Saturday, October 31, 2009

This Time I Agree With Lim Kit Siang

Hantu Laut

For once I agree with Lim Kit Siang on his recent posting here.This is the kind of thing that MPs should be doing instead of wasting time trying to run down their opponents.They should spend more time voicing the anomalies in Parliament and get elected members to review and amend the Constitution.

These kinds of ambiguities in the Constitution are putting spanners in Najib's 1 Malaysia.The Prime Minister should immediately look into the misalignment of the definitions of bumiputras in Sarawak under the Federal Constitution.

Unlike, Sabah state constitution which carries the definition of bumiputras under Article 41(10) the Sarawak constitution seems to be silent on the definitions depending only on the Federal constitution for its interpretation

I reproduced Article 161A(6)below.

161 6) In this Article "native" means-


(a) in relation. to Sarawak, a person who is a citizen and either belongs to one of the races specified in Clause (7) as indigenous to the State or is of mixed blood deriving exclusively from those races; and

(b) in relation to Sabah, a person who is a citizen, is the child or grandchild of a person of a race indigenous to Sabah, and was born (whether on or after Malaysia Day or not) either in Sabah or to a father domiciled in Sabah at the time of the birth.


Clause 7 says:


(7) The races to be treated for the purposes of the definition of "native" in Clause (6) as indigenous to Sarawak are the Bukitans, Bisayahs, Dusuns, Sea Dayaks, Land Dayaks, Kadayans, Kalabit, Kayans, Kenyags (Including Sabups and Sipengs), Kajangs (including Sekapans,. Kejamans, Lahanans, Punans, Tanjongs dan Kanowits), Lugats, Lisums, Malays, Melanos, Muruts, Penans, Sians, Tagals, Tabuns and Ukits.


In Sarawak, it seems you are only considered bumiputra if you are offspring of native parents mentioned under Clause.7.Mixed marriages between natives and non-natives, unfortunately, don't fall into that category at all.


The blame lies squarely on Sarawak leaders and lawmakers for not taking the issue to Parliament to get the relevant article in the Federal constitution amended.


Someone should find out whether Taib Mahmud's children are bumiputras.His late wife was not a native of Sarawak, so by definition of Article 161, they should not be bumiputras.


Article 161A(6) certainly need amendment and I am sure Lim Kit Siang and his gang would support the amendment.


In Sabah the same problem occurs among Sino-Kadazan especially those with Chinese fathers and having Chinese surnames.By right they should have been bumiputras because one of the parents are natives but many have suffered the indignity of being told by West Malaysian officers that they are not bumiputras when they applied for ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputra) or bumiputra loans for those wanting to go into business and, even worse, there were those unable to inherit NT (Native Titles) land from their parents.


This is the most nonsensical and gross injustice that one can think of.... not being able to inherit what rightfully is one's inheritance because of some stupid law.


The Constitution Is The 'Boss'

Hantu Laut

You can't sack or force an elected member to resign.Only the people can remove him in an elections or by his act of criminality or if he is of unsound mind.No one, including the Sultan, can force an assemblyman or member of parliament to resign. He can resign only on his own accord.

If it so happened he is not doing his job, it's just too bad, only the people, not Anwar Ibrahim nor Khalid Ibrahim can remove him. That's democracy.

What Anwar and Khalid are doing is autocracy, a promise they made to Malaysians that this nation would be rid of when they take over the federal government.Many Malaysians believe these two bullshit artists. Melayu kata "Cakap tak serupa bikin" atau Orang Puteh kata "Do what I say, not as what I do"

Why are there so many bad and lazy elected representatives in PKR? They say they are getting rid of the dirt in the party.If that was the case than Anwar should be the first one that they should get rid of.He came from the same dirty filthy UMNO that have ruled this nation for over half a century.

It shows the PKR's leadership has not been discerning in their selection of candidates, any riffraff would do as long as they win an election.Even a dishonest boy who illegally recorded his father's lawyer's conversation and made public by Anwar Ibrahim which created a political storm that eventually constituted a Royal Commission was chosen as a candidate.

Wondering, how this wonder boy is performing in Parliament, whether he is as good as his sleuthing ways? Silence is golden.Unless, I have missed something, haven't heard him saying anything, not even a wee word, in Parliament.

In many advanced countries it is illegal to tape a conversation for criminal or tortious purposes if it was obtained without the person's consent.I am not sure what the law is like in Malaysia concerning this subject.However, a while ago I remember reading in the news of a man being charged and dragged to court for illegal video taping of an actress with a hidden camera.I believe it constitutes the same criminal act, unlawful taping, and in this case a kind of entrapment.

Pakatan's people talked about honesty and a corruption free nation when they can't tell between an ass and a hole in the ground and their own dishonest intents.

What does Khalid Ibrahim expects Badrul Hisham to do when he openly challenged him to resign his elected post accusing him of non-performance? Did he honestly believe that Badrul would resign after being slighted by him? If Khalid thinks he is the boss and he can sack him than he is mighty wrong.The Constitution is the boss.

Badrul's departure may not put a dent in Pakatan's Selangor government but it certainly shows the gross inexperience, ignorance and incompetence of Khalid Ibrahim in running a state government.....and to understand the parliamentary system practised in this country. In all honesty it is just one big bullshit to keep Pakatan always in the limelight.Winning by-elections is one of the ploys to hoodwink the people that they are getting stronger and stronger each day.Malaysians are bought.

You are not running a corporation where you can hire and fire people at will.Running a government is a bit more complicated than that.The 'Constitution' is the boss.

What is a democracy? 'Democracy is a system of government by the whole people or all the eligible members of the state, typically through elected representatives'.

I rest my case.

Posted in Phnom Penh.The Water Festival starts tomorrow and for the next 4 days it will be public holidays here.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Born Loser?

Hantu Laut

Jeffery Kitingan has always wanted to be number one.He has roamed the political wilderness and has 'takoran bangkad' (change shirts) many times in search of his elusive dream, to be 'first among equals'

Since the ouster of PBS as government of the state of Sabah in 1994 where he played the role of the grand master of political connivance and convenience he has joined not less than four other political parties. Every political party that he joined he mounted a challenge to the leadership for the number one post. He failed in his every attempts and got himself kicked out of the party.

History repeats itself, now, the very same man who kicked his brother, him and his party out of the government in 1994 has kicked his ass again.

Now, Jeffery can go back to his people and say never trust the West Malaysians whether they come from UMNO or PKR, they are all the same.We, Sabahans, are screwed either way.What we need is a Sabah party to take back the government.

SAPP might just open its doors for him.Would Yong Teck Lee takes the risk? For political expediency Yong might consider the parochial grassroots that Jeffery could bring into his party from the support of the hillbillies.

Alternatively, the doors to PBS would be opened to him to enter with ease, probably, much to the consternation of others in the party and for those who feared his passion for displacing the incumbents. He says he is keeping his option open.

This leaping, jumping and croaking frog has only himself to blame for his political chicanery and greed for power.

Is Jeffery Kitingan a doggone loser? Brutus Thornapple would have jumped with joy if he knew there exists someone worse than him.His erudition for deceit is his own failing and the castings of his public contempt and obloquy.

After the fall of PBS and his failed bid with other political parties he applied for membership in UMNO but was rejected.As cunning as the proverbial fox he deceivingly used his indigenous name Gapari to fool the UMNO headquarters and was accepted.Sabah UMNO eventually revoked his membership when they found out the humiliating mistake.

Is the road to hell paved with good intentions?

Jeffery Kitingan may have the answer.

Where next, Mr Kitingan?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

More Turmoil In PKR Sabah, Christina Liew Quits The Party

Hantu Laut

PKR supreme council member and wanita chief Christina Liew quit the party today, citing the party disregard of her contributions as the reason.

