Author: Hafiz Noor Shams

For more about me, please read this.

Categories
Liberty Society

[951] Of Islamic law for southern Thailand and Singaporean killing fest

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont suggested the introduction of Islamic law in the troubled south:

BANGKOK, Nov. 7 (Reuters) — Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, in another significant gesture to Muslim insurgents in the far south, said Tuesday that Islamic law should be given a bigger role there.

He also said the only condition his post-coup government would impose for talks with the insurgents was that there should be no discussion of separation.

Mr. Surayud told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand that Shariah, or Islamic law, should be allowed in the area, where 80 percent of the people are ethnic Malay and Muslim.

Does the insurgency in southern Thailand revolve around Malay separatism/nationalism or the demand for Islamic law?

It might well be both but in my opinion, granting autonomy power to the Malay Thai states would be a better solution to a top down introduction of Islamic law by Bangkok.

In Singapore:

[…] they do not respond to government campaigns and directives. So they have to be shot.

“I myself have killed, I would say, about 40,000 of them,” Mr. Lim said, working in spare time from his job as a Web site editor.

Alright. Alright. I quoted it out of context. It really was about crows culling. Still, it isn’t too different to Singaporean politics, is it?

Not to mention the barbaric act of killing itself…

Categories
Politics & government

[950] Of Lamont lost to Lieberman!

OMG!

Well, folks, the darling of the libby-lib bloggers, Ned Lamont, just conceded, as some of you might have seen. We’re not surprised; he just never managed to successfully broaden his campaign beyond his one-issue battle over the Iraq war with Senator Joe Lieberman, the Democratic incumbent for 18 years who was forced to run as an independent by his primary loss to Mr. Lamont.

I had expected Lamont to win, especially when this midterm election has become the unofficial referendum for war. It’s odd to see a symbol of anti-war to lose out. Furthermore, this is probably a smack in the face for all Democrats in Connecticut.

For those that predicted Lamont to be the next President of the United States, you might want to rethink your prediction.

Regardless, as of 11:39 Malaysian time, the Democrats have captured three seats in the Senate and another five in the House. However, despite Lamont’s loss, everything seems to be going smoothly so far. If everything goes it is right now, the Greens will be coming to power. By proxy!

Despite the fact that I’m happy with the current result, I hope the pressure for protectionism in the US won’t be too great to resist.

Anyway, track the Senate, the House and the Governorship race at the NYT.

p/s – congratulations, Governor Granholm.

Categories
Humor

[949] Of if you understand this, then you’re a nerd

I Wish I Were Your Derivative So I Could Lie Tangent To Your Curves!

If you get what it means, join the club.

Categories
Politics & government Society

[948] Of defining Bangsa Malaysia

What is Bangsa Malaysia exactly?

Is it an assimilation policy to create an united race?

Is it a multicultural policy that celebrates cultural diversity?

Is it simply about the citizenship of Malaysia?

Is it about equality?

Is it about Malay rights?

Is it something else altogether?

Is it about nothing at all?

Somebody. Help me. Please.

A lot of people are giving me contradictory answers and I’m officially confused. For instance, Dr. Rais Yatim said:

IDENTIFYING oneself as Bangsa Malaysia does not mean that one forgets one’s race, culture, heritage and other practices, said Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

“Each of us is a Malay, Chinese, Indian or other race first, but at the same time, we belong to Bangsa Malaysia. This is because we share a common destiny, common interest socially, politically and economically,” said the minister for Culture, Arts and Heritage.

But Dr. Mahathir said:

In August, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad made a plea for “Bangsa Malaysia” – a united Malaysian Nation in which being a Malaysian is the thing, not being Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban or Kadazan. It means “people being able to identify themselves with the country, speak Bahasa Malaysia and accept the Constitution,” said Mahathir.

Then, Najib Razak said:

JOHOR BARU: The Bangsa Malaysia concept is the state of an individual’s mind and does not infringe on Malay special rights and privileges, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Bangsa Malaysia was a concept and had nothing to do with the Constitution or national policies, but was related to an individual’s state of mind.

“Bangsa Malaysia means we do not evaluate someone by his skin colour, race or religion,” Najib said when closing the Johor Umno Convention at Persada Johor here yesterday.

“It does not question the special rights of the Malays, our quota or anything of that sort.”

Before we start banging on each other head, let’s define the term first, shall we?

I hate shooting bullets at somebody while not knowing why am I shooting the bullets in the first place.

Categories
Activism Politics & government

[947] Of free NYT TimesSelect for a week

Did you love the Op-Ed section of the New York Times? Did you say “shit” when NYT tried to make you pay for its addictive Op-Ed? Are you missing Krugman, Kristof, Brooks, Dowd, et alii?

Well, thank you to Philips, the Op-Ed section is now available for free for the whole week. You can even dig up NYT archives! Well, only partly. Still, how cool is that?

NYT calls it Free Access Week. I call it, w00t week! Read them all while you can!

Heh. NYT is probably trying to influence public opinion as far as the midterm election is concerned.