Yes, still here. Before Skipps call the Interpol on me

Most of the relatives have left yesterday - now it’s only the parents left. In the space of two weeks, they have been to:

Edinburgh
Keswick
Corbridge
Amsterdam
London
York
Scarborough
Harrogate
Manchester

It’s been absolute madness living in a house with 10 people. Looking back, it’s quite alot of ground to cover in a space of 13 days. I think there’s been a good selection of all things good and bad . The rain, for one. It rained for most of the time they were here, don’t think they had ever had so much use out of an umbrella! The ease at how well plants grow here is another, with them snapping pictures at all sort of weed. Hilarious. Not to mention the strange liking they had developed for el cheapo shops selling tops at £3. Anything below £5 is doomed expensive. Hmm.

Strangely enough, they managed to buy pairs of shoes as well. My aunt set the record with the purchase of a total of 4 shoes in the short 13 days she was here. It’s so bizzare, as me and bacon wait until we are back in Malaysia before purchasing any shoes! I guess you can find cheap shoes here if you wait until they are out of season - I think they all went into the timberland outlet shop and got matching shoes! This was after the last six months of moaning and groaning that stuff in the UK are 7 times more expensive and that they were not going to purchase anything whatsoever. Bollox to that - I think they’re carrying between them about 15kgs of Marks & Spencers biscuits and cookies to Malaysia.

And now all’s left is Wales & Ireland! Off to Snowdonia in Wales tomorrow, and then Dublin on Monday. Seeing that I’m off work all next week, this should give me some time to upload pictures! Breathe in, breathe out.

A storm’s brewing once again in the land I call home….

One of Malaysia’s most prominent political blogger, credited as being a big resounding influence on the recent elections is currently in jail for sedition of one of his blog post. This is THE man that regular citizens have looked up to for his courage and fearlessness in revealing injustice and defying opression by the same people that has been trusted to run the country. Making a stand, RPK has refused bail and visitors. His wife started a campaign to raise his bail money (a measly RM5000, less than USD 2000) - hoping that 5000 Malaysians will donate RM1 each. After 6 hours the total is about RM24,000 in bank transfers and USD 4,000 via pay pal. Being at work, I completely missed the whole donation drive and by the time I came back it had been suspended due to the generosity from people donating a few hundred RMs at a time instead of the requested RM1. Regular citizens just wanting to do their part to help this man who is quick acquiring folk hero status.

His wife, who had personally witnessed him beaten up by the cops when he was arrested in 2000, is pleading that all Malaysians do their part, and petition their MP to boycott Parliament. Hopefully with enough protests, the powers to be will realize that RPK is not alone, and the Malaysian public that was responsible for the political tsunami will again show their support for one of the very few who are brave enough to stand up against the limp government.

The reason I am blogging this because I am advocating democratic free speech - media or otherwise. RPK, as a highly articulate journalist and a member of the royal family is now in jail for a blog post. Is there any hope for the rest of us - the regular citizens? You’ve voted for change - please continue to support those who advocated change and woke the rest of us up to the non democratic government.

If anything happens to RPK whilst he is in jail, I have no doubt that a turbulent upheaval will occur in Malaysia….

UPDATED 8th May: Bail have been posted and RPK will be released tomorrow. There will be a candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka at 8pm tonight.

My initial post was obviously done in anger - as foul-mouthed as I am in real I tend to keep sourrain.com as family friendly as I can, god knows why. I really don’t understand. I really really don’t. As a traveller, this means more to me than the keris brandishing and having separate queues for male and female. It is no one’s business WHAT I do or WHERE I go. So what if I choose to be a drug mule? Surely it is my own idiocy therefore my own downfall and I should bite the bullet and languish in jail?

Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim ,

Malaysia is known for its strict laws against drugs - if those choosing to be drug mules do it in Malaysia, would there be even the slightest iota of concern to rescue them from the gaols??

Drug mules are from all over the world, not only restricted to stupid Malaysian women. Mostly these women (or men) do it for the money and glamour of being a world traveller. And honestly, if you are greedy enough to be a drug mule, then you should be ballsy enough to do the time that comes with it.

Why is the 100 or so females dragging the whole country (and about 10mil women) two centuries back? Or rather, I see that the government is again using something insignificant as an excuse to control its citizens. This time it’s the females of the country.

From nst.com.my:

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said she would have to study the matter further.

“I will have to speak to him (Rais) and also get feedback from the NGOs,” she said.

Dr Ng added that from a personal viewpoint, she agreed that it was an infringement on women’s rights, but added that there were always two sides to a coin and one needed to look at the bigger picture.

