UPDATED : PAKATAN RAKYAT LOST POPULAR VOTE IN 9 STATES, LABUAN & PUTRAJAYA

UPDATE : A reader has smsed me that Malaysiakini's tabulation of the vote count for Sabah is wrong. The BN had a much higher majority in Sabah. He says it should be 699,000 votes and not a 115,000 vote majority. I reproduce this point because the person who smsed me is not any ordinary man on the street.

I knew there was something not right about this "we won the popular vote" crap that is being bandied about by the Pakatan Rakyat. 

Folks, numbers dont lie - so they say.  I was waiting for information like the following table to come out from the Pakatan Rakyat. This table is from Malaysiakini. 

I hope others will also analyse these numbers. This will put a stop to their claims of winning the popular votes.  It is all bullshit. I repeat - it is all bullshit.

This table is from Malaysiakini ok - a Pakatan Rakyat website. I repeat  this table is from Malaysiakini - a Pakatan Rakyat website. 

From the tabulation provided by Malaysiakini you can see straight away that the Barisan Nasional won the POPULAR VOTES in NINE States PLUS in the Wilayah Persekutuan areas of Labuan and Putrajaya.

I am not talking about Parliamentary seats. I am talking about Popular Votes. The Barisan Nasional has caried the POPULAR VOTE in NINE STATES and the Wilayah Persekutuan areas of Labuan and Putrajaya.

The Pakatan Rakyat has carried the popular votes only in the FOUR States of Kelantan, Penang, Perak and Selangor. 

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY OK 

1. THE BARISAN NASIONAL HAS CARRIED THE POPULAR VOTE IN NINE  STATES PLUS THE WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN OF LABUAN AND PUTRAJAYA.

2.  THE PAKATAN RAKYAT HAS CARRIED THE POPULAR VOTE IN ONLY FOUR STATES. 

Now lets look at the numbers in detail. 

The Pakatan Rakyat won a total of  5,624,084 votes throughout Malaysia (including Sabah and Sarawak). 

The Barisan Nasional won a total of 5,262,983 votes throughout Malaysia (including Sabah and Sarawak). 

This means the Pakatan Rakyat won 5,624,084 - 5,262,983 = 361,101 more votes than the BN throughout Malaysia. 

But the Pakatan Rakyat HAS LOST the POPULAR VOTE IN NINE STATES AND IN THE WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN OF LABUAN AND PUTRAJAYA. 

So how did the Pakatan Rakyat get that extra 361,101 votes? 

Here is the answer :  

i. In Kelantan the Pakatan Rakyat won 412,949 - 355,627 = 57,332 extra votes. 

ii. In Penang the Pakatan won 492,863 - 229,859 = 263,004 extra votes.

iii. In Perak the Pakatan won 624,344 - 512451 = 111,893 extra votes

iv. In Selangor the Pakatan won 1,044,758 - 685,502 = 359,256 extra votes.

v. In KL the Pakatan won 425,352 - 227,268 = 198,084 extra votes.

You can see very, very clearly that the Pakatan Rakyat has won the popular vote in those States with large Chinese populations ie Penang, Perak and Selangor plus WP Kuala Lumpur. This is where their extra 361,101 votes came from.  

Even in Malay majority Kelantan, the Pakatan's majority of the popular vote is very slim - only 57,332 extra votes.  Wherever Malays are predominant, even in Kelantan, the BN has won more Malay votes.

If we add up the Pakatan's majority votes in the three States of Penang, Perak,  Selangor and KL (with large numbers of Chinese voters) it adds up to  932,237 votes. Plus Kelantan their total majority throughout Malaysia is 989,569 votes.  

Very, very clearly these are Chinese votes from Penang, Perak, Selangor and KL.

Quite obviously then this 989,569 vote majority in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan and KL has been diluted by the BN in other states, resulting in a final majority of only 361,101 votes for the Pakatan throughout Malaysia.  

This is a huge wallop for the Pakatan Rakyat. With a 989,569 majority they should have caried the whole country. But they did not. Why not? Because the huge bulk of their votes are found among large Chinese voter populations in Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.  

This confirms that the PR carried the huge majority of Chinese votes. This also confirms that the PR does not represent the majority of the Malay votes. That is why they cannot win the general elections. The Pakatan does NOT have the Malay vote.

SO THE PAKATAN RAKYAT HAS LOST THE POPULAR VOTE IN :

1. Perlis
2. Kedah
3. Terengganu
4. Pahang
5. Negeri Sembilan
6. Johor
7. Melaka
8. Sabah
9. Sarawak 
10. WP of Labuan & Putrajaya

Saya harap sahabat Bloggers, Media dan pihak Penerangan UMNO dan BN akan menyebarkan analisa ini untuk fahaman ramai. Fakta-fakta ini harus di sebarkan secara meluas supaya paling ramai orang akan faham kebenaran ini. BN telah menang undi popular di sembilan buah negeri serta WP Labuan & Putrajaya. 

Pakatan Rakyat menang undi popular hanya di empat buah negeri saja. Selain Kelantan, Pakatan Rakyat menang undi popular di Pulau Pinang, Perak dan Selangor di mana terdapatnya paling ramai pengundi Cina.

