More H1N1 Deaths / The Spread Continues....

...and the Flu is here to stay for at least a year, according to our medical authorities.

Seven more people infected with H1N1 or swine flu have died, bringing the toll related to the virus in the country to 51.

The Health Ministry said in a statement today the seven patients died over the past week and all had other health problems, such as diabetes, hypertension or weak immune systems.

Among those who died are two boys - one aged 4 months, the other 4 years. Malaysia has reported more than 2,250 swine flu cases since May.

As you already know, this is a pandemic. We are no longer in the containment phase, and have moved to the mitigation phase. This means that public health officials have conceded that the H1N1 virus is too widespread to make containment a feasible consideration. It can no longer be contained.
So, local health authorities are now focusing on treating those badly afflicted with the disease.

So, we can't stop the spread. It is now really up to us to make sure that we do not get infected by taking preventive measures and precautions ourselves.
Practise social distancing -- that is keeping a physical distance from other people to slow down the spread.
Avoid crowded places and take better care of our personal hygiene such as washing our hands regularly (with alcohol-based hand sanitizers).

I know we've been deluged with all sorts of materials on the Influenza A and the measures we should take.
Here's just a reminder because a lot of people are still so laid back.

Just the other evening, I was at Rasta in Taman Tun Dr Ismail with a friend to have dinner. After we sat down, the usual bevy of waiters/waitresses descended upon us. Onewaitress (from the nasi ayam stall) was sniffling and wiping her nose with the back of her hands. We didn't realize it at first, until after we had ordered our nasi ayam.
We could see that she was not well. We looked at each other, concerned.

"I think we should cancel our nasi ayam. The poor girl is not well and she's preparing our food," I said.

We turned to look at her and could see that she was wiping her nose with her hand constantly, and sniffling, while dishing out the rice.

Not on, we thought. And canceled our orders. And everything else and quickly made an exit.

For employers:

• Encourage sick workers to stay home and away from the workplace, and provide flexibility.
• Encourage infection control practices in the workplace by displaying posters that address and remind workers about proper hand washing, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette.
  
• Provide written guidance (email, etc.) oninfluenza A (H1N1) flu appropriate for the language and literacy levels of everyone in the workplace. Employers should work closely with local and state public health officials to ensure they are providing the most appropriate and up-to-date information.
  
• Provide sufficient facilities for hand washing and alcohol-based (at least 60%) hand sanitizers (or wipes) in common workplace areas such as lobbies, corridors, and restrooms.
• Provide tissues, disinfectants, and disposable towels for employees to clean their work surfaces, as well as appropriate disposal receptacles for use by employees.
• One study showed that influenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for up to 2-8 hours after being deposited on the surface. To reduce the chance of spread of the l influenza A (H1N1) virus, disinfect commonly-touched hard surfaces in the workplace, such as work stations, counter tops, door knobs, and bathroom surfaces by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label.

For employees:

• Stay home if you are sick. If you have symptoms of influenza-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. Keep away from others as much as possible. This is to keep from making others sick.
• Employees who are well but who have an ill family member at home withH1N1 flu can go to work as usual. These employees should monitor their health every day, notify their supervisor and stay home if they become ill. Employees who have an underlying medical condition or who are pregnant should call their health care provider for advice, because they might need to receive influenza antiviral drugs to prevent illness.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers* can be used if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Avoid close contact with sick people. If an employee suspects that they have been exposed to a sick person with novel H1N1 influenza they may continue to go to work as usual. These employees should monitor their health every day and should notify their supervisor and stay home if they become ill.

Lastly, stay healthy, maintain a healthy lifestyle. Remember that out of the thousands who were afflicted, many survived.

THE Inquest Today

The inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock resumed at the Shah Alam Magistrates Court before coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas this morning.
Some than 100 witnesses are expected to be called in the next 15 or so days of the inquest.
These include Teoh’s family members, colleagues and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers involved in questioning Teoh the day before his death.

Today six witnesses --four security personnel, a technician and a policeman -- testified today.

The inquest, which adjourned at about 1.35pm, resumes at 9am tomorrow.

READ HERE and HERE

Ah Long, Ah Long

I was wondering whether anyone was going to do something about all those stickers and banners put up by Ah Longs.
I remember noticing these stickers suddenly "sprouting" overnight in my neighbourhood. It was some time late last year, when everyone was talking about feeling the squeeze from a weakening world economy.

"What timing," I remember remarking.

Suddenly they were on lamp-posts, tree-trunks, walls and just about everywhere.

It's as though Ah Longs knew that there'd be many desperadoes, and was giving them a line. A quick fix.

I pulled out some of the stickers. Just on impulse. But I stopped when it hit me that some people might be watching me and would not be amused by what i was doing....
Oh... I takut Ah Long.

It was disturbing but I also thought that people should know better than to fall for that.

There must have been complaints because just the other day THIS happened.

Thousands Anti ISA Protesters In The City

Sean Lee and Fay D'Cruz
(NST online)
KUALA LUMPUR: The police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds in at least five different locations in the city, including Dataran Merdeka.

At least 26 people of the 3,000 at the protest rally were also arrested for their presence today.

The protest in now centralised at Jalan Raja Laut.

Opposition leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Nizar Jamaluddin are among the protestors in the area.

More than 500 FRU personnel have been mobilised from Johor, Negri Sembilan, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur to help control the crowds at the rally.

Meanwhile, scores of people are stranded in the city as all main roads are blocked. lRT has stopped its service temporarily to Masjid Jamek as protests continue.

Stay updated HERE

Penang State Assemblyman Dies

Pas Permatang Pasir (Penang) state assemblymasn Datuk Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman passed away at the National Heart Institute this morning.
Al Fatihah.

Another by-election?

Is Six Lashes For Drinking Beer A Quranic Injunction?

By Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

ON July 20, the Pahang Syariah High Court sentenced part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor, 32, to a RM5,000 fine and six lashes of the rotan for drinking beer.

No doubt the court has the jurisdiction to impose such a sentence as provided by the law.

Some have questioned the appropriateness of the sentence of whipping given that the court has discretion to impose a mixture of fine, imprisonment and binding Kartika over for good behaviour for a certain period, or just admonish her.

Others have questioned the appropriateness based on the legitimate argument that the Syariah holds Muslims responsible for their actions that result in negative opinions of Islam.

A news item like this certainly presents Islam and Malaysia negatively on the international stage.

But I would urge the Malaysian Syariah authorities to seriously reconsider the Syariah basis of this law on the following Syariah grounds:

Neither the Quran nor the Hadith invokes a penalty for alcohol consumption. The sin of consuming alcohol is described in the Quran in the mildest language of prohibition.

When it comes to dietary laws, the Quran commands the believers in Sura 5:3: "forbidden (hurrimat) to you is the dead animal, loose blood, and the flesh of the pig".

The 90th verse of the same Sura cautions the believers that "wine, gambling, etc, are an impurity so avoid them (fa-jtanibuh)".

Some legal scholars suggest that the divine command ijtinab, to avoid something, is milder language than tahrim, prohibition.

A Muslim consuming a glass of wine with a pork chop commits a more serious offence in eating pork; yet as there is no Quran or Hadith penalty for consuming pork, there is also none for alcohol consumption.

The question then is how did the penalty for alcohol consumption come about?

It occurred during the time of the second Caliph Umar b. al-Khattab. There was a companion of the Prophet (sahabi) who had fought on the Prophet's side in his battles.

A heavy drinker, he would walk the streets of Madina drunk at night and loudly shout scandalous things about people. The inhabitants of Madina complained, and Umar formed a committee to decide what to do.

Imam Ali, based on the man having committed slander, suggested the penalty for slander, whose maximum penalty is 80 lashes.

Since that time, this has been considered the maximum penalty for alcohol consumption, based on utilising the Syariah concept of ta`zir (deterrence).

I disagree with this being the mandatory sentence for the offence of wine consumption, because it is the maximum sentence for another, separate offence - slander - albeit committed under the influence of alcohol.

Had the man just fallen on the street in a stupor and suffered a terrible hangover without having hurt anyone, no punishment would have been established.

Had cars existed then and had he run his car over some pedestrians and killed them, should we invoke ta`zir now and have a penalty for alcohol consumption equal to that of accidental manslaughter?

There are additional arguments we can marshal from the Quran and Hadith. The Quran repeatedly urges Muslims to forgive those who wrong them, even for slander and manslaughter!

When the Prophet Mohamed's wife Aisha was wrongly accused of having committed adultery, her father Abu Bakr sought to have the penalty of libel meted against one of his employees who had slandered her.

God then revealed verse 24:22, urging the believers to pardon and forgive those who have wronged them, so that God would forgive them their own sins.

But I see no evidence that Kartika wronged anybody after drinking beer.

Verse 4:92 gives the penalty for a Muslim accidentally killing another as freeing a slave and paying compensation to the victim's family - unless the family forgoes compensation and forgives the offender.

