Malaysia for whom?

Technorati tags: Politics, Mind Control, Political Thugs

Emotions are running high at myAsylum.

Those who claim to speak for the people are resorting to thuggery. "Nationalism and not A Malaysian Malaysia"? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? When this shite comes from a minister no less, it does make me worry. Life as we know it is being hijacked - with the ultimate aim of making the country we love into a religious police state.

Angry

Disgusted

Ashamed

Sad

All these emotions rolled into one. That's the feeling at myAsylum right about now. No space for expression, no license to think. As the puppets continune to speak...

Malaysia is fast becoming a place that no thinking individual would want to reside anymore. A country where independent thought is fast becoming a crime. Not an asylum I want to be in. Not anymore. 1984, twelve twenty-two years in the making?

Click here for the full post......

KLCC Fuel Price Hike Protest Round 3: Attack of the Water Cannons

Technorati tags: Malaysia, Protest, Fuel Price Hike, KLCC

Update 4 (FINAL) - March 28 (1:30 pm)
This will be the last update to this post - we all have to move on with life, folks.
myAsylum would like to thank Ricecooker (thanks Joe Kidd!) for making this final update possible. Ricecooker has collected a few links to various sites reporting the protest, some of which have already been posted here.

A fantastic set of aerial pictures of the protest on Sunday can be found here, including the following pix, plus a number of ground-level shots as well (although, I cannot confirm if these pictures are from Sunday, or the previous protest on March 10).

We've also found another blog reporting Sunday's protest, at the ducky blog, with a few pictures as well. ducky's report is somewhat, well... tongue-in-cheek, especially when reporting about certain uninvited participants... you be the judge.

Finally, a podcast on the protest can be found here, courtesy of bemused.

And that, as they say, is all she wrote. Thanks to all for making this post up-to-date, providing me with links and such. This is myAsylum signing off on this aggregated report - for the last time - good day, and good luck!

Update 3 - March 27 (7 pm)
Another set of pictures found in the bloggerhood, this time at 'Sealed Yin's Diary with a Kiss'. There are 19 photos in total on this blog, which can be viewed here.

Update 2 - March 27 (4 pm)
The Activehack blog (in Chinese) has posted 2 reports, including a 23 minute video (which universally speaks for itself). The report (with pictures) can be found here, while the video is at this post.

Update 1 - March 27:(11am)
KTEMOC Konsiders posted this report from Malaysiakini - it looks like yesterday's protesters continued with unfinished business this morning, but at the Parliament instead. The Dewan Pemuda PAS Kawasan Bukit Katil blog has a similar report, which can be found here.

More news reports on Sunday's protest at KLCC. The Taipei Times has a more detailed report, and this picture, of the protest on Sunday. From this news report, it sounds like the FRU were a lot more heavy-handed compared to the previous two protests at KLCC. Channel News Asia also carries a similar story, focusing on the arrests and FRU action.

More pictures can be found at What's This?? and a short report by MP James Wong Wing On on his blog, albeit from a somewhat different angle.

Original Post:
The post title probably sounds like a bad movie trilogy. myAsylum, this time around, was not there, unfortunately. This post, however, provides links to other points in cyberspace that reported the third Fuel Price Hike Protest. This time around the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC), was one of the organizers. And this time, the water cannons were again ready. And like the last time, protester had a taste of the chemically-laced cannon.

The picture above came from REPORTTOSAADON, a fellow blogger who was at KLCC and provides a short report. An additional picture can be found on that blog.

Another blog which has two separate reports is KTEMOC Konsiders, with a main report here, and another report about PAS' Dr. Hatta Ramli's arrest, together with his two daughters.

On the international news front, some agencies have picked up the protest, with reports coming from:

Al-Jazeera (with one pix, from Reuters, by our very own Bazuki Muhammad)

Forbes

Radio New Zealand

The China Post

On the local news front, the only report I could find was Malaysiakini, which had this report. I can't read Chinese or Tamil, so I don't know if there were any reports in those papers or not. Perhaps if any readers who can read either language, do find something, leave a comment and I'll update this post with more links.

myAsylum's two bits: Personally, I don't know what these protests hope to achieve, although I fully support the people's right to assemble peacefully to protest, watch Mawi, or whatever the people want to do in large (or small) groups. The voices need to be heard - particularly when the impact on the lower income group is very real, and apparently, very damaging. And we're still waiting for a concrete plan on the supposed improvements to public transportation that the savings in government subsidies can facilitate.

Wait until the 9th Malaysia Plan, perhaps? This time around, myAsylum predicts that the people's traditionally short memory will not be so short anymore...

Click here for the full post......

Liverpool march on to the FA Semis - in style

Technorati tags: Football, FA Cup, Liverpool

This post comes a little bit later than what I had planned, but such is the reality of doing something for fun, where real work has to take precedence. Anyway, those of you who've been following myAsylum will know which EPL football team I support.

Yesterday, Liverpool made it to the final 4 in the English FA Cup competition, with a total ass-bashing of Birmingham: 7 - 0. That's right, kiddies, humiliation is too mild a word to describe the devastating win over the Brummy Blues.

In other matches, fortress Chelsea also made it to the semis, with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United, early this morning, and on early Tuesday morning, West Ham got through after defeating Manchester City 2 - 1. One more team will be decided tomorrow morning, when Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough meet.

So now, it comes down (almost) to the final four - I've set up a poll to get a general opinion of who will take home the glory (in the full post).

Will it be Liverpool, Chelsea, West Ham or Charlton/Middlesbrough?

My personal vote? A no-brainer there... Liverpool, all the way!

Click here for the full post......

