N Dharmendran’s body was covered with bruises and both his ears were stapled. A pathologist confirms he died from multiple blunt force trauma. The police have now reclassified the case as murder although they initially said Dharmendran died from breathing difficulties.

Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament, Klang 

It has always been one death too many. According to official statistics, there were 147 deaths in police custody last year. This shook the conscience of the country and deeply angered Malaysians. But nothing changed.
 
The recent death does not just add to the escalating number. The lurid details of the victim’s body is shocking as it points to a rising level of physical abuse and torture by police officers.
 
N Dharmendran’s body was covered with bruises and both his ears were stapled. A pathologist confirms he died from multiple blunt force trauma. The police have now reclassified the case as murder although they initially said Dharmendran died from breathing difficulties.
 
His lawyers have described it as the worst case of police brutality, since the death of Kugan Ananthan in 2009.
 
The deep wounds on Dharmendran’s body plus the staples with dried blood indicate he died from physical torture. The pathologist also found staples on both his legs on the ankle area.
 
Dharmendran’s death and the shocking wounds on his body clearly signal that the police have no qualms abusing their powers or indulging in torture despite the nationwide uproar. And this is more so as they are not accountable to anyone.
 
This has to stop.
 
The government must immediately set-up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission or IPCMC instead of shuffling it along.
 
The police continue to act with impunity as they enjoy absolute power. The inertia demonstrated by the government in implementing the Independent Commission has contributed to the rising number of deaths in the hands of the police.
 
As the year began, three people died under police custody. And aside from deaths in police custody, police also shoot dead several people, each month, on average. Police say they were either returning fire or the people were suspected criminals. But many are shot dead just for failing to stop at police roadblocks.
 
Peoples’ confidence in the police has been taking a steady dip over the past few years, largely triggered by a deep-seated suspicion of the force. Their concern holds water.
 
We have read about newly minted Home Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, thumping his chest and vowing to act on anyone who dares to hold peaceful rallies or question the country’s electoral system.
 
I now ask that he bucks up and does the right thing as the minister in charge of Home Affairs by ordering and open inquiry into Dharmendran’s death and instructing the police chief to suspend all officers who were involved in interrogating the deceased until the investigation is completed.
 
Reclassifying the case as murder is not enough.
 
We have been disappointed many times with the outcome of the police investigating themselves. But as the new government has promised transparency and accountability, I urge the police not to play Houdini by trying to make crucial evidence disappear or attempt to cover up for their fellow colleagues.
 
BN’s shortcomings have become a huge liability to the country and its people for decades. Let’s hope that, for once, fairness and justice will prevail.
 
Or Dharmendran will become just another number, adding to the rising statistics.
 

At 1% Silver Nitrate concentration, the silver nitrate in the indelible ink is only good enough for use in an eyewash.

PY Wong 

Tindak Malaysia’s founder, PY Wong calls on the Election Commission chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof to be upfront about the indelible ink.

He was responding to Abdul Aziz’s recent comments that the EC would set up a team to probe the indelible ink.

“The issue of indelible ink,” he said, “is an important step towards restoring the people’s confidence in the Election Commission, tasked with conducting a clean and fair election. However, the rakyat have raised doubts over the issue of the indelible ink and told the EC on how to best implement it based on world standards.”

For example, Code ESI of Canada produces indelible ink with a concentration of silver nitrate in the range of 7% - 25% and under the UNDP Procurement Guide, “live” human trials by the public should be conducted to gain public acceptance. All this information is available online, for example, in Tindak Malaysia website (http://www.tindakmalaysia.com/showthread.php/5267-Indelible-ink-Suppliers) since July last year.

Wong pointed out that the finger also has to be dipped into the ink with a sponge and the bottle shaked to make sure that the silver nitrate is on top of the ink and stains the finger. “The ink has to stay on the finger for a minimum of 30 seconds to take effect,” he said.

While the EC Deputy Chairman, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar claimed ink can dry in 3 seconds, Wong claimed that experts say it is impossible. “We demand the EC reveal the solvent used in the indelible ink that can dry in 3 seconds.”