And if the defendant can't afford to pay, then he should fast for two consecutive months. Accidental homicide is a much greater sin than alcohol consumption; yet the Quran suggests that the victim's family would do well to forgive the offender, and the penalty here is not jail time or corporal punishment, but a two-month fast.

The Quranic and Prophetic teachings are about forgiveness, compassion and positive personal transformation. Sura 48:29 describes Prophet Mohamed's companions as "firm against unbelievers and compassionate to themselves", and this is what I urge the Malaysian authorities to exemplify: show compassion to Kartika and forgive her.

But if the Pahang Syariah court insists on establishing a penalty for the mere consumption of alcohol, why not replace the current law - a maximum penalty of a RM5,000 fine and six lashes of the rotan - with spending RM5,000 on feeding the poor and fasting for six days?

Wouldn't that be more in keeping with the letter and spirit of the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah?

Were this the case, I have a hunch that many Malaysians who imbibe may voluntarily mete such a "penalty" on themselves - to the benefit of the poor, to the benefit of their own spiritual progress and standing before God on Judgment Day, and to the benefit of the Malaysian Syariah Court's, Islam's and Malaysia's image on the international stage.

(This article is also on Star Online)

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is the Chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, an international organisation devoted to improving West-Muslim world relations, and author of "Islam, A Sacred Law, What Every Muslim Should know about the Shariah".

H1N1 On The Rise (Update)

More universities and schools had to be closed due to detection of the virus in these places.

Here's the Bernama report:

Two tertiary institutions, one faculty of a third, two secondary schools, seven industrial training institutes and a National Service Training Centre throughout the country were closed Wednesday and yesterday due to the detection of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) there.

The affected institutions, which will remain closed for one week, were the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim, Perak, the Engineering Faculty of the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Nibong Tebal, Penang and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jit San (A) in Bukit Mertajam, Penang which were all ordered closed for a week beginning today

In Kuantan, Pahang, the Kolej Yayasan Profesional Mara was also closed for a week beginning yesterday.

In PERAK, the 14,000 students of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim were ordered to return home after 435 students were reported to be suffering from ILI.

The Health Ministry ordered the campus closed for a week beginning today until Aug 3. Only about 4,000 students of the university were staying in the hostels while the rest were staying outside the campus.

A spokesman from the Operations Room of the Perak Health Department said the department was awaiting the full report from the District Health Office to determine the number of students affected and whether there was any increase in the number of cases.

"Currently, we are still investigating the blood samples taken from the affected students to determine whether they were positive of influenza A (H1N1)," he told Bernama when contacted Wednesday.

MORE HERE....

Teoh's Family Insists On Royal Commission Of Inquiry.....

(Bernama)

SHAH ALAM, July 29 -- The family of Teoh Beng Hock insists that the royal commission to be set up should also determine the cause of death of the Selangor political aide and not merely scrutinise the mode of questioning employed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Teoh's sister, Lee Lan, said the family expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for having met Teoh's family members and explained the setting up of the royal commission of inquiry but felt that the cause of her brother's death should be determined by the royal commission.

Teoh, 30, political aide to Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam here after having given a statement as a witness to the MACC over allegations of misuse of funds by Selangor state executive councillors. The MACC office is located on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam.

On July 22, Najib announced that an inquest would be held to determine the cause of Teoh's death. He also said that a royal commission of inquiry would be set up to determine the standard operating procedure of questioning of witnesses and suspects by the MACC.

Lee Lan spoke to reporters outside the magistrate's court here where the inquest into Teoh's death began Monday. Teoh's father Leong Hwee, elder brother Beng Kee and fiancee Soh Cher Wei also attended the hearing today.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas adjourned hearing to next Wednesday to enable counsel holding watching brief for the relevant parties to scrutinise the documents made available to the court today.

Inquest Adjourned And DNA Of Unidentified Man Found...

(Bernama)

SHAH ALAM, July 29 -- The inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock has been adjourned to Aug 5.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas adjourned the hearing to enable lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, representing Teoh's family, lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar (representing the Selangor government) and the Bar Council to study the new documents submitted this morning by lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, who is assisting the inquest.

CONTINUE READING HERE

MEANWHILE, the inquest was told that DNA trace of an unidentified man was found on the back of the blazer and belt of political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

Government-appointed lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, who is assisting the inquest conducted by coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, told the court the "mystery man" had yet to be identified although samples of DNA were taken by the Chemistry Department from 102 individuals.

Tan said that besides the DNA trace of the "mystery man", Teoh's DNA trace was also found on the blazer and belt.

CONTINUE HERE....

H1N1 On The Rise

You can't stop it. So, you need to take precautions, and BETTER care. This is important.

The 42-yr-old Malaysian who died yesterday evening is the country's third H1N1 death, as 95 new cases are reported, all local transmission.

More and more schools have been forced to close.

The situation is getting worse.

So, if you fall ill, and appear to have the symptoms, get treatment swiftly and, do the necessary.

PLEASE GO HERE

THE Inquest Begins Tomorrow

In case you haven't been keeping up with the news....

Tomorrow, the inquest into the death of Teoh Beng Hock, the political secretary of a Selangor state executive councillor, begins.

It will be in the Shah Alam magistrate's court to determine the cause of death.

Teoh, 30, political aide of Selangor State Executive Councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

He had been questioned as a witness by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) between 5pm on July 15 and 3.45am the following day on the allegations of misuse of Selangor state government allocations, at the MACC office located on the 14th floor of the same building.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, for Teoh's family, when contacted by Bernama said he would make an appliction to get several documents including the post-mortem report before the inquest proceedings begin.

Statements from 77 people questioned will be the focus. Azmil Muntapha Abas is expected to act as coroner.

Among those expected to be called are 28 MACC officers, chemists and pathologists and several of Teoh's close friends.

On July 22, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that an inquest headed by a magistrate would be held into Teoh's death.

Besides Gobind, Teoh's family is also represented by lawyer Karpal Singh, while lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar would be an observer for the Selangor state government.

The Attorney-General's Chambers is still keeping mum on who would handle the case but it is believed that it will be an experienced Deputy Public Prosecutor.

Shah Alam Magistrate Court 5 is being prepared for the proceedings. Several workers were busy installing three screens to display the proceedings for the duration of the inquest.

Media persons are expected to be at the court as early as 6am to get seats in the public gallery as the court can only hold 60 persons.

(source: Bernama)

Opposition Parties Want To Meet Najib

(Bernama)
Leaders of the opposition parties want to have a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak immediately to discuss several pressing matters including the role of the Royal Commission to investigate the death of a political aide to a Selangor State Executive Councillor, Teoh Beng Hock.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said the opposition pact wanted the scope of the commission to be widened and not confined to the investigation process only.

"We want the commission to also investigate the cause of Teoh's death," the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council at the Parliament House, in Kuala Lumpur today..

Anwar said the meeting also hoped to get Najib's views so that he would agree to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA).

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Al-Fatihah : Yasmin Ahmad

I just got word, confirmation thatYasmin Ahmad just passed away.

Innalillahiwainnalillahirajiuun...

May Allah bless her soul. Amin Amin Amin....

***Yasmin, 51, was laid to rest this afternoon (12.40pm, Sunday July 26), at USJ23, Subang Jaya cemetery.

Al-Fatihah.

Yasmin - Update

The latest is that Yasmin's condition is not improving. But we pray that it will.

(NST online) :
Her family has informed that her condition today has deteriorated. She remains on life support at the intensive care unit in Damansara Specialist Hospital in Petaling Jaya.

The family has requested that no visitors congregate at the hospital.

Yasmin, 51, collapsed on Thursday while making a presentation at Sri Pentas, headquarters of the TV3 television station, and was rushed to the hospital.

Yasmin -- Update

Latest:
Yasmin Ahmad is still in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery for bleeding in the brain, said her younger brother Muzaffar Shah.

“It’s good news that she’s not getting worse. We will not know until 48 to 72 hours after surgery. The doctor will check on her again to see if there’s any change and will let us know,” he said.

Drainage of fluid was being carried out to reduce the pressure on Yasmin’s brain, which was swollen, said Muzaffar, 38.

“One of the vessels burst due to high blood pressure, causing the stroke. Right now it depends on how she reacts to the medication.”

Muzaffar said his sister was on oxygen support, instead of life support, contrary to some reports. He also refuted reports claiming that this was her second stroke. (star online)

CONTINUE HERE

===================================
At 5pm yesterday, Yasmin underwent a neurosurgical procedure at Damansara Specialist Hospital after suffering a stroke at Sri Pentas TV3 here.
The operation was completed at 7.30pm and she was reported to be in a stable but critical condition.

READ ON HERE....

Film Director Yasmin Ahmad In A Coma

Critically-acclaimed movie and TV commercial director Yasmin Ahmad is in a coma after having collapsed during a presentation she was giving at TV3.

She has been taken to the Intensive Care Unit at the Damansara Specialist Hospital, where doctors are trying to revive her.

