Hantu Laut
Only the dreamers in Pakatan Rakyat including the incorrigible ex menteri besar think they could manipulate the state constitution to their benefits.
My stand have all along been that the Sultan and former Lord President knows more about the constitution than those greedy 'no class' politicians and half-past-six lawyers that gave them false hope that the sultan have erred.
Their dirty campaign against the judiciary have tarnished the reputation and good standing of our judges and brought the nation into disrepute.This bunch of hooligans will never get to see Putrajaya because Malaysians are slowly waking up to seeing their incompetence, greed and amateurism.
What happening in PKR is a reflection of Anwar style of leadership.The Malays are slowly but surely abandoning him and leave him to his own device.
Now, that the highest court in the country has made its final judgment, will the detractors in Pakatan Rakyat continue to disparage the judiciary?Those who did should face the music.
The court should not take anymore nonsense and should slap contempt of court on anyone, bloggers included, who questioned and belittled the court's decision.
Ciao Nizar.Find another job.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Homosexuality:East And West
Hantu Laut
Might is right?
No! Might is not always right but it can impose its rights on you.It can bully,intimidate,coerce or bomb you into submission.
The West have perfected the art of 'might is right' into a new form of colonialism, deploy either by the might of the pen or the barrel of a gun.
In the case of Iraq, Afghanistan now Pakistan and soon Yemen and very soon Iran the gun speaks louder than the pen.Where literacy is low and the pen has no effect the gun would be the weapon of choice.
The Talibans respect only two things, Islam and Pastunwali, no guns and bombs are going to scare them off.The Brits have seen it,the Russians got their balls fried and the Amercian offering themselves a journey to hell.It's going to be a long and senseless war.
In Afghanistan, keeping young boy as company is not uncommon.Sodomy not only exists in Genesis 19.24 and God's retribution for impenitent sins.Today, divine retributions come still in its familiar forms, the acts of God.
In Malaysia, the axiomatic " pen is mightier than the sword" has proven its might and stabbed Malaysians right in the hearts.
In the hearts and minds, Malaysians are bought.It's no more the court of justice that be the judge of Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case, it's the court of public opinion that have decided his innocent.
Washington Post (in my previous post here.) in its hard hitting editorial warned Malaysia that the Obama administration and other Western governments interested in stability in Asia should make clear that the imprisonment of Mr. Anwar would be a blatant human rights violation -- and not in Malaysia's interest.
A kind of threat?
Isn't Malaysia a sovereign nation and has its own rule of law?
The might of Western powers have made them into believing theirs are the only righteous path and the rest of the world is nescient and, therefore, must be taught a lesson, whatever it might be, from human rights to doesn't matter how contorted morality is in the eyes of the Easterners, the way of the West is superciliously prettier.Submit or be damned.
Homosexuality, as we all know, exists all over the world and in every culture. Most religion, particularly the Abrahamic religions do not look kindly upon it.In the Bible, the story of Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was about divine anger against sodomy.
In some Middle Eastern countries you are dead meat if you are caught or known to be gay. It's viewed as a sickness and sexual perversion.In Eastern Asia they are mostly tolerated but kept under the lid.In the West they have gained celebrity status, excepted and viewed as the right of an individual and where the burqas and minarets are seen as bigger evil than sodomy.
In most part of Asia including the very modern and squeaky clean Singapore sodomy with same sex partners is a crime.Old Mr Lee wanted the whole sodomy law to be repelled but, somehow, his government was not in favour of such drastic change.As in the words of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong "it could send the wrong signal and encourage LGBT activists to ask for more concessions, such as same-sex marriage and parenting."
In 2007, Singapore amended its Sodomy Law and decriminalised sodomy among heterosexual partners but still makes it an offence among same sex partners.Maximum imprisonment for sodomy in Singapore is 2 years.However, no one had been charged in recent times.
In Malaysia sodomy is much more serious offence,if convicted a maximum of 20 years is allowed under the law.
In some Middle Eastern countries you could get killed for being gay, not necessarily by the law but by maniacal homophobic.
With the exception of Anwar Ibrahim there have been no other sodomy case in Malaysia. As long as there was no police report against a person the government have no business charging him.In the case of Anwar, a police report was lodged by an aggrieved party.The right place to decide the case is the Malaysian court of justice,not the Western press,not the court of public opinion and not Anwar's court of courtiers.
