Saturday, September 13, 2008

Arrests aim at fuelling resentment

Malaysia is facing a malicious attempt at false provocation.
Clearly, the selectiveness of the ISA arrests is an insidious and misleading attempt to create resentment among particular communities. Why else arrest the messenger but not the message maker, or a politician proven to be only falsely accused? more...

32 comments:

  1. sign the petition....go to this link. For the benefit of the people not RPK......

    READ MORE HERE: http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008 ...

    SIGN THE PETITION HERE: http://www.petitiononline.com/6ai18u26/petition.html

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  2. umno is sick. their leaders are full of ego and this will bring them down to the longkang.

    We do not need a racist gomen to run the country. We want a gomen who Care and Love the people.

    This country is belong to all Malaysian and not just for the racist umno.

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  3. Indeed if the people stand united they can easily overthrow the corrupt government. If one or two people protested, then they will surely be arrested. But if millions protested, then the government cannot arrest them all. So go out and demonstrate. Don't burn anything; don't break anything; don't even have to shout. Just quietly walk in front of the UMNO headquarters, the jails where the three are kept, the ISA headquarter, etc. If millions turn up in KL then the message will be very clear. The people are not intimidated but only angered and outraged and demand justice for the innocent. In the end, the protest is not for the three innocent people alone but for all of us, especially for ourselves and our loved ones and their future security and economic opportunity and dignity.

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  4. The whole world is condemning the disproportionate treatment of the three for trivial "crimes" that are obviously no crime at all. The US especially has called in the Malaysian charges d'affaire and rebuked him for the heinous treatment of the three.

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  5. http://afp.google.com/
    article/ALeqM5jO-nTy
    Knozon6EJe18hXhXalKyxw

    Reacting to mounting criticism, even from within the ruling National Front coalition, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said 32-year-old journalist Tan Hoon Cheng would be freed later Saturday.

    "After police take her statement... she will be freed later today," the minister, who ordered the arrests, was quoted as saying over national television.
    =========================
    Following wide spread condemnations from international and domestic sources, the Home Minister had announced that Tan will be released later Saturday.

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  6. Her release after a 16-hour ISA detention was expected as Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had earlier said that Tan may be released from the detention as early as today.

    Speaking from Johor Baru this morning, Syed Hamid justified Tan's detention under the ISA with a rare reason that it was as part of the government's preventive measure ‘to ensure her safety'.
    -----------------------------
    How ridiculous the reasons are, see the last part. Why the police cannot ask her to go the balai so they can get her report. 'to ensure her safety'? have the police got information on who is going to hurt or kill her???

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  7. Speaking from Johor Baru this morning, Syed Hamid justified Tan's detention under the ISA with a rare reason that it was as part of the government's preventive measure ‘to ensure her safety'.
    -----------------
    Don't tell me you go an arrest a person at 8:30 in the night at her home and locked her up the whole night just to release her the next day and claim it was for her safety? This is harrassment and intimidation, striking fear into a young lady's heart.

    To Tan, you must be brave against these bullies!

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  8. If UMNo and their dogs still rule msia. We will never has a peace and hormony nation.

    WAKE UP Sabahan.

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  9. The latest series of ISA crackdown on opposition leader, journalist, blogger/social activist in the country clearly reflected the Bodowi-led band of bandits' desperation to maintain their current status-quo at all cost.

    Bodowi and his band of bandits including Syed Hamid Al-bar (haram di sisi agama Islam), Shabery Cik, Zaid Ibrahim, Zahid Hamidi, Maximus Ongkili, Tiong Mafia & Bung orang-utan, Vicky Liew (1st Malaysian gay MP) and not forgetting Tun M (the 'Mamak Gang' chief famous for the 'Project IC')etc are traitors of the first degree and Public Enemy No.1 for Malaysia.

    The people of Malaysia regardless of their race, religious and political ideology must strive to remain calm in this challenging time, so as not to fall into the trap of Bodowi and his band of bandits, giving them an excuse to declare emergency rule thus effectively thwart Pakatan Rakyat's attempt to effect a regime change.

    Lets show Bodowi & his band of bandits the door.

    We should also consider petitioning our beloved King DYMM Tuanku Mirzan to remove Bodowi and his band of bandits, in order to save this beloved nation of ours from being ruined.