Jusuf Kalla Kena Tikam

Anwar broke treaty with Najib by protesting polls results, reveals Wall Street Journal

• KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 ― Former Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla has accused Anwar Ibrahim of reneging on a peace deal to respect the outcome of Election 2013 that he brokered between the opposition leader and Datuk Seri Najib Razak in April.
• The Wall Street Journal reported today interviews with all three parties confirming the secret peace deal, and quoted Jusuf as claiming that he had phoned Anwar a day after the May 5 polls and urged the opposition leader to respect the commitment and “look at reality”.
• “We had a commitment,” Jusuf was quoted as saying. “But they said, ‘No, no, no, no.’ ‘‘
• The renowned international newspaper said that Anwar admitted to making the pact 
• “How can you talk reconciliation when you demonise your opponent in this manner?” Anwar was quoted as saying.
• The WSJ wrote that it was Anwar who had approached Jusuf on the agreement two months ago, seeking the latter’s help in securing his opponent’s commitment for a peaceful election outcome.
• The deal was subsequently made in April.
• The two rivals had apparently rejected a clause in the accord to offer the loser a role in a “reconciliation government”, the WSJ wrote.
• An adviser to Najib reportedly confirmed the deal, telling the WSJ that Anwar had sought Jusuf’s assistance to secure a mutual agreement to accept the results of the polls peacefully
• “The prime minister reiterated privately to Jusuf Kalla and in public before the election that BN would respect the will of the people and accept the election results, even if the opposition wins,” the paper quoted the aide as saying.
• But Anwar’s version of the events surrounding the peace deal appeared to differ.
• Quoting Anwar, the WSJ wrote that it was Jusuf who reached out to offer his assistance in ensuring an orderly outcome to the polls.

OK lets cut the crap.  Here is the real story. There is no offer from the University La Croissant in France for the Rear Admiral to lecture in Gender Relations. There never was any such thing. The present fracas is just an attempt to cover up this big hole.  

Jusuf Kalla has spoilt the party by revealing to the Wall Street Journal that the Rear Admiral had reneged on an agreement and crap. All that is bull. There is no lecturer job waiting at University La Croissant.  There never was.

Part 1 - Kalau Nakhoda Kuranglah Faham, And The Law Is An Ass

Here is some news from April 20, 2013.

• Former ISA detainee freed
• Yazid Sufaat charged with terrorist activities in Syria acquitted by High Court 
• Judge Kamardin Hashim ordered Yazid and his friends to be freed 
• court satisfied there was merit in the submission by the defence 
• Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 under Article 149 Federal Const.
• Article 149  only applicable for acts of threats inside Malaysia.
• "offences committed in Syria, Article 49 and SOSMA cannot be used 
• abuse of the court process if the prosecution was allowed to go on.
• Yazid charged with incit(ing) people of Syria to commit terrorist acts 
• Halimah Hussein and Muhammad Hilmi Hasim charged with abetting him   

This is why the law is an ass, especially when it does not evolve with time. All over the world, countries are enacting new laws to tackle global terrorism. The United States has the Patriot Act. The UK has the Anti Terrorism Act. 

In Malaysia we have abolished the ISA.

Just because the BN performed poorly in the 2008 elections, the Gomen chickened out and abolished the ISA.  The net result is now we cannot convict people for terrorist activities simply because they plan terrorist acts to be carried out outside the country.  This is what you get when you abolish the ISA.  And in 2013 the Gomen performed even worse in the general elections. So abolish ISA pun tak guna. 

I honestly think it is time to bring our laws on par with the US Patriot Act or the UK's Anti Terrorism Act. What do you think? 

America and the UK are the beacons of democracy and human rights. Dumbiga even received an award from the Americans. So lets amend our security laws and lock them up in Gitmo. If the Americans can do it, why not we follow them? What say you hypocrites?

But just how stupid can the law be? You mean its legal for international terrorists to open their offices here in Malaysia, which they can then use to plan bomb attacks in Indonesia, Phillipines, Thailand, Syria and elsewhere?  Before you know it, Malaysia will become a hub for terrorists planning attacks overseas. 

The Law will never be able to convict them. They can quote the clever Judge Kamardin Hashim who has ruled that it is unconstitutional to try someone for a crime when the crime is to be committed outside the country.

Ya Allah, pasai apa manusia boleh jadi sebegini bodoh atas muka bumi Kamu yang disebut Malaysia ini?  How stupid can we get? 

And all this is happening in the country because our leadership has become weak. When we have weak leadership which cannot do what is right and good for the country, then we are in real deep trouble.

Please also read Tan Sri Zam's blogpost today :  JIKA TIDAK BERKESAN NAJIB AKAN DITELAN OLEH BLUE OCEAN.

Here is Jamal Abdillah explaining what will happen if the nakhoda kurang faham.

37 Die For Right To Kill People

I noted this news item more than a couple of weeks back. This is from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh violence worsens, 37 killed

May 7, 2013

• death toll shot up to 37 as radical Islamic outfit clash with police 
• new Hefazat-e-Islam or 'Protectorate of Islam' enforced "Dhaka siege" 
• 13 demands including blasphemy law to punish insulting Islam & Prophet

Above : Brainless followers dying to kill others. Below : Their less brainless 

leaders always live in luxury

The prophet lived and died over 1400 years ago. Yet these dunggus want to kill their own family members, neighbours and friends who they feel have "insulted" the Prophet. 

