Why I won't fly the Flag

No, Sir, I will not fly the flag this time.
Click the following pics and stories to enlarge them!
Here are a few of the many reasons...
16th September, 1963: Formation of Malaysia, with 20-point agreement. Yeah, that's right-44 years ago and not 50 years ago we became independent from Great Britain. Borneons aren't living up in trees to be able to calculate this fact. Good try for trying to pull a fast one on us, mates but it doesn't work! Can a 44-year old man celebrate a 50-year old birthday and declare "I'm now 50 years old!" ??? Everyone would laugh to death.

Democratically-elected politician and first Sarawak Chief Minister, a non-Muslim Iban, Stephen Kalong Ningkan, is removed as Chief Minister by an act of parliament in Kuala Lumpur.

One big full ayam brand bowl of kong lau mien (dry mee with meat) with lots of meat costs only 10 sen (US 1 cent) in Sarawak.

13 th May, 1969: Racial Riots in Kuala Lumpur. Elections are suspended throughout Malaysia, including in the peaceful East Malaysian states.

Beloved Sabahan Chief Minister Donald Stephens, an Eurasian and one of co-signatories to the agreement to form Malaysia, is killed in a mysterious plane crash in Sabah, together with several prominent well-loved elected officials.

It's bloody difficult to go on to a government university due to the New Economic Policy which has a quota system in place...

5% each oil rights compensation payment are thereby given back to Sarawak and Sabah on an annual basis in lieu of oil profits from both oil-rich states, contrary to the 20-point agreement made on state rights over control of natural resources.

April 1985: Joseph Pairin Kitingan, a Christian wins the Sabah state elections, toppling the traditionally Muslim-based power structure.

March 1986: Sabahan Muslim riots with state mosques used as gathering places to incite the Muslims. Look closely at this illegal procession and the participants...and they say a picture says a thousand words...
1988: The independence of the judiciary is removed after Prime Minister Mahathir gets a tribunal to sack Malaysia's Supreme Court's Lord president Tun Salleh Abas and others.

P.M. Mahathir says Malaysia is an Islamic state.

Sarawak Shell becomes a downgraded minor contractor to Federal authorities' Petronas, instead of being a major community player in Sarawak.

12th July, 2004: Tragic deaths of Sarawakian heroes, including rising political star, beloved Dr. Judson Tagal in a mysterious helicopter crash.

UMNO Youth Leader and Education Minister, Hishammudin brandishes and kisses his long, long keris in UMNO General Assembly, ready to use it in modern day Malaysia.

2007: Fellow blogger Nathaniel is discourteously hurled to a police station and detained.

2007: Fellow blogger, Raja Petra aka Prince Peter is interrogated for hours by the cops.

2007: His wife is next likewise interrogated by the cops.


Our popular Sarawak Tribune (Seen here being ironically deposited by Sarawak's Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, as one of the time capsule objects into the Petroleum Museum's foundation, to be opened in future) gets suspended indefinitely for publishing small versions of Danish cartoons of Islam's prophet, Muhammad. It's still not back. The rumor is that it's a life-time ban.

The price of petrol shoots up again in this oil-rich nation, and ironically, oil-rich state, raised by the Federal authorities. Despite assurances from the authorities, subsequently everything else naturally cost more as expected. My fellow monkeys up in the tree even know that whenever petrol prices go up every monkey has to charge more to cover the raised prices.

At the end of the year, Petronas declares a pre-tax profit of expected gigantic proportions. The petrol prices never comes down.

The Federal Court denies Lina Joy her basic human right to freedom of religion in Malaysia when she chose to leave Islam and be an apostate. She is condemned with the court's decision to a Syariah Court where every Tom, Dick and Harry knows she will be placed in a communist-style Re-education Camp to force her to change her mind.

Deputy Prime Minister's declares unexpectedly that Malaysia is an Islamic state and to rub salt into the wound, declares as well that it is in fact, driven by Islamic fundamentals.

