the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. On Wednesday, the operator of the website Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin was called by the police for investigation following the report lodged by Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhamad Taib on the website which was alleged to have carried sensitive comments on the sovereignty of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, religion and racial issues.

[…]
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July 27, 2007 14:15 PM

Lies Will Not Affect Umno's Chances In General Election
PUTRAJAYA, July 27 (Bernama) -- Lies and distorted facts levelled by certain bloggers in their blog sites will not in any way affect Umno's chances of winning seats in the next general election, party secretary-general Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said Friday.

"No, I don't think so. Umno is strong and getting stronger," Radzi said when asked if these allegations would hurt the chances of the party, which is the largest political party in the country and the backbone of the ruling Barisan Nasional, in the general election.
He was speaking to reporters after presenting the MyPR card to Malaysian badminton doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, at the Home Ministry here. With the presentation of the card, Rexy, an Indonesian, is now a permanent resident in Malaysia. Radzi, who is Home Minister, said bloggers had been given "a lot of freedom" under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi but this did not give them the right to abuse the freedom granted. "They should not ridicule religion, or the King...their allegations have no basis at all. It would be good if they could come up with ideas and suggestions for the betterment of the government," he said.

On Monday, Umno Information chief senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhamad Taib lodged a police report against blogsite Malaysia Today for carrying articles deemed to have insulted the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He claimed that statements and comments posted in the blogsite dated July 11 were deemed to have contravened the Penal Code, Sedition Act and the Communication and Multimedia Act. The police report also alleged that the blog site had insulted and poked fun at Islam as the official religion of the federation and incited hatred among the various races which could affect unity and national security.
Asked if Muhammad's police report could be considered a report lodged by Umno, Radzi said: "Well, he is the information chief and whatever he does officially is the representation of Umno". Radzi said the top Umno leaders had on several occasions met to discuss the lies spread through blog sites and a decision was made to lodge a police report to investigate the blogger of the site.

On another note, Radzi said there was no need for guidelines on the resolutions passed at the party's divisional meetings, which are now underway. Several Umno divisions had passed resolutions calling for a no contest for the party presidency and deputy presidency during their meetings recently. "It is still too early (to pass a resolution like that). Umno members are mature, they don't need a set of guidelines for this purpose. The resolutions they pass go by issues and time," he said.
Earlier this year, Umno decided to defer its party polls this year to give importance to the general election, which is widely expected to be held within the next eight months. Radzi clarified today that according to the party constitution, Umno could defer the party elections for 18 months starting from November 2007.
= = == == = == == == = = == and for context - from the affected Blogger RPK

26/07: A comedy of errors; Category: General; Posted by: Raja Petra

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER; Raja Petra Kamarudin

Yes, guilty as charged. I have stolen this line from Shakespeare. But I can’t help it. What better way to describe the eight hours I spent under interrogation at the Dang Wangi Police Station yesterday other than it was a comedy of errors? By the way, before I go on, I have received more than a thousand phone calls, SMSes and e-mails from well-wishers and supporters. I have not found the time to reply to each and everyone yet so I hope you will forgive me for my rudeness. I am certainly touched by the concern and the messages of support posted in Malaysia Today’s blogs. From the bottom of my heart, and with sincere humility, I thank you all and promise you that the fight for more freedom in Malaysia shall continue come hell or high water.

I received a call from the police at 8.00am yesterday that they want to record my statement on the police report lodged by an ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name. I saw the phone call coming and was not only expecting it but was hoping that they would summon me for interrogation so that I can expose this entire episode for the farce that it really is. In short, I pushed their hand with the ‘See you in hell Muhamad son of Muhamad’ article so that they would be forced to make their move on me.

They wanted me in at 10 but I told them I can only make it at 11. I wanted to update the website first in case my visit to Dang Wangi ends up a two-week stay. According to the press reports, the police report made against me was with regards to an article I wrote on 11 July 2007 that they regard as insulting the Agong and Islam. By the way, in case you did not know, Malaysia does not have a king so please stop referring to the Agong as King. Agong does not translate to king. Agong means supreme and it merely means he is the Supreme Ruler of the nine rulers, a sort of ‘first amongst equals’ situation. I brought along two shopping bags of four copies of the Quran in Arabic, English and Bahasa Malaysia, the Salasilah or family tree of the Selangor Sultanate, and an ‘approved’ version of Selangor’s history written by Buyung Adil. I could of course have also included Joginder Singh Jessy’s, DJ Tate’s and Winsted’s versions as well, but I thought the Buyung Adil version, which is in Bahasa Malaysia, would be less strenuous on the more simple-minded.