She is probably one of the most untainted politicians in Sabah and certainly a big loss to PKR.

More to come

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Now It's Jeffery Kitingan Turn To Go On Long Leave, Anwar Made Life Easier For BN In Sabah

Hantu Laut

As expected, Jefferey Kitingan was foaming at the mouth, said Anwar Ibrahim showed disrespect to Sabahans by not taking into consideration the majority voices of its supporters.About 16 divisions wanted him to lead Sabah PKR but was ignored by the central leaders. Jeffery's press statement here (updated).

In the same footsteps of Zaid Ibrahim, Jeffery says he is going on long leave to think over his political future in PKR.Since he is now out of favour with PKR leaders at the national level the thought of staying on in the party has become untenable and a big embarrassment for him.

At one time Jeffery was the flag bearer of PKR Sabah and many members of the KDM community were attracted to the party. Unfortunately, he was replaced just before the last general elections.

PKR may have lost its only possible source of support for the next general elections. The Sabah Muslims are not likely to support PKR, the Chinese given a choice would either stay with BN or vote for DAP or other Sabah based party.

Appointing Thamrin in the hope of getting Muslims votes is like shouting in the wilderness, nobody can hear, he has absolutely no grassroots and many people in Sabah have not heard of his name.

Anwar has made life easier for BN in Sabah.

A New Twist To Pilots Falling Asleep

Hantu Laut

Below is the latest on pilots falling asleep during flight.

The two pilots on Northwest Airlines flight apparently were too engrossed with their laptops to notice they have overshot their destination. If the plane was on autopilot what happened to the mechanism that suppose to trigger off the buzzer to warn the pilot?

Are their story plausible? Hope the NTSB gets to the bottom of this irresponsible behaviour.

Pilots Who Missed Airport Were Using Their Laptops

Published: October 26, 2009

The pilots of the Northwest Airlines flight that flew far past the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport last week told investigators that they had been distracted from their duties by a discussion of a new computerized crew-scheduling system that the airline was introducing.

“Both said they lost track of time,” said an interim report released Monday afternoon by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Pilots put in “bids” for routes or work shifts by computer, and both men took out their personal computers in the cockpit, a violation of company policy, the safety board said. The first officer was more familiar with the new system and was explaining it to the captain, the report said.

Both were highly experienced pilots. Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor, Wash., was hired in 1985 and had 20,000 hours of experience, about half of it in A-320s, the kind of plane the crew was flying last Wednesday, between San Diego and Minneapolis. First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, of Salem, Ore., was hired in 1997 and had about 11,000 hours of experience.

“Neither pilot was aware of the airplane’s position until a flight attendant called about five minutes before they were scheduled to land and asked what was their estimated time of arrival,” the interim report said. By that time, they were still at 37,000 feet and more than 100 miles beyond their destination.Read on...


Monday, October 26, 2009

Crappy Journalism, Who Is Thamrin Zaini?

Hantu Laut

If Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife think they have resolved the discontent in Sabah PKR they are in for a bigger surprise.This time they really have upset the applecart. Sidelining the restive and overly ambitious Jeffery Kitingan and the equally ambitious Ansari Abdullah will take PKR on a bigger roller coaster ride with high probability of the whole train come tumbling down to the ground. The general feeling in Sabah PKR is that one of the two would be appointed to the post.

Now, there are three tigers waiting to eat Anwar Ibrahim and one of them is his closest aide and loyalist. 

Azmin Ali was shocked when asked about his removal as Sabah PKR's chief.Apparently, Anwar and wife Wan Azizah didn't see it fits to inform Azmin of his sacking as Sabah PKR's chief. Malaysian Insider reported here.

In a report here and the blind mice here and a blind landing here Thamrin Zaini the new Sabah PKR's chief is reported as being Libaran assemblyman. PKR has no state seat in the Sabah state assembly. There is no Libaran state seat.Libaran is a parliamentary seat currently held by UMNO's Y.B Juslie Ajirol.

This is what happened when you have lazy and half-baked reporter.

The appointment of Thamrin Zaini means Jeffery and Ansari are no more trusted to lead PKR in Sabah.


Thamrin Zaini has no grassroots support in Sabah.Jeffery will make sure he wrecks Sabah PKR first before he says 'sayonara' and Anwar can forget about getting KDM support for PKR now or in the future.

Good-bye democracy, long live 'Anwarcracy'.

More hot news coming soon.


Saturday, October 24, 2009

When Your Pilots Fall Asleep.

Hantu Laut

Have you ever wondered what those guys in the cockpit up front are up to? Your life is in their hands and you depended on them bringing you back safely to the ground.

Over the years the airline industry have discovered pilots breaking fundamental rules of their profession, from being caught with high level of alcohol in their blood, falling asleep on the job, to emotional breakdown during flight, endangering the lives of their passengers.
Small wonder most air crashes were due to human errors.

Some years ago when I was a frequent flyer (as a passenger)I get acquainted with people from the airlines.One day, at Bangkok airport I happened to bump into a friend who was a co-pilot with an airline (I will not name the airline) had coffee with him and the story he told me was quite shocking and one of many horror stories that we passengers wouldn't get to know because the airline usually hushed up such story, bad publicity for the airline.

He told me his aircraft has to turn back to Bangkok airport after 20 minutes flight due to technical problem reported by the captain and the technical problem was not with the aircraft, it was with the guy. He just had a big fight with his wife when she discovered he was screwing one of the stewardesses and situation became even more unbearable for him because the girl he was screwing was on the same flight with him and the wife apparently knew it. Luckily, for the passengers,
rather than taking a flyer, he had the sense to sense his disturbed state of mind that could interfere with his ability to fly the aircraft safely.

Read the article below on the subject of pilots falling asleep during flight.

Northwest's Wayward Flight: Did the Pilots Fall Asleep?

In typical, understated aviation lingo, the pilots of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 suffered a "loss of situational awareness" on Oct. 21 when their plane shot past its destination, Minneapolis, and continued flying for another 150 miles. After the flight from San Diego with 149 people aboard spent some 78 minutes out of contact with air-traffic control — a period that reportedly ended only when a concerned flight attendant contacted the pilots by intercom — the plane turned around over Wisconsin and landed safely. The pilots told authorities they were discussing "airline policy" during their odd detour, though many observers believe a more plausible explanation is that they simply fell asleep at the controls. An analysis of the plane's cockpit recorder should reveal what was happening up front, but if the speculation is right, it wouldn't be the first time a pair of pilots have dozed off.
(See TIME's airline covers.)

In February 2008, a Go! Airlines flight from Honolulu overshot the airport in Hilo, Hawaii, and continued for some 30 miles over the Pacific Ocean before circling back. The captain originally said they had entered the wrong air-traffic-control frequency, but both pilots later admitted they had fallen asleep. A contributing factor to the incident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), was the captain's undiagnosed sleep apnea, which authorities call a growing cause of transportation accidents.

A respiratory condition that interrupts breathing at night, sleep apnea can lead people to be fatigued even after a full night's sleep. "They feel tired and sleepy when they wake up in the morning," says Dr. Vahid Mohsenin, director of the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine at Yale University. "I've seen a lot of patients that had several car crashes before they were diagnosed. They were related to sleepiness at the wheel." Sleep apnea is linked to age and obesity; as the population grows older and puts on pounds, the incidence of sleep apnea rises, Mohsenin says. According to one report, sleep apnea diagnoses have increased twelvefold since the 1990s.
(Read "E.U. Pilots Fight for Shorter Shifts.") Read more
here..

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Expert Advice: A Lesson In Chinklish

Hantu Laut

Looks like those CCTV9 guys are rare breeds among the nucleus of spunky Chinese businessmen taking on the world's markets with their cheap and nasty.

