The Things Indonesians Love About Malaysia ...

Indonesians angry at Malaysia maybe baying for our blood but they'd want to save their adored Siti Nurhaliza, our singing sensation.

She is one thing they love about Malaysia and wish that they could claim her as their very own.

And then there are Upin & Ipin -- five year-old twins in the computer-animated series that's been a hit in Indonesia since its debut in the republic last year.


Read about it in the Jakarta Globe HERE.

I've got hooked on the series, created by Les Copaque Production. They make you laugh. And, there is a moral to every story told in Upin & Ipin without being preachy.

As for our strained relations with Indonesia -- I'm very sure it will blow over. How quickly, though remains to be seen.

The Satire Is Lost On The MCMC, the AG...

(Irwan and Rocky after bail was posted at the PJ courts.)

So they've taken blogger Irwan Abdul Rahman AKA Hassan Skodeng to court. Apa sudah jadi?

And Irwan thought that the MCMC would chill out after meeting with him. So the truth would set him free.

Fat hopes, dear Irwan. These people have no sense of humour. Or, they simply can't understand your humour, your satire. Relax-lah.

It's lost on them. It's our education system, I tell you. Educated people don't understand satire?

So pity them.

They're not amused and have taken him to court. Serious. And stupid.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is charging Irwan over his satirical posting: "TNB To Sue WWF Over Earth Hour".
Absolutely nothing wrong with the posting, if you understand satire, or simply have a sense of humour.

(Irwan has taken it off when he was told that TNB was not amused and MCMC had been called in but you can read it HERE)

Irwan was in the Petaling Jaya magistrate's court on Thursday where he was charged under Section 233 (1)(a) of Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities or network service by making, creating, soliciting and initiating transmission of any content that is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with malicious intent.

Irwan, who is the executive editor for entertainment, lifestyle and the new media with the Malay Mail pleaded not guilty and was allowed a bail sum of RM4000 with one surety by Sessions judge Hayatul Akmal.

Blogger Rocky Bru AKA Ahirudin Attan, who is group editorial advisor of the Malay Mail, Bernama TV and Malaysian Reserve, posted bail.

Irwan is represented by blogger Jahabardeen Mohd Yunoos. MCMC was represented by its deputy public prosecutor Badius Zaman Ahmad.

Read the details of the charge HERE.

Several bloggers (including me) were there to give him moral support -- Rocky, Zakhir Mohamad (BigDog), Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz (Kickdefella), Shamsul Yunos (My Anger, It May Be Yours Too) and Zainol Abideen (Mahaguru 58) .

Others were there in spirit, I was told.

Back to Irwan's case -- I say drop the damn charges-lah. The REAL crooks and criminals are running free and you're taking this 36 year-old married father of two (or three, I'm not sure) young children to court.

Whose time are you wasting? Tak ada kerja lain, kah?
God, are you people for real?

I'm glad that Irwan's counsel Jahabardeen is going to send a representation to the AG, presumably, I believe to make a case against going to trial.

But you have to read Art Harun's "Holy Mother.." HERE. You will be wondering whether they have the right people doing whatever job they are supposed to be doing at the MCMC.

Also read Rocky's Bru HERE

And Pasquale's Barking Magpie, as well as Kickdefella's makan pisang...

The Jakarta Globe -- "Malaysian Government Fails To See Funny Side Of Blogger's Joke"- carried the story.

I'm hoping this case won't go to trial.

There's still time for good sense to prevail.

Don't make a monkey of yourself!

Salam Ramadhan!

Ramadhan Mubarak.
Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa!

It is a time of personal sacrifices, discipline and a lot of love. Remember though, that moderation is key in whatever we do.

Have a blessed and glorious Ramadhan, friends.

I Remember Adibah Amin - Sri Delima

Kak Adib as we remember her.

When admirers came a-calling the other day.

I grew up as a teenager, enjoying Sri Delima's "As I Was Passing" - a regular and enduring column in the New Straits Times.

I always looked forward to reading Adibah Amin's anecdotes of life in Malaysia, as she saw it.

