tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-213024772024-03-14T11:30:46.852+08:00myAsylumWelcome to myAsylum. Here you'll still find the ranting and raving of a sane person living in an insane place, MY country, MY home...
Take a load off, and make yourself at home. But beware, your insanity, intolerance, indifference, and mostly your ignorance will be at risk... for here in MY asylum, sanity is the only currency allowed, logic given as change...
Welcome to myAsylum. Where Normality has been restored...Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comBlogger1322125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-14087205431068122902014-02-02T10:55:00.001+08:002014-02-02T10:55:28.256+08:00Wooden Horses prancing around the political bush<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Chinese+New+Year" rel="tag" target="_blank">Chinese New Year</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Politics" rel="tag" target="_blank">Politics</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Selangor" rel="tag" target="_blank">Selangor</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Pakatan+Rakyat" rel="tag" target="_blank">Pakatan Rakyat</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Anwar+Ibrahim" rel="tag" target="_blank">Anwar Ibrahim</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Kajang" rel="tag" target="_blank">Kajang</a></span></p>
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<p>First off, Walski wishes all Malaysians Gong Xi Fa Cai.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/myAsylum60" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/FBCoverCNY2014-01forblogpost_zps24a8c5ac.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Yes, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">ALL</span> Malaysians. None of this "to those who celebrate it" nonsense. Because ALL Malaysians should be celebrating it. That's the Malaysian way. </p>
<p>Or at least it used to be, once upon a not so long ago time.</p>
<p>These days, it's "Happy [insert festival here] to [relevant demographic group] and happy holidays to everyone else"… Like, what the heck's up with that? "<em>Oh, it's sensitive, bro. If I accidentally wish someone wrongly God will punish me. Murtad nanti.</em>"</p>
<p>Well, not in Walski's book. For him, everyone should celebrate everything. And unlike the religious authorities, God is not petty (Walski believes so anyway).</p>
<p>Life is short. And a couple of days ago, Walski got a reminder about just how short life can be. We'll just leave it at that, without delving into the who, what and why. Don't be so kay-poh. Just take it at face value: in the bigger scheme of things, life is short.</p>
<p>And because life is short, we should cherish every moment we have with our friends and loved ones. And that includes celebrating life. Any excuse you get, celebrate life. Hence, Happy Chinese New Year to, well, everyone.</p>
<p>With those niceties out of the way, let's get to the meat of what Walski really wants to say...
<br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%;">(the meat, with lots of sauce, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p>
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<p>Unless you've been living under a rock, lying in a remote cave someplace not detectable by the GIS satellites, you'll know that there's been a lot going on politically in Selangor. But for the sake of brevity, Walski will assume you know what he's talking about.</p>
<p>Just in case you have been under said rock, though, it has to do with Pakatan Rakyat, PKR, Selangor and Anwar Ibrahim. Here's <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anwars-role-to-help-selangor-mb-but-options-remain-says-rafizi" target="_blank">a link</a> if you need a refresher.</p>
<p>Needless to say, there's been a lot of disappointed people talking about voter trust being betrayed, that internal party politics shouldn't spill over into state governance, Anwar's behaving badly furthering his ambitions, etc.</p>
<p>Frankly, Walski doesn't blame you lot one bit. Yes, it's disappointing. Provided you're looking at it in isolation, and not taking all the other shenanigans that's been happening, vis-a-vis Selangor, particularly from the religious front.</p>
<p>Now, ask yourself: what's the root cause of this religion-driven melee that's happening in Selangor (and elsewhere, but mainly in Selangor)? Walski won't spoon-feed you the answer, just give it a thought for a bit. Here are some bullet points to help you:</p>
<ul>
<li>State religious authorities lobbying and clamoring for more authority</li>
<li>Mooting of a federal-level religious police squad</li>
<li>All of a sudden, JAIS goes into overdrive wanting to enforce Article 9 of the Selangor state enactment pertaining the "forbidden words"</li>
<li>UMNO-friendly "Muslim" NGOs come out of the woodworks in support of the raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia by JAIS</li>
<li>UMNO goes on a <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/umno-to-hold-30-roadshows-to-educate-muslims-on-controversial-selangor-enac" target="_blank">state-wide roadshow</a> to "educate" Muslims on the provisions of the state enactment (mentioned in the third bullet point above)</li>
</ul>
<p>There are a few more bullet points Walski could add, but that would be spoonfeeding.</p>
<p>The point is, UMNO has always regarded Selangor as its "crown jewel", and losing the state in 2008, and coming nowhere close to regaining it in 2013, has been a big blow to the party. Kinda like losing your 'family jewels', if you catch Walski's drift. And the opportunity to strike emerged with the JAIS action.</p>
<p>Walski's question: is Pakatan-led Selangor government to just sit still and not address this onslaught?</p>
<p>Logically, the whole mess with regards to JAIS, the Bible seizure, etc. can be easily solved. How? By amending Section 9 of the Selangor state enactment, removing the "Forbidden Words". Because as is, that section is actually un-Constitutional. And it's also unenforceable without being un-Constitutional. It's not just Walski who thinks this, by the way, but a whole brood of lawyers happen to think so, too, in particular Art Harun who wrote <a href="http://www.loyarburok.com/2014/01/08/total-prohibition-allah-unconstitutional/" target="_blank">this piece for Loyar Burok</a>.</p>
<p>"Forbidden Words" no longer forbidden, problem solved. Sort of. Except, of course, if HRH Sultan of Selangor refuses to sign off on it, creating as one constitutional expert put it, a <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/law-expert-warns-of-constitutional-crisis-if-selangor-amends-enactment" target="_blank">Constitutional Crisis</a>. Walski doesn't know the answer to this, but were the "Forbidden Words" inclusion back in 1988 made with prior consultation with the then-Sultan, or did the UMNO-led state legislature pass the enactment through sans consult?</p>
<p>Okie-dokie - so that's the partial backgrounder of what's going on in Selangor. Walski had to make this lengthy diversion because it's a well-known fact that Malaysians have a very short memory. Except when it comes to food, but that's another tale of gastronomical proportions we won't get into right now.</p>
<p>With that backdrop, let's revisit what's happening in Selangor: the Kajang state assemblyman quits, making way for a by-election in which Anwar Ibrahim is slated to run. To the one-dimensional dismay of many people, PR-supporters included. The feelings of betrayal are expressed, and condemnation of an Anwar-fied power grab are made. Campers aren't happy one bit.</p>
<p>Well guess what folks? It's politics. And because, in the bigger scheme of things, life is short, we probably shouldn't get all emo about it. Sure, if it suits you, you can champion moves to ensure Anwar doesn't get elected. That's your right to call for such a play.</p>
<p>Look, Walski has no love lost for Anwar Ibrahim. Walski does, however, care for what happens to Selangor. And the last thing Walski wants to see is Selangor fall back into the slimy hands of UMNO. Is that scenario what YOU would consider a better alternative? And while it may not be a very likely scenario at this juncture, with Pakatan Rakyat's majority in the state legislature, it certainly is not impossible to maneuver. What with the Malaysia Boleh spirit and all.</p>
<p>Think about it for a bit. Politics is a chess game. And in a chess game, one does not pre-publish what one's planned opening and game plan are for one's opponent to see, and have a heads up. </p>
<p>Now, if the Kajang Maneuver is about nothing more than Anwar wanting to become Menteri Besar, please explain <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/lets-win-the-battle-first-and-worry-about-the-war-later-says-selangor-mb" target="_blank">this statement from current MB Khalid Ibrahim</a>. Not to mention that Anwar running for the Kajang seat has the endorsement of both DAP and PAS (but not the purported moves for the MB post).</p>
<p><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zOS_2DkREPw" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>So perhaps now you understand why the CNY greetings graphic Walski put up is what it is. And Chinese New Year is something ALL Malaysians should celebrate - no change there.</p>
<p>Not to say that all is well within the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat camp, particularly within the ranks of PKR. What former party member Zaid Ibrahim <a href="http://www.zaid.my/?p=1132" target="_blank">had to say about the whole issue</a> deserves a mention, and a read. So, too, does <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/253185" target="_blank">this lament</a>, written by Nathaniel Tan, someone quite close to Pakatan Rakyat and PKR, up until not too long ago.</p>
<p>Another valid grouse, of course, is that PKR's internal politics has allowed itself to spill over, affecting the voters and constituency. </p>
<p>End of the day, however, it's politics.</p>
<p>Here's what a good friend mentioned recently with regards to what's happening in Selangor. Her dad is a retired politician, incidentally, and so her viewpoint is one Walski thinks pertinent: "<em>Yes, a lot of unhappiness being expressed, but this is politics. You talk about the party and strategy and sacrifice. Learned this many years ago: no point getting emotional and upset. They don't think like us.</em>"</p>
<p>It's human nature to want to think that ours is an ideal world, and that issues can be looked at in isolation. Well, it's not an ideal world. More so when it comes to politics. Let the politicians involved sort it out, and let the people of Kajang decide: do they look short term and punish Pakatan Rakyat, or do they look at the bigger scheme of things? It really is their choice.</p>
<p>So what do we non-Kajangian mere mortals, do? Well, we can whinge and whine, like many good Malaysians do, about how politics is a dirty game, about how voters are treated like dirt, and go out of our way venting our frustration and anger at this less than perfect country, within the larger context of a less than perfect world.</p>
<p>Or, we can enjoy the remainder of Chinese New Year - and life, for that matter - with our friends and loved ones. Nighttime war-zone annoyances notwithstanding. It ain't CNY without a few things going bang-bang-bang, right?</p>
<p>Walski chooses to do the latter - subdued somewhat, with what's transpired on a personal level, but enjoy it all the same, as much as he can.</p>
<p>What you choose to do lies entirely up to you. Walski doesn't judge.</p></span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-8897156578742609932014-01-02T00:48:00.001+08:002014-01-02T00:48:22.116+08:00Oh, and by the way...<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Malaysia" rel="tag" target="_blank">Malaysia</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/New+Year" rel="tag" target="_blank">New Year</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/2014" rel="tag" target="_blank">2014</a></span>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Happy New Year 2014 netizens! </span></strong></p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/HappyNewYear2014450px_zpsf460afeb.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>Rumor has it that this is going to be a tough year. And when times get tough, sometimes we have to take tough measures. Most of all, hang in there, and don't give up the good fight.</p>
<p>Or at least that's what Walski told himself when the clock struck midnight...<br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(more New Year thoughts, in the full post)</span></strong></p>
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<p>For revelers at Dataran Merdeka last night, 2014 started with a major fizzle: <a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/zurairi-ar/article/the-night-new-year-was-cancelled" target="_blank">celebrations were pretty much called off</a> (via The Malay Mail Online). Apparently, this was done due to "unruly protesters", said our police force, who promptly "found" machetes and a very dangerous looking umbrella.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/cops-blame-unruly-protesters-for-cancelled-new-year-countdown" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/articlespdrm0101s_600_450_100_zps0bb89d1a.jpg" alt="Image from The Malay Mail Online, by Zurairi AR" width="450" height="" border="0" /></a><strong style="font-size: 85%;">click on image to read the story (via <a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/cops-blame-unruly-protesters-for-cancelled-new-year-countdown">The Malay Mail Online</a>)</strong></p>
<p>Yes, folks - no self-respecting revolution would let itself happen without an umbrella. Or at least that's what PDRM would have you believe. And apart from the deficits this country faces financially, the trust deficit doesn't seem to have improved, because Walski has seen comments about this 'recovery' being standard police SOP.</p>
<p>But at least the water cannons and riot squad didn't show up, so be thankful for small mercies.</p>
<p>As for Walski, the Mrs and him ushered in 2014 in a joyous, quiet celebration with a group of close friends. While we remain somewhat apprehensive about what the year will bring, what with the constant news about rising prices and all, we remain optimistic.</p>
<p>Indications are that things will start to get a lot tougher February onwards, after Chinese New Year. But it's the tough times that help build character - as difficult as times can be, we can choose to succumb, or choose to adapt and make the best of what life still has to offer.</p>
<p>Just remember: when facing the clouds in life, don't forget to look for the silver linings. They're there. Not always obvious, but if you look hard enough you'll find them.</p>
<p>And so with cautious optimism, Walski wishes one and all a very Happy New Year 2014. Have faith in yourself, and you'll weather whatever storm the year has in store. That's what Walski will constantly be reminding himself each and every day this year…</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-20496969391609806352013-10-03T22:48:00.001+08:002013-10-03T22:48:58.907+08:00Humbled...<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Blogging" rel="tag" target="_blank">Update</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/We+Are+Still+Alive" rel="tag" target="_blank">We Are Still Alive</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Facebook" rel="tag" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Commentary" rel="tag" target="_blank">Commentary</a></span></p>
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<p>You're probably surprised to see something posted here for a change. But there's a good reason for this posting.</p>
<p>Walski is humbled by the fact that myAsylum has been included in the blog link section of Fake Malaysia News, a local Onion-like satirical website. This is something he stumbled upon earlier today.</p>
<p>He is also humbled by the fact that this blog hasn't been updated since May of this year! That's almost 5 months of no new posting. Which, for a blog, is well within the realm of unacceptable.</p>
<p>These days, myAsylum's activity is centered around the blog's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/myAsylum60" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, as it is more convenient to post stuff there in a hurry. And unfortunately these days Walski is always in a hurry.</p>
<p>In any case, Walski thought he'd write this short post to thank Fake Malaysia News, and to all who've stuck with myAsylum all these years. </p>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;">As much as he'd love to write more often, Walski can't. And it's not out of not having enough material. Malaysia's gotten so messed up, stuff to write about has become a new natural resource.<br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%;">(excuses for not writing, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></span> <span class="fullpost">
<p><img style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/1Apartheidlogo.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" />Ever since GE13, the UMNO & Friends government that got re-elected is back with a vengeance. Not a day goes by that there isn't some fuck-upery or other that makes the news. So much so that Walski is sometimes exasperated with the bullshit that Malaysia has become.</p>
<p>The latest example of the kind of idiots we have in office: <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/zahid-igp-ticked-off-over-idiotic-guns-lost-at-sea-explanation" target="_blank">Zahid Hamidi defending the IGP</a> over the 44 missing guns, which the latter claims did not likely fall into the hands of criminals, but instead fell into the sea.</p>
<p>Yes folks, this country is run by FUCKING MORONS. Headed by an absentee landlord Prime Minister who's hither and yon, everywhere but at home where he should be, doing his fucking job.</p>
<p>And given enough time, Walski would have written a heck of a lot. </p>
<p>It's always about not having enough time, isn't it. The 24 hours in a day really gets used up fast, Walski feels. But then again, that's the way it is when one has a business to run.</p>
<p>Hence this quickie post, just so that y'all don't forget that before there was Facebook, there was this blog. It's still alive, and hopefully once business settles somewhat, there will be more posts.</p>
<p>Incidentally, Walski conducted <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zohjOfEq6uio1toWkquGjZ5U2FGGlktB893MeMvJtUA/viewform" target="_blank">a survey</a> not too long ago, announced via the Facebook page and on his <a href="https://twitter.com/#/walski69" target="_blank">Twitter account</a>. One of the things he asked was how often you thought this blog should be updated. Most of you answered that myAsylum should have at least a weekly post.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. Walski will certainly try to accommodate.</p>
<p>In the meantime, for the most up-to-date goings on - or shenanigans more likely - the best place to keep up is still on myAsylum's Facebook page.</p>
<p>Walski will be back to update this blog more often. Or at least die trying...</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-3152001277628703182013-05-15T00:58:00.001+08:002013-05-15T01:02:19.406+08:00Change: DENIED<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/GE13" rel="tag" target="_blank">GE13</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Post-Election+Thoughts" rel="tag" target="_blank">Post-Election Thoughts</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Discontent" rel="tag" target="_blank">Discontent</a></span></p>
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<p><img style="float: right; margin: 0 0 15 10;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/TwitterAvatar20130406_zps2b15a253.png" alt="" width="120" border="0" /> Well, it’s been just over a week since GE13. The net result: BN regains power at the Federal Government level, albeit with a reduced seat majority, and losing the popular vote by a good 3 percentage points.</p>
<p>It would have been an acceptable victory had it not been for the alleged fraud. Pakatan Rakyat improved its seat count compared to GE12, both at parliament and state levels. More telling, however, is the popular vote, of which, UMNO/BN only managed to obtain 46.5%, compared to 50.3% for Pakatan Rakyat. What this translates to is an unpopular UMNO/BN helming the country for the next 5 years.</p>
<p>Just how unpopular? Let’s just say that the 51% of Malaysians who voted for change are not exactly happy campers right now.</p>
<p align="center"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/BlackoutRallies-MalaysiansNotHappy_zps25a3621c.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>Disappointed as Walski is, however, UMNO/BN won the election. Truly fair and square is another question, but they won. And as things stand, for right now, that’s the result we’re forced to accept. Reluctantly.<br /><strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(thoughts and recommendations, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>What is more disconcerting, however, was Najib’s “victory” speech. The immediate blame on what has now become a cliché, the <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/people-debunk-najibs-chinese-tsunami-call/" target="_blank">Chinese Tsunami</a>, and the talk about reconciliation, almost in the same breath, so to speak.</p>
<p>Some would say it’s an UMNO kneejerk reaction, while others (quite rightly) would place the blame squarely on UMNO/BN’s polls strategists, <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bns-reduced-wins-put-spotlight-on-war-room-strategists/" target="_blank">who weren’t exactly the most strategic</a>, it would seem.</p>
<p>Dr. M, who should really do the country and himself a favor and enjoy his retirement, came out to say that it was the fault of the “<a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-m-blames-ungrateful-chinese-and-greedy-malays-for-bns-worst-performance" target="_blank">ungrateful Chinese and greedy Malays</a>”.</p>
<p>Utusan didn’t exactly do its political masters any favors by playing up on anti-Chinese sentiment, asking the question “what more do the Chinese want?” True to form, the Internet generation responded almost instantly. And somewhat <a href="http://apalagicinamahu.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">hilariously</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the overall result, there were some positives. For instance, Perkasa, represented by Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas) and Zulkifli Nordin (Shah Alam), lost at the polls. So too did another UMNO conservative Puad Zarkashi (Batu Pahat), overrun by a Pink Tsunami, some have said. To Walski, this is a clear rejection of ultra right-wing voices within the winning coalition.</p>
<p>And for the first time in history, a BN candidate lost their deposit money, not getting even 1% of the votes cast (Pengkalan Kota, Penang state seat).</p>
<p>So, what does that mean for UMNO/BN and Malaysia?</p>
<p>Well, for now as far as Malaysians are concerned, Walski thinks we need to move on with our lives. But moving on with our lives doesn’t mean conceding defeat in our quest for a better Malaysia. Not at all – the fight certainly continues.</p>
<p>Much commentary has been made about how the new Najib-led government should move forward, among others by <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bn-needs-to-go-beyond-form-fluff-to-real-work/" target="_blank">The Malaysian Insider</a> and <a href="http://zaiduntukrakyat.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=378&cntnt01origid=15&cntnt01returnid=80" target="_blank">Zaid Ibrahim</a>.</p>
