The Day We Are All Malaysians

Here's the article I wrote for The Malaysian Insider a day after the Bersih 2.0 rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur. It was written out of frustration with the selfish reactions from my friends and relatives. I thought I was going to lose a friend or two because of the article but thank goodness that didn't happen. The responses had been overwhelmingly supportive :)

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Countering the anti-Bersih talk
Jul 10, 2011

JULY 10 — To those who support the recent Bersih 2.0 rally for clean elections we’ve heard the same old tired detracting canards propounded by the Malaysian mainstream media echo chamber, which were later parroted by our own family members and friends.

Truth be told, it got to the point where I simply refused to dignify their “anti-Bersih” arguments with sound intellectual responses because I think they were too frivolous and didn’t deserve any.

Still, I also have this nagging need to clear the air for once and for all especially now in the aftermath of the event. The dust has finally settled and the facts have naturally emerged from the battle-scarred ground.

Below are some of the main arguments put forth by the Bersih 2.0 detractors and my ensuing refutations.

Traffic jams: They were actually caused by the police roadblocks on major arteries leading into the city, checking for imaginary weapons and stopping potential rally participants. If people were allowed unimpeded access in and around the Klang Valley the traffic flow would just be like any other day.

Even some of the nearby LRT, Monorail and Komuter stations were shut down to force people to walk farther than they had to with the all too obvious intention of discouraging them from going to the rally sites. Also, if the protesters were given the permission to march on a pre-determined route the authority didn’t have to close down more roads than what were necessary.

Also, how can one complain about the traffic jam in the city during the rally when there had been ample warnings ahead of time and plus it was only a matter of few hours of inconvenience? More streets were closed for an even longer period of time during the recent Standard Chartered KL Marathon, of which I was also a participant, and I didn’t hear a peep from anyone. That said, common sense dictates that it’s simply irresponsible and foolhardy to go through life without any contingency plan!

Economic loss: It was clear that shops that dared to open up during the rally were raking in huge profit due to streams of marchers stopping by for food and drinks. A few mamak restaurants near Central Market, Jalan Nagasari and Masjid India seemed to be enjoying brisk business.

The mamak place by Central Market even charged 30 cent for the use of its toilet! The Medan Selera on Jalan Masjid India (next to Pasar Borong Mydin) was also packed with people. So was the pasar malam near Semua House and Campbell. If Bersih 2.0 merchandise had been legal vendors could have made a killing by selling them along the marching route.

Heavy downpour during the rally also meant that if some of the shops had carried (preferably yellow) umbrellas and raincoats they would have been sold like hot goreng pisang. If somehow the business people still felt that their businesses were genuinely affected by the rally then it was advisable for them to counsel patience and bear with the hassles for only a short while.

What’s a few hours of temporary setback for the sake of common good and a better future for all? In short the rally could have served as an opportunity for businesspeople to profit off the mass influx of people into the city. Even the ice cream seller on motorcycle seemed to be doing pretty good. (Disclosure: I bought an ice cream from the guy selling next to the Sogo shopping complex and he attested that his stock almost ran out.)

Chaos and property damage: The march was peaceful and calm at first until the police and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), unprovoked, decided to shoot water cannons and lob tear gas canisters at the protesters. What kind of orchestrated dispersal the authority expected when they indiscriminately fired tear gas and water cannons into the crowd?

The crowd, much to its credit, managed to stay as composed and orderly as it could given the very stressful condition. Also, the authority should claim responsibility for destroying public property due to use of excessive force.

As best as I can recall the throngs of protesters were respectful to their surrounding and did not engage in any kinds of vandalism at all. None of the parked cars were burned nor shop windows broken. After all these were concerned citizens with real grievances, not thugs and looters.

Had the authority allowed the march to proceed on a pre-determined route and time it could have easily avoided all the confusion and pandemonium, which would have then resulted in a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Malay-dominated rally: The crux of this racist conjecture is basically saying that the Malays, due to their prominent presence during the rally, were exploited by the Chinese in DAP. The word used was “diperkudakan” (to be ridden like a horse). I was a bit taken aback when several of my (Malay) friends posted statements of this nature on Facebook — and not surprisingly they weren’t even at the rally.

It also goes without saying that they are all anti-Bersih 2.0 to begin with and most likely Umno and/or Perkasa supporters too. But the facts on the ground proved otherwise. Of course Malays, by virtue of being the largest ethnic group in Malaysia, would be heavily represented proportion-wise in the rally. But other ethnic groups were also well represented, even the Dayaks from Borneo.

If the Prime Minister honestly wants to see what a true 1Malaysia looks like, he doesn’t need to look any further than the composition of the Bersih 2.0 participants who braved the streets on 9th July. The whole rally was essentially multiracial that transcends age and religion. It was the very epitome of 1Malaysia, and not to add, a completely voluntary and uncontrived one.

What the Najib administration has vainly tried to achieve in the past two years with its multi-million Ringgit public relations campaign (read: Apco scandal) the Bersih 2.0 organizers managed to do it in a much lesser time, against almost insurmountable obstacles, and free-of-charge too. Maybe there’s something the government can learn here.

It was such an amazing feeling to be among my fellow Malaysians who were courageous enough to take to the streets of KL, despite the threats, intimidation and possible arrest, facing down water cannons and tear gas, to struggle for a more democratic and just Malaysia.

I’m also saddened by the baseless statements coming from some of my so-called “educated” friends, summarised in the preceding points. They emotionally engage in a form of solipsistic argument, in which only one’s own lived experience and weltanschaaung (world view) form the sole basis of “truth.” In research parlance their sample size (N) is equal to 1, which every self-respecting social scientist knows is empirically weak and statistically insignificant.

In addition, it rankles the mind of how these people can just eat up the bile churned out by the Malaysian mainstream media and somehow stop using their critical thinking faculty to question the fairness and veracity of the government propaganda.

One doesn’t need to be a seasoned media analyst to be cognisant of the blatantly one-sided nature of the mainstream media in Malaysia.

Maybe it’s time for these anti-Bersih 2.0 people, especially my dear friends, to swallow the bitter red pill — or is it blue? — and escape for once and for all the illusionary and corrupt world of the Barisan Nasional Matrix. As the cliche goes, only the (un-solipsistic) truth can set you free.

