UMNO’s Latest Psy-War Materials Exposed

by Azly Rahman

[Azly has clarified that the piece below appeared in Malaysia Waves, linked to the Malaysia Waves blog and that he had not received the email personally.]


(NOTE: This is an email i received from a reader exposing the latest brain washing tricks deployed by UMNO's apparatus called Biro Tatanegara(BTN). Mind you BTN is 100% funded by tax payer's money)

Biro Tatanegara. Does it ring a bell? Government propaganda or honest student development programme? For those who aren't aware of it, Biro Tatanegara or BTN for short is under the Jabatan Perdana Menteri and it has several modules which all public university students have to attend in the name of "Student Development". On the 6th of July 2008 in UiTM Shah Alam, there were three separate talks being held under BTN with the first one being titled "Pendidikan", second one titled "Ancaman Keselamatan Negara" and the third one titled, "Patriotisma". Smell anything funny yet? No? Read on. You won't even have to smell it after you are done reading this. It'll be stuffed down your throat.

I would like to only focus on the first speaker, Dr. Idris bin Md. Noor. He was supposed to talk about education as that was the title of his speech, but the content was far different. He first went on with the usual introductions but in less than a few minutes, he suddenly touched on the forum on the discussion of social contract in Malaysia that the BAR council organized. He criticized it with all his heart, saying no one should discuss about it as it is unquestionable. Fair enough, I thought at first. Freedom of speech right? But what if he suddenly accuses the "Malay" speaker in the forum, which I'm guessing is Farish A. Noor, as a traitor to the Malay race as a whole? And while he was browsing through his files on the laptop which was projected on the big screen, it was no surprise for me that I saw files entitled "Ketuanan Melayu". He also then went on about the Malay's obsession with magic and ghosts, he said that it is all wrong beliefs through the perspective of Islam because if they really could use magic and other dark arts for fighting, then they should kill Karpal Singh with it.

There are so many quotable sentences, if only I could remember it all. He even said, "Kalau ular dengan India depan mata, ketuk India dulu." He then started to become more impassioned in his speech towards the end, like someone campaigning for a political seat yet failed, and resorted to a multi-purpose hall with bumiputra students. He said so many atrocious things that I will list them down in point form.

-Explained how the Malays aren't racist but others are racist towards us.
-Bangsa Malaysia does not exist, neither does Malaysian Chinese and Indians, only in the strict Malay, Chinese and Indians. (Interestingly, behind a booklet provided to us, one of the objectives of the programme is to produce a -"Bangsa Malaysia". Obviously, he was ignorant).
-Bahasa Malaysia does not exist, it is Bahasa Melayu.
-Nothing wrong with waving the Keris.
-Bumiputra hanya 55% di Malaysia, give birth more people!
-The University and Colleges Act was partly made to ensure a Malay Vice-Chancellor in Universities which should be the way.
-Blogs are "berdosa" or sinful.
-Christians will not like Muslims.

But that isn't even the best part. The best part is, he showed a short film on the
dangers of Zionism and the illegal occupation of Palestine which was probably the only part of the speech I agreed with and I thought to myself this could be the only fact of the speech but surprise, surprise, at the end of the film, there was a montage of so-called Zionist supporters with the pictures of Anwar Ibrahim, Tian Chua, Teresa Kok, Hishamuddin Rais and Ezam Md. Nor. Then a question popped up in my head. Is Ezam still a Zionist supporter since he is in UMNO now? Does that mean the government has a Zionist supporter as well as the opposition? And expectedly, the speaker was being more anti-semitic than anti-zionist. He even explained how the Pakatan Rakyat ruled states are all going down the drain and he says, "this is what you get if you vote for the opposition!" He criticized Anwar Ibrahim and his colleagues so much along with Pakatan Rakyat while being completely oblivious towards Barisan Nasional's mistakes. As if they have perfect policies.

This was supposed to be a speech touching on education and look how it ended up. It did not even smell anything of education. It was a speech that was not meant for national unity at all. How could it be when you spread hate? I could only sit and ponder quietly while all this was happening. But the speech was not the saddest part. The saddest part was that the majority of students in the hall were cheering him on. I will type out part of the lyrics that were supplied to us, entitled, "Warisan".