<p>If Najib is really serious and sincere about pushing for reconciliation in what he calls a “polarized” Malaysia, this desire needs to be demonstrated. Urgently and decidedly. Walski being Walski, he, too, has a few ideas that the newly minted government may want to consider if they’re serious about this reconciliation they’re talking about.</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #fff2bb;">First Off, It’s Not About Racial Reconciliation, But Fixing the Trust Deficit</span></strong><br /> What Najib Razak is talking about when he mentions “reconciliation” is actually the reduced support for BN, perceived to be particularly from the non-Malay population and urban population. This is a perception that’s out of sync with reality, and only exposes UMNO/BN’s obsession with a dying paradigm: race based politics. What the 51% represents, dear Mr. Prime Minister, is distrust for government and its institutions, which are seen to have become overtly beholden to UMNO/BN. There is a severe trust deficit when it comes to institutions of government, and that is not at all a good thing. Not for your government, and not for Malaysia.</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Make the EC truly independent</span></strong><br /> One of the biggest complaints is the Election Commission (EC) itself. It’s time to remove the EC from under the Prime Minister’s Office, and make it an autonomous entity, reporting directly to Parliament. Or some other more viable reporting structure, but certainly NOT part of the Executive. Like justice, impartiality needs to be seen, and not merely exercised. And how, by any stretch of the imagination, can the EC be perceived to be totally impartial – even IF it really is – when it comes under the purview of the PM, UMNO/BN’s president? Logically, that’s as impartial as a Manchester United game being refereed by Sir Alex Furguson! Seriously, it’s time to get jibby with it.</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Instant ICs, just add Bangladeshis</span></strong><br /> The problems with the electoral roll, Walski thinks, goes beyond the EC not being totally impartial. If indeed there were foreign workers who were on the rolls and voted, and had valid ICs, this sounds like a different kettle of problematic fish. It would, for one thing, involve the National Registration Department, and possibly the Immigration Department. This is as serious as what happened in Sabah, prompting a Royal Commission of Inquiry. And without a doubt, this is a problem that needs to be looked into. What say you, Mr. Prime Minister?</p>
<p><span style="color: #fff2bb;"><strong>Implement IPCMC as recommended</strong></span><br /> To show that you, Najib, are a Prime Minister with the Malaysian people’s interest at heart, please implement the IPCMC as recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry. The half-hearted (and again, not very impartial) Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is certainly not enough to restore the integrity of the police force in the eyes of the Malaysian people. Yes, it’s not going to be a popular move with your party/coalition, nor will it be with PDRM. But hey, you got your mandate, now it’s time to grow a backbone and a pair.</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Transformation, within before without</span></strong><br /> Najib’s much touted transformation, now that he’s gotten the mandate (sort of), will be scrutinized with a fine-toothed magnifying glass. Whether or not UMNO/BN transforms, and what it transforms into, only time will tell. Perhaps the new cabinet will be an indication, but the UMNO General Assembly will be a huge indication. The early signs, however, are not encouraging. Utusan continues to play up racial sentiments, and whether UMNO likes it or not, what Utusan says is perceived as what UMNO says by proxy. Just like how charity begins at home, real transformation is only possible if UMNO can transform. Personally, Walski thinks it has no capacity to, but that’s just Walski. It’s another one of those wait and see scenarios.</p>
<p>There are other things to do, for sure, but act on these four areas, and PM Najib will have gone a long way to reduce the trust deficit. And perhaps demonstrate that he is serious about leading this nation towards a better future.</p>
<p>Needless to say, Najib has his work cut out for him. He wanted a mandate, and a minority mandate is what he got. How minority? This reposting of a <a href="http://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/45508/" target="_blank">Malaysiakini article by Tommy Thomas</a> tells the full story. Yes, the parliamentary seat counts favor UMNO/BN, but the popular vote certainly does not. Even in Perak where UMNO/BN managed to retain the state government helm.</p>
<p><img style="float: left; margin: 0 15 15 0;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/GE13PopularVoteviaMalaysiakini_zpsee80f9fa.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" />But before Najib can convince the nation, he must first ensure that his party and coalition are on the same page with him. Early indications are that many within UMNO/BN are still in denial, falling back on tired old rhetorical outbursts of race, indebtedness and betrayal.</p>
<p>First things first, however, is the new Cabinet. Or will it be an old cabinet with new paintjob and minor accessories? We’ll find out tomorrow. Meanwhile, a possible list has been released on the <a href="http://brojinggo.blogspot.com/2013/05/senarai-terkini-menteri-kabinet-baru.html" target="_blank">Politik Harian Media Rakyat blog</a>. Kind of looks like… well, you decide.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim is on a roadshow to garner support for his position that the currently elected one is illegitimate, due to the alleged polls fraud. Walski has mixed feelings over this.</p>
<p>Bottom line, as hurtful as having the elections stolen is (if indeed there was fraud on the scale alleged), the relevant laws are there for a reason. If we are to support the rule of law, the last thing we want to do is take the law into our own hands.</p>
<p>Finally, GE13 has resulted in a more divided Malaysia. Not along racial lines as UMNO/BN want to believe, but along other more complex demographic lines. It’s probably going to be a bumpy ride, but Walski, for one, is here for the long haul.</p>
<p>And disappointed as he may be that real change was denied, the fight for a better Malaysia continues…</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-9505486184080277872013-04-17T00:18:00.001+08:002013-04-17T00:18:43.575+08:00Frequently Asked Questions about the 13th General Elections<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/GE13" rel="tag" target="_blank">GE13</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/General+Elections" rel="tag" target="_blank">General Elections</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Malaysia" rel="tag" target="_blank">Malaysia</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/FAQ" rel="tag" target="_blank">FAQ</a></span></p>
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<p><img style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/TwitterAvatar20130406_zps2b15a253.png" alt="" width="" height="150" border="0" />Finally, after months of speculation and guessing games, we’re gonna have a general election. The thirteenth in our history since independence, and one that seems, somehow, to be different from the other twelve we’ve had so far.</p>
<p>Why different? It looks like for the first time, there’s an acknowledgment that the possibility of regime change is certainly plausible. We’ll get back to this idea further into the post, but for now, suffice it for Walski to say that it’s different this round.</p>
<p>For some of you, this will be the first time you will vote. And so with that in mind, Walski thought it would be a good idea to do a quick FAQ for your benefit. We’ll start with the basic questions, then work our way down to the more inanely complex conundrums.</p>
<p>Even if you’re not a first-time voter, Walski hopes that you’ll find this FAQ useful.</p>
<p>There are, of course, many other questions that one may have but let’s focus on the ten most frequently asked. Or, at least, what Walski thinks are ten important questions you should be asking. <strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(the FAQ, Walski's answers, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">What’s all this voting business about?</span></strong><br />To answer this question, we’ll have to digress a bit, and look at Malaysia and its system of government. Malaysia is what’s considered a Constitutional Monarchy, which means that we have a King, whose jurisdiction is limited by what our Federal Constitution allows. So contrary to what you may have been told, our King doesn’t have unlimited powers and jurisdiction.</p>
<p>The same constitution defines the kind of government we have, and it is modeled very closely to the Westminster parliamentary system, which is a democratic parliamentary system of government.</p>
<p>Contrary to what you may have been told (again), “Democracy” is the process with which we select our government. Granted, ours is not an ideal democracy (no country’s is), it still is a somewhat functional democracy, and one that’s been practiced since gaining independence in 1957.</p>
<p>Of course, democracy goes beyond voting, but that’s a subject for a different conversation. A Westminster system of government (or most democratic governments for that matter) splits its powers into 3 components: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.</p>
<p>What happens when we vote is that we select individuals to represent our voice at the state and national/federal levels of government. Essentially have a direct hand in only voting in the Legislative arm of government at both the Federal and State levels. At the Federal Legislative level, we only directly vote for the Lower House (Dewan Rakyat) of the bicameral Parliament. The Upper House (Dewan Negara) members are appointed individuals of good standing in society, selected by both the Ruling and Opposition parties/coalitions.</p>
<p>At the national level, we select a member of parliament – one of 222 nationwide – who will then sit as part of a democratically elected Lower Legislative arm of government. The leader of the majority grouping – party or coalition – will become our Prime Minister, who in theory, “commands the confidence” of the majority of those elected. Similarly at the state level, we select state legislative representatives.</p>
<p>The Prime Minister, in turn, will appoint members to his or her Cabinet. This cabinet forms the Executive branch of government. Cabinet members are called Ministers, who are then tasked to head the various ministries and departments of the Civil Service.</p>
<p>That, in a nutshell, is what all this voting business is about – the selection of the two arms of a democratic government – the Legislative and the Executive.</p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Why do we need to vote when there’s a perfectly functional government already in place?</span></strong><br />The “visible government” consists of the Executive and the Civil Service. In the Malaysian context, the Executive is the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister. The Executive’s role is to set policy, which is then carried out by the Civil Service.</p>
<p>In a democratic governmental system, when a change of government happens, it’s only the Executive that gets replaced. The Civil Service, which serves the government of the day, remains pretty much constant.</p>
<p>A problem arises when the same party/coalition stays in power for too long. There is a tendency for the Civil Service – which is supposed to be non-partisan, and politically independent – to be beholden to not only the Executive, but also to the party/coalition the Executive belongs to. This is what’s happening in Malaysia today.</p>
<p>Half a century of being governed by the same coalition has blurred the lines between party and government, something that is not healthy for any functional democracy. Having the ruling party/coalition’s every whim and fancy railroaded through to become “government policy” without due process and debate (again something that is to some extent happening in Malaysia today, from Walski’s viewpoint) will be detrimental to the nation in the long run.</p>
<p>The “functional government” you see is the Civil Service carrying out its duties. Changing who leads the Executive does not take away the visible functionality of government machinery.</p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">If I vote against the ruling government, am I considered unpatriotic?</span></strong><br />Simple answer: NO. You’re not voting against the government in toto, but essentially against the political party/coalition that constitutes the Executive branch of government. And yes, the two are very different.</p>
<p>Because the same party/coalition has been in power for such a long time, the distinction between political entity and government to the point where said political entity (UMNO/BN specifically) can make the claim that anyone voting against it is being unpatriotic. Such a claim, however, has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese. It is a fallacious claim, in other words.</p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">I am a civil servant. Isn’t voting against the ruling government unethical and wrong?</span></strong><br />This has been answered, somewhat, a little earlier. The answer, quite simply, is NO. The Civil Service, in a Westminster-like system, is supposed to be politically independent. The Civil Service, as a whole, cannot have any political allegiance, and therefore members of the Civil Service are free to support whichever political party best resonates with an individual civil servant’s own ideals. A civil servant’s job is to carry out the specific civil function that he/she is employed to do, and it is not their job to be beholden to any political entity, even if that political entity makes up the current Executive branch of government.</p>
<p>The situation in Malaysia today, however, is such that many civil servants are being told that their allegiance MUST be with UMNO/BN, because UMNO/BN is the government. Again, a result of the blurring between Executive and party, due to half a century the Executive belonging to (pretty much) the same political entity.</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">I am concerned about the future, and the future of my children. Wouldn’t it better to just allow the current ruling government to rule in perpetuity?</span></span><br />Theoretically feasible, but then we must also stop pretending that we’re a democracy. Why bother having elections, when the result must be foregone? The best selling point about a democracy is that the citizens of a country get to decide who should govern. In fact, it is one of the very few democratic actions that we’re still free to exercise, without being subjected to restrictive laws. The notion that only UMNO/BN is fit to rule is one that UMNO/BN themselves have perpetuated, because they are the only ones who have held the reigns of the federal level Executive branch of government. The idea that they’re the only ones fit to rule only holds water if there were a situation to compare with. There is none.</p>
<p>From Walski’s own perspective, UMNO/BN has become increasingly self-serving over the years, and the only ones who truly benefit from their continued rule are those closely affiliated with the coalition itself. The common citizen gets scraps, while those politically connected are the ones who get the 10-course meal. Plus desserts.</p>
<p>Another sign that Malaysia is in dire need for a regime change: when our leaders don’t even have confidence in systems they publicly tout as “world class”. One example that immediately comes to mind is tertiary education – how many of our leader’s kids have attended local public universities, versus a true quality education abroad? Think about the future of your kids, and then think about this big gap between hype and reality. Then answer why you still think we shouldn’t be considering regime change.</p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">If a new government is voted in, wouldn’t this mean all the government departments and institutions have to be reconstructed from scratch?</span></strong><br />As mentioned before, the answer is NO.</p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Should I vote for an individual based on her/his merits, or along party/coalition lines?</span></strong><br />For a long time, self-professed and somewhat self-centered centrist Anas Zubedy was promoting the idea of voting for the individual based on his/her capability and merits. And then this statement came from our former PM: General election not a contest among individuals.</p>
<p>Essentially, it comes back to why you are personally casting your vote. If you think that the candidate you support and vote for will make a real difference, then vote based on the individual.</p>
<p>Realistically, what Dr. Mahathir said is more relevant to the current Malaysian political scenario. Sorry Anas, but the reality (and Walski has mentioned this to you before) is that no matter how capable and good an individual candidate is, his or her capabilities will matter naught in the bigger scheme of things – it is the party/coalition that goes on to form government, not the individual.</p>
<p>So, back to the question: how should you vote? If you think that UMNO/BN should be given the mandate to effect reforms as they have promised, then vote for them. But before you do, ask yourself why is it that all of a sudden UMNO/BN is talking reform, when they’ve had decades to exact the reform they promise.</p>
<p>If it is real change you are looking for, then in Walski’s opinion what you’re going to get with another 4 or 5 years of UMNO/BN rule is, at best, small change.</p>
<p>It’s your decision.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px; color: #fff2bb;"><strong>Can I vote for a specific person to become Prime Minister?</strong></span><br />Unfortunately NO. Since Malaysia is modeled after the Westminster system of democracy, the constitution doesn’t allow for it. You may THINK you’re voting for Najib if you vote UMNO/BN, but in reality you’re voting for UMNO/BN. And with the increasing irrelevance of the other component parties, you’re effectively voting for UMNO. Ketuanan Melayu, Ibrahim Ali-ism, and all the warts that come with the party, as far as Walski is concerned.</p>
<p>Similarly, if your voting for Pakatan Rakyat, you are NOT voting for Anwar Ibrahim. In fact, you will be voting for the particular Pakatan component that’s contesting in your area. Even if Pakatan does win the general election, it’s not a given that Anwar will become Prime Minister.</p>
<p>That’s simply how our electoral system works.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px; color: #fff2bb;"><strong>I don’t care which party/coalition wins. Why should I even bother to vote?</strong></span><br />Walski won’t go into the spiel about it being your responsibility, etc. He will say, however, that voter apathy usually works out better for the incumbent. Not all the time, but Walski thinks more often than not.</p>
<p>You may think that whichever party/coalition winning won’t make a difference, but in actual fact, it will. For both you and your children, if you have any.</p>
<p>Why? The winning party or coalition forms the Executive and Legislative arms of government. And governmental policies are not written in stone.</p>
<p>Here’s a simple rule of thumb you can follow: analyze what each side of the political divide has to offer, then DON’T vote for the evil of the two lessers. For Walski, having weighed the options, it boils down to a choice between eventual, but almost certain doom, and a glimmer of hope that the path towards oblivion and disrepair can be averted.</p>
<p>Basing it this way, Walski’s choice was obvious – he chooses hope. If you bother to analyze, you’ll find that there is a distinct difference between the two sides.</p>
<p>If, after doing all this, you still find you don’t care, then all Walski can say is that don’t complain about the government you get later on. People who don’t bother to vote deserve the government they didn’t vote for.</p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #fff2bb;">I only have one vote. Will it make a difference?</span></strong><br />For a change, the quick answer is YES, your one vote does make a difference.</p>
<p>There used to be a time when Walski thought that his single vote wouldn’t make a dent in the outcome of the elections. Until he realized that if enough people thought the same way he did, then the difference would be non-trivial.</p>
<p>If you recall, in 2008, many seats were decided on the slimmest of margins. Particularly those seats where big-ticket names were contesting. The same is expected this time around. Vote fraud – and let’s not delude ourselves that it’s never happened – typically only works in cases where the vote tally difference is small.</p>
<p>Put simply, and this will sound cliché, every single vote counts. Unless you prefer that a slim wins turns to shit just because some people thought it best to go postal. If you catch Walski's drift.</p>
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<p>~ ~ ~ ~ o o o ~ ~ ~</p>
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<p>And there you have it. The key questions Walski thinks you should be asking. Are there anymore questions that you think need answering before you cast your vote? Let Walski know.</p>
<p> </p></span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-31711962059526258992013-02-11T23:44:00.001+08:002013-02-12T00:20:31.050+08:00BN's PSYchological moves on Penang<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/PSY" rel="tag" target="_blank">PSY</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Kanna+PSY" rel="tag" target="_blank">Kanna PSY</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Chinese+New+Year" rel="tag" target="_blank">Chinese New Year</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/BN+Open+House" rel="tag" target="_blank">BN Open House</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Strategic+Fail" rel="tag" target="_blank">Strategic Fail</a></span></p>
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<p>Even the most ardent of hip-hop/rap haters will know who <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psy_(entertainer)" target="_blank">PSY</a> is. The Korean rapper became an overnight sensation worldwide with his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psy_(entertainer)" target="_blank"><em>Gangnam Style</em></a> song and video, which had also spawned countless parodies the world over.</p>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"><img style="float: right; margin: 0 0 10 15;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Blow-upPSY_zpsdad09331.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></span></span>
<p>And PSY was here in Penang to perform as the headline act at Barisan Nasional's Chinese New Year open house event earlier today. On BN's invitation, sponsored by some undisclosed corporate entity, as has been reported.</p>
<p>It just so happens that Walski is up in Penang spending the Chinese lunar New Year with the in-laws, as he does every year.</p>
<p>It also just so happens that the historic Han Chiang grounds, where the BN Open House was held this morning, is not far from where his in-laws are. And so Walski thought, what the heck.</p>
<p>Not that he's a big fan of PSY, but as an old friend used to say, "He's International, and He's Here". That said, Walski doesn't dislike PSY either, and is quite impressed with the rapper's meteoric rise to international fame.</p>
<p>For BN, bringing PSY to Malaysia was to be the coup de grâce, a gift to the people of Penang, in hopes that Penang would return to their fold come GE 13. The logic, apparently, was that BN could bring the real deal, while DAP could only manage a parody - <a href="http://youtu.be/BMGfsWgIujk" target="_blank"><em>Ubah Rocket Style</em></a>.</p>
<p>Did this strategic move work? By now, most of you reading this already know the answer. <br /><strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(the day BN Kanna PSY, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>Before we delve into that, here's a quickie look at what went on at the BN Open House earlier today.</p>
<p>This, by the way, is the first major political party/coalition open house Walski's been to. That said, he kind of knew what to expect. Being that its Chinese New Year, the obligatory ang pow and Madarin Orange giveaway was to be expected.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/AngPowampOrangesGiveaway02_zpscfb8e4df.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>Yes, BN was there in full force, and all their component parties participated in one way or another. The ang pow and orange giveaway was done by somebody from UMNO's Women's Wing, by the looks of it. For those who bothered to queue, what they got was a box of two mandarin oranges, and a red packet with RM 2 in it.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/RM2AngPowfortheopenhouse_zpsb5b48ed7.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>For the record, the image above is not Walski's ang pow (he didn't bother to line up for it), but of a little girl who was kind enough to let him take a photo of the packet's contents. Most of you should know what two Mandarin Oranges look like, so Walski didn't bother snapping any photos of 'em. As for the box holding the oranges, it was a rectangular red-colored box that looked exactly like, well, a rectangular red-colored box. What else would it look like?</p>