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  10. A REPORTER’S ACCOUNT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN ON THE 13 MAY INCIDENT

    The following statement is a factual account of the above-mentioned event given to me by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (first Prime Minister of Malaysia) during an interview at his residence in Penang in 1972. I requested to discuss the above incident and was surprised when the appointment was given within three days.

    His Secretary, a Chinese gentleman, allotted me one hour and advised me not to go into too much detail as this would tire the Tunku unnecessarily. In fact, the interview lasted three and a half hours. Because of the very surprising details provided to me, I think it would be best to report in a first-hand manner based on my notes written immediately after the interview.

    “It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

    Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

    Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

    Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

    Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given, knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

    To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually he was in my house, as I was preparing to return to Kedah, and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister, in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection.

    Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

    It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action.

    After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru, and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

    The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

    This was a conspiracy at the highest level and nothing short of a power struggle, with the ‘Young Turks’ then forming the pressure group. To achieve their ends, they very cleverly used race to make the Malays rise and push the Tengku aside.

    Today, they are doing it again. This is dangerous politics. It may backfire and, instead, it may make the Malays rise against the non-Malays, like what happened in 1969 -- a fire raging out of control with no fire extinguisher in sight.

    We must never allow our country to be turned into a racial battlefield again. Let politics be issues concerning policies, civil rights, good governance and justice. Let us not allow anyone to bring race and religion into our politics lest we suffer the fate of many countries around us where mass murders of entire families are made in the name of ‘bangsa’ and ‘agama’.

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  11. What the Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng did was to tell (report) the truth as always advocated by the Prime Minister, Ahmad Abdullah Badawi.

    But she has forgotten the fact that Abdullah has this infamous characteristic of flip-flopping.

    The following was what Abdullah had said just more than a week ago.

    *********************************

    September 03, 2008 15:41 PM

    Media Should Not Be Afraid To Uphold The Truth, Says PM

    PUTRAJAYA, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday the media should not be afraid of or feel apologetic in upholding the truth.

    He said upholding the truth was a fundamental principle towards ensuring that justice prevailed.

    "Hold steadfastly to the principle of truth because the credibility of any institution depends on how strongly the institution upholds the truth," he said.

    "I would like communication technology and channels to be used constructively as instruments upholding the principles of justice by disseminating the truth based on facts," he said when launching Bernama Web TV at the Prime Minister's Office, here.


    Source: BERNAMA

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  12. Here's a timely comment to share with fellow SAPP blog readers:

    Nation before race

    Neil Khor
    Malaysiakini| Sep 12, 08 6:34pm

    Change is something many people have trouble accepting. The catalyst for change can come suddenly and, some politicians spend a lifetime trying to create those defining moments that will lead to a transformation of their nations.

    Vision 2020 was one such attempt; to create a new sense of national identity free of narrow racial imperatives. Today, the politicians who once backed the vision of a united Malaysian nation appears to be back-paddling. Many still think that the BN is the best option and only model for governance. Remove the PM and all will be well again.

    The reality on the ground is somewhat different. Even the Malays in the rural areas have woken up to the reality that the BN has failed to create an equitable society. That the alleged corruption of the PM and his family, so freely touted by many, is but a symptom of a wider network of corruption that is endemic in Umno.

    Some people forget that 2004 can also be interpreted as a vote of confidence in PM Abdullah Badawi rather than an endorsement of the BN. If all Malaysians deserted the BN in 2008, it is not out of spite for Abdullah but out of disappointment that his reform agenda did not work out. One allegation about Abdullah is correct: he is perceived to be indecisive and at a loss at how to handle the economy.

    People often view Abdullah as weak. They want Abdullah to go after the corrupt with a sledgehammer. That he plays by the rules expecting the judiciary and the AG's chambers to do their jobs according to their conscience is rather naive. Abdullah must not forget who appointed these judges, the AG and the IGP. On whose reign did they climb up the slippery pole.

    If Pakatan Rakyat is to take over in the next few days, it too will be confronted with the same problems. Its credibility will be called into question if change does not come swift enough to satisfy the people. It is not that the people demand it but because of the rhetoric of "reform", "corruption free", "accountability" that both Abdullah and Pakatan has been spouting.