She is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest and is in critical condition. Doctors are trying to revive her at this time.

Yasmin, 51, the director of Sepet, is particularly well known for the community message commercials she directed for Petronas.

She began her career in advertising as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather, eventually rising to creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur.

Her movies have won many international awards and have been screened at the Berlin, San Francisco, Singapore and Cannes international film festivals.

Last November, she was inducted into the inaugural Malaysian Advertising Hall of Fame by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia. - (The Star online)

She has a blog:Yasmin Ahmad's blog

First H1N1-Related Death In Malaysia

A 30-year-old Indonesian student became the first Influenza A(H1N1) related fatality in Malaysia, although the cause of death was not the disease itself.

The student, from the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance in Kuala Lumpur, died from cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said on today. - (The Star online)

...And a vaccine soon ...

Australia has begun its world-first human trials of a vaccine for this deadly flu.

According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), Australian bio-pharmaceutical company CSL, the makers of the vaccine, believe it will protect against the H1N1 virus.

Yesterday, some 240 adults were injected with the vaccine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in trials.
A further trial of the vaccine on 400 children will begin on August 4.
So far, Australia recorded more than 40 deaths.

Quoting CSL's research and development director Andrew Cuthbertson, AAP reported that said the vaccine should be proven by late September.

The (Australian) federal government has already ordered 21 million doses of the vaccine.

"As soon as I have confirmation that the vaccine is safe and effective, I will ensure it can be rolled out to the community," federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said yesterday.

The adult trials, to take six weeks to complete, are testing the appropriate dose of the vaccine.

UPDATE: Royal Commission Of Inquiry, Inquest..

I'm sorry, folks.

My earlier posting was -- as I had indicated -- from Malaysiakini's initial report.

Here's the story:

PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet will form a royal commission to scrutinise the mode of questioning employed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to determine whether human rights have been violated during the questioning of a Selangor political aide who was found dead subsequently.

The Cabinet, at its meeting today, also decided that an inquest be held next week to determine the cause of death of the political aide, Teoh Beng Hock, whose body was found on Thursday on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, which houses the MACC office on the 14th floor.

These details were announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who also said that the Home Ministry and the police had been instructed to complete investigations into the case as soon as possible, and that a report on the matter would be made public.

The death of Teoh, 30, who was the political aide to Selangor New Village Development and Illegal Factory Task Force Committee chairman Ean Yong Hian Wah, raised public outcry after he was found dead at a corridor of the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam on Thursday following questioning as a witness by the MACC over alleged misuse of funds by Pakatan Rakyat Selangor state executive councillors.

Najib told reporters the Cabinet decisions were prompted by the desire to conduct a thorough investigation to find out the cause of the incident. (NST online)

Royal Commission Of Inquiry Into Teoh's Death To Be Formed

The government today agreed to form a royal commission of inquiry to look into the sudden death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock while under the watch of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission last Thursday.

The decision to form the royal commission was made at the weekly cabinet meeting today.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The inquiry is expected to determine the cause of Teoh's death.

(source:Malaysiakini)

Kartika Is ready To Be Caned...

But there appears to be a "snag"...

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is set to become the first woman in the country to be caned under the syariah after she decided not to appeal against her sentence.

Kartika, 32,, was sentenced on Monday to six strokes of the rotan and a fine for drinking beer at a nightclub in Cherating, pahang, last year

The part-time model who is a mother of two from Sungai Siput, Perak, is married to a Singaporean.

Lawyer Mohd Zuki Che Muhamad Ghani said his client wanted the sentence to be carried out as soon as possible to allow her to continue with her life.

He said her decision was conveyed to the court when he turned up to pay the RM5,000 fine on her behalf yesterday.

However, Kartika's readiness to be the first Muslim woman to be caned under Section 136 of the Pahang Islamic and Malay Traditional Practices Enactment 1982 (amendment 1987) posed a dilemma for the authorities tasked with carrying it out.

Judge Datuk Abdul Rahman Yunus, who had handed down the sentence on Kartika, had said the caning would be carried out by the federal prison authorities.

Zuki said the prison authorities could not carry it out as the judgment did not include a jail term.

However, following a meeting with the judge and syariah deputy prosecutor Saiful Idhan Sahimi, Zuki said the court would issue a special warrant to detain Kartika.

Meanwhile, Pahang Syariah chief prosecutor Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar said the caning would not cause physical injury as it was merely to make the offender feel repentant.

Luring Them To PKR.....

Good move by Parti Keadilan Rakyat to get some big names into the party. Lawyer and former Umno member/Cabinet Minister Zaid Ibrahim joined the party earlier this year.
A few days ago, (former) MCA stalwart Chua Jui Meng followed suit. Two MCA members tagged along.

Zaid has invited Umno veteran leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to join PKR. Ku Li has declined and explained so in his online response.

He said: "......I am not in Umno because I “harbour hope of saving Umno” in its present incarnation. I remain because the cause for which Umno was formed, and the principles which guided its promotion, has not gone away just because we have lost our way 60 years later, and they need to be upheld.

"A second reason I shall not be accepting Zaid’s kind offer is that things have deteriorated to the point that party affiliation is really not the issue anymore. The issue is how we are to save our country.
What we must do now goes beyond political parties. We need the rakyat to rise up to claim their institutions, and demand that our public institutions are answerable to them. We must wake up to our sovereignty as citizens, reclaim the constitution which constitutes us as a nation and guarantees our rights, and demand a comprehensively reformed government to restore public confidence. We must do this before it is too late".

Will Zaid take "no" for an answer?
Who else on PKR's list?

Woman Fined And To Be Whipped For Consuming Alcohol

This is, I am sure, the first case of its kind in Malaysia where a Muslim woman gets a syariah court conviction for consuming alcohol.

Thirty-two-year-old model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor wept after the Kuantan Syariah Court yesterday fined her RM5,000 and sentenced her to be whipped six times for the offence committed last year.
She had, earlier pleaded guilty to the charge committed at Cherating Bay Lounge, the Legend Hotel in Cherating, Pahang.

Kartika, from Sungai Siput, Perak, faces a three-year jail term if she fails to pay the fine.
She was charged under Section 136 of the Pahang Administration of the Islam Law and Malay Custom Enactment.

Kartika will be appealing the decision.

Here's another, er...interesting case (I heard this on the radio on my way to work):

A woman stabbed her husband for coming home late after watching the friendly match between Manchester United and the Malaysian team on Saturday night.

The woman, in her 20s, has been remanded for five days.

She had stabbed her 26-year-old husband in the chest. He is being treated at Kuala Lumpur Hospital and is said to be in stable condition.

According to police the woman was so angry with her husband for returning home late. He had promised to be home immediately after the football match on Saturday but, instead, got home in the wee hours next morning (2am, Sunday).

(It was a good game with our Malaysian national team beaten by MU satu gol sahaja. The score was 3-2. And for the record, in the friendly re-match at Bukit Jalil yesterday, MU got over their jetlag and our punishing humidity, storming swiftly with 2-0 win. Still, that's a great Malaysian team we have.)

Bon Voyage, Dear Captain...

Al Fatihah.

My cousin, Kamal or Atan as we fondly call him, was a good friend of Captain Yusof's (picture). Atan is a nautical or marine engineer or something. They met years ago, somewhere at sea, I presume.

Yesterday (Sunday) Atan called me to ask me whether it's true that Captain had passed away.

I happily told him: "Bukan dia, Ibu dia yang meninggal."

I was remembering Elviza's text message to me last Tuesday after she received mine telling her that Captain's mother had passed away.

Elviza saw the words "captain" and "passed away" but missed the word "mother". For a second, she thought the worst, that Captain Yusof had passed away. Her heart missed a beat. But she was so relieved after reading my message again.

We exchanged smiley smses, quietly laughed about it.
"No, Captain is fine..."

A while later after Atan's call (yesterday), I received a text message from Halimah Said, telling me that Captain had died.
Again, I "corrected" her to say that it was his mother....

Not a moment too soon, she called me to say that he had passed away in the night and as we were speaking his remains were being prepared to be taken to Seremban.

I was shocked. It must be a mistake.

"His mother just died....we just met him on Tuesday at the funeral...", I kept muttering...

Still refusing to believe, I did the darnest thing -- I called his number twice. Both times, I got the voicemail. I wished I had his wife's number or any of his children's.

I had to rely on our friends for confirmation.

I am still so sad. We will miss him dearly and especially on Tuesdays when a few of us meet for mee rebus at Kak Ton's.

He was a wonderful listener. I love his swashbuckling tales of the sea....his sometimes ribald jokes.

I would send him a text message Monday evenings to remind him about mee rebus. He'd never fail to give a prompt response -- "okay, see you there" or "sorry, I am still in.....".

Last week he responded, a little late: "Sorry, won't be able to make it today, because my mother passed away."

