When the accused pleaded guilty in the Anwar tape case the video was shown in court. This is unprecedented. The evidence is simply not produced when the accused says Guilty when asked. What follows the plea is the sentence. The magistrate was playing politics (or porn) when the tape “evidence” was viewed in court. It only shows how low our courts have fallen. But isn’t the fall quite consistent with UMNO rule? Unable to argue with Anwar (and he is not a class one debater either) UMNO plays porn.
One blogger has described this country as a “quasi police state.” We have all along believed this to be a police state. Writers should avoid writing like this for fear of being thought pro UMNO.
China it is reported has gone crazy over the durian. Good news for the owners pf lands in Balik Pulau but news for the kids to come, for we worry they will not be able to afford the gorgeous fruit.
The notes written by Toh Soh Lung, a victim of Harry Lee’s viciousness is worth reading. She was jailed for “being involved in a Marxist conspiracy...” (Beyond the Blue Gate, Published by SIRD)
Rashid Maidin memoirs (cont)
18 Wak Mat Tinggal
In 1955 when Kamal (Ibrahim Chik) and I were at Kem Bukit Tinggi, about an hour from the main body led by Abdullah C.D. and Musa Ahmad, we saw smoke. What was it?
For an answer, I sent two guards to investigate. One returned to report that they found a man with a rifle who said he wanted to join us. I asked the man to come and meet us. The man told us that his name was Wak Mat Tinggal. He said he had escaped from prison in Narathiwat and had lived the life of a guerrilla and had tried to find our army. He said, “Whatever happens to Wak, Wak will join you.”
It was policy not to accept recruits and I would be wrong if I allowed him to join us. But take him or not, Wak was not going to leave this place. He was 55 years old.
From that moment we educated him to make him a good man, to serve the people without reserve, truly study, work and to train. He was diligent and learnt the A B C, then to read and write. His world view underwent a rapid change and he learnt fast.
Towards the end of 1955, the 10th Regiment received some instructions from Central, one of which was that Musa Ahmad and two other fighters were to be sent to study abroad. I was to go to Betong to meet Chin Peng so as to attend the talks with the Tunku Abdul Rahman administration.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tan Jing Quee
Tan Jing Quee, one of the greats of Singapore, died of cancer on the 14th of June 2011. He was a victim of Harry Lee’s venom and was locked up for many years by the cowardice of a man who fears free debate. Despite his years of suffering he impressed with his unbounded cheerfulness. We have lost a good man, a writer and a poet.
*************
On his detention.
——
What was it like ‘inside’?
A difficult question
Could you, would you really listen
Without sneer, to the end
How should I begin?
Should I start from the traumas of the raid
How liberty was so capriciously enchained
Without a warrant, without warning
On the dark hours
When even dogs slept undisturbed.
You were hauled into a world ran amok:
The mug shots, ‘turn out your pockets’
the thumb and fingers impressions
(Whatever for, I commit no crime!).
No one bothered,
The guard shoved you on,
Along the corridor of despair;
That first heavy thud of the iron door
Sealing you incommunicado from the world –
The wind, sun, moon, and the stars
And all that was human and dear
Should I recall the dark cell
At Central Police Station[1]
A purgatory of perpetual night
The stone slab for the bed
Sullied, soiled mattress, no sheets
The pillow of tears and stains, no cover
Blood smeared walls, cries of past agonies
The rude, cruel hourly rip-rap of the shutters
“To check your health”,
So it was explained.
Should I narrate
The daily bath at the tap
The squat pan, dank and putrid
Meant to dehumanize, humiliate
Should we be thankful
For the daily ditch water
Which passed for tea
The stony crumbs for bread
The rice so callously tossed with dust
Should we be grateful
For the censored books and news,
To decontaminate our minds;
Should we be grateful too
For the unbearable heat
The lonely insomnia of the day and night,
Migraine and diarrhoeic fever
And panadol as panacea?
How could I ever forget those Neanderthals
Who roamed Whitley Holding Centre, [2]
Under cover of darkness,
Poured buckets of ice water
Over my stripped, shivering nakedness,
Slugged my struggling, painful agony
Circling , sneering, snarling
Over my freezing nudity,
More animals than men:
What induced this
Vengeful venom, violent score
To settle, not for a private grievance
But a public, democratic dissidence;
From whence sprang this barbarity?