How can these dunggus ever know that the Prophet has been insulted? It is impossible to know if the Prophet has been insulted.  

They are not being honest. It is not the Prophet who can be insulted. It is they themselves who feel insulted (over whatever issue) and it is they who wish to kill people who they feel have insulted them. 

(Their punishment for people who they deem have 'insulted' the Prophet is death - the same punishment for blasphemy).  And what kind of barbaric law do they uphold where they wish to kill people merely for an insult? 

If this is such a great law, then everyone should follow this law (the christians, jews, hindus, buddhists). Then the whole world will be killing each other everyday non-stop because surely everyday someone will be insulting someone else.  

Now here is the truth. Nowhere in the Quran was the Prophet told (or he told us) that people should be killed for insulting anyone, especially the prophet.

On the contrary the Quran advises the Prophet the exact opposite. Here is the Quran on how to deal with insults :

[3:111] They can never harm you, beyond insulting you. If they fight you, they will turn around and flee. They can never win.

(3:111) Mereka tidak sekali-kali akan membahayakan kamu, kecuali menyakiti (perasaan kamu dengan ejekan dan tuduhan yang tidak berasas). Dan jika mereka memerangi kamu, mereka akan berpaling lari membelakangkan kamu; sesudah itu mereka tidak akan mencapai kemenangan

[3:186] You will certainly be tested, through your money and your lives, and you will hear from those who received the scripture, and from the idol worshipers, a lot of insult. If you steadfastly persevere and lead a righteous life, this will prove the strength of your faith.

(3:186) Demi sesungguhnya, kamu akan diuji pada harta benda dan diri kamu. Dan demi sesungguhnya, kamu akan mendengar dari orang-orang yang telah diberikan Kitab dahulu daripada kamu dan orang-orang yang musyrik: banyak (tuduhan-tuduhan dan cacian) yang menyakitkan hati. Dalam pada itu, jika kamu bersabar dan bertaqwa maka sesungguhnya yang demikian itu adalah dari perkara-perkara yang dikehendaki diambil berat (melakukannya). 

[33:48] Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites, disregard their insults, and put your trust in Allah; Allah suffices as an advocate.

(33:48) Dan janganlah engkau menurut kehendak orang-orang kafir dan orang-orang munafik dan janganlah engkau hiraukan usikan dan celaan mereka, serta berserahlah kepada Allah; dan cukuplah Allah menjadi Pelindung. 

The Quranic method of handling insults is :

i. disregard their insults - janganlah engkau hiraukan usikan dan celaan mereka

ii. persevere and lead a righteous life -  kamu bersabar dan bertaqwa

iii.  They can never harm you, beyond insulting you - Mereka tidak sekali-kali akan membahayakan kamu, kecuali menyakiti (perasaan kamu dengan ejekan dan tuduhan yang tidak berasas)

This is what the Quran teaches us. And who taught the Quran to us ? Rasul juga. So if you obey the Quran you obey the Rasul.

The Quran does not prescribe any type of punishment for anyone who insults anyone else.  

The punishment for blasphemy is found in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. The Old Testament prescribes stoning to death of anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord. Here it is :

"And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death - Leviticus 24:16"

Modern day Christians have stopped following these old laws. The Wikipedia says that the last Christian who was killed for blasphemy in England was in 1697.  20-year-old Thomas Aikenhead was executed in 1697 for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles.

People who follow the Bible are christians. People who follow the Quran are Muslims.

Renungan Untuk Friday

Well its Friday again. People will be going to attend their Friday prayers. For those who visit the mosques on this day it should be a special day to remember Allah. 

As I have said before, please listen carefully to the sermon today. How many times will the khatib guy mention 'Allah'? If the purpose is to remember Allah (zikurullaah) then surely they must mention Allah. So please listen how many times they mention 'Allah'.

They must also read and refer verses from the Quran - the Kalamullah - if they wish to remember Allah. But as I have been pointing out for the past 25 years, they just dont. The reference to Allah and the Quran is just mechanical. They mention Allah in the bismillah, in the azan, in the doa and the recitations. It is almost lip service.

So please do pay attention to how many verses of the Quran are read and explained in the khutbah. Please pay attention to how many times they refer to 'Allah'.  

Ok here is something from the Quran. This is a literal reading ok. 

Before that, the West and the anti-Islam people always accuse the Muslims of being terrorists because the Muslims 'read the Quran literally'.   They are trying to say that if you read the Quran literally, then you must become a terrorist. In other words the Quran is a crazy book full of terrorist ideas.  

OK lets look at the following verses literally :

Surah 34:43-44

34:43 When our proofs were recited to them, perfectly clear, they said, "This is simply a man who wants to divert you from the way your parents are worshiping." They also said, "These are fabricated lies." Those who disbelieved also said about the truth that came to them, "This is obviously magic."

So when the Rasul read the Quran to these people who were around him they rejected him. About the Quran, they said, "these are fabrications, this is clear magic (sihrun mubeen)". They accused the Rasul of wanting to divert them away from what their parents were worshipping. This is quite clear - this is the literal meaning of this verse above. And here is the next verse  :

34:44 We did not give them any other books to study, nor did we send to them before you another warner.