So we went to Seremban late Tuesday morning to pay our respects.
We got to meet his wife and children as well as his close relatives.
Captain was chatty, telling us about how his mother had not been well and he had been travelling to Serermban for her.
We told him that we never knew he still had his mother around given that all of us younger ones had lost ours years ago...
He spoke about how his mom's house would now be empty because all the kids had left the nest, and there'd be no one around.
He told us about his son's wedding. "You bloggers are invited," he said with a grin.

His final words to us before we took our leave: "See you next week for mee rebus...."

Bon voyage, dear Captain. It was your time. To Him you came and to Him you return.
May you rest in peace. We will miss you. And I will miss reading updates of your postings in your blog which I so enjoy reading.

Al Fatihah.

America's Iconic News Anchor Walter Cronkite Dies

Walter Cronkite, America's preeminent television journalist of the 1960s and 1970s who as anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News" played a primary role in establishing television as the dominant national news medium of that era, died last night at age 92.

CBS Vice President Linda Mason said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. with his family by his side at his home in New York after a long illness. He had been suffering from cerebrovascular disease, his family said recently.

Cronkite's career reflected the arc of journalism in the mid-20th century. He was a wire service reporter covering major campaigns of World War II before working in radio and then joining a pioneering TV news venture at the CBS affiliate in Washington. Later in New York, he anchored the network's nightly news program from 1962 to 1981, a period in which television established itself as the principal source of information on current events for most Americans. -- from the Washington Post

A New Journey For (Former) MCA Stalwart Chua Jui Meng

Former Health minister Chua Jui Meng today quit MCA and announced that he is joining the opposition -- Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Chua said he was taking a "new journey, a journey of change".

"I'm convinced that today I'm standing on the right side of history, especially at this defining moment of history, I'm joining this party," he told a crowd of some 800.

He was with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim at the PKR's 'The Truth Behind the Scandals: Perak, PKFZ and the BN Conspiracy' forum in Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.

Chua said he decided to join PKR because the country's two-coalition political system was being undermined by Umno.

The death of Teoh Beng Hock, the political aide of Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was the “tipping point” in his decision to defect to the opposition, he added.

On Thursday, Teoh's body was found sprawled on the roof of an adjacent building after he had undergone questioning late into the night at the offices of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

H1N1 Influenza : UiTM In Malacca Closed

The Ministry of Health has ordered the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus in Lendu, Alor Gajah to temporarily stop classes after several more students contracted Influenza A(H1N1) on Thursday.

Some estimated 5,000 students were informed by university officials late Thursday evening that they would be given a nine-day break from classes until July 24 in an attempt to prevent further infections.

MORE......

Higher Taxi And Bus Fares

From Aug 1, fares for all public transport services in the country will be increased.

The biggest hike will be fares for taxi and school buses.

Passengers will have to pay RM3 (currently RM2) for the first three minutes and 10 sen for every 115 metres travelled while parents will fork out 30 per cent more per child.

But those above 60 years old and those considered needy will benefit from the hike. They will receive 25 per cent discount despite the hike of two sen for every kilometre travelled in an express bus.

The government also announced a slew of measures to keep track of bad drivers and operators.

CONTINUE READING NST ONLINE......

Manik Urai

The outcome of the Tuesday's Manik Urai by-election was a complete surprise to many of us.

If you believe the Pas hype -- the party had in its hands 2,000 votes (majority) an hour before polling ended -- you'd think Pas would be romping home with a big win.

On Umno's side, grassroots leaders talked of "reduced majority", although top party leaders indicated that it had a 'good chance' of winning. Nobody quite believed that. And if you did, you'd be disappointed simply because you'd wish that Umno could've done a little better, and win.

The results -- Pas won BUT by a miserable 65-vote majority.

( Pas candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah obtained 5,348 votes while Barisan Nasional's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, 5,283. In last year's general election, Pas' Ismail Yaakob defeated Mohamed Zulkifli Omar of the Barisan Nasional (BN) with a majority of 1,352 votes.)

How bad is it for Pas?

Pas spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat is not about to be pushed to a corner and take the blame. A little responsibility, perhaps, but not sole blame.

He is blaming it on Umno' money politics.
If that is so, then, the voters are a very corrupt lot too. I'm not inclined to believe that they are.

In this round, I'd have to disagree with Nik Aziz.
Or, was it wrong for the voters to have been convinced by Umno that it could help change their lives for the better?

If it were money politics, as described by the Tok Guru, Umno would have been slaughtered. No mercy.

You cannot deny Umno's markedly improved performance. And credit MUST surely go to Mustapa Mohamad, Kelantan Umno chief.

Pas has a lot of work to do now. A lot of cleaning up.
And it's really not complicated to understand what happened and why. But Pas must accept the reality, the truth, no matter how ugly and how brutal. the sooner it works to mend fences and rectify the situation, the better it is for the party.

A combination of factors - Pas' "unholy marriage" with DAP is not going down well among many Malays; as well as the infighting and rift in the party. And of course, Tok Pa.

That said, Umno must get over the high, the jubilation. And quickly. Yes, it is a moral victory. Still a defeat.

Whether this is a signal of what's to come remains to be seen and depends on how Pas overcomes whatever shortcomings.

Besides, nothing is permanent.

Buy Nothing Day.....

There' s never a day that I've stayed away from the shops. Except when I'm ill and bed-ridden, which is hardly.

There's always something to buy.
That doesn't mean that I'm a shopaholic, incapable of being thrifty.

I used to not think about this very normal thing we do. And recently, when the economic crunch hit us all, I started thinking about my neighbourhood shops.
Already, they're competing with the big boys. With this downturn, they're barely surviving. So, i do whatever I can.
And I am a supporter of local small traders.

So how can I not go to Ah Leong's shop or buy Kak Limah's nasi lemak tomorrow? What if everyone decides not to buy anything tomorrow?
Won't that hurt the small businesses? Even for that one day?

I believe that we all should be thrifty, to not overspend or be extravagant in these hard times. But, I also believe that we should help keep our economy alive, in whatever way we can, no matter how small.

So you see, it is difficult for me to join in and celebrate not buying anything.

And, oh...tell me....how do you assess the success of "Buy Nothing Day"?

Pas Wins Manik Urai, But....

only just. In fact, by the skin of its teeth.

Can't be a victory, if you ask me.

Consider the fact that in today's by-election, Pas candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah won by only 65 votes.
(Of course, that means Barisan Nasional's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat was defeated.)

And the fact that in the last year's general election, Pas' Ismail Yaakob defeated Mohamed Zulkifli Omar of the Barisan Nasional (BN) with a majority of 1,352 votes.

That is severe.

The Manik Urai seat fell vacant following Ismail's death on May 22.
Ismail, who was deputy head of the Pas Kuala Krai Division, won the Manik Urai state seat in the general election in 1985 and had been the elected representative there for five terms.

Manik Urai is one of the four state seats in the Kuala Krai parliamentary constituency, the others being Dabung, Guchil and Mengkembang.

A win is a win, even by one vote. Sure, sure. That's democracy.

Let's get real here. ONLY 65 votes, in your own fortress, your stronghold for the six terms.

A defeat, in my book. And Pas too, I am sure.

Pas knows what went wrong.

And if it does not get its act together, it will continue to lose its loyal Malay votes.

Policy Reversal On PPSMI

There's no point hiding the fact that the government will be reversing its policy on the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.

The story's been leaked. "Everyone"s talking about it.
Today Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be announcing that the government has no choice but to revert to teaching the two subjects in Bahasa Malaysia.

The PPSMI issue sparked so much controversy among teachers, parents, Malay writers, Chinese educationists and, of course, politicians.

A harsh critic for a policy reversal is former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who detailed why PPSMI should be retained.

I understand that statistics have proven that PPSMI is simply not working well for our students, mainly rural Malays.

I do understand, and I believe all this is due largely to a very flawed education system. I'm no education expert but, a good look at my children's text books and a bit of grilling on how these subjects are being taught by their teachers tell me that all is not well at all in our public schools.

If school kids NEED tuition for almost every subject, including Sejarah -- then, there is something really wrong with how teachers are teaching. Don't tell me that I have NO time to teach my kids. Truth is, I'm not qualified to teach maths -- and even BM, according to today's syllabuses.

I know that even our politicians and some very important people send their kids to private schools -- here or abroad. Either because 1. they can afford it. 2. they can afford it and they don't have faith in our public schools.

This "final decision" of the government to reverse its policy is, of course, disappointing. Howver, I am encouraged, a little by the fact that the government will be putting into place some strong measures to uplift the teaching of English by increasing the teaching hours and re-introducing English literature. The government will be getting teachers, including retired ones, locally, and from abroad.

The good thing is that (I've been made to understand), the reversal will not be immediate.

My open support of PPSMI has not been received well by several quarters who, of course, accused me of not being a patriot, anti-BM and so forth.