What made men turn into beasts
In the dark, away from prying eyes,
Protected by a code of dishonour and lies
To ensure they survive and rise.
For sure, there were gentler souls
Who tried to be decent, no more:
The smiling guard who lightened the hours
With a chance remark, a joke
The barber who brought his scissors, cigarettes and news
The interrogator who handed a bible
Told him the elegant prose
Contrasted strangely with my current state,
How distant those beautiful thoughts were
From the violence to our liberty.
What then is the truth ?
A generation trapped in lies
Who rushed to defend, to justify
Never to listen, see or speak out.
Only when we open our hearts
Confront this barbarism
Can we truly exorcise our fears,
Finally emerge as a free people,
A liberated society.
*************
On his detention.
——
What was it like ‘inside’?
A difficult question
Could you, would you really listen
Without sneer, to the end
How should I begin?
Should I start from the traumas of the raid
How liberty was so capriciously enchained
Without a warrant, without warning
On the dark hours
When even dogs slept undisturbed.
You were hauled into a world ran amok:
The mug shots, ‘turn out your pockets’
the thumb and fingers impressions
(Whatever for, I commit no crime!).
No one bothered,
The guard shoved you on,
Along the corridor of despair;
That first heavy thud of the iron door
Sealing you incommunicado from the world –
The wind, sun, moon, and the stars
And all that was human and dear
Should I recall the dark cell
At Central Police Station[1]
A purgatory of perpetual night
The stone slab for the bed
Sullied, soiled mattress, no sheets
The pillow of tears and stains, no cover
Blood smeared walls, cries of past agonies
The rude, cruel hourly rip-rap of the shutters
“To check your health”,
So it was explained.
Should I narrate
The daily bath at the tap
The squat pan, dank and putrid
Meant to dehumanize, humiliate
Should we be thankful
For the daily ditch water
Which passed for tea
The stony crumbs for bread
The rice so callously tossed with dust
Should we be grateful
For the censored books and news,
To decontaminate our minds;
Should we be grateful too
For the unbearable heat
The lonely insomnia of the day and night,
Migraine and diarrhoeic fever
And panadol as panacea?
How could I ever forget those Neanderthals
Who roamed Whitley Holding Centre, [2]
Under cover of darkness,
Poured buckets of ice water
Over my stripped, shivering nakedness,
Slugged my struggling, painful agony
Circling , sneering, snarling
Over my freezing nudity,
More animals than men:
What induced this
Vengeful venom, violent score
To settle, not for a private grievance
But a public, democratic dissidence;
From whence sprang this barbarity?
What made men turn into beasts
In the dark, away from prying eyes,
Protected by a code of dishonour and lies
To ensure they survive and rise.
For sure, there were gentler souls
Who tried to be decent, no more:
The smiling guard who lightened the hours
With a chance remark, a joke
The barber who brought his scissors, cigarettes and news
The interrogator who handed a bible
Told him the elegant prose
Contrasted strangely with my current state,
How distant those beautiful thoughts were
From the violence to our liberty.
What then is the truth ?
A generation trapped in lies
Who rushed to defend, to justify
Never to listen, see or speak out.
Only when we open our hearts
Confront this barbarism
Can we truly exorcise our fears,
Finally emerge as a free people,
A liberated society.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Mat Rempit
Mat Rempit
The Malay press comment on the Mat Rempit reveals a mentality contemptuous of its own people, a subservient thinking much criticised by Syed Husein Alatas and Edward Said. The Mat Rempits shows that the Malays have less developed brains, they conclude. These stuck up people - who no doubt have more developed brains - should instead look for places where these youngsters can let off steam. Why not, for example, get the turf clubs to open racing tracks for them, running alongside the race tracks?
