Tag: freedom of expression

Categories
Humor Politics & government

[1475] Of The Liars’ Papers

This is just too good to let go.

Earlier friend Howsy highlighted a discovery by Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin .Howsy aptly calls his post “Fake Merdeka Centre ‘Street Protests’ Survey: Results Produced Even Before Survey Conducted!”

Why is that so? Well, see it for yourself and be mindful of the dates (taken from Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin):

Fair use.

Too small? Well, the second paragraph reads:

This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Merdeka Centre between Dec 17 and Dec 21. [‘No’ to street protests. The Star. December 17 2007]

For larger view, click here.

As mentioned by Howsy, today is December 17 and if the statement in the article were true, the result would be out before it could come in! Nothing less than magic!

Go get the dead tree edition quick and parade the copy to the whole wide world. In fact, parade it to the Information Minister’s residence!

Later, perhaps realizing that the mistakes or just maybe, realizing that bloggers are feasting on The Star, they deleted the dates from the online version. The second paragraph then read:

This was revealed in a survey conducted recently by the Merdeka Centre. [‘No’ to street protests. The Star. December 17 2007]

After awhile, the paragraph was yet amended to put in new dates. Currently as of 17:00 local time, it reads:

This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Merdeka Centre from Dec 7 to 12. [‘No’ to street protests. The Star. December 17 2007]

So, is this a case of misplaced 1’s, too much spinning until the editors dazed himself up or the invention of time machine?

Just in case The Star decides to amend its article again, this is the screenshot of the article at about 17:00.

Fair use.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s — Desi followed up on the matter. The Star has yet to, however.

Categories
Liberty

[1467] Of politics of fear

The government says it is taking a tough stand against street demonstrations because it fears they could lead to violence, but opposition parties say the government is merely using this fear as a pretext to clamp down on free speech and popular dissent. [Malaysian police halt human-rights day march. Reuters. December 9 2007]

And concurrently:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysian police detained 21 opposition members, lawyers and activists Sunday, including nine people who joined a banned human rights march, officials said, in a widening crackdown following a series of anti-government protests.

Twelve members of an opposition coalition were among those rounded up in nationwide raids for taking part in a banned rally on Nov. 10 demanding electoral reforms, coalition spokesman Syed Azman Syed Ahmad told The Associated Press. The coalition plans to hold a second demonstration on Tuesday outside Parliament.

The arrests are part of a growing crackdown on disgruntled Malaysians who have held a slew of anti-government protests and demonstrations, jolting the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ahead of elections expected soon. [Malaysian police detain 21 people for illegal rallies. IHT. December 9 2007]

The crackdown on those that exercised liberty by the current administration occurs as the Human Rights Day approaches. Ironically, as highlighted by myAsylum, Malaysia sits on the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Categories
Liberty

[1452] Of Al-Jazeera interview regarding HINDRAF rally: a transcript

Al-Jazeera interviewed S.K. Devamany of the Malaysian Indian Congress, asking his opinion regarding the recent HINDRAF-organized rally.

The following is a rough transcript which I transcribed and wish to share with the readers of this blog. There are some unclear words as interjections occurred throughout the interview. The Malaysian accent itself does not help.

The interview begins in the middle of the video.

Al-Jazeera: Joining us now for some reaction on the phone from the Malaysian state of Pahang is S.K. Devamany. He is a Member of Parliament for the Malaysian Indian Congress which I should point out is part of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition government. Sir, can I ask you to begin with, why is it appropriate for the police to be using tear gas and liquid chemical to disperse a peaceful crowd?

S.K. Devamany: Hello…?

AJ: Yes, sir. I’m just asking you why is it appropriate to use force?

SKD: Yes… I think that… Hello? Hello?

AJ: Sir, I’m asking you Why is it appropriate for the police to be using tear gas and liquid chemical to disperse a peaceful crowd?

SKD: First of all, this country Malaysia has been independent for 50 years. And peace has been order of the day. And we have brought tremendous development to this nation. And I must tell you that if this gathering has been orchestrated by people who are not responsible, then it is no good for nation building.

AJ: But…

SKD: 50 years of nationhood has been great.

AJ: …but sir, the, the protest was proceeding peacefully. You said it was illegal but for all intents and purposes, it was a peaceful protest. So, why react with force?

SKD: So, probably the last protest also was reacted in the same manner. If the crowd was probably not… — also unprecedented. And I am not there to see how the police is actually handling the situation. But I must tell you in Malaysia, we don’t have a culture of protest this way. We are a democratic country, people can [unclear] through their ballot boxes, their patrons for candidates, and other presentations.

AJ: Why then—

SKD: And then… [unclear]…

AJ: —why then if there is a democratic process in place do you not allow protest to take place. These people had requested for a permit and you turned it down. Why is that necessary?