By failing to use the indelible ink in a manner that is prescribed by the ink manufacturers, despite the advices given through the Public Accountability Committee in 2011, Abdul Aziz runs into the risk of doing things ‘detrimental to parliamentary democracy.’ “Abdul Aziz, as the EC Chairman, has to take responsibility for any foul play,” he said.

Abdul Aziz, he added, had on many occasions denied that the ink was easily removed; instead, he had claimed that the ink was able to last for seven days. He had also stated that the EC received a letter from the Ministry of Health stating that the silver nitrate content in the ink should not exceed one percent, because he claimed that silver nitrate could cause cancer or damage to the kidney.

A voter, who is trained as a chemist, had earlier disputed the claim that silver nitrate could be carcinogenic or damage to the kidney. “Silver nitrate is used in laboratory very often. In its 99.99% purity form, it can even be purchased online (www.silvernitrate.com), and the Material Safety Data Sheet of silver nitrate from reputable laboratories made no mention about the chemical being carcinogenic or able to cause damage to the kidney,” he said.

Wong wants to know who in the Ministry of Health had written to the EC, and on what basis was the false claim made or whether the EC chairman himself had lied to the public about the content of silver nitrate. “Abdul Aziz should publish the content of the letter,” he added. “He should also reveal the name of the manufacturers.”

Wong said that it is clear now that the silver nitrate content of the ink was a mere one percent. “At one percent silver nitrate content, I do not see the need to even shake the ink,” he said. “There is no need for the EC to set up a special team to probe the ink, especially when Abdul Aziz had made several statements that are blatant lies.”

If the EC wants a team to probe, it should include all stakeholders in the team. “This would have to also include representatives from both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional, as well as representatives from NGOs and the Bersih movement,” he said. 

Kuo Yong Kooi 

The world hydropower congress is to be held in Sarawak soon. Sarawak's dam projects will flood 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and displace around 30,000 to 50,000 indigenous people from their native customary rights land.

Sorry for the BAD NEWS but here's some reality...

"THIS" is our NEW "HOME MINISTER" who is a GANGSTER and BEATS-UP people by himself!

Curi-curi Wang Malaysia

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=635413693154081&set=a.536740686354716.136640.535906203104831&type=1&theater 

One must wonder if Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat had chosen go after the Bangladeshis because of their smaller numbers and weaker political clout, or whether Anwar made a calculated move to go after the Bangladeshis knowing that there would be a lesser fall-out than if he were to go after the Indonesians. 

Stephen Doss 

Malaysia’s 13th General Elections must rank as the most heated and disputed ever, even more so than Malaysia’s 1969 elections.

For the first time ever, vigilante individuals and groups took it upon themselves to patrol the streets and detain people who they felt were not eligible to vote.   

According to the Asia Pacific Human Rights Information Centre, Malaysia a multi-ethnic multi-religious country of about twenty-nine million, has about two million documented migrant workers, and at least two million undocumented migrant workers.

In 2010, it was reported that there was about 1.8 million foreign workers spread across sectors such as manufacturing (688,886), construction (288,722), plantation (256,382), domestic workers (224,544), services (180,890), with the rest being in agriculture. Majority of these workers come from the following countries ranked according to number of workers: Indonesia (917,932), Bangladesh (307,366), Nepal (175,810), Myanmar (140,260), India (113,797), and Vietnam (74,842).

It is common knowledge that the largest bloc of undocumented migrant workers numbering over two million are Indonesians, most probably for the simple reason being that they are our nearest neighbours among the list of undocumented migrant workers.

It would therefore make sense that if the Barisan Nasional wanted to commit fraud through alien voting, they would have turned to the Indonesians, and not Bangladeshis. In fact a lot of Indonesians who have been living in this country probably speak the local language even better than a lot of Malaysians making such a plan if it existed virtually fool proof.  It therefore makes little sense that Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan Rakyat chose to make scapegoats of the Bangladeshis.

Which begs the questions why, why did Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat go after the Bangladeshis when it would have made more sense to go after the Indonesians.