<p>So anyways, there were loads of people who came to the open house. Walski estimates that the crowd, at its peak, was probably somewhere around 50,000 thereabouts. Including the police, RELA, BN volunteers, etc.</p>
<p>Malaysiakini in <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/221184" target="_blank">their report</a> estimated around the same number. It is a wonder, therefore, how Gerakan Youth Leader, Tan Keng Liang, could have estimated 100k (via his tweet earlier today).</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/tankengliang/status/300881441464672256" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/TKL100KTweet20130211_zps59be0b10.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Unless the man was seeing double. The Han Chiang grounds isn't all that big, and there were many tents and other structures on the grounds. No way could it have been 100,000 people.</p>
<p>But never mind, based on Tan's optimistic tweet, more important is the REASON why a lot of folks came. Before we get to that, more on what happened.</p>
<p>PM Najib and the other VIPs arrived at the grounds at around 11am, and the "festivities" began, with the obligatory multi-cultural dances, emceed by a very over-exhuberant lady whose name escapes Walski. Kept egging the crowd, every now and again, to complete the sentence "ONE…..", and greeted with mostly silence from a crowd getting progressively impatient for the most important person for the day.</p>
<p>And Walski's not referring to our Dear PM Najib either.</p>
<p>So on the stage they were: PM Najib and Rosmah, former PM Abdullah Badawi, BN Penang Chairman Teng Chang Yeow (an extremely uninspiring person, Walski might add), other ministers, etc.</p>
<p>Najib's son addressed the crowd in Mandarin. You gotta give the guy points for trying. The response was lukewarm at best, however. More clues there as to WHO the crowd was really waiting for. After that Rosmah went up on stage, with a backup choir, to give the audience a couple of Chinese New Year standards. The crowd wasn't impressed.</p>
<p>And then came the first of two embarrassing moments for the day.</p>
<blockquote><strong>PSY SLAP IN THE FACE:</strong> Korean superstar refused to toss 'yee-sang' with Najib, BN<br />Korean superstar Psy handed Malaysia's ruling party a slap in the face when he declined to come onstage to toss the traditional 'yee-sang' with Prime Minister Najib Razak and other top members of his BN coalition at a gig to celebrate the Chinese New year.<br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">(<strong>source</strong>: <a href="http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=54912:psy-slap-in-the-face-for-bn-korean-superstar-refused-to-toss-yee-sang-with-najib-bn&Itemid=2" target="_blank">Malaysian Chronicle</a>)</span></blockquote>
<p>If Walski were tasked with writing the headline, it would have read "<strong>Najib Invites to Yee-Sang, But PSY Doesn't Give A Toss</strong>". But that's just Walski...</p>
<p>PSY is astute a professional artist enough to not get involved in Malaysia's political grandstanding , and therefore declined the invitation, much to the embarrassment of Team BN.</p>
<p>And if you think that's bad, there's this: perhaps the most telling sign that maybe, just maybe, BN will have a more arduous road ahead to win over Penangites during the next general elections.</p>
<div align="center"><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XFsIv7wo_tg" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>
<p>Point to the people of Penang. And what a horrible moment that must have been for the organizers of the event, facing full on the real feelings of Penangites who attended. And they were there certainly not to see Najib, or hear Rosmah flub her lines. Or, be uninspired by Teng Chang Yeow.</p>
<p>No, the tens of thousands came for one reason, and one reason alone...</p>
<div align="center"><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_rK5hgnWJEM" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>
<p>And as if to confirm that the crowd was only there to watch PSY perform, the majority of the sun-braving throng left immediately after the Korean rapper was done. IMMEDIATELY. Not even waiting for the VIPs to leave.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Thecrowdleftimmediately_zpsa7358f27.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>So much for the hilarious denial of Mr. Tan Keng Liang, who had this to tweet:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/tankengliang/status/300973029285056512" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/TKLisindeepdenialTweet20130211_zps2f54732b.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>And so that was Walski's day at the Han Chiang grounds. An eye-opener in many ways, and a first-hand encounter with how ill-conceived BN's strategies for Penang are. Reportedly, BN spent in excess of RM 2 million for this event. Money NOT well-spent, if you ask Walski.</p>
<p>Seriously… if only elections, very serious affairs that affect how the next four or five years will be for a state or nation, could be as simple as bringing a world-renowned rapper to town...</p>
<p>As Penangites would probably say, today was really a <strong><em>Kanna PSY</em></strong> day for BN.</p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;"><strong>Walski's Linguistical Parody Footnote</strong>: Those familiar with Penang Hokkien will probably know what "Kena Sai" is. The phrase is a mixture of Malay and Hokkien, that has a connotative meaning of "Damn it". Literally, it means "getting shit on one's person". The made-up phrase Kanna PSY is a play on this popular Penang Hokkien semi-swear phrase which, in Walski's opinion, quite succinctly expresses how the day went for BN.</span></p></span?</span>
</div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-5723962751080935202013-01-01T13:05:00.001+08:002013-01-01T13:05:32.244+08:00Happy 2013: Welcome to the Season of the WHICH<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Happy+New+Year" rel="tag" target="_blank">Happy New Year</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/2013" rel="tag" target="_blank">2013</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Donovan" rel="tag" target="_blank">Donovan</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Season+of+the+Which" rel="tag" target="_blank">Season of the Which</a></span></p>
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<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/HappyNewYear2013-SeasonoftheWhich_zps112070c8.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<div align="center">
<h2><strong><span style="color: #fff2bb;">Happy New Year 2013!</span></strong></h2>
</div>
<p>If this new year were to have been tag-lined by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Stewart" target="_blank">Jon Stewart</a>, he'd probably have called it <strong><em>Indecision 2013</em></strong>. Walski, on the other hand, thinks that this year is <em>The Season of the "<strong>Which</strong>"</em>.</p>
<p>We pretty much spent a good chunk of 2012 speculating WHEN GE13 would be. No thanks, of course, to Our Dear PM, who simply wasn't inspired enough to decide when the next general election should be.</p>
<p>We now know it has to be this year. When exactly we still don't know and will have to wait until Our Dear PM is inspired enough, but constitutionally, it will be no later than June sometime.</p>
<p>But more important than "When" will be the question of <strong><em>WHICH</em></strong>.<br /><strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(why it's the Which, and whatever more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>Do we retain Barisan Nasional - essentially UMNO plus a mish-mash of hangers-on parties - to lead us into the next 4 or 5 years, or do we put our trust in leadership with Pakatan Rakyat?</p>
<p>That's the <strong>WHICH</strong> we need to ask ourselves, and ultimately, answer during the coming GE13. In 2013. Has a ring to it, if you ask Walski.</p>
<p>It's New Year's Day, and the last thing Walski wants to do is to ruminate on this question. Not today, at least. We'll have the coming weeks and months to decide. He hopes, however, that those who have been criticizing what Malaysian politics has become have taken the trouble to register to vote.</p>
<p>He's not sure if you still have time to register now or not, but seriously, shame on you if you haven't, and criticize nevertheless. It may sound cliche, but every vote does count, and your vote represents your say.</p>
<p>There used to be a time when Walski felt his lone voice wouldn't make a single splash in the sea of seemingly ubiquitous support for BN, and therefore didn't bother to register as a voter.</p>
<p>That changed just prior to GE12, and he's never regretted the decision to be part of the electorate. It was, admittedly the first election he cast his vote in, but he saw for himself that when millions of lone voices speak, they collectively make a big difference.</p>
<p>Let's be objective for a moment - both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat have their strengths and weaknesses. Neither coalition is perfect, but the challenge is for us to decide which is the evil of the two lessers, and deny them Putrajaya, the seat of the Malaysian Federal Government.</p>
<p>Personally, Walski wants the change promised by Pakatan, versus the lip-service type of change - loose change, as he calls it - that Barisan has been spouting since 2008, with increased intensity in 2012.</p>
<p>But that intensity in rhetoric has not been accompanied by real and meaningful change. The fact that Barisan Nasional has NO intention to change became very apparent when Our Dear PM came out to say that he can only institute change if he's given the people's mandate in GE13.</p>
<p>Are we to believe that he couldn't do jack for the last 4+ years, and can only bring about change in the BN (and by default, the Government) with a fresh mandate? </p>
<p>Allow Walski to rephrase that: Are we GULLIBLE enough to believe this?</p>
<p>For him, the answer is a resounding NO.</p>
<p>We all know the real resistance to change, even if (presumably) Our Dear PM is sincere in wanting to institute change. And that impenetrable wall is called UMNO.</p>
<p>But that's Walski's personal opinion, and you're more than welcome to disagree. It's a free country after all. Well, somewhat free. At the moment.</p>
<p>And so Walski intends to spend the rest of today NOT thinking about WHICH, because 2012 gave him an abundance of time to decide. Thinking about it more today, New Year's Day, is not going to change his decision.</p>
<p>The ball is in your court, good people… Happy 2013, and welcome to the Season of the "Which". </p>
<div align="center"><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JAzTnsSgs2s" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>
<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;"><strong>Walski's WHICH-witch-inspired-this-post footnote:</strong> Yesterday, while Walski was around about town, this 60s psychedelic classic came on <a href="http://www.bfm.my/" target="_blank">BFM89.9</a>, the only radio station Walski listens to. Without any help from psychedelics - apart from the tune - it became apparent that 2013 would be the season… </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">Many thanks, Walski supposes, to Donovan for the inspiration. Oh, and belated congratulations for the 60s icon's <a href="http://rockhall.com/inductees/donovan/" target="_blank">induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame</a>.</span></p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-83218272670142617832012-12-31T18:51:00.001+08:002013-01-01T11:25:14.301+08:00Coming clean for 2013<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Walski69" rel="tag" target="_blank">Walski69</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Identity" rel="tag" target="_blank">Identity</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Revelation" rel="tag" target="_blank">Revelation</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Pseudonymous" rel="tag" target="_blank">Pseudonymous</a></span></p>
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">
<p>In a few hours' time we'll be ushering in a new year. To say the least, it's been an interesting 12 months.</p>
<p>On a personal level, 2012 has been challenging for many reasons. High on the list would be his change of vocation, from the world of process automation and safety to the world of art. The circumstances of this change aren't important. Rather, what's more pertinent is the fact that as we traverse through life, change is the only constant.</p>
<p>As cliche as that may sound, it's a truism that we cannot escape from. Whether we like it or not, the world around us changes every waking (and sleeping) moment. And the truth is, either we embrace and adapt to change, or have our paradigms shifted for us - without a clutch. </p>
<p>And driver's of manual transmission automobiles know very well how painful shifting gears without a clutch is. Trust Walski on this one - having your paradigms shifted for you, against your will, can be as painful, if not more.</p>
<p>As usual, Walski digresses.</p>
<img style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" title="Who is Walski69?" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/sumi-colorquestionmark_zps1d4c077b.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" />
<p>What he really intended to do when he first started writing this post was to do a quick summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly that was the year 2012.</p>
<p>But he's since changed his mind.</p>
<p>Instead, Walski felt that it was time to come clean about something, that may serve as the answer to many a reader's question. Perhaps. In any case, it's a question that deserves to be answered before the clock strikes 2013.</p>
<p><span><strong>Who IS Walski69?</strong> </span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(the real Walski69, and more, in the full post)</span></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>My real name is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/s.jamal.alidrus" target="_blank">S. Jamal Al-Idrus</a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">(via Facebook)</span>, or just plain <em>Jamal</em> to friends. In short, I'm nobody - certainly not a celebrity of any kind, or anyone whose name you should know, unless you have actually met me in person.</p>
<p>And yes, this will be one of the few times I write something for this blog <strong><em>not</em></strong> in the third person, as Walski usually does.</p>
<p>I came to this decision to reveal my identity after a conversation with a close friend of mine, who IS someone well-known. A journalist, in fact, who has managed to remain true to his craft, reporting with integrity and fairness. </p>
<p>That conversation was the last check mark in the consideration mental checklist of whether or not to reveal the person behind Walski69. The realization came to me that since I never really hid my identity - anyone could connect the dots if they wanted to - there really was no point in not coming clean.</p>
<p>And just who am I?</p>
<p>Well, as I mentioned earlier, in the bigger scheme of things, I am a nobody. I am merely a very concerned citizen of Malaysia who thinks that this country is going in a direction that's less than healthy. I am very concerned with the growing influence of religionists who aim to turn Malaysian into a theocratic fascist state.</p>
<p>I am a concerned citizen who despises the tacit movement to make personal sins a crime in the eyes of the law. I am a citizen who thinks that it's time to reclaim the civil liberties of citizenhood that have been trampled upon.</p>
<p>I am also a citizen who hates the fact that we, as Malaysians, are continually being dumbed down and forced to believe that freedom is a bad thing, and that faith is something in need of legislation.</p>
<p>I am what I am, and every characteristic you know of Walski is a facet of who I really am. To list down every single facet would be just repeating what you already know about me.</p>
<p>So there, done. Just in time for 2013.</p>
<p>But henceforth, don't expect posts written in the first person. I choose to continue blogging as Walski69, third person and all, because I rather like the pseudonym, and have no wish to put it to pasture anytime soon.</p>
<p>Writing in the third person, in my personal opinion, defocuses attention to the writer, and puts due emphasis on what's more important - the content and message that's being communicated. You are, of course, free to disagree. But that's the style I think best communicates what needs to be communicated.</p>
<p>For the record, I don't have any formal political affiliations with any party, as some may think. Yes, I do write things that are critical of BN, but that's only because time and time again they have proven to not be a political coalition that can take us forward without doing more damage to the nation in the process.</p>
<p>In a few hours, it will be 2013. As much as 2012 was interesting and eventful, I expect the coming year to be an even more exciting one.</p>
<p>And in the coming months, this blog shall continue to report my thoughts as I see them, as much as I can, when I can. Not anonymously, but pseudonymously, as Walski69...</p>
<p>Happy New Year 2013 to one and all...</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-25113844486109810932012-12-25T12:25:00.001+08:002012-12-25T12:25:19.117+08:00Heigh Ho… Let's Go! <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Christmas" rel="tag" target="_blank">Christmas</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Peace" rel="tag" target="_blank">Peace</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Harmony" rel="tag" target="_blank">Harmony</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Celebration" rel="tag" target="_blank">Celebration</a></span></p>
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">
<h2>And a very very Merry Christmas! </h2>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Xmas2012mailchimp_zps57d077cb.png" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>Although there have been those who would rather we focused on the differences between us, Walski chooses to embrace instead the overwhelming commonalities that bind us.</p>
<p>To quote the famous sage Jalal ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi:</p>
<blockquote><em>The lamps are different, but the Light is the same: it comes from Beyond. If thou keep looking at the lamp, thou art lost: for thence arises the appearance of number and plurality. Fix thy gaze upon the Light, and thou art delivered from the dualism inherent in the finite body…The Faithful are many, but their Faith is one; their bodies are numerous, but their soul is one.</em></blockquote>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(together, as one, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>Christmas has become, to many people around the world, a celebration transcending its original religious significance, and a time ubiquitously associated with family and joy. The commercialism aspects of Christmas aside, it is a time for giving. Not necessarily gifts of material value, but the sharing of care and love, that can in themselves be considered gifts.</p>
<p>Yet, there are those who choose to focus on the differences of theology and faith that exist among us. </p>
<p>Well Walski, for one, chooses not to. We have more than enough commonality that can bring us together, and he thinks that it's more positive to focus on these. Let's embrace the positive values of friendship, camaraderie, sharing and caring this Christmas.</p>
<p>And as the four wise members of the myAsylum Mystical Marketing Council have alluded to above, you can't have joy without a little Oi!!</p>
<p>So to one and all, a very Merry Christmas… Peace, Love and Rock 'n Roll...</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-72903607013991614842012-11-09T12:24:00.001+08:002012-11-09T12:29:52.599+08:00The FURE, The Surgery & The (Hopeful) Recovery<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Vitreous+Humor" rel="tag" target="_blank">Vitreous Humor</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Eye+Surgery" rel="tag" target="_blank">Eye Surgery</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Post+Op" rel="tag" target="_blank">Post Op</a></span></p>
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">
<p>You're probably wondering about now - what the heck is FURE? Well, let Walski tell you right off the bat: it's another one of those acronyms he made up.</p>
<p>And it stands for F*cked Up Right Eye. What Walski was seeing out of the FURE is something like this.</p>
<p align="center"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/AFUREview450px.jpg" alt="" width="" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>Okay, it's not exactly a perfectly accurate rendition, admittedly, but Walski was kind of in a hurry when he created the image above. It does, however, give you an idea of what the right eye saw out of it.</p>
<p>Past tense, because he has since undergone surgery to try to fix it a couple of days ago. Technically, Walski shouldn't even be blogging about this so soon after, being that he's been advised to lay off being on the PC for long periods of time.</p>
<p>But writing has always been a kind of catharsis, and quite frankly, it feels good to be able to talk about it. Plus, Walski reckons that this is not going to be one of his famously long-winded posts.</p>
<p>He simply needed to talk about what he's been going through these past few days, then off he goes to get the eye rested. Again.<br /><strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(the eye, the procedure, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>Yes, it's been light duty for him since his surgery on Tuesday, staying home most of the time, spending much of it taking catnaps on the couch. And it will continue to be more of that for the next couple of days or so.</p>
<p>It's also utterly boring, by the way.</p>
<p>In any case, about a week ago, Walski felt that his right eye felt very blurry, with the sudden appearance of 'cobwebs' amidst a very cloudy span of vision. Kind of like what you see in the picture above, only worse.</p>
<p><a href="http://webvision.med.utah.edu/book/part-i-foundations/gross-anatomy-of-the-ey/"><img style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/sagitta2humaneye.jpg" alt="Cross-section of the human eye, taken from Webvision" width="200" height="" border="0" /></a> Apparently what happened was that a blood vessel in his eye, somewhere along the retina area, burst, causing the vitreous humor (the clear gel within the eye) to get mixed with blood, clouding the eye and creating what appears as "cobwebs" swirling within the field of vision. In the process, part of his retina was also dislodged.</p>
<p>The surgical procedure that Walski underwent is called a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrectomy" target="_blank">vitrectomy</a>, which involves removing parts of the vitreous humor contaminated by the hemorrhage.</p>
<p>Sounds painful, but the surgery was pretty much painless. The worst part was probably when the 23 gauge needle was inserted, and that too felt nothing worse than a dust speck getting onto the eye.</p>
<p><img style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Bandagedeyepost-op.jpg" alt="Post-op FURE" width="190" height="" border="0" />A day after the procedure, Walski then went for his check-up, and had the bandages off. So no pirate eye patch for him, as he initially thought he might have to use for a while.</p>
<p>Arrrrr…. </p>
<p>In any case, it's about three days after the procedure, and Walski does feel that the vision is coming back to normal.</p>