Ignorance is bliss, or so they say

I found it hilarious that Malaysian PM, Najib Razak, offered to send Islamic scholars to the US to help educate the American people about the faith. Here's a quote from him: "The most important step is to provide [the Americans] the basic knowledge about Islam." As an American-educated person I thought the idea is really inane and a mere publicity stunt. My years of toiling in the American higher education system informs me that it should be the other way instead. The US has never lacked any Islamic scholars. Islamic Studies programs and courses are the main staple in most universities all over the country. Even a lot of high schools now offer some form of Islamic Studies course as an elective. Quite a few famous Islamic intellectuals have made the US their home like Syed Hosein Nasr at George Washington University in Washington DC; John Esposito, John Voll and Yvonne Haddad at Georgetown University in Washington DC; Ingrid Mattson at the Hartford Seminary, Connecticut; Juan Cole and Mark Tessler at University of Michigan, and others. Georgetown University establishes the world renowned Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding to help foster interfaith understanding and tolerance - as its name explicitly states. Basically there seems to be no short supply of resources to educate the American public about Islam. So why the gimmick to send Malaysian Islamic scholars to the US? How are these "jaguh kampung" more knowledgeable than the many world-famous Islamic scholars who currently reside in the US?

I also found it hilarious how Malaysian government always adopt the schizophrenic approach to burnish its "Islamic image" - no offense to people who are actually suffering from the mental disorder. Internationally, Malaysian government always claim that it's part of the Muslim ummah, the Islamic brotherhood and solidarity of all Muslim countries. It claims that Islam is a universal faith that transcends race and ethnicity. But domestically, it does a complete about-face. Religion (read: Islam) is now equated to race/ethnicity (read: Malay). Islam is no longer universal; it becomes tribalistic. Malay equals Islam, and vice versa. It's even entombed in the Federal Constitution (Article 160). What's the reason for this obvious psychological disorder? It's all about politics and the protection of status quo (interests of the elites). It has zip to do with religion.

It's true that the American public in general is in serious need of education about Islam (and other religions for that matter). A recent test done by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has shown that majority of Americans, especially those who claim to be believers, don't have much clue about religions, even their own. As I've mentioned before, the reason for this knowledge deficiency is not because of lack of resources. It's simply that the voice of sanity and rationality is being drowned out by the shit-stirring provocateurs on mainstream media, who care more about TV and radio ratings than fostering a healthy discourse on the topic. The proposal to build the Islamic Center near Ground Zero in NYC is a perfect example. Unless the American mainstream media finally acknowledges its responsibility to provide a well-balanced and level-headed report to the public, it doesn't matter how many Islamic scholars are there in the US. People will keep getting their "education" from such media hucksters like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Fox News, etc.

p/s: I took the test and scored 100 percent. Seriously, it's a piece of cake!

A minor setback but the battle wages on!

I'm hugely disappointed that Pakatan lost the closely-fought Hulu Selangor by-election yesterday. The BN/UMNO candidate, Kamalanathan, won by a slim majority of 1,725 votes. I really feel for Zaid Ibrahim's loss as he's one of the few truly respectable and principled politicians in Malaysia. A win for Zaid Ibrahim would have been a win for all Malaysians who believe in justice and equality that transcend race, religion and ethicity. It would have been a win against the deeply entrenched corruption and abuse of power by the ruling BN regime. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.

I'm still waiting to find out what is the by-election's voting breakdown according to races. Yes, it's really sad and pathetic to use the racial calculus in this modern-day election but that's the hard reality here in Malaysia. Hulu Selangor parliamentary district is a mixed constituency with 53% Malays, 26% Chinese, 19% Indians and less than 2% Orang Asli. It's almost a microcosm of the Malaysian racial demographics as a whole except that Hulu Selangor is mainly rural and semi-urban.

From what I've gleaned in the media so far it seems like the voting had gone as predicted except for some minor shifts that allowed BN/UMNO to eke out a victory. The Chinese voters, as expected, vote overwhelmingly for Pakatan (between 70%-80%), which means that the shift happened within the Indian and Malay communities. Despite the dispute in candidate selection between UMNO and MIC, I think a lot of Indians decided to back the Indian candidate, at least more than the percentage that elected the late Pakatan candidate in the 2008 election, whose death triggered this by-election. As for the Malay voters, since this a rural and semi-urban communities, the development and Islamic (read: moral) issues played a big role in shaping their minds.

Indian voters have been shown to be gradually leaning toward BN/UMNO in the past couple of years especially in the Bagan Pinang by-election October last year. I can't really pinpoint the exact reasons for this shift but one can always venture a guess: wealth of goodies showered by BN before the election; the impression that the PM, Najib Razak, is more amendable to the needs of the Indians; the refusal of Hindraf to play ball with Pakatan; and the false belief that their pressing needs would be best served by the government in power rather than the Opposition.

Malay voters, especially in the least developed areas, have always formed the backbone of UMNO support base. Without these Malay voters BN/UMNO would have lost the Peninsular Malaysia to Pakatan in the last election. The common strategy used by BN/UMNO to manipulate the rural Malays is two-prong: promise of development goodies and exploiting their unfounded fears of the non-Malay dominance or other racial and/or religious issues. In the Hulu Selangor's case BN/UMNO resorted to accuse Zaid Ibrahim of being "kaki botol" or an alcoholic by doctoring a picture of him cradling a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. It was a despicable tactic, politics at its worst, but its objective was to strike at the moral and religious nerve of the rural Malays. Its implication was such that it could be perceived to create some kind of a personal distrust, be it class difference (Zaid was portrayed as an urban Malay elite who was out-of-touch with the rural Malays) or conflict of religious values (Zaid is not a good Muslim because he drinks alcohol) or both.

I'm not sure if this mud-slinging tactic actually worked but in a closely-fought election every bit of advantage helps. My take would be the development goodies and money that played a bigger role in ensuring BN/UMNO's majority support in the Malay communities. The RM 50,000 paid to each of the Malay Felda settlers in Sungai Buaya for the debt owed to them by government was probably the final nudge needed to push BN/UMNO over the finish file. It was a blatantly corrupt money politics, pure and simple!