The KFC Molotov Whodunnit

Technorati tags: Humor, Molotov Cocktail, KFC, Mystery

When I saw this headline (KFC Director's Home Attacked)

and this one

two whole days in a row, it just became too linger fickin good to resist - someone's in it for KFC. KFC used to be known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, in full. Some say the switch to acronyms hints at the fact that the "C" no longer represents real chicken, as we know it to be. Huh? Yeah, you know, if it tastes like chicken, and it smells like chicken, it's probably genetically modified Panda, or something equally nasty.

myAsylum just had to get to the bottom of this whodunnit - just who had the audacity to waste two perfectly good bottles of gasoline and attempt the firebombing of the KFC big wigs' home. Who cares why, but who?

Our intrepid streetcrawlers where despatched, post-haste. And early this morning they made their report back to myAsylum central. We now have three suspects.

Was it these guys (the ability to spell is not a pre-requisite)?

Or this babelicious specimen?

But through the intrepid crawling thru the clues left behind, by myAsylum's street crawlers, rivaling the skills and script-incredulousity of Grisson & his crew, developing indications now show that the most likely suspect is this fishy pasty character:

The plot (and the Colonel's super secret recipe flour mix) thickens...

Click here for the full post......

The Psychopath Test

Technorati tags: Psychology, Psychopath, Test

A friend of mine sent me the following test via e-mail (thanks Annita!). I thought it was pretty intriguing, so I'm sharing it with y'all. The original author is unknown, but I did find reference to it here.

The Psychopath Test

Read the following question, come up with an answer and then click on the "CLICK HERE for the rest of the post" link for the result. This is not a trick question. It is as it reads. No one I know has gotten it right.

A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing. She believed him to be her dream guy so much, that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him. A few days later she killed her sister.

Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?
(Give it some thought before peeking at the answer)

Answer: She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again. If you answered this correctly, you think like a psychopath. This was a test by a famous American Psychologist used to test if one has the same mentality as a killer. Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly.

Now, a note from Walski: This is NOT a true test. There is a site on the Internet, snopes.com that refutes (or on rare occassion confirms) urban legends, incredulous stories, scare-hoaxes through e-mails, etc. There's a lot of those these days. snopes.com is a good resource for one to find out if that scare e-mail you get is true or not.

In any case, this is what snopes.com has to say, among other things, about this particular "test":

"The assumption that all sociopaths approach problems with a "Whom can I kill to solve this" mentality (and that sociopaths believe everyone else thinks this way as well) is an erroneous assumption based upon a false stereotype.

Would that it were that simple. Psychopaths are intermingled with the general population and are not that easily identified."

The rest of the hoax report can be found here.

So, boys & girls, the next time you receive something in the e-mail that's almost believably scary, incredible, or both, go look it up at snopes.com to verify whether or not it's true, or just an urban legend. A healthy dose of cynicism can be good for you...

Click here for the full post......

Brokeback on the floor laughing my ass off

Technorati tags: Humor, Brokeback Mountain, Parody

It's been about a couple of weeks since the 78th Academy Awards. I've pretty much come to terms that I won't be able to watch this movie in Malaysia (no thanks to the no-good, homo-hating, self-censoring film distributor).

Not legally anyway. Which is great news for the Ah Long Film Distribution gang.

But nevermind the actual movie, as there exist a shitload of parodies on the web that are just as entertaining, if not funny as hell. So here, my fellow deprived Malaysians, is a collection of Brokeback parodies that are sure to entertain you on a dreary, dull, evening (which is like, almost every evening).

Easily over 100 different parodies float thru cyberspace, and the best repository of these has to be YouTube - just run this search on the site, and see for yourself. Since it would be an arduous (not to mention stupid) task to post all of them here, I've selected a few to feature for you to enjoy.

First on the list - a parody of the movie based on the characters of Spongebob Squarepants, entitled Spongebob Mountain.

Rewind about 40 years, and this next parody explores the Brokeback story line if it's protagonists had been Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson instead.

Huh? Who? Why, Batman and Robin, of course.

There are a few more noteworthy ones that will be mentioned here (in the full post).

Of course, popular films of recent times don't escape being the basis of the parodies that I've found. Among them, Star Wars (two in fact: The Brokeback Phantom Menace, and The Empire Brokeback) and The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (Brokeback of the Ring).

What would a genre of parodies be, however, without the masters of parody themselves, Matt Stone and Trey Parker - the creators of South Park, and the movie that the Brokeback parody is based on, Team America: World Police.

My personal favorite: another animated parody of Brokeback Mountain, done in Bun-O-Vision. Bunnies, and lotsa farm animals. A very quick 0:43 sec summary of Brokeback Mountain.

Finally, the parody that has won critical acclaim from the media, and an almost 5-star rating from YouTube viewers. ABC News voted it the Best Brokeback Mountain Parody. It's a short (0:53 sec) film entitled, Broke Mac Mountain. (myAsylum loooooves Macs... we really do!)

Well, there's a lot, lot more, actually - more than I really care to post. A whole host of other parodies (including those featuring Back to the Future, and Top Gun) can be found on the Internet. YouTube has about 150 or so - more can be found by Google-ing this search (only about 409,000 hits).

So, congratulations Brokeback Mountain - they say the most sincere form of flattery is imitation - in my book, parody comes a close second!

Click here for the full post......

A week of music, the arts and Lionel

Technorati tags: Malaysia, Music, Arts, F1

Yes, boys and girls, Formula 1 is back for another visit this weekend. And as always, with the F1 usually comes a butt load of music and arts related events.

But first, let's get this out of the way first. If you have RM 900, RM 1,300 or RM 1,550 to burn - that's right, not spare, but burn - then I have just the concert for you! And it's something the dancing-on-the-ceiling granny brigade will love... it's none other than Lionel Richie!