I loved her elegant and charming style as she captured and celebrated Malaysian life.

We all wanted to write like Adibah Amin.

I was privileged to have known her personally and professionally. I am thankful for that.

We've known that Kak Adib had not been well these past few years and has been cared for by her brother.

On Monday, she received some visitors and a little contribution.

Adibah Amin is, undoubtedly, a precious Malaysian icon. A living legend, in her own right.

Kak Adib, I pray for your well-being and recovery.

Al Fatihah: DALILAH TAMRIN, a fighter, a survivor!

My dear friend, Dalilah Tamrin -- Raden Galoh of "One Breast Bouncing" - a hell of a gal, a fighter. A cancer survivor.
She had so much positivity. I knew there were times she felt so down and that sense of hopelessness must have been so overwhelming...but she never let it get to her.

She kept up the good fight for as long as she could because she wanted to live for as long as she could (under the circumstances) for her loved ones, and the love of her family -- hubby Saiful and sons, Adam and Idris.
But Allah SWT knows best.

Dalilah passed away this morning at the KL Hospital. She was 42.

Yesterday, Elviza texted me to say that Dalilah was really bad. Her husband, Saiful had said that she was "nazak".
Elviza and I decided to meet at Kak Ton's (in Kelana Jaya), from where Elviza would drive us to Dalilah's home in Banting.
Elviza was going to drive us this time. The last time (last year) we went together to visit Dalilah, I drove us there, and on the way back, missed an exit and ended up....on the road to Ipoh....
That became something of a story to tell friends..

This would be my second "visit" to see Dalilah (who was already going downhill), in the last month. About three weeks ago, Shaira (my daughter) and I visited her before she (and Saiful) left for Umrah.
Alhamdulillah, Dalilah managed to perform the Umrah but Saiful told us that she did not get her wish -- to leave this earth in the holy land.

Yesterday, it turned out that she had to be taken to the KL Hospital because she was in terrible pain.

So, we headed for the hospital and waited for the ambulance that would bring her there.

We met Saiful, Adam and Idris outside the emergency ward.

I think the ambulance arrived about 1.30pm.

As they wheeled her out of the vehicle, we went to her. First, Elviza, then I and Kak Ton, stood by her side, to rub her forehead, her hand, her face, and kissed her.

Her eyes were open, but she could not see us, nor recognize us.

Farewell, dear soul.

You are in better place now, my dear. Al-Fatihah!

*Her remains will be taken to her mother's house in Banting. The funeral is this afternoon.

Tuesday Talk

50 Is The New 30

Do you believe that 50 is really the new 30? Like pink is the new black? Or is all this self-deluding?
Or the creation of beauty companies trying to cash in on the vanity, or insecurity of older women, and men.

It sure sounded good when I first heard it. I was hopeful that the line came from medical experts after studying the health of people in that age group, and concluding that these days people (read:women) in their 50s are healthier, comparable to those in their 30s.

But, as it turned out, it did not come from medical experts. Nonetheless, it came from health experts. That's good enough.

Anyway, I think there's some truth in that catchphrase. After all, it is a fact that more and more people are adopting and embracing healthier lifestyles.

In my aerobics class, there are "aunties" who look 10 years younger than they really are. And it's not just the exterior. They look fit but more importantly, they feel good.

But here's one person who thinks that all this 50 isn't the new 30 in his book. Although, not a believer, he is positive about our aging process.

But please don't be in denial, he cautions. If you're 50, you have to accept that you are.

"Research clearly indicates that our attitude matters for our physical and emotional health and well being. But denial can be destructive if we don't attend to the natural limitations of our bodies and mind as we age," said pychologist Dr Thomas Plante.

"50 is 50 but there are lots of things that we can do for our body, mind, and spirit as we age to increase the odds that our aging process isn't so bad and perhaps is even pretty darn good," he said.

Read more HERE.

Be that as it may, it's heartening to remember that "50 is the new 30" did not emerge from nowhere.

I believe strongly that you're as old or as young as you want to be!