    Dr Mahathir during his 22-year rule never once claimed to be holier than thou. Never once did he say that the government was incorruptible. He was being pragmatic. But even he must realise that there is a real danger that the people's rejection of the BN, forwhatever reason, can become permanent if some fundamental issues like living standards, quality of life, transparency, judicial reforms and some new economic strategy in the line of creating a more equitable society are not addressed.

    The era of "closed-door" discussions amongst the political elite is over. This is not to say that the policy had not benefitted Malaysia in the past. It is simply because we can no longer do things that way in the age of the Internet.

    Dr Mahathir himself advocated a more open Malaysian society in Vision 2020. His multimedia super-corridor was part of that "opening-up" strategy. The proverbial genie is out of the bottle. It will be impossible to expect people to go back to an era where politicians discuss matters behind closed doors and present things like the PGCC as a fiat acompli.

    It is now time for those of us not in the corridors of power to think about our collective future. We must think hard of how we can continue to earn a living and care for our families independent of politicians. This is not impossible for most of us no longer respond to the narrow sectarianism of Ahmad Ismail.

    More importantly, we must begin to put the nation first and must realise that politicians no longer have a monopoly over us or the national destiny. Malaysia has not come all this way to be destroyed by narrow parochialism, the rivalry of politicians and the battle-cry of race.

    No one said ethnicity will not matter in the future. In an increasingly globalised world, ethnicity or the consciousness of belonging to a distinctive culture is fast gaining ground. But it need no longer dictate how we are governed. It must now recede into the realm of the personal, giving us strength and vitality to contribute to the country. It is time we put nation before race.

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  13. Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar has implied that Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng was also to be blamed for the public furore over the ‘Chinese squatter’ remark.

    “The whole thing was started by her, (so) it was best that we talked to her,” Syed Hamid said in reply to a question during a press conference at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman today.

    Asked to elaborate, Syed Hamid said the ripple effects from Tan’s article had caused “the polemic and fear” thus warranting investigations by the police.

    “That information is from her and it was published. (Since) it has been published, it is best that we get to the bottom of it by getting the information from her.

    Syed Hamid was referring to Tan’s four-paragraph report which quoted Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail calling the Chinese community ‘squatters’.

    ----------
    let me tell Syed Hamid, if Racist Ahmad Ismail did not talk racist remarks, Tan will not have reported it.

    Who started it?? Don't blame our reporters! They have to report the truth and keep check on extremists like Ahmad and others.

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  14. USING ISA TO FRIGHTEN THE PEOPLE OF MALAYSIA INTO GIVING UP THE FIGHT FOR A JUST AND DEMOCRATIC (REAL DEMOCRACY) MALAYSIA WONT WORK IN THIS MODERN ERA. TO DATE THE MAJORITY OF MALAYSIANS (IF DO NOT AGREE, CONDUCT A STREET POLL BY AN INDEPENDANT BODY) OF ALL RACES AND RELIGION HAVE UNITED UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF PAKATAN RAKYAT. IT WONT FUEL RESENTMENT BUT STRENGTEN THE RESOURCE OF THE PEOPLE BACKING PR TO FORM THE NEXT GOVT OF MALAYSIA. TILL THEN WILL ONLY OUR ECONOMY BE PUT BACK ON TRACK TO PROGRESS AND MALAYSIANS UNITED AS ONE.

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  15. The case of Sin Chew reporter being arrested using the ISA act was an example of flip-flop decision of the government.

    Arrest was clearly an intimidation tactic to scare other reporters into reporting the truth.

    When public outcries n protests were made, a thought out response was made...a ridiculous answer from a minister Syed Hamid..Don't tell me you arrest a person in the middle of the night, put her in prison one night and come out with a reply saying for her safety?

    Just can't get it, do you bloggers?

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  16. Arrest was clearly an intimidation tactic to scare other reporters into reporting the truth.

    CORRECTION: Arrest was clearly an intimidation tactic to scare other reporters FROM reporting the truth.