Yup, the former Commodores funkster turned mushy-soul-R&B-pop star will perform at the KL Convention Center on March 16, according to the Tourism Malaysia press release for the Formula 1 week. I don't know where you can get tickets, and frankly I don't give a rat's ass. There's tons of other more productive things I could spend my hard earned cash on. Definitely NOT Lionel.

OK - now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's move on to the good stuff...

First up is to let y'all know about the upcoming Troubadours / Open Doors gig, which will be held at KL Performing Arts Center (KL PAC) on Sunday, March 19, from 5pm - 8pm. Performing at the even will be Rhapsody, Khai and Jerome Kugan, plus films by Liew Seng Tat and Tan Hui Koon.

For more information, visit the Troubadours website. Which, incidentally, is hosted on Blogspot, just like myAsylum.

One very good resource for happenings in and around Kuala Lumpur is of course KLUE magazine (print), or the online version. One interesting event (that has been ongoing) that caught my eye is this one:

The Fake Show (23 February - 18 March)

Artists like Chua Li Koh, Rizal Dasar, Britney Partiswarah, The Anti-Corruption Avangers, James Ho and Dan Corchize will explore the issue of what is real and unreal in this exhibition. Featured artworks include media works, photography, videos, sculptures, installations and paintings. Admission is free

Reka Art Space
LotGL29, Ground Floor, Kelana Square,
17 Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya

Tel : 03-7875 8006/7880 5982
Train : Kelana Jaya (Putra)

Sounds very interesting, and you only have a few days to catch it. KLUE has a whole bunch of other events listed, and you should check 'em out.

On the net is a site that I got to know not too long ago, thanks to the Black Metal / Paul's Place Raid issue. It's the RICECOOKER blog, run by indie music icon Joe Kid. Here you can find the up-to-date happenings in the independent music scene. This weekend (also on Sunday - busy, busy day!) is the last chance to catch two Japanese indie bands: The Act We Act, and Cynic 19, plus My Precious from Singapore, all of whom have been playing at various locations in the country.

The venue of the gig will be Tunestone Studios in Klang, and admission is RM 10. The gig starts at 2pm until it ends - at whatever time it ends.

RICECOOKER also lists several other gigs and art exhibitions that will be held in April. Do check the site out to find out more.

And now, for something completely diferent...

If it's Jazz that turns you on, then this is one gig that I would strongly recommend, for it's uniqeness - Farid Ali aka Mr Gambus will be performing at Bangkok Jazz (located at Chulan Square), with backup from Eric Li (piano), Fly (bass), John Thomas (drums) and Kamrulbahri (percussions).

The performance will be held on Saturday, March 18, from 10pm onwards, and according to the poster, admission is Free, and is the first of the Heineken Gigs 2006 series.

A great resource for Jazz-related news, gig announcements, interviews or anything Jazz related in Malaysia, is a site called All Dat Jazz 'n' More! which, as its banner proclaims, is the "The #1 Premier Site For Malaysian Jazz 'n' All Things Jazz in Malaysia".

And it really does live up to the claim, from what I've seen so far. So, if Jazz is your thang, and you live in Malaysia, this is definitely one website that I'd recommend you to bookmark.

Other Jazz happenings within this week include GruvAvenue (at Avanti) on March 17, and Global Spirit (at KL PAC) from March 16 - 18. Incidentally, Global Spirit consists of an international line up of Greg Lyons (on saxophones, UK), Damon Brown (on trumpet/flugelhorn, UK). Jarmo Savolainen (on piano, Finland), Christy Smith (acoustic and electric bass, USA) and Lewis Pragasam (on drums, Malaysia).

One genre of music which I've not touched on is dance/rave, which I personally am not into. But, Walski does not discriminate, and if dance is your musical niche, then check out these sites for locations and times this week of the various dance goings on: KLUE, and Smoovepinch Nightlifestyle - the two best resources I've found.

But since it is after all F1 week, there is one dance event that I will highlight:

So go hang out with the Renault pit-crew and dance the nite away... who knows, you may just rub shoulders with Fernando Alonso or Giancarlo Fisichella... or not.

Click here for the full post......

Benzene in our soft drinks?

Technorati tags: Health, Junk Food, Benzene

Hot off the heels of a possible widespread eyecare problem, this report has just surfaced. Although the report is from the UK, the same could apply here in Malaysia.

Soft drinks found to have high levels of cancer chemical
By Rajeev Syal

TRACES of a carcinogenic chemical have been found in soft drinks at eight times the level permitted in drinking water, it was revealed last night.

Tests conducted on 230 drinks on sale in Britain and France have identified high levels of benzene, a compound known to cause cancer, according to the Food Standards Agency. There is a legal limit of one part per billion of benzene in British drinking water. The latest tests revealed levels of up to eight parts per billion in some soft drinks.

Benzene has been linked to leukaemia and other cancers of the blood. Traces found in Perrier water 15 years ago led to the withdrawal of more than 160 million bottles worldwide. The disclosure has prompted food safety campaigners to demand that the Government reveal which products contain benzene. At present, the drinks’ identities have not been revealed.

Read the rest of The Times news article here.

Could this be one of the reasons why the reported cases of cancer has been on the increase over the last decade? I don't have the figures to back this up, but hasn't the consumption of junk food, including aereated sugar-laced drinks, increased as well? It definitely has to do with our diet, no doubt about that. Foods deep-fried in re-used cooking oil (or over-used batches of it) have also been suspected as a possible contributing factor (which is why I refrain from eating yau-char-kwai these days, as much as I love it).

Soft drinks have always been a Malaysian favorite, since way back when, since as long as I can remember. According to the news report, the Benzene is a by-product of a reaction between Sodium Benzoate (a preservative) and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). The report also states that soft drink manufacturers have been adding Vitamin C in their products in recent years to give their products a "healthier" image.