All told BN/UMNO had spent RM 64 million (USD 20 million) in the past few weeks trying to win, or should I say buy, this election. It's impossible for Pakatan to match this staggering amount of campaign war chest. This is not including the gross manipulation of Federal agencies such as the Election Commissions, the police, Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Orang Asli (Aboriginal Affairs Department), FELDA and others to secure the votes on behalf of the ruling government. Still, a clear lesson one can take from the Hulu Selangor by-election is this: bread-and-butter local issues still take precedence over national scandals and controversies especially when the constituents are less sophisticated and don't have much access to alternative media and news sources. In this respect BN/UMNO has the advantage because it can immediately release its money tap and shower these communities with various development goodies. If the battle had been fought purely on the ideological arena Pakatan would have won handily as BN/UMNO has been proven time and again to be ideologically and morally bankrupt. Unfortunately material and emotional (racial and religious) issues still resonate strongly among many voters.

I wonder when the Malaysian electorate in general will be mature and educated enough to move beyond their own individual and communal needs for the sake of a more democratic and just Malaysia? Nevertheless Pakatan can take heart that it had managed to acquire an increase of over 4,000 votes compared to the 2008 election, which shows that it still has plenty of support on the ground and the loss has not been in vain. Now it's time to pick itself up again and work hard to win the ultimate prize, Putra Jaya, in the upcoming 13th general election. A battle is lost but the war goes on!

Pot calling the kettle black

A comment I wrote in response to Josh Hong's brilliant article in MalaysiaKini today: The irony of the two ethnocratic states is glaringly obvious yet it seems to go way past the vacuous heads of these Umnoputeras. As Josh has mentioned, ethnocracy boils down to the numbers game as the majority group tries in vain to sustain its perverted raison d'etre. Therefore, the majority number has to be maintained or increased by any means necessary, in which religion now has become a part of the equation. "Masuk Islam = Masuk Melayu" is one but many of the means used by the ethnocratic elites to maintain the numbers. Observe how easy it is for non-Muslims to convert to Islam - even without their knowledge sometimes - but it is next to impossible for the opposite to happen. Ditto for the new converts to Judaism who are then welcomed with open arms by the state of Israel as part of the Jews "right to return" policy. Religion and ethnocentrism make for a very potent and combustible mix indeed! The irony is lost on some Malay leaders who bash Israel for cheap political mileage.

Outsourcing Racism

The belief in one's own racial supremacy or racism is a long discredited idea. Yes, racism is still very much alive and well in most parts of the world but its practice is now considered as anti-social and goes against the universal belief of human equality and progress. The fact that many white supremacy groups, while very actively organizing, have almost no support from the general population is a testament to the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of racist ideas. It means that to engage in outright racism, especially for the political elites, is no longer feasible and can prove to be a career suicide.

So what to do then especially if racist ideas still serve some form political utility to be exploited by the unscrupulous politicians? Well then, outsourcing is the obvious solution. Basically a practice du jour for most multinational corporations in the past decade or so to escape stringent labor laws at home by shifting parts of the operation overseas, outsourcing also finds its usefulness in other non-commercial sectors. The recent creation of a Malay supremacist group, Perkasa, is a perfect illustration of the political brand of outsourcing.

United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) is well known for its race-based policies that purportedly claim to fight on behalf of the interests and rights of Malaysian Malays. For the longest time, most of UMNO's vilest and toxic racist rhetorics are carried out by its main propaganda machine, Utusan Malaysia, UMNO's own youth wing and various Malay-rights "NGOs." UMNO leadership always feigns "ignorance" and "helplessness" when these groups spew their racist venom and incendiary remarks. So it comes as no surprise then when Perkasa storms onto the scene UMNO claims that it has the right, however narrow it is, to fight for Malay supremacy. In the words of the PM, Najib Razak, "Perkasa is not so extreme that it cannot be accommodated by the UMNO-led government" (Malaysiakini, April 3, 2010). This statement is wrong on so many levels but in essence it simply lays bare the sheer hypocrisy of the UMNO-led government.

Looking past all the rhetoric one can see that it's all about the numbers game i.e. maneuvering for the next election. Najib and the rest of the UMNO leadership know that they are fast losing the non-Malay votes to the Opposition as exemplified by the last general election and several by-elections thereafter. Something must be done to stem this unfavorable tide, and hence the UMNO geniuses came up with the "OneMalaysia" concept. It claims to treat all race and ethnicity as equal and that the government will no longer play favorites. It is simply a cynical ploy to lure the non-Malays back to the Barisan Nasional (BN) camp and its success still remains to be seen though I doubt that it will amount to anything.

At the same time UMNO also has to convince its Malay extremist supporters that it's not abandoning the long held belief in Malay supremacy and capitulating to the demands of the non-Malays. In the aftermath of the March 2008 political tsunami the Malay ultras are feeling more threatened and besieged by what they perceived as the rising political power of the non-Malays, especially represented by the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP). Therefore Najib and the UMNO leadership have to do something to appease this group and hopefully convince the Malay voters that the non-Malays will indeed take control of the political power in the country if left unchecked and UMNO is the only party capable of defending the Malays against this make-believe non-Malays onslaught.

To win convincingly in the next general election BN has to retain the support of its Malay voters (and get the young Malays to vote for UMNO) and bring some of the non-Malay voters back to its side. In order to walk this political tight-rope Najib ends up having speak from both sides of his mouth. His pathetic attempt to defend Perkasa is a perfect case in point. The rakyat is not dumb and they can smell a hypocrite from a mile away. As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. The writings are on the wall for the UMNO-led government, and it's not the question of IF but WHEN it will be toppled down and assigned to the dustbin of history.

"New" Politics

The racist (read: all white) British National Party has voted overwhelmingly to change its constitution to allow membership for non-whites. The decision to change its racist policy stems from the UK's newly enacted Equality Law that forbids discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and age. What kind of effect this decision will have on BNP still remains to be seen but my guess is that it's merely window-dressing. This is just a desperate act to avoid government ban. Anyway, who among the UK's large minority community with the right mind - and most, if not all, have a history of immigration - would want to join the racist and anti-immigration BNP? It'll be interesting to see who is the bravest (and foolish) among them to become the first card-carrying minority member of BNP.

