LONE

Monday, February 28, 2005

Founder of Amnesty International dies

From the INDEPENDENT online
28 February 2005

Tributes pour in after founder of Amnesty International dies

Human rights campaigners have been paying tribute to the founder of Amnesty International, Peter Benenson, who died in hospital in Oxford on Friday, aged 83.

The Eton-educated lawyer, who started the organisation in 1961, expected Amnesty to be a one-year campaign but ended up dedicating his life to fighting injustice.

Tributes hailed him as the "father of human rights" and praised him for being the brainchild behind a Nobel Prize winning human rights movement.

He founded Amnesty after reading about the imprisonment of two Portuguese students who were caught drinking a toast to liberty in a Lisbon café during the dictatorship of Antonio Salazar. When they were jailed for seven years, Mr Benenson bombarded the authorities with letters demanding they be freed.

Helen Bamber, founder of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, said: "He was a very kind man, and had an enormous passion for justice. It is unbelievable that he could spark off a worldwide human rights movement that has saved thousands of people and helped establish human rights law and instruments. He made a massive contribution, both at the level of the individual prisoner and on the international stage."

Stephen Jakobi, the founder of Fair Trials Abroad, called him an "extraordinary and a great man".

For more on AI founder goto the AI website or here

Video Tribute for Peter Benenson.

| ¶ 2/28/2005 11:21:00 PM

Saturday, February 26, 2005

No Gays Allowed

The China Post reported our Deputy Defense MINIster as having said that Malaysia will never allow gays to join its military because homosexuality is illegal under Malaysian law and forbidden by Islam.

"We will never allow these type of characters to join our family (the armed forces) as this behavior is against Islam and also against the laws of the country."

Malaysia's naval chief, Mohammad Anwar Mohammad Nor, made similar comments to Malaysian reporters Wednesday while launching a book he has written on Islamic education. He said ::

"The Royal Malaysian Navy will never accept them (homosexuals) as we have to protect the image of the navy."

Homosexuality has also cause a big wide rift in the Anglican church. Following earlier leaks to the GUARDIAN and other newspapers, the primates of the 78 million-strong Anglican church, attending a meeting in Northern Ireland, agreed to call upon the US and Canadian churches to withdraw voluntarily for at least three years. The US and Canadian churches precipitated the split because of their progressive stance on homosexuality, still regarded as anathema in many other parts of the communion, particularly in the developing world eg in Africa.

Excerpts from the GUARDIAN report ::

In 2003, the US Episcopal Church (Ecusa) endorsed the election of an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in the diocese of New Hampshire. At the same time, the diocese of New Westminster in Vancouver, Canada, became the first in the communion to introduce a service of blessing for same sex couples.
Conservatives and traditionalists had been demanding that the liberal North Ameri can churches be punished unless they withdrew or publicly repented their actions over the gay issue.
It appeared clear that, although the statement does not go that far, it represents a victory for those demanding that the church should stick to its agreed, Bible-based line on homosexuality.

Church attendence in the UK has fallen in the recent years but of late the Alpha Course has been credited for bringing many of the lost flock back and new members too. Newsweek called it a course which " uses modern marketing methods to promote and explain Christian teachings around the world". Many have been impressed by this Alpha course and its originators, Nicky Gumbel and Sandy Millar; but there are detractors too, see here and here and here. Charismatic Nicky Gumbel, a former lawyer, old Etonian, keep-fit fanatic, and a lapsed atheist, has reportedly turned agnostics into true, speaking-in-tongues believers and have reaped a large number of converts and born-again. For the Alpha course views on homosexuality, this rather long article in the GUARDIAN regarding Jon Ronson's experience of the Alpha course may provide us some idea. In the meanwhile, in view of the Anglican Church split on homosexuality, i have e-mailed Alpha.org regarding Alpha's stand on homosexuality and am awaiting its reply.

| ¶ 2/26/2005 09:31:00 AM

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Six Hell Carnival

A six-day carnival aimed at battling the 6 types of deadly drugs in the country -- heroin, morphine, syabu, ecstasy, ganja and opium --was launched by the PM recently. The carnival is called "Enam Jahaman" aka "Six Hell" Carnival. Its purpose being to build awareness that drug abuse is the country's number one enemy among our youths.

One again, probably for the umpteenth time, the PM reminded the nation that the drug addiction problem in the country has reached a dangerous level. But have we taken effective measures and made sufficient effort to deal with the problems. Looking at the quoted statistics, one would have to say know.