Honesty
“Temasek Review’ notes that In most First World countries, Member of Parliaments and Ministers are expected to declare their salaries, assets and business interests to the public. Even the state of Penang enacted a Freedom of Information Act last year requesting its state officials to do so. In Singapore, in a letter on ‘Rules of Prudence for PAP MPs’, Singapore prime minister only requested them to declare such important personal and financial information only to him:
“For your own protection, every MP should disclose to me, in confidence, your business and professional interests, your present employment and monthly pay, all retainers and fees that you are receiving, and whether your job requires you to get in touch with officers of Government Ministries or statutory boards on behalf of employers or clients.”
China’ shame
Looking at a Chinese documentary on the country in English one is amazed at its second rate quality. Words are not only mispronounced but are sometimes strange, not English at all. It is hard to believe that China is of that standard. One can only suspect that there is some reason for the best not being employed for the job.
*****
For some reason, taxis in Penang group together racially at stops where they wait for fares. This not the case in KL. Taxis had to be Protons for some time but now Nissan may be used.
Old newspaper cuttings have photos of Sadam Hussein and family all dressed in western clothes.
There was always behind Dr Mahathir at UMNO council meetings a man dressed in formal black tie.
And did you notice that Mahathir allowed people to kiss his hand, as if he were royalty?
The royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the death of Teoh Beng Hock will not release submissions that have been made to it, “in order to prevent a trial by media.”
Rashi Maidin’s memoirs (cont)
17 At Dusun Nyiur
After several weeks couriers came to lead us to meet the advance group under Abdullah CD. Because the path had been chartered and supplies had been prepared we did not have such a hard time as the advance party.
AT Sungai Belum rice and beef had been prepared for us. But Kampong Belum was an isolated and destroyed field . . Its inhabitants had been expelled, houses burnt down. Fruit trees had been cut down and animals shot. Whatever was prepared for food was what was left over after the British destruction.
After a few days’ rest we left for Kampong Hala. It had suffered the same fate as Kapong Belum. Nevertheless the local leaders had prepared food for us. Here we waited for a while waiting for instructions. We husked paddy and prepared meat to build up supplies as well as to celebrate the success of our journey north.
I had begun the journey from Perak which was relatively free from obstacles but the Hang Jebat Troop led by Abdullah CD met with them. It was the first time that the 10th Regiment had done a strategic move in the war of independence against the British.
The conditions of battle pressed on us without cease. The result was that the leaders of the 10th Regiment could not remain long at one place. We had only a few days with Comrade Chin Peng and members of the central committee to discuss directions and tasks for setting up bases, and to study the guidelines and policy to deal with problems.
I joined the main body before Abdullah CD did. It was only when I returned that Suriani and Musa Ahmad left to meet the central committee. Some comrades and Abu Samah and I prepared to leave for the kampongs around Kampong Nyiur. At Air Keruh we met a mass work unit which had been working the area. Ibrahim Chik was already there with some Malay comrades. We joined him and the mass work unit which had been there left for another area. Abu Samah and his group worked in the Malay kampongs along the Malaya-Thai border while I worked in other areas.
It was not easy working among the new kampongs. It needed not only courage, patience and perseverence but above all the highest discipline, polished methods of work, respect for the customs and traditions of the people, adept at mobilising the people and so on. When we first came to the villages we had a somewhat cold reception. We guessed it would be so because the British had long penetrated the area, especially the Malay areas along the border. Their secret agents had spread slanders about us that made them confused.
However the situation changed when we won over the people by providing medical treatment. Comrades were directed to gather firewood, rotan, traditional medicinal roots etc for the people. It was not long before we gained the trust and sympathy of the people. After that we encouraged things like working together and looking after the cleanliness of the village and its health, planting and animal husbandry and setting up schools.
Before we arrived the kampongs there were social ills like robbery and theft. But with organisation such things no longer occurred. We set up organisations for youth, women and children. Things improved economically and there was unity and they became our bases. The news spread and people came to visit us, to invite us to their kampong, some for medication, others with some request or other.
The Malay press comment on the Mat Rempit reveals a mentality contemptuous of its own people, a subservient thinking much criticised by Syed Husein Alatas and Edward Said. The Mat Rempits shows that the Malays have less developed brains, they conclude. These stuck up people - who no doubt have more developed brains - should instead look for places where these youngsters can let off steam. Why not, for example, get the turf clubs to open racing tracks for them, running alongside the race tracks?