Anak Kecil main api
Terbakar hatinya yang sepi
Air mata darah bercampur keringat
Bumi dipijak milik orang

Nenek moyang kaya raya
Tergadai seluruh harta benda
Akibat engketa sesamalah kita
Cinta lenyap di arus zaman ini

Indahnya bumi kita ini
Warisan berkurun lamanya
Hasil mengalir ke tangan yang lain
Pribumi merintih sendiri

Melayukan gagah di nusantara.


Who were those words referring to? Foreign powers or non-malays?

Perfect welcome to the new intake of University Students. Please spread this to others. People need to know.

I know you should.

written by A Worried Student,
06.07.2008

Kerajaan Barang Naik Sekali Lagi Naik Harga

Fuel hike: 78 sen more to RM2.70 per litre
Malaysiakini
Jun 4, 08
4:55pm

The government has just announced that petrol price will
go up by 78 sen at midnight - a 40.6 percent jump from RM1.92 per litre
to RM2.70. The price of diesel will go up RM1, or 63.3 percent
- from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.58. The price hikes are among government measures
to cut the spiralling bill for oil subsidies, which is expected to amount to
RM56 billion this year. At a press conference held at 5.30pm, Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also announced that the government plans to offer rebates
to motorists to offset the fuel price increase. Under the scheme, vehicles below
2000cc will receive a RM625 rebate annually - to compensate for 800 litres of
fuel used under the new price. Meanwhile, motorbikes will be given a rebate of
RM120. The money will be paid by postal order. Rebate will be paid when
motorists renew the road-tax for their vehicles. The government is expected to
save RM4 billion under this new subsidy restructure. However, the government is
slowly expected to head towards totally abolishing the fuel subsidy. If petrol
is to be sold at full market prices, it could be as high as almost RM4 a litre -
about 50 percent above current levels. Since 2004, petrol has gone up by 97.1
percent, while diesel increased by a whopping 231 percent [see chart below].

Higher TNB tariffs

Abdullah also announced that the road tax for vehicles above 2,000cc will be
reduced by RM200. For motorbikes above 250cc, their road tax will be slashed by
RM50. The diesel subsidy for fishermen will be fixed at RM1 per litre while
vessel owners will have to pay RM1.20 per litre. The premier also announced a
price hike in gas supply for electrical and industry sectors. The premier
further said that the electricity tariffs too would be increased. He added that
the power tariff rate would remain the same for households which use about 200
kilowatt of electricity, which would still cost them RM43.60. Any usage beyond
this would fall under the new price which will be announced by power supplier
Tenaga Nasional soon.

KUDOS to our government. With this hike of price for fuel, we will have to kindly dig out more money not only for petrol but for every stuff that is on the rack of the shop.

Cars queing for petrol at a petrol station in Tmn Sri Skudai

WTF is happening? I thought Malaysia is 1 of the country that produce petrol & selling it to other country. We should have earn a lot from the increasing global price of petrol if that is so & for that we don't need to increase our domestic fuel price. What is this? We are not country that imports petrol, we are exprorting!! Why the government increase the price? Is our country coffer running out of reserve? Is our country running out of money? Where did the money goes?

Now let us compare the price with OIL PRODUCING countries

UAE– RM1.19/litre
Eygpt– RM1.03/litre
Bahrain– RM0.87/litre
Qatar– RM0.68/litre
Kuwait– RM0.67/litre
Saudi Arabia– RM0.38/litre
Iran– RM0.35/litre
Nigeria– RM0.32/litre
Turkmenistan– RM0.25/litre
Venezuela– RM0.16/litre
MALAYSIA– RM2.70/litre

Buffalo donkey!! What a government we have. Good job!!

*stats taken from Malaysia Today

Songkok Issue of the Prefectorial Board of English College

Today right after i woke up, I received a SMS from my friend that the songkok issue has turned into a national issue. I am not surprise about this turning into a national issue since I know a few of them don't want to wear it as they & their parents see it as a headgear for Malay & the wearing of songkok is Malaynisation. I also get to see the letter of complaint by the parent from Uncle Lim's blog :

Letters
by a JB EC parent

I have a query for you about the English College, Johor Bahru, which is now also known as Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar.

My son who is in Form Five this year, has been a Prefect in EC
since he was in Form Two. He has always been an exemplary student, as well has won praise from many teachers for his exemplary conduct and commitment to his duties and studies. He is also a member of the ExCo of the Prefectorial Board.