<p>But the doctor did say that some laser therapy may still be needed to seal the retina (if it didn't heal properly), and some other scans and stuff to ensure that the problem doesn't recur.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, enough time in front of the PC, and it's time to get back to rest.</p>
<p>The last thing Walski wants is to aggregate the FURE, or to get it FU again...</p>
</span> </span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-14484807808447785912012-11-02T14:46:00.001+08:002012-11-02T14:46:31.230+08:00Retiring the Stop 114A Pop-Up<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Blog+Changes" rel="tag" target="_blank">Blog Changes</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Stop+114A" rel="tag" target="_blank">Stop 114A</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Popup+Removal" rel="tag" target="_blank">Popup Removal</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Humanity" rel="tag" target="_blank">Humanity</a></span></p>
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">
<p>Walski has made a decision to retire the Stop 114A Pop-up.</p>
<p align="center"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/myAsylum114Apop-up.png" alt="The Stop 114A pop-up" width="450" height="" border="0" /></p>
<p>For those who have been coming here with some regularity - and not likely the target audience for the pop-up anyway - you're probably have gotten quite tired of it. </p>
<p>Like most good things in life, the pop-up has served its purpose, and it's now time to put it to rest. The <em>indefinite</em> has been made finite...<br /> <strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(state of online freedom, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>But has it done any good?</p>
<p>In truth, Walski doesn't really know. Perhaps it has. If nothing else, the outrage over badly written laws has been vocalized/visualized. The reality of it, however, is that this particular bad piece of legislation remains on the books.</p>
<p>He hopes that it will never be used as the sole source of "proof". At least, that's the guarantee that has been given by the authorities. We will certainly hold them to their word.</p>
<p>As has been revealed recently, Malaysia <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-becomes-rich-tiger-cub-but-still-intolerant/" target="_blank">ranks poorly in the promotion of personal freedoms</a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">(via The Malaysian Insider)</span>, as indicated in Legatum's Prosperity Index.</p>
<p>And no, "<em>personal freedoms</em>" do <strong>NOT</strong> include stealing the property of others. It also does not include inflicting physical and/or mental harm on others.</p>
<p>Since the tragedy of Walski's PC getting stolen about two weeks ago, he's had some opportunity to reflect on life.</p>
<p>First of all, life is short. Certainly too short to hold on to a grudge, or harp on things that one has absolutely no control over. Like legislations being kept on the books, for instance. Raising awareness - which the pop-up has helped do - is one thing, keeping the pop-up in place longer than a useful timespan is another thing altogether. It's time to move one...</p>
<p>Second, in life nothing is permanent. Getting his PC stolen is proof of that. Never mind that the motherfucker also stole 20 years of Walski's work, both personal and professional, in the form of articles, reports, resumes, presentations, photographs, etc. None of these are easily replaceable. But they can be rebuilt.</p>
<p>Third, the Malaysia we live in right now is going through precarious times, and along with his PC, Walski's unquestioning faith in humanity has been stolen as well. Gone forever. </p>
<p>October 19, 2012 will be a date that Walski will never forget. That's the date of the theft, and that's the date when his life changed. He's certainly more careful, and a lot less trusting. If you find Walski to be more bitter and more spiteful from now on, you now know why.</p>
<p>And you can thank the bastard who stole from him for that. This is not holding a grudge, per se, but reassessing one's outlook in life. Suffice it to say Walski's view of humanity has changed forever.</p>
<p>It appears that Walski's gone on a tangent… so let's return to orbit, shall we?</p>
<p>The pop-up's gone, and this blog may be accessed without having to close the Stop 114A window that shows up. </p>
<p>That's pretty much what Walski wanted to say in this post. The rest is the ramblings of a man embittered by a once-upon-a-time beautiful humanity that's utterly failed him, and shown its true ugly colors...</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-40614439173699073302012-11-02T12:22:00.001+08:002012-11-02T14:16:10.043+08:00The Long Absence<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">Technorati tags: <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Update" rel="tag" target="_blank">Update</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Walski" rel="tag" target="_blank">Walski</a>, <a class="techtag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Life" rel="tag" target="_blank">Life</a></span></p>
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">
<p><a href="http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/artist/joy-division/" target="_blank"><img style="float: right; padding: 5px 0px 10px 10px;" title="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/joydivision300-cropped.jpg" alt="Joy Division, image taken from www.thisisfakediy.co.uk" width="190px" height="" border="0" /></a> Yes, it's been another very long absence from blogging for Walski. There are many reasons for this, and he figured that it was high time something got posted to partially explain why.</p>
<p>If for no other reason, to let you folks know that Walski is still very much alive.</p>
<p>Not like anyone would really care if he disappeared from the face of the Earth. Probably most would feel that it's one less annoying person on the Internet.</p>
<p>In fact, life has been quite interesting in the past few months. Occasionally traumatic, too. But we'll get to that in due time.</p>
<p>As has been the case in the past, work has dominated most of Walski's time awake. Some of you may know that he is no longer full time in the process automation & controls world, but instead co-runs an <a href="http://www.artemisartgallery.com/" target="_blank">art gallery</a> in the KL area. He still does a bit of freelance work from time to time, but that's another story we won't get into.</p>
<p>And if you think running an art gallery (or any business) is easy-peasy, you're quite wrong. It is as challenging, if not more, only in different ways. <br /><strong><span style="font-size: 85%; color: #3366ff;">(with interesting comes trauma, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p><span class="fullpost">
<p>So for the most part, life has been hectic, getting the gallery up and running from scratch, doing the online promotional work, the website operational, etc. So yes, Walski's been online a lot, just not blogging here (although <a href="https://www.facebook.com/myAsylum60" target="_blank">myAsylum's Facebook page</a> has been somewhat active).</p>
<p>Oh, and the tragedy part? Walski's PC, hard disks, iPad, and camera got stolen from his car a couple of weeks back. Yup - approximately 20 years worth of data gone. Some motherfucker broke into Walski's car and stole the lot. </p>
<p>He won't delve into more details than this - too much pain - but suffice it to say that steps are being taken to try recover at least the PC, if not the whole lot of electronics.</p>
<p>In the meantime, this is being posted via a MacBook Pro, the machine on which he tries to rebuild all the data and images (particularly the gallery related ones) that have been STOLEN from him. To the thief: you've not only stolen physical hardware, but stolen someone's life and memories.</p>
<p>While Walski, on principle, doesn't like to wish bad on anyone, he does hope in this case the perpetrator's conscience gnaws at its host physical container and causes it to suffer the anguish and trauma that Walski has for the past couple of weeks... </p>
<p>And there you have it - a short post to let you all know Walski is still alive. Maybe one day this blog may be as active as it once was, maybe it won't. It all depends on what happens the next few months.</p>
<p>In the meantime, our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/myAsylum60" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> is fairly active, so visit us there if you can...</p>
</span></span></div>Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-60830854375833900222012-08-23T20:23:00.000+08:002012-08-24T00:38:03.146+08:00It's all explained in ONE word...<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rant" rel="tag" target="_blank">Rant</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rot" rel="tag" target="_blank">Rot</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/State+Of+The+Nation" rel="tag" target="_blank">State Of The Nation</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/The+Nation's+In+A+State" rel="tag" target="_blank">The Nation's In A State</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>In the quiet shadows, Walski has been following what’s become of this nation of once great potential. And suffice it to say, what he’s observed is not pleasing one single bit.</p> <p>Disquiet in the quiet, so to speak.</p> <p><a title="Jaded For Real - image taken from The Etsy Blog" href="http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2008/a-very-jaded-valentines-day/" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 4px 0px 10px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" id="blogsy-1345736515001.5837" class="class" border="0" alt="" align="right" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/jaded_foreal.jpg" width="225" height="181" /></a>On the one hand, the ruling BN coalition is pulling out every single conceivable (and sometimes inconceivably ludicrous) ploy from their now dog-eared playbook, to the point of stating that at least what we have now, no matter how decrepit, <a title="via The Malaysian Insider" href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/better-the-devil-you-know-dr-m-tells-voters/" target="_blank">is at least familiar</a>.</p> <p>Never mind that we’ve pretty much become 1FascistMalaysia. Fascism is good if it’s familiar. That’s the bullshit we’re being forced-fed. And suffice it to say, Walski doesn’t like it one single bit. Not a fucking molecule of it.</p> <p>And then, on the other hand, just about everyone, and their pet amphibian, who has an iota of an inkling of Islamic credentials, is pushing for <em>hudud</em>.</p> <p>“Oh, my <em>hudud </em>is better than your <em>hudud</em>. Your <em>hudud</em> is false-<em>hudud</em>, mine is God-ordained. You’re going to Hell if you implement your <em>hudud</em>; my <em>hudud</em> gets us to Heaven…”</p> <p>Okay, maybe in not so many words, but you get the idea.</p> <p>Well newsflash numbnuts…. <strong>the only good <em>hudud</em> is no <em>hudud</em></strong>.</p> <p>Exactly what shithole, God-forsaken nation do you aspire Malaysia to become, pray tell? Somalia? Afghanistan? Iran? Exactly what model of a despotic state do you have in mind when you dream your wet dreams at night?</p> <p>Assuming you pro-<em>hudud</em> types can comprehend English, The Malaysian Insider published a really <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/arguing-for-a-secular-state-ahmad-farouk-musa/" target="_blank">intelligent article on this issue</a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(written by Dr. Ahmad Farouk Musa, director of the <a title="IRF website" href="http://www.irfront.org/">Islamic Renaissance Front</a>)</span>, and in it we see why, in the case of Malaysia, a secular democracy is the ONLY system that ensures justice for ALL Malaysians.</p> <p>Never mind that our Federal Constitution does not allow for it. Too much detail to derail your wet-dream fantasy, is it? Well, continue to spew your pro-<em>hudud </em>rhetoric, because in a nutshell, that’s about all that it will ever amount to – a lot of hot air.</p> <p>Sheesh… Seriously, between the two, Walski can honestly almost bring himself to stick his head in a gas oven, turn the knob to ‘<em>Cremate</em>’, and light the burner… </p> <p>There is one word in the English language that pretty much sums up how Walski feels about what’s happening to Malaysia. And extrapolating a little from there, pretty much describes how he is starting to view life in Malaysia generally.</p> <p>No thanks, of course, to the nimrods on the one hand, and the Oxygen-deprived dickheads on the other. <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(and the word is…. in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>Well, if you've been observant, and bothered to look at a clue Walski included above, you'd have already guessed what that word is. But if not, Walski invites these aged rockers of yore to enlighten you...</p> <iframe height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/705LEH3j2g0" frameborder="1" width="480" align="center" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <p>Walski’s never really been a big Aerosmith fan. But you have to admit that they’ve written some pretty powerful lyrics during their long career.</p> <p>And in one word, they manage to explain how Walski’s been feeling for quite a while now.</p> <p>Yes, Walski is <a title="Via Dictionary.com" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jaded" target="_blank">JADED</a>.</p> <p>He’s jaded with how Malaysians are now expected to honor and revere STUPIDITY and IGNORANCE. And how the more ludicrous and nonsensical the argument, the more reverence that’s demanded of us. </p> <p>Walski has about had enough with the race and religion baiting that’s being perpetrated by the political grassroots, primarily those of the UMNO persuasion. Do you imbeciles know how desperate you look? Malaysia must really be suffering from severe brain-drain if you lot are the cream of the crop future leaders of this country. And incidentally, scum also rises to the top, not just cream.</p> <p>Yes, Walski is JADED.</p> <p>Despite what the “statistics” say, crime is on the increase. No, it’s not just a perception, as we’ve been forced to believe. Walski has a <strong>real</strong> friend who really had her car smashed into while stopped at a traffic light, and had her handbag snatched (fortunately she didn’t suffer anything more than the hassle of getting important thing replaced). Walski may be a lot of things, but he certainly isn’t delusional, nor does he have imaginary friends.</p> <p>And if this <a title="via Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) website" href="http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2393&catid=228&Itemid=196" target="_blank">letter written to the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)</a> is accurate, we are being lied to about the country’s crime situation. Walski doesn’t know about you, but he doesn’t like being lied to. In fact, he fucking hates it.</p> <p>Remember the phrase Mark Twain popularized?</p> <blockquote>"<em>There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.</em>" <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</span></blockquote> <p>The devil is in the details, and the details, apparently, involve creative crime classification. The letter to the CPI is definitely an interesting read, and if true, explains why our “perception” paint a totally different picture from what’s officially being reported.</p> <p>Oh, and did Walski mention that he’s JADED?</p> <p>Then, there’s religion. More and more things seem to be <em>halal</em>-ized, whether or not it’s necessary. Granted, the majority view is that beer is not <em>halal</em> (there is at least one minority opinion that states it is <a title="via Yanabi.com" href="http://www.yanabi.com/index.php?/topic/425480-imam-abu-hanifa-and-the-early-hanafis-allowed-drinking-alcohol-except-for-wine-as-long-as-you-didnt-get-drunk/" target="_blank">not entirely forbidden</a>). But does that mean the word ‘<em>beer</em>’ is haram as well?</p> <p align="center"><img id="blogsy-1345736514988.2334" class="class" alt="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/555937_10151020820823340_1898634968_n.jpg" width="450" height="599" /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>That WTF moment when you realize even labels need to be kosher</strong> <br />(click <a title="Own Mohd Noor's Facebook page" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151020820823340&set=p.10151020820823340" target="_blank">here</a> for source)</span></p> <p>Seriously, do you think you make Islam more attractive by making it more restrictive and prohibitive of this, that and the other? Think about it. Oh, Walski forgot… the pious aren’t allowed to think, only follow…</p> <p>Yes, boys and girls, Walski is JADED.</p> < <p>The above are but some examples of why Walski says he’s JADED. And by the looks of it, things aren’t going to get any better. Not for the lack of trying, on the part of concerned citizens, though.</p> <p>Earlier today, <a href="http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Anas Zubedy</a> announced a <a title="via Anas Zubedy's blog" href="http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/08/saysomethingnice-campaign.html" target="_blank">Say Something Nice</a> campaign, targeted to run between August 31<sup>st</sup> and September 16<sup>th</sup>.</p> <p align="center"><a title="click to view what the campaign is all about, from Anas Zubedy's blog" href="http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/08/saysomethingnice-campaign.html" target="_blank"><img id="blogsy-1345736515023.5664" class="class" alt="" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Final-SSN-Campaign.jpg" width="320" height="46" /></a></p> <p>You can find out exactly what the campaign is all about via Anas’ <a title="Say Something Nice campaign" href="http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/08/saysomethingnice-campaign.html" target="_blank">blog posting</a>, but in a nutshell it is one man’s attempt to make everyone’s mood better. By saying something nice when you Facebook-post, tweet, blog, etc.</p> <p>Will it work? Best not ask Walski that question right now. Not when he’s feeling JADED. But it’s a positive attempt. There – Walski said something nice. Happy?</p> <p>Truth is (and it’s an ugly, inconvenient truth), while it’s nice to be positive and all, that’s not going to change the underlying rot that’s the real root cause of our national woes. Not much anyway. It’s a rot that’s been slowly festering for a long, long time. So much so that it would take a lot more than just smiling, and saying nice things, to heal that rot.</p> <p>Perhaps invasive surgery to yank the rotting cancer out of our collective national soul would be a better option. Bonus if the surgeon smiles while he slices and dices. And says something nice about the rot in the process.</p> <p>And you get the chance to play surgeon – GE13 will be coming our way anytime over the next 6 to 8 months.</p> <p>In the last line of his posting, Dr. Mahathir wrote, “<em><a title="via Chedet.cc" href="http://chedet.cc/blog/?p=823#more-823" target="_blank">Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t</a></em>” <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(which was later picked up by <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/better-the-devil-you-know-dr-m-tells-voters/" target="_blank">The Malaysian Insider</a>)</span>. Yes, change brings uncertainty, and (some) change cannot happen overnight – unless you’re a stupidly optimistic person, you will realize that these are real-world realities about change.</p> <p>To Walski, the 25-point posting by our esteemed former PM is nothing much more than a desperate attempt to sugar-coat a terminally ill and dying Barisan Nasional as an entity that’s able to take Malaysia to the next level.</p> <p>Next level down closer to Hell on Earth maybe, but certainly not to the next level of positive development, to be a nation par excellence.</p> <p>Is it better to live out this life with a familiar mediocrity, rather than take a chance for possible excellence? With all due respect, Dr. M, Walski has to say, courteously, <strong><em>Fuck No</em></strong>.</p> <p>Dr. Mahathir is, of course, entitled to state his opinion. That’s his right. Doesn’t mean we have to swallow it wholesale. Like many Malaysians Walski knows.</p> <p>And perhaps that’s the problem with this country – the general ineptitude to  critically analyze, and to accept wholesale what a political leader friendly to one’s own persuasion has to say. </p> <p>Compound that by 27 million, and you still wonder why Walski’s feeling JADED?</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-74515699018218733472012-08-21T08:48:00.000+08:002012-08-21T08:52:14.907+08:00Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 1433H<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Humor" rel="tag" target="_blank">Humor</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Eid" rel="tag" target="_blank">Eid</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Hari+Raya" rel="tag" target="_blank">Hari Raya</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Janji+Diketupati" rel="tag" target="_blank">Janji Diketupati</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>This should have been posted a couple of days ago on Sunday, but due to circumstances beyond Walsk’s control, here it is, two days late…</p> <p>From all of us here at <em>myAsylum</em>, <strong><font color="#00ff40">Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 1433H</font></strong>. And what better way to wish you all, than to post one of the best Merdeka Day slogan/logo parodies created, especially for this festive season.</p> <p><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/JanjiDiketupati.jpg" /></p> <p>Walski’s not entirely sure who the creator of the above image is, but since first appearing on Facebook a couple of weeks back, it’s pretty much gone viral. And because of the big brouhaha the original Merdeka slogan and logo, he couldn’t think of anything more appropriate for a Raya greeting graphic.</p> <p>For Malaysians, <em><a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketupat" target="_blank">ketupat</a></em> and Hari Raya go hand in hand. Raya simply isn’t Raya without this favorite delicacy. And whether you prefer it with rendang or peanut sauce (aka satay sauce), you just gotta have ketupat for Hari Raya. That’s just the Malaysian way.</p> <p>Over the next few days, beginning Sunday, the quest for ketupat, rendang, and satay sauce will commence. For those who have to travel long distances for this quest, we hope you do so safely, and that the traffic doesn’t get the better of you. <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(Eid, be merry, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>As you may have probably noticed, we reinstated the Blackout pop-up some days back, after it was announced the the Cabinet would not ‘review’ Section 114A of the Evidence Act. It’s almost as if the Cabinet were sending out a loud signal saying that they don’t want to be re-elected into office.</p> <p>Malaysians may be forgetful, but the Internet has a very long memory…. We’ll see, come GE13, whose date remains a mystery, as it always traditionally has in Malaysia, waiting for the moment of inspiration from the Prime Minister to announce the “right time” for it.</p> <p>By the way, in case you were wondering what circumstances caused this post to be delayed a couple of days, there’s good news and bad news.</p> <p>The good news is that all is well now, but the bad news is that Walski’s dad had to be hospitalized the morning of first day Raya, due to a suspected lung infection. His dad, who’s 77 this year, had severe difficulties breathing and was rushed to the hospital.</p> <p>As it turns out, it wasn’t a lung infection, but something else less sinister, related to Dad’s other existing problems. Walski won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, the old man’s much better now, and should be released within a day or so.</p> <p>In any case, we’re now in the third day of Hari Raya, and he’s sure that by now, you would have managed to find your <em>ketupat</em>. For Walski, on the other hand, the quest  continues.