Apropos to this news bit, and much closer to home, what will happen if Malaysia's race-based political parties decide to open up their membership to other races? I know this is just an exercise in fanciful thinking and it probably will never happen in this lifetime or next. But let's say that the ruling coalition (BN) decides to comprehensively implement the PM's 1Malaysia "vision" by first dismantling all race-based parties and replacing them with multi-racial ones.

First there has to be a name-change for all the parties involved. UMNO can still be UMNO, except that its new name will be "United Malaysians National Organisation." It's a bit difficult for Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) but with a bit of linguistic dexterity the old acronyms can be salvaged after all and be changed to, say, "Multi-Cultural Association" and "Malaysian Intercultural Congress," for MCA and MIC respectively. Minor coalition members like the Gerakan Party and the People's Progressive Party (PPP) can retain their old name, but as for the various tribal parties in Borneo it's a bit trickier. Maybe Najib will let them off the hook since they don't matter much except for getting votes in the elections.

If all member parties in BN become multi-racial and have the same platform then what's the point of having more than one party? It seems a bit redundant I think. Might as well dissolve all these parties and fold them all into one big tent of the new United Malaysians National Organisation (UMNO). But, wait. Come to think of it this is also redundant and highly unnecessary. As of now all lesser members of BN are subservient to UMNO anyway, and for all intents and purposes they are simply additional divisions of UMNO. In short, BN is UMNO and UMNO is BN, and the mathematical formula cannot get any simpler than this. In the end the French were right after all: Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil (the more things change the more they stay the same).

Okay, I'm in my bleak, pessimistic mood tonight - and I'm rambling nonsensically in my political geek kind of way. Time to get some shut-eye.

Change? Yes, we can!

Malaysia just celebrated her 52nd Independence Day, and I believe the time is ripe for a serious shake-up in the established socio-political structure. The signs can already be seen: the March 2008 electoral tsunami, 7 out of 8 by-election wins by the Opposition, the huge anti-ISA rally in the heart of KL, the discontented rumblings of the citizens on the internet, and others. Next step is to take down the entrenched BN government and give PR the opportunity to rule for a change.

Lesson can be learned from the recent legislative election in Japan where the long rule of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) finally came to an end. The LDP had been in power virtually throughout the post-war period (almost 63 years) and its reign was rudely terminated by a landslide victory of the opposition Democratic party. By the way, for reasons unknown, the name Liberal Democratic in LDP is totally misleading since the party is anything but liberal and democratic. It's a deeply conservative party that has monopolized the Japanese politics for the past six decades. Ultimately the Japanese voters decided that enough is enough and threw the LDP bums out of office in a resounding win for the Democrats. The Democratic party sees a 175 percent increase of its share of seats in the Parliament at the expense of the LDP legislators.

It goes to show that peaceful transfer of power in a virtually one-party system through electoral means is definitely possible. Examples are abound but the one that came to my mind is the ouster of the long dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI - Partido Revolucionario Institucional) in Mexico in 2000. PRI, at that time, had ruled Mexico for 71 years before it finally crumbled under the weight of corruption, mismanagement, and hubris. So, at the very least, the tremors in the Malaysian politics now are the precursors to much significant changes in the near future. I know people in the Opposition cannot wait to contest the next general election in 2013 while the ruling government dreads it. Unless something radical and unexpected happens between now until then, the writings on the wall cannot be any clearer for the ruling establishment: come hell or high water, in 2013 there will be a new sheriff in town. Yeah, Malaysia Boleh!

To talk or not to talk...

I'm a bit disappointed in the result of the Deputy President race in the PAS Muktamar yesterday. I was hoping that the representative from the "professional" faction of the party or the so-called "Erdogan faction," Husam Musa, to win; instead, the top two leadership positions in the party still remain in the control of the "ulama faction."

But that's not my biggest concern. What I find really problematic is that certain faction within PAS is clamoring for a "talk" with UMNO to hopefully establish a "unity government," presumably led by UMNO and PAS. First off I'm against any efforts by the Opposition to form a "unity government" with the ruling coalition. As much as I prefer political rivals to work together for the common good I believe in this case PAS should not even entertain the idea of collaborating with UMNO; the party is simply too corrupted and impossibly resistant to reforms.

Furthermore, any attempt at a "unity" talk should be initiated by UMNO, not PAS. It is UMNO that is desperately holding on to its last vestiges of power and ever since the March 2008 general election the momentum has decidedly been on the Opposition side. In the context of real politik, there is no pressing need for PAS to make a friendly overture to UMNO.

But then why certain people in PAS are all too willing to cooperate with UMNO? This is a symptom of a larger disease when people suffer from "political identity crisis." Some people in PAS cannot decide if they are Muslim or Malay first. PAS is a Muslim-based party and Islam is the main foundation of its identity, its raison d'etre. One's race shouldn't even matter if one is a member of PAS since Islam by definition and revelation is a universal religion that transcends race and ethnicity.

But in the Malaysian political climate where Islam and Malay identities are taken to be one of the same that's when the confusion kicks in for some of these PAS people. They profess Islam as their main identity but at the same time buy into the "Ketuanan Melayu" cockamamie; thus their willingness to work with UMNO to protect the Malay supremacy over other races in Malaysia. It should then be called the "Malay unity talk" because that's exactly what it is. They get spooked by the rising power of the non-Malays within the Opposition and want to put a lid on it before the "special rights" of the Malays are taken away, or so the argument goes.

These people have to get it in their heads that one cannot be a reformer while still maintaining the same old tired mentality. Reforming the system also means reforming the way we think; otherwise no lasting changes can be made. So make up your damn mind already: are you an egalitarian Muslim or a chauvinistic Malay?

Note: Erdogan refers to the current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who led his once radical Islamic party, Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), into mainstream Turkish politics and ultimately won the presidency. In addition to vociferous opposition from the nationalist-secularist groups, Erdogan also faces heavy criticism from his own party and other Islamists, accusing him of "diluting" the principles of the party for the sake of attaining and retaining power.

The Malaysian tragedy remembered

Today is the 40th anniversary of the worst racial riot in Malaysian history. The 13 May incident will forever be a big blot in the history of race relations in Malaysia and the specter of which is being invoked over and over again until today to serve the narrow interest of a certain class of political elites.