So these people around the Rasul - obviously Arab speaking, because the Quran was revealed in Arabic - were not given any other books of scripture (kutubin) for them to study (yadrusoon). 

Then the verse continues 'nor did we send to them before you another warner'.  

wamaa arsalna - and we did not send as messenger

ilayhim - to them 

qablaka - before you

 min nazeerin - (from) any warner

Literally then, before the Prophet there was no other rasul or warner who had been sent to the Arab people. They had not received a rasul or warner before.  This would be a literal reading of the Quran. This is what it means to read the Quran literally.

So how do we explain the traditional understanding that the Prophet Abraham (Nabi Ibrahim) was sent to the Arab land? Tradition says that Abraham built the Kaaba in Mecca. 

Over to the floor.  Please dont give long winded extra Quranic explanations which even our grandfathers and grandmothers never heard before. No grandfather tales ok.

Amoral Societies

From the time I was young I remember being told "dont say anything bad about the religious people. Dont make fun of the religious people". I first heard this when I was about six years old when an aunt (my late uncle's wife in Ipoh) who was in her very early twenties then, used to make jokes about the religious people.  Everyone scolded her. I thought she was really funny. 

Even then I knew that there was something wrong with the religion and the religious people. The correct answer should be you should not say anything bad about anyone - and not just the religious people.  The correct answer should be you should not make fun of anyone and not just the religious people. What is so special about the religious people? 

But there is another more nefarious reason for this type of stupidity.  If the religious people do something wrong, then you must cover it up. Dont tell anyone, dont highlight it to anyone. Quickly cover it up.  

This happens in all religions. So when the priests became entangled in molest and paedophilia on an institutionalised basis throughout the Catholic church, they just covered it up. It took years for the truth to leak out.

Now - after a lifetime of observing, reading (especially the Quran), meeting people and experiencing life - I can say with certainty that the religious people are satans. 

And I have also come to realise who would have come up with this fantastic idea "do not say anything bad about the religious people". It has to be the religious people themselves. The satans have conjured up a simple trick for their self preservation.  

The reason they need to wear these life-jackets 24/7 is because the satans believe in falsehoods for which they have no proof and which they cannot defend or explain in intellectual debate. They can only defend themselves through satanic behaviour - through threats of damnation, violence, cursing, condemning, shouting, screaming, fighting, mob behaviour and other moronic actions. 

That is how they preserve themselves. This is because they are running on 'Empty' - kosong.  

But it is not them I am concerned with. They will forever be stupid and satanic. Plus they will be poor. They will be followed by those who are stupid and also poor. The satan certainly reaps his wildest harvests in them.  

What I am concerned is their effect on the larger society.  Having such parasites in our midst will create a society that will not have good values. A society that does not have good values will become trash.  It will get itself discarded.

The English word 'immoral' is different from the word 'amoral'. Immorality means acting contrary to accepted or established moral principles. Meaning a person accepts and knows what is  good moral conduct in his or her society but he or she then acts contrary to the norm. That is immoral behaviour. 

Amoral is quite different. Amoral means an 'absence of morality'. No morality at all. Kosong.  Many religious people fall in this category - they are amoral.

And it spreads out throughout society.  People do not seem to know what is morality. They become amoral. 

In Sabah we have this very sick case of this 40 year old fellow who took advantage of a 13 year old girl. The morality of the undang-undang orang putih (or the undang2 penjajah) tells us that having sex with any girl under the age of 16 is statutory rape.  I think this is a good law. All civilised people can accept this law. The guy has now turned the tables by marrying the 13 year old girl. She has become his second wife.   And the guy says that under the religious law, there is nothing that prevents him from marrying the girl. 

The question is how did he end up marrying the 13 year old girl in the first place? Someone must have conducted the marriage, endorsed the borang kahwin, collected the yuran kahwin etc. (Isnt there any kursus kahwin in Sabah?)

Here the entire society knows that this 40 year old man has committed an immoral act. (I am not going to put any blame on the 13 year old child ok.)  But he is now running away to religion to seek endorsement for his immorality. That is because the religion is amoral - it does not have good values that will build up societies.  And it is a polygamous marriage between a 13 year old child and a 40 year old man.  

This is not the only case of amorality. Karpal Singh has issued a warning to Tunku Aziz Ibrahim not to divulge the DAP's secrets to the public. The first question that arises is  what secrets would a political party have that it does not want the people to know? What type of a political party is that? And now Karpal is resorting to threats to shut up Tunku Aziz. What type of morality is this? There is no morality here. 

And lets not forget Karpal saying 'Anwar Ibrahim harus bertaubat'.  Now he says Anwar Ibrahim shall be Prime Minister.

Then Tony Pua has said that the MACC should get the Ministers to declare their assets to the public. That is not too bad an idea but declaring their assets to the MACC should put greater fear in them.  Plus the MACC does represent the public. 

But here is the question - why not Tony Pua set a better example and get the Pakatan politicians (MPs, ADUNs, MBs and CMs) to declare their assets in public? Can or cannot? 

So will Lim Guan Eng, Khalid Ibrahim, that MB in Kota Bharu plus all Pakatan MPs and ADUNs please declare their assets in public? Why? Because Tony Pua has declared that is the best thing to do.