</p> <p>Enjoy the Eid, safely, and because of the abundance of tasty treats this time of year, do exercise moderation when eating. But bottom line, enjoy yourself safely and responsibly…</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-22093397652623988462012-08-15T18:21:00.000+08:002012-08-15T18:23:33.160+08:00Stop 114A: Veni, Vidi, Victorious (well, almost)<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/CIJ" rel="tag" target="_blank">CIJ</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/August+14+Internet+Blackout" rel="tag" target="_blank">August 14 Internet Blackout</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Evidence+Act" rel="tag" target="_blank">Evidence Act</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Amendment+114A" rel="tag" target="_blank">Amendment 114A</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>It may not have sunk in yet for many who participated, but yesterday’s <a title="Our posting for yesterday's Internet Blackout Day" href="http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2012/08/amendment-114a-why-it-must-be-repealed.html" target="_blank">Internet Blackout Day</a> was a significant victory. And if for no other reason, it’s because of this:</p> <p align="center"><a title="from PM Najib Razak's Twitter feed" href="https://twitter.com/NajibRazak/status/235342064089452544" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/NajibRazakTwitterstatus235342064089452544.png" width="450" height="262" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>PM Najib's momentous tweet</strong></span></p> <p>We, the netizens of Malaysia, saw a problem with Amendment 114A, we took positive action, and that action has been noticed.</p> <p>For this, we have to thank the <a title="CIJ Malaysia website" href="http://cijmalaysia.org/" target="_blank">Center for Independent Journalism</a> (CIJ) for the <a title="The Stop 114A initiative blog" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Internet Blackout Day initiative</a>. In terms of raising awareness about the problematic 114A, and having a positive outcome (so far), the initiative was a definite success.</p> <p>It’s a small victory, but the fight for a free, unencumbered Internet is far from over. In a larger sense, this fight is for a freer, a more open, and ultimately, a more vibrant Malaysia.  <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(Stop114A gets noticed worldwide, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>While it may be a small victory, it’s an important one. The Malaysian Internet Blackout Day got noticed, not just by our Prime Minister, but far beyond our shores, by international news agencies (<a title="Australia Network News" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-14/an-malaysia-blackout/4197836" target="_blank">ABC</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19251896" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57492596-38/malaysian-law-stirs-online-blackout-protest/" target="_blank">CNET</a>, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/limyunghui/2012/08/14/for-many-malaysians-section-114a-sucks-in-the-age-of-social-media/" target="_blank">Forbes</a>, and <a href="http://news.malaysia.msn.com/sci-tech/article.aspx?cp-documentid=250612404" target="_blank">MSN</a>, among others – see <a title="via Google News" href="https://news.google.com.my/news/story?pz=1&cf=all&ned=en_my&hl=en&q=Malaysia+internet+blackout&ncl=dibejJRydpeyT4MFk_ht6T31iCFLM&cf=all&scoring=d" target="_blank">here</a> for a longer list).</p> <p>Another important indicator, pointing to the success of the initiative: the hashtag <a title="via Malaysiakini" href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/206335" target="_blank">#Stop114A made it to the Top 10  Twitter trends</a> yesterday, peaking at second position, if not mistaken. </p> <p>The initiative’s success is acknowledged by the organizer, CIJ in an <a title="via Free Malaysia Today" href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/08/15/internet-blackout-day-a-success/" target="_blank">article published today by Free Malaysia Today</a>.</p> <blockquote><em>CIJ executive officer Masjazliza Hamzah told FMT that the response to the campaign – created to highlight a unpopular amendment to the Evidence Act 1950- was phenomenal. <br /> <br />“In terms of response to the campaign, it’s just phenomenal,” she said, conceding however that it was not as “huge” as other online protests have been in the past. <br /> <br />“The catalysts are the websites…and the business that supported it…[but] I think the credit should go to netizens for making themselves aware of it,” Masjazliza added. <br /> <br />Nevertheless, she noted that the campaign – which saw many websites either going offline or hosting black pop-ups messages- helped to not only create a public awareness, but also pressured the government to think twice about the amendment.</em> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <a title="via Free Malaysia Today" href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/08/15/internet-blackout-day-a-success/" target="_blank">Free Malaysia Today</a>)</span></blockquote> <p>Of course, yesterday’s Internet Blackout Day wasn’t without its detractors, primarily <a title="Tan Keng Liang's Twitter page" href="http://twitter.com/tankengliang" target="_blank">Tan Keng Liang</a>, Kedah Gerakan Youth Chief. Whether the guy didn’t bother to read anything posted on what was required of the Blackout participants, or simply ignored facts to just be his irritating self, Tan (and others “inspired” by him) went on a <a title="via Malaysiakini (subscription required)" href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/206311" target="_blank">tweet-rampage running down any opposition politician who were tweeting between 0000 and 2359 hrs</a>.</p> <p>It is believed that it was Tan who penned the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/?q=%23BlackOutTipu&src=hash"><s>#</s><b>BlackOutTipu</b></a> hashtag used throughout yesterday (and today), tracing back to the tweet that first used the hashtag.</p> <p><a title="The tweet that created the #BlackOutTipu hashtag" href="https://twitter.com/tankengliang/status/235057525475647488" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/TKLtweethashtag.jpg" /></a></p> <p>But enough about Tan Keng Liang – you have to take your hat off to the man for his perseverance in being annoying…</p> <p>In any case, the onus is now on the Cabinet to “discuss” Section 114A, and do something about it, not simply discuss the amendment. Walski is rather intrigued – isn’t this the same Cabinet that drafted the legislation and pushed it through Parliament in the first place? Weren’t “people first” then?</p> <p>Question, Walski’s sure, that many others are wondering, too. But be that as it may, let’s hope something real and positive comes out of said “discussion” (whenever that might be).</p> <p>Again, KUDOS to CIJ for an initiative well executed, and to all who participated in yesterday’s Internet Blackout, congratulations on a job well done.</p> <p>Never forget that yesterday was a real victory, even though the battle is far from over. What the next step will be all depends on the anticipated Cabinet discussion and, presumably, action.</p> <p>We wait with bated breath…</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-26344615070540308602012-08-14T00:01:00.000+08:002012-08-15T01:24:45.944+08:00Amendment 114A: Why it MUST be repealed<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/CIJ" rel="tag" target="_blank">CIJ</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/August+14+Internet+Blackout" rel="tag" target="_blank">August 14 Internet Blackout</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Evidence+Act" rel="tag" target="_blank">Evidence Act</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Amendment+114A" rel="tag" target="_blank">Amendment 114A</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>Today is the <a title="Internet Blackout Day - an initiative by CIJ Malaysia" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/get-involved/" target="_blank">Malaysian Internet Blackout Day</a>. </p> <p>Since you’re reading this, you would have seen the pop-up, which will remain in place for 24 hours, spanning the whole of August 14.</p> <p>And by now, you should  know why this initiative has been carried out by the Center for Independent Journalism (better known as CIJ).</p> <p>But just in case you still aren’t certain why the fuss, kindly take a few minutes to view this PSA.</p> <div align="center"><iframe height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YBWQHYO2BpI" frameborder="1" width="480" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>It’s an insidious piece of legislation that should be repealed with immediate effect. Among other things, it violates the most basic tenet of law: that one is innocent UNTIL proven guilty.</p> <p>And that, as The Titanic found out, is just the tip of the iceberg... <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(the 114A lowdown, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>CIJ has put together a whole bunch of <a title="from the Stop 114A blog" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/resources/" target="_blank">resources for you to find out more about the amendment to the Evidence Act 1950</a>, but here are the key points (taken from the <a title="CIJ Malaysia website" href="http://cijmalaysia.org/2012/06/13/evidence-act-section114a-frequently-asked-questions/" target="_blank">CIJ FAQ on Amendment 114A</a>):</p> <p><font color="#fff2ac"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong>1. What is 114A?</strong></span> <br /></font>Section 114a is a new amendment to the Evidence Act 1950 that was passed in parliament without debate in April 2012. The section is called “Presumption of fact in publication”. It states that any owner, admin, host, editor, subscriber of a network or website, or owner of computer or mobile device is presumed to have published or re-published its contents.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><font color="#fff2ac"><strong>2. Why is it a problem?</strong></font></span> <br />It has wide-ranging reach and extends not only to practically everyone who uses any internet platform – from e-mail and social media to blogs and online media – but also those who don’t.</p> <p>It is a problem because:</p> <ul> <li>It presumes guilt rather than innocence. </li> <li>It makes individuals and organisations who administer, operate or provide spaces for online community forums, blogging and hosting services, liable for content that is published through its services. </li> <li>It allows hackers and cyber criminals to go free by making the person whose account/computer is hacked liable for any content/data which might have changed. </li> <li>It can make you liable for content that you did not publish when someone creates an account in your name. </li> <li>It threatens the principle of anonymity online, which is crucial in promoting a free and open Internet. </li> <li>It threatens freedom of expression online. </li> </ul> <p>In other words, it is against the core principles of justice, democracy and fundamental human rights.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><font color="#fff2ac"><strong>3. How will this affect you?</strong></font></span> <br />If 114a is not stopped, you will be held responsible for the words of others. It can also result in the removal of comment functions, curtailing your space for posting legitimate comments and opinions. This impacts your democratic right to participate freely and openly in public debate and discussions. Indirectly, it will foster a climate of self-censorship, and will have a huge impact on the interactive nature of online media.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><font color="#fff2ac"><strong>4. Why do we want to stop 114a?</strong></font></span> <br />Our opinions – as netizens and as citizens – matter. If the new Evidence Act were gazetted, 114a would seriously hinder the democratic right to freedom of expression on the Net.</p> <p>Let’s keep online spaces free and open to critical comments and debates.</p> <p align="center"><a title="Click to view full-sized infographic" href="http://stop114a.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/stop114a-infographic1.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Stop114AInfographic512px.jpg" width="450" height="345" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image to view larger version</strong></span></p> <p>But the problem with Amendment 114A does not stop with freedom of expression and burden of proof. It does have a real impact on the Tech and Business sectors as well, articulated in <a title="article in PDF format, click to view, or right click to save" href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstop114a.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F07%2Fimpact-of-section-114-a-of-evidence-act-2012-on-technology-business-sectors-by-a-asohan.pdf" target="_blank">this article</a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(by <a title="Digital News Asia website" href="http://www.digitalnewsasia.com/" target="_blank">Digital News Asia</a> Executive Editor and Founder, Asohan Aryadurai)</span>.</p> <p>We’re hopeful that with this initiative, many more will find out about Amendment 114A, and why it must be repealed. You’ll be surprised at the number of people who don’t actually know about this.</p> <p align="center"><a title="click on the image to find out more, and how you can participate" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/get-involved/" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/InternetBlackout20120814.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image to find out more</strong></span></p> <p>So do yourselves and your friends a favor – spread the word about this. And if you’d like to participate, the <a href="http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2012/08/stop-114a-malaysian-internet-blackout.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> we put up tells you how. Or click on the image above.</p> <p>Act now, before your Internet freedom becomes history…</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-11744529285419270292012-08-10T10:31:00.000+08:002012-08-10T18:01:06.642+08:00Stop 114A: a Malaysian Internet Blackout initiative<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/CIJ" rel="tag" target="_blank">CIJ</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/August+14+Internet+Blackout" rel="tag" target="_blank">August 14 Internet Blackout</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Evidence+Act" rel="tag" target="_blank">Evidence Act</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Amendment+114A" rel="tag" target="_blank">Amendment 114A</a></span> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <div align="justify"> <p align="justify"><font color="#fff2ac"><strong>UPDATED at 1757hrs: </strong>Thanks to the guys at Cari.com Walski has updated this post, which now includes instructions for Wordpress blogs as well Blogger-based ones originally posted.</font></p> <p align="justify">Recently, an amendment to the Evidence Act 1950 was passed in both houses of Parliament. It’s called Section 114A – “Presumption of Fact in Publication”. And it is a <a title="CIJ Malaysia's FAQ on Amendment 114A" href="http://cijmalaysia.org/2012/06/13/evidence-act-section114a-frequently-asked-questions/" target="_blank">BAD piece of legislation</a>.</p> <p align="center"><a title="Stop 114A Infographic" href="http://stop114a.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/stop114a-infographic1.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Stop114AInfographic512px.jpg" width="450" height="345" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image for larger view</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">The Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) has put together an initiative to raise awareness of <strong><em>why</em></strong> this is a bad piece of legislation, consisting of, among other things, <a title="CIJ's Stop 114A Blog" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">a purpose-specific blog</a>, an ongoing awareness campaign, a <a title="Public Forum: 114A Evidence Act – The End of Internet Freedom?" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/114a-evidence-act-the-end-of-internet-freedom/" target="_blank">public forum</a> (this Saturday, August 11), and an <strong>Internet Blackout Day</strong>.</p> <p align="justify">Similar to the SOPA/PIPA protest blackout, participating websites and blogs will be “blacked out” – displaying a pop-up stating the website/blog’s participation in the blackout initiative, with links to find out more about Amendment 114A, and social media connectors to ‘Like’ on Facebook. You can see an example of this pop-up in action <a title="Stop 114A pop-up at myAsylum reLoaded" href="http://asylum60reloaded.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. Unlike the SOPA/PIPA blackout, however, the website/blog will still be fully functional once the pop-up is closed.</p> <p align="justify"><em>myAsylum</em> is committed to help out in this initiative with its limited resources, and yes, we will be participating in the <a title="Stop 114A Blog August 14 announcement" href="http://stop114a.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/join-us-and-support-internet-blackout-day/" target="_blank">August 14 Internet Blackout</a> exercise.</p> <p align="justify">We will, however, go a couple of steps further – change the blog header (already done), and display one and only one blog post on the main page on August 14th, talking about Amendment 114A.</p> <p align="justify">If you have a Blogger or Wordpress-based blog, you, too, can participate by following the instructions Walski has provided in the full post. <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(how to implement the August 14 blackout pop-up, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p align="justify">But before you do anything else, please <a href="mailto:cijmalaysia@gmail.com">send an e-mail to CIJ Malaysia</a> letting them know that you would like to participate, providing them details of your website or blog. They will send you back code to implement the pop-up. Be sure to tell CIJ whether you will implement the code on a website, or blog – this is important because the implementation is slightly different between the two site types.</p> <p align="justify"><a title="Facebook & Twitter display image / avatar" href="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Stop114AFacebookDisplayPix.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 3px 15px 10px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="left" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Stop114AFacebookDisplayPix.jpg" /></a>If you don’t have a website or blog, you can also help support the Stop 114A campaign on Facebook or Twitter, by changing your display picture to the one you see on the left <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(right click on the image, and do a “Save Link/Target As”)</span>.</p> <p align="justify">Every little participation helps with this campaign, and not having a website or blog shouldn’t stop you from helping.</p> <p align="justify">The instructions that follow for both Blogger and Wordpress-based blogs have been developed and implemented by the good folks at <a title="Cari.com.my website" href="http://cari.com.my/" target="_blank">Cari.com.my</a>, one of the websites that will be participating in the August 14 Internet Blackout. </p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">Instructions for Blogger blogs</font></strong></span> <br />If you have a Blogger-based blog, the following is how you implement the pop-up. We will only provide instructions for Layout-based Blogger blogs, but this should work with the old style templates as well. Also, you will need to be comfortable with modifying your blog layout. To be safe, always backup your template before you do any changes. Just to be sure.</p> <p align="justify"><strong><font color="#ffff00">Step 1</font></strong>: Go to <a href="http://blogger.com" target="_blank">Blogger.com</a> and log in to access your blog settings. Select your blog from the dashboard, which will bring up your blog overview page. Click on <strong><em>Layout</em></strong> as shown in the picture below.</p> <p align="justify"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step0.png" /></p> <p align="justify">This will bring up the layout set-up page for your blog.</p> <p align="justify"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step1.png" width="450" height="298" /></p> <p align="justify"><strong><font color="#ffff00">Step 2</font></strong>: What you will do now is add a widget to one of the area sections, preferably in the footer section as shown above (although adding a new widget in any section works). </p> <p align="justify"><strong><font color="#ffff00">Step 3</font></strong>: A new window will pop up for you to select the widget type. The type to use is the <strong><em>HTML/javaScript</em></strong> widget type.</p> <p align="justify"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step2.png" /></p> <p align="justify"><strong><font color="#ffff00">Step 4</font></strong>. Once selected, an edit window will appear for you to insert the script. You can name your new widget (optional), but bear in mind that naming a widget will cause the name you assign to appear as a heading in some templates.</p> <p align="justify"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step4.png" /></p> <p align="justify">For the code to use, 3 language versions have been developed: English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese (with 3 different types of encoding). The “generic” code can be found at the following links:</p> <ul> <li><a title="English based generic code" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/en/text/text.php" target="_blank">English</a> </li> <li><a title="Bahasa Malaysia generic code" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/my/text/text.php" target="_blank">Bahasa Malaysia</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese generic code (UTF8 coding)" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cn/utf8/text/text.php" target="_blank">Chinese (UTF8)</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese generic code (GBK encoding)" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cn/gbk/text/text.php" target="_blank">Chinese (GBK)</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese generic code (Big5 encoding)" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cn/big5/text/text.php" target="_blank">Chinese (Big5)</a> </li> </ul> <p>The code is "generic" in the sense that it assumes that the images required to make the pop-up work are uploaded to the root directory of your blog. For Blogger blogs, this <strong>is not possible</strong>. There are two workarounds to overcome this.</p> <p>The first is to host the image files on your some file-hosting service (such as <a title="Fileden file-hosting service" href="http://www.fileden.com/" target="_blank">Fileden</a>) which allows direct URL access then modify the code to include the full URL of the two images required in the pop-up. Where the full URLs go are shown in the picture below (where the red boxes are).