Asking The Wrong Questions To The Right Man...

Questions have been asked of Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK), specifically about who may be his 'backers'. These are interesting questions, now asked by senior politicians. However, I am not sure whether these are the rights questions for politicians, who also ostensibly have backers to be asking RPK, unless of course if these questions are rhetorical... what am I saying, of course it's rhetoric!

But politicians should be careful in asking these questions, they may be asked to reveal their own backers, and some may find themselves unable to answer!

As the innocence or guilt of DS Anwar Ibrahim is a matter of far greater public interest at this present time, I would suggest politicians ask a more pertinent question, specifically, WHY DID RPK VIA MALAYSIA TODAY PUBLISH THE FAKE PUSRAWI REPORT BY DR OSMAN ABDUL HAMID THAT DID NOT EXAMINE SAIFUL FOR SODOMY?

Those that have been following Saiful Bukhari Azlan's testimony at DS Anwar's sodomy trial in the papers would know that it is in conflict with the claims of Dr Osman, suspected of having links to DS Anwar, that Saiful was not sodomised. Saiful's account, conveyed properly, via legal channels as evidence in a sodomy or homosexual rape case should be, clearly states the same Dr Osman advised Saiful that he cannot be examined for sodomy at Pusrawi, a private hospital!

So, will YB Karpal Singh in all his glory choose to introduce Dr Osman as a rebuttal witness with this revelation? Clearly, Saiful's testimony has been very convincing, judging from Karpal rushing to request that testimony on how DS Anwar sodomised his victim be 'in camera', or restricted from public view. So much for the 'open government' that DAP espouse! Will Dr Osman be as convincing as Saiful, or will he wilt when his lie is laid bare?

Going back to our politicans, they should certainly ask questions of RPK, but their questions should be aimed at why he is involved in this sodomy case in such a way? How involved was RPK in fabricating the evidence from Dr Osman? And ultimately, if it is proven true that he fabricated evidence simply to protect the rape of a young man by his powerful friend, what other 'truths' have RPK and Malaysia Today been fabricating over these many years?

Censorship... Not Just The Government's...

There is news of censorship by the government of the internet, specifically the Malaysia-Today 'news' portal. Not sure if the site is still censored, but I managed to get in earlier. Maybe the idiots at MCMC flip-floped... or maybe KJ's cousin, the MCMC's minister, Shaziman did... "Kepimpinan Melalui Teladan"... Pet's quick setting up of a mirror site must have helped.

As usual, the current government, especially the young and increasingly unpopular Shaziman has myopically taken an indecisive politically motivated action that damages the nation... that is what Lah-ism is after all. Yet again, we have been Badawi-ed, this time on internet censorship.

Just want to make one observation though. Whilst I have no problem with Jeff and Rocky commenting and criticising censorship, since they famously do not censor their sites unless the stuff posted is inappropriate, I do have issue with some anti-BN sites' who would be hypocrites if they choose to complain. For instance, Malaysia-Today itself, since PRU-12, has been practicing censorship of comments. I've experienced this in a few others sites.

Their right to censor their sites, I do some to ensure relevancy of comments for instance. But whilst I disagree with the government's censorship of the internet, I find it richly hypocritical for some other bloggers to make a big deal of it if they themselves are censoring views they disagree with on their sites....

Saiful Tak Dirogol? Siapa Kata? Konspirasi Sapa Pulak Ni?

Bekas Perdana Menteri Inggeris yang terkemuka, Winston Churchill, pernah menyatakan,"Dusta sudah menjelajah separuh dunia sebelum Kebenaran memakai sepatunya". Ternyata dusta Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) tentang bagaimana Saiful tidak dirogol sudah menjelajah melepasi sempadan Malaysia, sampai akhbar pro-kerajaan pun seolah-olah mempercayainya. Tetapi Alhamdulillah, kebenaran sudah terjumpa sepatu rupa-rupanya.

Seorang doktor yang juga seorang blogger yang berkecuali telah meneliti 'laporan' Dr Osman Hamid seperti diwartakan oleh RPK. Antara lain, Dr Mohamed Rafick Khan Abdul Rahman ini menyatakan bahawa:

1. Dokumen yang diwartakan tersebut bukanlah laporan pemeriksaan perubatan yang rasmi, tetapi hanya sekadar nota pesakit luar oleh seorang doktor.