The padlock cost me RM4.60 and the bicycle lock RM7.60. I must admit I am a cheapskate when it comes to these kind of things. I have already twisted the key to the lock., but no pain, at RM4.60, should I complain?

For your reading pleasure:(click to enlarge).








Though, badly written, it's well understood.It certainly carries the intended message.

Will the Chinese creolise the English language? We have Singlish and Manglish, why can't we have Chinklish?

Singlish and Manglish were not creolisation of the language in the true sense. It was bastardised by Singaporeans and Malaysians poor vocabulary.

Will Chinese language or Mandarin be a lingua franca one day. Some people believe China will be the next super power , both in military and economic terms.At the rate they are going, that may not be too far-fetched.


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Behind the headlines

By Pein Lee

PADANG, Oct 20 — The occurrence of any prominent natural disaster often prompts the almost immediate rush to provide images of devastation, carnage, anguish, and grief.

These are the most obvious responses, and sought-after records of such events. The recent major earthquake in West Sumatra was no different.

The human condition, however, clearly extends beyond a morbid fascination with death and injury and destruction of livelihoods and homes. Hope for renewal, and an in-built optimism form crucial parts of the human coping mechanism, and as these intangibles manifest in a multitude of forms, so too do their catalysts and results.

In Padang Pariaman, a regency north of the epicentre of the September 30 earthquake, scores of kampungs (korong in the local language) were flattened either partially or completely.

While the attention of the world has been focused on Padang, the city closest to the epicentre, the people of the rice fields and coconut plantations at the foothills of twin volcanoes continue to conduct their lives, starting to rebuild and revitalise while their city cousins await the delivery of heavy machinery to clear their debris. Children continue to play, and parents carry on working. The family stays intact, except for when claimed by death.

These images were made possible through the involvement of Mercy Malaysia, who were responsible for the deployment of an emergency medical and relief team barely two days after the earthquakes.

From the Pariaman district hospital as their base and where Mercy Malaysia conducted emergency medical operations, mobile clinics were despatched to affected “kecematan” (sub-districts) and hygiene packs distributed. Read more...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Potpourri

Hantu Laut

Always in denial mode and playing the blame game.Anwar blames the media here for creating a storm in a teacup, exaggerating the problems in PKR he says.

Well, Mr Anwar Ibrahim, that's freedom of the press, the one that you and your clique in Pakatan wanted so much. Why complain now? The real truth is, Zaid is becoming a threat to you, not to Azmin Ali.

According to him there is no problem between Zaid Ibrahim, him and Azmin Ali.We have heard it many times before, leaders in Pakatan infallible and as clean as a whistle.Than he better ask Jeffery Kitingan who's blowing the whistle here?

This report here about Najib giving RM30.00 to 30,000 Perakians that attended his 1 Malaysia celebration in Ipoh is good news for UMNO and the BN.Malaysians still can be bought and cheap, it only costs Najib RM900,000.00, a real steal.Bad news for Pakatan Rakyat because Malaysians are fed up with their political antics and incessant rhetoric, that's why they took the money to show Pakatan their unhappiness.

Who told Clara Chooi the story, the Pakatan suckers or BN sympathisers? Who knows? They could be anyone or just a gremlin in her head.

From the picture below you can see the stadium is packed to capacity, what else would you expect from Pakatan and its cyberdogs. Praise Najib for his popularity?












Surely, non-Muslims would be happy and continue to vote for PAS for infringement and deprivation of their rights of freedom to enjoy, to do what other non-Muslims normally can do in the past.

Should Muslims impose their will on others?

In principle Islam does not advocate imposition of Islamic values on others."Let there be no complusion in religion" was a clear message in the Koran.Many Muslims live in oceans of ignorance.

In 1996 in Minneapolis, USA, the Muslim American Society issued a fatwa that proclaimed 'Islamic jurispridence' prohibits Muslim airport taxi drivers from carrying passengers (non-Muslims) with alcoholic drink because it involves in cooperating in sin according to Islam. Try going through the Koran and Hadith with a fine-tooth comb and see whether you can find it.

There are only three things that Muslims should know about alcohol.They are prohibited from consuming it, serving it to another Muslim and selling it.The fatwa issued by the Muslim American Society is a farce, by people who are on the lunatic fringe.


[<span class=

We Muslims are too hot to handle when we see a body like this and we need PAS Youth to remind us the virtue of being good Muslims.It is all right to watch her on MTV but not in the flesh, your libido might just go berserk.

God must be kind to her giving her such flawless genetic endowment and the men hot under the pants when watching her performing.

"Clean your finger before you point at my spots" Benjamin Franklin

Death to democracy, long live hypocrisy.

Vote for Pakatan Rakyat.


Monday, October 19, 2009

The Mad Mad World Of The Taliban

Held By The Taliban

Published: October 17, 2009

THE car’s engine roared as the gunman punched the accelerator and we crossed into the open Afghan desert. I was seated in the back between two Afghan colleagues who were accompanying me on a reporting trip when armed men surrounded our car and took us hostage.

Another gunman in the passenger seat turned and stared at us as he gripped his Kalashnikov rifle. No one spoke. I glanced at the bleak landscape outside — reddish soil and black boulders as far as the eye could see — and feared we would be dead within minutes.

It was last Nov. 10, and I had been headed to a meeting with a Taliban commander along with an Afghan journalist, Tahir Luddin, and our driver, Asad Mangal. The commander had invited us to interview him outside Kabul for reporting I was pursuing about Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The longer I looked at the gunman in the passenger seat, the more nervous I became. His face showed little emotion. His eyes were dark, flat and lifeless.

I thought of my wife and family and was overcome with shame. An interview that seemed crucial hours earlier now seemed absurd and reckless. I had risked the lives of Tahir and Asad — as well as my own life. We reached a dry riverbed and the car stopped. “They’re going to kill us,” Tahir whispered. “They’re going to kill us.”

Tahir and Asad were ordered out of the car. Gunmen from a second vehicle began beating them with their rifle butts and led them away. I was told to get out of the car and take a few steps up a sand-covered hillside.

While one guard pointed his Kalashnikov at me, the other took my glasses, notebook, pen and camera. I was blindfolded, my hands tied behind my back. My heart raced. Sweat poured from my skin.

“Habarnigar,” I said, using a Dari word for journalist. “Salaam,” I said, using an Arabic expression for peace.

I waited for the sound of gunfire. I knew I might die but remained strangely calm.

Moments later, I felt a hand push me back toward the car, and I was forced to lie down on the back seat. Two gunmen got in and slammed the doors shut. The car lurched forward. Tahir and Asad were gone and, I thought, probably dead.

The car came to a halt after what seemed like a two-hour drive. Guards took off my blindfold and guided me through the front door of a crude mud-brick home perched in the center of a ravine.

I was put in some type of washroom the size of a closet. After a few minutes, the guards opened the door and pushed Tahir and Asad inside.

We stared at one another in relief. About 20 minutes later, a guard opened the door and motioned for us to walk into the hallway.

“No shoot,” he said, “no shoot.”

For the first time that day, I thought our lives might be spared. The guard led us into a living room decorated with maroon carpets and red pillows. A half-dozen men sat along two walls of the room, Kalashnikov rifles at their sides. I sat down across from a heavyset man with a patu — a traditional Afghan scarf — wrapped around his face. Sunglasses covered his eyes, and he wore a cheap black knit winter cap. Embroidered across the front of it was the word “Rock” in English.

“I’m a Taliban commander,” he announced. “My name is Mullah Atiqullah.”

FOR the next seven months and 10 days, Atiqullah and his men kept the three of us hostage. We were held in Afghanistan for a week, then spirited to the tribal areas of Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.