And here is something I have been saying for a long, long time - get Anwar Ibrahim, the wife (party president), daughter and other kids to declare their assets in public. Can or cannot? Get Azmin Ali to declare his assets in public. We all want to know how many millions they have in their stash. Boleh ke tak boleh?

Now folks - today is Thursday May 23, 2013. Do you think any of them will declare their assets in public? I dont think so.

And here is a Scale 8 earthquake.  Can Tony Pua get the DAP to divulge its sources of funding? How much money does the DAP have stashed away in the bank?  Is the money properly audited? Duit mana mari? More importantly "duit mana pigi"? 

And can Tony Pua come clean about the company that he says he helmed in Singapore before coming to KL. Folks say the company went bust. Which is why he made tracks back to KL.  Bukanlah pandai sangat jadi businessman pun.  

The BN is not perfect. It has suffered immorality. But the BN does kick out the corrupt. Harun Idris was jailed for corruption, Khir Toyo was found guilty in court, Mat Taib lost his post, Anwar Ibrahim was kicked out, the PKFZ case is now in Court, the Lembu Condo case is also in court.  More will come. With the BN failing to capture the 2/3 majority in Parliament, more cases will definitely go to Court.

So will they do it? I dont think so. It is not the desired end result.  The desired end result is to just appear 'I am holier than thou'. Just like the religious people. There is no real intent to do good in the society.  These statements by Tony Pua and Karpal Singh are just for their own preservation - life jackets.

When people were in the BN they were accused of being corrupt. The moment they jumped ship to join the Pakatan, they became born again angels. So Anwar Ibrahim became their leader, Azmin Ali, Khalid Ibrahim, Zaid Ibrahim, Chua Jui Meng, Mat Taib are all born again angels. 

And here is the latest news. The old complaints by PKR members of cheating in their party elections have still not been answered. The DAP's party elections are still under investigation after complaints by DAP members about election fraud.  Now the latest news is that the PKR is going to postpone their party elections that are due this year.  The postponement is required to buy more time to 'fix things'. 

This is why I am not worried about the Pakatan. They do not have morals.

Affirmative Action and the reality of the Malays

By Zaizul Zaman

Zaizul Zaman

I am grateful to admit that I am one of the beneficiaries of the affirmative action.

I was raised in a rural area in the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, surrounded by oil palm plantation where about 80% of the populations are Felda settlers. Life was simple back then. After my primary school, based on the 4A’s result in the UPSR, I was offered a place in a boarding school in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan.

The boarding school experiences really changed me as a person. It was then that I discovered my potential, explored my abilities and exposed to the reality that I was facing and shaped my ambition. I managed to get 10 A’s in the SPM, which was quite an achievement back then. When I collected the result, a classmate whom I will forever be indebted for gave me a crumpled newpaper advertisement of a convertible study loan program offered by Petronas, in which his result did not make the minimum requirement.

I filled in the crumpled newspaper advertisement and sent it via snail mail through the small post office (it was called “wakil pos” those time) in my home town where the postal service was not very reliable. I was called to the structured interviews few months later and soon found my way to KDU for my foundation studies.

My KDU experience was a cultural shock for a kampung boy. Most of the students and lecturers were Chinese and the environment was very different to my upbringing. The short six months passed very soon and with the intensive nature of the course, there were not much interaction with other people around me.

Time flies and my foundation studies result enabled me to study Chemical Engineering at University of Melbourne. My experiences living abroad enabled me to see Malaysia from a third party perspective. It was then that I got to know many Chinese friends who were being sponsored by their parents, and made me reflect that I would never be able to study abroad using my parent’s money, since we struggled to meet ends need all the while. It was then that I was really impressed with a Malaysian Chinese friend who had to work hard to earn a living, while also studying. I was impressed to know that his parents owned a small sundry shop in a village in Johore and was able to send their son overseas for study. 

At the same time, I got to know some friends whom happened to be a sons or daughters of ministers, MPs, Datuks and other professionals whom are studying abroad on scholarship. How unfair those things were.

I went back to join Petronas as an engineer. It was an enriching experience in which I felt very accomplished, that I came a long way from a kampung boy from a rural area to now working with Fortune 500 Company in a high tech Oil & Gas facility, and later moved to KLCC. I worked with people from various backgrounds and nationalities and the feeling that we can compete at the highest level, giving instructions to the “Mat Saleh” was an accomplishment. It was like living in my own world, far away from the reality.

I was brought back to reality when later I joined Felda, which enabled me to see what is really happening on the ground. That was the time that I realised that I was living in an exclusive world, whereas many of the people especially Malays are still living just as what I saw when I was a kid in my rural hometown. Not much have changed for them. Many of my friends, whom I considered bright, whom I used to compete with in my primary school, never reached SPM. Many dropped out, whilst some struggled to make a living.

Living those experiences, really make me reflect on myself when I was faced with the question of should the Malaysian government policy that favour the bumiputera over others should really stays. On one hand, I realised that the system was there for so long that abuse are rampant. On the other hand, removing all those benefits will mean that people like me will never be who I am today. For a rural kid like me, access to facilities and opportunities will never be equivalent to those living in the city from wealthy families where opportunities can be created with the money in hand.

At the time that people including those whom were the beneficiaries of this policy are calling for absolute equalities, doing away with the racial-based policy, I am convinced that there is a need for change in the implementation of such policy; however, scrapping away all those affirmative action for me is never an option.

