Guan Eng Apologizes to Johor Sultan and Johoreans

I suppose Penang chief minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had to say sorry because the Sultan said that he was offended by (Guan Eng's) remarks disparaging Johor.

This has somewhat put a closure to the issue. Some champion of free press! Surely not with his utter readiness to sue and sue the media (mainstream only). Not because they misquote him but because they are, simply, mainstream. More a champion of putar-belit!

All this brouhaha arose from a Bernama report saying that he made those contentious remarks in an interview with an Australian radio station.

If the Sultan had not said anything, I wonder whether Johor baru-born Guan Eng would even bother to apologize, or admit that he did say all those things.

If I Were The Johor MB....

... I'd get very very p*ssed with remarks about Johor made by Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng in Singapore recently.

Really p*ssed.

At least, it is believed that Guan Eng uttered those offensive remarks about Johor.

Bernama sent out a report on this.

In response, Guan Eng demanded an apology from Bernama, or he will sue the news agency. This seems to suggest that Bernama sent out a false report.

As it turned out, the only false thing (in the report) was the place where he was said to have uttered the remarks.

Bernama had quoted Guan Eng, as saying in an interview with an Australian radio station, that Johor was not a safe state where the chances of being kidnapped were high.

Well, maybe Guan Eng never gave that interview. But, according to new kid on the blog -BigCat - who did some digging, the chief minister did make remarks about Johor when addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore at a luncheon in the republic.
(It is a fact that Guan Eng was at the luncheon and he did speak at the function).

BigCat, it seems, got the whole story. In his posting, "This Is Another Crook", the blogger quoted Guan Eng.

""Iskandar is seen as a very strong competitor ... but if you look in terms of safety and using the Crime Index, Penang was Number 1 in terms of cutting crimes, so you don't have to worry about your safety when you come to Penang.
In Johor, if you are a Singaporean, you are likely to get kidnapped ... you ask any Singaporean they would know but you don't have that problem when you come to Penang.
I am sure investors want to deal with an honest government and not to deal with crooks.
Lynas the rare earth factory in Pahang ... they don't see this huge premium facility benefiting the people as they pose a serious threat to their health and of course safety."

Ouch!

Yesterday, TV3 during its prime time news Buletin Utama, played an audio recording of someone who sounded unmistakably like Guan Eng, purportedly at that venue and event.

Okay, if it was Guan Eng who uttered those words, then I can only say that he must feel that as the DAP secretary-general, attacking Johor, Pahang etc, is fair game. Never mind if he is a MALAYSIAN chief minister.

You have the chance to whack your enemies, you whack kow-kow!
That's the way the cookie crumbles.

The NST carried a report as well. But did not try to contact him as the MOLE did.
Guan Eng, you see, has been boycotting the NST over a commentary the NST's Penang correspondent, Sharanjit Singh, wrote in the "100 days in office" series.
Guan Eng took offence to Sharanjit's remarks that the DAP in Penang was playing favourites with certain companies. This was written not without basis.
Following that, he has banned the newspaper from covering official or private functions (in which he is guest), and I believe has given instructions to private companies and so on, to not invite the NST , if they want him to grace their event.

I say that is not the way a leader should act. Frankly, I was utterly surprised by his action.
I expected him to be bigger than this. I thought he was, er....different...champion of free press etc....

But, oh well, to each his own. This is a free country.....

And Guan Eng (it it was him in that audio recording and if BigCat's posting is true), it seems, has taken the liberty to call some people "crooks"...

So, as I said...if I were the Johor MB....

"Undi-Lah" Okay, What!

Well-known and popular personalities took part in the now controversial "Undilah" video.

If people had not known about Pete Teo's video, many do now because of the unnecessary fuss caused by the Malaysian Communications and Multi-media Commission's directive that broadcasters not carry the clip.

The video - a very catchy public service announcement - was launched on Sept 16, Malaysia Day.

Some people said that it had "underlying messages and supported the opposition". Maybe so. I suppose if you scrutinize the clip, you can assume a lot of things.

Personally, I see a lot of fun in getting that message across. maybe I'm thick-skinned, a little blind for not seeing the subtleties in the provocative political messages.