Atiqullah worked with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of one of the most hard-line factions of the Taliban. The Haqqanis and their allies would hold us in territory they control in North and South Waziristan.

During our time as hostages, I tried to reason with our captors. I told them we were journalists who had come to hear the Taliban’s side of the story. I told them that I had recently married and that Tahir and Asad had nine young children between them. I wept, hoping it would create sympathy, and begged them to release us. All of my efforts proved pointless.

Over those months, I came to a simple realization. After seven years of reporting in the region, I did not fully understand how extreme many of the Taliban had become. Before the kidnapping, I viewed the organization as a form of “Al Qaeda lite,” a religiously motivated movement primarily focused on controlling Afghanistan.

Living side by side with the Haqqanis’ followers, I learned that the goal of the hard-line Taliban was far more ambitious. Contact with foreign militants in the tribal areas appeared to have deeply affected many young Taliban fighters. They wanted to create a fundamentalist Islamic emirate with Al Qaeda that spanned the Muslim world.

I had written about the ties between Pakistan’s intelligence services and the Taliban while covering the region for The New York Times. I knew Pakistan turned a blind eye to many of their activities. But I was astonished by what I encountered firsthand: a Taliban mini-state that flourished openly and with impunity.

The Taliban government that had supposedly been eliminated by the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan was alive and thriving.

All along the main roads in North and South Waziristan, Pakistani government outposts had been abandoned, replaced by Taliban checkpoints where young militants detained anyone lacking a Kalashnikov rifle and the right Taliban password. We heard explosions echo across North Waziristan as my guards and other Taliban fighters learned how to make roadside bombs that killed American and NATO troops.

And I found the tribal areas — widely perceived as impoverished and isolated — to have superior roads, electricity and infrastructure compared with what exists in much of Afghanistan.

At first, our guards impressed me. They vowed to follow the tenets of Islam that mandate the good treatment of prisoners. In my case, they unquestionably did. They gave me bottled water, let me walk in a small yard each day and never beat me.

But they viewed me — a nonobservant Christian — as religiously unclean and demanded that I use a separate drinking glass to protect them from the diseases they believed festered inside nonbelievers.

My captors harbored many delusions about Westerners. But I also saw how some of the consequences of Washington’s antiterrorism policies had galvanized the Taliban. Commanders fixated on the deaths of Afghan, Iraqi and Palestinian civilians in military airstrikes, as well as the American detention of Muslim prisoners who had been held for years without being charged. America, Europe and Israel preached democracy, human rights and impartial justice to the Muslim world, they said, but failed to follow those principles themselves.

During our captivity, I made numerous mistakes. In an effort to save our lives in the early days, I exaggerated what the Taliban could receive for us in ransom. In response, my captors made irrational demands, at one point asking for $25 million and the release of Afghan prisoners from the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. When my family and editors declined, my captors complained that I was “worthless.”

Tahir and Asad were held in even lower esteem. The guards incessantly berated both of them for working with foreign journalists and repeatedly threatened to kill them. The dynamic was not new. In an earlier kidnapping involving an Italian journalist and his Afghan colleagues, the Taliban had executed the Afghan driver to press the Italian government to meet their demands.

Despite the danger, Tahir fought like a lion. He harangued our kidnappers for hours at a time and used the threat of vengeance from his powerful Afghan tribe to keep the Taliban from harming us.

We became close friends, encouraging each other in our lowest moments. We fought, occasionally, as well. At all times, an ugly truth hovered over the three of us. Asad and Tahir would be the first ones to die. In post-9/11 Afghanistan and Pakistan, all lives are still not created equal.

As the months dragged on, I grew to detest our captors. I saw the Haqqanis as a criminal gang masquerading as a pious religious movement. They described themselves as the true followers of Islam but displayed an astounding capacity for dishonesty and greed.

Our ultimate betrayal would come from Atiqullah himself, whose nom de guerre means “gift from God.”

What follows is the story of our captivity. I took no notes while I was a prisoner. All descriptions stem from my memory and, where possible, records kept by my family and colleagues. Direct quotations from our captors are based on Tahir’s translations. Undoubtedly, my recollections are incomplete and the passage of time may have affected them. For safety reasons, certain details and names have been withheld.

Our time as prisoners was bewildering. Two phone calls and one letter from my wife sustained me. I kept telling myself — and Tahir and Asad — to be patient and wait. By June, our seventh month in captivity, it had become clear to us that our captors were not seriously negotiating our release. Their arrogance and hypocrisy had become unending, their dishonesty constant. We saw an escape attempt as a last-ditch, foolhardy act that had little chance of success. Yet we still wanted to try.

To our eternal surprise, it worked. Read more here.

Part II:Inside The Islamic Emirate

A YOUNG Taliban driver with shoulder-length hair got behind the wheel of the car. Glancing at me suspiciously in the rearview mirror, he started the engine and began driving down the left-hand side of the road.

David Rohde answers readers’ questions on his seven months as a captive of the Taliban in Pakistan. Go to the Blog »

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Zaid In Sabah In Defiance, Sabah PKR Heading For A Breakup

Hantu Laut

Sabah PKR leaders heading for a split. Zaid came to Sabah in defiance of leadership's decision.

It is expected that one or both, Jeffery Kitingan and Ansari Abdullah might leave the party due to irreconcilable differences and frustrations with the party president's procrastination and indecisiveness on the issue of who should lead PKR in Sabah.Azmin Ali is a thorn in the flesh of Jeffery Kitingan and other PKR leaders in Sabah.

Azmin Ali is furious. Zaid has ignored the ban on him from going to Sabah, undoubtedly, engineered by Azmin.The unpopular and dysfunctional Azmin Ali is afraid that Zaid may steal the show from him.One PKR member lamented "What show, he never showed up". Why do you think Jeffery invited Zaid instead of him he said.

Jeffery Kitingan who invited Zaid for the PKR Hari Raya open house today admitted PKR is heading for a serious crisis.He, himself, is at loggerhead with Ansari Abdullah and despised the fact that he has been reduced to playing second fiddle.Jeffery's exit from PKR wouldn't come as a surprise, he is very adapt to 'takoran bangkad' (changing shirt), and PKR is no different from the rest that he had abandoned in the past.

Jeffery claimed a memorandum signed by by 18 of the 23 divisions in Sabah on the issue of Azmin Ali has been sent to the party president.

On the other hand, Ansari Abdullah refuted Jeffery's claim saying there was no such memorandum and that 15 divisions have disassociated themselves from the memorandum.

Meanwhile, Zaid said he was only taking leave from attending PKR political bureau meetings but would continue to be involved in activities to strengthen Pakatan Rakyat.

What that means? Your guess as good as mine, it must be Azmin Ali, that he doesn't want to meet in the bureau meetings.Zaid also admitted his visit to Sabah did not get the party leadership's blessings.

Will Anwar Ibrahim sacrifice Azmin Ali for the newcomers, Zaid and Jeffery? The probable answers below.

If no change come soon to replace Azmin, Jeffery would leave PKR sooner and Zaid differences with Azmin Ali, would be a matter of time, before he departs.

Read what OutSyed The Box says here.


Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sour News & The Spirit Of Borneo

Hantu Laut

Mr Lim, like the New Zealander, was a bit slow in getting to know something that many Malaysians already knew. He reported here about a Proton car crash test.

How many of these cars can you see on Malaysian roads? Most Malaysian motorists are already aware of the bad quality of the Arena and the boxy Juara and stayed away from buying the vehicles.Proton should have discontinued the models.

That report in the New Zealand Herald did not say which year model is the car.Whether it is a new model or an older version, they did not say for reason only known to themselves.

