President Reagan speaks of his Christian faith

The Loss of Karpal Singh

Karpal Singh – a man for true believers

EULOGY As I sat in my home in Penang at 4am on the morning of April 17, 2014, waiting for my driver to come and pick me up to go to Ipoh Hospital, I felt numbed by the shocking news relayed to my wife Betty through my sister Hui Ying an hour earlier.

I had gone to bed early as I was not well, and was still groggy when the import of her words sunk in: DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh, who meant so much to us, was gone. A man filled with such vitality, brilliance and energy was no more.

Karpal, a leader who gave forth so much strength, vision and guidance had left. A true friend in our darkest days, whether in the depths of prison cells or the abyss of electoral defeat, had departed. A loving father and an even more loving husband had suddenly passed away on the early hours of this terrible, rainy April 17, 2014.

As the messages and tweets on the handphone flashed back and forth scattering my thoughts everywhere, I could not find the words to describe my acute sense of loss. DAP leaders are shaken because it was so sudden and unexpected. Karpal left before his time when he still had so much to contribute.

I will miss hearing the cheer in Karpal’s voice, the optimism that comes from doing the right thing and the fighting spirit, no matter highly impossible the odds. But I can still hear Karpal’s voice – undaunted and forthright with a deep sense of humanity.

Karpal was one of those rare voices who spoke his mind, respected by friend and foe alike and completely fearless. Even Deputy Prime Minister Muhyidin Yassin had personally told Mrs Karpal, when he paid his last respects, that “politics aside, Karpal was a great man and very bold”.

Indeed, Karpal was not afraid to offend anybody, no matter how high and mighty, how wealthy or powerful if he felt he was right. And he forgave easily those who could not live up to his exacting standards, but he never forgot.

He was a lawyer’s lawyer, upholding the basic tenet that everyone had a right to a fair trial and counsel. That was why he was more than willing to defend former foes who were victims of injustice. Truly, there are no permanent friends nor enemies in politics: only permanent principles.

Karpal reminded me, from the time we shared our dormitory in the detention camps in Kamunting in 1988-89 when we were both detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), and during his visits to my dinghy Kajang Prison in 1998-99 when I was serving time under the Sedition Act, of the importance of distinguishing the true believers from the unreliable ones.

True believers fight on even when all is lost

The true believers are the ones who anchor their beliefs simply in terms of right and wrong. The true believers are incorruptible and fight on even when all is lost because it is the right thing to do. They continue the struggles because they have to, as human beings, for simply to live and permit such injustice and corruption is unacceptable.

Karpal never feared defeat. He told me that losing occasionally is good for you as it puts iron in your soul, where you learn to climb back up quickly.

“After all the electoral battles I lost, Kit Siang had lost too, and both of us are still here,” he reminded me with a twinkle in his eye. He said defeat is merely a test of your mettle to see how quickly you bounce back.

Even when his body failed him after the 2005 traffic accident outside his house in Penang, Karpal refused to bow out. He did not allow his wheelchair-bound body to still his voice but focused his brilliant legal mind totally on improving the law and righting wrongs.

We had bonded in Kamunting Detention Camp and the years after as only comrades in adversity could. I learnt from him, was guided by his wisdom and refreshed by his iron will and spirit. We shared the same travails, whether persecuted or prosecuted under the ISA vt detention without trial or the Sedition Act. And indeed, it only made us stronger and more determined.

Karpal shared his passion for DAP and his open brotherhood with my father Kit Siang as well as his comradeship with Dr Chen Man Hin, the late P Patto and Chian Heng Kai. His belief and trust in Kit Siang and faith with Chen was the bedrock from which the party pulled itself up and built upon the ashes of defeat.

This trinity of Kit, Karpal and Chen in the DAP would never yield and submit to a corrupt and authoritarian regime. They were all prepared to be broken as men with honour, who preferred to live by dying on their feet, rather than survive on bended knees.

I will miss you, Karpal. I am honoured to be your associate. Malaysians will miss Karpal too and salute a towering Malaysian patriot who made every citizen proud of his country, and gave hope to the dispossessed, weak, defenceless, poor and voiceless.

Your greatest legacy, Karpal, is not the honours bestowed by leaders or tributes by famous personalities, overseas or locally. What moves us are the tears shed by the many ordinary Malaysian who do not know you and whom you never met, but yet are touched by the sacrifices you have made.

Rest in peace. You deserve to, after all you have done for the party, nation and people.
 

---

LIM GUAN ENG is the Chief Minister of Penang and DAP secretary-general.

MH370- Malaysia and Singapore

Flight MH370: Paying the Price of 6 Decades Of Nepotism, Racism, Rampant Corruption And Incompetence

The Day When 2 Austrians Shut Down Singapore's Airspace for 50 Minutes.

On January 23, 2008 a very peculiar thing happened.  Commercial airspace at one of the world's busiest airports was shut down for over 50 minutes. On that day, an aircraft without an approved flight plan entered Singapore's airspace.  

Immediately, the Republic of Singapore Air Force dispatched a pair of F-16D fighter jets to intercept the aircraft and escorted it to land at Singapore Changi Airport.  

Upon landing, airport police immediately surrounded the plane.

"At 6.42pm (2142 AEDT), two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-16 fighters were scrambled to intercept a civilian aircraft, a Cessna 208, which was heading towards Singapore airspace without an approved flight plan,'' the ministry's director of public affairs, Colonel Darius Lim, said in a statement.  "The aircraft was escorted to land at Singapore Changi Airport."

The above incident highlights the standard operating protocol an Air Force, Civil Aviation Authority and Local Police Force needs to follow in the event of an unidentified aircraft entering it's airspace without an approved flight plan.