WHAT?? Two sides of the story??This is not the time to sit on the fence. Surely as the figurehead Minister of Women she should realize that this infringes all the rights that women around the world have strived to achieve in the past century? Does she not realize that she would be unable to travel to even Singapore without her PARENTS or the bloody Prime Minister (her boss) signing an approval letter and certifying that she is there to shop?

What is the bigger picture? I really wish she would elaborate at what picture is she looking at, because we sure ain’t looking at the same one, and the view from our end ain’t pretty at all. In fact it is pretty much chains and shackles.

MIC Puteri chief Usha Nanthini said the proposal was too vague, adding that there was a need for finer details and practicality to be looked into.

She said, however, that the proposal was generally good as it took into account the safety of Malaysian women.

And this brainless TwaT.GENERALLY GOOD????I guess if you REALLY want the women of Malaysia to be safe then it is just easier to cage them up, and release them just for reproductive purposes. And whilst you are there, why not do some snipping down below just so that they don’t enjoy sex as well?

I have never said this before, but if this does by some crazy reason (I don’t actually think it will happen) get passed as the law, I will actually go back on my words and tear my Malaysian passport into half. There is no point being the citizen of a country that believes that women should be treated like dogs, quarantined until proven innocent.

I am so angry I can’t sleep!!!!!!! F**king hell…

A very good take here by the daughter of Malaysia’s former premier and an accomplished journalist amongst other things.

I first heard of this name back in the early 90s, this apparent child genius who is of malay-pakistani parentage who is born and bred in the UK essentially. At that time her mother (who was in born Johor - no idea if she even still holds a Malaysian passport) was apparently trying to get the Malaysian government to fund Sufiah’s foray into the Oxbridge route. She must be around 12 or something, as she was accepted into Oxford at age 15. The Malaysian government apparently offered assistance to her instead of many other brillant Malaysians - hell, she (Sufiah) does no even hold a Malaysian passport! I doubt that she had spent any long amount of time in Malaysia as well…why should the Boleh Government sponsor her?

But as always, the Malaysian governemnt always ‘adopts’ random people of dubious superstar status and making them their own. Tumpang glamer, like they say in Malay = borrowed fame

With news breaking in the UK over the weekend about Sufiah’s apparent foray into prostitution, the Malaysian Government has apparently decided to come to her rescue instead (even though she had never been a Malaysian) -

The Prime Minister’s Department and the Malaysian Missionary Foundation (Yadim) will try to assist former child mathematics genius Sufiah Yusof, now aged 23 and fending for herself as a prostitute in Salford, Manchester.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Zahid Hamidi said they would help the gifted girl return to the right path through the “Save Sufiah Programme”.

“The first thing we should try to do is to contact her mother or arrange a meeting with Sufiah to find out the reason she turned to prostitution, offering her services through the Internet, using the name ‘Shilpa Lee’,” he said.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin said Sufiah was also of legal age and could do as she liked with her life.”We just can’t bring her back. She is big now and can decide for herself. She has the right to do as she pleases, ” he said yesterday, adding that the Malaysian Students Department in Britain had been asked to look into Sufiah’s case.

Seriously, it is NONE of the Prime Minister’s problem if she had decided to turn to prostitution. And a Save Sufiah Program?? OMG WTF IS THAT?? If they are so concerned about prostitutions ect then maybe the first step would to look in their own backgarden and eradicate the problem, instead of saving someone who has never made Malaysia her home.And what do you mean bring her back? Malaysia was never her home, she had never been a Malaysian student abroad, so why is the Malaysian Student Association been requested to help her??

This coming from the Boleh government who never, ever answers their phone in the Embassy - thus I have been unable to register my existance or indeed my marriage until today. I am apparently still living in Malaysia and single. And now they are sending the dogs out to help someone who have dubious claims of being a rakyat, who had not even requested for help.

Should we not be saving our own souls before trying to save others?

And I loved it how the Malaysian papers lapped the news up (as I knew they would) ; but omitting the topless pictures that were splashed across the actual papers . Click here for the actual article, including NSFW pictures

Kudos to Lim Guan Eng, the new Chief Minister of Penang..

As soon as he was appointed, he immediately targeted the central government’s long-standing New Economic Policy favouring ethnic Malays. “We want to run the state government administration free from the New Economic Policy that only breeds cronyism, corruption and systematic inefficiency,” he told reporters. “This is also a government that believes in equal opportunity and social economic justice. We are here to build a dynamic Penang for all,” he said

The policy was started in the early 1970s, to increase opportunities for the often poverty-stricken ethnic Malays - giving them preference in jobs, university seats and access to services. But many Malaysians - even some Malays - say that it has only benefited an elite few.