Spy, Spy

(Sketch of the 10 Russian Spies in court)

I'm sure most of you did not miss the reports of Russian spies in the good US of A.
The FBI got 'em!
I know some people out there are going to make a movie on this. (Yet) another spy thriller.
Brings us back to the Cold War. Some things don't change, I tell ya!
I mean, spies still need to work, eh?

I was fed on a pretty good diet of spy books when I was young. We still have all those books in their original cover back at Bapak's place.
Let's start with Ian Fleming's James Bond books. Classic, man!
Then there were Graham Greene and John Le Carre and much later, Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsythe.

Until today, I enjoy a good spy thriller -- book or movie!

Here's the real spy story:

WASHINGTON – With the conclusion of the biggest spy swap since the Cold War, the U.S. has defused a thorny diplomatic problem quickly and cleanly — and avoided damaging recent efforts to improve relations with Russia. And Moscow has escaped further embarrassment over a group of spies that over the years apparently had little if any success in ferreting out any useful secrets.

The 10 sleeper agents, who blended into American communities before being arrested two weeks ago, were back on Russian soil Saturday, a day after they were exchanged on the tarmac of the Vienna airport for four prisoners the Russians had accused of spying for the West.

Two of the prisoners were flown to England and the other two landed aboard a chartered jetliner at Dulles International Airport outside Washington late Friday.

Click HERE for the rest of the article.

Tuesday Talk

I had A Dream

Some of you must be wondering what this "Tuesday Talk" is about. Well...sometime ago I ran "Tuesdays With Bapak" series, in which I relived (dark parts) of a past life. It was cathartic and I'm glad I religiously blogged about it for about a year.

Then Bapak passed away on Sept 4, 2008. I felt spent. There's nothing anymore I wanted to tell.

At the same time I wanted to dedicate a day in the week to just stories, tales, yarns...anything about life. Nothing so serious.
If you think that's not what you like to read, that's okay. You can pass and hit on another blog or website.

I've come to realise, for a long time now, that you can't please everyone. And I'm not about to start now.

So, today is the start of "Tuesday Talk". And I'm going to talk about a dream ("mimpi") I had the other night. It's got to do with the World Cup. I got up so breathless and needed a few moments to "wake up".

I dreamt that Malaysia was in the World Cup. Yes yes... and we were playing against a team (unknown and unidentifiable). We were in red and white while the other team was in blue.

I know that as I was dreaming this, my heart was beating very fast because our Malaysian football team was so awesome.

I must be watching it all on TV because I could see the crowd cheering for Malaysia. Now these people were definitely not Malaysians but they were cheering for our team.
People from foriegn lands cheering "go Malaysia, go Malaysia!"

And yes. I could see some people hitting the kompang.

It was thrilling. In my dream, most of the Malaysian players were familiar faces of some of the Selangor footballers of the 70s and 80s. It must be because I used to go all the way to Stadium Merdeka to watch matches that Selangor played.

I'm not a football fanatic but I do love to watch good football. Great football, aah, all the better.

No prizes for guessing how my dream of Malaysia in the World Cup came about. Yep. it's the World Cup madness, and the sense of disappointment and resignation when talking about Malaysian football.

"We could have been there!" or "What happened to us!" everytime we see the two Koreas and Japan played. Or some third-world country making their people proud by qualifying for the World Cup.

Well. you know, there was a time when ....aaah... to go down that road and reminisce about Malaysia's football greats makes me feel so wistful.

Young Malaysians have no recollection at all that once upon a time, we played football.

An International Conference on Breaking the Gaza Siege will be held at the Dewan Tun Razak Hall 1 of the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 11 2010.

The theme of the conference is: Breaking the Siege: In The Spirit of Rachel Corrie and Mavi Marmara.

According to a statement from the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, the speakers include Yildirim Bulent, head of the Turkish humanitarian relief organisation, the Insani Yardim Yakfi (IHH), Denis J. Halliday, former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations and Derek Graham, head of the MV Rachel Corrie team.

Another speaker is Dr Hasan Huseyn Uyzal who was on board the Mavi Marmara and helped treat the injured.

A Palestinian judge, Dialdeen S. Madhoun who is head of the Palestinian committee of war crimes documentation will also be one of the speakers.