I'm not sure whether people would rush to register to vote (for the opposition) after seeing the video.

Anyway, here is The NST report.

KUALA LUMPUR: Politicians and local artistes described Pete Teo's Undilah video as one great way to stress the importance of voting.

The video, launched on Malaysia Day on Sept 16, however, was withdrawn by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission because its public service announcement (PKA) has yet to get the approval from the Film Censorship Board for broadcast on television.

Those interviewed by the New Straits Times agreed that the four minutes and 42 seconds video, featuring politicians and celebrities, carried a clear-cut message for the people to register as voters.

The video shows politicians from different political parties and celebrities encouraging the people to exercise their rights as voters, said Puteri chief Datuk Rosnah Shirlin.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong said the MCMC owed the public an explanation for withdrawing the video.

"It was said the organiser did not go through the regulator. If that is the case, MCMC should have advised the organiser right from the start."

He said the withdrawal prompted more people to watch it via YouTube. "Now, people think there is an agenda and MCMC's action may be wrongly interpreted."

Singer Reshmonu said the video was a great way to highlight the importance of voting, disagreeing with the statement by Kota Belud member of parliament Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan that the video had underlying messages and supported the opposition.

"It is pro-government because it tries to educate the many unregistered citizens about their rights and roles to elect the government of the day."

Actor Afdlin Shauki said the video aimed to educate Malaysians to register as voters. "If we love the country, we must act fast for the future of our children and peace of the country."

Undilah producer Pete Teo said he and his team approached both Barisan Nasional and the opposition leaders before filming the video.

"It is not intended to favour anyone over the other. It is simply to spread the message of democracy and so that the people will exercise their rights as voters."

Syariah Charge: Teen Mum Who Had Baby Out Of Wedlock

In the name of kindness and humanity, don't charge her!

I know this is falling on deaf ears. You're going to charge her anyway, in the name of Syariah and Islam.

So, why don't you get the boy who fathered the child. Charge him too!

Religious authorities in Tumpat, Kelantan are charging an 18-year-old student for having a child out of wedlock last month at her religious school.

Kelantan Syariah prosecution chief Che Hashim Derahman said (reported in the New Straits Times) that the student is expected to be charged next month under Section 16 of the Syariah Criminal Code 1985 of the Kelantan Syariah Enactment.

Read the NST report HERE.

This girl made a mistake. How did she get to make that mistake?

I think society has failed her. Along with the school, the community. And I can go on.

She needs counselling by professionals to get on with her life.
She does not need to be punished this way.

She is the first to be charged under the Syariah for the "offence".

But you know, she is not the first teenager to have committed the "offence". Will she be the last?

Undi Lah! Damn Cool!

What the fish is the fuss about "UndiLah" - Pete Teo's public service announcement video? Not the "good" fussing about it but, oh you know, the "ban".

I missed the launching on Sept 16 (Malaysia Day) for very obvious reasons (kerja-lah).
I like the video!
I'm biased. My friends are in it.

But seriously, it's good. Nothing contentious. Not anti-national.

Not anti-Barisan Nasional -- unless "you" find it not suitable for general viewing because Nurul Izzah, Tony Pua, Nik Nazmi, Khalid Samad (ooh.. check him out with Daphne Iking) and oh..Namawee are in it.
(Namawee, I want to see to rap his knuckles for insulting our Negaraku, Islam, Muslim women, in the name of art or artistic freedom - oh please. Never mind if he has apologised.)

Puteri Umno chief Rosnah Abd Rashid Shirlin and MCA's Wee Ka Siong are also having a good time rapping away.
So sporting.

And man, you have Afdlin Shauki, Yasmin Yusoff, Sharifah Amani, a very pregnant Daphne Iking and yesss...Tony Fernandes.

(To name a few...)

Unless, unless....you find Tengku Razaleigh's appearance odious.
Takkan, kot...

(I think he was so cool...)

Or that the part that Ku Li said that our country "ada banyak masaalah".

It can't be that the song sung started out not in Bahasa Malaysia...
Takkan, kot...

Look...the video is for everyone...EVERYONE-lah.

