Song Dedication

Decided to take a hiatus from my hiatus and post up this new Muse song called ‘Uprising’.

Good for us to sing it out loud

“Uprising – Muse”

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
The transmissions will resume
They’ll try to push drugs
Keep us all dumbed down and hope that
We will never see the truth around

Another promise, another scene, another
A package not to keep us trapped in greed
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution take it’s toll if you could
Flick the switch and open your third eye, you’d see that
We should never be afraid to die

Rise up and take the power back, it’s time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Freedom of Information act?

Well, the other day, at some small corner in The Star, an article I’ve been waiting for finally showed up.

Selangor to be first to have freedom of information law
by Shaila Koshi

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor state government will be the first state to table a Freedom of Information (FOI) Enactment in its legislative assembly by the end this year.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor had decided to do so because it believed all citizens have the right to have and know as much information as they need.

Read full news article here.

First of all, this should have been a page 2 news. Or even page 1. I hope for the day where such media freedom will become freely available on a federal scale.

Currently, of course I see problems, but we must press on. The state government can pass this piece of legislation to free up some of the media shackles, but the government still has an armada of other acts that can make this freedom of information act redundant, such as the Official Secrets Act, Internal Security Act, Sedition Act, Defamation Act… One of the above would be sufficient to get anybody (especially the ISA). And what about the Printing and Publications Act? How will this be affected by this new Freedom of Information Act?

A lot to think about, but press on we must!

Here are other links to think about:

Malaysian Freedom of Information Act
Center for Independent Journalism
DAP’s site on FIA

The Economic Crisis

So I’ve been trying to figure out the global economic crisis and its technicalities. Sadly I’m not a genius so my understanding of the whole bad debts stuff is just you know, basic. Like any layman, all I can really understand is ‘job losses. no vacancies. cutbacks. etc’ and stuff like ‘our banks are failing. insurance companies collapsing. cars and other manufacturing going poopers.’

What I’ve been trying to follow closely, however, is government response to such financial crises. Normally, a response indicates to me where the roots of the problems are (It’s a medical kind of thing. You see the antibodies, then you can make an educated guess of what infection you got. I watch House too much).

I’ll say this though. My only real conclusion so far is this:

It’s not economic deregulation that caused the financial breakdown. Those who blame Reaganomics are missing the point. I personally believe it’s moral deterioration that caused the financial breakdown. Being unable to cope with less regulation just means that given the chance, people would forgo a deeper sense of self ethics and moral responsibility.

5 Burning Questions from the Perak event.

1. Why is it our police force can afford to have 10 – 20 personnel to arrest non-violent dissenters, but not able to use that sort of tenacity to lower our crime rates?

If their effectiveness at quelling mild uprisings can be so stunning in execution, why is it less so with actual criminal activity?

2. When I read that Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein announced the release of 13 ISA detainees today (Malaysiakini link here), I was glad for those who will be free, but quickly stated that it’s an obvious diversion from the events that transpired in Perak yesterday. A friend of mine put it this way: Even if Hishamuddin is genuine about doing this good deed, we cannot help but be skeptical of the government’s every move.

So the 2nd burning question is this: Does the ruling coalition know that the breach of trust has run this deep?

3. Well, the proceedings in Perak yesterday went haywire. It’s common knowledge in Malaysia by now. But sides were a real embarrassment. Throwing 1 Ringgit bills, getting into fist fights, shoving and pushing, shouting names and profanities, ridiculing, etc. Every nasty verb that can be thought of, basically.

Why is it our elected leaders, dressed in their official uniform, are almost more savage than juvenile delinquents?

4. Suppose the BN government does finally manage to settle in to Perak’s assembly in the near future, is the PR coalition able to reel from this setback and be effective and level headed oppositions?

I ask this because I personally think there is little chance PR can reclaim governance of Perak, but what they can do is to ensure that the state will become their stronghold in the next general election.

5. I wonder if there are any pro-opposition people out there who would willingly admit that to a large extent, Pakatan Rakyat were pretty crappy yesterday as well.

I am not like my government.

So, some people I know got arrested earlier on. I am glad for their release.

There’s this whole gig about wearing black tomorrow to protest the government’s undemocratic (Yes, it is undemocratic) power grab (Yes, it was/is a power grab) of the state of Perak. So a lecturer from Monash, Wong Chin Huat (I know him by mention and reputation, never actually taught by him), did a press conference, ruffled some feathers (though I won’t exactly call it ruffling feathers)… and well. Read the whole story here at Malaysiakini.

Yes I will be wearing black tomorrow. If I don’t it will be because I forgot. But I hope to.

I am glad I know people who actively fight for the betterment of the country. There is room for that, of course. But for the rest of us with a more fragile resolve, there are other ways to get involved. Here are some thoughts of how else to initiate change. Feel free to leave comments to beef up this list:

1. Not taking to the streets does not mean you can’t protest

I understand there are those among us (myself included) who have some belief that public protesting isn’t the best way to go about things. Well, it doesn’t mean we can’t protest.

For example, if you took the time to join the education industry, you potentially put yourself in the position of driving the next generation’s revolution. You might or might not live to see the day the kids grow up and initiate the internalized values that you try to impart in them, but it’s still change.

2. Don’t bribe. At all.

You can also protest by not bribing. It’s easy for us to say that our politicians are corrupt, but it’s just as easy for us to flick open our wallet and avoid a police fine 5 minutes after we critisize our government.

3. Stop thinking that voting is the most important thing in the world.

Voting does matter, but not when it’s not time to vote. It happens once in 4-5 years, and I always held the belief that voting is the least anyone can do for their country, and the ‘least’ is very little indeed. It’s how we live as citizens in the other parts of the 4 – 5 years that would initiate a change that even the mighty forces of BN can’t withstand.

4. Pray.

Disclaimer: Prayer is not an excuse to practice inaction.

5. Basically, we need more people to live unlike our government.

That would be the greatest protest, to have a people who live with honesty, transparency, and intergrity in all aspects of their lives. To say that “We are not like you, not even in the closet.”

And yes, I am not like my government. I’m far from perfect, but my resolve to distance myself from what they are made of is strenghtened by every stupid step they take. And they do take stupid steps quite often.

God bless Malaysia.

I’m back. But not for good.

I think to be fair to my tight schedule and the other things I’m working on, I’ll blog shorter, but more often. How about that?

1. I dislike Najib, but his populist moves since he took over as PM has been quite interesting. Sure when info minister Rais taboo-ized the thing about Altantuya, it was clear PM had ordered it… Other than that, I thought he named a pretty funky cabinet (not without its problems. Zaid [the most racist and anti-tolerant person in the cabinet] as Defense Minister, Mukriz for deputy minister… very questionable).

Other than that, pretty funky.

Then today we read about the abolishment of 30% bumiputera equity… nice.

Should I take a poll now?

How does it feel like

to have a Prime Minister that nobody voted for?

Prayer for Najib/New PM

Dear God,

You are sovereign.

Regardless of our thoughts and our opinions of the recent UMNO elections and the appointment of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as our 6th Prime Minister, I know that You allowed it.

For what reason, we may or may not understand. But we trust You, and declare that You are sovereign.

Do Your work in Malaysia, as it pleases You.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen

I am proud of Juventus

No matter what’s been said or done to them, I am proud they are still amongst the most elite of Europe. They may have lost to Chelsea, but they did so elegantly, and will soon find themselves among the winning pack again.

FORZA JUVE.

I hate Lin Dan.

Period.