Chief Muslim Justice makes a sly hint of changing common laws to Islamic Syariah laws; later backed by Minister in the P.M's Religious Department (see accompanying insightful article by K-tomac)
Go to "chief justice adopting syariah laws"

Prime Minister makes an ambiguous statement that Malaysia is an Islamic state (or nation) in Bahasa Malaysia in parliament. Why must he be so ambiguous???


So the whole stinky stuff that's coming out from the often times fuzzy and sometimes arrogant powers-that-be will gradually but surely lead this once idealistic great nation to this unthinkable third world backward state as in the pic below:

So guess whose ugly face will ever be on that wall???

Here's something to think about...
Since too many Islamic countries do not practise sufficient amounts of practical democracy they are doomed. Just to change their political systems they will most likely have to go through bloody and decades long struggles. There will be regime change in Saudi Arabia someday. It will most likely be bloody and destructive. .. We have seen this in Iran, Afghanistan and now Iraq...Now after 27 years of rule (under Islamic Syiah priests' rule) the Iranians are still unhappy. Their idea of ruling a country is that their priests are supreme... (Syed Akbar Ali. Malaysia and the Club of Doom. Kuala Lumpur: 2006. p. 184.).

Ah yes, one half bowl of ayam brand kong lau mien with a few miserable pieces of meat now costs RM3.50 to RM4.50 (in air-conditioned coffeehouses) in Sarawak... and it's still difficult to get into a government university with the NEP in a differnt name... though there are profit-making private colleges and universities which charge a lot to enroll in...

Revoke Media Ban, Malaysia.

It is outrageous to Malaysians that a democratic state like Malaysia would enforce a ban on the healthy discussion in the mainstream press on such an important issue as the political system of its country. This is particularly disturbing considering that the evidence and facts are overwhelmingly clear to many Malaysians that Malaysia is founded by the sports-loving Tunku with several other multi-racial persons as a secular nation. A discussion is needed as the future of our children and grandchildren are at stake here in this nation. Why are the views of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister ONLY PERMITTED to be published by the main stream press and heard by the people in a democracy? I don't buy it that a healthy discussion of the issue will disturb the peace. In any debate, it is when the side that has something to hide or is afraid to lose the argument that it attempts to muzzle its opponent with myriad of excuses. It rings an alarming bell like the bad old days of the repressive Cold War Soviet Union and its citizens lived in fear of its cruel oppressive Secret Police, the KGP. It is hard to believe Pak Lah or 'Mr. Nice Guy' would go back on his words about greater freedom for all when he first became the Prime Minister. At the moment I do not want to think of sinister motives by those in authority who make such untruthful 'Islamic State' statements. The following article is extracted from Malaysiakini, dated 20/7/07. Revoke media ban on Islamic state debate

Jul 20, 07 4:11pm Adjust font size:

Opposition leaders today roundly criticised the ban imposed by the Internal Security Ministry on all mainstream media against publishing any news on the issue of Malaysia being an Islamic state. In separate statements, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang blasted the government for barring the media from reporting the debates on the theocratical status of the nation. The issue arose on Tuesday when Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Malaysia is an Islamic state and not a secular one while carefully assuring members of minority faiths that their rights will be protected. He said the mainly-Muslim Malaysia has never been a secular nation as the government has always been driven by the fundamentals of Islam. This was immediately opposed by various quarters, including BN senior partner MCA, who argued that historical facts and documents showed that Malaysia was a secular state, just as espoused in the Federal Constitution. Following this, the Internal Security Ministry's publications control and Al-Quran texts unit decided to ban any publication of discussions on the matter as such discussions would cause "tension". The ministry however ruled that newspapers can still publish statements from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib on the country being an Islamic state. Authoritarianism Reacting today, Wan Azizah said the ban harmed the development of the nation and its people who are attempting to grow into a mature liberal democracy. "A country, which allows only the voice of the prime minister and his deputy to be reported on national policies and matters of public interest, is in grave danger of tilting towards authoritarianism," she said. She added that all official announcements and pronouncements from the government and its officials must be subjected to public scrutiny. "This is a fundamental aspect of any democratic system," she said, adding that the ban should be revoked and the media returned the right to "facilitate responsible public discussions and views on this matter". Lim also agreed that the solution was not to ban the media and deny Malaysians the right to speak up. "This is a cowardly and undemocratic act, the gravest blow to press freedom in the 45 months of Abdullah premiership," he said. He added that the clamp on the media was also a disservice to the integrity of the Merdeka social contract agreed by the forefathers of the major communities as the basis of nation building – a secular Malaysia with Islam as the official religion. He said that Najib should retract his statement and that the Cabinet should reaffirm the Merdeka social contract that Malaysia had never been conceived as an Islamic state but as a secular state with Islam as the official religion. "The question all Malaysians are entitled to a clear and unequivocal answer is whether the upcoming 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations is for Malaysians to commemorate 50 years of a secular Malaysia or to mark its official end and the beginning of an Islamic state?"