I would like to call other beneficiaries of the affirmative action like me to really reflect whether:

Is it fair that after all that you have got through this policy, then you say that it can be scrapped now?

Is it fair that after the policy brought so much change to you, you don’t even recognize the policy and condemn the affirmative action as unjust and unfair?

Is it fair after all those help being extended to you, you just live for your own sake, and never bother to extend your hand to help your own race?

Is it fair that after you have been helped, then you expect your daughters and sons to be continued to be helped later in their life?

Whatever happened after PRU13, I pray that the Malays and Bumiputeras especially those in dire need will continue to be assisted so that one day, the nation’s wealth can be trully shared and enjoyed. The assistance may not only be in material form, but more on instilling the self-belief, motivation and sense of purpose.

I pray that the Malay would not be marginalised in our own land.

SUNNI-SHI'A Muslims Joint Appeal by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Sayyid Muhammad Khatami

This morning there was a very interesting and unique program at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Perdana Leadership Foundation at Putrajaya. 

There was a joint appeal by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former Iranian President Sayyid Muhammad Khatami (who was represented by one Dr Ali Khosroe) to Shias and Sunnis all over the world as well as to the Organisation of Islamic Countries to put an end to all violence and killing between Sunnis and Shias all over the world. 

This was a brave effort spearheaded by Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar and the JUST World Movement, ably assisted by Anas Zubedy, Secretary General of JUST.

Dr Mahathir, Dr Chandra & Dr Ali Khosroe addressing the audience 

It was a very simple call - to stop all violence between Sunnis and Shias. What made the great difference was that this is a direct appeal by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia (a Sunni country) and Sayyid Muhamad Khatami (former president of Iran - a predominantly Shia country). Both Dr Mahathir and Sayyid Muhammad Khatami hold considerable say among Muslims all over the world as statesmen and opinion leaders.

Their joint statement that was released to the Press calling for peace between Sunnis and Shias was therefore a unique achievement.

The idea is that the media will pick up on this Joint Statement and help promote this message.

However the fact is not too many of our local media was present. The event was also quite hushed so as not to attract the attention of the religious orthodoxy here. (They may NOT like such kissy-kissy affairs between Sunnis and Shias). They prefer to keep things on the boil. 

There were quite a few Iranians present in the crowd - the Islamic Republic of Iran's National News Agency or IRNA was there. There were also Malaysian Shias I assume but I couldnt recognise them - because they looked exactly like the Malaysian Sunnis. (Semua Awang Dogoi sebiji serupa juga - tak ada beza pun.)  

Anyway during question time I raised the point that many Islamic countries still had written laws which discriminated amongst the Muslims according to sects.  

A long time ago the West also had discriminatory laws between Catholics and Protestants which caused so much sectarian wars and killing. The West then made a commitment to abolish such faith based laws and enacted new laws which guaranteed freedom of religion - as we find in most modern constitutions. 

The point I made was that hopefully Malaysia too will abolish those laws which seek to discriminate between Muslims according to their sect or faith in Islam. Our laws can prosecute not only Shias but also anyone deemed not in keeping with the majority Sunni orthodoxy.

If we continue to have such laws in our country we will never really be able to build bridges between people of different Muslim sects not just in our country but around the world. Assoc Professor Syed Farid Alatas the son of the late Professor Syed Hussein Alatas who was also present followed up on my question and said words to the effect that if one sect has legal authority to label  another sect deviant then  it creates a permanent dominant-subservient relationship.  And these are exactly the type of relationships which cause hatreds and violence among the Muslim sects. 

In short we must make attempts to annul or abolish such discriminatory laws. Otherwise we cannot become a modern and peaceful society.

And many Malaysian Muslims honestly want our country to be an exemplary Islamic nation (negara Islam yang dicontohi) in promoting and providing peaceful and harmonious living for all its citizens. But when people point out that we prosecute (and persecute) Muslims who do not belong to the Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah the same Malaysians go quiet. Senyap. How can we be a modern 21st century nation if we continue to do this?  

Here is another bit of trivia - there are now a couple of hundred thousand or more home grown Malaysian Shias, some of whom are third generation Shias. There are also over 70,000 Iranian  Shias who permanently reside in Malaysia (however I think many of them do not really believe in their religion anymore).  That is a lot of people. 

OK that was just the introduction to today's Blog.  Here is the real story for today.

There is this interesting site on the Internet called  Protestant Islam.  You can click on the link and visit the site. It will not bore you at all.  

There is an interesting little book (PDF format) listed there titled 'My Journey From The Christianity of the Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah to the Islam of the Prophet'.  Here is one chapter from that book :

CHAPTER 20 THE INFAMOUS BATTLE OF JAMAL AND BATTLE OF SIFFIN BETWEEN THE ‘SHIAHS’ AND ‘SUNNIS’ THAT NEVER TOOK PLACE

The Battle of Siffin is a famous battle that took place 1356 years ago in 657 AD between the forces of Muawiyah and Saidina Ali. This battle is considered by many to be the decisive split in Islam which gave birth to the Sunnis and Shia conflict. This chapter argues that this famous battle never took place.  Here is an excerpt (in blue) from the chapter :

“In Syria, disorder and incitement to commotion continued unabated. Uthman's shirt, besmeared with his blood and the chopped-off fingers of his wife, Naila, were exhibited from the pulpit. In this manner, Muawiya raised the entire country of Syria against Ali. Ultimately, both the parties, opposed to each other, converged on Siffin where their armies pitched their camps in 37/657. Even at this stage, Ali sent three men, viz. Bashir bin Amr bin Mahz Ansari, Saeed bin Qais Hamdani, and Shis bin Rabiee Tamini to Muawiya to induce him to settle for union, accord and coming together. According to Tabari (5h vol., p. 243), Muawiya replied that, "Go away from here, only the sword will decide between us."

