CIVIL DISORDER

HANTU LAUT

IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT, USE THE BALLOT BOX. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE PROPOSED MARCH ON 10TH NOVEMBER. YOU MAY REGRET IT.

YOU MAY BECOME A CASUALTY. WORST, YOU MAY BE DEAD.

From Wikipedia

Civil disorder, also known as civil unrest, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems. Typically, the severity of the action coincides with public outrage. Examples of civil disorder include, but are not necessarily limited to: illegal parades; sit-ins and other forms of obstructions; riots; sabotage; and other forms of crime. It is intended to be a demonstration to the public and the government, but can escalate into general chaos.

Frequently, participants in a civil disorder are not in agreement about appropriate behavior. As was the case in the WTO Meeting of 1999, most protesters were peaceful, and a small, highly visible minority of government provocateurs, much like the ones present at the 2007 Security and Prosperity Partnership summit in Quebec, were responsible for most of the damage.

Any civil disorder is a delicate balance of power, and indeed, a political power struggle of some sort is typically the root cause of any such conflict. Often, public demonstrations are viewed as the last resort of political organizations. If the power equation in a civil disorder becomes unbalanced, the result is either oppression or riot. Police brutality is a frequent result of civil disorder, while at other times, civil disorder may develop as a result of police brutality.

Citizens not directly involved in a civil disorder may have their lives significantly disrupted. Their ability to work, enjoy recreation and in some cases, obtain necessities may be jeopardized. Disruption of infrastructure may occur during very severe events. Public utilities such as water, fuel and electricity may be temporarily unavailable, as well as public infrastructure for communication.

The above are definition of civil unrest.This article is a follow up to my earlier article 'The March To Naught'.

Be sensible, do not participate in this unlawful march. Do not be an idealist and think you can achieve something out of the unlawful procession.You may not be the troublemaker but don't forget there are others who want to make trouble and you may be caught in the midst of something unpleasant. We have the means to change the government and no one can stop us from exercising our rights and the right platform is the democratic process.

A warning has been sent, take heeds, this may not be Pakistan or Burma, but don't push your luck. Many peaceful demonstrations had turned ugly and bloody, don't be a victim of your own undoing.

Love your country and make sure Malaysia stays peaceful.

SAY 'NO' TO ' 10th OF NOVEMBER'

MALAYSIAN POLICE - A CRYING SHAME

HANTU LAUT
Yet another child raped and killed, abducted from her own apartment. Preeshena Varshiny, 9 was raped,sodomised and thrown down from the balcony of an apartment. Two days ago, the body of Chin Kha Mun, 12 was found floating in a river. The police could not determine the cause of death.They have classified it as 'sudden death'.What! sudden death? Did she died of drowning or something else ? Police had no clue. What had happened to forensic science and autopsy? Don't they exist in our police force?

After the Nurin's case, one would expect the police to be grinding their axes and go on the war path.

Is this the beginning of the reign of terror of a paedophile serial rapist and killer.Please, keep a tight grip on your children. Leaving a 9-year old, home alone, is not acceptable behaviour of any responsible parents. Read the story.........

THE MARCH TO NAUGHT

HANTU LAUT
I notice most popular blogs are promoting the march on 10th November.I think, that's probably taking the wrong direction and a dangerous one, if I may say.

To inflame the Agong to interfere in the administration of the nation is trying to incite a coup on a democratically elected government.It would be an exercises in futility and a stain on the clean sheet of the nation's democratic history.

Are the bloggers ruled by the head or the heart in this matter.My guess is, the heart speaks, not the mind.Any sensible person would know it is pointless to drag the Agong and all the other rulers to intervene as they don't have any executive powers to do so. They are expected to be apolitical and they should stay that way.It is also against the law for more than five people to assemble without a permit.Countries like Malaysia and Singapore had been free of demonstrations, civil strikes and rioting due to this law, which at times seems draconian, but plays a role for the greater good.

Civil disobedience would be a better alternative to demonstrations,civil strikes and rioting.For example if you are deadly against corruption in government, than you can refuse to pay taxes, as the money collected goes to government revenue.Most corruption money are paid out of this revenue, the taxpayer's money.If you do decide to take this option, be prepared for nasty civil retribution from the government.So, taking this course of action is a personal sacrifice you make to stand by your principle.

Civil disobedience is a form of protest without resorting to physical violence.It has, in some cases, worked more effectively in changing government policies and attitude.Ghandi's campaign for independence and South Africa fight against apartheid are examples of the success of civil disobedience.