In the aftermath of the riot 196 people were dead, 439 wounded, 9,143 people arrested, 6,000 people homeless, 211 vehicles destroyed and 753 buildings damaged by fire.* The best book written so far about this topic is by a Malaysian sociologist, Dr. Kua Kia Soong entitled "May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969." His central theory is that the riots were not the result of spontaneous violent outbursts by small groups of Malay and Chinese extremists as recorded in the Malaysian mainstream history but were the result of a meticulously planned actions by the small Malay capitalist class trying to discredit and wrest power from the erstwhile Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. It was essentially an internal coup plot within UMNO.

Since then there has been no racial incident in Malaysia that come close to matching the level of violence and carnage of 13 May, 1969, though there had been a few close calls such as in 2000 when the UMNO Youth thugs protested in-front of the Chinese Assembly building to oppose the demands made by the Chinese group, Suqiu. I hope that the bloody tragedy will never be repeated again in the future.

* Quoted from "May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969" by Kua Kia Soong (page 9).

Check and balance

Good news came out of the Malaysian high court yesterday regarding the political imbroglio in Perak. The court reinstated Pakatan Rakyat's leader, Nizar Jamaluddin, as the Chief Minister and nullified the appointment of BN's man, Zambry Abd. Kadir. The next step is for Nizar to call for the dissolution of the state assembly and hold fresh state-wide elections, which will most likely be won by the Opposition.

I'm glad that the Malaysian democratic system, however flawed it is, managed to correct itself in the end and return the power back to its rightful place: the people. It's also heartening to see the Federal court beginning to assert its independence as a countervailing force after being a stooge for the executive branch for so long.

We'll see what other dirty tactics UMNO has up on its sleeve but for the time being it's score one for the Opposition and a major victory for democracy in Malaysia.

A Muslim Lim Kit Siang or Karpal Singh?

Friday sermons (khutbah Jumaat) in Malaysia are generally boring and bone-dry, about topics that put most people to sleep. But today's khutbah was different. I went to Masjid Kampung Melayu Ampang near my house for Friday prayer and the khutbah, I thought, was fascinating in a wishful thinking sort of way. It was a full-fledged political khutbah and the imam is a very well-known strong supporter of PAS, the opposition Islamic party. He talked about non-Muslim politicians quoting verses from the al-Qur'an, which happened quite a few times in recent months during the by-elections. He said there was nothing wrong in that; in fact, he fully supported it.

But the twist was that he guaranteed that these non-Muslim politicians - Nga Kor Ming, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Karpal Singh, etc - will embrace the Islamic faith by the year 2015. Why 2015, I don't know. The imam was so confident that 2015 will be the momentous year when throngs (his word was "berbondong-bondong") of non-Muslim Malaysians will become Muslims. That's a very bold prediction to make especially when there's hardly any logical basis to support it. Just because a few non-Muslim opposition politicians recite some verses from the holy Qur'an it doesn't necessarily mean that majority of non-Muslim Malaysians will be flocking to the faith any time soon. It's just that they're adapting themselves to the nature of political discourse in Malaysia, in which Islam plays an integral role. What better way to endear themselves to Malay voters than to speak in a way that touches the Malay people where it matters the most: their faith and belief.

But the main point of today's khutbah was about "dakwah" and how we, as Muslims, have the responsibility to bring the non-Muslims onto the right path (siratul mustakim), which is fine and dandy except that I don't agree with him that we need to bombard our non-Muslim friends with Islamic books, CDs and DVDs or forward them Islamic emails. I believe in dakwah through example, that is by how we Muslims behave and carry ourselves in public. I don't believe in aggressive dakwah advocated by the imam and I believe that people should be allowed to make their spiritual decision freely without any strong and explicit pressure.

I also take issue with the imam's ultimate objective in wanting to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state by the year 2020, and the mass conversion of non-Muslims to Islam is just a means to that very end. First of all, Malaysia can never be an Islamic state because it's a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, pure and simple. We are not Saudi Arabia or Iran. Secondly, what kind of Islamic state, if it ever comes to it, we plan on implementing in Malaysia? For me the system we have right now is good enough except with some modifications such as re-affirming the supremacy of civil law and reducing the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts by amending the Article 121 (1a) in the Malaysian constitution.

Finally, what really cracks me up to the point of making me "senyum tersipu-sipu" was when the imam boldly announced to everybody that in 2020, in lieu of him, don't be surprise to see Lim Kit Siang or his son Lim Guan Eng standing up on the mimbar (dais) giving the Friday khutbah. Yep, that will be the day! I seriously doubt it'll happen but then who knows... In all it was an exciting khutbah today and I didn't even sleep, which says a lot about the khutbah. It was a good entertainment for sure...

On conversion, but not the rugby kind...

I think the new Najib Tun Razak's administration has taken a small step forward in improving interfaith relations in Malaysia. The new PM, along with the Home Minister, Nazri Aziz, announced that in the case of a divorce no children can be converted unless if there's a mutual consent from BOTH parents or a prenuptial agreement. Otherwise the children's faith remains the same as whatever it is before the divorce.

Child conversion has long been a thorny issue in interfaith relations as non-Muslims perceive - and rightly so - the Syariah court of impeding on their religious rights as enshrined in the Malaysian constitution. The announcement stems from the recent case of a recently divorced Indian couple whose husband has just converted to Islam and wants to convert their children into the faith too. The wife still remains a Hindu and vigorously opposes her husband's decision to convert their children to Muslims. She even banged on the PM's office to seek justice and resolution - and she got it.

The issue of religious conversion, or specifically, out-conversion from Islam to other religions, is highly contentious in Malaysia. There had been fights between aggrieved families and the government Islamic agency over the burial rites of dead persons just because the government claimed that these people had been Muslims while the families claimed otherwise. Another example is the case of Lina Joy, who converted from Islam to Christianity in order to marry her lover, which has been dragging on for years until it reached the High Court. But the High Court, in its cowardly manner dealing with controversial issues, kicked the appeal down to the Syariah court, which basically means that it's back to square one for Lina Joy after all these years fighting to change the religious status on her National ID.