2. Hanya pemeriksaan asas sahaja yang dijalankannya, tanpa menggunakan alatan canggih mahupun teknik terperinci yang seharusnya digunakan untuk memastikan tiada kesan yang lebih mendalam.


3. Menurut cara dan quality nota pemeriksaan, Dr Osman terlihat bukan seorang pakar yang sesuai untuk memberi kata putus dalam hal ini.

Maka, walaupun dokumen yang ditulis Dr Osman ini tidak mengiyakan terjadinya perogolan terhadap Saiful, ia juga tidak menidakkan kemungkinan tersebut.

Menarik juga apabila kita melihat sekarang pihak Pusrawi sendiri menjelaskan bahawa Dr. Osman Hamid bukan seorang doktor pakar dan tidak pernah menjalankan pemeriksaan aduan sodomi (liwat) ke atas Mohd. Saiful Bukhari.

Dan kini sudah mula diwartakan pula maklumat yang Dr Osman Hamid mungkin pernah aktif bersama Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di dalam sebuah NGO! Pulak! Makanya, konspirasi siapa sebenarnya ni? Anwar punya ka, RPK punya? Nampak gaya Kebenaran bukan sahaja bersepatu, sudah mula berlari gamaknya!

Why The Desparation To Save Anwar?

I e-mailed a DAP friend recently advising him to desist from his defence of Anwar. My reasons were sincere in that I did not want him and his party to needlessly lose all the credibility in has recently earned on defending a criminal, on the false premise that he's innocent. I then made the observation that the championing of reform in our country should not hinge so much on the future of just one man.

A couple of days ago we saw the unveiling of the next dramatic attempt to save Anwar by RPK. This was of course celebrated by reform activists and more formal 'institutions' with similar sympathies like Malaysiakini and LKS. To many of these activists, this news was a much needed vindication of Anwar's 'innocence'. The only problem is, how much of it is real and how much highes on hope?

Perhaps it is telling that LKS did not celebrate Anwar's 'presumed innocence', but simply urged for the police to be more transparent in their investigations. This is probably because Lim Kit Siang, seasoned politician that he is, knows that the risk of Anwar actually being guilty is too much for him to balance the future of his party on, especially with his son now doing so well in Penang.

Too much has been invested by too many people on Anwar being the victim all these years. Too many have invested not just their time, energy and material wealth to the struggle for his 'justice', but also their soul to the belief that their struggle is for the right side.

So if Anwar is proven guilty without a shadow of a doubt to have raped Saiful in that condo, as the horror of the realisation dawns that all those other victims were raped by Anwar in the 90's, it is not just the ringgit, sweat and tears wasted these last 10 years that would be lamented, but faith, hope and the reason for being would be lost by so many...

...will RPK ever be believed again?

...will Harris Ibrahim remain a rebellious hero?

...will there be any pride left in those who proudly wear the light-blue badge?

...will there be any fondness left in the memory of wearing a light-blue bandana?

Faith in Anwar had been fading, slowly, but surely, ever since he ran to the Turkish Embassy when Saiful came forward. All of Anwar's rhetoric has come to naught as his behavior retards the image of innocence, whilst Saiful, despite all the dirt hurled in his direction, remains a victim in hiding. It should be no surprise then to see those like RPK attempt to save Anwar yet again, even if he is not worthy, as the cost of Anwar's guilt it too high for them to bear...

Parti Kelentong Rakyat?

Sebagai seorang yang sudah lama memerhati tikam-tepis politik, saya cukup faham niat PKR apabila pemimpin-pemimpinnya kadang-kala melakukan perkara yang kurang munasabah. Memang kalau hendak merebut kuasa, kadang-kadang kenalah buat benda yang kurang masuk akal, asalkan popular. Tambah pula kalau parti politik yang terlibat mengamalkan prinsip 'matlamat menghalalkan cara' seperti PKR.

Malang bagi PKR, ada tindak-tanduk kepimpinannya, termasuklah kepimpinannya yang tidak rasmi, yang tahap tidak munasabahnya sudah semakin sah kelentong.

Contoh yang paling dramatik adalah tindakan Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) yang baru-baru ini membuat deklarasi statutori tentang kes Altantuya yang kurang munasabah. Mana lojiknya membuat deklarasi yang ada orang memberitahu beliau tentang sesuatu. Kalau macam itu, saya pun boleh buat deklarasi statutori yang DS Anwar Ibrahim sebenarnya agen Zionis dan melakukan pelbagai korupsi serta berlaku tidak bermoral ... !!

