Category: Politics & government

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ASEAN Liberty Politics & government

[591] Of Malaysia, human rights and Thai refugees

There has been new development in southern Thailand. Three bombs exploded earlier and 15 are confirmed dead. Fearing backlash from the Thai military, a number of Thais have crossed into Malaysia. Further report has it that security near the Malaysian-Thai border has been tightened. Bangkok Post has more.

Malaysia has yet to sign the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and hence, does not officially recognize any asylum seekers (pdf). In fact, it’s all too possible that these refugees might be deported back to Thailand ,as what had happened to asylum seekers from Aceh. But surely, we don’t need to sign another piece of paper in order to be humane.

The bombing is a deplorable act and will only worsen the conflict in southern Thailand. Malaysia must assist Thailand in the name of, heh, ASEAN spirit. That however doesn’t mean Malaysia has no responsibility towards those refugees. Malaysia has the moral obligation to guarantee these Thai refugees safety.

And trust me, the world, even those misguided fundamentalists, will have our back if we stand up for the refugees.

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Environment Politics & government

[584] Of why an agreeable Iraqi Constitution is a green issue

Suddenly, I’m seeing the current negotiation for the new Iraqi Constitution with a certain shade of green.

The United Nations had planned to carry out a conference to rehabilitate of what was once the largest marshland in the world – the Tigris-Eupharates marshes – in Tokyo this week. The conference was expected to be attended by those that are interested in sponsoring the noble effort to care the land of the two rivers. Japan in particular has pledged $11 million for the rehabilitation project. Currently however, according to Associated Press, due to the current situation regarding the Iraqi Constitution, the United Nations has decided to postpone the meeting.

Iraqi politicians haven’t made much progress towards a charter that is agreeable to all sides. On the floor right now in Baghdad, three fractions – the Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunnis – are contending on three major issues – Islam, oil revenue and governance. The US has relented on Islam’s influence on a new constitution. I’m not quite happy with that but the Iraqis deserve to decide their fate for themselves but American’s compromise on Islam has allowed the negotiation to move forwards.

The deadline for negotiation was first set on August 15 but the Iraqis have agreed to give themselves a 7-day extension after failing to show up at their own date. Hence, the next deadline was to be on the 22nd but again, negotiation failed and the Iraqi Parliament gave the negotiators three more days to discuss the charter. The new deadline is looming and major disagreements still exist. With three fractions on three issues, many suspect that the Iraqi politicians will again fail to beat the deadline.

The NYT has said that the imposition of deadline on this issue is unhealthy. Part of me is starting to agree with them.

The difficulty of the issue at hand has led some to speculate the eventuality of civil war. Nobody wants a civil war but already there are sect clashes in Iraq, however minor it might be. And if civil war is an inescapable scenario, effort to restore the marshes will come to a halt.

The restoration project has been going slowly but steadily. Once covered nearly 20,000 sq km, Saddam Hussein audaciously reduced the marshes to less than 10% of the original size. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the United Nations Environmental Protection and others have restored up to 40% of the area. With Japan’s aid, it is possible to run the project at a sustainable pace. Yet, all this ultimately depends on the development of the Iraqi Constitution.

At the same time, a civil war will putthe constitution talk to a stop indefinately. Therefore, subsequently, civil war is the last thing that all self-declared greens, and in fact the world, need in Iraq.

The rehabilitation effort must not come to a standstill. It must be carried out until the Garden of Eden on Earth is fully restored to its former glory. For this very reason, all greens should support any effort that might produce a constitution acceptable to all three Iraqi sides.

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Liberty Politics & government

[583] Of the terrorists have won this battle

Terrorism has struck its target once again; free speech is being violated. Worse, free speech is being assaulted not by terrorism itself. Instead, the assault is being carried out by the very body that’s supposed to protect freedom.

A new law that bans thoughts and speeches that might incite extremism has been introduced in the UK. Under the new rule, if a non-British citizen is convicted, then he or she will be subjected to deportation.

The new law has been out and about for a few weeks now. However, part of the detail pertaining the new deportation law has only been made known to the public as late as a few hours ago.

It must be stressed that the British authority is threading on a dangerous ground. There’s a fine line between freedom and security and they’re negotiating the two components at the expense of free speech.

Whenever free speech is sacrificed in the name of security, terrorism at large has won. There’s no need for any terrorist to set up another bomb in another major city to threaten free civil society. They need not to do anything anymore to shake the foundations of free civil society. The guardian has done that for the terrorists.

It’s a harrowing feeling to find out that a bastion of liberty is bowing to those that despise freedom. Britain doesn’t have to stoop as low as those religious fanatics that are intolerant of freedom. Britain doesn’t have to erode civil liberty in order to secure itself. But yet she does and ironically, Britain is limiting free speech so she might fight those that seek to vanquish freedom.

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eight-Four mentions of thought police. The deportation law might be an attempt to criminalize thought of which is no different from Orwell’s dystopia. For this very reason, freedom lovers should be wary of the new restriction, Brit or no Brit.

p/s – where one fails, others will rise up. Nine states in New England (reg. req.) are taking the next step to cut power plant emissions while the federal government has yet to concretely act on climate change.

pp/s – Ajax has qualified for the Champions League by beating Brøndby 3 – 1 in the second leg in Amsterdam. The aggregate is 5 – 3 in Ajax’s favor. It was almost a bad game – Ajax was in terrible shape in the first half but luckily, things changed for the better later with new wonder kid Babel scoring 1 and (super) substitute Sneijder scoring another two.

Enough talking. I’m going to watch the video at www.ajaxfans.de.

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Politics & government

[576] Of Gaza pullout, the need for good faith

Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza is a mixed signal at best. The return of Gaza to the Palestinian authority, prima facie, is a good development for those that long for peace worldwide. However, web spun by reality is a tad more intricate than simple arithmetic.