PGPO chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had been a leading figure in opposing Israeli consistent and systematic genocide of Palestinians, will deliver the keynote address.

He will also chair a Panel Session for the conference and the panellists will include ambassadors from several countries which are concerned about the Israeli siege. Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the Malaysian Prime Minister, who has been leading efforts to raise funds for the Palestinian cause, will be one of the panelists.

The illegal siege was imposed by the Israel government in 2007. It represents part of an unending list of atrocities and cruelties inflicted by the Israelis against the Palestinians.

Last month, a group of activists from different countries, colours and creeds, joined hands to form the Freedom Flotilla and sailed across the Mediterranean to challenge the siege on Gaza.

The PGPO states:

"Consistent to its belligerent streak, the Israel Defence Force (IDF), at the wee hours of dawn, launched a cowardly attack on one of the Freedom Flotilla ships, the Mavi Marmara which was sailing in international waters.

The attack on the civilian ship resulted in the murder of nine activists and injured dozens more. Apart from that, the IDF, after forcefully boarding the ships of the flotilla, commandeered them to the Israeli port Ashdod and then imprisoned the activists.

Having literally dragged the activists into Israel, the Tel Aviv regime then deported them under tremendous condemnation from the international community.

The IDF repeated their act a few days later on the MV Rachel Corrie, another member of the Freedom Flotilla which had lagged behind due to engine problems.

Even though another tragedy was averted as no one was shot nor killed, the IDF boarded the Rachel Corrie in full force with its personnel armed to the teeth. Again, the Rachel Corrie was forcefully commandeered to Ashdod.

It is extensively believed that the Rachel Corrie was spared the violent, armed aggression of the IDF due to the international spotlight on Tel Aviv following murders of the activists on Mavi Marmara.

It is against these backdrops that the Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO), a principal partner in the Freedom Flotilla, decided to hold an international conference to recount what had occurred on the Mavi Marmara and Rachel Corrie.

The conference is expected to conclude with a clear plan on measures and efforts to be undertaken in challenging the siege and eventually putting an end to it.

These measures and efforts will be formulated based on the inputs, views and ideas put forth and shared during the conference."

The closing address will be delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Entrance is free and open to the public. The public is however advised to come early as seats are limited though there is ample standing room.

If there are any enquiries, please contact: 03-88858965 (Maizatul – maizatul@perdana.org.my), 03-88858960 (Noorinsun – noorinsun@perdana.org.my), 019-3843913 (Dr Zulaiha Ismail – zul@pop.jaring.my) or 019-9100090 (Shamsul – shamsulakmar@gmail.com).

Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Wants The Bridge

...and the PM says he'll look into it.

I'm not going into a debate on whether or not the bridge project should be revived. I've already said my piece on the subject.

Let's see where this will take us following the new development on Tanjung Pagar.

I stand corrected, but I've been told that the people of Johor are with the Sultan on this.

A Hero From Sungai Siput...

I know Shamsul Akmar, one of the six Malaysians on board the Gaza-bound MV Rachel Corrie that was seized by the Israelis last week, must have been reluctant to accept the invitation to his homecoming -- with a hero's welcome to boot.

I reckon he must have finally relented, seeing that it was his hometown of Sungai Siput, and among kin and kith, family and friends.

Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, 47, has been passionate about Palestine and the plight of the Palestinians. Anyone who's been with him, around him --- and not necessarily long enough -- knows that.

A journalist for more than two decades, Shamsul Akmar began his journalistic career with the NST. He later joined the Star and, much later, returned to the NST where he was made the deputy political editor and columnist.
In 2004, he left the newspaper but freelanced as a writer. He later became special officer to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

Shamsul Akmar is a graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara and holds a Masters Degree in War Studies from King's College, University of London.

He is not new to being in dangerous situations in conflict areas. He was on (NST) assignment in Iraq at the height of the US invasion and occupation in 2003, and, before that, in Acheh.

Shamsul was also with the Viva Palestina humanitarian convoy from London to Gaza via Egypt in December last year.