Recently, in the beginning of this year, there was an instruction from the school, which I believe came from the teacher advisor to the Prefectorial Board, that Prefects have to start wearing the Songkok as part of the official uniform. At first, the instruction was that it would only be required during “official functions” like school assemblies and during interschool events or major events like sports day and speech day. Hoever, this has now been revised to include daily prefectorial duties.

There are reasons to believe that the practice of getting Prefects to wear the Songkok, is a prelude to getting ALL the students of the school to eventually follow suit.

My son, after conferring with me, has decided that he will NOT wear the Songkok. He is willing to resign from the Prefectorial Board if forced to wear the Songkok.

The rationale behind his refusal, which I stongly support, is that the Songkok is an emblem of the MALAY identity. As non-Malays, he should not be forced to don attire which does not reflect his true identity.

Also, since the Constitution defines Malay as someone who is Muslim, it may give others the wrong impression that he may be Muslim. Although, at first thought, this may sound a bit far-fetched, as the complexion of a Chinese is very different from that of a Malay. But it is also about principle and of providing a precedent. What of the case of a dark-skinned Chinese, or even an Indian, who wears a songkok? Will they be mistaken for Malays?

The issue is also that of “stumbling others.” My son is a devout
Christian, and has been on two trips overseas in the past two years on mission outreaches, to help the poor, and to spread the Gospel. In Christianity, there are exhortations to Christians not to “stumble your brothers.” Apostle Paul had written in the case when food which had been offered to idols should not be consumed esp in the presence of Christian brothers who are not strong in the faith. Perhaps the wearing of the Songkok may also lead others to stumble, as the songkok is associated with Malay identity, and Malays are invariably Muslim. People who see my son wearing a songkok may think that he is a Malay, and thus a Muslim.

There will be those Malays who wish to enforce their culture, albeit in a creeping fashion, unto others, who may defend the move to enforce the songkok, claiming that the Songkok is a National identity, rather than a Malay or Muslim identity.

To that, I ask why:

- the songkok is part of the uniform of the Royal Malay Regiment, and not of say the rangers and others.
- the songkok is worn by Malays who go for Friday prayers, and not on other days.
- the songkok is worn by Malays on Hari Raya and Hari Raya Haji, but NOT on Hari Merdeka.

In fact, the songkok is identified with Malay cultural dress, just as
the cheongsam is with Chinese, and the saree with Indian. And just as the tudung is for Malays, so too the turban is for Sikhs.

IF the rationale behind the move to enforce students is “uniformity” then are Sikhs exempt from wearing them? Where then would be the uniformity?

My other contention, and which should probably be more IN THE INTEREST OF THE MALAY MUSLIM COMMUNITY, is that my son’s refusal to comply with the requirement for non-Malays to wear the songkok, WILL ACTUALLY PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY AND SANCTITY OF THE SONGKOK.

Despite all the denial about the Songkok being associated with Malay identity and hence with Islam (since all Malays are Muslims), the common perception even amongst Malay Muslims themselves, are that someone wearing a songkok IS a Muslim. IMAGINE a situation where a man wearing a songkok is having a beer, or a group of men are photographed in a pub, all wearing songkoks and each lifting a pint into the air!

What would Malays have to say about it then?
Would these be considered as an insult to Islam?

There are other situations where men in songkoks should not be
seen doing things which a Muslim should NOT be doing. For instance, would Muslims be upset if I were to wear a songkok and have my picture taken with a roast pig and the picture displayed?

What if my son wears a songkok and eats in a mamak shop during the month of Ramadan? Of if my son wears a songkok, and walks in the park at 7pm with his girlfriend, who is wearing a tudung (she also a non-Muslim!)

Would Muslim feel a sense of their culture being violated by
non-Muslims in Malay dress, doing things which good Muslims should not be doing? A non-Muslim boy walking sitting on a park bench at night with a non-Muslim girl would be nobody’s business but their own (or their parents). However, this would be a no-no for Muslims. Imagine the confusion if a non-Muslim boy with songkok were to be seen in this “khalwat” situation with a non-Muslim girl in a tudung?

Therefore, I reiterate - it is probably best to preserve the integrity and sanctity of the songkok and tudung, IF they are reserved for Malays and NOT enforced upon non-Malays. Alternatively, it should be left to the personal choice of the individual.

Do you think that my arguments have a basis?

I have no complaints if they make the songkok NON-COMPULSORY, and IF wearing it is just “encouraged” rather than. Would they have a problem if a small cross is pinned to the songkok, to designate that the wearer is not a Muslim?