Artistically-speaking...I don't know. Looks good to me those few minutes of it.
Politically? Who cares.

So, I was stumped that there was some "controversy" over the airing of the video which is on Youtube.

Actually, the video, in the first place, was not meant for TV broadcast. Frankly, it doesn't need to be.

So, the issue of it being banned shouldn't even arise.

But, as we know, someone in power through the very powerful Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) issued a directive to not allow it to be aired by TV stations.

No need to issue the directive.

But here's the statement to explain why they did what they did -- issued by Bernama:

Pete Teo who, as everyone else, was surprised by this whole thing, tweeted:

"MCMC: ban ws cos #Undilah didn't get LPF approval. But we hvnt contact tv stations yet let alone apply 2 LPF. So hw did LPF 'not approve'?"

and then:

"We don't know if LPF wld not approve the present version - cos er... we hvnt applied yet. That's Y mcmc story is nonsense. :)"

Sometimes, you wonder why people keep on tripping and tripping and giving a bad name to the government they serve.

If you haven't watch THE VIDEO, what are you waiting for?

Anyway, my only regret -- Pete doesn't know me...so that's why I wasn't in the video...:-))

World Carfree Day : Are We Ready For It?

First off....World Carfree Day is not to be mistaken for World Carefree Day (none yet) or World free Car Day (none yet either...).

A little bit from its website:

"Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighbourhood blocks to remind the world that we don't have to accept our car-dominated society.

But we do not want just one day of celebration and then a return to "normal" life. When people get out of their cars, they should stay out of their cars. It is up to us, it is up to our cities, and our governments to help create permanent change to benefit pedestrians, cyclists, and other people who do not drive cars.

Let World Carfree Day be a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars…365 days a year."

So today, we're supposed to do that. You know, get by with our lives, our routine sans those smoke-spewing vehicles we call automobiles.

We can either stay at home (lucky you if you could!), cycle or take public transport. However, in order to do that on this day, we need some months of planning to actually make it work for ourselves and everyone else.
In fact, we're supposed to also organize activities in our neighbourhoods.

Are neighbourhood residents' associations aware of this Day?

I bet they are not.

Are our transport and traffic systems ready for this? Well, not where I'm staying and working. No.

The reality is, this Day ain't working.

In fact today, especially today, the roads were congested. Could the heavy rain in the morning be the cause?

It seems Malaysians in this part of the country are just not bothered. They need their cars. They do. And I don't blame them.

Take me: cycling to work or to the nearest LRT station is out of the question. Apart from the distance, I'd get killed on the very busy LDP, celebrating World Carfree Day. No thank you.
(I have two kids who need me, you know).

Without the bicycle, I'd have to depend on RapidKL to get to the LRT station or to get a connecting bus to Bangsar.

I'd need walk to the bus stop which is a five-minute walk (near the school) or a 15 minute-walk (at another location) just after Subuh because the entire journey takes two hours, what with the rain and traffic.

(Note: In my neighbourhood, we have security guards manning entrances at certain roads. Despite this, there have been reported burglary and robbery cases committed early in the morning.)

So. How?

In other countries, people have been celebrating it on a wide scale. They started small - in neighbourhoods or sections of the towns or cities - and grew from there as people realize the benefit of going about their lives without automobiles.

It's all towards having a greener world.

So we - the people, the government, everyone-lah -- should do our groundwork if we want to take it seriously and celebrate it.

Certainly, we will all benefit from this.

I'm all for the cause. But with present circumstances, it just ain't happening.

I'm not alone, mind you.

Read THIS in the Malay Mail.

What about you? Are you ready?

"You've Got Your Facts Wrong, Fuziah"

..so says an expert.

I'm no expert in radiation. But Mr Nick Tsurikov is. He is a consultant with Calytrix Consulting Pty Ltd, based in Western Australia.

He sent Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh an open letter, in response to an interview she gave TV Pas with Gilbert Almeida on July 29 with regards to the Lynas rare earth processing plant project in Gebeng, Pahang.
The plant will process ore from its Mount Weld mine to produce rare earth products essential for making hi-tech gadgets.

Tsurikov said Fuziah was misleading her constituents with flawed and inaccurate technical comments on the proposed Lynas rare earth plant.