Najib's Rewriting Malaysian History

That's right-that's what he's doing by claiming Malaysia is an Islamic state. It would be interesting to hear what our beloved founding father and great horse-racing lover, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman have to say if he were alive today about Najib Razak's
outrageous statement. He has forgotten our Malaysian history and the social contract that was honed by Malaysia's multi-racial races. There's no mention of an Islamic state or a theocracy. Here's the latest uncensored news response from Malaysiakini dated 18/7/07 following his provocative statement.

I will neither celebrate Malaysia Day again nor touch a Malaysian flag if this so-called 'Islamic state' nonsense is the dark backward tunnel this country is heading down.

Najib's 'Islamic state' remark draws protest

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Jul 18, 07 4:21pm

The assertion by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak yesterday that Malaysia is an Islamic state has drawn flak from various quarters. Malaysia is not, and was not meant to be, an Islamic state, said members of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST). They urged the “government, the judiciary, and all Malaysians” to respect the social contract formulated in 1957 that balanced the citizenship rights of minority communities with the special privileges accorded bumiputeras. That agreement is now being changed “surreptitiously” by certain quarters within the government and the judiciary, jeapordising the fundamental liberties of all Malaysians, said MCCBCHST president A Vaithilingam. “There have been numerous statements by our politicians and judges that Malaysia is, and was always meant to be, a secular nation. “In this sense, secular undoubtedly means a country where religion, religious principles and religious dogma do not influence the business of governance,” he added in a media statement. 'We are concerned' Speaking at an international conference on the challenges of globalisation facing Muslim countries, Najib said Malaysia has never been a secular nation as the government has always been driven by the fundamentals of Islam. "Islam is the official religion and we are an Islamic state," he told reporters after officiating the conference. "But as an Islamic state, it does not mean that we don't respect the non-Muslims. The Muslims and the non-Muslims have their own rights," he added. Expressing doubts about this, Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Hermen Shastri said non-Muslims’ objections to Najib’s statement derive not only from its departure from the Federal Constitution but the boost it would give to proponents of the Islamisation process. “We are not happy because we don’t know what this means going by what is happening in society today,” he said when met at his office in Petaling Jaya today. “This includes cases involving the dissolution of marriages, custody over children, the claim over bodies of the deceased, and the acts of vigilantism committed by religious officials bent on policing morality,” he added. Shahstri said it’s one thing for ordinary people to say Malaysia is an Islamic state, but when top government officials such as Najib says this, “we are concerned.” Stick to the constitution Meanwhile MCA also joined in the fray in disputing Najib’s pronouncement. The party’s Secretary General Ong Ka Chuan said that all historical documents pertaining to the formulation of the federal constitution and the formation of an independent state indicated that Malaysia was a secular state. “This was the consensus and social contract agreed upon by our forefathers,” he said in a statement. He said that documents prepared by the British authorities before granting independence to Malaysia in 1957 clearly stipulated that “the members of the Alliance delegation...had no intention of creating a Muslim theocracy and that Malaya would be a secular state”. Chinese-based MCA is the second largest coalition partner in the Umno-dominated ruling BN coalition. Another MCA leader, MP for Kota Melaka Wong Nai Chee said Najib’s interpretation was not in accordance with the spirit and intent of the federal constitution. “The fact that we have Muslims being the majority does not in itself make Malaysia an Islamic state. Rather, Malaysia is a secular state with the majority being Muslims,” he said. Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang yesterday said Najib had cast a dark cloud over the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations this year with his statement. “It would appear as though the Merdeka social contract becomes a political pawn when political parties or individual political leaders find it expedient to manipulate and exploit it to shore up their political support,” he said.