Let's hope the Malaysian Health Ministry takes this scare seriously; at the very least, conduct random sample tests to determine whether or not this is a real problem.

Click here for the full post......

Starting the week on a humorous note...

Technorati tags: Humor, War, Harmony

It has been a rather tumultuous end to the previous week. First, the you-know-what that happened you-know where on Friday you-know-when. Seeing the hit counter for this blog go thru the roof was pretty scary, albeit in a rather gratifying way. Tumultuous nevertheless. Then, early Monday morning, Liverpool had to lose to Arsenal in the most idiotic fashion.

So, it's time for Walski to delve into the ridiculous again, to regain some of that lost zest that the weekend has sapped out of me. Now, those of you expecting myAsylum to be a one-issue blog - sorry to disappoint you, 'cause it's not. I would have posted this earlier, but my Mondays are usually busy; and today was no different.

There's much, much more to life than to dwell on things that we can't change - not so quickly or easily change, anyway - it would just lead me to real, bona fide depression. So this post looks to other things, on the lighter side of life. Which I do from time to time when life gets me down.

First thing, then, to report from the world of the bizarre is this website I came across called Cowabductions.com. Yes folks, while we here in Malaysia ponder over whether or not Bigfoot exists in the depths of the Johor jungle, cow abductions is apparently a serious problem in rural America. This site is dedicated to making the public aware of this problem. The culprits? Why, aliens, of course. The space kind, and not the "illegal" kind like we have in Malaysia. Between the time I snagged the image above and I finish this sentence, 8 719 more cow abductions have been reported. Scary innit?

This site should appeal to the Bigfoot crowd. The site even has products to peddle, like this one.

The Moonitor - a specialized CCTV product to ensure the safety of your herd from them nasty aliens. It can be found in the Products/Services of the site.

Closer to home, the other day I visited a new condo my friend just purchased somewhere in the Mount Kiara area. I won't mention exactly where; suffice it to say, this place does exist. Anyhow, after looking at his unit, we walked around the well-landscaped compound of the condo, when I spotted this sign:

So, as long as you are not bomba, you may use the area for Fire Brigade access. I would not want to be around the area in case of a fire. But seriously, these developer folks should really pay attention to what they put on the signs - 'cause it may just confuse the hell out of our firemen!

If you ever wondered what kind of monster you were, based on your name, check out this site; it's The Monster Name Decoder. Walski, apparently, in monsterland, decodes to:

But be that as it may, Walski unreservedly denies any involvement, whatsoever, in the growing incidences of cow abductions.

After reading the posts that Siti Nurhaliza, Mawi and Akademi Fantasia are all proof that Malaysia suffers from mass delusion, I suddenly wondered what kind of monster Siti is. Siti Nurhaliza, or S. Nurhaliza ('cause it only allows 11 characters) apparently decodes to become:

Hmmm.. I wonder if Datuk K. knows...

This particular site has two sister sites, The Cyborg Name Decoder and The Sexy Name Decoder. Amuse your friends, and torment your enemies with their decoded names. So, I thought: Hmmmm, I wonder what Mawi decodes to? And since he is a (hrummph) heart throb to some... I tried the Sexy Name Decoder, and came up with this:

Un-fickin-believable, but true... life is stranger than fiction sometimes...

And where, oh where, did I find these three sites, you may ask? Well, I'm sure everyone by now knows who Jeff Ooi is (eminent Malaysian blogger); well, apparently there is site that lampoons Jeff to-the-max. While Jeff's site is called Screenshots, the lampoon site is called Potshots. And it's run by someone called Daft Oi.

Don't know much about Daft Oi, except that he/she is of the Francus Strongus variety. In other words, one of the Wombies. From Wombania - actually, a cartoon strip about genetically engineered wombats. Read all about them here. Some have lambasted Daft Oi for doing what he/she does - but I for one, find Potshots extremely hilarious.

And we live in a time where every little bit of humor counts towards making our lives a little bit happier. Humor, though, can sometimes be in bad taste, and admittedly Potshots does go there from time to time. But today is a world where humor in bad taste can lead to... well, does Jylland-Post sound familiar?

Be that as it may, for yours truly, humor keeps me going. Humor makes me look forward to the next day, knowing damn well that there are certain forces in the universe that would like nothing better than to pit us brother against sister against brother. To an end that can only be described as, bright and explosive.

But if we learn to laugh at ourselves from time to time, and realize that we can never be above ridicule, especially when we do or say something ridiculous, then perhaps we can learn to live better neighbor to neigbor, and learn to look beyond how we are different in color of skin, different in what we believe to be the higher power, and learn to realize that we all bleed red. Unless you're this guy.

And for this guy, no matter what special rights you think you do or should have, no matter how much or little you own, no matter what color skin you may identify yourself with - you're nothing but this guy's breakfast, lunch or dinner. Without the teh-tarik afterwards.

Click here for the full post......

Videoblog: KLCC 2nd Oil Hike Protest (more videos)

Technorati tags: Politics, Fuel Price Hike, Protest, Malaysia, Videoblog, KLCC

Update (March 12, 2006 11:16pm): Two more videos have been forwarded to myAsylum via the comments, which I will post here. They are from the ActiveHack blog, and can be accessed here (runtime: 52:56) and here (runtime: 7:48).

More videos of the fuel price hike demo have been posted on YouTube. These were posted by what appears to be a new news portal, called DJ Novin Dot Com. I've re-posted some of them here for your viewing convenience. In total, 8 videos have been posted on YouTube, providing a more comprehensive report supplementing myAsylum's earlier post on the second KLCC demonstration.

Disclaimer: myAsylum does not endorse the opinions/rhetoric/statements relayed in these videos. The opinions expressed are purely those of the respective speakers. Kindly refrain from shooting the messenger (or in this case, the re-poster).