First on the line is public perception. Is the withdrawal really a step taken towards peace or is it due to pressure applied by the Palestinian extremists. If it is wholly attributed to peace, then it is something to be celebrated by everybody. Perhaps not by the groups that opposes the pullout but sacrifice needs to be made. If terrorist pressure is the cause, then it is something the Palestinian and Muslim extremists to celebrate.

In truth, I suspect Ariel Sharon is accounting for both factors. He himself has said, this withdrawal will increase Israel security. In context of the two factors, withdrawal improves Israel’s reputation to the world audience and more importantly, to moderate Palestinian. A pullout also reduces the possible conflicts in Gaza.

Yet, many has stressed that Gaza is a start, not the end. That comment comes after one of Ariel Sharon’s top aides in an interview with a local paper said that the pullout from Gaza is a plan to freeze the peace process and in effect, the creation of a Palestinian state. After all, the pullout is unilateral. And moreover, Gaza is minute compared to the West Bank while West Bank, in particular Jerusalem, is the ultimate goal of both sides.

And then, there are fractions in the Israeli Knesset. Though Ariel Sharon is administering the disengagement plan, he is at the wimp of the Israeli majority and the majority, or at least a very large minority does vehemently disagree with Sharon. Several high ranked officials have resigned in protest of Sharon’s policy. One of them is Benjamin Netanyahu – former prime minister and until recently, former finance minister of Israel. Many perceive that Netanyahu is set to go again Sharon for the top post. If Netanyahu once again becomes the prime minister, Gaza disengagement be the end or even undone given his opposition towards Sharon’s plan.

The motives of the disengagement supporters are also in question. As mentioned earlier, Sharon’s top aide has mentioned that this is a plan to freeze any peace talk with the Palestinian and hence, put a stop, or at least delay, the establishment of the Palestinian state. If this fraction gets what they want, the disengagement plan will prove to be ultimately detrimental to Palestinian ambition.

Already, this pullout has bolstered the position of Jewish groups that are against any pullout plan, even more when it concerns the West Bank. In fact, Israel, while is engaging in this disengagement, plans to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank despite criticism from the EU and the US. It is all too possible that this is a move to placate the Jewish right.

There are however representatives in the Knesset that are motivated towards a true peace and the coexistence of Israel along with a free Palestinian state. That cannot be denied. With respect to this group, Shimon Peres is someone to be admired of.

Finally, this disengagement has already been criticized as mere facade. Once the Gaza pullout is done, Israel still control services in Gaza – ranging from water to electricity to transportation.

But despite all the variables, perhaps the most crucial element here is the assumption of good faith. That assumption is so important that without it, nothing will work regardless of the simplicity or the complexity involved. Without trust, everything will crumble.

This applies to everybody, even those couch potatoes that live thousands of miles from the conflict. Including certain sadist and biased Malaysian bloggers that laughed whenever a Jew is slaugthered.

Categories
Activism Environment Politics & government

[572] Of DAP’s protest at the Indonesian embassy

It was Friday morning and I had nothing to do.

So, upon finding out that DAP was holding a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to crash the party. I must say that I had walked all the way from Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak to the embassy. I dare say it was a two-kilometer walk in the . I was just singing in the haze, what a glorious feeling and I’m choking again.

I had thought the Indonesian embassy was located nearby the American’s, right across the street. Thought I knew where it was. Unfortunately, that was the Singaporean’s instead. I was so happy to know Singaporeans were there to save the day. (Heh. To my Singaporean friends, I’m just joking. Love you guys. But, er, maybe love is too strong a word)

Anyway, I kept walking on down Jalan Tun Razak until I started to have doubt. So, I stopped by the Japanese embassy and asked for direction. A person at the Japanese embassy told me how to get there but not before asking “Are you walking?” and grinning.

I said, yeah and offered him my thanks. I did say thank you but considering that he was grinning upon learning that I was walking, what I had really wanted to say was FU, in a very mild and polite, eastern tradition.

A few coughing later, there it was – Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia.

At the embassy, it seemed that there were more police officers than there were protesters. Nonetheless, there were decent amount of sedated people – which, by the way, was disproportionately Chinese Malaysian. Sigh. DAP really needs to get more members with diverse background. Malaysia desperately needs a party that really transcends racial barriers but that is another lament for another day.

After awhile, Lim Guan Eng, I presume, came out after meeting the Indonesian ambassador. There was a mini press conference too, sort of.

While the DAP guy was courting the press, some Indonesians were probably worried.

And then little publicity with little “Jerebu Ancam Kita. Bayar Ganti Rugi” banner. Basically, DAP is demanding Indonesia to compensate Malaysia for the damages done. More about DAP’s demand is here. Heh, like Indonesia has anything left in its treasury to compensate us.

Know what I really think?

We should send everything to make the fire go away and help Indonesia strengthens its system. Maybe, we should even establish an ASEAN Court, just like the European Court in order to handle contentious transboundary issues. It might sound like a socialist’s prank but accounting for the externality, I’m convinced Malaysia should help Indonesia out even without compensation.

Ever heard about white men’s burden? Well, making sure that the region is stable in every aspect is increasingly becoming Malaysians, Singaporeans and Bruneians’ (is Bruneian the right noun?) burden.

Or, alternatively, we should invade Sumatra. Heh. Worried about the NEP? I’d rather worry about that racist policy than this damn haze.

And walauwei. Mamat ni main CS ke?

And Indonesia will be celebrating their independence day in August. Hence, the banner:

War is peace, ignorance is strength and slavery is freedom, dong!

And finally, ah! The landmark of the city:

No, not that two towers.

p/s – I’m not a member of DAP and I’m definately not a socialist commie.