"I consider several statements made by Almeida that you (Fuziah) appear to agree with, such as 'Australia exporting radioactive earth' and that some people (presumably associated with Lynas) should be tried for crimes against humanity, as ill-informed and offensive."

Tsurikov said: "On radiation protection issues, I believe that as a member of the Malaysian Parliament, you would not intentionally seek to mislead the people of Kuantan.

"I, therefore, assume that you have been poorly and inadequately advised on the issues of rare earth processing."

This is his letter:

Dear Madam,

This letter relates to your interview with TV PAS, Mr Gilbert Almeida, on 29th of July 2011, and provides a follow up to comments that I posted on YouTube within days of its broadcast.

Firstly, I would like to state upfront that I am not an employee of Lynas Corporation; however I have been independently advising Lynas on the management of radiation protection issues for some time.

I provide this kind of technical advisory service to a large number of mining and mineral processing companies, national and international organisations and government departments around the world.

With all due respect, I find many of your technical comments in the abovementioned interview to be fundamentally flawed and inaccurate.

In addition, I consider several statements made by Mr Almeida, with which you appear to agree, as ill-informed and offensive.
I refer particularly to comments such as Australia exporting ‘radioactive death’ and that some people (presumably associated with Lynas) should be tried for ‘crimes against humanity’.

On radiation protection issues, I believe that as a Member of the Malaysian Parliament, you would not intentionally seek to mislead the people of Kuantan.

I therefore assume that you have been poorly and inadequately advised on the issues of rare earth processing, and I provide the following comments to specifically address the seven issues you highlight in the interview.

ISSUE 1: BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES
The very first finding of the IAEA mission to review the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant is that “the review team was not able to identify any non-compliance with international radiation safety standards”.

These same standards are applicable to the treatment of radioactive ores – uranium, tin, titanium, phosphate, rare earths, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, etc.

The list of seventeen international (IAEA) documents that are applicable is provided on pages 8-9 of the IAEA Report.
Therefore, your comment that there are no benchmarks or best practice guidelines is incorrect and invalid.

ISSUE 2: ALLEGED USE OF THE STANDARDS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA BY LYNAS
You state that “I have the evidence that Lynas is going to use China standards”. This allegation is quite extraordinary, as no document from Lynas or the IAEA has ever mentioned the use of standards other than Malaysian, Australian or International standards.

If you do have such evidence, it would be appreciated if you would make it public.

Until then, your statement cannot be taken seriously. It is clearly nothing more than an unproven and unjustified assertion.

ISSUE 3: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN RARE EARTH OPERATIONS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS
The statement that “in Australia even to extract the rare earth elements it is mandatory for the operations to be located 35 km from residential areas” is a fabrication.

There is no law, regulation or even a guideline anywhere in Australia containing this requirement. Even the research nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights on the outskirts of

metropolitan Sydney, is located within two to three kilometres of residential areas.

Your have obviously been misled. Your statement is incorrect.

ISSUE 4: DISCUSSION AND EXPLANATION OF RADIOACTIVITY CONCENTRATIONS
It seems to me that your technical advisers are confusing numbers and different methods for calculating specific activity of materials.

There are two ways of calculating this value: the out-dated method of using ‘total’ activity, versus the current standard that uses concentration of a ‘parent’ radio-isotope.

This international standard has been in use since 1997-1998.

On this basis, if a material contains 400 parts per million of thorium – its specific activity is calculated as follows:

a) Outdated method – 400 x 4.09 (specific activity of Th-232) x 10 (number of radio nuclides in the thorium decay chain) = 16,360 Bq/kg, or 16.4 Bq/g

b) International standard (IAEA, AELB and Australia) – 400 x 4.09 = 1,630 Bq/kg, or 1.64 Bq/g.
The internationally accepted standard for the material to be considered for regulation is 1 Bq/g.

However, if the specific radioactivity of the material reaches or exceeds the value of 1 Bq/g, it does not necessarily mean that material is regulated and/or should be classified as ‘radioactive’.

There is a provision in the IAEA document RS-G-1.7 that the value may be up to 10 Bq/g and material may still be exempted from regulations when certain provisions are met.