Most car appraiser and motoring magazines usually disclosed the year model of the car they tested.

I do not dispute some of Proton models are of bad quality.I have one in my garage.

However, anything coming out of Lim Kit Siang are politically motivated rather than cause for concern.

The Spirit of Borneo

Hantu Laut

In August I wrote about the story of Martin and Osa Johnson here.

Their pictorial journey are now recorded in a coffee table book 'Spirit Of Borneo' to be launched by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on 19th October 2009 at Sandakan.The story here.

Only limited copies have been printed and to be given only to invited guests.

I got my advanced copy below.

The book.

Martin & Osa Johnson in Sabah (British North Borneo)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Insulting Sabahans,The PKR Way

Hantu Laut

When a Sabahan says "Buli bah, kalau kau!", he means you are not trusted.As a Sabahan you know you are fucked, your friend was just being superficially polite.Unfortunately, the clueless West Malaysian politicians in PKR takes it as a compliment.

When Anwar decided to take over the PKR's Sabah Chief position, the Sabah PKR boys must have told him "Datuk, buli bah, kalau kau" and when he handed the post to another West Malaysian, the polite but unhappy Sabahans must have felt offended and said the same thing but deep down in their heart must have said to themselves that they will teach these clueless and arrogant West Malaysians a lesson.Which they did, PKR has not made any progress in Sabah.

Unfortunately, Anwar and his top dogs in PKR translate politeness as a weakness and stupidity.Sabahans, with the exception of Bung Mokhtar, are, by nature, not aggressive or openly rude.They can take insults in their stride but when they hit back it would be fatal.The downfall of Mustapha Harun and Harris Salleh were testimonials of Sabahan's rage, not the half-filled bottle the wimps of Peninsula Malaysia gave Pakatan Rakyat.When Sabahans decided, the bottle would be either empty or full.

There are rumours that Jeffery Kitingan and Ansari Abdullah may quit the party after being sidelined by Anwar in favour of Azmin Ali. Sabahans have taken the appointment of Azmin as an insult that Sabahans are not good enough.So, who is more arrogant and looked down on Sabahans, UMNO or PKR? Anwar or Najib?

Sabahans would be looking even more stupid if they think this man will look after their welfare after he becomes prime minister.'Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost' sounds more like is his policy and he surely would be a disappointment again, the same as what he did to Jeffery and Ansari, he would do again to all Sabahans.

UMNO didn't appoint West Malaysian to head UMNO in Sabah since the first day it sets foot here.UMNO in Sabah has always been led by Sabahan, a job usually given to the Chief Minister, if he is from UMNO.

Anwar Ibrahim, if the Kadazans (whom he is tying to woo to his side now) still remember, was the one that brought down the legally elected PBS government by enticing PBS elected members to leave the party, some were eventually given positions in the new government of BN, engineered by the very same man who talked about morality and accused Najib and UMNO of complicity in the downfall of the Perak's DAP government and accused Najib's administration of massive corruptions.

Weren't there corruptions during his time when he was the second most powerful man in the country? Did he not practised the same expediency of power, without giving any due respect to the Sabah state constitution? The same that Pakatan leaders are now accusing Najib of doing, Anwar has done before and tried to do it again a second time on 16th Sept 2008 but failed miserably, and made him a laughting stock.The earthquake that he promised that would have toppled the BN did not come.Would you want someone to lead the nation who openly lied to the people?

DAP and its head honcho Lim Kit Siang is still raving mad that they have lost Perak.That mad as a hatter Sivakumar again will be calling his own state assembly seating on 28th October here.
He is not only mad but absolutely arrogant and only making himself looking like a fool for being used by DAP to denigrate the Sultan and show disrespect for his decision.

What people like Lim Kit Siang and his Internet cohorts wrote here makes Anwar looks like a prophet and Najib a Satan.I don't know Najib personally but I do subscribe to the BN's policy, it's still the best formula for this nation. His '1 Malaysia' definitely sounds more practical than that ....Anak Bangsa Malaysia, Satu Bangsa Satu Negara crap.

What's wrong being Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians and Malaysian Malays, if you like.The Americans don't feel offended being called African American, American Chinese and so forth. Isn't it just another propaganda and meaningless slogan of Pakatan to hoodwink stupid Malaysians of something they don't believe in and have no desire to carry out if or when they come to power.

That slogan would die a natural death as nobody in their right senses would put his race as 'anak bangsa Malaysia' because there is no such race and it is big taboo, particularly for Chinese and Indians, to call themselves by any other race other than what their parents told them. Race is more sacred than religion, you can change religion(except Muslims) but you can't change your race.

Thanks to Najib, a man who respects performance and royalty and knows how to show gratitude, at least we now have more Sabahans in the Federal cabinet and other federal posts.When Anwar was in the federal cabinet before what has he done for Sabah? One, that is still very fresh in Sabahans minds were the mushrooming of slot machines all over the state, courtesy of the Federal Ministry of Finance.The inherited legacy has become permanent fixtures in Sabah bringing hardship to many families.

During his time in UMNO all Sabahans got was constant bullying, arm-twisting and political manuevaring.All he was interested in was to spread his influence among UMNO members here so he can galvanise support to topple Mahathir, the hand that brought him into UMNO and the hand that he wanted to bite.As the Malay saying "Hutang emas boleh dibayar hutang budi dibawah mati" doesn't seem to exist in Anwar's vocabulary.It's very telling of the man. How many of his close friends have left him and turned against him?

What a fucking joke. 'Anak Bangsa Malaysia', 'Satu Bangsa Satu Negara', you can't even trust a Sabahan to lead your party in the state.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Is a Virus the Cause of Fatigue Syndrome?

Published: October 12, 2009
Could a virus be the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome?

A study published last week in the journal Science suggested that might be the case, reporting that many patients who had the syndrome were infected with a recently discovered virus.

Chronic fatigue syndrome has long been a medical mystery and the subject of debate, sometimes bitter, among doctors, researchers and patients. It affects at least one million Americans, causing extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating and other symptoms. Its cause is unknown, symptoms can last for years and there is no effective treatment. Researchers disagree about whether it is one disease or a collection of symptoms that may have different causes in different patients. It has sometimes been stigmatized as more mental than physical, with patients labeled neurotic, depressed or hypochondriacal. Many patients find even the name of the disorder offensive, a not-so-subtle hint that it is not a real disease.

The new report has intrigued scientists, been seen as vindication by some patients and inspired hope for a treatment.

“I just feel like the whole future has changed for us,” said Anne Ursu, 36, a writer living in Cleveland who has had the syndrome in the past.

But the new study is not conclusive, and a great deal of work remains to be done to find out whether the new virus really does play a role. Just detecting it in patients does not prove it is what made them sick; people with the syndrome may have some other underlying problem that makes them susceptible to the virus, which could be just a passenger in their cells.

Even so, thousands of patients have already contacted scientists, asking to be tested, said Dr. Judy Mikovits, the first author of the study and the research director at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, a research center created by the parents of a woman who has the syndrome. Dr. Mikovits said she expected a test to become available “within weeks.”

The new suspect is a xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV, which probably descended from a group of viruses that cause cancer in mice. How or when XMRV found its way into humans is unknown. But it has also been linked to cancer in people: it was first identified three years ago, in prostate cancer, and later detected in about one-quarter of biopsies from men with that disease (and in only 6 percent of benign biopsies). It is a retrovirus, from the same notorious family that causes AIDS and leukemia in people.

Dr. Mikovits and researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic reported in Science that 68 of 101 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, or 67 percent, were infected with XMRV, compared with only 3.7 percent of 218 healthy control subjects. Further testing after the paper was written found the virus in nearly 98 percent of about 300 patients with the syndrome, Dr. Mikovits said.