</p> <p align="center"><a title="Where to modify the image URLs in the script" href="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step3.png" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step3450px.png" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image for larger view</strong></span></p> <p>The full URL for the first image is: <br /><font color="#ffc000">http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cij_images/sec114a_eng_resized.jpg</font> (English) <br /><font color="#ffc000">http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cij_images/sec114a_bm_resized.jpg</font> (BM) <br /><font color="#ffc000">http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cij_images/sec114a_cn_resized.jpg</font> (Chinese) <br /> <br />while the URL for the second image is: <br /><font color="#ffc000">http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cij_images/stop114a-white_resized.jpg</font></p> <p>Once replaced, the script will look like what is shown in the image below (example shown is the English version script). </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step5.png" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/blogger_step5450px.png" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image for larger view</strong></span></p> <p>If all this seems too complex, you can go for the easier second workaround: Walski has pre-modified the scripts for you, so all you need to do is to download the modified scripts from the following links <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(right click and do a <em>Save Link/Target As</em>)</span>:</p> <ul> <li><a title="English modified code" href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/8/4/154242/CIJ%20Stop114A%20Blogger%20Widget%20Code.txt" target="_blank">English</a> </li> <li><a title="Bahasa Malaysia modified code" href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/8/4/154242/CIJ%20Stop114A%20Blogger%20Widget%20Code%20%28BM%29.txt" target="_blank">Bahasa Malaysia</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese modified code (UTF8 coding)" href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/8/4/154242/CIJ%20Stop114A%20Blogger%20Widget%20Code%20%28CN%20UTF-8%29.txt" target="_blank">Chinese (UTF8)</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese modified code (GBK encoding)" href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/8/4/154242/CIJ%20Stop114A%20Blogger%20Widget%20Code%20%28CN%20GBK%29.txt" target="_blank">Chinese (GBK)</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese modified code (Big5 encoding)" href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/8/4/154242/CIJ%20Stop114A%20Blogger%20Widget%20Code%20%28CN%20Big5%29.txt" target="_blank">Chinese (Big5)</a> </li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><font color="#fff2ac"><strong>Instructions for Wordpress blogs</strong></font></span> <br />As with the Blogger-based blogs, you will need to be comfortable with tweaks to your blog template and layout, and just in case, be sure you back up your blog before commencing with the changes.</p> <p>There are 5 steps to configuring the pop-up on Wordpress blogs. The step numbers correspond to the marked up blog configuration page below.</p> <p align="center"><a title="5 step process for Wordpress blogs" href="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/wordpress5stepprocess.png" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/wordpress5stepprocess.png" width="450" height="417" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image for larger view</strong></span></p> <p><strong><font color="#ffff00">Step 1</font></strong>: Login to your blog's WP-Admin page, and click on the Appearance tab (on the left-hand navigation pane). This will bring up the <strong><em>Manage Themes</em></strong> page.</p> <p><font color="#ffff00"><strong>Step 2</strong></font></strong>: Click on <strong><em>Editor</em></strong>. This will bring up the theme text editor. If you have more than one theme active, be sure you select the correct theme.</p> <p><font color="#ffff00"><strong>Step 3</strong></font></strong>: From the <strong><em>Template</em></strong> selection pane (on the right hand pane), find the <strong><em>Footer</em></strong> <em>(footer.php)</em> entry, and click on it. This will bring up the footer code in the center pane. </p> <p><font color="#ffff00"><strong>Step 4</strong></font></strong>: Depending on what language you intend to implement the pop-up with, you can obtain the code from one of the following links:</p> <ul> <li><a title="English version of the code" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/en/text/text.php" target="_blank">English</a> </li> <li><a title="Bahasa Malaysia version of the code" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/my/text/text.php" target="_blank">Bahasa Malaysia</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese (Traditional) version of the code" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cn/big5/text/text.php" target="_blank">Chinese (Traditional)</a> </li> <li><a title="Chinese (Simplified) version of the code" href="http://cari.com.my/cijtest/cn/gbk/text/text.php" target="_blank">Chinese (Simplified)</a> </li> </ul> <p>Copy the entire contents from the text area on the web page you selected above. Paste the code you copied on the line <strong>immediately before </strong>the </body> tag (which is located towards the end of the code cluster). If there is no blank line, place your cursor at the beginning of the </body> tag, and press the <em>Enter</em> key on your keyboard.</p> <p>The code has been pre-configured to retrieve the images required from a specific external location, so there’s no need to do any modifications to the script.</p> <p><font color="#ffff00"><strong>Step 5</strong></font></strong>: Finally, save the modifications by clicking the <strong><em>Update File</em></strong> button at the bottom of the center pane. And with that, you’re ready to roll!</p> <p align="center"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><font color="#fff2ac">~~~ End Of Instructions ~~~</font></span></p> <p>The pop-up has been implemented at <a title="click to view pop-up implemented at myAsylum reLoaded" href="http://asylum60reloaded.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">myAsylum reLoaded</a>, the test blog that Walski uses for experimentation purposes, and the end-result should look like the image below.</p> <p align="center"><a title="The pop-up implemented at myAsylum reLoaded" href="http://asylum60reloaded.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Stop114ATestPop-Up450px.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>click on image for actual implementation view</strong></span></p> <p>Your blog will continue to operate as per normal once you close the pop-up. As mentioned earlier, you will want to inform CIJ Malaysia that you wish to participate before going ahead and carrying out the implementation.</p> <p>Walski hopes that this post has been helpful, and he looks forward to seeing your blog or website participate. It’s an initiative aimed at ensuring the Malaysian cyberspace remains free from the possible effects of Amendment 114A to the Evidence Act.</p> <p>The possibility of unjust prosecution aside, there’s also the chilling effect – Malaysians will no longer feel safe to express their views freely, and therefore exercise self-censorship. In other words, the death of the Internet as we know it…</p> </span></div> </span> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-13618986154233246922012-05-30T10:22:00.000+08:002012-05-30T10:22:00.748+08:00Opinion Poll: Censorship & Suppression of Ideas<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Poll+Position" rel="tag" target="_blank">Poll Position</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Opinion+Poll" rel="tag" target="_blank">Opinion Poll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Censorship" rel="tag" target="_blank">Censorship</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Suppression+Of+Thought" rel="tag" target="_blank">Suppression Of Thought</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Irshad+Manji" rel="tag" target="_blank">Irshad Manji</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Book+Banning" rel="tag" target="_blank">Book Banning</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>Unless you’ve been living under a rock without Internet, you would have heard by now the problems that <a title="via Free Malaysia Today" href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/05/29/jais-seizes-copies-of-manjis-book/" target="_blank">ZI Publications has had with the “law”</a>… Not civil law, but Selangor Syariah law. It’s a reminder that we are, after all, living in <a href="http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2009/10/legion-of-silencers-fervent-enablers-of.html" target="_blank">1Apartheid</a>.</p> <p>The <em>Legion of Silencers</em> has once again struck, it would seem…</p> <p>Long story short, Irshad Manji’s “<a title="via Amazon.com" href="http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Liberty-Love-Courage-Reconcile/dp/145164521X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328647676&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Allah, Liberty & Love</a>”, and it’s Bahasa Malaysia translation, “<em>Allah, Kebebasan & Cinta</em>”, have been banned by the Malaysian government, although no gazette has been officially issued as yet.</p> <p><a title="via Polldaddy.com" href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/6256206/" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 3px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="right" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/OpinionPoll-BookBanningSuppressionofThought.png" /></a>This is the latest is the long standing tradition of banning things in Malaysia, something that some of our fellow Malaysians seem to be proud of. And of course, when things like this happen, you know that a <em>myAsylum</em> poll can’t be too far away.</p> <p>The pretext of this latest banning, as with many others before it: <em>protection </em>of Islam and Muslims. And it is because what Irshad Manji writes about. And believe it or not, what she writes about is about MORE than just sex, something what most Malaysians have been led to believe the book is about.</p> <p>Frankly, Walski has not read the book – yet – so he can’t tell you exactly what it is about. It is a safe bet that those who have been instrumental in the book’s banning have not read it either. But based on what he surmises, sex is NOT the central topic, and very likely NOT a topic at all.</p> <p>In fact, why don’t we do away with supposition and hearsay, for once, and find out what the <a title="via Amazon.com" href="http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Liberty-Love-Courage-Reconcile/dp/145164521X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328647676&sr=1-1" target="_blank">chapter topics in the book are</a>:</p> <ul> <li>Introduction: From Anger to Aspiration </li> <li>Chapter 1: Some Things are More Important than Fear </li> <li>Chapter 2: Identity Can Trap You, But Integrity Will Set You Free </li> <li>Chapter 3: Culture is Not Sacred </li> <li>Chapter 4: You Define Your Honor </li> <li>Chapter 5: Offense is the Price of Diversity </li> <li>Chapter 6: In Times of Moral Crisis, Moderation is a Cop-Out </li> <li>Chapter 7: Lack of Meaning is The Real Death Threat </li> </ul> <p>And perhaps most “shocking” of all, <em>Recipe: Irshaddering Chai Tea</em> (which follows after Chapter 7).</p> <p>So far, thankfully, the MCMC has not ordered Amazon.com’s site to be blocked, and it is quite easily accessible, so go verify the table of contents for yourself, since the “majority” of Malaysians probably view Walski as nothing but a lying bastard not worthy of being believed.</p> <p>Funny, but Walski couldn’t find one single mention of the word <em>sex</em> in the table of contents. Or perhaps it was the new offensive word in the book’s title that got the clerics’ panties in a bundle: <em>liberty</em>. <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(the poll, its details, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>In any case, back to the poll – this time around, you get to pick THREE (3) choices out of the list given. Or suggest your own answer, reflecting what you think.</p> <p>Not what you reckon the government wants to achieve, but <strong>WHAT <u>YOU</u> THINK</strong>. It may come as a surprise to you, but here at <em>myAsylum</em> you are allowed to express what you really think, unlike in most parts of real-world Malaysia.</p> <p>As with other polls before this, you can share this poll via your Blogger blog (by clicking the icon below the poll, located at the sidebar on the right), or if your blogging platform of choice is Wordpress, you can use the shortcode <strong>[polldaddy poll="6256206"]</strong>. On other platforms, drop Walski a line via the comments and he’ll provide you the codes you need.</p> <p><font color="#fff2ac"><strong><font color="#ff0000">IMPORTANT NOTE</font>:</strong> Being that Walski has been labeled a “liberal” by most quarters, and being that these days, being a liberal is deemed to be a bigger sin than murder and rape, it would be a good idea for you to tell your friends of ALL orientations to participate in this poll. Only because Walski DOES want to know the opinions of everyone, and not just the opinions of like-minded people. Yes, we liberals are strange that way.</font></p> <p>The poll will be open until Midnight, Sunday, June 10, 2012, after which Walski will announce the results, and throw in some of his personal thoughts and analysis.</p> <p>Don’t worry: your opinions and how you vote are actually anonymous to Walski, so please participate in the poll according to how you actually feel, and be honest with yourself. Honesty is what Walski expects, nothing more, nothing less… </p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-84013924873973918812012-05-20T09:59:00.000+08:002012-05-20T09:59:00.697+08:00Cancer of the mind<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Religion" rel="tag" target="_blank">Religion</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Islam" rel="tag" target="_blank">Islam</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Irshad+Manji" rel="tag" target="_blank">Irshad Manji</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Compulsion" rel="tag" target="_blank">Compulsion</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Liberty" rel="tag" target="_blank">Liberty</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Freedom+Of+Conscience" rel="tag" target="_blank">Freedom Of Conscience</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>It has been a very, very long while since Walski has written anything related to religion. But recent events have made it necessary for him to do so.</p> <p>In the Quran, there is one basic commandment that is seldom talked about these days, going by the rhetoric from the many so-called “protectors” of faith. <br /><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/Quran2-256-1.jpg" width="450" height="123" /></p> <blockquote>Let there be <strong>no compulsion</strong> in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><strong>Quran 2:256 Yusuf Ali translation</strong></span> </blockquote> <p>Instead, what we hear today here in Malaysia is compulsion – in spades. Compulsion to believe that there is one, and only one, interpretation of what Islam is, and what it demands of the faith’s believers. Compulsion to accept what the “majority” accepts, and the compulsion to denigrate any point of view not in concordance with what’s “accepted”. Worse, the compulsion to prevent any expression of said viewpoints.</p> <p>How else could one explain this news report, published by Malaysiakini earlier this week?</p> <blockquote>A Muslim lawyers’ group is protesting Canadian author Irshad Manji’s programme in Kuala Lumpur on account of her “liberal” Muslim position, and wants her out of the country. <br /> <br />... <br /> <br />Persatuan Peguam Peguam Muslim Malaysia (PPMM) president Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar in a statement today said PPMM “objected to Irshad Manji’s programme” scheduled for this week. <br /> <br />“PPMM urges the government not to allow her to continue with her programme and have her leave Malaysia immediately, as it can be a <strong>cancer</strong> to Islamic practices in Malaysia,” Zainul Rijal said. <br /> <br />He added that several groups have lodged police reports over the matter, and also urged the ulama to come up with “rebuttals to counter” the ideas the author allegedly propagates. <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/198228" target="_blank">Malaysiakini</a>, subscription required)</span></blockquote> <p>Two things occur to Walski immediately: Zainul Rijal is <strong><em>afraid</em></strong>. And Zainul Rijal has no bloody clue what he’s afraid of. <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(what the real cancer is, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>In fact, Walski dares venture that Zainul Rijal has never read anything <a title="Irshad Manji's website" href="https://www.irshadmanji.com/" target="_blank">Irshad Manji</a> has written. Not her first book, “<em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107702.The_Trouble_With_Islam_Today" target="_blank">The Trouble With Islam Today</a></em>” <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(via Goodreads)</span>, nor her new book, “<em><a title="via Goodreads" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10306610-allah-liberty-and-love" target="_blank">Allah, Liberty, and Love: A Path to Reconciliation</a></em>".</p> <p>And, as Walski’s learned friend Haris Ibrahim has suggested in his posting on <em>The People’s Parliament</em>, Zainul Rijal "<em><a title="via The People's Parliament" href="http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/is-gods-word-not-enough-for-the-malaysian-muslim-lawyers-association/" target="_blank">has, himself, no answer to her points of view</a></em>".</p> <p>Instead, the vehement opposition to Irshad Manji is based on her sexual orientation, and the fact that she’s a “liberal”.</p> <p>And as we all know, the word “<em>liberal</em>” has become a foul seven-letter word among the seemingly growing number of folks wearing a conservative façade.</p> <p>Even worse, without even delving into what her message is – probably because these naysayers don’t have a clue – there is the immediate assumption that she’s here to champion LGBT issues. And as Walski has mentioned elsewhere, LGBT has become a manufactured political issue du juor.</p> <p>So, exactly what points of view does Irshad Manji have? Here’s an example:</p> <div align="center"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F38787449&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F38787449&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"><a href="http://soundcloud.com/irshad-manji-podcasts/irshad-manji-on-the-bob">Irshad Manji on the Bob Edwards Radio Show</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/irshad-manji-podcasts">Irshad Manji Podcasts</a></span></div> <p>The clip above is from approximately two months ago, and talks about her new book “<em><a title="via Goodreads" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10306610-allah-liberty-and-love" target="_blank">Allah, Liberty, and Love: A Path to Reconciliation</a></em>”. Any mention of LGBT and the championing of LGBT issues?</p> <p>So what is it that Irshad Manji says that orthodox Muslims find so repugnant and repulsive, to the point that they do not even want her on Malaysian soil? And please do Walski a favor – get your orthodox and/or conservative Muslim friends to listen to the the clip above, and then ask them the same question.</p> <p><a title="BM translation of "Allah, Liberty & Love"" href="https://www.irshadmanji.com/Just-launched-Malay-edition-Allah-Liberty-Love" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 4px 10px 0px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="left" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/IrshadManji-MalayCover2.jpg" width="125" height="186" /></a>If you had the moral courage to listen to the clip above, allow Walski to ask you a couple of other questions: Did you spontaneously combust, or get struck down by a bolt of lightning? Has your faith in God (assuming you have it in the first place) suddenly disappeared?</p> <p>It is a safe assumption to say that the probable and most likely answers to both these rhetorical questions are ‘<em>No</em>’.</p> <p>Having heard what Irshad Manji had to say in the clip above, do you still think that she is a “<em>cancer to Islamic practices in Malaysia</em>”? </p> <p>Walski’s personal opinion? “Islam” in Malaysia has been reduced to a very narrow and rigid interpretation, and nothing other than the “approved” Sunni-flavored “Islam” is tolerated. Just look at how the Shi’ah sects are viewed in this country, not to mention other schools of thought that have been deemed to be “deviant”.</p> <p>Oddly enough some of these very same “deviant” schools of thought are generally accepted elsewhere in the Islamic world. Ever heard of the <a href="http://www.ammanmessage.com/" target="_blank">Amman Message</a>? Malaysia is one of the signatories, and yet, the various Shariah laws we have in Malaysia do not reflect the consensus arrived at within this message. </p> <p>The gist of what is contained within the Amman Message can be summarized as follows, what’s commonly known as the <em><a href="http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=91&Itemid=74" target="_blank">Three Points of the Amman Message</a></em>: </p> <ol> <li>Whosoever is an adherent to one of the four Sunni schools (Mathahib) of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali), the two Shi‘i schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Ja‘fari and Zaydi), the Ibadi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Thahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence, is a Muslim. Declaring that person an apostate is impossible and impermissible. Verily his (or her) blood, honour, and property are inviolable. Moreover, in accordance with the Shaykh Al-Azhar’s fatwa, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to the Ash‘ari creed or whoever practices real Tasawwuf (Sufism) an apostate. Likewise, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to true Salafi thought an apostate. Equally, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare as apostates any group ofMuslims who believes in God, Glorified and Exalted be He, and His Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) and the pillars of faith, and acknowledges the five pillars of Islam, and does not deny any necessarily self-evident tenet of religion. </li> <li>There exists more in common between the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence than there is difference between them. The adherents to the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence are in agreement as regards the basic principles of Islam. All believe in Allah (God), Glorified and Exalted be He, the One and the Unique; that the Noble Qur’an is the Revealed Word of God; and that our master Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him, is a Prophet and Messenger unto all mankind. All are in agreement about the five pillars of Islam: the two testaments of faith (shahadatayn); the ritual prayer (salat); almsgiving (zakat); fasting the month of Ramadan (sawm), and the Hajj to the sacred house of God (in Mecca). All are also in agreement about the foundations of belief: belief inAllah (God),His angels, His scriptures, His messengers, and in the Day of Judgment, in Divine Providence in good and in evil. Disagreements between the ‘ulama (scholars) of the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence are only with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furu‘) and not as regards the principles and fundamentals (usul) [of the religion of Islam]. Disagreement with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furu‘) is a mercy. Long ago itwas said that variance in opinion among the ‘ulama (scholars) “is a good affair”. </li> <li>Acknowledgement of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Mathahib) within Islam means adhering to a fundamental methodology in the issuance of fatwas: no one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications which each school of Islamic jurisprudence determines [for its own adherents]. No one may issue a fatwa without adhering to the methodology of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. No one may claim to do absolute Ijtihad and create a new school of Islamic jurisprudence or to issue unacceptable fatwas that take Muslims out of the principles and certainties of the Shari‘ah and what has been established in respect of its schools of jurisprudence. </li> </ol> <p>The Malaysian reality, however, is that apart from the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence, all others are officially seen as not entirely kosher. Despite Malaysia being a signatory. Compulsion by the powers that be, therefore, to ensure that only “approved” Islam is practiced. </p> <p>And while Walski may not agree 100% with the Amman Message, it is a good and positive start towards reconciliation between the major schools of thought.