The police informed me that my interrogation was not about my article of 11 July 2007. In fact, on 11 July 2007, I never wrote any article. I did on 8 July though and again on 13 July, but never on 11 July. According to what the newspapers reported, I was alleged to have insulted the Agong and Islam, so the purpose of the two shopping bags of books was to debate Islam and the Agong with those who were about to interrogate me. But they did not want to talk about any of my articles. They only wanted to talk about some of the comments in the blogs posted by Malaysia Today’s readers.
I told the police I refuse to talk about the comments in the blogs. I did not write these comments so I refuse to talk about what I did not write. I only want to talk about what I wrote and defend myself against charges that I have insulted the Agong and Islam. But no, the police did not want to talk about my articles. They only wanted to talk about the comments in the blogs.
I told the police I still refuse to talk about the comments and if therefore they want to charge me for sedition under the Sedition Act then go ahead. I banged the table with my fist and shouted, “Charge me! Charge me now!” The police said that they do not wish to charge me yet but only to take my statement. I can refuse to reply if I wish or reply that I do not know anything. But they have no choice but to take my statement because a police report had been made against me.
It boggles the mind that they MUST take my statement barely two days after the police report against me was made whereas they do not feel they MUST do anything on the hundreds upon hundreds of other police reports made the last ten years or so since 1998. Take, as one example, the police report made by four Umno delegates to the Kubang Pasu AGM last year alleging that they were each bribed RM200 to not vote for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Malaysia Today published copies of these police reports. One of the Umno delegates who made the police report was subsequently beaten up in his house in front of his family. He made a second police report on the beating and even fingered those who had beaten him up because he knew them personally. Again, nothing was done. So this MUST take your statement once a police report has been made against you is as truthful as I am still a virgin.

When that ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name went to the Dang Wangi Police Station on Monday to lodge his police report, he did not have any details to support the allegation that Malaysia Today had insulted the Agong and Islam. He was told that the evidence to support this allegation must be attached to the police report. They then tried to get onto the internet to access Malaysia Today so that they could look for the evidence. But they did not know how to and could not find Malaysia Today.

They then enlisted the help of a journalist from one of the Chinese newspapers who was there covering the event. Through the good help of this Chinese reporter, they finally found Malaysia Today and went through the comments in the blogs to find the evidence that they needed to support the police report.
Malaysia Today was launched on 13 August 2004 and since then we have about 20,000 or so items with an estimated five million comments in the blogs. Looking for the evidence would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. We must note that at this point of time they had lodged a police report but lacked the evidence. They were now putting the cart before the horse. They now needed the evidence to support the police report.

They finally found about a dozen or so postings amongst five million that looked strong enough to prove that Malaysia Today has insulted the Agong and Islam. One was my own posting that said if you insult any race or religion then I would have no choice but to delete your posting and ban you from further posting comments in Malaysia Today. Another was by Indianputra who was appealing to Malaysia Today’s readers not to fight and argue as some people might take advantage of the squabbling and exploit it to divide the races. What we want is a peaceful country, argued Indianputra, so if we engage in a civil manner then we will be able to unite all the races. And so on and so forth. Basically, this was the evidence they were working on to prove that Malaysia Today insulted the Agong and Islam.

I asked the police whether these postings are insulting the Agong, insulting Islam, and are trying to divide the races, or whether they are actually the reverse. The face of the ASP interrogating me turned red as he tried to explain that he was just doing his job and that he was ordered to take my statement. I replied that the person who made the police report is a stupid person who can’t speak English. So what do you expect from someone like that? He can’t even understand comments that are appealing for national unity and instead interpret it as calling for racial strife.