She said she believed that the virus would eventually be found in every patient with chronic fatigue syndrome. XMRV affects the immune system, can probably cause a variety of illnesses and may join forces with other viruses to bring on the syndrome, she said.

The study received a mixed review from Dr. William C. Reeves, who directs public health research on the syndrome at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He called the research exciting but preliminary, and said he was surprised that a prestigious journal like Science had published it, because the researchers did not state the ages or sex of the patients and controls, or describe the duration of the illness or how it came on.

“If I don’t know the nature of the cases and controls, I can’t interpret the findings,” Dr. Reeves said.

“We and others are looking at our own specimens and trying to confirm it,” he said, adding, “If we validate it, great. My expectation is that we will not.”

He noted that there had been false starts before, including a study in the 1990s linking the syndrome to another retrovirus, which could not be confirmed by later research.

Many patients and a community of doctors and researchers who specialize in the syndrome take issue with the disease centers’ approach to the illness and the way it defines who is affected. They claim that the C.D.C. includes people whose problems are purely psychiatric, muddying the water and confounding efforts to find a physical cause.

Frustration with the lack of answers led Annette and Harvey Whittemore, whose 31-year-old daughter has had the syndrome for 20 years, to spend several million dollars to set up a research institute at the University of Nevada in Reno in 2004, and to hire Dr. Mikovits to direct it.

Mrs. Whittemore said she had long believed that the syndrome was an infectious disease, but that scientists had rejected the idea.

She finally decided, she said, “if there was a place of our own where we could find the answers, we could do it more quickly.”

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, said that the notion of a lingering viral infection was plausible. He said that although some patients claiming to have the syndrome seemed more likely to have a psychological problem, others seemed to have a physical illness.

“There is a group who are young, healthy, active and engaged, and all of a sudden they are laid low by something,” Dr. Schaffner said. “Everyone tells the physicians these are people who are functional and productive, and this is totally out of character. They are frustrated and often quite disheartened. You feel that medical science hasn’t caught up with their illness yet.” Read more...

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Betulkah Rakyat Bagan Pinang Bodoh?

Hantu Laut

They have muddied all and sundry in BN.That's not enough.Now, they are after the voters.

Voting for Isa Samad is immoral.Most of the people in Bagan Pinang are immoral.Most Malaysians are immoral for choosing BN as the Federal government in the last general elections.

Only those who voted for Pakatan's candidates were of high moral.

Why not abolish the constitution, remove the voting rights of BN immoral voters and make Anwar or Lim Kit Siang as prime minister for life
.

Surely, our morality index would soars to high heaven.

Read Rocky's Bru's brew here.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Isa's Win, UMNO's Losses ? Says Who?

Hantu Laut

Are Malaysians returning to their senses? Isa Samad's victory is not anyone's call , unexpected, is the huge majority.

Isa polled 8013 votes giving him a thumping majority of 5435 votes, a landslide victory, setting back Pakatan Rakyat winning streak in the Peninsula.Indications showed that the Indians voted for the BN this time.It was purely Najib's efforts to bring the Indians back to the fold.Hope Samy Velu realised, it's him and MIC the problems, not the Indians or UMNO.

To say Isa's win will be UMNO's losses, the parlance of a few has-beens in the party, is like the classic Aesop's fable of 'The Fox and the Grapes'. I can't get it, so it must be sour.Even the good old Ku Li says better for UMNO to lose, just wanting to prove a point.

Don't be fooled that the oppositions didn't use money, maybe, not as much as the BN, but it's still money.

Where does Pakatan's war chest come from? Without spending money they wouldn't have seen the light of day.It was reported that Anwar has a huge war chest of RM3 billion.Surely, with that kind of money one can dabble in politics, it's worth the risk.

The government should consider, with certain limitations, legalising money politics for all political parties, maybe, modelled after the US or UK.

A pick from Malaysiakini, the sanctimonious ones:

'Umno has legitimised corruption'

'With the win in Bagan Piyour sayang, Umno has officially legitimised corruption as an acceptable credo amongst themselves. The smirks on their faces say it all. Woe betide our dear Malaysia.' Read more....

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Holy Crap! The Nobel Peace Prize ?

Hantu Laut

The question is what has Barack Obama actually done for world peace to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

Don't get me wrong, I like Barack Obama but I don't think he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, not just yet.

I have all this while questioned the credibility and criteria used by the Nobel Prize Committee that oversees the award of the Nobel Prize. Many a time, less deserving and less prominent figures have been given the award for so-called accomplishment.Will get back to that subject later.Let's deal with Mr Obama first.

Obama has been President for less than a year and is still fighting wars on two fronts, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is sending more American troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, the Palestinian conflict is still unresolved, the relationship with Iran is still tense and North Korea is still a pain in the ass. 


Tell me what world peace has he achieved since taking office as President of the most warring nation on earth.

The Nobel Peace Prize are for achievements in bringing peace to the world, a region or an area of conflicts.Obama has achieved nothing of that sort to deserve such an honour.

The Nobel Prize committee should clarify whether the Peace Prize is for a person's past and current achievements, or for foreseen future achievements. Obama has no track record and qualifications for such an award.


How do they gauge and determine what's likely to happen say two to five years from now. Can Obama achieve lasting world peace during his term of office? 
The answer is a big NO! 

The world will continue to have conflicts where one conflict is resolved new ones will emerge.


The present conflict that would probably end up like Vietnam is Afghanistan. The Soviet learned an expensive and humiliating lesson in that country.

Death in jihad is the greatest honour for an Afghan fighter. No where death is more revered than in that godforsaken country. Like the Russians, the Americans will leave Afghanistan with the tails in between their legs. They would have lost the war as in Vietnam and in Iraq. 


Many idiots think the American won the war in Iraq. No, they didn't.They won the battles but lost the war. Iraq is still as restive and as dangerous as during the war.

Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan to widen the area of conflicts rather than trying to find peaceful solutions. How can a belligerent be awarded such honour?

The Nobel Prize has always been mired in controversies, not only in the Peace Prize, but also in its other disciplines. I will only confine my area of interest to the Peace Prize.

The biggest hypocritical achievement ever made by the committee, an unforgivable blunder was Mahatma Gandhi. Nominated 5 times and the most qualified during his time, he was never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. More shameful, they refused a posthumous award to Gandhi due to what they claimed prohibition of such award,  but in 1948 the year Gandhi died the hypocrites in the Committee awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize to their fellow Scandinavian Dag Hammarskjold who was nominated but died in a plane crash. 
If any of you ever heard of his name than you should be awarded a doctorate in History and World Politics.

Is the Dalai Lama more deserving than Gandhi? To me, he is the world's biggest conman. Tibet is still under Chinese rule and the Dalai Lama lived in sheer opulence and conned the whole world to gain sympathy for him and a country that he dared not set foot on. Has he freed his people of Chinese rule like what Gandhi did to India or Nelson Mandela to South Africa. 


Mandela spent half his life in prison because of his conviction that all men are created equal irrespective of colour. He, through non-violence broke down apartheid, brought independence to his people and became president of the country?

Without any doubt, Mandela was much more deserving than the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi, of both whom I think do not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. 


Yesterday, the American government awarded the Dalai Lama with the inaugural Lantos Human Rights Prize that angered the Chinese government.

After so many decades Myanmar is still under dictatorial military rule, its door half- closed to the outside world and she under house arrest and her people living in fear of a ruthless regime. Has Aung San Suu Kyi brought peace to her country?

In 1994, hypocrites bade hypocrites, Nobel Peace Prizes given to three personalities, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin for their efforts to peace in the Middle East.


Peace in the Middle East?  

That probably stood as the biggest joke of the century.