I've explained my stand. Supporting PPSMI does not make me less of a Malay, nor a Malaysian.
I'd even go far to say that an overhaul of the teaching of BM (including its syllabus at every level) should be undertaken to encourage people to LOVE the language, not to fear it.

With its decision, the government needs now to plan well. Holes and weaknesses should have been plugged and rectified years ago. It is, of course, as cliches go, not and never too late.

Education policies have always been dictated by political expediency, needs and interest. That is the reality.

So, let's hope the reality now is to produce a new generation of literate Malaysians who are educated, intelligent, competitive and resourceful who are a vital capital to the country.

Service To The Country....

When the Government first launched Khidmat Negara or National Service (thank God it's not called Servis Nasional), I must tell you that I was a critic. Harsh but honest.

I liked the whole idea, basically but I felt the Government's readiness did not match it's commitment. The programme itself was deficient in its design and content. Implementation left much to be desired.
Worse, facilites for recruits, in most instances, were so bad, due to, as we all found out, sub-standard contractors.

In short, it was generally poorly-run and administered. Some horror camp stories did not help better our perception of NS.

But we are all clever critics, aren't we?

It dawned on us all that National Service was here to stay. Deal with it.

Some people, of course, could not. Read HERE.

However, it was also clear that efforts were being made to improve the programme, including the facilities provided in the camps nationwide.

Over time, I believe, things improved.

My eldest, Adel Hakim was not selected for National Service after he finished school in 2007. He was pretty nonchalant about it.

Like "okay if I'm selected, okay if I'm not".

As for my youngest, Shaira who is in Form Five, the horror camp stories about abuse and death scared her no end.

I knew that there was always a chance that she would be selected, just as other students. So, I tried to mentally prepare her for that eventuality, telling her that things have improved and that it is a good programme where she'd meet lots of people. In short, that she would love it.

Yesterday, she called me to say that she had been selected. (No mention of where the camp will be, though).

She was not ecstatic. But not overly downcast.

"Tahniah. Anda di pilih......" -- said the message.

Why was she being congratulated for being selected to three months of physical training, she wondered?

Well, I said....because it would be just too bad if you weren't selected to join this damn good summer camp.

I know I will be in deep trouble if everything turns out otherwise.

Shaira is a little reticent and not prone to making friends. So, she'd have no choice but to make friends.

Besides, she'd come home, fit and trim. This seems to cheer her up a little.

I'm hoping that she'll really come to terms with the whole NS thing.

Meanwhile, Shaira is hoping, wishing, praying......that at least the camp toilets are clean.

Good To Be Back?

I'm talking about me.

Today is my first day (back) at work at NST. Homecoming, in a manner of speaking. "Sirih pulang ke gagang", some friends echoed.

First day after three years "in absentia". I won't go into detail of my leaving NST in March 2006.

A coincidence. I first joined the newspaper in July 1978 as a cadet reporter.

Never thought I'd go back to NST, to be honest. Never thought about it.

So. Good to be back?

Ask me in two weeks.

New Code Of Ethics For Judges..

My heading should have a question mark at the end.

"New Code Of Ethics For Judges?"

Here's the NST front page report:

KUALA LUMPUR: If ever a judge is confused as to what he can or cannot do, the new Judges’ Code of Ethics 2009 makes it clear.

Among others, a judge cannot:

Be close friends with a lawyer;

Be involved in a case in which a family member is
involved;

Give public comment about a pending or impending proceedings that might be heard before the judge’s court;
Be involved in charitable fund raising or membership solicitation; and
Permit others to convey the impression that they are in a position to influence the judge.

Click here to read the rest of the report.

Our judges really need to be told what to do and what not to do.

I thought when anyone takes the oath to be a judge, he or she is supposed to already know all the don'ts.

Really.....

No More Maids From Indonesia

Looks like Malaysians will not be able to get maids from Indonesia following the Indonesian Government's decision to stop its nationals from taking on such employment here.

This came about after the latest case of Siti Hajar, an Indonesian maid allegedly abused by her female employer for three years.

Hers, of course, was not the first reported case. A high-profile case before this was that of Nirmala Bonet.

Jakarta thinks that there are just too many of such abuse cases and wants to put a stop to all this.

I think Jakarta has got it wrong and is overreacting.

We all cringe when we hear of such cases. Punish the abuser, we cry. We all want to see justice served.

Of course, we understand the anger of the Indonesian Government over the abuse of their nationals.

I'd also like the Indonesian Government to understand that Malaysians are not as a people, abusive.

We are not a nation of abusers. There are abusers among us. When these abusers are made known to us, we make sure that they are dealt with accordingly.

Just ask around. Many will express their anger over Siti Hajar's case.

That is why I think Jakarta's reaction is hasty.

Human Resources Minister Dr S. Subramaniam said an average of 50 cases were reported annually. There are some 300,000 Indonesian maids working here.

While the number is relatively small, any case of abuse is worrying. Still, I believe that by and large, Indonesian maids are treated well by their Malaysian employers.

I know of many cases of maids cheating their employers, abusing their charges and running away from their (good) employers. And there's really nothing that these employers could do.

I can imagine that there will be many Indonesians who will try to illegally enter the country to seek employment now that they will not be allowed to work in Malaysia as maids.

The truth is, Indonesians still look to Malaysia for a better life. The truth is, there are more good Malaysian employers than bad ones.

There are many issues (relating to employment of foreign workers) that need to be ironed out, particularly on policies and enforcement.

You cannot ensure that every employer will be good. But you can ensure that none gets away when he or she breaks the law.

We should ask ourselves if we need strict regulations in the employment of maids such as working hours and provision of off days and holidays.

Subramaniam has suggested that maids be given a day off a week. That's a fine idea. But I know that not all maids will benefit from this. Nor their employers.

I had a neighbour who would get a visit from the police every Sunday -- his (Filipino) maid would be back drunk or totally sloshed.

I had a maid who would come back from her weekend "cuti" all tired out after going to all sorts of places. I had to tell her to minimise her "bersiar-siar" and to just have a good rest over the weekend.

My current maid would have a dilemma over what to do if I ask her to go out on her off days.
She does not like car rides, much less, bus rides. She hates crowds and open places.

She much prefers to stay home and watch TV. Of course, she may be an exception to the rule. So, lucky me.

I'm not the world's best employer but to me, my maid is more my domestic assistant who helps me do what I am not able to do while I am at work.

My children are teenagers, so they're pretty independent. Still, I feel my daughter needs adult company while I'm at work.

My maid and I share the workload and chores. I won't allow her to do what I myself am not able to do. And she does not wash my car, nor clean the windows.

Her working days are actually what my days off are. Her days off are spent not washing, ironing, cleaning or cooking. Just resting.

I know that many working mothers need domestic help. Indonesians are generally hardworking and have been proven to be good as maids.

It's a pity that the Indonesian Government has taken such a stand.
I believe that they do not have to because I don't believe that Malaysians are bad employers.

Farewell, The King....

I know I have not been updating my blog. So much to do. Here, there and everywhere. So, I decided to sit down at my desk after Subuh to blog...And as I was surfing the net, I caught this shocking news that Michael Jackson THE King Of Pop had passed away of a heart attack. He was 50. He collapsed at his home and died Friday afternoon (LA time).

I was -- and am still -- shocked by this tragic news.

The guy who gave us the moonwalk, Thriller, Billie Jean, re-defined dancing bringing it groundbreaking level, and lots more, was to have re-launched, thus, resurrected, his career next month with a world tour. Tickets for his UK tour were already sold out soon after the announcement.

His fans were ecstatic since his last tour was in 1997.

"My final curtain call", he had said, when announcing his tour earlier this year.

Michael Jackson's career spanned four decades.
He began singing at the age of 6 with his older brothers. They were The Jackson Five.

MJ, during a large part of his adult life, had been a recluse but in the last few years, was a troubled figure -- dogged by lawsuits, sex allegations and money problems. But he remained iconic and a larger than life personality in the entertainment world.

MJ was married twice and leaves three children.

The world mourns his passing. A great loss many will admit!

The radio was playing his music and running commentaries of MJ all morning. Watch TV for updates.

Michael Jackson was reported to have converted to Islam last year and had recorded an album of songs in praise of Allah.

His brother, Jermaine who is a Muslim, ended his statement to the media (10am KL time) on Michael's death : "May Allah be with you always....."

Al-Fatihah.

(I'd really like to see whether he will be buried as a Muslim.)

(From the Guardian)

American pop music legend Michael Jackson died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital today, just weeks before he hoped to resurrect his four-decade long career with a series of sold-out shows in London.

Jackson was taken to the University of California at Los Angeles medical centre, and paramedics administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the ambulance. He arrived at the hospital in a coma and was reported dead about three hours later.

CONTINUE READING HERE...

Also read THIS on Michael Jackson.

Indeed, it is sad day for the entertainment world. TV star Farrah Fawcett succumbed to cancer. She died in Los Angeles yesterday. She was 62.