Welcoming their "wira" at the town centre were some 200 people, including Lintang assemblyman Ahamad Pakeh Adam who organised the event with the support of local non-governmental organisations.
Shamsul's wife Hasinah Mohd Ali, 42, and daughters Anis Syuhada, 19, and Anis Juhanna, 15 were with him but his parents Musa Kamal Jabanullah, 73, and Ramlah Mohd Dawi, 71, were unable to be there.

*Shamsul has written three instalments of his journey on the Rachel Corrie for the NST. Read them HERE, HERE and HERE.

(Caption: Top pix- Shamsul gets a hero's welcome. Bottom pix: Baca doa. Pix, courtesy NST)

NURIN Alert On NISHA, 2 Years Old

Name: Nisha Chandramohan
Age: 2 years old
Mssing since June 4, 2010
Last seen in Mentakab, Pahang.

Please contact: 999 or Nisha's father, Govindasamy @ 016-9353400

The search for little Nisha continues.
G. Chandramohan, 24, and his wife, Wong Lai Lan, 21, are praying that their daughter will be found.

The toddler went missing after being taken out for a walk by a relative who was not able to recollect what happened to the child.

The RHB Bank, Mentakab branch, has helped in distributing 1,000 missing person's posters bearing Nisha's face and contact details in Mentakab and Temerloh.

The sad thing is the family has been receiving crank calls.

We pray for her safety and well-being, and hope she will be found soon.

Click HERE for the story.

*About NURIN Alert: The suggestion to have a system similar to AMBER Alert was made in 2007 following the brutal murder of 8 year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin whose crumpled body was found stuffed in a sports bag on September 17, 28 days after she had gone missing.
There was public outrage and outcry following the discovery of her body.

It looked good to be incorporated into a government machinery when Shahrizat Jalil was Women, Family and Community Development Minister.

When Ng Yen Yen took over, she had other plans. However, she did say that a similar mechanism was being put in place, under the minsitry's child protection plan.

But it is not called NURIN Alert.

I can tell you that there was no such mechanism ever discussed by the ministry before the suggestion was made by the concerned group of bloggers.

No matter. I'm going to call it NURIN Alert.

Dr Chua Jui Meng - former MCA vice-president and health minister doesn't know why the Johor Palace has stripped him of his 2 state datukships.
Dr Chua, who is now Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member, is convinced Johor Umno is behind it.

But Johor Umno has denied this.

Rocky decided to find out what's going on.

This afternoon, the palace held a Press conference on the matter. Dr Chua is one of the four people who have been stripped of their datukships. The other three are not politicians.

Check out the latest on this in the news.

The 10MP

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today (Thursday) outlined five key strategic thrusts under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) to enable Malaysia become a high-income and developed nation by 2020.

The prime minister said that to move in that direction, Malaysia had to draw up a new approach which emphasised quality human capital, innovation and creativity, and the government had to operate as a competitive corporation.

When tabling the 10MP in the Dewan Rakyat, Najib said Malaysia could no longer depend on a low-cost structure to remain competitive internationally because globalisation, liberalisation and the emergence of countries, such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, the Middle East and countries in the region, had intensified the competition for trade and investment.

Read the rest of the report here.

Here's the latest from the Malay Mail.

Check out for updates in the news.

And what is Greater Kuala Lumpur?

High And Higher

Well. This didn't come from me. I didn't say it. They all did.

But aah. As always. There will be sour grapes, party poopers et al.

Six Malaysians On MV Rachel Corrie Arriving Home Today

UPDATE:

Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal and Matthias Chang of Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) and four others -- Parit Member of Parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, and Halim Mohamed and Mohd Jufri Judin of TV3 -- arrived at KLIA at 7.12pm, from Amman, Jordan.

They were together with five Irish nationals on board the MV Rachel Corrie carrying humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.

My earlier posting:

The MV Rachel Corrie carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza went as far as it could -- but not far enough, said Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, one of the 11 passengers on board the ship.

"We tried our best, but our best was not good enough," he said on arrival in Amman, Jordan.