SKD: I think the intention was… was wrong. I think because religion [unclear] used and religion issue is very sensitive in this part of the nation. [unclear] multi-religious nation and things can go out of place when emotions are flaring.

AJ: But hold on…

SKD: [unclear] very careful when we are dealing with emotion.

AJ: …you seem to be suggesting that the protesters were causing the violence but in fact that was not the case. It was—

SKD: [unclear]

AJ: —clearly the… the police that were taking the aggressive stance by firing tear gas and spraying chemical through water cannon. They—

SKD: [unclear]

AJ: —were not provoked by the protesters.

SKD: [unclear]. We have to see the type of people who came for the demonstration. I am not there, but I wish that the demonstrators are mature and know how to handle themselves—

AJ: Sir, what do you mean by… what do you mean by type of people? …

SKD: —[unclear].

AJ: … Are you referring to the fact that these people are of.. are of Indian ethnicity? Is that something the government cannot accept, Indians taking to the streets?

SKD: No, no. I don’t think so. I don’t think so. The PM Prime Minister has been giving tremendous allowances for openness, and feedbacks from the people, the press has been given freedom, legislatively, the freedom has been given the last 4 years.

AJ: Okay.

SKD: And the result of [unclear] because of the openness. And I think the reaction could be instigated by one or two incidents which could have been overshot, overblown. And that is a reason. A layman doesn’t know exactly what is being done.

AJ: Alright. S.K. Devamany on the phone. I’m afraid we have to leave it there. But we do appreciate you giving us your comment.

SKD: If you asked me, my, my… [unclear].

AJ: S.K. Devamany from the Malaysian Indian Congress.

So, did the MP answer the question?

Categories
Liberty

[1450] Of mostly uninterested in HINDRAF but interested in liberty

News of demolition of Hindu temples by local authorities that comes to surface from time to time is indeed disturbing but its status on government land blurs the line between right and wrong. Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) is one of a number of entities that are trying to stop any temple from demolition.

Frankly, I was uninterested in HINDRAF. It is partly to my slight inclination preferring not to have anything do to with religion as well as partly to me being undecided on the issue of temple demolition. I have read of mosques being torn down elsewhere and so I figured, what is so different with a Hindu temple?

Some may have countered that point by stating some of these temples are decades old. Fair enough but I am still staying firm on the fence, with equal force pulling to both sides.

That asides, HINDRAF’s action to drag the British government into local tussle — it is suing the British government for bringing Indians to Malaya, for exploiting them and then leaving them behind — sounds like a comedy. This Sunday, it plans to hold a rally in front of the British embassy, trying to get the British attention, and maybe trying to achieve the same success Bersih had achieved just weeks earlier. It amuses me. At the same time, there is a slight disgust in me of HINDRAF; I am not comfortable of the idea of getting foreigners involved though perhaps, HINDRAF had exhausted all local avenues and had no other choice but this. That notwithstanding, I have a feeling that members of HINDRAF are saying that they wished that they had not been Malaysians. If indeed that is the message HINDRAF is sending, it is hard to sympathize with them. Whatever it might mean, I take that their action is merely as an attention grabber, attracting spotlights from across the sea to highlight the issues that HINDRAF is working on. It is a strategic rather than a be all, end all action. But I essentially did not care. It was a Hindu issue with complex background and too communal to fit my taste.

I however start to care when outright transgression of liberty is happening. I start to care when the police begins to arrest individuals just because these individuals are expressing their opinion, however strong that opinion may be. I start to care when freedom to assemble is being robbed from free people.

This issue has gone from a Hindu-centered issue to a question of liberty. To me, it stopped being an exclusively Hindu issue when the BN-led government decides to ban the rally. It stopped being a Hindu issue when the BN government arrested some leaders of HINDRAF under Sedition Act. It is the same case for the Bersih rally. While I believe Bersih demands are acceptable, I do not agree in bringing the monarch into politics; I have a republican tendency. But when the BN-led government decided to challenge liberty, I resolved to join the rally, despite my misgivings.

Had the government in power shown more respect for liberty, I would have continued not to care.

Categories
Activism Liberty Photography

[1443] Of Bersih on the front page of Wikipedia

See it for yourself:

Fair use. Screenshot of Wikipedia on November 12 2007.

Not only that, see that photo?

That is mine. The full picture was first published on Saturday, November 10 2007. This is the original picture:

Some rights reserved. By Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams.

That however is not the photo in full size. Maybe I should license the full size picture, which is of higher quality, appropiately for the use of Wikipedia.

The rally now has its own page at Wikipedia. In 24 hours, it has grown from a stub article to one of respectable length, though it suffers from pronounced bias.