</p> <p>The same Malaysiakini report quoted earlier also had this to say:</p> <blockquote>Meanwhile another pressure group Persatuan Persaudaraan Muslimah Malaysia (Salimah) said they vehemently objected to the arrival of one who they said “insulted Islam with her writings and attitude” that allegedly “denigrated the views of venerated scholars”. <br /> <br />“Inviting someone like her is surely an effort to challenge the sensitivities of the Muslim community in this country,” said the group’s chief Aminah Zakaria in a statement. <br /> <br />She said her group rejected Irshad’s presence charging that it would “raise confusion and incite anger” of the Muslim community. <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/198228" target="_blank">Malaysiakini</a>, subscription required)</span></blockquote> <p>Honestly, Walski doesn't know where to begin commenting on this. For starters, he seriously doubts that <em>Salimah </em>has read anything Irshad’s written. Secondly, why is it that champions of the brand of Islam we’re being force-fed are so damned sensitive and angry all the time? And why is it that just about anything disagreeable incites anger? </p> <p>Thirdly, by their own admission, <em>Salimah</em> are of the opinion that being a Muslim necessitates not thinking, and therefore prone to being confused all the time.</p> <p>Solution? Suppress ideas, and enforce this suppression through the stance of compulsion.</p> <p>The truth is that groups like the <em>PPMM</em> and <em>Salimah </em>refuse to accept that there exist views other than those that jive fully with the state-endorsed narrow world-view version of “Islam”. They live in denial, and would prefer that the rest of the Muslims (over whom they have no jurisdiction, incidentally) also be in denial just like them. </p> <p>That is the real cancer – the self-inflicted refusal by vocal ultra-conservative groups such as PPMM and <em>Salimah</em> to use the God-given gift of reasoning, in fear of possibly insulting the views of “venerated” (and centuries-long dead) scholars.</p> <p>But before you think Walski is being unduly harsh, he happens to think that theirs is a <em>conditioned</em> condition. It is the result of having been raised in an environment that loathes healthy inquiry, and damns questions as leading towards religious infidelity.</p> <p>In turn, they compel their dogma unto others, stopping at nothing to ensure that any opposing views are silenced. And yes, sometimes resorting to using <a title="via The Malaysian Insider" href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/putrajaya-events-with-lesbian-muslim-writer-manji-banned/" target="_blank">ultra-conservative elements within government to ensure that their suppressive tendencies appear legitimate</a>.</p> <p>Compulsion in religion, to Walski, does serve some purpose. Control is the primary one.  And compulsion in religion breeds hypocrisy, as pointed out by <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Akyol" target="_blank">Mustafa Akyol</a> in his <a title="via The New York Times" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/opinion/can-islamists-be-liberals.html" target="_blank">recent opinion piece published by The New York Times</a>.</p> <p>From Walski’s point of view, the root cause of the mind cancer that afflicts Mulsims at large, not just in Malaysia, but in many parts of the Islamic world, is in fact, <em>compulsion</em>. Coupled with the notions that the human intellect should not be applied to matters pertaining to religion, and religion is best left to those “<em>more qualified</em>”, a fertile environment is created for cancer of the mind to metastasize.</p> <p><strong><em>That</em></strong> is the real threat facing many Muslims today. As things stand, the notions of liberty only threaten those in positions of religious influence, positions that facilitate realpolitik power. And power, once tasted, is something difficult to relinquish.</p> <p>Perhaps the fear Walski senses in Zainul Rijal is the fear of liberty, and perhaps more fearful, freedom of conscience. Both are potential show-spoilers that can unravel the hold that persons of religious influence have. </p> <p>But it is exactly liberty and freedom of conscience that are needed if we ever want to eradicate the cancer of the mind that afflicts us.</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-49847917892135336832012-05-09T10:01:00.000+08:002012-05-09T10:01:00.689+08:00Top 10 Reasons Why Malaysia is NOT Egypt<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Humor" rel="tag" target="_blank">Humor</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Top+Ten" rel="tag" target="_blank">Top Ten</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Egypt" rel="tag" target="_blank">Egypt</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Malaysia" rel="tag" target="_blank">Malaysia</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bersih" rel="tag" target="_blank">Bersih</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Democracy" rel="tag" target="_blank">Democracy</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="myAsylum's Top 10 List" border="0" alt="myAsylum's Top 10 List" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum Overflow/myAsylumTopTen.jpg" width="450" height="80" /></p> <p>It's no secret that this Top 10 List has been inspired by Marina Mahathir's <a title="via Rantings by MM" href="http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2012/05/no-were-not-egypti-think.html" target="_blank">latest post</a>, and by what senior lawyer <a title="via The Malaysian Insider" href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/dataran-merdeka-is-not-tahrir-square-malaysia-is-not-eygpt-tommy-thomas/" target="_blank">Tommy Thomas wrote recently</a>.</p> <p>And despite the no-brainer that Malaysia is not Egypt, certain individuals in positions of power – and some formerly in positions of power – insist that <a title="via the Bersih coalition website" href="http://bersih.org/?p=4696" target="_blank">Bersih 3.0</a> was an attempt to “<em><a title="via The Malaysian Insider" href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/cops-probing-bersih-3.0-as-attempt-at-violent-revolution/" target="_blank">occupy Dataran Merdeka</a></em>” until the government in power is expelled.</p> <p>Through free and fair elections maybe, but certainly not through a revolting revolution.</p> <p>And Walski certainly doesn’t remember anyone attending Bersih 3.0 armed with their wardrobe or a supply of Maggi Mee to last a lifetime.</p> <p>Seems like some people are in a state of desperate exasperation. Or exasperating desperation. Whatever…</p> <p>So, once and for all, in hopes that certain numbskull individuals are finally convinced, here are the Top 10 reasons why Malaysia is <strong>NOT</strong> Egypt…   <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(the Top 10 list, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">10. Malaysia is NOT in Africa</font></strong></span> <br />Despite how some people like to compare us to Zimbabwe (and how we seem to love <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe" target="_blank">Robert Mugabe</a>), and a stroll down some parts of KL reminds one of <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuja" target="_blank">Abuja</a>, Malaysia is NOT in Africa. Wrong continent, mate – failed geography much?  </p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">9. Egypt has The Nile</font></strong></span> <br />On the other hand, what we have is <em>denial</em>. Lots of it. But that still doesn't make us Egypt.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">8. "Malaysia" and "Egypt" only have ONE letter in common</font></strong></span>  <br />And that alphabet is the letter “<strong>y</strong>”. Yes, <em>Why</em> indeed. <em>Why</em>, <em>Why</em>, <em>Why</em>? So many questions left unanswered…</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">7. Egypt actually <em>has</em> a Spring</font></strong></span> <br />Despite the changing weather patterns, Malaysia does NOT have a season called <em>Spring</em>. Local fashion designers kindly take note. The only seasons we have are Wet, Dry and Durian. With the proliferation of Thai imports, however, even the latter is questionable these days. Any mention of a <em>Malaysian Spring</em> can only logically refer to mattresses. And there ain’t anything revolutionary about mattresses.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">6. Egypt has pyramids</font></strong></span> <br />The closest we come here in Malaysia is <em><a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme" target="_blank">pyramid schemes</a></em>. But since these don't come with sarcophagi or mummies, they don't really count.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">5. Camels are NOT indigenous to Malaysia</font></strong></span> <br />And on a similar note, the <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapir" target="_blank"><em>Tapir</em></a> is not indigenous to Egypt. Incidentally, Wikipedia indicates that the <em>Tapir</em> is a <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browsing_(herbivory)" target="_blank">browsing</a> mammal, although it neglects to mention which browser is preferred. Personally, Walski, like many other Malaysians, prefers <a title="via Google" href="https://www.google.com/chrome" target="_blank">Chrome</a>. As do many Egyptians, most likely. But that doesn’t make Malaysia anything like Egypt.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">4. Egypt has a much higher FIFA ranking</font></strong></span> <br />The current <a title="via FIFA.com" href="http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/index.html" target="_blank">FIFA World Ranking</a> lists Egypt at #55, while Malaysia sits at an inglorious #156. No comparison whatsoever. There are at least 6 Egyptian footballers who have been in a Barclay’s Premier League team between 2004 and the present. Malaysian players? ‘Nuff said.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">3. Sandstorms are common in Egypt</font></strong></span> <br />Whereas in Malaysia, sand creates political storms. Mostly in teacups. And sometimes, teacups in Selangor.</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">2. In Malaysia vehicular traffic travels on the left</font></strong></span> <br />While in Egypt, it's more a guessing adventure, so Walski's told. Egyptians will probably say we drive on the wrong side of the road, since they drive on the right side. Sometimes on the left, or center, too, to avoid camels, and other stray animals. In Malaysia, it’s only the stray <em>mat rempit</em> that we usually have to worry about.</p> <p>And last, but certainly not least….</p> <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 125%"><strong><font color="#fff2ac">1. Malaysians DON'T walk like Egyptians (usually)</font></strong></span></p> <div align="center"><iframe height="305" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a5N7RNQUKts" frameborder="1" width="450" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>So there you have it, 10 reasons why we're nothing like Egypt. </p> <p>Now to convince the numbnuts in power to stop the revolting notion that Malaysians are planning to revolt just like the Egyptians did. Not to say Egyptians are revolting, mind you. But they did revolt.</p> <p>Come to think about it, all they wanted was to stop being trodden upon. And their leaders-that-were saw said desire to be revolting…. Maybe that’s just a disease of those in power for far too long. Who knows.</p> <p>All we peaceful Malaysians want is free and fair elections. Any toppling shall only be done through the ballot box, and the ballot box alone. </p> <p>Or is that desire revolting as well?</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-26216129321644738982012-04-02T09:09:00.000+08:002012-04-02T09:09:00.870+08:00The Pseudonymous Blogger and a Memorable Saturday...<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Readings" rel="tag" target="_blank">Readings</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Readings@Seksan's" rel="tag" target="_blank">Readings@Seksan's</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Walski+in+the+flesh" rel="tag" target="_blank">Walski in the flesh</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>While Liverpool FC’s season continues with their self-destruct strategy to get into Europe next season – this time at the hands of Newcastle – Walski thought he’d better get away from the boob-tube and post this.</p> <p>No point getting the adrenalin pumping and blood pressure up for no good reason. Unlike Saturday afternoon, when the obligatory stage fright took over Walski’s body, and let loose the horde of butterflies into his abdominal area.</p> <p>But before we get the festivities of this blogpost further along, thanks once again to <a title="Bibliobibuli, Sharon's literary blog" href="http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/">Sharon Bakar</a> for the opportunity to read at Saturday’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/12482985713/">Readings@Seksan’s</a>. </p> <p><a title="The flesh that carries Walski around, image hosting by Photobucket" href="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/552263_10150762566821031_578321030_11719684_791871268_n.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="right" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/552263_10150762566821031_578321030_11719684_791871268_n.jpg" width="240" height="360" /></a>And many thanks, too, to Dina Zaman for capturing an image of him for the scrapbook. Guess who forgot to assign someone to snap-snap while Walski read?</p> <p>But it went well, he must say. Rather pleasantly surprised that Walski’s writing was enjoyed by the audience.</p> <p>So, what did he finally decide to read? After much contemplation, Walski decided to read the only blogpost he’s written that resembles a story – <a title="originally posted on November 16, 2006" href="http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2006/11/ali-baba-and-seven-dwarfs.html">Ali Baba and the Seven Dwarfs</a>, from way back in 2006 – and <a title="originally posted on February 24, 2012" href="http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2012/02/men-are-from-mars-women-are-from-venus.html">another piece that’s a lot more recent</a>. </p> <p>Yes, the person you see in the picture above is the organic vessel in which Walski traverses this dimension. Not the pink guys, but the one directly in front of the mic.</p> <p>All told, he didn’t do too badly, despite the damned butterflies occasionally getting in the way, fluttering around the vessel’s larynx region, colliding with the tangled vocal cords… <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(no longer a Readings virgin, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>Best part of the whole afternoon, though, was that some parts of what Walski wrote, and read, made a few people chuckle. Hopefully think, too. Oh, and he got reacquainted with a word he hadn’t heard in a while – <em>faction</em>. Fiction based on fact. Which is what the Ali Baba story was, in any case. </p> <p>He did feel somewhat intimidated, he must admit, reading in the company of much more accomplished writers. But with encouragement from the Mrs, and Sharon, he decided to go ahead with it.</p> <p>Walski has sure come a long way from when he first started this blog. And he reckons, that after six years of writing under a pseudonym, it was time to appear in the flesh. </p> <p>Does the organic vessel ever intend to drop the pseudonym and write under his own name. One should never say never, but Walski has every intention of continuing pseudonymously. Which, by the way, is very different from “anonymously”, because unless you’re one of the ‘walking brain-dead’, it’s not really difficult to find out the vessel’s identity.</p> <p>And no, you do not go to the marine registry to find out…</p> <p>In any case, Saturday’s Readings was documented (apparently for the first time) by a gentleman named <a title="via Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/leonwing">Leon Wing</a>. Walski appears around time marker 9:56 thereabouts.</p> <div align="center"><iframe height="229" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2_sts1i00lY" frameborder="1" width="450" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>So yeah, Walski is no longer a Readings virgin. To him, Saturday was a rite of passage that any writer worth his or her weight in <a title="otherwise known as SALT (via Wikipedia)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chloride">Sodium Chloride</a> needs to go through in the Malaysian world of the written word.</p> <p>And more importantly, it was fun.</p> <p>Walski read last of all, by the way, preceded by four other <em>real</em> writers: Shahminee Selvakannu (the writer who mentioned the word “<em>faction</em>”, if not mistaken), Jasmine Low, Dina Zaman, and Sabah Carrim.</p> <p><a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Twan_Eng">Tan Twan Eng</a>, the other guy writer who was supposed to read from his new book <em><a title="via Myrmidon Books" href="http://www.myrmidonbooks.com/Garden-of-Mist.html">The Garden of Evening Mists</a> </em>was unfortunately down with dengue, of all things. So Walski was left being the thorn among the roses. Which is kind of fitting, in a way, since he’s been a thorn in the side of a few folks along the way…</p> <p>Dina Zaman read from her recently launched collection of short stories, <a title="via Silverfish Books" href="http://www.silverfishbooks.com/buybooks/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&products_id=1343"><em>King of The Sea</em></a>, a book that Walski will definitely get one day. Once his self-imposed moratorium on book purchases is lifted, that is.</p> <p>A pleasant surprise was Ms. <a title="via Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sabahcarrim">Sabah Carrim</a>, an author who hails from Mauritius, reading from her book, <em><a title="via Amazon.com" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007333O5K">Humeirah: A story about Beauty, Existence and Wisdom</a></em>. <em>Humeirah</em> gives us an insight into being a woman, and being Muslim, in Mauritius, which incidentally is where one of Walski’s aunt lives. So perhaps this, too, will be a book that will make it to that growing list, post-moratorium.</p> <p>So there you have it, another chapter in the ever-continuing life adventures of Walski. It was a pleasure to meet and speak to those whom he met yesterday, and whom, with the right cosmic alignments, will meet again somewhere down the road of uncertainty that we call <em>life</em>.</p> <p>In the meantime, if you can’t be good, be good at it…</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-65425826394815227242012-03-27T12:34:00.000+08:002012-03-27T12:46:47.625+08:00Guess who's reading at the March 2012 Readings@Seksan's?<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Readings" rel="tag" target="_blank">Readings</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Readings@Seksan's" rel="tag" target="_blank">Readings@Seksan's</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/March+2012" rel="tag" target="_blank">March 2012</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Sharon+Bakar" rel="tag" target="_blank">Sharon Bakar</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>Nice surprises come in all shapes, sizes and colors…</p> <p><a title="Readings@Seksan's for March 2012, image taken from Bibliobibuli, hosting by Photobucket" href="http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-readingsseksan.html" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 4px auto 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/MarchReadings2012500px.jpg" /></a></p> <p>And yes, you read it correctly – Walski will be reading this time around... <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(reading blogposts out loud, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>First off, allow Walski to convey his gratitude to <a title="Bibliobibuli, Sharon's book & literary blog" href="http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sharon Bakar</a> for inviting him to this month’s Readings. Saying that he’s flattered would be an understatement. It’s more like:</p> <div align="center"><iframe height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Vh78T--ZUxY" frameborder="1" width="480" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>Okay, admittedly Walski exaggerates, but you get the idea.</p> <p>Sharon had, in fact, asked him quite a while back if Walski would be interested to read. Quite frankly, it is an honor to be asked in the first place. As far as the Malaysian English literary scene (if there even is such a thing) is concerned, Readings@Seksan’s  is definitely a rite of passage, and a form of recognition as a writer.</p> <p>The bigger challenge is selecting what to read. Blogging, IWHO (in Walski’s humble opinion), is very different from essay, story, or column writing, as the writing style and structure are geared towards  an online audience. The utilization of visuals/images and linking to information are characteristics of most posts here, and don’t translate very well to having them “read” at a reading.</p> <p>But Walski will definitely find a way to pull this off. How? Well, he still hasn’t entirely figured it out yet, and it will depend on which post(s) he selects to read from. And because he’s been blogging since 2006, there are around 1,300 posts to choose from.</p> <p>Perhaps, for the sake of being practical, Walski will choose a posting that’s not so heavy on the hyperlinking and illustrations. Or maybe not. We’ll just have to wait and see what he decides to do come Saturday.</p> <p>Of course, not showing up at all is also an option. But rest assured, Sharon, Walski will not do that to you…</p> <p>In any case, if you get a chance, do come check out this upcoming session of Readings@Seksan’s. But don’t do it for Walski’s sake alone – there will be 5 other (real) writers slated, and he can assure you that it will be a Saturday afternoon well spent.</p> <p>After all, the shopping malls will still be around on other Saturdays.</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-65172758782063539382012-03-24T11:54:00.000+08:002012-03-24T11:59:40.545+08:00LGBT: A scare of ridiculomendous proportions<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/LGBT" rel="tag" target="_blank">LGBT</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Public+Scare" rel="tag" target="_blank">Public Scare</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Fascism" rel="tag" target="_blank">Fascism</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Politics" rel="tag" target="_blank">Politics</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Hate" rel="tag" target="_blank">Hate</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p><a title="Logo for Wikipedia LGBT Portal, image hosting by Photobucket" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:LGBT" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 4px 0px 10px 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="right" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/240px-Wikipedia-LGBT.png" /></a>If you've been following the news of late, particularly the Malay language media, Malaysia is apparently under threat from this “menace” known as LGBT. </p> <p>No, not <em>Legless Goats Bleating Terrifyingly</em> – which admittedly would be somewhat scary – but a section of our community, collectively known as <em><strong>Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender</strong></em>.</p> <p>No specifics as to exactly why LGBT is so threatening, apart from making some people insecure (more on that later), but yeah, we’re apparently under threat.</p> <blockquote>The government needs to create a “homosexual rehabilitation centre” to combat the phenomenon in Malaysia, according to Barisan Nasional MP who today claimed 30 per cent of Malaysian men were gay. <br /> <br />According to a Bernama Online report, Datuk Baharum Mohamad (BN-Sekijang) said in Parliament today that this was to aid those with homosexual tendencies or engaged in same-sex relationships to stop such behaviour. <br /> <br />“We have to find a solution to combat these activities from getting rampant just like the efforts we take to combat drugs,” Baharum said. <br /> <br />“<strong><font color="#fff2ac">A study has found</font></strong> that, right now, three out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay. This is scary.” <br /> <br />It is unclear what study the lawmaker was citing when he made his address. <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bn-lawmaker-moots-gay-rehab-centre" target="_blank">The Malaysian Insider</a>)</span></blockquote> <p>Well, Walski did a bit of poking around and found out what “study” the MP was referring to. Essentially, it was a statement by a counselor named <em>Hushim Hashim</em> that was published (presumably) in Mingguan Malaysia a couple of weekends back.