The first video shows the start of the demonstration, with the participants marching on the streets towards KLCC (runtime: 2:10).

The second video is a short speech by Ms Y. Kohila, activist from JERIT (Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas, or Repressed Citizens Collective, loosely translated). Runtime: 0:58.

Next, we see and hear an a capella rendition of a protest song, entitled Najib Beli Senjata (Najib Buys Weapons), a crowd sing-a-long. I'm not sure who this person is, offhand. Runtime is 1:07.

As stated in my earlier post, I got to the rally site late, and so some of the following speakers I recognize, and some I don't.

The next video is a short speech by a PAS Women's Wing Leader (I can't confirm the name, but I believe it should be Hajjah Azizah Khatib Mat). Runtime: 1:21.

Another prominent activit, Tian Chua, Information Chief for Parti Keadilan Rakyat, also provided his input. Runtime: 4:13.

In addition, 3 more videos can be found on YouTube. Click on this link to view the complete set of 8 videos.

According to one of the speeches made at the rally (and reported here), the next protest rally, co-organized by the same group, plus the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC), will be held on Sunday, March 23, 2006, at the very same venue.

Click here for the full post......

The KLCC Protest Did Not Happen

Technorati tags: Politics, Malaysia, Fuel Price Hike, Protest, KLCC

Nothing unusual happened at KLCC on Friday, March 10, 2006 - no fuel price hike protest sit-in attended by several hunderd people, no FRU keeping guard nearby, no banners denouncing the governments move to reduce the subsidy on fuel, and definitely no parody of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Delusional image from Merdeka Review

Everything was as per normal. If you think you saw something, then you must be delusional.

That is, of course, if you only get your daily diet of news from the mainstream, mostly Government owned media outlets, be they print or broadcast. The only thing that happened at KLCC that was worth mentioning was this:

Jentera F1.06 di KLCC(from Harian Metro)

which is true, cause I saw it. And I have the pictures to prove it:

Nevermind that the protest was widely reported on the various blogs, including here at myAsylum. It did not happen. Interesting how the mainstream media chose to black out something so significant like the protest on Friday, and the first one a week before. It just makes me wonder now just what else "did not happen" in the past. Is it any wonder then why the rakyat has become so cynical?

As Jeff Ooi has reported in Screenshots, about the only way the two protests have been made known to the public at large has been through the weblog or blog community in Malaysia, in addition to the non-mainstream media, like Malaysiakini and Agenda Daily. You can fool some people all the time, all the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time.

And almost out of nowhere, and through the sheer thoughtfulness of the Government (insert cynical smirk here), a new Public Complaints website was launched yesterday.

Now, this site has been described by one blog as "a very ugly website" (read the post - it's rather amusing) and registration is required. For a start, the format is one of a vote portal. And guess what? As part of the registration, one has to state their "race". Of course, this doesn't really surprise me one bit. But what is appalling is that the site is only in one language, Bahasa Malaysia Melayu. There's no option to select "Semua" or suggest "Lain-lain". All in all, too contrived. (UPDATE March 12: There is in fact a button to select all the choices given. Or was it added later? My apologies for the oversight.)

I know we should feel that the Government is trying to do something positive, but I, for one, cannot help but feel cynical over the whole thing.

A news blackout about the protest rallies, statements by Pak Lah that he knows we're angry, the emergence of a feedback portal, and a warning to the opposition not to "take political advantage of the fuel price hike" - all too coincidental, and all too convenient.

The bloggerhood remains one of the few remaining channels for free speech - let's use that tool for a better Malaysia; for us here and now, and for our future generations to come.

Click here for the full post......

KLCC Protest 2: An Update

Technorati tags: Politics, Malaysia, Fuel Price Hike, Protest, KLCC

First of all, this just in (from The Star online), picked up by my RSS reader at 5:49pm today:

PM: Govt will act to lessen fuel price impact on poor

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says he will announce more measures to lessen the burden of the poor following the 30 sen rise in fuel prices.

A very short statement. Bernama, however, has more:

More Aid To The People To Offset Fuel Price Hike, Says Abdullah

PUTRAJAYA, March 10 (Bernama) - The Government will announce certain measures soon to help the people tide over with the effects of the 30 sen hike in fuel prices, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.

The prime minister, however, said whether the measures would be part of the contents of the Ninth Malaysia Plan to be tabled in Parliament on March 31 or required a separate announcement would be decided later.

(The rest of the news release can be found here)

But the question I have in my mind: has this been prompted by the protests on two consecutive Fridays (last week and this afternoon)? And will these be well-thought of effective measures, or will they just be rushed measures to appease the apparently frazzled nerves of the rakyat? Particularly those whose lives have been very much affected by the 30 sen fuel increase, plus the increase in just about everything else, as a result. The frazzled nerves of the very grassroots that voted the current government in.

We’ll have to wait and see – when exactly, I don’t know, but I’m sure Pak Lah sees the urgency.

Meanwhile, the water cannon shoot-out apparently did not happen at KLCC, but near Concorde Hotel, after those that didn’t disperse from the rally continued with a march down Jalan Ampang towards Jalan Sultan Ismail (as reported by Sun2Surf).

Most of the pictures taken at the protest rally have been referenced to at Jeff Ooi’s Screenshots (thanks, Jeff, for the plug!). Here are some other reports from around the bloggerhood:

REPPORTTOSAADON has a personal report of the protest sit-in, and has re-posted the Newsasia report.

Paul Ooi has a whole host of pictures taken at the rally, with a report done by his housemate who was at the scene.

Yet another report and a few pictures can be found at Leanne’s Say (whom I believe either works somewhere in the Twin Towers, or has a head for heights!)

And more...

By the way, Google has a new tool that searches blogs, named aptly enough, Google Blog Search – this is what I used to find the references above. Run this search query to find the references above, and others which I have not listed here.