According to the PM, 38,672 drug addicts were detected in 2004 alone and 19,810 of them were new addicts while 18,862 were recidivists. Certainlyy a high enough relapse rate among those who have spent time in Kem Serenti. 28,052 of the total were in the 19-39 age group, the group which is considered to be the most viable contributors to the nation's economy.

And what has the PM to say to them in order to reverse the dangerous trend. The PM said ::

"I believe drug is a big danger to our country and has triggered a dangerous situation in the country. So, my hope for the young is to appreciate yourselves...love yourselves.

"If you do not want to love others, at least love yourselves...take care of your body to be healthy as a healthy and fit body will bring happiness."

It looks like those dealing with this problem would have to come up with more effective measures if they are serious in dealing with this problem which has reached a dangerous level. Apart from the gomen, the National Anti-Drugs Agency and Umno's Drug Eradication Bureau, the youths, themselves and their parents and the community must actively participate. The war on drug dependence is multipronged, multi-disciplinary and community based. Such a programme can be found here.

There is some evidence surfacing that drug addiction (other forms presumably too) could be due to 2 dodgy areas in the frontal lobe of our brain. These are the anterior cingulate cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex -- these are the areas utilised for weighing up the pros and cons of an action. Addicts may have faults in these areas in the sense that they are unable to slam the brakes on potentially dangerous or inappropriate behaviours. The present belief is that there is an over-responsive reward system in the brain causing a resultant addictive behaviour. The researcher ino this new theory, neuropsychologist Dr Murat Yucel says it like this ::

The brain has a reward system that when you engage in activities that help promote reproduction or survival such as sex, eating or nurturing behaviour with your kids...it releases a drug called dopamine which is what gives you pleasure."

This over-responsive reward system explains the craving of addicts. But the behaviour of some addicts who are unable to put a stop to their behaviour even when faced with potentially disastrous outcomes cannot be explained away by this over-reponsive reward system. This where the faulty system comes in.

There is more to be said regarding the frontal lobes of our brains::the areas which are involved in making our decisions. Research says that these areas are not fully develop when we are in our teens and those who pander drugs and cigarettes and alcohol are fully aware of this. That is why they are targetting this age group when they want them to be hooked whether on drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. There are also gomen who have considered targetting this age group for votes!. Just imagine being addicted to voting for Party 123 or Party ABC!

| ¶ 2/24/2005 11:35:00 AM

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

'Happy Loos'

Malaysian State to Offer 'Happy Toilets'

A Malaysian state will soon build public toilets equipped with piped music and newspapers for people to enjoy while using the bathroom.

Officials in the northeastern state of Kelantan on Tuesday announced that "Happy and Healthy Toilets" would be built in popular spots, with facilities "guaranteed to make users happy," Malaysia's national news agency Bernama reported.

State public administration official Takiyuddin Hassan said the toilets, to be completed within three months, would have newspapers so that "users can keep up with current issues while performing their business, while being entertained by music."

People would also need to wear special slippers provided in the toilets to maintain hygiene, Takiyuddin was quoted as saying by Bernama.

It was not clear how many such toilets would be constructed.

i , for one, would like to wish the Kelantan gomen well with this new idea for the comfort of her "depositing" citizens. But will our civic-minded denizens of Kelantan really appreciate the effort. Or will such "Happy Loos" be put to "misuse", many creative ones may have different ideas of how to make use of the newspaper provided. Will Harakah daily be provided too in these "Happy Loos"? Will these loos lead to longer "pee breaks" and BO times? Time will tell. Will try them out, if they really are available, when i am in KB next.

| ¶ 2/22/2005 11:19:00 PM

Monday, February 21, 2005

Of Towering Malays, Islam Hadhari & Mindset Change

On 4th Feb, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told some 2000 UMNO grassroots leaders that Malays should stop wasting their time and instead focus their efforts on building themselves into “towering” personalities. He said the towering Malays would be well-rounded people who have developed a high intellect, a high value system, a successful career, good economic standing and a well-respected culture and religion. The PM wants such "Towering Malays", who would be marvelled at by others and presumably by themselves too. And he wants to build not one, not two or three towers but hundreds or millions of towering Malays.
So, lately we have many others jumping on the bandwagon and have been bombarded by images and talks and thoughts on Towering Malays, [why not towering Malaysians?]; UMNO mindset changes, [why not Malaysian mindset changes?]; Islam Hadhari and Noble Values. Shouldn't our dear PM, who has personally said that he is a PM for all Malaysians, be better off talking of Towering Malaysians and Towering Malaysia, Towering Instituitions like the Judiciary, Polis Force etc amongst other towering towers ?
Below are some links to stuff just mentioned.