</p> <p>And the findings of this “study” are indeed shocking... <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(using stupidity to shock and awe ridiculously, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>All Walski could find was a scanned newspaper clipping. And he’s taken the liberty of transcribing (and translating, in <font color="#fff2ac">this color</font>) what this so-called expert had to say.</p> <blockquote><a title="Image of newspaper clipping, taken from Minta Tolong!, hosting by Photobucket" href="http://tolongmalaysia1.blogspot.com/2012/03/tolong-bimbang-3-dan-10-lelaki-malaysia.html" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 4px 15px 10px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="left" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/gaydimalaysia1.jpg" /></a>Ancaman lesbian, gay, biseksual dan transgender (LGBT) kini menjadi barah dalam masyarakat apabila penularan budaya songsang itu meningkat mendadak khususnya dalam kalangan penuntut institusi pengajian tinggi. <br /> <br /><em><font color="#fff2ac">The threat of LGBT has now become a cancer in society since its prevalence has increased tremendously, particularly among students in institutions of higher learning.</font></em> <br /> <br />Perkara ini didedahkan Kaunselor Berdaftar, Hushim Salleh (gambar) yang telah mengendali dan memberi terapi kaunseling kepada lebih 1,000 golongan LGBT yang ingin kembali ke pangkal jalan sejak 20 tahun lalu. <br /> <br /><em><font color="#fff2ac">This was revealed by Hushim Salleh (pictured), a Registered Counselor, who has facilitated and provided counseling therapy to more than 1,000 LGBT who have wanted to repent their ways, for the past 20 years.</font></em> <br /> <br />Paling mengejutkan, berdasarkan kajian beliau hasil pengakuan bekas-bekas golongan LGBT, daripada 10 lelaki di negara ini, tiga adalah gay. <br /> <br /><em><font color="#fff2ac">More shocking, based on his research through the confessions of former LGBT, three out of 10 men in this country are gay.</font></em> <br /> <br />Mereka ini golongan split identity (pelbagai identiti) iaitu sebelah pagi dia boleh jadi imam kemudian tengah hari meliwat orang. <br /> <br /><em><font color="#fff2ac">They are individuals with split personality, who in the morning can become 'imams', then sodomize people in the afternoon.</font></em> <br /> <br />Berdasarkan pengakuan golongan ini, mereka mendakwa bahawa daripada 10 lelaki, tiga adalah gay. Ini tidak termasuk pondan dan lesbian. Sebab itu, saya harap semua pihak jangan pandang remeh benda ini. <br /> <br /><em><font color="#fff2ac">Based on their confessions, they allege that out of 10 men, three are gay. And this doesn't include effeminate men and lesbians. Because of this, I hope everyone doesn't take this lightly.</font></em> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: Newspaper clipping obtained from <a title="Minta Tolong! blog posting" href="http://tolongmalaysia1.blogspot.com/2012/03/tolong-bimbang-3-dan-10-lelaki-malaysia.html" target="_blank">Minta Tolong!</a>)</span></blockquote> <p>So let's get this straight – 3 out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay? Doing the math, that would translate to around 42 male BN Members of Parliament being gay (there are 127 in total), and also 21 Pakatan Rakyat and 2 Independent male MPs! Shocked? You should be, particularly at the blatantly pseudoscientific methodology used to derive the figure of 30%.</p> <p>Which, if you think about it, isn’t all that surprising, considering what this same “expert” had to say in another article published in – you guessed it – Utusan Malaysia (translation by <em>myAsylum</em>, in <font color="#fff2ac">this color</font>).</p> <blockquote>Dari segi ilmu kaunseling memang benar orang yang terlibat dengan budaya LGBT adalah orang sakit. Mereka sebenarnya sakit jiwa walaupun dikurnia mental yang bijak. Kalau jati diri kita tetap, tarikan pada jantina berbeza tetapi orang macam ini tidak. Gay ini pula terbahagi kepada tiga golongan iaitu homoseksual, <strong>heteroseksual</strong> dan biseksual. <br /> <br /><font color="#fff2ac">From the angle of counseling knowledge, it is true that people involved with the LGBT culture are sick. They actually suffer from mental illness although bestowed with intelligent mentality. If their self-esteem is strong, the attraction is to the opposite sex, but not so with people like these. Gays are divided into three groups: homosexuals, <strong>heterosexuals</strong> and bisexuals.</font> <br /> <br />Homoseksual dia memberi dan menerima. kebanyakan terdiri daripada lelaki-lelaki macho. Heteroseksual pula hanya memberi sahaja manakala biseksual paling bahaya kerana mereka tidak pernah puas dan boleh berada dimana-mana sahaja dalam masyarakat. Gay adalah manusia yang paling susah dikesan kerana mereka berperwatakan seperti sesumpah. <br /> <br /><font color="#fff2ac">Homosexuals "give" and "receive". Most are macho men. Heterosexuals only "give", while bisexuals are the most dangerous because they are never satisfied and can be anywhere within society. Gays are very difficult to detect, because the are chameleons in their character.</font> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <a title="via Utusan Malaysia" href="http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2012&dt=0311&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=Rencana&pg=re_03.htm&arc=hive" target="_blank">Utusan Malaysia</a>)</span></blockquote> <p>Walski honestly doesn’t know from which dark, deep, God-forsaken abyss this guy’s “<em>counseling knowledge</em>” comes from, but since <em>heterosexuals</em> are also gay, doesn’t that mean EVERYBODY’s gay?</p> <p>So if that’s the case, what the hell is the big deal?</p> <p>You know what Walski thinks, though? This recent ultra-focus on LGBT is a ploy. Not the <a title="all about Baldrick (of Blackadder fame), via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldrick" target="_blank">Baldrick</a> kind of “cunning plan” ploy, but something more basic and political in nature.</p> <p>It’s no accident that Utusan has been on the offensive. A quick look at the NGOs also on the forefront of combatting this “menace” indicates that they’re mostly UMNO-friendly. NGOs such as <a href="http://jaringanmelayumal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">JMM</a> and <a href="http://jaringanmelayumal.blogspot.com/2012/03/ngo-islam-bantah-resolusi-pbb-iktiraf.html" target="_blank">Perkasa</a>.</p> <p>An UMNO MP recently mooted in Parliament that <a title="via The Malaysian Insider" href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bn-lawmaker-moots-gay-rehab-centre" target="_blank">gay rehabilitation centers need to be set up</a>. And of course, at the end of the day, <a title="via The Star" href="http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F3%2F22%2Fnation%2F20120322151354&sec=nation" target="_blank">only Muslim LGBT will be persecuted</a>, according to another UMNO she-warrior. After all, in case you didn’t already realize it, we live in a <a href="http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2011/10/saying-no-to-1apartheid.html" target="_blank">1Apartheid</a> nation. </p> <p>The ploy, in Walski’s opinion, is to divert attention from more serious issues, such as <strong>corruption</strong>, <strong>abuse of power</strong> and <strong>misuse of public funds</strong>, all of which have been, of late, dogging the UMNO-led BN-constituted federal government of the day.</p> <p>Think about this: if <a title="Seksuality Merdeka websit" href="http://www.seksualitimerdeka.org/" target="_blank">Seksualiti Merdeka</a> had not made the mistake of inviting Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan to be the keynote speaker, do you think anyone would have batted an eyelid? And believe Walski when he says this: Ambiga sends shivers down the spines of these UMNOphiliacs, with what had been achieved with <a title="Bersih website" href="http://bersih.org/" target="_blank">Bersih 2.0</a>, whether they want to admit it or not.</p> <p>Incidentally, Walski is not the only one who thinks that this is a ploy to divert attention, going by the <a title="via Malaysia Today" href="http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/no-holds-barred/48191-why-discriminate-against-straight-people" target="_blank">snide posting this past Thursday by fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin</a>. </p> <p>Well, Walski’s advise to Malaysians, particularly you Melayu fellers who think that UMNO is the best thing since the invention of <em>nasi lemak</em>, <strong><font color="#ffff00">DO NOT BE FOOLED</font></strong>. <strong><font color="#fff2ac">JANGAN TERTIPU</font></strong>.</p> <p>Without a shadow of a doubt, LGBT will be used as a MAJOR election issue by UMNO, in the hopes that you don’t focus on what will really destroy this nation: corruption, blatant misuse of public funds, loss of human capital to other lands, inefficiency, and of course, institutionalized discrimination.</p> <p>Do you really have to wonder why Malaysia is slow to ratify UN resolutions against all forms of discrimination? We bloody thrive on it, that’s why – discrimination, part of the modus operandi that keeps those holding the reins of power entrenched. </p> <p>And in keeping with this important core competency, LGBT is made into a big, threatening issue. It is once again the use of discrimination to plant irrational fears into a populace that has been programmed to accept any form of bullshit as long as it’s bullshit from the right people.</p> <p>What this anti-LGBT campaign will achieve, in Walski’s opinion is more homophobia, more hate, and yes, more discrimination.  </p> <p>LGBT will not bankrupt or destroy this nation, but corruption and abuse certainly will.</p> <p>Open your eyes, <a title="via Urban Dictionary" href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=moist+robot" target="_blank">moist robots</a>, and do what’s right – ignore these creeps who want nothing more than to turn this great nation into a self-righteous wasteland devoid of any reason to be part of the world citizenry.</p> <p>As Walski’s parting shot dedicated to those who think that Malaysians are stupid enough to buy your crap, he leaves you with this well-known classic ditty…</p> <div align="center"><iframe height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SHhrZgojY1Q" frameborder="1" width="480" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>And he certainly hopes you don't get fooled by this ridiculomendous initiative of hate cultivation either...</p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%"> <p><font color="#3366ff"><strong>Walski’s etymologically made up footnote</strong>: In case you can’t find the word <strong><em>ridiculomendous</em></strong> (and in all likelihood you won’t) in any dictionary online or off, it is a word made up by Walski. It essentially is a concatenation of the words <em>ridiculous</em> and <em>tremendous</em>, and can mean either one of two things: ridiculously tremendous, or tremendously ridiculous.</font></p> <p><font color="#3366ff">For the purposes of this particular post, the latter meaning is intended. But you probably already knew that, didn't you?</font> </p> </span></span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-58294701167638507672012-03-22T11:32:00.000+08:002012-03-22T11:42:50.418+08:00Knowledge in the days post-Britannica<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Humor" rel="tag" target="_blank">Humor</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Wikipedia" rel="tag" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Encyclopedia+Britannica" rel="tag" target="_blank">Encyclopedia Britannica</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/HG2G" rel="tag" target="_blank">HG2G</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Encyclopedia+Galactica" rel="tag" target="_blank">Encyclopedia Galactica</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <blockquote><em>In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker's Guide has already <strong><font color="#fff2ac">supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica</font></strong> as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects. First, it is slightly cheaper; and second, it has the words "DON'T PANIC" inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.</em> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(<strong>source</strong>: <strong>The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy</strong> by <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams">Douglas Adams</a>)</span></blockquote> <p><a title="RIP Encyclopedia Britannica, image hosting by Photobucket" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/net-us-encyclopediabritannica-idUSBRE82C1FS20120314" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 4px 0px 10px 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" border="0" align="right" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/BritannicaGoesGalactica.jpg" width="280" height="294" /></a>We can safely assume that when Douglas Adams wrote this passage, he had probably not foreseen the <a title="Demise of the Encyclopedia Britannica print edition, via Reuters" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/net-us-encyclopediabritannica-idUSBRE82C1FS20120314" target="_blank">demise of the Encyclopedia Britannica print version</a>. After all, Hitchhiker’s was published in the late 70s, well before the advent of Wikipedia, what is to the Britannica that HG2G is to the Galactica.</p> <p>At least in this pan-dimension, where mice are simply just furry little creatures with very little knowledge of the actual history of cheese. </p> <p>But that aside, the definitive tussle between the Encyclopaedia Galactica and HG2G in the fictional realm of the universe bears some parallels to real-world comparisons between the 32-volume paper edition of the <a title="Encyclopedia Britannica website" href="http://www.britannica.com/" target="_blank">Encyclopedia Britannica</a>, and the availability of information via the Internet. Primarily when comparing the unwieldy and voluminous Britannica with Wikipedia.</p> <p>For one thing, although it doesn’t usually emblazon the words “<em>Don’t Panic</em>” across its website, <a title="Wikipedia website main page" href="http://www.wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> is free, while Britannica sets you back in the region of USD 1,400 for the beautifully bound printed set, or USD 70 per year for an online subscription <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(source: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/net-us-encyclopediabritannica-idUSBRE82C1FS20120314" target="_blank">Reuters</a>)</span>. </p> <p>While that's quite obvious to most people (except maybe for the quantum of price difference), another similarity is less frequently mentioned: both the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Wikipedia are <strong><em>peer-edited</em></strong>. <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(Knowledge, the Universe , and more [but not quite Everything], in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>In other words, they both leverage on the almost limitless resource of everyday knowledge from everyday peer experts, and not on the limited human resource that the more established encyclopedia houses have to rely on.</p> <p>And since just about everyone is connected to the Internet these days, anyone with domain expertise in a particular subject can contribute. Much like how Ford Prefect was a contributor to HG2G, even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_Nine" target="_blank">Walski has contributed</a> something to Wikipedia (albeit very minor).</p> <p>True, the open nature of Wikipedia makes it open to abuse, but most misinformation is quite quickly detected (usually within minutes). But at least it has more to say <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth" target="_blank">about Mother Earth</a> than just “<em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrases_from_The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Mostly_Harmless" target="_blank">Mostly Harmless</a></em>”, making it a better resource than even the HG2G. In fact, comparing it to the Britannica, Wikipedia wins hands down in discussing this now popular phrase (see the Britannica version <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/5111/Douglas-Adams" target="_blank">here</a>).</p> <p>But, Walski digresses…</p> <p>A few days ago, he received an e-mail with a request to share an infographic about the now ubiquitous knowledge site. It represents a quick reference, single-glance look at everything you’ve always wanted to know about Wikipedia (but didn’t have <a title="via what else, but Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales" target="_blank">Jimmy Wales</a>’ mobile number).</p> <p align="center"><a title="Wikipedia - Redefining Research (via Open-Site.org)" href="http://open-site.org/wikipedia/"><img style="margin: 5px 0px" border="0" alt="Wikipedia" src="http://opensite.s3.amazonaws.com/wikipedia.jpg" width="500" /></a> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Via: <a href="http://open-site.org/">Open-Site.org</a></span></p> <p>When was the last time you entered a public library? Walski can’t even remember when he last did. It must have been over 20 years ago when he was still in college. </p> <p>The biggest difference between paper-bound knowledge and the online kind is the speed of how information can be updated. As we’ve seen with many recent events (such as <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring" target="_blank">The Arab Spring</a>, and the current <a title="via Wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%932012_Syrian_uprising" target="_blank">Syrian Uprising</a>, via Twitter and Facebook), we are able to keep ourselves in the know, almost instantaneously.</p> <p>Similarly with knowledge-based information on Wikipedia – It is a lot more up to date compared with what we can find in paper-bound encyclopedias. Even the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica kind of lags behind, somewhat.</p> <p>Best of all, you don’t run the risk of having pages of your expensive encyclopedia getting the black marker treatment, something that still happens regularly in Malaysia to selected print publications deemed “<em>undesirable</em>” for our consumption. </p> <p>Some might think that Wikipedia is low-brow and pedestrian compared to the beautifully bound (and expensive) Encyclopedia Britannica. Some might think that knowledge can only be attained through the printed word. Well, Walski thinks that these <em>some</em> are wrong. Numbers don’t lie, and the increased acceptance within the academic circles says it all.</p> <p>The more access we have to information, the more opportunity we have to turn the information we ingest into knowledge.</p> <p>As Farish A. Noor wrote in <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/what-is-knowledge-and-why-do-i-teach-farish-a.-noor/" target="_blank">his essay yesterday</a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">(via The Malaysian Insider)</span>, “<em>…with knowledge, it’s like we have a magical box that can expand and keep expanding. No matter how much we read, we can read more, learn more, remember more. And with that we grow into better, more knowledgeable and wiser people</em>".</p> <p>In essence, therefore, it’s the wealth and breadth of information that’s important. It cannot be denied that the Internet, through sites such as Wikipedia – and yes, even the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica – provides us with just that. </p> <p>There is another similarity between the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Wikipedia that has thus far gone unmentioned. Walski’s not sure whether Jimmy Wales is a fan of HG2G or not, but Wikipedia embodies one very important lesson that Walski learned from the writing of the late great Douglas Adams throughout the HG2G series of books.</p> <p>And it is upon this very important precept that Walski chooses to end this post:</p> <p align="center"><strong><font color="#fff2ac" size="3"><em>Share and Enjoy!</em></font></strong></p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21302477.post-29315041245519292562012-03-20T20:38:00.000+08:002012-03-20T20:38:00.280+08:00Poll Position: And the New PM you've chosen is...<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Poll+Position" rel="tag" target="_blank">Poll Position</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Next+PM+Of+Malaysia" rel="tag" target="_blank">Next PM Of Malaysia</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/General+Elections" rel="tag" target="_blank">General Elections</a></span> <div align="justify"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%"> <p>Beware the Ides of March… which is when the last poll we ran closed. For Chua Soi Lek, at least, the poll results are disappointing. Very disappointing. And the Ides of March wasn’t at all kind to the man.</p> <p align="center"><img style="margin: 4px auto 0px; display: block; float: none" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/walski69/myAsylum%20Overflow/PollPosition-TheNextPMofMalaysia.jpg" /></p> <p>As it turns out, after a few weeks of the poll being up, NOBODY picked him. Not one single vote.</p> <p>By a 2% margin over her father (who came in second), you picked <strong><em>Nurul Izzah Anwar</em></strong> as your choice for the next PM of Malaysia.</p> <p>Overall, those representing BN did very badly. Pretty much sympathy votes, by the looks of it. But with the kind of governmental silliness that’s been happening, are you at all surprised?</p> <p>And you can’t spell <em>governmental</em> without ‘mental’… which pretty much describes what’s been going on in Malaysia of late.  <br /><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 85%">(further analysis, and more, in the full post)</span></strong></p> <span class="fullpost"> <p>Since the chart is a bit of an eye test, Walski decided to provide a tabulation of how each person listed in the poll fared (in descending order):</p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="400"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Nurul Izzah Anwar</td> <td valign="top" width="180">29.73%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Anwar Ibrahim</td> <td valign="top" width="180">27.03%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Lim Guan Eng</td> <td valign="top" width="180">20.27%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Wan Azizah Wan Ismail</td> <td valign="top" width="180">5.41%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Baru Bian</td> <td valign="top" width="180">1.35%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">G. Palanivel</td> <td valign="top" width="180">1.35%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Muhyiddin Yasin</td> <td valign="top" width="180">1.35%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Najib Abdul Razak</td> <td valign="top" width="180">1.35%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Nik Aziz Nik Mat</td> <td valign="top" width="180">1.35%</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="211">Chua Soi Lek</td> <td valign="top" width="180">0.00%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>In addition, <strong>10.81%</strong> chose the <strong><em>Other</em></strong> option, each providing their choice of candidate (in alphabetical order):</p> <ul> <li>Barack Obama </li> <li>Frodo Baggins </li> <li>Haris Ibrahim </li> <li>Ibrahim Ali </li> <li>Khalid Samad </li> <li>Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah </li> <li>Tunku Aziz </li> <li>Walski </li> </ul> <p>In all likelihood, Obama will probably have his hands full taking care of his own re-election campaign this year. And Frodo Baggins? Gosh, you people sure have a cynical sense of humor…</p> <p>While he is flattered that someone actually had the audacity to name him as the future PM, Walski respectfully declines. That said, Malaysia would probably be a less uptight nation if he were PM.</p> <p>Okay, time to wake up, Walski…</p> <p>So, are the results surprising, or is it time to allow the much younger ones a bigger role in nation building?</p> <p>Granted, this poll reflects the more liberal audience that <em>myAsylum</em> tends to attract, but do the results reflect how Malaysians feel right now, at least a little bit?</p> <p>Not for Walski to say. You’ve voted, now let’s hear what you have to say about the results…</p> </span></span></div> Walski69http://www.blogger.com/profile/15736212385958836163noreply@blogger.com