The three have done more to conflicts  and violence than peace. It goes to show the politics in this so-called prestigious body.

Those highly glorified awards would be as highly explosive as the dynamites of Alfred Nobel, who is probably kicking in his grave listening to  the "Who" list of his not so esteemed award anymore.

Barack Obama?  Hiya!

Watch out! Anwar Ibrahim may be next.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Plagiarist ?

Hantu Laut

Our man in Australia is not only a wannabe political scientist but he may also be a plagiarist.Read the story here and the comments here.


Most right-minded bloggers would name the source or author of the article they put on their blogs, if it is not their own.Most would link it to the original source.That is blogging etiquette.If you don't know this simple rule than you may one day get yourself into trouble.

If the man with the blurred mind didn't questioned the origin of the article it would have been solemnly his.

What say you Lim Kit Siang, he wrote about your son, he seems to know Lim Guan Eng pretty well.

Orang PAS Kebal? Sandiwara Bagan Pinang

Hantu Laut

It looks like PAS religiously believe most Malaysians are fools.I wouldn't deny that now, greater than before, more Malaysians are easily swayed by whatever dished out by the oppositions and taken without a pinch of salt.

The Unspinners (who is on my blogroll) has something interesting here.

The pictures below tell a story.

[darah1.jpg]

[bp_ganas.jpg]

Ada kah manusia ini kebal atau dipukul oleh tangan sendiri?

The video below also tell a story.

Before the Chinese and Indians were branded as kaffir, and UMNO as kaffir too for associating with the Chinese and Indians, now they are part of the ummah and well-versed with verses from the Koran.Now, non-Muslims can deliver the khutbah (sermons) to Muslims.



Give me the idiosyncracies of politics, incantations of the pious and the proponents of Islamic piety in PAS. Am I a political idiot if I am confused.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Malay Man In Australia, Walkabout The Bush

Hantu Laut

Read this:

This morning I was angry. Angry enough to shut down my PC and leave my work on ‘steadyaku47’ until my mind was more settled. Sat down with my Lucy and talked. I talked and she listened. I told her that I did not want to give too much details about the lady that Isa was involved with because there are common bonds of decency that I want to observe. I told her that even if UMNO will use gutter politics to win at any costs – there must be limits to what I do. Lucy listened…and then asked me what did I write a few days back? About giving notice to UMNO that I now have my gloves off? That it is now a free for all?

and read what he wrote here,

and if the above, smells of the gutter and riles you up, the one below will make you laugh.

Now I know that I am being watched. That steadyaku47 has become a thorn in their side! I do not know whether I should feel proud that I have been able to do so or that I should worry about what they will do to me next. Who is the ‘they’ – I do not know and I do not care. Two words for them. First letter of the first word is F.

I will continue to write what I want. How I want and when I want. If I go off cyberspace – you guys know what has happened. If I do go off cyberspace I will be back. Damm Najib. Damm UMNO. Damm the whole lot of them!

Friends I have asked people I know here what I could do to ensure that I keep steadyaku47 free from any interference from anybody. There are ways. But it will cost money. Money that I do not have. Will you help. Please donate whatever you can to help me keep steadyaku47 going. Send what ever you can afford to this account in KL and it will be forwarded to me. The details are as follow:

Sounds familiar, if I am not wrong I have read it somewhere before, in another blog.

If any of you feel charitable and want to donate to a good cause read more here.

Ghee! why in hell would you need money to run a personal blog.Google doesn't charge, same with Wordpress and all others.What's the money for?

The biggest surprise is here and my compliment to Lim Kit Siang for his discerning taste in literature.

Quizzes from 'Down Under'.

Who is the Prime Minister of Australia?
Can't be Kevin Michael RUDD because not all Australians voted for him.

Who is the President of United States of America?
Can't be Barack Obama because not all Americans voted for him.

The other day I asked my 5-year old grand daughter who is the Prime Minister of Malaysia and she confidently said "I know, not you grandpa"

On a final note, this is the Malay intelligentsia that you should be reading.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Chewing And Choking A Nation To Death

Hantu Laut

Time magazine has an interesting article on the Yemenis addiction to khat here.

I used to do business in Yemen or rather South Yemen, before unification of the North and South into one nation in 1990.

It was the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula.Almost every kind of business were controlled by the state under a dysfunctional socialist system.Half the population lived below poverty line, the other half on government's largesse.The Russians and other communists used to have strong influence here.

Aden, the capital city, which used to boast the biggest bunkering facility and a maritime gateway between the West and East during the British colonial era has been reduced to a dilapidated city, nothing seemed to function properly, from its hotels to public transportation, the wheels of progress seemed to have departed from this once bustling port.

The biggest refining and bunkering facility in the region once stood here. In the eighties it was running only a third of its maximum capacity due to outmoded equipments and machinery that constantly broke down.The state didn't have the money to repair or modernise the facility.

This desert outcrop has little arable land.
Many items, including most of the foodstuffs have to be imported.Most farming and cultivations are concentrated in the Hadhramaut district. The Yemenis prefer to cultivate their land with khat rather than food crops.Khat needs tremendous amount of water which the Yemenis had hardly enough for their own consumption.

It's a kind of misplaced priority that certain society seems to have and suffers from.

In Yemen, it's khat before anything else.

In Malaysia, if you notice, it's cars before anything else.Do you know why our nation's highway are choked and more and more are dying on the roads.

Cars seem to be Malaysians pride possession.It's their pride and joy. It's also their weapon of destruction. Some Malaysians, maybe, more than some, are prepared to pay almost RM500,000 for their cars but live in a terrace or linked houses costing less than RM150,000.Some, may even have 2 to 3 cars parked in a garage space meant for only one car.How they do it is an amazement.

On the lower rung of the ladder you get the Kancils' owner who spent half their wages on cars they can ill afford, choking not only our roads but petrol kiosks as well.One may think the petrol stations are doing roaring business when in fact, if you care to take a closer look, they are choked by Kancils filling up between RM5 to RM10 every time they pop-in the station. Our highways are choked not because there aren't enough roads, there are just too many cars that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

In spite of being poor the Yemenis can indulge in a great pastime, khat chewing and talking fuck all, all day.

Thursday is official 'khat day', which means Yemenis are only officially allowed to chew khat on this particular day. They would do it with great enthusiasm, an all day affair of khat chewing with families and friends and exchanging stories and problems that at the end of the day came to nothing.

I was once invited to this ritual of khat chewing but only lasted about an hour, which didn't do much good in term of me getting the high from the narcotic content. You need to ingest a lot and over a long period to enjoy its potentials. Like most other things, if you are not used to it, the taste is revolting.The Yemenis also claim the aphrodisiac value of the leaves giving the same effect you get as taking Viagra, although Viagra was not invented yet when I used to go to Aden.


If the Yemenis have khat to take care of their erectile dysfunction, Malaysians have tonkat ali, unfortunately, without the doping effect
, both could just be a myth.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Lim Kit Siang "Do not unto others, that which you would not have others do unto you!"

Hantu Laut

This old scoundrel thinks muck-racking and mud-slinging is his privilege alone, others no can do.Go through the archives of his blog an see for yourself his barrage of hypocritical criticisms, muck-racking, mud-slinging and spinning the untruths, undoubtedly, makes him the biggest political drunk in this country.

Not a single day has been spared by his.... Najib this, Najib that, Najib should take the blame,Najib should apologise, Najib 1 Malaysia a piece of crap.He sounds pathetically like my grandfather's old 78 rpm broken record that always slipping onto the same groove.

Read what this old grumpy pot laments here.


If someone wrote racist books, why should Najib apologise.