Honesty
“Temasek Review’ notes that In most First World countries, Member of Parliaments and Ministers are expected to declare their salaries, assets and business interests to the public. Even the state of Penang enacted a Freedom of Information Act last year requesting its state officials to do so. In Singapore, in a letter on ‘Rules of Prudence for PAP MPs’, Singapore prime minister only requested them to declare such important personal and financial information only to him:
“For your own protection, every MP should disclose to me, in confidence, your business and professional interests, your present employment and monthly pay, all retainers and fees that you are receiving, and whether your job requires you to get in touch with officers of Government Ministries or statutory boards on behalf of employers or clients.”
China’ shame
Looking at a Chinese documentary on the country in English one is amazed at its second rate quality. Words are not only mispronounced but are sometimes strange, not English at all. It is hard to believe that China is of that standard. One can only suspect that there is some reason for the best not being employed for the job.
*****
For some reason, taxis in Penang group together racially at stops where they wait for fares. This not the case in KL. Taxis had to be Protons for some time but now Nissan may be used.
Old newspaper cuttings have photos of Sadam Hussein and family all dressed in western clothes.
There was always behind Dr Mahathir at UMNO council meetings a man dressed in formal black tie.
And did you notice that Mahathir allowed people to kiss his hand, as if he were royalty?
The royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the death of Teoh Beng Hock will not release submissions that have been made to it, “in order to prevent a trial by media.”
Rashi Maidin’s memoirs (cont)
17 At Dusun Nyiur
After several weeks couriers came to lead us to meet the advance group under Abdullah CD. Because the path had been chartered and supplies had been prepared we did not have such a hard time as the advance party.
AT Sungai Belum rice and beef had been prepared for us. But Kampong Belum was an isolated and destroyed field . . Its inhabitants had been expelled, houses burnt down. Fruit trees had been cut down and animals shot. Whatever was prepared for food was what was left over after the British destruction.
After a few days’ rest we left for Kampong Hala. It had suffered the same fate as Kapong Belum. Nevertheless the local leaders had prepared food for us. Here we waited for a while waiting for instructions. We husked paddy and prepared meat to build up supplies as well as to celebrate the success of our journey north.
I had begun the journey from Perak which was relatively free from obstacles but the Hang Jebat Troop led by Abdullah CD met with them. It was the first time that the 10th Regiment had done a strategic move in the war of independence against the British.
The conditions of battle pressed on us without cease. The result was that the leaders of the 10th Regiment could not remain long at one place. We had only a few days with Comrade Chin Peng and members of the central committee to discuss directions and tasks for setting up bases, and to study the guidelines and policy to deal with problems.
I joined the main body before Abdullah CD did. It was only when I returned that Suriani and Musa Ahmad left to meet the central committee. Some comrades and Abu Samah and I prepared to leave for the kampongs around Kampong Nyiur. At Air Keruh we met a mass work unit which had been working the area. Ibrahim Chik was already there with some Malay comrades. We joined him and the mass work unit which had been there left for another area. Abu Samah and his group worked in the Malay kampongs along the Malaya-Thai border while I worked in other areas.
It was not easy working among the new kampongs. It needed not only courage, patience and perseverence but above all the highest discipline, polished methods of work, respect for the customs and traditions of the people, adept at mobilising the people and so on. When we first came to the villages we had a somewhat cold reception. We guessed it would be so because the British had long penetrated the area, especially the Malay areas along the border. Their secret agents had spread slanders about us that made them confused.
However the situation changed when we won over the people by providing medical treatment. Comrades were directed to gather firewood, rotan, traditional medicinal roots etc for the people. It was not long before we gained the trust and sympathy of the people. After that we encouraged things like working together and looking after the cleanliness of the village and its health, planting and animal husbandry and setting up schools.
Before we arrived the kampongs there were social ills like robbery and theft. But with organisation such things no longer occurred. We set up organisations for youth, women and children. Things improved economically and there was unity and they became our bases. The news spread and people came to visit us, to invite us to their kampong, some for medication, others with some request or other.
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