One must wonder if Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat had chosen go after the Bangladeshis because of their smaller numbers and weaker political clout, or whether Anwar made a calculated move to go after the Bangladeshis knowing that there would be a lesser fall-out than if he were to go after the Indonesians, political repercussions from the Indonesians both in this country and from his carefully cultivated Indonesian friends from abroad.  

As it turns out, Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s mouthpiece the Suara Keadilan and a DAP politician have been forced to make public apologies to dark skinned Malaysians whom they accused of being Bangladeshis.

KIMMA, the Indian Muslim political party too has made numerous police reports claiming that their members have been harassed by vigilantes across the country because of their skin colour.

In a Post GE13 Forum last week, a panellist who is a local academic recounted how three of his research assistants, all Malaysians of Indian descent were detained for 5 hours in Kuala Trengganu by vigilantes who accused them of being Bangladeshis and trying to vote; they subsequently lodged police reports because they were not able to vote as they were only released after 5pm.

So far, despite all these revelations, neither BERSIH the self-appointed polls watch dog nor the Bar Council which often speaks up on behalf of the Malaysian Bar on matters related to human rights abuses have failed to make any comment with regards to this criminal targeting of a migrant community.

They have been quick to add their voice to that of the Pakatan Rakyat in claiming that there have been allegations of fraud in the last elections, but nothing so far on the issue of vigilantes taking the law into their own hands.

Lest we forget, Article 8 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia provides that "All persons are equal before the law and is entitled to equal protection of the law." By using the term "person," as opposed to “citizen,” the constitutional provision makes it most clear that this guarantee of rights extends to all persons, including migrant workers.

Stephen Doss is political observer, Advisor to the Social Media Chambers of Malaysia and can be found on tweeter @stephendoss

Don’t choose to be blind over abolishing vernacular schools. 

Navin Karan 

Having a one education system is a good platform to cultivate real multiracialism for kids from the beginning and not during the teenage years (13) where commonly they prefer to mix among their own community. It is worse when they have to enrol into remove class (Peralihan - a discrimination for kids who couldn’t master Bahasa Malaysia after 6 years). 

PR, don’t be opportunists by slamming the govt as being racist or that this is a kind of punishment to the voters, please. We Malaysians have been agreeable with PR for most of their govt agendas but don’t assume we are always ‘YES BOSS’. Actually, PR should encourage us and also work together with the govt, especially on how to make an effective “Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK)” since the BN govt seems to be always dry on brilliant ideas.

And MIC, to win the Indians’ heart doesn’t mean you have to be Vijayakanth to going against it to fight for Tamil schools. Right now MIC says they are fighting for Indian rights but in actual fact they are drama kings!! You, MIC/ MCA/Gerakan/PPP/IPF/AMMA/TAM/KIMMA should propose to instate vernacular language in SK syllabus and to have it made a compulsory subject under the mother tongue category. Non-Indian and non-Chinese students should be given a choice to choose a preferred language. No excuse should be tolerated when the student or parents refuse or make the process difficult.

Ultimately, the govt is to ensure Bahasa Malaysia dikuasai oleh semua kaum as well as proficiently mastering English since the world made this language a good communication platform and it is the govt's duty to protect mother tongue languages. 

Most parents or scholars prefer the upcoming generation to master certain languages according to demand. This is not a wrong perception but ‘taraf apa’ to know your own mother tongue. The mindset should be tuned; learning a language isn't to help the economy but you risk losing one's identity. They will fail to know the history of their own ancestors, the culture, the morale, the scriptures about god; all these are mostly available in their own mother tongue language. Yes, no doubt all these are available in English but how original can it be? Can you get 100% chicken curry taste in vegetarian chicken curry? 