Anyway, being a racist is only politically wrong, it is not a crime.If I say I don't like Lim Kit Siang and he is Chinese, have I committed a crime, am I a racist? Well, to be honest, I don't like Lim Kit Siang, Anwar Ibrahim and Nik Aziz, one Chinese, one Malay and the other one, not only Malay but a pious Muslim, am I a racist?

Racism and racists are best left ignored and if you are not a racist yourself why would you want to read racist books.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Rape Of The Forests And Penan Girls.

Hantu Laut

What is rape?

Rape, sometimes called sexual assault, is forced and unwanted sexual intercourse.Can happen to both woman and man, in most cases, women were the victims and men the predators.Men, generally are luckier, no woman wants to rape them, even if they wanted to.

Rape can occur anywhere around the globe, from the remotest village to the biggest city.Many rape cases were not reported by the victims due to stigma associated with it.Many rape victims prefer to suffer in silence rather than expose themselves to public humiliation.

To cut the story short, let's get to the objective of this article, the rapes of Penan girls in Sarawak, which has become a highly contentious issue and have embroiled the government in controversy and at loggerhead with certain NGOs.Certain quarters have accused the government of dragging its feet in investigating the case. The case was first reported by the Bruno Manser Fund, a foreign-based NGO that claimed to have corroborative evidence of such rapes. Some local NGOs have joint in the fray accusing the police of colluding with the timber companies in a cover-up.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/RHPOD/42-1886~Penan-Family-Mulu-Expedition-Borneo-Indonesia-Southeast-Asia-Posters.jpg
Those still in the jungle

I, for one, would not have doubted that there have been some cases of rape of Penan girls.The thing we have to establish here is whether these rapes are systematic and organised or just normal cases of rape, induced by opportunity, in which case, the normal police report would have suffice to deal with the problems.

It is indeed perplexing that the issue has been much politicised, triggering alarm bells not only here, but internationally.Malaysians should take notes that we are now becoming famous for all the wrong reasons.From the bashing of maids to the bashing of prince's consort and the stealing of other people's culture, we certainly have come a long way getting world recognition.Malaysian NGOs are the worst kind when it comes to jumping on the bandwagon without presenting the hard facts.

Source: AFP. Penan tribespeople man a blockade with banners and spears to challenge vehicles of timber and plantation companies
Source: AFP. Penan tribes people man a blockade with banners and spears to challenge vehicles of timber and plantation companies

The forests of Borneo have always been the El Dorado, the quick journey to big money and instant wealth.The rapes of these forests have made millionaires and billionaires.On the same token, it has also reduced the less frugal to paupers.

Sabah, the pioneer rapist of the forests, not proud to say myself included ( I have turned green many years ago) but with clear conscience that I have strictly abide by the rules, have now almost exhausted its extractable commercial forests.

If one were to drive in the east coast of Sabah, from Telupid all the way to Tawau, a five-hour drive, the natural forests have completely disappeared, replaced by forests of oil palm as far as the eyes could see, a boring landscape bearing the same gifts to the beneficiaries, lots of money, but this time with more lethal outcome, the pollution of our rivers and seas.

If one have the time to visit Sukau in Kinabatangan, where most of Sabah wildlife exists, the riparian reserves have ceased to exist, taken over by oil palm trees, planted to the brink.

Now, where am I, have kind of strayed from the pertinent issue, the question of rapes in the forests of Sarawak, the poor Penan girls that were taken advantage of by the hatchet men of the rich and powerful who couldn't care less about the plight of these poor innocent girls and the police allegedly putting a lid to cover the crime.

Malaysian NGOs and opposition politicians have set ideas about our police force but yet still lodge police reports on the flimsiest of evidence.However, the police said here their investigations are hampered by victims refusal to talk.The police have also asked NGOs in Sarawak to bring witnesses, but none have done so far.In a surprising turn of event, here is a revelation by a Penan woman who said she was not raped but was tricked and forced to make a police report saying she has been raped.

Jok Jau Evong of SAM(Shabat Alam Malaysia) said the women might have been pressured to make public statements that they have not been raped or victimised.“They can easily buckle and deny being raped or victimised under these circumstances.”

http://www.globalresponse.org/graphics/penan_main.jpg
They want back their habitat, their way of life.

Now, the question Mr Jok should ask is if she was raped by a truck driver or labourer working in the camp, who gave these scumbags protection from prosecution ... the employer, the police or politicians? Common sense would tells us there is absurdity in this kind of statement.Why would any employer or for that matter the police and the politician would want to shield such employer from prosecution.I am sure there must have been cases of rape in the forests but not the way the NGOs have made it out to be, the politicising of the rapes of Penan girls.

Blast from the seventies, when I was working with a logging company in Sandakan as General Manager of the company, our concession was up north of Sandakan in the Sugut/Paitan district, one of the remotest areas in Sabah those days and accessible only by sea and river.A journey that takes almost a whole day's boat's ride, first by sea and eventually navigating upstream the small Paitan river to reach our campsite usually after nightfall.

Life in the camp, depending on how one look at it... for those who love nature it could be romantic and life sails along like a breeze but as for those who don't, life could be a drudgery, a predisposition to boredom and chronic depression.The longing for the comfort of home and female company have made some camp employees taking a second wife or mistress from among the local population in nearby settlements.In this area the kampongs are not sizable but rather consist of small hamlets of shifting cultivators scattered along the river banks and using their dugouts as principal mode of transport along the rivers.This is where abject poverty were the results of conditioning of the mind rather than the fault of the individuals, being so far remove from civilisation, they do not know any better.

With the exception of a few of those allowed to bring their wives and families into the camp there are no other females in the camp.

On one occasion, on one of my monthly visits to the camp, I notice a young girl, whom I have not seen before, in the camp's kitchen helping out the cook.Out of curiosity, I enquired with the camp manager as to who she was.I couldn't believe my ears when he told me, without even mincing his words, that our cook actually bought her from her parents and she has been with him for almost a month now.At that very moment, I don't know whether to wind the watch or bark at the moon, I was flabbergasted, didn't know how to react to such outrageous piece of information, not so much of the buying of the girl but her age, to me, she looks hardly fourteen years old, which as a minor, even consensual sex, is a crime, a case of statutory rape.After gaining my composure, I asked the manager how old is she and was told she is 18 years old, has she got an identity card? No! Not many people in remote villages have identity card.So, next question, how the hell you know she is 18 if she has no identity card? The father told them so and that they took as gospel truth.


On my return to office I have to bring up the issue to the Board whether to sack the cook or let it be.Decision was made to remove him but that would have to wait until my next visit to the camp as the only way we can communicate with our camp is through VHF radio, which is not exactly the right kind of instrument to broadcast the sacking of an employee, where not only the whole camp can hear, probably other camps operating on VHF radio can listen in to the conversation.

The hiring and firing of employees in the camp is the job of the camp manager.On my next visit to the camp another surprise was in store for me, the little girl has gone, no where to be seen.According to the manager she ran back to her parents a week after my previous visit and refused to come back to the cook. The next story is, either going to shock you or make you laugh, the cook has gone to the village to see the girl's parents to try collect his money back, claiming breach of contract, she is supposedly promised to stay with him for the whole duration of his employment at the camp.

The last I heard of him, he lost his girl, his money and his job.

These are not common occurrences but there have been instances where parents, out of hardship, traded their daughters for a fistful of dollars.There have also been instances where consensual sex become rape when one party were not happy, felt cheated by the other party, under pressure from family and friends to lodge police report.

The object of this article is not to dispute or deny that such rapes occurred in the forests of Sarawak.This kind of thing is best left to the police to investigate, instead of NGOs incessantly denigrating the government and the police for not doing their work.

If you have substantive evidence, give it to the police, don't just make noise to seek cheap publicity to promote your NGO or yourself.