June 2009 – Page 2

CPI Columnist Art Harun on “Visiting The Malay Rights”

June 18, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://art-harun.blogspot.com/2009/06/visiting-malay-rights.html

I have been labelled anti this and that. Apparently, I am also pro this and that, or the other. As such, I am going to begin this article with a disclaimer, just as all accountants do on their reports. This article contains my interpretation of the relevant Constitutional provisions in respect of the “rights??? of the Malays. And please read the next sentence real slowly. It is not intended to question anything, whether rights or otherwise, belonging to anybody, regardless of his or her race, faith or political leaning.

Ketuanan Melayu

June 18, 2009 by johnlee_my

(Terjemahan daripada bahasa Inggeris oleh Centre for Policy Initiatives)

Sepanjang bulan Oktober, saya telah menahan diri dari menulis tentang politik. Saya terlalu muak melihat keadaan politik Malaysia sehinggakan saya berasa ingin menjauhkan diri dari segala-galanya. Kini tiba bulan November [2008]. Dan sekarang ini, saya terfikir saya patut mengulas tentang perkara ini.

Biasanya, saya mampu menggenggam sesuatu konsep dengan baik, memahaminya, membezakannya dari konsep-konsep yang seakan-akan searus dengannya, mengenalpastikan nilai-nilai positif dan negatifnya dan menggunakannya. Akan tetapi, saya tidak boleh sama sekali memahami konsep Ketuanan Melayu, walaupun saya telah mencuba dengan sedaya upayanya. Hendak mengenalpasti unsur-unsur konsep ini pun tak terdaya.

Desiderata On Bloggers must keep themselves informed of their domain’s rights

June 18, 2009 by johnlee_my

Desiderata was sleepless in Seremban because Blogosphere was very much on his mind lately. Because the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs) headed by Sdr Ahirudin Attan aka Rockybru has yet to obtain its registration since its first election of an Interim Committee two years ago, Desi had to take upon himself the initiative to organise Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM) annuals, namely BUM2008 and the recent BUM2009 events; the inaugural BUM2007 was already underway in the earlymonths of 2007 even as Rocky and Malaysian “pioneer” Jeff Ooi laid the grounds for All-Blogs’ birth. (Of course, since March 8, 2008 MP for Jelutong Jeff has had less time for Blogging activities but he continued to lend firm support for BUM without hesitation.)

RPK on Spinning… and an Editor’s “Adieu” for now

June 17, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/23179/84/

June 14, 2009

When a spin becomes the gospel

There are those who accuse Malaysia Today of spinning. I suppose it all depends on your interpretation of what a spin is and whether spin means lying, distorting the truth, or spy-war. Spinning means different things to different people. I always jokingly tell people that Malaysia Today does not spin. Malaysia Today just tells our version of the truth.

After all, what is truth? Truth is different things to different people. Some say Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Others say he died on the cross. Yet others say that both these ‘truths’ are in fact false and the real truth is that Jesus was merely a Prophet and that there are 25 such Prophets mentioned by name in the Quran while there were 124,000 Prophets in all since the beginning of time. To these people, the truth is that Muhammad was the last of the Prophets but others say that this is false and that the last Prophet was actually Jesus Christ.

Judgment empowering EC to over-rule Speaker is groundless

June 17, 2009 by johnlee_my

In a written judgment by Justice Nik Hashim Nik Rahman, the Federal Court empowered the Election Commission (EC) to over-rule the Speaker over the resignations of the three ‘independents’ in Perak and declared these assemblymen continue to stay as assemblymen.

This judgment, released on June 15, 2009 — 67 days after the oral judgment was given by the panel of five judges on April 9 — is flawed on two scores.

Academic Discussions or Umno Stooges

June 16, 2009 by johnlee_my

Unity Government: Academic Discussions?

The concept of unity government which had plagued Pas and Pakatan Rakyat for some time was rendered to mere “academic discussions??? by President Pas Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi who made a turn-about on his controversial pro-unity government stand.

In contrast to the seriousness of the open criticism of Pas Spiritual Leader Nik Aziz that those who supported Abdul Hadi‘s proposal to form a unity government with Umno were “boneka Umno??? (Umno puppets), the way Hadi wash his hands of the issue was so absurd and irresponsible.

De Minimis on Paul Samuelson: No one knows when recovery will happen

June 16, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://ctchoolaw.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-samuelson-no-one-knows-when.html

June 16, 2009

Just as the previous post attempted to highlight the perils and pitfalls of economic components, this one pushes a similar proposition, with one major exception. This time I can point you in the direction of a respected economist.

By now, everyone who is interested would know that China has been manufacturing everything that the U.S. and the rest of the world needs. For this effort, China has made a lot of money. This surplus is so huge that no bank can manage it. So, China put its “savings” into U.S. Treasury Bills, which are basically IOUs issued by a sovereign nation. Over the past many decades, U.S. Treasury Bills have been regarded as the best sovereign IOU anyone can get…until now?

Teaching/Learning English

June 16, 2009 by johnlee_my

And among his wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours; for, in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of [innate] knowledge!

AR-RUM (22)

TEACHING/LEARNING ENGLISH

Malay is my mother tongue, the language of home and family, the language in which the most tender of feelings are expressed, the tongue with which the harshest of emotions are spewed!

Perjuangan Chin Peng dan PKM: Siapa yang buta sejarah?

June 15, 2009 by johnlee_my

Perjuangan Chin Peng dan PKM: Siapa yang buta sejarah? Ekoran permintaan Chin Peng untuk pulang ke tanahair, pihak yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk memburuk-burukkan komunisme Menteri Penerangan Rais Yatim secara tidak langsung menerapkan perasaan dendam waris-waris anggota keselamatan Malaysia dahulu. Umno telah menggerakkan seluruh media di bawah kongkongannya untuk menjalankan sandiwara mereka dan berselindung di balik isu … Read more

More mischief from Utusan’s Awang Selamat

June 15, 2009 by johnlee_my

Utusan‘s Awang Selamat in an op-ed yesterday repeated his earlier leitmotif about the Malays being betrayed, how there are traitors to the country and cautioned that if any Barisan Nasional component party [i.e. MCA] hints at wanting to leave the coalition, it should just go.

The Awang Selamat column is the editorial voice of Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of the Utusan newspaper considered to be Umno’s mouthpiece.

In ‘Apa muslihat MCA’ (What tricks are MCA up to?), Awang Selamat questioned the motive behind a just concluded online poll in MCA president Ong Tee Keat’s website, which had 76% of the respondents voting that his party should leave BN.