Lastly, being new on the blog scene, it’s always graifying to get more hits in one day than the entire time the blog’s been in existence! Thanks to all who dropped by.

Click here for the full post......

KLCC Fuel Price Hike Protest Round 2

Technorati tags: Politics, Malaysia, Fuel Price Hike, Protest, KLCC

The second protest against the recent 30 sen price hike in fuels happened this afternoon, at KLCC across from the Ampang Mall entrance. KLCC security were well prepared for the event, blocking off the Ampang Mall entrance, as well as the Isetan entrances facing the mosque.

Silly me, thinking that it would be in the courtyard, waited in vain, until about 3pm, when I thought I'd check out the other side of the building. So, I missed the beginning of the rally. A crowd of approximately 200 - 300 people participated in today's protest rally, with an additional couple of hundred onlookers (just a guesstimate) around the front entrance of the mall. The FRU were again present, but basically were there "just in case".

More pictures, and a 2-minute video in the full post (below)

PAS memebers and their executive council were very well represented at the rally, with the rest of the participants coming from SUARAM, and possibly Parti Keadilan. Managed to capture some video footage with my still digital camera, but the sound of the first speaker (not exactly sure who it was) representing SUARAM is not very clear. However, the audio of Hj. Mohd Sabu (of PAS) is LOUD & CLEAR.

Mohd Sabu and the other PAS speakers tone was not just 'protesting' the hike, and lamenting on how it has affected the common people, but also included calls for Pak Lah to step down, citing the protests going on in Bangkok as an example. Plus, of course, the obligatory "Hancur BN" calls. One of the interesting things, though, that Mohd Sabu mentioned, is while the Government reduced the subsidy on fuel, he mentioned about the exhorbitant "subsidies" enjoyed by the ministers, like car subsidies, and even make-up subsidies (as in cosmetics) for the ministers' wives - which drew some chuckles from the crowd. This is the first time I've heard him speak in public, and I can now understand the attraction to this man. Pretty charismatic, if not in a somewhat callous way.

SUARAM's tone, though, was somewhat different, and focused primarily on the profits made by Petronas, and how the expected RM 4.4B Government savings could be absorbed easily from the over RM 20B profits the made last year. I believe I managed to get some of this on the video, but you have to strain your ears, 'cause the audio is pretty bad.

Up until when I left at 4pm, no untowards incidents occured, except for the apparent apprehension of one person dressed in black, carrying a black flag - unfortunately, I was video-ing Hj. Mohd Sabu at the time, and couldn't take a picture of the apprehension; the plainclothes police stopped him as he was walking away from the main crowd, and guided him towards a waiting van, without much struggle. On the video, towards the end, you'll notice the crowd take their attention away from Mohd Sabu, and this was around when it occured, just before 4pm. I did notice that there were press photographers there, so there should be a picture or three of this somewhere on the Net.

I am not certain whether the rally ended with the speaches, or whether the participants proceeded with a march, as I had to leave to head back to the office.

Check out the usual places in the bloggerhood for more news on this, as well as on blog aggregators like Petaling Street Project, SARA or SpyMy. This time around, there seemed to be quite a few representatives from the mainstream media (or so I assume, since they were wearing official Media tags), so there probably will be news postings on the news sites. I will do another post with listings of other blogs that may have pictures or videos of their own, as and when I come across them.

Click here for the full post......

Buy Mahathir on eBay

Technorati tags: Technology, Contextual Ads, Mahathir, PAS

I'm sure it's been reported before... putting in automated advertising scripts onto blogs or websites sometimes produce hilarious ads, like this one, when I was doing a Technorati search on Marina Mahathir.

Hmmm... buying "Mahathir products" on eBay? Like what, pray tell?

Interesting how these context algorithms work, eh? Then, for the hell of it, I decided to try something else: I tried to do a search on PAS. This is what I got:

PAS: Sniffer Alcohol Sensor!! Gee... how did they know? Damn, they must be on to me!

By the way, I've linked the screenshots above to the actual Technorati searches, so try 'em for yourselves. Better yet, try this link, which is a search for "Proton" on Technorati, and see what ads come up... scaaary...

Click here for the full post......

Man of Steel turns 70

Technorati tags: Humor, Birthday, Samy Vellu, Uncle Sam

He is indeed a Man of Steel - not to mention steel-wool hair. Datuk Seri Samy Vellu turned 70 yesterday, and over the last weekend, was returned unopposed, again, as the President of the Malaysian Indian Congress. And so, when I saw the movie teaser poster for the other Man of Steel, I just couldn't resist.

So, Happy Birthday, Datuk Seri - may your days ahead be berseri-seri! Especially your rambut/hairweave - truly the most evergreen hairdo on the local political scene, bar none.

But with the MIC elections just around the corner, things must be kinda uneasy for Uncle Sam and his crew, what more with the emergence of a splinter challenge group. MIC Baru. But things won't be smooth sailing for MIC Baru either. New and improved? Probably not, based on the opinions I've seen online.

Uncle Sam, though, has this to say.

The MIC elections will culminate with the National Level elections in June, so I suppose, stay tuned to the bloggerhood for the developments as they come to pass.

Click here for the full post......

myAsylum eye candy

Technorati tags: Blogging, Eye Candy, HTML, Scripting Language

One of the (numerous) reasons I started blogging was to have an excuse to make myself learn HTML, XML/CSS, etc. So from time to time, expect little changes to how the blog looks. Today's little addition needs no introduction.

Unless you're fucking blind visually challenged. In which case you probably won't be reading this in the first place. Nevertheless, this short post innaugurates the sightly revamped look. Leave a comment to tell me if you like it, hate it, or if you simply don't give a rat's ass.

And what is this image all about?