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  17. Asked to elaborate, Syed Hamid said the ripple effects from Tan’s article had caused “the polemic and fear” thus warranting investigations by the police.
    -----------------------
    As I said before if an arsonist started a fire and a good Samaritan sounded the alarm, the danger was created by the arsonist and not by the good Samaritan who sounded the alarm. Therefore, the person who "caused the polemic and fear" was the arsonist and not the good Samaritan who sounded the alarm.

    Even though the good Samaritan had roused everybody and disrupted their activities, yet it had prevented a greater catastrophe if the fire burned down the building. Therefore, it is a stupid injustice to arrest the good Samaritan for causing fear and disrupting the activities of the people.

    By the same token, Syed Hamid has to be totally brain damaged to arrest Tan and scare her terribly for reporting the racist rantings of Ahman Ismail who was the cause of the problem.

    Furthermore, what is there to investigate? The UMNO had already punished Ahmad Ismail. Surely they would not have punished him unless they were sure that he had made those racist remarks. Therefore, the entire episode should have been crystal clear to everybody. Therefore, there is clearly no need to talk to Tan. What more could they get from Tan? The simple question was was she reporting correctly? And since the UMNO hierarchy had already decided that she was reporting correctly because they punished Ahamd for it, there is obviously nothing more that Tan could tell them. Therefore, it is obviously a gratuitous attack on her to terrorize her and as an example to intimidate the rest of the opposition.

    It is a clear case of gross misuse of power for state terrorism. This is another reason why UMNO-BN is unfit to govern. And the people are not intimidated. Only angered and wanting even more to get rid of the corrupt and vicious UMNO-BN government.

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  18. http://www.mysinchew.
    com/node/16213

    KUALA LUMPUR: Sin Chew Daily senior reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, detained under ISA since last night, was released by the police this afternoon, and was driven back to her home.

    Hoon Cheng was taken away by the police from her house at Bukit Mertajam at 8.45 p.m. Friday. Her family was informed by the police that she was detained under the Internal Security Act.

    Meanwhile, the other two ISA detainees picked up by the police yesterday–prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin and Selangor senior executive councillor Teresa Kok–are still being held by the police.

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  19. http://www.theedgedaily.com
    /cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.
    Article_5b2f9554-cb73c03a-
    1f195fc0-cc85c36e

    KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar (pic) denied that he ordered the arrest of a blogger, a Selangor state executive councilor and a journalist under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

    Speaking at a packed press conference in Bukit Aman here today, Syed Hamid said that he was informed of the arrest by the police.

    "I did not order it," said Syed Hamid
    ===========================

    Looks like Syed Hamid is afraid of being blamed for the blatant and baseless arrests of the three. Now that he knew there are still two left in the jail, isn't it time for him to order them released?

    And who is running the show anyway? Seems like some police are just going around arresting innocent people for the fun of it and without authorization. If Syed Hamid did not order the arrest of the three, then he better find out who did and for what reason? And if there are no good reasons for the arrest, then those who ordered the arrest better be arrested themselves for abuse of power and unlawful imprisonment and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

    Malaysia should not be run like a Nazi fascist camp where people are terrorized at the whim of the police.

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  20. SAPP,

    When your Supreme Council sits down this coming Weds, do Sabah (& the rest of Malaysia) a favor & make the right decision.
    A question to help you along:-
    Do you want to still be a part of this Racist & Bigoted (similar to Nazi Germany & South Africa's Apartheid Regimes) Regime or don't you?

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  21. Why should Tan Hoon Cheng be deserved the treatment of ISA? She simply reported what Ahmad Ismail spoke at the PP by-election.

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  22. The Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's right the archiac and much disputed ISA should be replaced to allow more open legitimate dissent. We cannot afford to go back to the Mahathir era in which he put many of his opponents to jail under ISA just to lenghten his rule.

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  23. LDP's President Datuk Liew Vui Keong supporting the arrest by the ISA, He is really a "Ham Kah Chan" Chinese people. What a shame to have such Chinese betrayer leader in Sabah.

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  24. DSAI is perfectly right the return of Mahathir to UMNO hastens its earlier demise. Mahathir has left behind a host of misdeeds that Badawi inherited. Lingamgate is one of the many that we have seen so far.

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  25. MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn criticised Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar’s explanation on the detention of Tan, who has since been released.

    He said Syed Hamid’s explanation — that her arrest under the ISA was because her life was under threat — was “totally unacceptable.”