PM Wants Umno To Develop Malays With Towering Personality

Abdullah's Message Fires Up Umno Members

Najib Says Umno Must Lead Mindset Change

Sabah Umno Divison Heads Told To Convey President's Message To Members

Action Plan Required Urgently To Develop Towering Malays

Transcript Of Bernama Interview With The Prime Minister

Islam Hadhari A Long-Term Approach, Says Abdullah

Excel In Education To Recover Dignity, Image And Influence, Muslims Told

Abdullah Says Islam Hadhari Concept Calls For Pursuit Of Knowledge

Towering Malaysia - Abdullah's most critical nine months

Searching for the iconic Malay

Towering search for elusive towering figures

Pak Lah's Towering Personality

All Malaysians must strive for noble values

Bumis Must Learn to Fly Again

‘Towering Malays’: Need for soul-searching first

M'sians Must Appreciate Noble Values, Says Siti Nurhaliza

| ¶ 2/21/2005 12:55:00 AM

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Let Me Retire in Peace

That is not my response to a couple of e-mails enquiring where i had disappeared to. Another retired-still-active person made that remark. More on that later, back to me first.
Well i had decided to take a break from blog posting and just laze around prior to the CNY hols. Nothing much really but reading some books and catching up with some long left over work. Probably too boring to mention them. Then the CNY hols came and it was the annual pilgrimage to the east coast. Maybe a better word would be the annual visit or something of that sort.

Well the road from home to Suak has changed little, the stretch from Suak to Lenggong has yet to be opened for traffic. But from Lenggong to Gerik, the road was good. Probably when the whole stretch from Kuala Kangsar to Gerik is ready, journey time would be further shortened by another 30 minutes. The East-West highway remains as before. The Banting Resort appears to have a new managment and there has been some shifting around of furniture in the lobby. Pee facilities remain same, very claustrophobic indeed, so don't stay too long. No check points encountered this time.

So what's new in KB. What hits one when entering via Jalan Pasir Puteh is this massive mall :: the Kota Bharu Mall, which was recently opened, late last year. The monsoon floods in late 2004 had a chance to flood its basement carpark. This shopping mall is comparable to any in the west coast and as usual has its share of fast food outlets like PizzaHut, McD, KFC, A&W. Anchor supermarket or hypermart tenant is Pacific aka the Store. The mall is not fully occupied at the moment but already it is providing the locals and visitors a central point to convenient shop and eat and lepak.

A visit to the east coast won't really be complete without a tour of its beaches. Had to pay them each a visit as there was some rumours that some of them are fast disappearing. So one bright sunny afternoon we made a tour of these beaches :: Pantai Sabak, Pantai Irama, Pantai Bisikan Bayu, Bali Beach Village [really there is Bali in Kelantan] and Tok Bali [a new gateway to Pulau Perhentian]. i am happy to report that apart from Pantai Sabak, the other beaches appear to be no worse after the recent monsoons, Pantai Bisikan Bayu looks pretty similar to how it was when i last visited. Then there is a new resort called Sadaru Beach, great beach and great water, may have the name incorrect. It is located in the Tok Bali area.

If one happens to go to Besut District and happens to be in Jerteh, one might want to drop in and take a first hand look at the Sky Kingdom. This is located in a nearby kampung called Kampung Batu 13. Just be careful that one does not get off-tracked by some of the locals when seeking the path to the kingdom in the sky.

On the way back, took a break in Gerik and went hunting for food but most of the chinese-owned were closed and Gerik has yet to come up with a KFC or McD. We had to continue the journey on empty stomachs.

| ¶ 2/20/2005 05:54:00 PM

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Doubling-the-Bribe Reward

Of late, i have noticed that the PM's advice to people to think out of the box is certainly producing results. His "heart to heart and eyeball to eye-ball" talk to civil servants is certainly fruit. Almost every few days someone comes out with a smashing idea, some even before the PM had time to say his latest homily. Recently i had blogged about the how some of us are heeding the good PM's advice. Almost to the very next day, PLUS came out with the creative and lucrative idea of fining those time wasters and possible toll cheats travelling on its expressway and in doing so found itself embroiled in controversy and turned into MINUS. Then it was the ACA's turn to have Boleh Malaysians involved in the latest Malaysian Reality Show :: Guess who is the latest deputy minister being Probed.