Excerpt taken from BBC

So many promises broken by so many other aspiring politicians, but it now seems like Penang’s CM is well on his way to fufilling his promises. Penang’s UMNO branch has, of course, come out to say in not so many words that this will end in bloodshed and that Mr Lim should rememeber that he represents the whole of Penang, not only the non-Malays.

Good luck Penang, may this be the first step to total democracy and may your example be repeated around the country in the years to come.

Is the fear of the unknown PAS led government unnesacarry, or are businesses in Kedah (one of the states that PAS gained in the elections) doing the right thing?

The realities of living and working under a PAS-led Kedah are beginning to take effect.Hotels and entertainment outlets are already making “adjustments” they deem necessary to suit the unprecedented political environment here.

A top hotel in the town centre here has removed its beer till at the coffee house

Another hotel is reviewing the dress code for staff.

Other establishments used to hosting lavish events are worried that they may have seen the last of such functions under the new PAS-PKR government.

The article in its entirety can be found here

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Another piece of news that caught my eye in today's news is the death of Zakaria Deros. An extremely ironic time to pass away seeing that the elections have just ended. For those not in the know, he is the BN assemblyman of Port Klang. His far reaching power enabled him to build a castle comprising of 16 bedrooms and 21 toilets without planning permission. Other evils including operating a satay restaurant illegally on government reserve land and not paying property assessment fees (council tax) for 12 years.

And he got away scot-free even after this was all made public. I wonder whether the same thing would’ve happened if he was a representative of one of the Opposition parties.

He was ,of course, not nominated again come this election. However, the top dogs decided to nominate his daughter in law instead to take over his place. No, this is sooooo not cronyism. Happy to report that the daughter in law lost.

This post is my response to Skipps’ comment on my previous post

Can a modern democracy really co-exist with Islam?

As someone with extremely limited political knowledge about Malaysia ( I know more about the English & American political climate) , I am very inclined to answer no. Modern democracy will not survive with leaders that utter daft comments i.e.:Ugly women should have first dibs at jobs, as it is easier for prettier women to get married and be supported by their husband. BOLLOCKS to that

PAS’ dubious connections with Jemaah Islamiah and al-Qaeda also puts them in the hotspot of the international press - and I have no doubt that if PAS were to ever get their wish of a pan-Asian islamic State; the country I love will literally sink into hell with international businesses leaving it in droves and tourists afraid of stepping foot in KLIA.It also does not help when Parliamentary representatives hurl insults of an Opposition woman MP’s monthly ‘leakages’ and manage to go unpunished as demanded by BN….which part of real democracy condones putting women down?

I agree with Skipps that religion has to become less important to allow people to benefit economically and socially. Irregardless of what the religion is be it Christianity/ Hinduism/ Confucianism, governing with a religious intent ultimately sacrifices real democracy as in many ways religion supresses true freedom.

Traditionally, both PAS and UMNO had always utilised religion as a way to garner Malay support and keep them toeing the line - by separating the Malay, Chinese and Indian, they have instilled fear in the Chinese and Indian about voting for the opposition and thus lowering the number of representative from their own race in the government. By separating the races, they have also instilled the ideaology of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’, or Malay Lordship over all other races in Malaysia. What better way of uniting the Malay race than the obvious tie that bind all Malays together irregardless of class or caste - Islam.

And how does Malaysia deal with its richer island neighbor down south?

For all its political dictatorshipstability , I will always prefer Malaysia for cultural purposes, more laid back attitute and delicious food. Fair enough, most Singaporeans prefer Singapore and will always turn their noses up at their ‘poorer’ relations, forgetting that we were once the same country. And I believe that Malaysia lost its global competitiveness with the backward movement in radical islamic values spearheaded by our previous PM, Dr M. A very easy example would be the way Malay women dress. 40 years ago, the national dress is a tight fitting and often low cut kebaya.Fast forward to the ‘modern ages’, the national dress of baju kurung is now a shapeless sack-like dress all the way to the ankles and the head fully covered by the tudung (chador)

That aside, I think Malaysia should not compete with Singapore - there is never an end to keeping up with the Joneses. I think Malaysia should concentrate on promoting its abundant natural resources, its unique heritage and stop the pilfering by BN. The squeaky clean image of Singapore is just hiding a country ruled with an iron fist; intelligent citizens a product of the strict education system but no one brave enough to stand up to the iron fist government.

After the recent elections, I can now say that Malaysians have the guts to stand against the status quo and protest in what they believe is wrong - the question is does Singapore?

In the past weekend, I had felt more Malaysian than I ever had. I can at last see the rakyat polling their voices of discontent instead of whinging to each other at the local mamak or coffeeshop. I had always been proud of my heritage, but this weekend’s events have made me truly proud of the rakyat - and being part of the rakyat that makes up the country I so desparately call home. There is hope after all, and it is a very comforting thought.