Farrah was one of the three original Charlie's angels, known for her feathered blonde hair (everyone wanted to have a Farrah Fawcett hairstyle) and dazzling smile. A sex symbol in the 70s.

Her story HERE.

PAS Against Sisters In Islam

Sisters In Islam must have been pissing PAS off with their "liberal" ideas.

PAS wants SIS to be banned, accusing it of carrying out activities that were found to be contrary to Islamic teachings and principles.

The party alleged that the group’s activities were “dangerous” that could cause confusion among Muslims.

Last Sunday, PAS, at the closing of its muktamar, urged that SIS be investigated by the National Fatwa Council.

The party said SIS should be declared "haram" if these "liberal elements" in SIS were found to be against the teachings of Islam.

Pas has also called for a rehabilitation programme for its members.

SIS programme manager Norhayati Kaprawi has lambasted the party for adopting what she dscribed as "scare tactics".

"This smacks of a vigilante mindset and approach," she said.

SIS has got several high-profile women, among others, on its side -- Pas' Dr Lo'Lo' Mohd Ghazali, DAP's Teresa Kok and Wanita Umno's Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

I think PAS stand smacks of prejudice. It also shows how intolerant the party is of others who may not be singing the same tune.

It's akin to saying that SIS has strayed from Islam.

That is a terribly serious accusation.

On what basis is PAS making that allegation?

It's not good enough to be making such an accusation and then ask another body to investigate.

Road Bully Who Drove A Green Avanza WRW8402

This man, in his 30s punched a 72 year-old man who had honked him for swerving into his lane without signalling.

Here's the Star report:

PETALING JAYA: A drive home from the bank turned violent for a 72-year-old retiree who fell victim to a road bully in Damansara Damai.
M. Edwards, the father of one of The Star’s journalists, suffered injuries to his head and body after he was punched several times in the 10am incident yesterday.
He received outpatient treatment at the Sungai Buloh Hospital.Edwards (pic) said he had just finished paying some bills at a bank and was driving home with his daughter when a van cut into his lane.
“I sounded my horn at the driver because he had swerved in suddenly without using the indicator,” he added.
"The man then started driving slowly and kept swerving to prevent me from overtaking.”
This continued for a while and then the van suddenly stopped and the driver got down.
Edwards said he then stopped his car and got out to see what was the problem, adding that another man seated in the van did not get out.
The driver, who looked to be in his 30s, walked straight to Edwards and, without saying a word, started punching him.
“I tried to fight back, but he was huge. He punched me in the face, head and body several times before getting back into the van and fleeing,” Edwards said.
He added that as the bully drove off he challenged him (Edwards) to report the attack to the police.
Edwards lodged a police report at a nearby police station.
Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed confirmed the incident and said police were investigating.

Read Rocky's Bru HERE

It surely was a traumatic experience for Mr Edwards.
Let's hope the police will get this bully.

I'd like to suggest that Mr Edwards get assistance to find out the identity of the bully and take a civil suit against him.
Obviously this bully is confident that the police will not get him.

Suing this bully is an option for Mr Edwards to get redress and see him punished. It may take time....

MCA Youth Against Bloggers' One School For All Petition

KUALA LUMPUR:

The MCA Youth criticised some bloggers and an online petition supporting the "One School for All" campaign.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said MCA planned to take action against bloggers who claimed that vernacular schools were causing racial tension in the country.

Wee said MCA strongly disagreed with the statements made by bloggers and might lodge a police report against them or refer them to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

"Statements such as gejala sekolah vernakular (vernacular school symptoms) suggest Chinese and Tamil schools are a disease in society."

Wee said Chinese and Tamil schools had been in existence since independence and it was the rights of Chinese and Indians in the country to send their children to these schools. -- NST

I'm surprised the MCA is reacting this way. I'm disappointed, actually.

This is not how MCA, nothwithstanding the fact that is is a long-time partner of Umno - should be dealing with the issue.

The Saga Of Perak's Rightful Menteri Besar

Later today - at 3.30pm - the Court of Appeal will deliver its ruling on Dr Zambry Abd Kadir’s appeal against the High Court decision declaring Mohd Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin the rightful MB of Perak.

Read reports by the NST and the Star.

Will the court's decision (finally) end the political imbroglio in Perak?

What will the declared rightful MB do? And what will the defeated party do?

Will (any) action taken further by one party be acceptable to the other?
Will it leave any more room for out- manoeuvring by the other?

I don't have to be a Perak-ian to be hoping for an end to this crisis.

So, I'd like to see who the bigger party here is to want the same thing, to realize that the people are the real victims if this imbroglio is prolonged.

UPM's (Breast) Cancer Detector

Universiti Putra Malaysia scientists have developed a new device that can detect cancer cells within five minutes.
And for women, this means they need not go through a mammogram.

UPM's Dr M. Iqbal Saripan and his team had been working on the "Wire Mesh Collimator" since 2002.

The evice, when installed in nuclear imaging machines, is more sensitive to any changes in terms of activity in human cells.

It can detect breast cancer cells as small as 1mm.

Only four public hospitals in the country -- Kuala Lumpur Hospital, University of Malaya Medical Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and Sarawak Hospital -- have nuclear imaging machines, costing about RM5.7 million each, to detect cancer cells.

Read the report in the NST by Annie Freeda Cruez HERE.

I'm due for a mammogram. The reason for this "am due" is that I've been finding excuses to delay this procedure.
My last mammogram was in 2006 and it was done under a lot of pressure from my older sisters, Mariah (Kak Ton AKA Tok Mommy) and Noraida (Kak Eda who died the following year after losing her battle with breast cancer).
Thankfully, the results (of my mammogram) were good and I was in the clear. What I thought was going to be a painful procedure turned out to be a breeze.
No pain, no flattening of the breast like roti canai (as described by some of my female friends).
It was a relief.

So, why am I delaying?
Perhaps I'm quite scared of the outcome. Of the unknown.
Perhaps I'm showing typical pre-medical procedure symptoms.

Didn't someone say that "fear has the largest eyes of all"?
I know it is easy to be brave from a safe distance so I'll try to be brave up close.

My older sister, Norlin had a scare two weeks ago after an ultra-sound procedure and a mammogram in which an irregularity was detected. It turned out to be a false alarm and she is in the clear.

My younger sister, Azah, had her mammogram done last week and she too is in the clear.

Kak Ton will be going with me for our check-up.

I told myself, as I have been doing the past two months ago, that I'd confirm our appointment "this week".

"This week, Kak Ton , this week.."

Or should I wait for this Mesh watchamacallit to be installed in the hospital near us......

Kak Eda's voice is echoing in my head ---- "Ena, don't wait, Ena don't wait........"

Aaah...God bless her!

Zainul Arifin Is NSTP's New Group Editor

Update on my earlier posting.

NSTP's Emedia chief Zainul Arifin is the group's new group editor.

Zainul, 47, is also a columnist in NST. He was Business Times editor and NST's business editor. He had also served as NST's New York correspondent.

He replaces NSTP group editor-in-chief Hishammudin Aun.

Meanwhile, former NST group editor Ahmad A Talib has been appointed the group's executive director.

Ahmad, 58, also blogs as Pahit Manis.

Read also Rocky Bru's A & Z.

Harsh Punishment For "Samseng Jalan"

Mat Rempits are now to be referred to as "samseng jalan".

The term "Mat Rempit' has been found to be somewhat glamourising for the things they've been doing.

It gives them a high and they are encouraged and, of course, emboldened, to continue doing their dangerous antics on our roads.

They are a real menace because they ride their motorcycles in big numbers -- very very fast and threatening to other road users.

Despite some of them having been caught and convicted, the punishment meted out has not been a deterrent.

Currently, the punishment for reckless driving is a jail term of not more than five years or a fine of between RM5,000 and RM10,000, or both.

But Federal traffic police chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Abd Aziz Yusof said that most of them only have to pay a fine when convicted.

He thinks this is too light. I think so too. That is why the police are calling for mandatory jail for these samseng jalan convicted of endangering the public by speeding or riding recklessly.

Abd Aziz said the (proposed) harsher punishment is meant to strike fear into them.

Well, I don't know of anybody who is tolerant, let alone, forgiving of these guys' dangerous antics on the road.

I know personally, of people who were victims of these samseng. A traumatic experience.

I am a frequent user of their favourite stretch in Damansara during times they are active - after midnight.
That is the route I take from my father's house in Section 16, PJ to my house in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

I have had close calls with these menacing monkeys.
One time after midnight and on returning from a "tahlil" at my sister's house in Subang Jaya, I was caught at a traffic intersection near Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
I was so incensed by their antics that I wanted to mow them down but, of course, the grace of God stopped me. :-). And the fact that Adel and Shaira were with me.

All this is good, of course. Let's hope that traffic enforcement against them is just as tough, in order to be effective. Not the occasional token operations.

H1N1 Virus -- Here Already......