Why is it in Malaysia it's so easy for non-Muslims to become Muslims but so difficult, and in some cases, almost impossible, for Muslims to change their religion? To understand this, one also has to understand that to become a Muslim in Malaysia also means to become Malay (masuk Melayu). In the constitution, in order to be a Malay one has to fulfill these three nonsensical criteria: 1) Being a Muslim; 2) Speaks Bahasa Melayu; and 3) Practices Malay customs and traditions. When one thinks within this context then the contentious issue becomes clearer and explicable. It all comes down to the numbers game and the naked hold on political power. Malay-Muslims constitute about 60 percent of the Malaysian population and are in control of the country's political establishment by the virtue of majority rule (and historical claim). To lose Muslims to other faiths presumably means to lose the Malays also. Without the Malays, UMNO, as a Malay-based political party, will cease to become relevant; hence, also losing its right to rule the country. This is what all the Malay ultra-nationalist bigots are afraid of and it'll be a cold day in hell if they ever let full, unfettered religious freedom rings in Malaysia.

Anyway I'm glad that the government acknowledges that religious rights as protected by the constitution also applies to the non-Muslims, albeit only in small increments. But as always, I view the government's decision with a dash of healthy skepticism. Is the government really genuine in its effort to protect the religious rights of non-Muslims or is this just one of BN's diabolical ploys to lure the majority of Chinese and Indian voters, who are now supporting the Opposition, back into the BN camp? Who knows but we shall see what the reaction will be from the Malay-ultras who form the backbone of UMNO.

Cross-faith Communication

I think it's amazing that a non-Muslim leader can recite verses from the Qur'an to promote fight against injustice and oppression. Perak leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Nga Kor Ming, had been lambasted recently in the run-up to the Bukit Gantang by-election for reciting verses of Qur'an during one of his speeches. Of course, it was UMNO's way to gain cheap political mileage by trying to play up the Islamic issue by accusing Kor Ming of denigrating the sanctity of the holy book. PAS's mursyidul am, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz, came to Kor Ming's defense, which effectively muted down the shrilled vitriol of the self-righteous UMNO people. Al-Qur'an, in case if people forget, is revealed to all humankind until the end of time, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, etc. While it is the holy book of Islam its proprietorship is with the humankind as a whole. Hence, there is no wrong in non-Muslims wanting to make their points using verses from the holy book as long as they are recited within the appropriate context. Islam is a universal religion, pure and simple.

Above is the an excerpt of a recent speech given by Nga Kor Ming at the PAS's headquarters in Gombak, KL, where he again recited verses from the Qur'an under the gazing approval of Tuan Guru Nik Aziz. I think Malay leaders should also be able to do likewise by reciting verses from the Bible or Bhagavad Gita or Analect (Confucianism) for the sake of interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance, or at the very least, as a symbolic political posturing.

And the results...

The opposition won the two "Bukits" but lost the "Batang," as predicted by most pundits. Pakatan Rakyat won by 2,789 majority votes in Bukit Gantang, thus casting a serious doubt on the BN's illegal takeover of the Perak's state government, and by extension, the new PM Najib Tun Razak's administration since he was the mastermind behind the coup. Pakatan also won handily in Bukit Selambau, Kedah with a comfortable vote margin of 2,396 despite the crowded field (15 candidates contesting). I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised that Pakatan got thumped in Batang Ai; it was a wishful thinking on my part to hope for a BN loss there. Pakatan candidate in Batang Ai, Jewah Gerang, lost by 1,854 votes where 5,960 people showed up to vote (over 75 percent turnout). It was quite a resounding victory for BN for sure.

What do these elections mean for Malaysia right now? The trend is clear: The tide is turning against BN and its component parties, especially UMNO. Time and again BN is saved by its component parties in Borneo; it has been losing ground rapidly in the Semenanjung since the March 2008 general elections. The Malays are switching to the Opposition in droves, especially for the Islamic party PAS. My parents and close relatives are the perfect example of this defection. In fact PAS has gained more non-Malay votes in the Bukit Gantang by-election than it did in the previous election. The writings are on the wall for BN, and especially so for UMNO: Radically change your raison d'etre to conform to the fast-changing Malaysian socio-political landscape or risk being irrelevant and banished into oblivion. To appropriate Louis XIV's infamous dictum, the country is no longer UMNO's l'etat c'est moi. Change or perish!

The titty-fuck elections...

The polling stations in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai will open in a few hours. Not many by-elections can claim the same importance and significance as the ones that will be held today. In normal time, by-elections are usually a formality and are barely contested, if at all. But this is not a normal time for Malaysia. Since the March 2008 general elections the country has experienced a strong ripple through its socio-political landscape. Note that I mention " a strong ripple" and not a more powerful metaphor like "tidal wave" or "earthquake." It's because the rippling waves have yet to turn into an earth-shattering tsunami, but it will be very soon. These by-elections will be the beginning of the end for the ruling establishment i.e. Barisan Nasional (BN).

The good citizens of Bukit Gantang in Perak will vote convincingly for Pakatan Rakyat's candidate, Nizar Jamaluddin, thus squashing any illegitimate claims BN currently has on the Perak's state government. Bukit Selambau in Kedah will be hotly contested but I predict that Pakatan can eke out a win here especially now that Hindraf is back in the Pakatan camp and has pledged to unite behind one Indian candidate. The Opposition candidate is also helped by the defection of some senior leaders from the Indian-dominated People's Progressive Party (PPP) to Pakatan, which I'm sure will bring more Indian votes to the Opposition camp.

The shocker will be in Batang Ai, Sarawak. Many people, including yours truly, have predicted that Batang Ai will remain in BN's hands despite strong challenges from the Opposition. But the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Pakatan can manage a squeaker here. It will ultimately boil down to either the people of Batang Ai will throw their votes behind a personality or the party. Jawah Gerang, the Opposition candidate in Batang Ai, used to be a very popular BN candidate before he saw the light and switched party. The key is whether voters will choose him as a trustworthy and caring person regardless of his party affiliation or as someone who can be trusted to deliver the development goods, in which case he's not because he's now with the Opposition. I hope the people will make the right choice.

On the lighter (and crass) note, a friend of mine called these by-elections "the titty-fuck elections" because they involve two "bukits" and one "batang." Okay, it's a tad bit graphic but it's still a creative use of metaphor in a political context. I only wish I can use the term "titty-fuck elections" in my academic writings...

Election Fever...