“Do you know that that orang bodoh ran away with the Sultan’s daughter and then denied it?” I asked the police. They just smiled. “Well, I am going to reveal this to the world,” I continued. “I am going to publish the letter he wrote to the Sultan where he denied he had married the Sultan’s daughter whereas he had in fact already secretly married her in Thailand. You tengoklah. I akan balun si bodoh tu habis-habis.”

The police appeared amused at what I had to say although their only retort was, “Banyak maklumat kita dapat hari ini.”
They then wanted to know the identity of those who post comments in Malaysia Today’s blogs. I told them I do not know who they are but I do know that amongst them are 25 Umno cyber-troopers headed by Azalina and Norza.
“Azalina?” they asked.“Yes, Azalina lesbian,” I replied.

ABOVE: Azalina Othman or Azalina Lesbian? What's in a Name?

“Oh, Azalina Othman.” Apparently they know who I meant by Azalina lesbian.
“I did not say Azalina Othman. I said Azalina lesbian. You are supposed to record everything I say the way I say it. That is what a cautioned statement under Section 112 is all about. Saya kata Azalina lesbian. Bukan Azalina Othman. You record what I say and I will sign the statement.”
The second police officer stopped typing and scratched his head with a sheepish grin on his face. “Okaylah, I don’t want you to get into any trouble. Drop the lesbian and change it to Othman.” The second officer continued typing while chuckling. He was certainly enjoying himself.
I pointed out a few IDs that belonged to the Umno cyber-troopers and the second officer recorded them down. “How do you know they are Umno cyber-troopers?” the first officer asked me. “Because I have received information from inside Umno,” I replied.

“You have people planted in Umno?”
“Of course I do, and I bribe them to feed me information. I just slam RM1,000 onto the table and ask them to tell me everything and they sing like a canary. It is not that hard to buy information. ”The four police officers in the room smiled and shook their heads in disbelief. “Can we record this in your statement?”

“Of course you can. The reason I am telling you this is so that you can record it in my statement. I want it on record that Umno is attacking Malaysia Today with 25 cyber-troopers and they are the ones who are posting racial statements. Sometimes they even masquerade as Chinese and whack the Malays and Islam. Then other cyber-troopers would respond and whack the Chinese. The Umno cyber-troopers are the ones behind this racial and religious bashing in Malaysia Today. Then they make a police report alleging that Malaysia Today insults Islam and stirs racial sentiments.”

All this exchange was of course recorded as anything you say under Section 112 interrogation is recorded and you are made to sign the statement at the end of the interrogation. And you go to jail if you make a false statement. At the end of the eight-hour interrogation, I asked them whether we are finished and they said yes. “Okay, now I want to make my additional statement,” I informed the police.
“Of course, we will ask you before we end whether you want to add anything more to your statement. That is the procedure.”
“Okay, now I will make that statement. Malaysia Today’s domain name is registered in the UK,” I told the police. When you click on the domain name malaysia-today.net you are sent to the server of the registered IP address in that domain name. Our server is in Singapore. But what you see is only the front page. Then you choose which item on the front page you want to read and you are sent to the blog. The blog sits in the US. When you post a comment it goes straight to the blog. For all intents and purposes, Malaysia Today is a foreign website and not a Malaysian website. We therefore do not come under Malaysian laws.”

“Let me put it another way,” I told the police. “Sodomy is a crime in Malaysia and you can get sent to jail for nine years for the crime of sodomy even if you are a Deputy Prime Minister. In England, men can marry men and you will even receive a congratulatory message from the British Prime Minister. So, sodomy is not a crime in the UK and you do not go to jail.”

“In short,” I summed up. “Your Sedition Act is valid only in Malaysia and not outside Malaysia. So you cannot impose Malaysia’s Sedition Act on Malaysia Today which resides outside Malaysia. I can actually tell you to go to hell and that I will not waste eight hours answering all your questions. But I do not want you to think I am sombong so I was prepared to spend eight hours with you answering all your questions as I know you have a job to do and it is not your fault.”