Either someone misinformed you, or you have misunderstood the situation.

The Lynas Water Leach Product (WLP) at 6.1 Bq/g is, of course, classified as a ‘radioactive material’.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no documents where it was claimed that the Lynas residue is “under the Chinese standard” and therefore “can be disposed as any other waste”.

Your comment is incorrect. If, as you claim, Lynas is saying that the waste is not radioactive, then why did Lynas develop the radiation impact assessment for approval by AELB in 2007?

ISSUE 5: ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE LYNAS RAW MATERIAL
It appears that you have again been misinformed - this time with regards to the processing of the Lynas ore. The ore is crushed in Western Australia, prior to being processed at the concentration plant, also located in Western Australia.

The material will then be transported in the form of a wet paste inside double-layered plastic bags, which will be sealed and placed into sea containers.

Therefore, your comment about the danger of dry dust particles is alarmist and misleading.

It also appears you may have misunderstood the danger of different types of radiation.

Contrary to your statement that “alpha is not as dangerous as gamma”, there is only one scientific opinion about ‘radiation weighting factors’ and that is that alpha radiation is actually twenty times more dangerous than gamma radiation.

ISSUE 6: CONCERNING THE POSSIBILITY OF URANIUM ESCAPING INTO WATER AND INTO THE SEA
I feel compelled to point out that your comments on the risk of uranium escaping into water are so outlandish that I would like, once again, to question the competence of your technical advisers.

It is clearly stated in the RIA that any water discharged will not exceed the standard specified by AELB of 1 Bq/L.

The most environmentally mobile, and thus potentially dangerous radioactive element is not uranium but radium, and by a considerable margin. Without detailed quoting:

*The limits set by AELB are within the range of concentrations allowed in the drinking water by both the Australian Government and the World Health Organisation (0.1 – 1.0 Bq/L);

*The limits are significantly below the natural concentration of radionuclides in drinking water in some areas of the world, as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee onthe Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) in its 2000 Report.

Effectively, you are claiming that if someone brings to Kuantan one tanker per year of the drinking water from certain locations in Finland (up to 150 Bq/L of uranium and 49 Bq/L of radium) or Switzerland (around 1 Bq/L of uranium and up to 1.5 Bq/L of radium) and pours it into the river near Kuantan, the fishing industry of all South-East Asia would be destroyed?

As I presented to the International Symposium on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material in Spain in 2007, phosphate fertilisers commonly used in agriculture normally containbetween 50 and 500 Bq/kg of uranium, with the highest value being over 2000 Bq/kg. So, if we are to follow your logic, then a ship carrying phosphate fertiliser that loses its cargo near Kuantan would completely decimate the fishing industry due to extremely high radiation levels.

Your comment on the possible destruction of the fishing industry in South-East Asia is wide off the mark and I do not believe that you, as a Member of the Malaysian Parliament, would mislead people this way. I therefore suggest that and your technical advisers re-examine data to the utmost detail prior to repeating this kind of extreme and alarmist comment in public.

ISSUE 7 – ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE
I wish to draw to your attention that numerous industries within Malaysia, and around the world, generate radioactive waste. And if your comments are to be taken seriously, by shutting down industries that produce radioactive waste, a vast array of products, goods and services would no longer be available to society.

These include:
* Hybrid cars, energy-saving light bulbs, mobile phones, electricity-generating wind turbines, and almost all electronic and computer equipment

* Petrol and diesel fuel, all other mineral oils and natural gas

* Airplanes, space vehicles, white pigments, toothpaste

* Phosphate fertilisers for agriculture

* Ceramic tiles, porcelain

* Electricity generated by burning coal or geo-thermal sources

* products made from or with an addition of iron, copper, tin, aluminium, zinc, lead, tantalum, etc

* Clean drinking water produced from water treatment.

I am confident that you are “not against progress”; however, in following your own logic, the oil and gas industry in Malaysia should be shut down and people should be banned from using phosphate fertilisers, living in houses with ceramic tiles, driving cars, flying on airplanes, and using any kind of electronic equipment.

This is no exaggeration - simply an extension of your own logic.