Both Malaysia and Indonesia are heading into election day in less than a week. It's a much bigger election in Indonesia for sure but the ones in Malaysia are no less important. The April 9th election in Indonesia is for the legislative level, while the presidential election is set to be on July 5th. In Malaysia, there are three by-elections on April 7th in Bukit Gantang (Perak), Bukit Selambau (Kedah) and Batang Ai (Sarawak) to replace previous MPs who passed away recently.

One thing that bothers me about the Indonesian election is the same old politicians who run in every election. When do people like Megawati and Gus Dur finally feel the need to let go and pass the torch to young leaders of their parties? I'd very much like to see the major political parties introduce young blood into the political process, instead of the tired old geriatric leaders. I guess that's what makes me attracted to Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS, Justice & Prosperity Party) since it's a relatively new party full with highly-motivated young cadres with a tangible political platform to sell the public. By the way, this is just based from my casual observation in the province of South Kalimantan, where I had lived for a year. I had been to PKS's provincial office in Kal-Sel twice and I was completely impressed with its level of operations and attention to every political details. I've volunteered in many political campaigns in the US and what I observed at the PKS office in Kal-Sel was on-par with some of the big campaigns in the US in terms of organization, efficiency and sensitivity to local voters and their needs. I was simply blown away! I also went to other parties' offices like PDI-P, Partai Demokrat, Golkar, PAN, PKB, PBB and others, but they simply pale in comparison with PKS when it comes to political professionalism. Plus, PKS gave me a lot of cool stuffs like DVDs, booklets, and several nice polo shirts for free while other parties wanted me to pay for their stuffs! By the way, I collect political memorabilia, and yes, I'm such a dork!

Also, what's amazing about this upcoming Indo election is the reincarnation of the anti-Reformasi figure, Prabowo Subianto and his Gerindra (Gerakan Indonesia Raya) party into a major political force. This is the guy, who only in May 1998, was hell-bent on preventing the downfall of his father in-law Suharto and stopping the wave of democratization that was sweeping the nation at the time. As the head of the elite Kopassus (Special Command Force), Prabowo was responsible for the kidnapping and killing of student activists during the mass demonstrations in May 1998. I guess that's the beauty (or the dark-side) of the democratic system for allowing someone like Prabowo to compete legally in the free and open political arena, as sickening as it is. People tend to forget and forgive rather easily, and with enough money, crooks like Prabowo can buy back his past and stage a political comeback, instead of languishing in the Cipinang prison! And let's not forget about Wiranto and his present Hanura party, whose hands are still bloodied from the deaths and suffering of the East Timorese in 1999 referendum. He should be tried for crimes against humanity, rather than be allowed to engage in the political process.

Another aspect of the upcoming Indonesian election is the high number of celebrity candidates. Being a young democracy, its political culture is more personality-based than agenda-based, and instead of offering concrete solutions to solve the social problems, political parties expect people to vote based on the popularity of the candidates. I think this is just the way for political parties to avoid talking about the social problems and wanting to amass cheap votes. To some extent this strategy is understandable especially when there are dozens of other political parties competing and having somebody famous as candidates certainly helps with the name-recognition and party visibility on the ballot. But this strategy should only be pursued in addition to a clear and substantive party platform, which takes precedence over all else. A political party must have a clear and concrete agenda to offer to the voting public, and not just celebrity candidates. Otherwise, it ceases to become a political party and turns into a cult.

As for the Malaysian by-elections on April 7th, the three elections will not be as easy for the Opposition as its two recent by-election wins in Permatang Pauh (Kedah) and Kuala Trengganu. PAS's candidate, Nizar Jamaludin, will win handily in Bukit Gantang and but the two other by-elections still remain a toss-up. With the BN's political and financial machinery in full force, one can expect these elections to be close and very dirty, especially in the rural Batang Ai district. God knows how many millions of Ringgit BN plans to spend on these elections, especially for the so-called "development projects." The Bukit Gantang by-election in Perak is especially important as it serves as a referendum to the popularity of the Opposition-led state government or the illegally-installed UMNO-led one, and by association, the newly sworn-in PM, Najib Tun Razak. I think the Batang Ai district will remain in BN's hands as its component parties in Sarawak will deliver the votes as usual. Lest we forget it was the BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak that saved BN's ass in Semenanjung in the March 2008 general election. As for Bukit Selambau by-election in Kedah, I hope that the Opposition's strategy of not selecting Hindraf's (Hindu-rights organization) preferred candidate and instead chose an Indian candidate with less race-focused agenda will succeed. It'll turn out to be a very competitive by-election especially when there are 15 candidates contesting for the seat.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the elections in both countries will be held peacefully with minimal violence and fraud, which is a good stepping stone towards the deepening of democracy. And of course, in the Malaysian case, I'm hoping for the Opposition (Pakatan Rakyat) to win in all three by-elections.

Un-Constitutional Monarchy

The political situation in the state of Perak right now is fast deteriorating and becoming more undemocratic as the days go by. I'm completely disgusted by the naked power grab orchestrated by UMNO to wrest away the control of the state government from the opposition. Who knows how much those ADUNs were paid off by Najib in order to defect? Some say the money involved is to the tune of tens of millions of ringgit per MP but the figure is irrelevant as we now know the turncoats were simply political opportunists from the onset. Let those good-for-nothing, unprincipled politicians get their comeuppance in the snap election, which may or may not be called.

I'm pissed at the Sultan of Perak, Raja Azlan Shah, who acceded to Najib's demand and dismissed the state's Chief Minister. As somebody who read Law in the UK the Sultan should know better and that he has overreached in his role as the titular head of state. Acting as he did implies that the built-in democratic process to deal with such contingency has no teeth in it and that all real power rests in the hand of the monarchy. The Sultan should not have interfered in the whole fiasco in the first place. What he should have done is to dissolve the state assembly and call for a snap election to restore confidence in the state government. This is the process one should expect or demand from a fully functioning democratic system but then Malaysia, I'm sad to say, is not really a fully functioning democratic country. The closest we ever got to it was when the Opposition came out with a stunning victory in March last year. Political system in Malaysia is what political scientists call "soft authoritarianism."