Since I'm 1 of the prefect in Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar(English College), 1 of the ExCo & also a student that has study in EC for 7 years (currently in upper 6), let me explain the story behind this songkok thing. As far as I know, the wearing of the green songkok has existed for a very long time (around 20 or 30 years) & it didn't pop up just recently as some people assumed. It is clearly stated in the constitution of the EC's Prefectorial Board as 1 of the accessories that needed to be wear on by male prefrect in school. As for everyone knowledge, our songkok is not those normal songkok but songkok which is similar to those songkok that MP & minister don on. The difference is the colour is not black but green.

The wearing of songkok among prefect still exist when I 1st get into form 1 but then it disappear suddenly in my form 4 year due to relaxation in enforcement of this rule. During the past & those who are same batch as me, to us, prefect wearing songkok is a tradition & not a big deal to us but when this rule is bring it up again, a lot of complaints & objections are heard due to lack of knowledge towards the history of prefectorial board especially among non-Malay juniors.

To me, wearing the songkok is not a religious matter or a race matter. I didn't turn me into a Malay nor did I become Muslim. I still a Chinese Buddhist & will remain Chinese Buddhist forever. Wearing songkok makes me feel that i'm Malaysian, a truly Malaysian. By the way, we are not force to wear it but for unifomity we choose to wear it. Those who are not comfortable with it can choose not to wear it. No one forces the person to do things they don't want to do.

The current situation is due to miscommunication between the school authorithy & the prefects. A meeting will be held soon & I hope everyone don't turn this issue into a racial or religious issue.

Fight For Our Right For A Safe Society!

Our country is turning form bad to worse. Our cities are fast turning into cowboy town where law doesn't exist. Snacth theft, extortion, robbery, kidnapping, rape & etc are getting out of hand. Just few days ago, 2 cases of rob & gang rape happened in JB. All this can be prevented if we have efficient police force. Johor Bahru's Tiong Hua Association has recently launch a campaign of 100k signatures petition to be send to the authority. I hope everyone that visit my blog will support this campaign.

Sign signature online
http://www.jbtalks.cc/petition/

Download petition form
http://www.jb-tionghua.org.my/qianshu.doc

Lets fight for our right to have a better and safe society!

Spread This To All Over The Country For Better and Affordable Broadband!

Do you think we should deserve better and affordable broadband? If yes, please read the news below and spread it to everyone you know. Thanks!

By Redesign Malaysia

PRESS RELEASE: (For immediate circulation).
You can also download a Word version of this press release here.