Malaysia: Becoming Lebanon 2?

The following interesting letter is found in Malaysiakini dated June 6, 2007 and I believe it is worthy as food for thought: Malaysia need not go Lebanon’s way

Neil Khor, Cambridge Jun 5, 07 3:53pm Adjust font size:

The Lina Joy case has brought into light Malaysia's U-turn from being a secular state. It is an acknowledgment of a reality that many find unpalatable and I believe, an equal number may find comforting. In 1992, the year I entered university in Kuala Lumpur, the trend was clearly underway. The clearest sign of a significant social shift could be witnessed in increasing numbers of female students taking to wearing the veil. Most did it out of peer pressure but there was a significant number who did it out of conviction that somehow they had connected with an international movement associated, at that time, with Bosnians prosecuted for their religious faith. (The following year Bosnian Muslim refugees visited Universiti Malaya). By 1996, the year the Internet made its appearance in campus, the idea that the veil was accompanied by a distinct-type of attitude was firmly entrenched. There was a clear schism in social interactions. As an English-educated Chinese person, I was in between a growing ethnocentrism and an emergent middle-class bourgeois Islamism. The gap was too wide to bridge. Today, that gap is a chasm. Just before he left office, Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that PAS' platform was no longer relevant. Malaysia was, by all accounts, an Islamic state. Of course, to the fundamentalists, this was nonsense but today, reality speaks louder than words. We are an Islamic state in the most awkward sense of the term. Malaysia is an Islamic state when it comes to its Muslims and a secular state when it deals with its non-Muslims. Through adaptation to local conditions, this strange double-feature of our legal system has emerged. But this is an untenable bifurcation as the civil service, including the law courts, are increasingly dominated by Muslims. Today, the problem is not felt by non-Muslims but by some Muslims themselves. Why, a Malay friend asks, should Malays be restricted by another set of rules? The answer is quite simple (again in Mahathir's words): it is the price a Malay pays for his privileges. This view is based on the fact that Malay rights and Umno dominance cannot be upheld without the pairing of religion and ethnicity. PAS will never come to power if the Islamic state it promotes gives equality to all Muslims regardless of ethnicity for then, the non-Muslims might convert and then where will the Malays be? But this is not a long term solution. Optimists will say that this is but another example of Malaysian adaptation, its flexibility that has so far ensured its survival. Think of our two educational systems, our public and private sectors, our mutually exclusive lives. There was another country, some decades ago, that had a similar bifurcation in many aspects of its national life. It flourished for a while but then got mired in larger international wars. Lebanon was one of the Arab world's most progressive states but today it is in shambles. Malaysia need not go down that road. But neither can we take for granted the freedom that we have to determine our national development. From the standpoint of Malaysians who believe in secularism and the idea that the ‘church’ and state should be mutually exclusive, it is obvious that this aim is not really achievable. For the Islamists who believe in a full-Islamic state, a theocracy where mullahs decide on public policy, the fight will be self-destructive. Recent history has shown that Malaysians are a docile lot. A people who ‘forget easily’ the mistakes of government, the trespasses of politicians. We all have what the Malays call a ‘tolak ansur’ (push and retreat) attitude. But this is not historically always true. Not when both groups feel their back is to the wall. There are some Muslims who feel that they have already compromised too much and there are non- Muslims who feel cheated by the promises of nation-building participation. There is very little middle ground between the two groups. In such a situation, it is easy to give in to despair. But doing so leaves the real problem untreated. The more we bicker amongst ourselves, the more likely we are to be left behind globally. The more distracted we are about politics, the less we focus on the important issue of transforming our workforce so that it can better integrate into an economy beyond manufacturing. There is also the issue of recycling and future water and energy woes. Perhaps, if we paused for just a few minutes a day, we might realise that we have to deal with all these important issues. But alas, a frog in a well, as an old Malay proverb tells us, has its eyes fixed only on the sky.