Primary school is the first 'parent' for the children and if under the same roof is shared by the same ethnicity, the bonding with just one particular ethnic group would become too strong. Thereafter in secondary school, half of the teenagers find difficulty in breaking the wall to mix around. The gap worsens when insensitive words are used ‘Cina apa lagi mau’, ‘pariah’, ‘belacan’ (examples only, don’t attack me pls!). Now look at 2 scenarios: when kids use such wrong words, the parents'/teachers' involvement is a must to correct the KIDS. We may successfully correct them with a probability of 9/10; in the same scenario, if a secondary school student uses offensive words, when the parents/teachers try to correct them, they will come up with a lot of excuses (‘dia mula dulu cikgu’, ‘dia yang kutuk kaum kerabat kita abah’, ‘depa satu geng challenge kita orang’), the probability to change is 5/10. The best way to educate the pupil about unity starts in primary schools, at a tender age without knowing their background.

I am a father of two, who is torn between wanting his children to learn their heritage but wary that sending them to a Tamil school will not give them a smooth journey from child to teenage years. I want to look forward to seeing them celebrate Raya by bersalam-salaman for maaf, zahir & batin, CNY by performing the lion dance, Deepavali with lighting the lamp around the SK schools. I wish SK will be ready with vernacular as compulsory and protected. The mindset of children to accept 1Malaysia is more open at a tender age as compared to the teenage period.

So let’s work for it, my fellow politicians.

Who are the leaders in BN? They are ordinary human beings that were made leaders by the same citizens that are shouting for Ubah now. We elected them, then put them up on altars and bribed them, corrupted their minds with all kinds of gifts, we made them multimillionaires, and we gave them luxury vehicles, money for luxury bungalows, all paid holidays, jewellery and many many more. After doing all these crappy things we want to change the government. What assurances that when PR comes to power we will not repeat the same thing?

M. Gunasekar

Finally after two weeks we are slowing regaining our conscience and gradually becoming less racist, levelheaded and able to visualize the reality of life. Most of the 51% Malaysian citizens who voted for PR are coming to terms that the mother of all elections in the history of Malaysia is over and their dream for change is all gone.

We have ever seen such euphoria during the days leading to the general election. Many Malaysians who never cared about elections openly voiced their concerns and the need for change. But many of these first timers did not realize that cries of corruption, marginalization, discrimination, oppression actually started when on 25 Nov 2007 thousands of Indian Malaysians converged at the KLCC area, in front of the British Embassy and had a standoff with the Police for four hours.

The police shot water jets laced with chemicals and tear gas at the people, but the Indians stood steadfast and only dispersed when the police stopped. The aftermath saw hundreds arrested, and five heroes were made. The almost 50,000 crowd on Nov 25, 2007 at the KLCC area converged because of only one factor, the motivation of 1 million pounds for each Indian in Malaysia. The new Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister Department Waythamoorthy promised to sue the British Government for about 4 Trillion pounds for bringing the Indians (Tamils) to then Malaya as labourers and then leaving them high and dry, they reneged on their promise. What a pity, Indians in this country are so naïve that they easily became prey to the new BN mandore Waythyamoorthy.

He convinced everyone that he will sue the British Government and get its dues, but the BN Government tried stopping them unnecessarily and created a blunder by tear gas, arrests and spraying the people with chemical-laced water. This action by the Police had given the opposition a boost when the Indians totally rejected MIC and BN in GE 12.

Yah, I totally agree with you that the struggle during GE 13 is different from GE 12. The 51% of the citizens that voted for PR wanted change of government and for most of them, they didn't care who the future PM is, and just want change. They are fed up with our country going down the drain. Even some of them said, “Let me reassure you whoever takes over the country the Chinese will still do well.”

We want change! What does it actually mean? Change of government, throw out the UMNO-led BN and bring PR to power. Why suddenly after 56 years are we now asking for change? You mean BN started screwing Malaysians just after GE 12?

Come on lah, face the reality of life. We have been living comfortably under the UMNO-led BN government and been enjoying life to the maximum, able to save money to buy properties, able to go for holidays, buy cars, send children abroad for tertiary education, throw millions on gambling tables in Malaysia, Singapore, Macau and other parts of the world, engage the services of prostitutes and massages, eat exotic foods by killing endangered animals, wear branded clothing and accessories, drive around in luxury vehicles that the poor can’t effort, eat a single meal that is equivalent to a cleaner's or factory worker's one month salary and many more that the rural people can’t afford.