The latest out-of-the-box thinker, the CPO of Pahang has certainly come out with an excellent idea to beat corruption in the polis force. Remember the SCEOM-RMP aka Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police prelim report, the final report is to be out this month. Remember what that prelim report had to say about corruption in the force? The Pahang CPO is dealing with that. He is offering a cash reward of up to RM100 to any police personnel who arrest anyone who attempts to bribe them to escape being booked for an offence. Any bribe which is less than RM50 will result in a cash reward double the amount offered as bribe. Now will the one offered the bribe be the one to confirm the amount offered or the one who offered to give the bribe be the one to confirm that amount? Will witnesses be required to confirm the amount offered so that the honest cop be appropriately cash rewarded. i wonder if the CPO has thought through all this. As for the one who is considering bribery whenever the situation arises, he is obviously preparing to offer the minimum of RM100 if he is going to be successful in his attempt to bribe. New limits will be set.

According to the CPO, the cash reward will come out of the Pahang Police Fund and he will personally hand over the reward to the polis personnel concerned. The first recipient of this latest method of fighting corruption is Lans Koperal Bakri Pandak Ahmad of the Kuantan traffic police. Lans Koperal Bakri was rewarded with RM100 last month for arresting a man who tried to give him a RM50 bribe. Well done. The CPO also has this to advise the public :: Don't try to bribe police personnel to avoid a little inconvenience as this action could land them into deeper trouble.

| ¶ 2/01/2005 11:41:00 PM

CNY Dampers

Just when one is starting to get into the CNY mood, the dampers appeared. It is obvious that we won't be having any "CNY celebration with a vengeance" as hoped for by one, Sim Kwang Yang. Many of us oldies will sit and be reminiscing of CNY celebrated in those good old days of old. Many would say CNY is just not CNY without a little din from those firecrackers and fireworks. But will the caring gomen allow oldies to have those good old days? It appears that NO is the answer.

Even though there are no longer security reasons for their ban and their firing under controlled situations rarely lead to injuries, their ban continues. No less a personage than the deputy MINIster of Internal Security has come out to remind us that the ban on all types of fireworks and firecrackers imposed since 1996 remains in force for the coming Chinese New Year celebrations. This is reported by BERNAMA. It would be interesting if he could also retell to us the reasons why the ban is still on. Is it because injuries as a result of injudicious cracker firing pose a security risks?

Do remember this, only 'fireworks' of the "pop-pop" and "Happy Boom/Magic Pop" types are allowed. According to the deputy MINIster they do not contain combustible materials [now what are to be found in them] and therefore do not pose a danger to life. In this aspect, don't you think we do have a very caring gomen, always concerned with over health and safety. But despite the ban, fire-crackers and fireworks would still be set off this CNY in cities and towns and villages all over the country. How these illegals make their way into the country is anybody's guess. Something illegal, always makes it more expensive and more thrilling to have or do. But be reminded, for burning of fireworks or firecrackers, offenders can be jailed up to a month or fined RM100 or both under the Small Offences Act 1955, do beware, don't get caught. And if you are in Pahang and do get caught, remember the CPO's reward. Any attempt to bribe one's way out may have negative results, the CPO is counter-offering twice what you can offer, so anything less than RM100, just won't do! [Maybe more on this later.] But is there really a complete ban on fireworks or ...? See this picture taken in 1999! Is it illegal to manufacture fireworks in Malaysia? Then how is it that Matan Maju Fireworks Sdn Bhd exists? It is listed in Malaysia manufacturers directory and trade portal. E-DIRECTORY.COM.MY [Malaysia premier Internet directory service] as a manufacturer of fireworks. Deputy MINIster Chia tells us that anyone manufacturing, possessing or importing firecrackers or fireworks could be charged under the Explosives Act 1957!

As to the need for polis permits for lion and dragon dance performances, the rationale behind the need for them certainly has me beaten. Could the deputy MINIster please clarify regarding valid reasons for this one more necessity for polis permits? We are told that Boleh Malaysians are very tolerant if not fully in acceptance of our multi-cultural backgrounds, we have lion dance troupe members who are not Chinese Malaysians and who obviously appreciate the traditions and moves of the lion dance. JUst like belly dancing, lion dancing is an art form and have health benefits, not forgetting that a well performed lion dance is a joy to watch. Incidentally, lion dances can in no way be provocative or titillating to even those with some dirt in their minds. But yet, such dances cannot be freely performed in public places, even during the CNY. We certainly have a very tolerant gomen whose ideas of the aspirations of its people appear a little skewed and flawed. me feel that these dances are enjoyed and tolerated by most Malaysians and even the former PM, remember the winter of 2001, more so during the CNY season. The present PM also had some 20 lions gracing the mammoth dinner held during the spring of his helmsmanship.

Anyway with or without the din of crackers and fireworks, here's wishing all those celebrating ::

cny

| ¶ 2/01/2005 07:18:00 PM

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