If it's up to me all Sultanates in Malaysia will be eliminated and forced to join the unwashed masses. Who needs them in this day and age? They're an anachronism that should have been wiped by the virtue of political evolution long time ago. But since the total decimation of the monarchy in Malaysia a la the French Revolution is not a viable option at this moment, we hope that the Sultan can at least make his decision based on the will of the people, not his own whims and fancy. The days of absolute power is long gone and he should come to grips with the current reality. The good thing - if one can even call it that - is that his son the Crown Prince, Raja Nazrin, is known to be a liberal democrat and will probably act differently had he been in a similar situation. UMNO's fear-mongering racists are shaking in their boots since the political tsunami of March 8 last year and the losses in the last two by-elections in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Trengganu and are working on every conceivable way to consolidate and entrench whatever power they have left. They forgot that the greatest and the strongest power of all comes from the people and that the final nail in the UMNO's coffin will be delivered as soon as the people vote their collective voices to kick the bums out of the office.

Corporate Landlord

Okay, here's a shocking news - to me, at least. The Malaysian government is paying rent for both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister's residences in Putra Jaya. I read in MalaysiaKini today that the government is currently paying Putrajaya Holdings an annual rent of over RM 4 million (USD 1.2 million) for Seri Perdana (PM's official residence) and RM 3.4 million (USD 950,000) for Seri Satria (DPM's official residence). What kind of government doesn't own its own buildings, especially where it houses the leaders of the country? Can one imagine if the White House or 10 Downing Street or Champs-Élysées is owned by some corporate entity, to which the government has to write rent check every quarter? Okay, granted that majority of the Putrajaya Holdings' stake is owned by the semi-privatized Petronas and Khazanah Nasional (government's private investment arm) but it still doesn't negate the fact that both houses are privately-owned. In the rush to build this unnecessary mega administrative city (Putra Jaya), the BN-led government is willing to go at any length to get it done, which includes spending beyond its means and "borrowing" from (or should I say, strong-arming) major Malaysian corporations for financing. This is simply beyond the pale for government conduct. It then begs another question: does the government even own the other Ministry buildings in Putra Jaya or does it have to pay rent for them too? All this racket ultimately boils down to one thing: corruption at the highest level of government. Really sickening!

Election Euphoria Part Deux

Now that the dust has cleared up the Opposition has won five state governments (Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak & Selangor) and 82 seats in the Parliament (a four-fold increase from the previous 20). The geriatric corrupt-to-the-bone Samy Vellu is out. The obnoxious ex-Info Minister, Zam Maidin, is out. Ex-Chief Minister of Penang, Koh Tsu Koon, is out. The caked-up ex-Minister of Women's Affairs, Sharizat Jalil, is also out. ISA detainee aka Hindraf activist, Manoharan, won his Kota Alam Shah parliamentary seat from jail. 26-year old political rookie, Nik Nazmi Nik Mat, won the Sri Setia paliamentry seat. Ditto for Anwar Ibrahim's daughter, 27-year old Nurul Izzah, who won the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat after soundly beating the three-term incumbent, the aforementioned Sharizat Jalil. Simply unbelievable! Now enjoy some of the election-related humor courtesy of the MalaysiaKini website.

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(1) Barisan has announced that its new national symbol is the Condom, because it accurately reflects the government stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks and gives us a sense of security while we're actually being screwed!

(2) Pak Lah and Samy Vellu were in a helicopter looking down Kuala Lumpur. Pak Lah said, "Samy, if I throw two RM100 notes down, two people will be happy." Not wanting to be outdone, Samy said, "If I throw 200 RM1 notes, 200 people will be happy." The pilot heard the conversation and said, "If I throw the two of you down, 27 million Malaysians will be happy."

(3) Three guys were arguing as to what race Adam and Eve were. The Malay guy said they must be Malay as they are so good looking. The Chinese guy said that they must be Chinese as they are so calm even with a snake.
The Indian guy said that they must be Malaysian-Indian as they have no shelter, no clothes, no money, share one apple, advised by a snake who told them that they are living in paradise!

(4) Pak Lah, Najib, Shahrizat and Anwar were sitting in a KTM train heading up to Penang for campaigning. Near Ipoh, the train goes through a tunnel and it gets completely dark.

Suddenly there is a kissing sound and then a slap!

The train comes out of the tunnel. Shahrizat and Pak Lah are sitting there looking perplexed. Najib is bent over holding his face, which is red from an apparent slap. All of them remain diplomatic and nobody says anything. Pak Lah is thinking: "These guys are all crazy after Shahrizat. Najib must have tried to kiss her in the tunnel. Very proper that she slapped him." Shahrizat is thinking: "Najib must have moved to kiss me, but kissed Pak Lah instead and got slapped." Najib is thinking: "Damn it, Pak Lah must have tried to kiss Shahrizat, she thought it was me and slapped me instead."

Anwar is thinking: "If this train goes through another tunnel, I could make another kissing sound and slap Najib again."

(5) Barisan wins the election. To celebrate, they decide to send more angkasawan to space. Najib calls together a group of Umnoputra cosmonauts. Saudara saudara sekalian, we successfully sent our man Muzaffar to space using tax payers' money the last time. Since we have more than enough tax payers' money, the Cabinet has decided that you will all now fly to the sun.

But Datuk, we will be burnt to crisp.

Jangan takut, the Barisan government has thought of everything ... you will fly at night!

Congrats to the Opposition!!!

Amazing is all I can say! As of now I cannot even access the MalaysiaKini website due to heavy traffic and have to rely on the mainstream news report. One thing for sure: a sweeping change is on the horizon. The Opposition wins the state governments in Penang, Kelantan and Kedah (and hopefully Trengganu). Samy Vellu lost his Sungai Siput seat, which he had held since 1974. Sharizat lost the Lembah Pantai seat to Nurul Izzah, Anwar Ibrahim's daughter aka Putri Reformasi. The Mamak Info Minister aka Malaysian Goebbels, Zam Maidin, lost his Sungai Petani seat--a great victory for freedom of speech! The so-called "prodigy" aka the PM's son-in-law had also lost in Rembau and going through the recount process now. The PM, Pak Lah, barely holds on to his previously impregnable Kepala Batas seat by the margin of a mere 1,000 votes (2%).
Okay, I can sleep happy tonight and I will check again tomorrow when hopefully the traffic at the MalaysiaKini website returns to normal.