I knew this officer was under tremendous pressure because every half an hour he would receive a phone call from his OCPD as well as the IGP asking about the progress of the interrogation. The top bosses were monitoring the whole situation and my interrogation was not a routine one at all. One senior Chinese officer who sat there the entire duration without opening his mouth revealed his true role when the only time he spoke was to utter the statement that I am trying to topple the IGP. That was what the police really wanted. It was payback time for the revelations of the links between the IGP and the Chinese organised crime syndicate.

Umno, however, had other motives. It was not about Malaysia Today insulting the Agong or Islam. They did not even have any evidence of this until that Chinese reporter helped them get onto the internet and access Malaysia Today’s website. What they were perturbed about is my article in my column No Holds Barred on 8 July 2007 about the powers of the Agong.

If you read Article 150 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia -- which I have reproduced below -- you can see that the Agong has the power to remove the Prime Minister if the Agong perceives the Prime Minister as totally incompetent and a danger to the economic life and well-being of Malaysians. Of course, this has never been done before except in 1969 to address the problem of the May 13 race riots. But this does not mean it cannot be done, just that it has never been done or done only once in 1969.

Note the key points in Article 150 such as:
1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied
2) That a grave emergency exists
3) Whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened
4) He may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.
5) A Proclamation of Emergency may be issued before the actual occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation
6) Except when both Houses of Parliament are sitting concurrently
7) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that certain circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action
8) He may promulgate such ordinances as circumstances appear to him to require.
9) The Houses of Parliament shall be regarded as sitting only if the members of each House are respectively assembled together
Now, Article 150 is very clear in that the Agong can interpret the situation as he sees it and take action that he thinks is befitting the situation. Basically, it is his opinion and only his opinion that rules and he can act based on his opinion.
When this article was first published on 8 July 2007, it sent shockwaves right through the fourth floor and right up to the fifth floor of the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya. They suddenly realised that if the Agong perceives the Prime Minister as incompetent and a danger to this country, then the Agong can remove the Prime Minister and appoint anyone he so wishes to replace the Prime Minister. It need not be the Deputy Prime Minister or any of the Umno leaders. In theory, it can even be the Agong’s gardener if the Agong thinks he is better than the Prime Minister and the best man to lead this country.

And that was when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decided to quietly sneak out of the country with his entire family. They suspected that this article of 8 July 2007 was not a coincidence but was instead a hint that the Agong may act within his powers under the Federal Constitution of Malaysia to sack the Prime Minister and replace him with someone better. The Prime Minister then summoned the IGP and the Director of the Special Branch to Australia to obtain feedback as to whether he is in danger of being ousted.
Earlier, Abdullah had announced the extension of the IGP’s tenure on contract basis beyond 13 September 2007 when he is supposed to retire. Abdullah received a major blow yesterday during the Rulers’ Conference when the Rulers expressed displeasure at Abdullah's announcement of this extension without first informing them about it. This was the Rulers’ very strong message to Abdullah that they are not happy with the way he is running this country.

Abdullah is worried that Malaysia Today might be playing a role of ‘instigating’ the Rulers to sack him. They then sat down and came out with a plan to turn the Rulers against Malaysia Today by accusing Malaysia Today of insulting the Agong and Islam. They hope that by doing this the Rulers would get angry with Malaysia Today and be very grateful to Abdullah for putting Raja Petra in jail and in that same process protect and defend the image and dignity of the Rulers. In short, Abdullah wants the Rulers to think that Malaysia Today is their enemy while the Prime Minister is their friend. So, no need to sack Abdullah. Instead, put Raja Petra in jail. And with that Abdullah and his family can continue to live happily ever after as the First Family of Malaysia.

Abdullah is due back on 27 July 2007. According to his office, he may delay his return until the first week of August. Abdullah was hoping that by the time he returns on 27 July 2007, Raja Petra would be safely tucked away behind the high walls of the Sungai Buloh Prison and he can then request an audience with the Agong to inform the Agong how he defended the image and dignity of the Agong by punishing Raja Petra for the crime of insulting the Agong and Islam.

But they sent a fool to undertake the job of assassinating Raja Petra. This ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name botched the mission. Abdullah now has to rethink his strategy as well as the date of his return home. Would he still be walking in the corridors of power or would he have to stay in Australia and apply for PR status? Yes, we live in interesting times. A certain Datuk from Abdullah’s camp phoned me last night and I told this Datuk to inform his boss that Raja Petra is bent on destroying Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and ensure that all that remains of him is a pile of dust. An Uncle to the Agong phoned me two days ago and said “Bodoh betul Mat Taib!”