Kemudian, bila dibaca dengan teliti, dibilangnya Pak Lah tahu, KJ tahu, siap ada Sultan tahu tentang apa yang dia bilang! Tambah lagi, apa yang dia kata semua orang ini tahu? Bahawasanya isteri Timbalan Perdana Menteri kita yang lazimnya sibuk dengan majlis di hotel-hotel mahu pula meredah hutan (tempat tu dekat Meru, bukan di pekan beb!) semata-mata nak tengok 'penterjemah' Mongolia yang paling terkenal di dunia diletupkan dengan bom! Tak lojik! Kelentong!

La Jeffrey Kitingan pula mula buat kelentong. Dia mungkin iri hati sikit tengok RPK dan Anwar sahaja yang glamer. Di Sabah pula, sekarang Yong Teck Lee semakin hari kian menghero lebih dari dia. Maka si Jeffrey ni pun tulislah surat kelentongnya sendiri. Saya sebenarnya tak boleh komen tentang hal minyak kerana kerja saya, maka memadai sajalah saya mengutarakan pendapat peribadi saya yang Jeffrey kelentong! Tak lojik, tak munasabah beb!

Parti PKR memang sudah banyak kali kantoi kelentong sebelum ini - ya lah, dengan U-Tube kenyataan Tun Dr M yang dipotong sesuka hati, gambar-gambar palsu Altantuya yang Tian Chua menjaja sangat dulu, lepas tu bila wakil rakyat PKR berbasikal 'simbolik' ke Parlimen pun, dekat-dekat je, lepas tu naik kereta balik! Tetapi kelentongnya yang terbaru semua terlalu hebat!

Ini belum campur kerja kelentong rasmi kerajaan pimpinan PKR di Selangor lagi! Saya tahu yang DS Anwar Ibrahim, seorang yang memimpin PKR walaupun bukan seorang ahli parti, memang pakar kelentong sana-sini, sampai ke peringkat antarabangsa sekalipun! Kalau tak hebat kelentong, macam mana lah Anwar boleh begitu dikawani kedua-duanya Arab dan Yahudi!

Tetapi pemimpin PKR yang lain harus sedar, mereka tidaklah sehebat Anwar dalam hal kelentong ni. Lagipun, mereka bukan sahaja ahli, tetapi pemimpin parti tersebut! Jadi, janganlah kuat kelentong sangat sebab nak mengebat dalam usaha merebut kuasa, membadawikan diri! Risikonya... Parti Kelentong Rakyat dikenalnya nanti!

RPK's SD, Khalid Ibrahim's PA, Pak Lah's Subsidy Cut... And The Return Of An Anti-Hero...

The country awakes to several unworthy tid-bits of news today, including Raja Petra's on-going publicity-mongering on the country's first ever 'Statutory Declaration' based on hearsay and rumour, news of the suspension of Khalid Ibrahim's scapegoat for his first scandal as an MB and Pak Lah's successful blocking of the no-confidence vote against him.

Of these 3 bits of news, certainly the most pathetic is the one where Pak Lah and co engineered this nonsense parliamentary debate and vote on the recent fuel subsidy cuts. Past cuts, whilst debated, have not required a vote by parliament as it is unnecessary and somewhat spurious, as of course, all the MPs voted along party lines! Not at all a good proxy for the MPs' 'confidence' in Pak Lah.

And all this just so the MP's would be distracted from SAPP's effort to bring a vote of no confidence against Pak Lah. Interestingly, the DAP, fearing the no confidence vote would reveal their hypocritical support of Pak Lah, had also prepared a motion on RPK's SD to distract parliament. It should concern us more that the SAPP MP's now appear to fear for the safety of their loved ones!

However, of greater interest to UMNO stalwarts is the return of an anti-KJ hero to active party politics. Tan Sri Isa Samad, suspended former senior VP of UMNO who won the highest vote in the last UMNO elections on an 4B and anti-Khairy platform, ended his period of membership suspension yesterday. He made a low-key statement confirming this yesterday.

Had he not been suspended on trumped-up charges of money politics engineered by KJ, Isa would have been the likeliest candidate for DPM now, as he had been consistently critical of KJ, if not Pak Lah, even when he was in the Lah cabinet. Datuk Seri Najib had attempted to bring Isa back earlier, but such was KJ's fear of Isa, these efforts were vigorously opposed, with some success.