In many truly Asian countries, I don't consider the Middle East as truly Asian, most people have no problem with gays, we, somehow tolerated them and ignored whatever their sexual orientation.Some are open about it, most are closet case.
Here are some of gory tales of violence against gays in Muslim countries from Der Spiegel
"Do what you want to me, but don't tell them," he screamed.
Might is right?
No! Might is not always right but it can impose its rights on you.It can bully,intimidate,coerce or bomb you into submission.
The West have perfected the art of 'might is right' into a new form of colonialism, deploy either by the might of the pen or the barrel of a gun.
In the case of Iraq, Afghanistan now Pakistan and soon Yemen and very soon Iran the gun speaks louder than the pen.Where literacy is low and the pen has no effect the gun would be the weapon of choice.
The Talibans respect only two things, Islam and Pastunwali, no guns and bombs are going to scare them off.The Brits have seen it,the Russians got their balls fried and the Amercian offering themselves a journey to hell.It's going to be a long and senseless war.
In Afghanistan, keeping young boy as company is not uncommon.Sodomy not only exists in Genesis 19.24 and God's retribution for impenitent sins.Today, divine retributions come still in its familiar forms, the acts of God.
In Malaysia, the axiomatic " pen is mightier than the sword" has proven its might and stabbed Malaysians right in the hearts.
In the hearts and minds, Malaysians are bought.It's no more the court of justice that be the judge of Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case, it's the court of public opinion that have decided his innocent.
Washington Post (in my previous post here.) in its hard hitting editorial warned Malaysia that the Obama administration and other Western governments interested in stability in Asia should make clear that the imprisonment of Mr. Anwar would be a blatant human rights violation -- and not in Malaysia's interest.
A kind of threat?
Isn't Malaysia a sovereign nation and has its own rule of law?
The might of Western powers have made them into believing theirs are the only righteous path and the rest of the world is nescient and, therefore, must be taught a lesson, whatever it might be, from human rights to doesn't matter how contorted morality is in the eyes of the Easterners, the way of the West is superciliously prettier.Submit or be damned.
Homosexuality, as we all know, exists all over the world and in every culture. Most religion, particularly the Abrahamic religions do not look kindly upon it.In the Bible, the story of Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was about divine anger against sodomy.
In some Middle Eastern countries you are dead meat if you are caught or known to be gay. It's viewed as a sickness and sexual perversion.In Eastern Asia they are mostly tolerated but kept under the lid.In the West they have gained celebrity status, excepted and viewed as the right of an individual and where the burqas and minarets are seen as bigger evil than sodomy.
In most part of Asia including the very modern and squeaky clean Singapore sodomy with same sex partners is a crime.Old Mr Lee wanted the whole sodomy law to be repelled but, somehow, his government was not in favour of such drastic change.As in the words of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong "it could send the wrong signal and encourage LGBT activists to ask for more concessions, such as same-sex marriage and parenting."
In 2007, Singapore amended its Sodomy Law and decriminalised sodomy among heterosexual partners but still makes it an offence among same sex partners.Maximum imprisonment for sodomy in Singapore is 2 years.However, no one had been charged in recent times.
In Malaysia sodomy is much more serious offence,if convicted a maximum of 20 years is allowed under the law.
In some Middle Eastern countries you could get killed for being gay, not necessarily by the law but by maniacal homophobic.
With the exception of Anwar Ibrahim there have been no other sodomy case in Malaysia. As long as there was no police report against a person the government have no business charging him.In the case of Anwar, a police report was lodged by an aggrieved party.The right place to decide the case is the Malaysian court of justice,not the Western press,not the court of public opinion and not Anwar's court of courtiers.
In many truly Asian countries, I don't consider the Middle East as truly Asian, most people have no problem with gays, we, somehow tolerated them and ignored whatever their sexual orientation.Some are open about it, most are closet case.
Here are some of gory tales of violence against gays in Muslim countries from Der Spiegel
Wave of Homophobia Sweeps the Muslim World
By Juliane von Mittelstaedt and Daniel Steinvorth
Bearded men kidnapped him in the center of Baghdad, threw him into a dark hole, chained him down, urinated on him, and beat him with an iron pipe. But the worst moment for Hisham, 40, came on the fourth day of his ordeal when the kidnappers called his family. He was terrified they would tell his mother that he is gay and that this was the reason they had kidnapped him. If they did he would never be able to see his family again. The shame would be unbearable for them.