Round One: Raja Petra. But will I also win Round Two? I don’t know yet. We will have to wait and see. Time will of course tell. But what I do know, it is a fight to the death and I really do not care whether that will be me.= = =

= = = from businessweek.comReport warns against too many 'Net rules;
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
The Associated Press July 27, 2007, 7:53AM ET; VIENNA, Austria
Kazakhstan and Georgia are among countries imposing excessive restrictions on how people use the Internet, a new report says, warning that regulations are having a chilling effect on freedom of expression. "Governing the Internet," issued Thursday by the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSC), called the online policing "a bitter reminder of the ease with which some regimes -- democracies and dictatorships alike -- seek to suppress speech that they disapprove of, dislike, or simply fear." "Speaking out has never been easier than on the Web. Yet at the same time we are witnessing the spread of Internet censorship," the report said.Miklos Haraszti, who heads the OSCE's media freedom office, said about two dozen countries practice censorship, and others have adopted needlessly restrictive legislation and government policy.
Among those are Malaysia, where a government official said this week that laws would be drafted for bloggers and authorities would not hesitate toprosecute those deemed to have insulted Islam. Haraszti cited separate research by the OpenNet Initiative, a trans-Atlantic group that tracks Internet filtering and surveillance, which pointed to
questionable online restrictions in
Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Sudan,Tunisia, Uzbekistan and elsewhere. The OSCE report says Kazakhstan's efforts to rein in Internet journalism in the name of national security is reminiscent of Soviet-era "spy mania," and
it says Georgian law contains numerous provisions curbing freedom of
expression online. Web sites, blogs and personal pages all are subject to criminal as well as civil prosecution in
Kazakhstan, and the country's information minister, Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, has vowed to purge Kazakh sites of "dirt" and "lies."
"Those who think it is impossible to control the Internet can continueliving in a world of illusions," Yertysbayev told the Vremya newspaper in a recent interview.
On Thursday, in a speech at OSCE headquarters in
Vienna, Yertysbayev insisted his country was committed to democracy and the creation of what he called an "e-government" that would expand Internet access and make "our information sphere more open and our media more free." In the most publicized instance of a government crackdown, Kazakh authorities took control of .kz Internet domains in 2005. It then revoked a domain operated by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of the movie
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

Baron Cohen since has relocated his satirical Web site, which
Kazakhstan considered offensive. The OSCE report warns that Kazakhstan's approach to the Internet has
produced a hostile atmosphere where "any dissident individual, organization or an entire country could be named an 'enemy of the nation.'"
Georgia, the report says, has laws that contain "contradictory and ill-defined" provisions "which on certain occasions might give leverage for illegitimate limitation of freedom of expression on the Internet."
"It is important to support the view of the World Press Freedom Committee that 'governance' must not be allowed to become a code word for government
regulation of Internet content," the report says.
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OSCE, http://www.osce.org
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and backgroundo f Malaysian Blogs – views from (By Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew Daily)


Don't Spoil The Whole Barrel With One Rotten Apple
Updated: 2007-07-27 16:38:09 MYT

Blog was established in 1998 and went popular worldwide in 2000. However, blogs only started to be widely used in Malaysia two or three years ago. What actually is blog? Put it in simple words, it is something like an on-line journal, it could be a diary, an essay, an opinion, or simply a personal expression of feelings. Other than words, colours, pictures, audio or video could also be attached to it, making it more interesting. It appears in various forms featuring multimedia functions. Therefore, it takes only a few years time to develop an era that everyone can write it. It has overturned traditional world of messaging and changed the traditional media form as well. It is challenging the tolerance of government and society.

The most obvious characteristic of blogs is flexibility in which anyone, no matter man or women, rich or poor, as long as you are interested, you can be a blogger. It is an on-line space that permits absolute personal viewpoints. As a matter of fact, blogs are very much like our coffee-houses. Elders would like to give their point of views in traditional coffee shops but for younger generations, they enjoy expressing their opinions in blogs. The difference is traditional coffee shops have space limitation, limiting only a few friends to join the discussion, but for blogs, everyone can easily view and reply the posts.