    “It was a feeble attempt to justify the use of the ISA on Tan. By detaining her under the ISA, police have turned her into a victim of circumstances,”

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  26. Dr. Mohamad Khir Toyo should be arrested for stirring up religious sentiments.

    WHY NOT THE HOME MINISTER ACT ON THIS???? DOUBLE STANDARDS OF THE GOVT AS USUAL!

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  27. In your face RPK...
    so daring but very stupid action...
    And for Teresa kok, hahaha..now you can enjoy the azan every minutes in your 4x4 room..... sama budu macam RPK... budu sombong!!
    Guys, UMNO have nothing to do with the arrest, it's about safety + country.
    UMNO is not racist....UMNO is not for Melayu only, UMNO are for all bumiputera Malaysia, if you not catogerized under bumiputera, you still can join them from BN conmponent parties... SO, WHO SAID UMNO RACIST?? The looser who can't fit in into UMNO are the racist one..and blaming UMNO leaders as racist. UMNO is not racist... fullstop!!!
    Don't be fooled by those who are not Malaysian, acting like us, writing like us...trying to sweet talk us to do demo or protest on the streets... that's crazy and not productive thingking...

    WE LOVE MALAYSIA...WE CARE ABOUT THE LAW, OUR COUNTRY, OUR LIVES!!

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  28. STOP ASKING SABAH PEOPLE OR MALAYSIAN TO GO AT THE GOVERMENT..
    THE GOVT ARE DOING THEIR BEST 4 THE PEOPLES, DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT THE USA GOVT SAID ABOUT MALAYSIA, WHO NEED THEM?? ONLY A FEW OF PEOPLE FOLLOWING THE PAKATAN RAKYAT COALITION, IT'S ANWAR N FAMILY, KIT SIANG N FAMILY, KARPAL SINGH N FAMILY AND FEW FROM PAS. THAT'S ALL...

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  29. Dear Jom-Osama@2rrun,

    You are NOT a Malaysian or a Sabahan, so keep your bloody foreign mouth shut.

    Go back to your uncle Osama bin laden, do not create terrorism in our beloved Sabah.

    You know nuts about the politics of Sabah, about our rights n the peace n harmony that we have had yearned since 1963.

    BN had killed our hopes n rights until now when Pakatan Rakyat is gonna put all these hopes a reality again.

    Calling all Sabahan voters to voice your rights come Judgment Day in 13th General Elections.

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  30. saya nampak jomosama the clown nama di sini tetapi malas nak baca. Buang masa saja. Lebih baik biar dia shiok sendiri.Jmosama the clown lagi shiok sendiri. ka ka ka ka ka.

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  31. Karatekid,anonymous,monsopiad,sabahsupremacy atau sabahsupmasin... pity on you guys...

    You know nuts about the politics of Sabah, about our rights n the peace n harmony that we have had yearned since 1963. karatekkid said..kuang,kuang,kuang!!
    politics,rights,peace n harmony, what?? you don't have it now?? lol..
    kau mungkin mimpi ataupun dalam penjara kali.. itulah sebabnya kau tiada itu semua.... nah, ini yang PTI tu, kedapatan terus kena penjara!!
    Disebabkan politik,hak asasi, keamanan dan keharmonian yang diberikan oleh KERAJAAN BARISAN NASIONAL lah kita bercerita di sini, kalau tidak.. jangan haraplah, terutamanya kamu semua (baruah anwar raja peliwat), tidak akan merasa kebebasan ini kecuali macam saya dan majoriti penduduk negara Malaysia yang menyokong Barisan Nasional.....
    Huhh...cakap pasal kebebasan kunun, pasal orang Sabah di tindas kunu, poorahhh.......
    Perasaan mu saja itu buss....
    aramaitii kita ini malam sempena tersingkirnya SAPP dari Barisan yang selalu menang.......doiii dogo,menyasal oku...

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  32. It's very amusing Badawi talks about the judiciary reform with the departure of Zaid Ibrahim. He said reform has started following the landslide election in 2004 and continued since then. Something is missing in his statement regarding the internal politics in UMNO. Isn't he more lonely now in the absence of Ibrahim by his side? The Malaysian public is very sick of the abuse of ISA against civilians.

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