That was four months ago. Hisham has since moved to Lebanon. He told his family that he had decided to flee the violence and terror in Baghdad and that he had found work in Beirut. Needless to say he didn't disclose the fact that he is unable to live in Iraq because of the death squads who are out hunting for "effeminate-looking" men.
In Baghdad a new series of murders began early this year, perpetrated against men suspected of being gay. Often they are raped, their genitals cut off, and their anuses sealed with glue. Their bodies are left at landfills or dumped in the streets. The non-profit organization Human Rights Watch, which has documented many of these crimes, has spoken of a systematic campaign of violence involving hundreds of murders.
Restoring 'Religious Morals'
A video clip showing men dancing with each other at a party in Baghdad in the summer of 2008 is thought to have triggered this string of kidnappings, rapes, and murders. Thousands of people have seen it on the Internet and on their cell phones. Islamic religious leaders began ranting about the growing presence of a "third sex" which American soldiers were said to have brought in with them. The followers of radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, in particular, felt the need to take action aimed at restoring "religious morals."
In their stronghold, the part of Baghdad known as Sadr City, black-clad militiamen patrol the streets, on the lookout for anyone whose "unmanly appearance" or behavior would make it possible to identify them as being homosexual. Often enough long hair, tight-fitting t-shirts and trousers, or a certain way of walking were a death sentence for the persons in question. But it's not just the Mahdi army who has been hunting down and killing gay men. Other groups such as Sunni militias close to al-Qaida and the Iraqi security services are also known to be involved.
Homosexuals in Iraq may be faced with an exceptionally dangerous situation but they are ostracized almost everywhere in the Muslim world. Gay rights organizations estimate that more than 100,000 gay men and women are currently being discriminated against and threatened in Muslim countries. Thousands of them commit suicide, end up in prison, or go into hiding.
Egypts Starts to Clamp Down
More than 30 Islamic countries have laws on the books that prohibit homosexuality and make it a criminal offense. In most cases punishment ranges from floggings to life imprisonment. In Mauritania, Bangladesh, Yemen, parts of Nigeria and Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iran convicted homosexuals can also be sentenced to death.
In those Muslim countries where homosexuality is not against the law gay men and women are nonetheless persecuted, arrested, and in some cases murdered. Although long known for its open gay scene, Egypt has recently started to clamp down hard. The lives of homosexuals are monitored by a kind of vice squad who tap telephones and recruit informants. As soon as the police have accumulated the kind of evidence they need they charge their victims with "debauchery."
In Malaysia homosexuality has been used as a political weapon. In 2000 opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly committing "sodomy" with his wife's chauffeur as well as with a former speechwriter. In 2004 the conviction was overturned on appeal and he was acquitted. In the summer of 2008 charges were filed against him in a similar case when a male aide accused him of sodomy. The case is still ongoing.
For a while Anwar was the favorite of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and was being groomed to succeed him in that office until they had a falling out in 1998. Ten years and some prison time later, on August 28, 2008, Anwar managed to be sworn in again as a member of the Malaysian parliament. But that's as far as he has got with his political comeback.
Even in liberal Lebanon homosexuals run the risk of being sentenced to a year in prison. On the other hand, Beirut has the only gay and lesbian organization in the Arab world (Helem, which means 'dream' in Arabic). There are posters on the walls of the Helem office in downtown Beirut providing information on AIDS and tips on how to deal with homophobia. The existence of Helem is being tolerated for the time being but the Interior Ministry has yet to grant it an official permit. "And it's hard to imagine that we ever will be given one," says Georges Azzi, the organization's managing director.
Islamists Are the Dominant Cultural Force
In Istanbul there is a free gay scene, a Christopher Street Day, and even religious Muslims are among the fans of transsexual pop diva Bülent Ersoy and the late gay singer Zeki Müren. But outside the world of show business it is considered both a disgrace and an illness to be a götveren or "queen." In the Turkish army homosexuality is cause for failing a medical test. To identify anyone trying to use homosexuality as an excuse to get out of military service, army doctors ask to see photos or videos showing the recruits engaging in sex with a man. And they have to be in the "passive" role. In Turkey being in the active role is considered manly enough not to be proof of homosexuality.