The return of Tan Sri Isa Samad, the 'Anti'-Hero; as far UMNO politics and the future of the country's leadership is concerned, that's news!

Now RPK's Show-Boating Is Over, Can We Do Something About The Real Menace Karpal Singh?

I am pleased to hear that RPK has come to his senses - surely thanks to his wife.

It was getting really painfull seeing the silliness coming out his refusal to post bail - someone was organising a "candle light vigil" tonight for him to be released. Hello!! Why? He CHOSE to stay in prison! So RPK could well have 'released' himself earlier by posting bail, with RM5k, even before donations from the public. I'm still not sure what RPK was trying to achieve other than causing some of his fans to act like idiots. Candle light vigil...

Now that this drama is over, perhaps we can get a straight answer from the government as to why Karpal Singh, who has unashamedly gone and insult the Sultans, has not been charged for treason! Of course, charging RPK makes Najib look bad whilst charging Karpal does not benefit Pak Lah directly... hmmm... I am not a lawyer, but I can see more sense in Karpal being charged with sedition than RPK, though it looks more like treason to me.

The case against Karpal is not like the case against the alleged 'Natang' calling of the Sultan of Terengganu recently - with posters held up by unknown persons showcased in grainy photos such as to cause reasonable doubt of whether it even happened. Karpal has rather openly, and it seems rather proudly, denied the Sultans of their power such as the act is indisputable.

Unlike RPK, who is of royal blood but NOT a royal, the Sultans are due our allegiance as subjects, respect for their status and the right to see those that deny their powers to be cited for the highest contempt. And unlike in 1983 (which so many Pak Lah apologists like to roll out, though the young don't really care), the Sultans have done no wrong to the rakyat in their recent actions and are likely to be united in their contempt of Karpal Singh.

Certainly Sultan Perak has done a great deed to the Muslims of Perak by ensuring Islam is not going to be used as a political football by PAS so easily in the state. Does Karpal even understand this, or is he so keen on competing with Anwar Ibrahim and RPK for the limelight that he doesn't mind committing treason?

For the sake of consistency, the AG must go after Karpal Singh with all they've got for his recent acts against the Royals. Else, this will be further proof of the incompetency of the Pak Lah leadership to administer justice and add to the suspicion that the PM's office is now working with elements of Pakatan Rakyat.

Kerajaan BN Lemah Hasil Terhakisnya Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan Dan Tumpuan Usaha Mencari 'Idola'

Saya telah pun sebelum ini mengulas sedikit tentang hujah Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mengenai kesan negatif Kerajaan yang lemah terhadap Malaysia pada versi Bahasa Inggeris. Ingin saya tambah di sini pendapat bahawa masalah terbesar yang selagi dibiarkan membiak, akan terus menjejaskan kekuatan UMNO dan penerimaan Barisan Nasional oleh rakyat sebagai parti kerajaan yang berwibawa adalah masalah 'Idola Semasa' dan 'Penghakisan Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan'.

Masyarakat Malaysia amnya dan orang Melayu khususnya terlalu mengharapkan agar seorang idola baru atau 'Idola Semasa' akan bakal timbul untuk menyelamatkannya. Mungkin ini lumrah manusia yang 'marhain', mengharapkan kurniaan Allah akan pemimpin untuk membawa rakyat ke arah kemakmuran. Namun hasilnya terlihat di dalam kemelut berterusan dalam arus politik Malaysia pasca-PRU 12.

Pada pihak pembangkang, usaha Anwar untuk menonjolkan dirinya semula di mata dan hati rakyat jelas mengambil kesempatan akan sifat rakyat yang tercari-cari 'Idola Semasa' untuk era politik masa kini. Ini ditimbal-balas oleh perangai Karpal Singh yang terlihat menjadi-jadi kebelakangan ini baik di Parlimen, mahupun dalam penentangan beliau terhadap nasihat Tun Dr untuk Pak Lah berundur dan menjadi-jadi dengan penghinaannya terhadap Sultan Perak.

Usaha yang terlihat di sebelah UMNO pula agak pelik dan lebih merunsingkan. Terlihat sekarang usaha untuk mencemarkan nama pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang terlihat berpeluang menggugat kedudukan Pak Lah sebagai calon-calon baru Idola Semasa.