I call it The 4 Spheres. The fourth dimension of time, and the three dimensions of space. The now we live in, and the space we occupy; in this dimension, anyway. Simple, yet it defines what this blog is all about. It's about everything, and about nothing, and all the possibilities in between.

Initially, I had considered this image as the basis:

which is the album cover of Ministry's "The Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste" but thought I would go with something more original instead. The 4 Spheres, on the other hand, is a Walski original (well, sort of, anyway).

The here and the now... while we occupy this dimension. Once again, welcome to myAsylum, eye candy and all...

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Cows run on gasoline

Technorati tags: Fuel, Price Increase, Inflation, Milk

... and other infuriating petrol price hike realizations.

What prompted this post is what happened this morning on my way to work. You see, I don't take sugar with my coffee; just fresh full cream milk, and I usually make sure there's some at the office. I found out this morning, that the price for a liter carton of milk just went up 20 sen. Or about 4%.

So I figured that the only explanation for this is that, hey... cow's must run on gasoline!

Now, explain all you want, Mr. Man, and promise all you want that the cost of living is only gonna increase no more than 1.4%, as a result of the increase in fuel prices. The cost of living is going to increase significantly.

No increase in prices of essentials

KUALA LUMPUR: The prices of essential goods will not go up, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said the Government had rejected requests from producers of several essential goods to increase prices to absorb the impact of the new fuel price.

“We took note of their requests but told them that increasing the ceiling prices was not possible because it would burden the rakyat,” he said after a dialogue session chaired by the Prime Minister for Barisan Nasional grassroots leaders here yesterday.

Mohd Shafie said the new fuel price would only cause the prices of essential goods to increase by an average 1.4%.

“Since not all manufacturers are really affected, we decided that there would not be any changes to the present prices.” (from The Star)

The cows, however, have spoken, and they say otherwise.

And that makes me infuriated. Not because the cows have spoken (which would actually be pretty cool), but because again and again we're fed with lies and half-truths from Mr. Man, and time and time again, the same Mr. Man gets re-elected.

Then there's the Deputy PM who tells us we must change our lifestyle. Yeah, right. The day you and other VVIPs get caught in rush hour traffic, and not cruise through behind your outriders, rudely ushering other traffic users out of the way, that's the day I'm going to change my lifestyle.

As if listening to a broken record, again we're told that the price of fuel in Malaysia is among the lowest in the region. More importantly, lower than Singapore. Now, Mr. Man, I don't know how gullible you imagine your constituents are, but consider this:

In Singapore, you actually have a viable choice not to drive, because they have a world-class public transportation system. Not one that's disjointed like what KL has to offer. So, if you still choose to drive in Singapore, you pay a premium for the privelege.

Unless you are a civil servant living in Perlis, where the Menteri Besar has suggested that they cycle to work instead. Riding a bicycle in KL is truly a deathwish. And I don't think they even allow bicycles on the commuter trains or LRT.

Then there's the PM's rebuttal about how Petronas can't "afford" to absorb the increase, because they've already given so much in taxes. But isn't Petronas Government-owned? So, isn't it like a left-pocket, right-pocket thing? And what about how the other petrol companies would "profit" from Petronas absorbing the cost? Maybe - but if the petrol trade were deregulated, then the market forces would decide. Today, prices are fixed, with no possibility of discounting.

I do accept that we cannot live on Government petrol subsidies. But not driving isn't an option. Not when the state of public transportation is what it is today.

So back to my carton of fresh milk; now I'm faced with either not having fresh milk in my coffee, or using the company-provided condensed milk. Or should I change my lifestyle and give up coffee altogether?

Moooo-t point, I think.

Click here for the full post......

First Skinheads, then Black Metal, now Skinheads again

Technorati tags: Media, Witchhunt, Black Metal, Malay Media, Skinheads

Something from The Star, which originally came from Berita Harian (except for the picture). Thanks to one of my readers, Panda Dalam Formaldehyde, who reminded me that I should post this.

Skinhead culture picks up following among youths

WHILE society worries about the impact of Black Metal culture among youths, the Skinhead culture is slowly creeping in, according to Berita Harian.

The Skinhead culture, which is associated with western music, has picked up a following among youths in Pahang in the past five years.

The followers included school leavers and primary school pupils, said Pahang Youth Council president Datuk Faisal Abdullah.

They move around in groups of five to 20 and loiter at bus stops, night markets and malls. They dress in black or red T-shirts, jeans and boots.

Faisal said the groups were involved in gangsterism, drug abuse, and free mingling between the sexes.

He said it showed a decline in morals among the youths who adopted a way of life that went against the culture of the country and Islam.

The dragnnet over music genre related lifestyle broadens. Just as expected, when the Black Metal menace re-emerged in October last year, no thanks in a big way to the insidious reporting by Mastika. (Click on these links for scanned images of the October 2005 and November 2005 issues, courtesy of {w a s t e d t a l e n t})

Now it's not very clear whether the Skinhead tag refers to actual Skinheads or includes Punk attired kids as well - in all likelyhood yes. Pahang is a pretty deprived state, when it comes to legal fun activities for the younger set. And by 'fun', I mean fun as defined by the younger set themselves. And by 'legal', I mean something that won't get you hauled up by the police / religious authorities.

And of course, as always, no proof given to the claims of gangsterism and drug abuse. Who needs proof, when a large percentage of Malaysians are gullible to begin with, right?

Don't even get me started on "free mingling between sexes" - shut down all the shopping mall if the concern is so great; close all co-ed schools, cineplexes or any other public places, for that matter. Welcome to the human race, you chauvinist retard - wake up and smell reality. Despise the other sex so much? Move to Iran, dickhead.

But this "shocking cultural anomaly" is not new. It's been raised as a spectre of moral degradation before, back in 2003. And a couple of years before that, Black Metal.