It looks as if a wave of homophobia has swept over the Islamic world, a place that was once widely known for its openmindedness, where homoerotic literature was written and widely read, where gender roles were not so narrowly defined, and, as in the days of ancient Greece, where men often sought the companionship of youths.
Islamists are now a dominant cultural force in many of these countries. They include figures such as popular Egyptian television preacher Yussuf al-Qaradawi who demonizes gays as perverse. Four years ago Shiite grand ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa saying that gays are to be murdered in the most brutal way possible. These religious opinion leaders base their hatred for gays on the story of Lot in the Koran: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." Lot's people suffered the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins. The Prophet Muhammad has a number of dicta in which he condemns these acts by Lot's people and in one of them he even goes as far as to call for punishment by death.
European Prudery Exported to the Colonies
The story of Lot and related verses in the Koran were not interpreted as unambiguous references to homosexual sex until the 20th century, says Everett Rowson, professor of Islamic Studies at New York University. This reinterpretation was the result of Western influences -- its source was the prudery of European colonialists who introduced their conception of sexual morality to the newly conquered countries.
The fact of the matter is that half of the laws across the world that prohibit homosexuality today are derived from a single law that the British enacted in India in 1860. "Many attitudes with regard to sexual morality that are thought to be identical to Islam owe a lot more to Queen Victoria than to the Koran," Rowson says.
More than anything, it is the politicization of Islam that has led to the persecution of gays today. Sexual morals are no longer a private matter. They are regulated and instrumentalized by governments.Read more.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Threatening Malaysia
Hantu Laut
The article below is an editorial from the Washington Post.
The conclusion that Anwar Ibrahim is innocent, framed by the powers that be and assisted by the judiciary is the most appalling provocation and insult to the judiciary of this country.The editorial at Washington Post have joint the likes of Malaysia Today in making superflously gutter comments on matters that they have little knowledge of.The herd instinct is most appalling.
I was an international businessman and CEO of a company before. I have travelled extensively overseas on business, I never took my secretary, let alone my coffee boy on my overseas travel.You can get both services in most major hotels overseas at much cheaper cost.Why would you want to take your coffee boy and double your expenses?
Maybe, for the American it is alright to do so, it's has become their culture to take their coffee boy where ever they go.
Food for thought.
That's one reason it's suspicious that, three months after the state election victories in 2008, Mr. Anwar was once again accused of sodomy. Another is that his young male accuser was seen with aides of Najib Razak, who is now prime minister; Mr. Anwar says he has evidence that the accuser met with the prime minister and his wife shortly before making his charge. A third is that the case has been transferred from criminal court to a higher court whose judges are closely linked to the ruling party.
f Mr. Anwar is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and would be banned from politics for five years. He is 62. The ruling party no doubt hopes a conviction will cause the opposition coalition to crumble. But it could just as easily provoke a backlash against Mr. Najib or street demonstrations that could destabilize the country. That's why the Obama administration and other Western governments interested in stability in Asia should make clear that the imprisonment of Mr. Anwar would be a blatant human rights violation -- and not in Malaysia's interest.
The article below is an editorial from the Washington Post.
The conclusion that Anwar Ibrahim is innocent, framed by the powers that be and assisted by the judiciary is the most appalling provocation and insult to the judiciary of this country.The editorial at Washington Post have joint the likes of Malaysia Today in making superflously gutter comments on matters that they have little knowledge of.The herd instinct is most appalling.
I was an international businessman and CEO of a company before. I have travelled extensively overseas on business, I never took my secretary, let alone my coffee boy on my overseas travel.You can get both services in most major hotels overseas at much cheaper cost.Why would you want to take your coffee boy and double your expenses?
Maybe, for the American it is alright to do so, it's has become their culture to take their coffee boy where ever they go.
Food for thought.
Why the prosecution of Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim matters to the West.
IN THE PAST two years, Malaysia, which has been a one-party state since it gained independence in 1957, has made remarkable strides toward becoming a democracy. That it has done so is mostly due to the efforts and political talent of one man -- Anwar Ibrahim. So the fact that Mr. Anwar went on criminal trial last week should deeply concern the democratic world. The outcome could determine whether one of Asia's most economically successful countries preserves its stability and embraces long-overdue reforms.