So according to Tabari not long after the Prophet had died, the companions of the Prophet started fighting and killing each other. The Battle of Siffin was fought between the forces of Muawiyah and Ali - both of whom were the closest companions of the Prophet.  To dispute this story, the chapter then quotes the following verses from the Quran :

8.62] And if they intend to deceive you -- then surely God is sufficient for you; He it is Who strengthened you with His help and with the believers

[8.63] And united their hearts; had you spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but God united them; surely He is Mighty, Wise.

[8.64] O Prophet! God is sufficient for you and the believers that follow you.

These are the verses in the Quran where Allah tells the Prophet that He (Allah) has united the hearts of the believers (the companions) who were around the Prophet. 

It does not stop there. Allah says that even if the Prophet had spent all his wealth, he could not have united the hearts of the believers around him. But Allah has already done so. In other words it is already a fait accompli. Allah has united their hearts.

Yet people say that just a few years after the Prophet died, these same believers (Muawiyah,  Saidina Ali plus all their supporters) whose hearts had been united by Allah started murdering and fighting with each other.  The story of the Battle of Siffin between the companions of the Prophet contradicts what is written about the companions in the Quran.

So the author draws the conclusion that these stories about the Battle of Siffin are fake. 

I have read many accounts of this famous Battle of Siffin (a place in Syria) between Muawiyah and Ali that took place in 657 AD.  One of the main thrusts of the story was the 'fight for the river'.  

That was no ordinary river. It was the famous Euphrates River that flows from Syria into Iraq. Here is one account from Wikipedia :

"The fight for the river  :  With an army of some 80,000 strong, mainly recruited from Iraq, Ali set out from Kufa, planning to march through upper part of Iraq and invade Syria from the north. Ali, then pushed on to Raqa, on the left bank of the Euphrates.  ..Ali soon discovered that the Syrian positions controlled the water supply of the whole valley, and that there was no access to the river for his men. Muawiya obviously intended to use thirst to drive Ali's men to surrender."

OK folks here are two pictures of the grand Euphrates River in Syria. This is a huge river with sandy banks, rocky edges, swampy shores, marshes, reeds, forests and wetlands along its banks.  This is not Sungai Rapat in Ipoh or Sungai Kuyuh in Bkt Jalil. 

I have seen the mighty Euphrates River myself in Mosul in Iraq.  Folks, even today the entire might of the US Army that has invaded and occupied Iraq, with their tanks, jet planes, drones, missiles and satellites cannot prevent even one Iraqi from going down to this mighty river to drink a sip of water or to take a piss.   There is no way.

Yet we are required to believe that the forces of Muawiyah who were riding on camels, horses and on foot would attempt to block an 80,000 strong army of Saidina Ali - also riding on camels, horseback and on foot - access to this river as their main battle strategy?  

Ponder this - in comparison the coastline of the West Coast of Semenanjung Malaysia is only about 700 km long. Can you imagine a battle strategy to deny say a battalion of soldiers access to the Straits of Malacca along this 700 km coastline? It will be impossible.  

I think the guys who wrote this story of the Battle of Siffin do not know anything about warfare and "denial of access to areas" (D2AA) in war.  There is no way anyone can deny 80,000 soldiers access to water from a river that is 3,000 km long (ie 6000 km of river banks on both sides) as a strategy to win a battle.

I agree that this Battle of Siffin is most likely a fake story. This also means that the hatred and animosity between the Sunnis and Shias that has persisted for 1400 years until today are all based on fake stories like this.  

What a complete waste of life.  Please lets all make that joint appeal. Shias and Sunnis dont kill yourselves over fake stories from over a 1000  years ago. Please wake up.

Mitos demokrasi dan perpaduan

Oleh Radzi Tajuddin

Link from Matrodi's blog: http://matrodi.my/2013/05/21/mitos/

Antara mitos terbesar demokrasi adalah majoriti yang menguasai (majority rules). Mitos ini wujud kerana pendukung demokrasi merasakan dengan bilangan yang ramai, sudah tentulah yang sedikit bilangannya dapat dikuasai. Oleh itu bagi pihak majoriti, mereka tidak perlu risau selagi mana jumlah mereka kekal ramai.

Jika begitu keadaannya, bagaimana kita dapat menjelaskan keadaan di mana kaum yahudi yang kurang 0.1% jumlahnya di dunia ini menguasai ekonomi, kewangan, teknologi, hiburan dan politik?

Bolehkah kita menjelaskan juga mengapa kaum cina di Malaysia yang populasinya hanya sekitar 30% menguasai lebih 70% ekonomi seperti pemilikan ekuiti, hartanah, rantaian pengeluaran (supply chain) barangan dan menjadi ‘kingmaker’ di lebih 50% kawasan parlimen.