I'm relieved to know that the woman passenger of flight MH091 who was quarantined at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) in Johor Baru Sunday afternoon after she developed a fever was tested negative for H1N1 virus.

It's also good news that the two Malaysians who were confirmed to have the flu after they returned from the US on May 13, are in stable condition.

And the Health Ministry says there are no new confirmed cases.

Here's the NST report today:

Eighty-six people, including 17 foreigners, who could be infected with the influenza A (H1N1) virus are still on the "loose" in the country or may have even flown to other countries, despite widespread media coverage for them to report for medical check-ups. It has been six days since these people, who flew in from the United States on a MAS flight (MH091) or boarded an AirAsia flight with two confirmed influenza patients have gone "missing".

The Health Ministry is desperate to contact them to ensure the "imported" disease does not spread in the country.

Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said identities of the foreigners who could not be traced had been given to the World Health Organisation.

He said should there be no new cases recorded by May 20 (the end of the quarantine period), Malaysia could declare itself free from the threat of the virus, locally.
The flu virus was detected in two Malaysians who returned from the US on Malaysia Airlines flight MH091 on May 13.

The ministry widened the search for potential patients as one of them boarded an AirAsia flight, AK5358, on the same day to Penang where she was later warded.

The woman is reported to be healthy, while the 21-year-old man who has been warded in Sungai Buloh Hospital is still down with fever.

Dr Ramlee urged the passengers on the flights who had yet to come forward to call 03-88810200 / 03-88103000.

On Sunday, health officers screened 6,617 people who came into the country and detected one suspected case at the KLIA, who was sent to the Sungai Buloh Hospital but was found to be negative for the virus.

The ministry has to date quarantined 111 people classified as primary cases.

The number does not include their family members and those they had been in contact with.

All of them except for the two confirmed cases tested negative for the virus.

Dr Ramlee said as the WHO had yet to issue any travel advisory, Malaysians including students studying overseas were free to come and go out of the country.

All that said, it is good news... so far.
But we know that there are those other passengers on the two flights who have not reported to the health officers. And multiply that by the number of people they have come into contact with....and so on and so forth. Scary, isn't it?

I'm going to stop talking about it right here because as my buddy, Shamsul, rationalizes -- "there's nothing you can do about it except take the necessary precautions, so stop worrying!".

So stop worrying. What's the point, right?

But...aaah, to think that just two weeks ago, the Swine Flu, -- whoops, Influenza A or the H1N1 virus -- was way yonder in far far Mexico.

Before you could say la Cucaracha, it flu to the US, Canada......and now it's here.

Sometimes we forget that we are in the 21st century. Everything travels very very fast. Everything!

My imagination is so fertile as I am remembering a movie (or two) about the spread of a deadly virus on mother earth....

Life imitating art.....

Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua...

Do you believe that there should only exist in this country singular-language "sekolah kebangsaan" and that vernacular schools should be abolished?

Do you second the call for the government to look into making this a reality?

If you do, do join the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua campaign and sign the petition.

If having sekolah kebangsaan for all will help fortify national integration and unity, I am all for it.

It is easy to get emotional over this issue, as we have witnessed all this while. Arguments become racial and racist.

Let's not be tempted to fall into the broiling racist stew.

Just ask ourselves if doing away with vernacular schools will help in further forging national unity.

I believe it will. Indeed it will. You need to start somewhere and some time. It will be a long process. But healing.

But I must say here that in tandem with this, the ministry must ensure that national schools are not run like "Malay" or "Islamic" schools.

Because, if we all want national integration and unity, we must eliminate segregation in schools. And segregation cannot be eliminated if our national schools are hotbeds of racial polarisation because the system promotes that. Having very narrow-minded teachers who themselves are poor examples of anak Malaysia does not help.

Indeed, Bahasa Malaysia is our national and official language.
And yes, our schools should have Bahasa Malaysia as its medium of instruction (with the exception of a few subjects). No question about it.

But. let's not force Malay-ness down the throat of our pupils. Because, if you do that, you're not going to get that integration or unity that we so want.

I know of standard one non-Malay kids being humiliated by their teachers for not understanding Malay. I don't know how widespread this is but in 1997, a friend of mine was forced to take her 7 year-old out of school because the child was in fear and trauma from his teacher's unrelenting humiliation and harangement.

The little boy was struggling with a language he was just beginning to learn. His teacher was unforgiving.

But...aah. I am digressing.

In my own secondary school experience, (from 1968 to 1972), I remember classes known as "remove classes".

These classes were of pupils from the Chinese-stream schools. The girls would be placed in these classes to prepare them to be enrolled in regular classes.
Every year, there would be large enrollment of pupils from these schools.

Being proficient in Mandarin, I had many friends among these girls. It was a strange relationship as I'd insist on speaking Mandarin while they insisted on improving their English. (The medium oif instruction then was English.)

Today, more and more Chinese kids are being enrolled in Chinese schools because I believe their parents are either concerned about the prevailing "Malay-ness" and "Islam-ness" of national schools or feel that the standards of these schools have declined, or both.

Meanwhile, we are also seeing more and more Malay children enrolling in in Chinese schools.

My hope is that as we work hard to achieve this objective, we should, at the same time, ensure a high standard of teaching English (in the English language subject) so that our future generation will not lose out in this competitive world.

Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa!
Satu Bahasa, Satu Bangsa, Satu Negara!

New Key Players In Media Prima And NSTP

I'd say they are the new head honchos in the two organizations handling media - TV and newspapers - operations.

I won't say further on the Media Prima appointment.
As for NSTP -- a senior executive will be appointed to take charge of the the overall news/editorial operations.

That's all I can say.

And oh -- it is not true that PM Najib Razak said no to Ahmad A Talib. He never said no.

Just wait for the announcement.

Perak To Have Fresh Elections

That is what Nizar Jamaluddin hopes to work towards.

Nizar who was today declared the rightful Menteri Besar by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur is seeking an audience with the Sultan Of Perak (to seek consent) for the dissolution of the State Assembly, to pave the way for elections to be held.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Barisan Nasional will appeal against the court decision tomorrow.

Nizar Is Perak MB

That's what the High Court ruled today.

The Court has declared Nizar Jamaluddin as the legitimate Menteri Besar of Perak.

Justice Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim said that a mentri besar can only be dismissed by a vote of no confidence, and he upheld the Stephen Kalong Ningkan ruling.

In his landmark ruling, he stated that a new Mentri Besar could not be appointed as the office had not been vacated.

The court said the fatal Barisan Nasional mistake was despite the majority of 31 against 28, the coalition failed to take a no-confidence vote against Nizar in the state assembly.

The Judge said once appointed as chief executive of the state, the Menteri Besar is only answerable to the state assembly.

The judge also said that the job of the Ruler or head of state was only to appoint a Menteri Besar and if he refuses to resign, he cannot be sacked or his position vacated.

Justice Aziz said Nizar had gone to meet the sultan on Feb 4 to seek a dissolution of the house to go back to the people.

Nizar is seeking an audience with the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, to get the royal consent to dissolve the Perak Assembly and call for fresh state elections.

Before leaving for Ipoh, he is expected to attend a Pas ceramah tonight and explain the court ruling to supporters.

Nizar told the NST that once he reaches Ipoh at whatever time, he will hold a Pakatan Rakyat Exco meeting.

Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir said that he will respect the court decision "with an open heart and mind" and will vacate his Menteri Besar office at any time soon. Zambry was not present at the court this afternoon.

The BN Exco members will follow suit to also vacate their respective offices.

Following the High Court ruling, Zambry applied for a stay of execution but it was rejected.

Zambry called on all BN supporters and people in Perak to remain calm.
(source: NST online).

High Court To Rule On Perak's Rightful MB On Monday

BERNAMA
Kuala Lumpur: The question of who is the rightful menteri besar of Perak will be decided Monday.

High Court (Appellate and Special Powers Division) judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim today fixed Monday, at 2.30pm, to deliver his decision in the judicial review application filed by ousted menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammed Nizar Jamaluddin who is seeking the court's determination of the dispute.

On Feb 13, Nizar, 52, filed an application to the court for a declaration that he is at all material times the menteri besar of Perak.

Nizar, who was appointed as menteri besar on March 17 last year after the Parti Pakatan Rakyat-led alliance won 31 seats in the 12th general election, also sought a declaration that Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir has no right to hold the office of menteri besar.

The High Court, on April 3, granted Nizar leave to initiate the proceeding against Zambry.

Justice Abdul Aziz was the third High Court judge to hear the case, after Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, who had recused himself, and Justice Lau Bee Lan.

The case was referred twice to the Federal Court for its determination on the constitutional issues, but was remitted back to the High Court on last April 28.

CONTINUE READING HERE.

Changes In The NST

I mean, let's face it, folks, it happens all the time.

New regime, new team. Changes are inevitable.
The issue is how drastic they're going to be.

Who will go (maybe no one), who will remain (many, I'm sure).

Changes are unnerving, I'm sure. But nothing that you're not used to.

When Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as PM in 2003, he effected changes in the NST when he appointed Kalimullah Hassan as group-editor-in-chief.

Kalimullah, as well all know, made drastic changes. He turned NST into a tabloid, he brought in Singapore Straits Times correspondent Brenden Pereira as executive editor (later group editor) and he got Ahirudin Attan (Rocky) removed as executive editor of the Malay Mail/Sunday Mail, and went on to literally killed an institution - The Malay Mail - and wiped out the Sunday Mail from the face of the earth.

And so on and so forth..

Of course, the Malay Mail, thanks to Media Prima and Ibrahim Md Nor, was resurrected but it lost so much ground after it's six-month suspension.

At the moment, the appointment of Ahmad Talib, former NST group editor, is waiting to be officially announced.

I was at the NST the other week to hand over something to somebody. Nothing important but needed to be done for someone.

Anyway I was then invited to have teh tarik at the canteen with a close friend and a former colleague.

While having coffee, another former colleague past by, said "hi, Ena" (with a wide smile) and just as he walked behind me, remarked softly but just loud enough : "...and they're all coming back". He sounded like it was the end of the world.

I replied ..."not yet XXXXX, not yet." And laughed.

I turned to my friend and told him that SOME people could get really spooked when they see me or Rocky or any ex-NST editor around NST especially when there's talk of this and that. And that was only my third "visit" to the NST since I left in 2006. The first two was when I needed to renew my car insurance with the NST cooperative.

Anyway, after Ahmad Talib's "unofficial" appointment as NST editorial adviser, the rumour mill has been on overdrive about other ex-NST journalists going back so much so that a certain senior executive at the editorial got so worked up.

I'd say he is real worried about the imminent changes (whatever they will be), judging from his briefing to his staff.

He ranted and raved, it seems, about why people like Ahmad Talib should not dismantle what they all had worked so hard to achieve. Blah blah blah...with some very unkind expletives thrown in.

Ohh...I'm not one to bitch about people, least of all in my blog. But since changes at NST will affect my ex-colleagues, I'd like to tell this ranter and raver to not lose sleep over this.

Take it easy, my friend. Stay cool.

If you're good, you're good.

So, folks...deal with it.

Oh, did I hear you ask me about the Malay Mail.

Rocky got so many calls yesterday after the Malaysian Insider reported that he was going to the Malay Mail as CEO.

Nothing to add to that except that that's probably half the story,

New Speaker Appointed In Perak Assembly

LATEST:
The six-hour sitting, was finally adjourned sine die at 4.10pm.
The NST report.

Original posting:
It's a black day in Perak today when the Perak State Assembly began sitting.
Trouble began as soon as V. Sivakumar, Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, former MB Nizar Jamaluddin and the assemblymen took their seats in the august house.

Sivakumar who was still Speaker, attempted to kick Zambry and six Exco members and three independents out of the Dewan.

Here's the Star "Battleground Ipoh" account.

Pandemonium, chaos, whatever -- microphones switched off, sergeant-at-arms called to remove Zambry but they refused to do so -- and amid all that, four motions passed including one for the Speaker to be replaced and a new one appointed.

So, former Sungkai state assemblyman Datuk R. Ganesan of MIC is the new Speaker, replacing Sivakumar.

Because his microphone was the only one working (as reported in by the Press), he is in control and in charge.

Meanwhile, police nabbed several people including politicians, activitists and a blogger.

The latest on the court case of the crisis HERE.

Pakatan Rakyat wants to defer the sitting of the assembly so that the six-month deadline (from the last sitting in November) will lapse by May 13 (when the sitting adjourns) that will allow the Assembly to automatically be dissolved, paving the way for fresh elections to be called.

As for Barisan, it, of course, wants the sitting to proceed so that it can remain the government in power until the next general election.

Read all the online news for update because it is getting hotter and hotter.

Tuesdays With Bapak

During the time we were already in serious relationships with our boyfriends (read: guys with whom we thought we wanted to spend our lives), Bapak was still in detention.

I'm not sure if we could ever have those customary father-daughter talks if he had been around to witness the goings-on in our lives.

Perhaps, it was meant to be that way. To a large extent, and something which I have acknowledged, absence did make the heart grow fonder and we became much closer to Bapak those years, than we could, perhaps, ever hope to be.

Well...God moves in mysterious ways.

Those growing-up years, unlike today when I am pretty much "involved" in my kids' private lives, though very discreetly, we kept our personal and private lives, very very private. Away from prying parental eyes.

What they didn't know, wouldn't hurt them was our mantra.

The only give-away were those darn stray telephone calls we got after 8pm.

Only when we felt that they were "the one", that we were ready to introduce them to Bapak, and of course, Mak who would, by the time we told Bapak, have known the identity of these suspects.

Of course, Bapak knew our regular guy friends, as opposed to our serious boyfriends. Bapak could tell if these guys were our buddies and I suppose when there's nothing to hide, then there's really nothing to hide.

It was a baptism of fire for our boyfriends-soon-to-be-fiances-then-husbands. We must make sure these were "the" boys-to-be-men. Because meeting Bapak was not to be taken lightly. Our real fear was that they'd flee in fright after the first dose of Bapak.

The reassuring thing, if it was any reassurance at all, was that if they could face Bapak, we were sure, they could face anyone.

Kak Olin got married soon after she returned from England and secured a job with Kompleks Kewangan, while Bapak was in detention .

After Bapak was released, Kak Eda got married.

Bapak got on famously with their husbands.

By then, lucky for us, Bapak was somewhat "mellowed", not the younger, fiercer, more energetic Bapak whose roar was worse than his proverbial bite.

By the time I was into a very serious relationship, Bapak was engageable. But, we never touched on my personal relationship or the guy I was dating.

We talked about other people's relationship, other people's problems and well...life in general.

I was about the oldest child still unmarried, single and swinging when Bapak was released, through his return to the NST.

Bapak - my siblings will attest - never meddled in his children's marriages. If they had any trouble -- and which marriage does not have -- he'd not give unsolicited advice. He'd listen if they wanted to talk to him but he'd not take sides.

He believed couples should sort things out and in time, things would get sorted out.

He told an older relative (who shall remain unnamed) of a certain someone who came to see Bapak following his first marital blow-up, this:

"We as parents cannot interfere. We can only give good advice for we do not know what actually happened in the bedroom. We only hear one side of the story. They both will give their version which is always favourable to them. They will sort it out. We'll come in only when we should, and if things get out of hand".

I remember during our omong-kosong after-dinner ramblings, in reference to someone's marital problems, he said:" You know....you cannot push a man to a corner, or a wall. There is a limit. Dia diam-diam, terdesak, dia akan fight back."

And when a female relative complained that her husband had roughed her up, Bapak told her to take up silat, judo or some form of self-defence art.

Bapak reckoned that a woman is helpless when she is home alone with a violent husband. One solution is to be equipped that way. Not that she should engage in a duel with her hubby, but she could learn to avert the blows. And then, I suppose, flee to safety.

Serious. And it makes perfect sense. If your husband knows you know some silat or judo or aikido, he'd think twice about roughing you up. Not that husbands are generally wife-bashers, but you know, in the heat of the moment, someone can get hurt. We know this happens.

If we had any problems with our signficant other, we'd think twice about going to daddy for comfort.

"Aku tahu anak-anak aku ni...." That meant it takes two to tango.

So it was that I took his advice seriously since. Sometimes, of course I forget.

I'm not sure I can give good solid advice to my own kids.

But...aah. I'll keep it simple. Que Sera Sera.

Pak Lah Is MAS Adviser

From Bernama

Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been appointed as Advisor, Malaysia Airlines effective May 1.

In a statement in Kuala Lumpur today, Malaysia Airlines chairman, Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid said the board welcomed Abdullah with his wide experience and extensive contacts to the non-executive appointment and looked forward to a beneficial association with him.

Let's hope our former PM can help push Malaysia Airlines to be better than it is today.

Everything Will Be OK On May 7

When we were in Ipoh last week for the forum on the Perak crisis (the National Press Club series of national discourse), people could not stop talking about May 7.

What will be happening on May 7 when the Perak State Assembly sits? Will there be trouble given the state's political crisis?

There was concern, hence, speculations. There were also re-assurances that everything will be okay.

Today, Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the safety of all 59 Perak assemblymen attending the State Assembly sitting on that day is assured.

Here's the rest of the Bernama report:

Zambry said the authorities were taking all necessary measures to faclitate the assemblymen's attendance of the sitting and would take action against anyone or group that resort to illegal action like holding unlawful gatherings to prevent it.

He said this after attending a thanksgiving function organised by Pasir Salak Umno in Kampung Gajah here yesterday.

Zambry further urged all quarters to respect the parliamentary democracy practised in the country and the laws of the nation.

Perak plunged into a crisis after the Pakatan coalition of PAS-DAP-PKR lost its majority in the assembly to the Barisan Nasional in early February, hence the need for the reassurance.