A former deputy prime minister in the ruling party, Mr. Anwar was deposed and jailed in 1998 by former Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad. A manifestly unfair trial followed in which Mr. Anwar was convicted of homosexual sodomy, which shamefully remains a crime in Malaysia. Six years later, the conviction was overturned by a court, and Mr. Anwar resumed his political career -- this time as an open champion of democracy in Malaysia and other Muslim countries.
Mr. Anwar succeeded in forging a coalition of opposition parties, including his own multiracial People's Justice Party, an Islamic party, and a secular party. He has campaigned against the government's toxic policy of racial discrimination, which funnels economic favors to well-connected members of the ethnic Malay majority. In the past two years, his coalition has pulled off a string of stunning victories in state and parliamentary by-elections; it now controls four of 13 state governments. If led by Mr. Anwar, it would have a fair chance of winning the next national election in 2013.That's one reason it's suspicious that, three months after the state election victories in 2008, Mr. Anwar was once again accused of sodomy. Another is that his young male accuser was seen with aides of Najib Razak, who is now prime minister; Mr. Anwar says he has evidence that the accuser met with the prime minister and his wife shortly before making his charge. A third is that the case has been transferred from criminal court to a higher court whose judges are closely linked to the ruling party.
f Mr. Anwar is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and would be banned from politics for five years. He is 62. The ruling party no doubt hopes a conviction will cause the opposition coalition to crumble. But it could just as easily provoke a backlash against Mr. Najib or street demonstrations that could destabilize the country. That's why the Obama administration and other Western governments interested in stability in Asia should make clear that the imprisonment of Mr. Anwar would be a blatant human rights violation -- and not in Malaysia's interest.
Anwar's trial in cyberspace too
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The sodomy trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is not only being fought in court but in cyberspace too, with increasing online chatter on blogs and news websites. Anwar himself has been sending tweets from the dock, and people outside the court have been giving regular updates about the trial. While online news sites report factually on what has been happening in court, many blogs have been busy dissecting the trial and positioning themselves for or against the former deputy prime minister. Intimate details have been revealed. Among other things, two pairs of undergarments belonging to accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan were displayed in court last Friday. They were Levi's underpants. When one person tweeted about it, Anwar sent a tweet in reply: "underwear...levis. Oh oh". When asked by a Twitter user how he could tweet while in the dock, Anwar replied: "Of course I can twitter in court; though not much since I've to listen, take notes and advise my counsel." Bloggers such as Anil Netto gave regular updates of happenings at the court complex in the first three days of the trial. Critics have said Anwar is not the only one on trial. The whole justice system, the police, the government and the mainstream media are also in the dock. Lawyer Art Harun blogged that the prosecution should release evidence which the defence has asked for, a request which the Federal Court has rejected. These include copies of CCTV recordings taken at the guardhouse of the scene of the alleged crime, and medical reports about tests being done on Saiful. "The court cannot be said to be in the position to make a fair and just decision without looking at those evidence," he wrote. The author of a blog called naked-malaysian.com was of the opinion that Saiful's behaviour - meeting the then Deputy Premier Najib Razak for advice regarding being sodomised, avoiding cleaning himself or passing motion for two days - was "freakishly unusual". But others take the opposite view, like the Gerakan Anti-PKR blog, which posted crude cartoons to push its view that Anwar was guilty as charged. On news websites such Malaysiakini, there were plenty of comments posted by readers on whether they feel Anwar was guilty or innocent. Law lecturer Azmi Sharom of Universiti Malaya said discussing or reporting on a case was not subjudice, pointing out that the concept was relevant only during jury trials. "If jurors read it, then they would be influenced. But we don't have jury trials anymore. Unless the statements made are threatening to the judge or influences or interferes with the process of justice, it is not subjudice," he told The Straits Times. One is guilty of being in contempt of court only if one has written something against the judge's orders, he added. Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim warned bloggers last Friday that the authorities were monitoring blogs for elements of contempt or subjudice. Blogs "can report on the case based on what transpired in court and in the interest of public knowledge, but we should not make comments which are subjudice", he said. |
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