As an expert in radiation protection, I would welcome the opportunity to provide you and your technical advisory team with any additional information and clarification you require.

I would also welcome an opportunity to discuss all radiation related issues in an open forum, without any pre-conditions. I am not an employee of Lynas Corporation and do not need to seek any approval to participate in such a discussion.

I am absolutely confident that a frank and open discussion about radiation-related issues surrounding not only the Lynas plant in Kuantan, but also in general terms, will be beneficial for everyone.

If you have any interest, please let me know and I will try to include a stopover in Kuala Lumpur into my schedule in the next few months.

Yours sincerely,
Kind regards
Nick Tsurikov
Calytrix Consulting Pty Ltd
Perth, Western Australia
4th August, 2011

"Towards A Mature, Modern And Functioning Democracy"

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced on TV about 2 hours ago -- the repeal of several outmoded and draconian laws including the ISA and the three Emergency proclamations.

These are historic changes and are being made to "to accommodate and realise a mature, modern and functioning democracy; to preserve public order; enhance civil liberty and maintain racial harmony."

The PM made the announcement on the eve of Malaysia Day -- the first time the country is celebrating the anniversary of the foundation and formation of modern Malaysia.

The changes include:

*Total repeal of the Internal Security Act

The legislation, introduced in 1960 in the wake of an armed insurgency by Communist rebels, gives the police wide-ranging powers to detain suspects indefinitely.

It will be replaced by a new law that incorporates far more judicial oversight and limits the powers of the police to detain suspect for preventive reasons.

37 people are currently being held under the ISA. There will be a six-month transition period while the new laws are introduced, after which their cases will be considered under the new legislation.

*Total repeal of the Emergency Ordinance

Introduced following race riots in 1969, the Emergency Ordinance, which allows suspects to be detained without charge for up to two years if permission is granted by a Minister.

This too will be replaced by a law that will not compromise on national security and terrorism while increasing democratic accountability and judicial oversight.

*Removal of annual renewal of press and publication permits

All licences will now remain valid indefinitely unless they are revoked, in common with broadcasting regulations in many Western nations.

*Government to review Section 27 of the Police Act 1967

The Malaysian constitution guarantees the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The law requires police permission before gatherings can go ahead, including on private land such as stadiums. This law will now be reviewed to bring Malaysia in line with international standards while ensuring that the police retain the power to prevent violent scenes on the nation's streets.

A host of other laws, including those governing banishment and residence, will also be abolished or reviewed. Any law found to be no longer relevant or justifiable will be repealed.

Please go online for the full text of the PM's address.

And I thought America Has Moved On.....

I thought they don't do this no more. I thought America has wizened up and is paranoid no more. I thought after 10 years, and a hard lesson, America has moved on.

I thought America has come to terms with the fact that Arabs are among its citizens.

Soon after 9/11 when America and Americans were gripped with fear and later, Islamophobia, I told my son that it was not a good idea for him to visit the US, given that he has a very common Arabic name that probably fills the US terrorist database.

My son's name is Adel Hakim. I named him after an Egyptian journalist friend.

It is also a name favoured by Pakistanis.

Sometime in 2004, in a chance meeting with the acting US ambassador to Malaysia, the issue of terrorism and Islam etc was predictably raised. I was reassured (by him) that nothing of the sort (arrest without reason or grounds) that I feared would befall my son if he travelled to the US.
But I was not reassured.
Guantanamo came to mind.

Many times, I have been proven right. US authorities had made many arrests of innocent Muslims.

And now THIS. Shame shame shame.

Read Shoshana Hebshi's ordeal in her blog HERE.

...and the world was never the same again

Someone wrote - "There cannot be many adults in the western world who do not remember where they were on September 11, 2001, specifically @9.03am."

Indeed. How could we?
That was one morning we all cannot forget.

I remember well that lazy Sunday morning.

I was in London (a few days' transit), preparing to leave for Moscow for an assignment.

I was with two other people - NST London correspondent Tony Emmanuel and Business Times editor Ahirudin Attan - at the New Straits Times apartment in Bayswater. To be precise I was watching TV with Tony while Ahirudin was in the kitchen making himself a cup of coffee.