The MV Rachel Corrie failed in its attempt to break the Israeli siege on Gaza because Israeli forces intercepted it and escorted it to Israel's Ashdod Port.

The passengers were detained in Israel and later sent to Amman, Jordan.

Today, Shamsul Akmar and the five other Malaysians are on their way home and are scheduled to land at KLIA at 7.30pm.

MV Rachel Corrie Attempts To break the Blockade

... but crew and passengers will offer no resistance if Israeli forces attack.

We are hopeful that they are unharmed and safe, whatever course they have to take. Our prayers are with them.

UPDATE:

Ashdod, (Israel): Israeli naval commandos seized an Irish-owned aid ship headed for Gaza Saturday morning, officials said.

The Israel military said it boarded the ship by sea with the compliance of the crew 35 kilometers (22 miles) off the Gaza coast.

The ship was being towed to Ashdod, Israel, where its cargo will be offloaded and screened, the military said. No helicopters were used, the military said.

Free Gaza movement spokeswoman Mary Hughes said the passengers of the MV Rachel Corrie were unharmed.

"This is unacceptable to be happening in international waters," she said.

Click HERE for the rest of the story.

my earlier posting:

We've had no contact yet with either Shamsul or Matthias. So, the latest Reuters report from Jerusalem will have to do:

By Ori Lewis and Alastair Macdonald Ori Lewis And Alastair Macdonald

The Israeli navy prepared to board another aid ship bound for Gaza on Saturday, as Washington condemned as "unsustainable" a blockade which Israel enforced earlier in the week by killing 9 people aboard a Turkish vessel.

Irish and other activists on the Rachel Corrie ignored orders to divert to Israel's Ashdod port. Should it continue to approach the Palestinian enclave, the navy would board the vessel, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

The stand-off in the Mediterranean came as Washington, Israel's key ally, said its blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip was "unsustainable and must be changed" -- the clearest sign yet of a shake-up in the embargo that has blighted the lives of 1.5 million Palestinians for the past four years.

Turkey, once Israel's main Muslim ally, has kept up its fury over the deaths of 9 Turkish nationals in the raid on Monday. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan harangued Israel on Friday about ignoring the Biblical commandment "Thou shalt not kill."

Autopsy results, as reported by a British newspaper, found 30 bullets in the activists who died. Among the victims was a Turk with U.S. citizenship.

A spokeswoman for the Free Gaza campaign group, whose contact with the crew was patchy, said warships had been sighted by the freighter around dawn, before 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).

Israeli spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Liebovich said the ship, named after an American activist killed in the Gaza Strip, had ignored radio calls to divert. "If they won't leave us any choice, we'll have to board the ship," she said.

"UNSUSTAINABLE"

Pro-Palestinian protester Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003.

Israel says its blockade of the Gaza Strip, tightened after Islamist Hamas seized the enclave from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in 2007, aims to keep out arms.

Washington urged the Gaza aid vessel to divert to an Israeli port to reduce the risk of violence, but also stated its belief that the controversial blockade could not last in its current form.

"We are working urgently with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and other international partners to develop new procedures for delivering more goods and assistance to Gaza," a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said.

"The current arrangements are unsustainable and must be changed. For now, we call on all parties to join us in encouraging responsible decisions by all sides to avoid any unnecessary confrontations," he added in a statement.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said: "Those on board the Rachel Corrie have indicated that they are ready to accept inspection of their cargo at sea, prior to docking in Gaza."

GUNSHOTS AT CLOSE RANGE

Autopsy results on the nine dead Turkish activists from Monday's raid showed they had been shot a total of 30 times, many at close range, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday. Five were killed by gunshots to the head, it said.

Turkish-American activist Fulkan Dogan was shot five times from less than 45 cm (18 inches) away, in the face, the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back, the paper said. In addition to those killed, 48 others received gunshot wounds and six activists were still missing.

In his angriest rhetoric yet, Erdogan accused the Jewish state on Friday of violating its own Bible:

"I am speaking to them in their own language. The sixth commandment says 'thou shalt not kill'. Did you not understand?" Erdogan said in a televised speech to party supporters.