What made us so pissed off to the extent that we are willing to sleep with the alleged angel rather than the known devil? Suddenly we feel the need for good governance, transparency, accountability, a serious clampdown on corruption and crime.  

Who are the leaders in BN? They are ordinary human beings that were made leaders by the same citizens that are shouting for Ubah now. We elected them, then put them up on altars and bribed them, corrupted their minds with all kinds of gifts, we made them multimillionaires, and we gave them luxury vehicles, money for luxury bungalows, all paid holidays, jewellery and many many more. After doing all these crappy things we want to change the government.

I know you are getting upset with me now. Ok Lah, I agree with the 51%, we change the government come the next GE.

So what next?

What assurances that when PR comes to power we, I mean the citizens, will not repeat the same thing? Do you think the corrupt mind of the citizens will not try to do the same thing? Can we Ubah ourselves first before we Ubah the government? In today's age, pretty much most of us have a 'corrupted mind' to some extent. You can deny it all you like, but each and every one of us knows deep down that it's the truth.

Some proudly proclaim that their race is superior to others - they are mighty, rich, proud of their roots, even to the extent they proclaim they can survive if you tie them to a 100kg boulder and throw them into the deep ocean. So why do you need to Ubah? Live with it lah. We are proud of ourselves as Chinese, Indian, Malays, Iban, Kadazan, Dayak, Murut and so on but if we are not proud to address ourselves as Malaysians then why the need to Ubah? Race, religion, roots, status in society, living standards and education differentiates each and every Malaysian.

A writer mentioned in one article, “It is Malaysia’s greatest tragedy that despite being home to people of diverse faiths, mutual respect for one another’s religious beliefs is increasingly being compromised.” I totally agree with what is written as racial and religious segregation is a constant and will always exist in our mind whether we admit it or not. When the mind attends to something…it considers. When the mind does not attend to something…it dismisses. When the mind attends to something continuously…it believes.

Famous reggae singer-songwriter and musician Bob Marley said this “ Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts; put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!”

My personal view for a change would involve mandatory voting. We all cast a vote or get penalized for not voting. I believe that this would have an enormous, energizing effect upon the whole system as more people would seek more involved choices in how our nation is run. If a person has to vote, that person would be more inclined to look into the issues. Also, with more people voting there would be a bigger push to capture their votes. We have to pay taxes, how come we don’t have to vote?

1³ : 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 

The Father is God above us, the Son is God beside us, and the Spirit is God within us. 

Douglas Jacoby

What is the Trinity?

The OED (Oxford English Dictionary) defines trinity: 

Being three; group of three. From Latin trinitas, "triad.'' Surely they are not distinct persons as are the Three Musketeers, the Three Stooges, the Three Tenors, or the Three Little Pigs. On the other hand, we aren't simply dealing with one person in three roles, like a person who functions as mother, wife, and professional. The first error to be avoided is tritheism - three separate gods; the second is modalism - where God "morphs" from one form to another according to the need of the hour. 

Part of coming to terms with the doctrine is grasping what theologians mean when they discuss the "persons" of the trinity. In modern English "three persons" strongly implies a triad of gods. But the theological term "person" is from the Latin persona, which means mask, part, character, as in the characters of a play. This of course does not mean that God is somehow "pretending," like an actor. In brief, the holy trinity is the three-in-one. 

C.S. Lewis - "People already knew about God in a vague way. Then came a man who claimed to be God; and yet He was not the sort of man you could dismiss as a lunatic. He made them believe Him. They met Him again after they had seen Him killed. And then, after they had been formed into a little society or community, they found God somehow inside them as well: directing them, making them able to do things they could not do before. And when they worked it all out they found they had arrived at the Christian definition of the three-personal God."

Biblical Basis 
Often the Father, Son and Spirit are mentioned together in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 13:13, Matthew 28:19, John 14:17-23). They are three in personality but one in nature or essence. Again, Father, Son and Spirit are each God (in essence), but none can be identified with the other. 