The organisers of the forthcoming march should have their heads examine if they honestly think they can control the sentiments of each of the 100,000 people estimated to turn up on the 1oth Nov. Many peaceful march in other countries had turned ugly resulting in bloodshed and deaths.Crowd can become unruly, aggressive and uncontrollable.What happened at Batu Buruk can happen again on the 10th Nov and, maybe, on a bigger scale. If it occurred, the government shouldn't be blamed only the organisers should carry the guilt and punishment for the calamity.

What shocked me most was how some bloggers openly promote and encourage people to come to the march without caring for the consequences. They appear to be more uneducated than the uneducated.

My educated guess is, there will only be a couple of thousands of gullible Malaysians going.

EMAIL RESPONSE TO A FRIEND

HANTU LAUT

Dear Diana,

I am surprise you still find his writing moreish.I have stopped reading his articles a while ago, as not only I find them distasteful, needless to say , the man is also in consistence, bias and arrogantly perceives himself more sanctimonious than others.Not being dismissive, I also find his long-winded and repetitive style of writing just to make the story long, to prove he has literary skill, makes dismal reading.It would have been more gratifying if he had precised his articles.

In Para 7 of his article he mentioned that those who become a threat to people in the corridors of power were either sacked or bought off.In some other story he wrote,he earnestly defended one allegedly corrupt senior police officer with wealth worth RM 27 millions, an ex CP in Sabah, who had to be bribed with huge parcel of land and shares in some companies before he went with his counterpart in the army to launch a massive exercise to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, which ended as an exercise in futility and an action not done in the course of duty but through immoral incentives.

Many of the top political bloggers in Malaysia the likes of Raja Petra,Rocky Bru,Susan Loone,Elizabeth Wong, Kadir Jasin,M.Bakri Musa and few others are good writers, but unfortunately, they are also very anti-establishment. Many of what they wrote were emotionally charged and geared to attract more hits to their blog rather than seeking a discourse in intellectualism or to broach an argument substantially not out of substance.It's a close-knit community, abrasive, histrionics and exhilarating in 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' kind of philosophy.They have a kind of 'I am smarter than thou' extra sensory perception with a gaff on innuendoes and conjectures.

If you care to go around and make home visits to their tendentious blogs, you would notice they seem to work in harmony and without diversity, an idiosyncrasy that seems to work well with the uninitiated fans, the readers, that the majority of are only capable of making fatuous comments and utterances of insufferable obscenities against the establishment, which I don't really care about.I certainly agree there are a lot of rot in the establishment, but to have a dyed-in-the-wool opinion of every thing the government does is wrong, is blind as a blind can be.

What is even more worrying and disturbing is the effect of the bloggers' campaign against the government by trying to incite the Agong and the other rulers to interfere in the administration of the nation.It seems to have some effect on some of the rulers, especially in Perak, where the Raja Muda and recently the Sultan had come out of the royal cacoon and made some statement on the state of the judiciary.They broke fast from their elegant silence.

Malaysians should also be perturbed to learn that the Agong had refused to accept the Prime Minister's choice of candidate for judiciary appointment.Our nation is not an absolute monarchy but a constitutional monarch based on the British Westminster system where the head of state do not have executive power.To deny the Prime Minister's choice, no matter how bad it is, would be tantamount to interfering in the administration of the state.This is a dangerous trend and a bad precedent, if the story going round the blogosphere is true.

My grandfather once told me, there are two kind of people in this world you must not trust.A policeman and a journalist.

If we want to change the leaders or the whole government for that matter, the rightful place would be the ballot boxes. It's somehow seems strange that some supposedly seasoned political pundits deemed it fits to drag the Agong and the other rulers into a controversy that didn't concerned them. If Badawi is the problem than the elected representatives should decide whether they want him to lead or not as there are provisions in the Constitution to remove the Prime Minister if he fails to enjoy the majority support of the house.

It is very disheartening to know that such anomalies, which this beautiful country, could ill afford to have, had taken place.I am all for clean government, a clean and fair election and a government accountable to the people, but do we have to ape the western form of democracy, are our citizens discipline enough to demonstrate? The recent 'walk for justice' had gone to naught.The proposed march on 10th November initiated by BERSIH and supported by NGOs and opposition parties with estimated 100,000 turnout is something to worry about.How do you control the sentiments of 100,000 individuals ? Do you honestly think the crowd on the 10th of November would be as discipline and peaceful as the 2000 lawyers ? The people who organised the march should have their head exmine, if they think they have control over the behaviour of the participants. Many peaceful demonstrations in some other countries had turned to bloodshed and death due to unruly, aggressive and uncontrollable behaviour of the crowd.

Maybe we should not worry too much and take some of the stories with a pinch of salt.

Best regards

Gram Kong.