Jika benar demokrasi berkisar tentang majoriti, sudah tentulah perkara ini tidak terjadi.

Hakikatnya adalah, di dalam demokrasi majoriti atau minoriti sebenarnya kurang penting. Sebaliknya yang menentukan kekuatan dan kemajuan sesuatu bangsa di dalam demokrasi adalah perpaduan.

Bangsa Yahudi dan Cina bersatu padu dalam mencapai matlamat memajukan bangsa mereka melalui politik dan ekonomi. Apabila dikatan bersatu padu bukanlah bermakna mereka tidak bergaduh sesama sendiri.Mereka juga bergaduh dan bertelagah, mungkin lebih dasyat. Namun apabila berkaitan soal kemajuan dan survival bangsa, mereka mengenepikan perbezaan yang ada dan memilih untuk bersatu padu.

Pilihanraya 2013 yang lepas menunjukkan 95% pengundi cina bersatu menolak Barisan Nasional yang menganjurkan konsep perkongsian kuasa. Sebaliknya 95% pengundi Cina memilih Pakatan Rakyat yang mengamalkan konsensus dan kesamarataan.

Ramai yang terlupa menjelang pilihanraya Pengerusi DAP Johor secara terang-terangan bergaduh dengan Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang. Di Melaka dan Perak juga perkara sama turut berlaku. Di sebalik pergaduhan dalaman parti Cina ini, pengundi Cina tetap memberikan sokongan yang ‘solid’ kepada DAP. Bahkan purata majoriti kawasan dimenangi oleh DAP adalah lebih 10,000.

Jika ini bukan bersatu padu, jadi apa sebenarnya yang dikatakan besatu padu?

Perkara ini membuktikan bahawa di dalam demokrasi, pihak minoriti juga boleh menjadi ‘kingmaker’, kuat dan maju daripada pihak majoriti asalkan mereka bersatu padu.

Kita sering diberitahu antara punca kemunduran umat Islam di dunia adalah kerana sering bertelagah, bertelingkah isu remeh temeh dan berbunuhan sesama sendiri.Secara logiknya, tidak mungkin umat yang mempunyai penganut lebih 1/6 populasi dunia serta kaya dengan ratusan billion petrol-dollar boleh berterusan mundur dan lemah.

Yang anehnya, apabila diajak untuk bersatu, timbullah suara yang menentang. Lebih pelik lagi suara ini datang di kalangan umat Islam sendiri.

Antara mitos popular penentang perpaduan yang sering dimainkan adalah ‘bersatu padu ini tujuannya adalah untuk menentang pihak yang lagi satu.’ Lebih mengejutkan lagi pihak ini mengatakan perpaduan adalah provokasi untuk mewujudkan pergaduhan..

Jika perpaduan dianggap sedemikian rupa, adakah golongan penentang ini merasakan keadaan akan menjadi lebih baik dengan terus berpecah belah?

Analoginya, apabila ibu bapa kita menyuruh anak-anaknya untuk bersatu padu demi kemajuan keluarga itu sendiri,adakah ia bertujuan untuk bergaduh dengan keluarga jiran sebelah? Bagaimana pula seruan bersatu padu di dalam organisasi,kelab, pasukan dan syarikat? Adakah ia bermaksud untuk bergaduh dengan pihak yang lain ataupun demi kekuatan sendiri?

Mitos seterusnya adalah perpaduan hanyalah ‘fallacy’ dan manusia memang berpecah sejak dahulu lagi.

Jika manusia khususnya bangsa melayu di Malaysia tidak pernah bersatu, jelaskan mengapa Malayan Union gagal direalisasikan? Adakah kerana tiba-tiba British insaf dan bermurah hati ataupun sebenarnya British gentar dengan kesatuan bangsa melayu dari pelbagai persatuan, wilayah dan negeri?

Perpaduan di kalangan bangsa melayu yang diteruskan dengan perpaduan di antara melayu, cina dan india telah membawa kemerdekaan kepada negara.

Kemajuan negara yang pantas selepas insiden rusuhan kaum 13 Mei juga hasil daripada perpaduan orang melayu yang kurang bergaduh sesama sendiri sebaliknya lebih tertumpu memajukan bangsa sendiri melalui kerjasama dengan kaum lain.

Pihak penentang perpaduan boleh berkata apa sahaja. Tetapi sudah jelas perpaduan bangsa melayu lebih banyak membawa manfaat daripada perpecahan.

Jika bangsa Cina yang sudah maju masih lagi menganjurkan perpaduan di kalangan mereka terutama soal pendidikan dan kuasa politik, apa pencapaian yang boleh dibanggakan oleh bangsa melayu untuk terus berpecah?

Mengapa melayu sahaja yang kerap disuruh untuk bersatu? Ini kerana bangsa melayulah yang paling berpecah belah dan perpecahan ini hanya melemahkan orang melayu sebagai pihak majoriti di negara ini.

Adakah penyataan ini rasis? Hanya mereka yang rasis sahaja melihat perpaduan di kalangan bangsa melayu sebagai provokasi untuk bergaduh dengan bangsa lain.

Radzi Tajuddin