Malaysia Deserves Better Broadband !
Two Malaysian tech startups, Advertlets.com & RedesignMalaysia.com declare war on bad broadband services, and provide marketing & advertising ammunition to competing ISPs.
Kuala Lumpur, 16 April 2007.
Advertlets.com, an online blog advertising network and RedesignMalaysia.com, a website which campaigns for broadband reform and improvement in Malaysia have launched the “Malaysia Deserves Better Broadband!” campaign.
To mark the launch of the campaign, an innovative advertising system has been created that allows local ISPs to target and advertise their services to verified users of competing broadband services - to more than 50,000 Malaysian Internet users a day.
The launch of the “Malaysia Deserves Better Broadband!” campaign is timely, as it is an avenue to drive the nation to get closer to achieving the target of 50% household broadband penetration by the year 2008, an aim of the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry and the Government through the MyICMS 886 Plan. Currently, the broadband penetration rate in Malaysia is only about 3-5% of the population.
The advertising system is distributed over hundreds of Malaysian blogs, under the Advertlets blog advertising network. Each computer accessing the internet has a unique IP (Internet Protocol) address, which can be used to identify the geographic location of visitors as well as determine what internet service provider they are using (Each ISP is allocated a certain range of IP adresses).
The system, which consists of an embedded advertising code on blogs and a sophisticated backend, then uses its database of IP addresses in Malaysia, and matches each IP to the appropriate Malaysian ISP (Internet Service Provider) to display relevant advertising. For example, if ISP X wanted to reach customers of ISP Y, they could choose to advertise with Advertlets, and the advertisements for ISP X would only be shown to those who are using ISP Y’s services.
Currently, the system can detect virtually every ISP in Malaysia : including TM Net, DiGi Internet Exchange, NasionCom, MaxisNet, Airzed, Time Telekom, NTT MSC / Arc Net, Jaring / MIMOS (MIX), CNX Solutions, EB Technologies, Bizsurf, and more. There are further plans to upgrade the system to be able to detect the location of potential viewers, to be able to target users of a certain ISP in Kajang or Kelana Jaya for example.
Josh Lim, director of Josh Lim Ventures, which is responsible for both Advertlets.com and RedesignMalaysia.com has this to say : “A lot of consumers are not aware that there are more services than just the incumbent broadband provider (TM Streamyx), due to the fact that the broadband market here is largely occupied by them alone. From the feedback we have received, a lot of people are dissatisfied with the speed and service quality of the Streamyx service, however, many feel that there is no where else to go. TM spends millions on marketing its Streamyx broadband service through online, TV, radio, outdoor advertising and print media. “
Mr Lim goes on to say: “However, through targeted blog advertising, even with a budget of a few thousand ringgit, the smaller ISPs can compete fairly in promoting their services to online users over hundreds of Malaysian blogs, and foster greater competition in the arena. That’s the beauty of targeted advertising – it reaches directly to the people that matter, and maximizes your marketing budget. “
He explains what is holding competition in the broadband area here back, and how it can be better for consumers and ISPs: “Smaller ISPs find it hard to compete with a company with millions of dollars to spend in advertising, and it is hard for them to sustain their business without gathering a sufficient number of new subscribers. Blogs are emerging as a formidable new media outlet for information, and we feel it is a great opportunity for us to help bloggers earn extra side income, as well as help ISPs to deliver better broadband to them. It is a win-win situation for all.”
He cited the recent competition in the prepaid mobile sector between Maxis Hotlink, Digi Prepaid and Celcom Xpax as a positive turn of events that has benefited consumers in terms of reduced prices and better services.
He says: “Malaysia cannot grow further as an IT hub without having better broadband services. We aim to spur competition in the broadband sector through providing this service, and start an ‘arms race’ that will benefit the consumers. We would love to see ISPs here compete to outdo each other in offering more coverage, better services and lower rates, as this is highly beneficial for consumers”.
Internet Service Providers who are interested in targeted blog advertising of their services in this manner are invited to check out www.advertlets.com for more information, or e-mail info@advertlets.com . Alternatively, they may contact Josh Lim Ventures through telephone at: 03-78049282, or by mobile at 0123119141.

About RedesignMalaysia.com
Launched symbolically on 31st August 2006, www.RedesignMalaysia.com is a private sector initiative that aims to improve the sorry state of broadband services here. It is the “ultimate initiative on broadband issues” in Malaysia, an independent project to educate consumers about the broadband situation in Malaysia. It features news on broadband related developments interactive coverage map detailing broadband options throughout the nation as well as a list of ISPs available in Malaysia. The website has been featured, and its founder, Josh Lim has been interviewed on The Breakfast Show on NTV7, as well as the cover story of NetValue 2.0 in The Edge.

About Advertlets.com
www.Advertlets.com is an Asian blog advertising network that launched on March 9th, 2007. Launched first in Malaysia, it has already signed up hundreds of bloggers, and currently, there are 1.4 million impressions available for advertising. Advertlets provides something truly unique to online advertising, through the use of blog demographics for individual blogs (Gender, Age Range, Profession), as well as targeted advertising which can be used to only target Malaysian visitors.

About Josh Lim Ventures
Josh Lim Ventures is the founding company behind RedesignMalaysia, Advertlets and Josh Lim & Associates. Believing in an interactive design style with substance, intelligence and an edge, they create impressive, highly functional websites incorporating rich-media technologies, with an aim on providing useful services to Malaysian internet users.Previously, they have worked on projects for Proton, Cineleisure Damansara, The Manhattan Fish Market, Pernod Ricard (Chivas Regal & Martell V.S.O.P), The Malaysian Energy Commision as well as the websites for Malaysian celebrities Daniel Tan, Ferhad & Joanna Bessey.
Its principal, Josh Lim, a designer by training, is influential in the field of interactive design and the local tech industry, having co-founded doxob.com, a community for web designers as well as having been featured in The Star, Cleo Magazine, The Edge Malaysia & Singapore, TV3, Astro Ria & 8TV in relation to his work. He is also an active public speaker on the subjects of design and entrepreneurship, and last did a college speaking tour in conjunction with Nescafe Kickstart and MYC Magazine