However amidst this hoo-ha, there was one small detail worth noting.  The plane took off from Koh Samui, Thailand.  And running the full length between Thailand and Singapore is the land mass of Peninsular Malaysia.

In essence, this means that the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia and the Royal Malaysian Air Force had allowed an unknown aircraft to invade over 131 thousand square km of sovereign Malaysian territory and despite this occurring over a period of 3 hours, did not lift a finger to respond.

This incident highlighted a huge security flaw in Malaysia's Air Defence umbrella.  One that if it had patched during any of the subsequent 6 years that followed, would have prevented a bigger tragedy that came with greater embarrassment, scrutiny and loss.

6 years later on 8 March 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing.  It never landed at its intended destination.  Instead, less than an hour after take-off, the transponder was turned off and 3 sets of military radars tracked the plane flying past Penang and across the breadth of Malaysia from the Gulf of Thailand towards the Indian Ocean.

Unlike the Cessna airplane in the earlier example which was intercepted by the RSAF, 3 sets of people manning Malaysia's military radars never sounded any alarms.  The RMAF never dispatched any fighter jets on standby and the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia never shut down Malaysian airspace when a rogue plane very much larger than a Cessna aircraft flew across its airspace.

Suffice to say, had the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia or the RMAF been doing their job properly as exemplified by the example given above, we would not have gone 9 days and counting into a search for a missing and possibly hijacked plane.

Investigators may have recently concluded that the plane had its transponders deliberately turned off and its flight plan deliberately altered but it is the greater observing public who have the biggest conclusion of all: that Malaysian leadership is sorely incompetent when it comes to handling a crisis.  

In this respect, Malaysia has much to learn from its Southern neighbour.  

Had the supposed hijackers targeted a plane flying through a more efficient jurisdiction, the outcome would have been very different today.

Best Positions for the Body

Mariam Mokhtar debunks some Malaysian myths

Mariam Mokhtar 8^th April 2014

OUTSPOKEN: The investigations into MH370 have thrown the country’s credibility to the dogs. The latest revelation that the final words exchanged between the cockpit and the control tower are different from the version reported three weeks ago is the final straw. What else is wrong?

The contradictory statements are bad. The mismanagement and mishandling are terrible, but more shocking are the Malaysians who are still in denial, and who maintain we are doing a marvellous job.

How long will it take for these people to realise how bad things are in Malaysia? What will they do when the bubble bursts? Will they wake up when they or their loved ones are caught in a similar situation, or will they just say, “It is God’s will”?
Perhaps, it is time we debunked some common Malaysian myths.

1. Myth one: You are safe if you don’t criticise the government
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of sodomy last month, but it is the rakyat which is being buggered by Umno-Baru. If it can happen to someone like him, then it could easily happen to you.

If you stand in the way of someone powerful, you will be removed. You could be someone’s rival in business, a government tender, a job application, in politics, a land deal or for someone’s affections. The police and judiciary will not help you. 

2. Myth two: Malaysia is a democracy
.
No! Democracy died in Malaysia in May 1969. 
Voting every five years does not mean we live in a democracy. 
The citizens of other countries react to a government which cheats during an election, but Malaysians remain docile. We might as well be in North Korea and be ruled by the Kims. 

3. Myth three: Malays are privileged and will refuse change
You are angry about the NEP. So are ordinary Malays. They cannot afford shares, or the expensive housing developments, even after discount. The NEP benefits the Umno-Baru elite, and not the ordinary Malay. 

Most Malays want change. Many Bersih protestors are Malay. Malays contribute to the brain drain. Many overseas Malay students are reluctant to return home after their studies. 

Malays who criticise Umno-Baru have doors slammed shut in their faces: No promotions. No contracts. No jobs. No scholarships.

The Malays are not privileged, only Umno-Baruputras are. Many ordinary Malays desire change.

4. Myth four: Non-Malays are second class citizens
Wrong! Non-Malays are fourth class citizens. 

First class citizens are royalty or Umno-Baruputras. 

Second class citizens are ordinary Malays. 

Third class citizens are the pseudo-Malays. They are former illegal, Muslim Indonesian or Filipinos, who traded voting rights for citizenship.

The fourth class citizens are the non-Malays.

The fifth class citizens are the Orang Asli.

The sixth class citizens are the Malay women. Malays are subject to two laws – civil and Syariah, but the Malay woman is burdened with male discrimination. Many Malay women claim that a poorly enforced Syariah law has failed to protect their rights, even after a court judgement. 

5. Myth five: The communists are the enemy 
The enemy comes from within, and it is called Umno-Baru. 

The 4Rs -- race, religion, royalty and the rural people -- keep Umno-Baru in power. Anyone who insults the Malays, royalty and Islam risks being charged with sedition. 
Few people have heard of the 4Cs. They are Chinese, Christian, Communist and being Controversial. 

The Malay extremists say: If you’re Chinese, you’re the enemy. If you’re Christian, you’re a threat. If you’re Chinese and a Christian, you’re a very big threat. If you’re Chinese, therefore you must be a communist, and so you must be a traitor.

There is one exception. If you’re Malay, but you are considered controversial by Umno-Baru, then you are automatically labelled a communist by the IGP. He then inducts you to the Sedition Club of Malaysia.

These five Umno-Baru myths have to be debunked. They have been used to control the population and keep them submissive. 

The truth has been hidden for so long by a corrupt government which is desperate to cling onto power. What Malaysians need is a fundamental change of government to remove the corruption and cronyism which is endemic in our society. 

Umno-Baru must be replaced because they have taken away the dignity of Malaysians. 

We must learn to speak out and not be afraid of questioning authority. Five more myths will be listed next week.
 

Mariam Mokhtar is "a Malaysian who dares to speak the truth."