However, blogs have both advantages and disadvantages. Since there are no perfect rules and regulations for blogs by now, it all depends on the bloggers to have self-regulations. This has caused two different phenomenons in which good blogs could inspire others to think, to go beyond restrictions of expression, to reveal darkness, to unmask lies and to make corrupt officials feel uneasy. Nevertheless, there are blogs that go extreme, giving
childish and emotional views that cause the worry of racial divergence.

There is no single government that doesn't wish to control public voices. That is why we have "blog police" today. It is common to see articles being deleted and blogs being attached, but it is rare to see a government declaring war on blogs like Malaysia, said it is going to take actions on bloggers who found guilty including using Internal Security Act and Penal Code, even to revoke their citizenship and expel them from the country. This has caused the dispute about the propriety of such an action. People doubt whether it is creating a white terror, whether it is suppressing freedom of expression and whether it is damaging the progression of the nation's democracy.
It is undeniable that it could be very dangerous to post offside articles of defamation, discredit, rumour and sensationalism. However, objectively speaking, most of the blog viewers are very rational. They absolutely understand on-line world is both a kaleidoscope and a waste bin. They will know how to filter and analyse the contents before taking them in. Technically, it is not easy to trace bloggers and even if the websites are shut out, bloggers can simply go for foreign websites to enjoy the wide space of expression without control of the government. So why the government wants to kill off the unlimited creativity and free thought of the youngsters and spoil the whole barrel with one rotten apple?

= = == = = == = = ==Watch the Video Clip (1min 10s) from the Horses mouth - PM Abdullah & Dr Lim K Y Warnings to Bloggers

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2 Comments:

Blogger Hi Captain Roland Thomas, I am looking for lead to Captain Chong from the 1970's. He together with his wife (a cat lover) lived at Bangsar at least till 1977. said...

Its time for the people of this beautiful land, we call Malayisa to speak up and compel the "so called leaders " to cut the crap, and move on. Lets have some people who has integrity and honour to lead this country. I propose Raja Nazrin Shah as the de facto Prime Minister, and that comes with a charming first lady as well. Lets all take some affirmative action peacefully. Lets be fair and live in harmony, we can make this land as the best place to live, the world. To all the bloggers keep the good work going, God is always on the side of the Truth. LONG LIVE A PEACEFUL AND CORRUPT FREE MALAYSIA.

4:26 PM  
Blogger Avitov said...

I have fallowed the Shariibuu Altantuya murder trial. I can not but notice that both the prosecution and the defence seems to be working together in covering up the truth with the intent of denying the victims and her family, justice. The court is more preoccupied with half truth and lies about the victim in order to devalue the victim right to exist. The court have no interest in finding out the true reasons for the killing of the victim and why the government of Malaysia is so deeply involve with the planning, executing and cover up of the killing of Mongolian citizen and business woman Shariibuu Altantuya.
It is crystal clear that there is a lot more to this then a situation of just a broken love affair and letters and notes of empty threats,for she could not do anything to him even if she wanted to for she had no power to do so.As for "black mail" she was only "black mailing" in order for him to fulfill his commitment as an investor and in compensation for her services as a Professional interpreter and translator (in Russian,Chinese,French with a communicative knowledge of English) owed her but the ARMS DEALER RAZAK refuse to pay.but he know she had other information that scared him so “she know to much”Could this have something to do with Malaysia's illegal weapons trade in VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW with payoff and bribes along with embezzling of governmental funds that is "SUPPOSED" TO BE A VIOLATION OF MALAYSIAN LAW ,so what was it that she knew is what the court should be trying to find out!!!
The court did not even try to look in to this reality. The judge is favoring the defendants against the victim and her family.This crime is not just a crime against,The Mongolian National Shariibuu Altantuya and her family, but a crime against all Mongolians, a crime against all Malaysians, a crime against all women of the world ,this is a crime against all of humanity!!!
I world like to know how I can help fight for JUSTICE for Shariibuu Altantuya a fellow human being!!!

11:27 PM  

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