It was so surreal, come to think of it. That morning.

Tony and I was watching the news. Saw the visuals. We thought it was a helicopter flying close to the World Trade Centre building. It didn't look like a huge airplane. Still, we were glued to the TV because the commentator spoke in hurried and excited tone.

Then, wham...we were stunned when everything just clashed, exploded.....like a movie. I think we were momentarily paralyzed.

By then, Ahirudin was with us. The air was then so palpable with our shouts and screams of shock and horror. Reality set in.

If there was a giant loudspeaker in space, earth would have emanated the chorus of the cacophony of shocked voices.

It was one crash after another.

And the world was never the same again.

We had arrived in London and had undergone the routine that visitors to the city had gone through for years. Until 9/11, departures from London were also mundane affairs.

Needless to say, our assignment to Moscow (PM Dr Mahathir's first official visit to Russia) was cancelled. Postponed, rather (because he made the trip a year later).

Our departure from London was nothing short of bizarre. Heathrow seemed like a crazy place. New rules were put in place and immediately effected. Customs checks were
maddeningly long because so many people had to unpack and/0r repacked because a lot of items that were allowed before had been banned in hand-carried bags.
I had to unpack and convert my bag into a checked-luggage. My habit of carrying extra luggage locks helped.

Life was never the same again for travellers, and especially those carrying Muslim names or looking Middle-eastern.

Even 10 years on. We're still picking up the torn and shredded pieces of 9/11.

To those who perished in the attacks - in the US and elsewhere (because of 9/11) - May you rest in peace.

Wahai Mat Sabu, Minta Maaf Saja-lah,.....

...sebelum isu ini menjadi lebih serius. Betul kata Karpal Singh.

Just say you're sorry for saying that thing that you said, and be done with it. And, oh yes, admit that you made a mistake.
It's no longer that you "allegedly" said. It's on Youtube.
You did say what you were accused of saying, as reported by Utusan Malaysia.

So, go sue Utusan Malaysia. I mean, really sue.

Mat Sabu who is PAS deputy president said at a ceramah in Penang on Aug 21 that the communist terrorists who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station in the 1950s were the true heroes of the country, not the policemen who defended the station because they were British officers.

I agree with NST columnist and peace activist Shamsul Akmar who wrote:

"Although Mat Sabu disparaged the Bukit Kepong policemen on grounds that they were working for the British, it did not make them any less heroic.

In fact, if the statistics and details of the fateful day of Feb 23, 1950 were to be of essence, how can a company of 200 CPM members attacking a police station and barracks defended by less than one tenth of the attackers be heroic?

Furthermore, if those killed included women and children (some burnt to death), what is so heroic of the CPM bandits who attacked Bukit Kepong?

By any count, it is the 20 odd policemen and their families who defended the station from the time the attack started at 5am until they were murdered and the station burnt to the ground. So who are the heroes.

The sheer fact that they were outnumbered and yet determined to hold their ground to the end, proved courage beyond compare in facing such extreme adversity."

Read his column HERE.

I'm still wondering why he said what he said....

BernamaTV Cameraman Killed In Somalia

...while TV3 journalist Ali Saregar Mazlan is injured.

Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 41, was killed by stray bullets fired by rebel forces while he was in a vehicle on the way to Mogadishu's commercial centre.

According to media rights watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, the BernamaTV cameraman "joins the long list of journalists killed in the course of their work in Somalia, Africa’s deadliest country for media personnel with 23 killed since 2007."

The NST report:
BernamaTV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 41, was killed, while TV3 cameraman Aji Saregar Mazlan was injured, after the Malaysian media team’s truck was hit by stray bullets during an attack by rebel forces in Mogadishu, Somalia, last night.

The two were in Somalia to provide media coverage for the Putera 1Malaysia Club for the humanitarian aid mission in the African country.

The truck they were in was hit by stray bullets.

Khairulanuar said the shots were fired at a government army truck that was accompanying the media vehicle, and a stray bullet hit Noramfaizul, who was seated by the door.

Read the NST report here.

The BBC also has the story .

Reporters Without Borders Here

(Photo of Arwah Noramfaizul)