See a pattern emerging? Old news, same spin. And a convenient detraction from real world problems like the expected rise in the cost of living - due to the ever increasing fuel cost, growing dissatisfaction over how AAB is running this country of ours, and, well - [add your own grouse here].

I don't really know whether or not the whining of a state Youth Chief will escallate into another witch hunt or not; we'll just have to wait and see. But don't be surprised if this new old menace starts to hog the headlines - beginning of course with the Malay-language news rags. What better diversion than the threat to our youth? Real or imagined.

Soon, our prisons will be filled to the brim with people who did nothing worse than attend a thrash/black/death rock gig, or who were caught red-handed with evil literature like the dreaded and blasphemous Majalah Zein. Or those wearing black, red, fuscia or whatever evil-color-of-the-month t-shirt out in public. What's worse than a police state, you may ask? A religio-moralistic police state, that's what.

And if certain bigots in high places have their way, we're well on our way there. Hindsight is, after all Vision 20-20.

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Gubra: OK from Malaysian Censors

Technorati tags: Film, Gubra, Malaysia, Censorship, Yasmin Ahmad

In a week filled with a public protest rally, an ambush-style 30 sen increase in fuel cost that became the catalyst for the rally, and other unpleasant developments, good news is always welcome. Especially when it pertains to something close to my heart

From The Star, March 4, 2006:

‘Gubra’ gets ok from censors

KUALA LUMPUR: After the controversy over her hit film Sepet, director Yasmin Ahmad was a bit apprehensive over whether her latest offering, Gubra, would escape the censors.

To her relief, Gubra has been approved for release by the Censorship Board without any snips and rated “U” for general viewership.

“I heard the news yesterday but it was only this morning that my executive producer Wan Shahidi Abdullah confirmed it,” said an elated Yasmin in a telephone interview from Singapore where she is promoting the film.

(Read the rest of the Star report here)

Yasmin Ahmad is one gutsy lady whom I admire, and not just because of her work in film. She's one that dares to push the envelope - the tightly sealed envelope of censorship that, to me, is one of the primary reasons why the Malaysian film industry has not progressed further that where it is today. Her groundbreaking work in advertising

It is this gutsy lady, whom in her capacity as Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Malaysia, helped bring to the small screen (i.e. TV) the classic Petronas festival ads. Probably her most well-known bout with the censors was when trying to get "Sepet" released (read her post about it here).

The best part of this piece of good news is that Gubra will be released intact - no scenes cut! Is this a sign that the Censors are finally letting up on their scissor-happy uptight attitude? Well, hard to say, since this bunch can be pretty fickle.

One sad thing though is that Gubra gets released in Singapore first, before it gets shown here in Malaysia. But this comes as no surprise. Singapore, in fact, is a much more liberal place these days, at least when it comes to the arts. It may be another 10 years before we can even dream for Malaysia to be the same, what with certain elements hell-bent on taking Malaysia back to the good old 14th century, if they had their way.

In any case, it's not immediately known when Gubra will be released here in Bolehland, but myAsylum will be keeping close tabs, and rest assured will update everyone once it's known.

Congratulations, Yasmin!! I guess in this round, it's Yasmin Ahmad 1 - Malaysian Censorship Board 1. Truly a win-win situation for all, for a change. I, for one, will be eagerly looking forward to the release of Gubra. Intact - seen as Yasmin intended us to see it.

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Macs Are Bad.. Real Bad (Updated with embedded YouTube viewer)

Technorati tags: Humor, Macintosh, Video, You Tube

Found this video on Google Video, Google's new video aggregator. Great for Mac users...

Click here or the pix above to play (in new window)

I actually tried the embedded GoogleVideo code on this post, but it doesn't seem to work. So, best to view the video on Google itself.

Update: March 5, 2006: Found the same video on YouTube, and I know the embedded player should work.. so, for right now YouTube 1 - Google Video 0.

Click here for the full post......

Citizens' Protest March Near KLCC

Technorati tags: Politics, Malaysia, Fuel Price Hike, Protest, KLCC

It just so happens I had a meeting at KLCC at 2:30pm this afternoon. Of course, I knew about the protest, and thus was armed with my digital camera.

Just after 2pm, the Suria KLCC security cordoned off the rear/fountain-court entrace to the complex, leaving just the middle two doors for entry and exit.

Not long after that, the Friday prayers ended, and folks working at KLCC started to get back to work. It was also around this time that a Police Aerial Surveillance Unit showed up, providing a birds-eye view.

The FRU trucks arrived around about the same time. There were about 4 - 5 large personnel carriers, meaning that there were approximately 75 - 100 FRU personnel on the scene. They were deployed all around the front of the Twin Towers enterances.

Unfortunately, I had to leave for my meeting, and couldn't take the actual protest pictures. Fortunately, several other blogs and the Harakah website have numerous pictures. The first set below comes from MageP's Lab.

However, I have no clue what a placard stating DON'T INSULT OUR PROPHET was doing in this particular protest!! Trust PAS supporters to look silly...

There is another great set of photos, plus a video, of the protest march that can be found at HodgePodge I Am. I've re-posted one of them below.

The Harakah website has a whole host of pictures taken during the protest march. I've included a couple here as well, which I thought were pretty good ones.

By the time I came back out from my meeting, around 3:15pm, the protest march had made its way down Jalan Ampang; I was told that they were headed towards Concorde Hotel - but I can't confirm this.

I honestly don't know what real good will come out of this protest march. It will definitely not bring the price of fuel back down, that's for sure. Perhaps we should ALL stay home one weekend a month - no malls, and no going out in your automobile, unless it's an emergency. That's one way to really show our dissatisfaction - hit 'em where it hurts... economically.

Click here for the full post......