Sudah tentu salah tafsir cadangan Datuk Seri Rais Yatim untuk mendaftar izin dari ibu-bapa bagi anak-anak di bawah umur 21 tahun yang ingin berjalan keluar negara oleh media perdana berniat mencemarkan nama baik beliau, terutama sekali di kalangan kaum wanita. Yang peliknya, Rais Yatim sebagai seorang berketurunan Minang, berAdat Pepatih yang mengagungkan kaum-kerabat wanita, kurang mungkin mencadangkan sesuatu yang merendahkan kaum hawa! Adakah ini contoh mencemar calon Idola Semasa?

Dan dalam hal Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pula. Baru sahaja beliau mula bangun menjawab tuduhan dan tohmahan terhadap beliau berkenaan kes Altantuya dan pembelian perkakas serta alat peperangan, tiba-tiba dibawa Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) menghadap mahkamah atas tuduhan menghasut kerana menulis tentang Najib dan isterinya. Saya sendiri berada bersama orang kuat Najib apabila berita kes RPK mula keluar dan kekecewaan terlakar dimuka beliau. Punahkah harapan Najib menjadi Idola Semasa?

Tidakkah merunsingkan apabila dilihat pemimpin teratas UMNO kini terlalu sibuk mencemar calon-calon Idola Semasa untuk menumpukan perhatian menyelesaikan perkara yang lebih merbahaya kepada parti dan negara? Masalah tersebut adalah Penghakisan Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan yang patut dipupuk di kalangan pemimpin, malah setiap ahli parti. Nilai-nilai tersebut pernah dicanang berulang kali oleh seorang bekas Ketua Penerangan, Setiausaha Agung dan Naib Presiden Parti, yakni:

1. Amanah - Bukan sahaja dalam menjalankan tanggungjawab dan mengotakan janji. Bukan sahaja dalam mengelakan diri dari menyeleweng. Tetapi dalam membawa negara kehadapan tanpa putus usaha walaupun hilang kelapangan diri...
2. Berani - Bukan sahaja dalam menghadapi jiran yang kerdil tetapi juga dalam menjalankan yang benar walaupun menjejaskan peribadi dan ditentang oleh yang lebih berkuasa
3. Disiplin - Bukan sekadar sampai ke majlis tepat masa atau menyelesaikan masalah berpada-pada, tetapi berusaha hingga menjadi teladan untuk semua
4. Rajin - Bukan sekadar tidak perlu akhbar mewar-warkan yang pemimpin 'bekerja keras', tetapi rakyat sendiri membayangkan betapa rajinnya pemimpin sehingga kemakmuran mereka lebih dari terjaga
5. Setia - Bukan sekadar mengampu dan sedia terampu, tetapi sanggup menggadai segalanya atas dasar budi baik dan pegangan keatas nilai tertentu. Tidak melupakan jasa yang lepas sebagi harapan dalam menabur jasa untuk masa hadapan...

Nilai-nilai inilah harus dikembalikan kepada kepimpinan UMNO untuk membolehkan rakyat kembali meyakini pemerintahan BN. Nilai-nilai tersebut merupakan tunggak kekuatan pemimpin individu dalam menangani masalah negara dan memacu kemajuan ekonomi serta menjamin kemakmuran rakyat. Tetapi penerapan nilai-nilai ini harus disegerakan dan diberi tumpuan oleh pemimpin teratas.

Sekiranya kepimpinan teratas UMNO tidak mahu atau mungkin tidak mampu mengembalikan nilai-nilai tersebut, malah menjadi antara punca Penghakisan Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan tersebut... lebih baik pemimpin terlibat berundur...

Raja Petra's Show-Boating A Little Much?

I am a friendly acquaintance of Raja Petra and if we spent more time with each other, I am sure we would be friends. His nice wife Marina's company at least well compensates for some discomfort I sometimes do feel when Pet is 'on song'. As all good aspiring friends, we are quite open with our differences I feel.

However, I do not agree to his apparrent show-boating by refusing to post bail until his Oct 6 trial on sedition. It will not do anyone any favours and the fact that the bail required was just RM5k, which RPK could afford, makes it worse! It would be a distraction against more pressing issues facing the nation, like removing Pak Lah, disrupt open debate on the web on these same issues and claim personal cost to people who's passions are better focussed elsewhere... this includes RPK himself.

I know there must be some twisted logic to your madness this time too Pet, but this will have to be one of those many occassions we disagree... looking forward to a chat over coffee on this some time soon... my treat of course...