This warm and fuzzy moment is, however, marred by my innate fear of PAS ( Islamic Party) and its’ insistence of implementing islamic laws in Kelantan. PAS is now in charge of 3 states and I fear for the people of the states and what would become of the pork-loving Chinese. I fear further association of PAS with international terrorist organizations and radical agama schools. I fear the removal of unisex queues, the banning of all forms of entertainment as was implemented in Kelantan.I fear the closing down of Chinese/Tamil schools and the compulsory covering up of head to feet of women - fine if this was Siberia, but being so close to the Equator, this equates to smelly clothes and skin diseases.

The joint opposition of PKR-PAS-DAP at the moment seems slightly shaky with no united direction, and I fear for them as well. However, by ‘gaining balls’ in this election (incidentally Malaysia’s 50th birthday), I have no doubt that the rakyat will give the opposition coalition a chance to prove themselves - and kick them out if they do not perform.

One can only hope:

No more keris brandishing

No more proclaiming the country as an Islamic state in the lines of Middle East countries

End of sexist remarks by BN stalwarts

A proactive attitute towards the needs of the rakyat rather than blame-shifting

Acknowledge that bloggers are here to stay and no more suing them for sedition

A honest and open media, reporting everything without fear rather than asskissing BN

No more wasting taxpayers’ money with unnesacary

With most of the bigwigs in Malaysian politics voted out, hopefully the demise of cronyism

One can hope for the demise of NEP - but I don’t think that would happen in this lifetime.

Good luck PKR-DAP-PAS. Now’s your turn.Please do not dissapoint.

Earlier this week I told bacon that I sense a change of wind - something is happening and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. The winds of change are disturbing the peace, unmasking what lies behind the fallen leaves.

I have refrained from political commentary for as long as possible - thus not many readers know that the past two months I have been reading up vocariously on Malaysia’s moment of truth - it is election day!!!

And news is now streaming through that the Opposition, for the first time in history, has managed to upset the scales of justice represented by the ruling party, Barisan National (BN). At the moment it is predicted that the ruling party will lose their 2/3 majority required to change the constitution - with key states like Penang (where I was born) and Selangor (where I live) falling into Opposition’s ruling party. The undercurrent of fear now is that the last time BN failed to achieve 2/3 majority but still enough to form a government was in 1969. Racial riots erupted in Malaysia and the whole country was in a state of emergency until 1971. This is one of the reasons my parents had always voted - having experienced the last time the country was in ‘real deep shit’ , they understand the need for democracy.

Other interesting news includes Malaysia’s premier blogger winning a Parlimentary seat! The winds of change are indeed strong - Jeff Ooi had been my major source of political commentary since I started blogging and it is extremely heartening to see him doing something to better our beloved country - winning is the cherry on top.

For more election news, click here. Lillian does a very good job covering the election day frevor that swept through Penang as well - always a contentious state anyway due to the large presence of the main Opposition party, DAP.

On a more personal note, I am extremely upset that I am unable to vote due to BN’s rules that unless you are in the army, postal votes do not exist. I had been hoping since early this year that election day may coincide with my trip home, but no such luck. If I knew it was going to be today, I would have even postphoned my trip so I can be one of the minions in this machinery called democracy.

I realized something disheartening when I was last back home - most people my age are not even registered to vote!!! The only person I know of that had actually bothered to register was dreybee….with all my other friends raising their eyebrows in suprise when I told them that not only was I registered, I had voted once in the 2004 election. China Post summarizes my feelings much better than me.

The apathy is appaling. Registering to vote was one of the first thing I did when I returned from California. Due to me belonging to a Commonwealth country, I am also proud to say that I had voted here in the UK in the local elections - again, one of the first thing I did when I moved here was to put myself on the Electrol Roll.

I do not understand.Saya tak faham. Wo pu ming pai. I do not understand the people of my generation complaining about the state of the country, the recent riots, the horrible civil service and the world’s worst police force. They dream of a day when Malaysia is the harmonious country it claims to be, the day when the ethnic chinese and the indians are treated like part of the country rather than second class citizens trodden by the obvious reverse affimitive action designed to give the bumiputeras an upperhand advantage in education, housing and jobs. And what do they do about it other than rant? Nothing. Cannot even be bothered to register to vote.

So I challenge you my readers. No matter where your passport says you belong to, put yourself on the Electrol Roll of your country. Democracy only works if you lend a helping hand, no amount of endless whinging will change the world.

Reportage from the land of Roti Canais will commence soon — my gazillions of pictures are proving to be a burden to upload and I seemed to have lost a whole CD full of pictures as well!! AAAARGHHH!!!