Again, we must guard ourselves against false understandings of trinity, or we will drift into the errors of "unitarianism" (which roundly rejects the trinity) or tritheism. (The Qur'an mistakes belief in the Trinity for tritheism when it condemns "Those who say Allah is three." )

In short, all three persons are divine. Obviously our heavenly father is God. In addition, many verses state that Christ is divine (2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13; John 1:1, 14), not to mention the indirect proofs of his deity, such as his forgiveness of man's sins (Mark 2), and claiming as his own the name of God (John 8:58). But how can Christ have two natures simultaneously? An illustration may help.

Lemonade is 100% wet, and yet it is also 100% citrus. It isn't somehow half wet and half citrus - it's wholly both at the same time. In the same way, Jesus is human and God.6

Finally, it is also clear from the Scriptures that the Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, or the "Spirit of God," is divine. Let's check out the OED definition of the Spirit: "The active essence or essential power of the Deity, conceived as a creative, animating, or inspiring influence." Now this may be an accurate definition, but how does it help us be closer to God? It makes a difference in our lives only when we sense and appreciate that God, through his Spirit , is living within us (John 14). The Spirit in nature is God; all members of the Trinity are equally divine. 

Trinity in Church History 
The earlier "ecumenical councils" strove to define and describe the relationships between the members of the godhead (Nicea in 325, Constantinople in 381, and Chalcedon in 451, to mention a few). Yes, many believers in the early Christian era spent generations hammering out the doctrine of the trinity, investigating the intricacies of the Spirit. Even in the Middle Ages, interest in the Trinity was strong. Aquinas produced the most thorough treatise on "The Blessed Trinity."9 In the Restoration movement, especially in the 19th century, there was a reaction against trinitarian language. The famous hymn 'Holy, holy, holy' mentions "God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!" And yet in the overreaction to "traditional" doctrines, these words were changed to "God over all and blessed eternally." Was this really necessary? Is it not true that Father, Son, and Spirit are all divine? 

Analogies Good and Bad
While it is true that Father, Son, and Spirit are all God, we cannot correctly say that the Father is the Son, or that Spirit and Son are interchangeable. Analogies therefore need to be carefully selected, lest we inadvertently support false doctrine through our attempts to refute it. 

The analogy I have most often used to explain the trinity is the analogy of the amorphous forms of H20. Ice = water, liquid water = water, and steam = water (in essence), but ice is not steam, etc. Though I like the water analogy, its shortcoming is that it implies the false doctrine of modalism - that God appears in one form now, another at another time. I have heard worse analogies: time (past, present and future), even an egg (shell, white and yolk)!

Or explain the Trinity by way of an atom: An atom is a single unit of matter, and yet is comprised of three components; protons, neurons and electrons. The atom IS because of those three, and yet those three are an atom because they are one.

A better analogy involving water is a river, which consists of a source, stream, and current (Father, Son, Spirit). Or how about the sun? This consists of the star (sun) itself, sunbeams, and the sunshine as it falls on the earth.

Trinitarian triangle [figure]

Opponents of trinity ask, how can 1 + 1 + 1 = 1? But the mathematics is all wrong. Really it's a case of 1³ : 1 x 1 x 1 = 1. Moving from simple math to geometry, the triangular illustration may better encapsulate the truth about the relations among the persons of the Trinity: 

As someone put it more academically, "A better illustration based in human nature would be, as suggested earlier, the relation between our mind, its ideas, and the expression of these ideas in words. There is obviously a unity among all three of these without there being an identity. In this sense, they illustrate the Trinity." 

No single analogy captures the divine mystery, though the various pictures will be more convincing to different people. 

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Malaysia’s first kopitiam in North-West England

No. 2 Broadway, New Moston, Manchester

We are looking for Malaysian students to work part-time 20 hours a week as waiters/waitresses/kitchen porters.

Expected launch: 1st June 2013

Contact: Raja Azmir Petra/Marina Lee at 075 8000 7891