"I'll say again. I say in English 'you shall not kill'. Did you still not understand?. So I'll say to you in your own language. I say in Hebrew 'Lo Tirtzakh'."

Ties between Turkey and Israel have soured badly and Ankara is threatening to rethink its entire relationship with the Jewish state. Protesters sang Turkey's praises at rallies in Egypt and Lebanon on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a forum of senior ministers on Friday to discuss the arrival of the Rachel Corrie and actions to be taken following the international criticism Israel faced after Monday's events.

Time Off For teachers...

PASIR PUTEH (June 4, 2010) - Principals and headmasters of primary and secondary school must allow teachers in their respective schools to go on leave for at least two Saturdays in a month to reduce their stress.

Education Ministry Director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said they (principals and headmasters) cannot force teachers to be involved in co-curriculum or academic activities every Saturday.

"A circular has been issued to all schools regarding the matter," he told reporters at Sekolah Menengah Sains Pasir Puteh here last night when commenting on grouses and complaints from teachers that headmasters and principals were forcing them to conduct extra classes every Saturday.

Alimuddin said schools can have extra curricular activities on alternate Saturdays, based on a roster, to give time for teachers to spend some time with their families.

He added that if a public holiday happens to fall on a Saturday, schools cannot force teachers to be on duty.

Meanwhile, speaking of reports that four students in Terengganu had given birth while another 16 were pregnant, Alimuddin said he had already directed the state Education Department to carry out a detailed investigation as it was a very serious issue.

Reports have said that Form Three and Form Six students had given birth at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital last year while the latest was a Form Three student who gave birth to a baby boy last Sunday.

Alimuddin said schools should not be blamed for such social ills because it involved parents and the community. - BERNAMA

They're No Soldiers.

...these people aboard the Freedom Flotilla -- the humanitarian convoy that were intercepted by the Israeli forces as it sailed towards Gaza.

But, in my book, they are brave and courageous men and women.

I can only talk about the suffering of the people of Gaza. The best I can do is to attend fund-raising events for them.
But, I haven't volunteered to join any mission to Gaza. I'm not sure I will. Just not brave enough, perhaps.

The last boat of this convoy is the MV Rachel Corrie.

Journalist Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal of Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) is aboard the Rachel Corrie together with 10 others -- 5 Malaysians and 5 Irish nationals.

Sometime today, all contact was lost with the Rachel Corrie, due to, we suspect, Israel's jamming of all connection.

We pray for their safe passage and the safety of the passengers.
God speed!

Read THIS, THIS and THIS.

Malaysian Volunteers Seized By Israeli Forces Are Safe

...and sound. In good spirits too, according to Malaysian ambassador to Jordan Abdul Malek Abdul Aziz .

He had accompanied them to Jordan after their release.

The 12 Malaysian volunteers were on board the Mavi Marmara that was attacked by Israel while sailing to Gaza on Monday.

They were then detained by Israeli authorities.

Read THIS too.

Meanwhile, the Rachel Corrie is now the sole ship on the international freedom flotilla moving towards Gaza.

On board are 6 Malaysians -- lawyer Matthias Chang, Parit MP Nizar Zakaria, activist Faizal Azumu, TV3 journalist Halim Mohamed, TV3 crew member Jufri Junid and Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal -- and 5 Irish nationals including former UN assistant secretary-general Denis Halliday who is also an advisory panel member of Perdana Global peace Organisation and Nobel Prize laureate Mairead Maguire.

They are reported to be safe, so far.

Here is a statement from them:

"The Malaysian and Irish peace and humanitarian activists aboard share their deepest grief and sense of loss with the loved ones of those killed and injured in the illegal action undertaken by Israel on Monday 31st May 2010 in the international waters of the Mediterranean.

In the names of our friends, we are more determined than ever to continue into Gaza with our humanitarian cargo and our support for the blockaded and suffering people of Gaza.

We expect Israel to respond to the international condemnation of its violence by not impeding by any means the safe passage of the Rachel Corrie.

We appeal to the international community and United Nations to continue to demand Israel our safe passage into Gaza."

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