Bloggers' Universe Malaysia (BUM) 2008

BUM2011 Rocks In with a Luncheon Forum on July 24!

2011-07-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

YES< keep a date with a group of intrepid Socio-Political Bloggers -- who call themselves BUMmers, but some pronounce it as BOOMmers because of its obvious hi-desibelles! -- who have been cooking up a new recipe to welcome all-comers with RM50 to spare to a beautiful Sunday lunch downtown Kuala Lumpur. On Sunday 24 July 2011 at MAJU PALACE RESTAURANT, MAJU JUNCTION,- -- yes, Malaysians like to talk while they eat or they never stop eating throughout the day. I guess tha's why 7ELEVENs are sprouting up around every street corner -- gifting real meaning to the term "convenience store".

So here's extracting details from the dedicated website to promo the luncheon forum -- bum4msia.wordpress.com-- come for a sit-back-and-rest-and-relax chowdown with almost-2B-disqualified-as-MP (I understand they hold his staus as a BUMmer in hi-stead, so he survives to march down Batu Road!) YB Tian Chua -- you haven't heard of him? "Art thou from planet Mars?", KimQuek -- whose real name is actually Yong Thye Chong-- but few people know his real professional background, accountant or engineer? -- author of banned book "March to Putrajaya" all the way from Johor Bharu!

But before lunch starts punctually at 12.15PM, let's gift a hearing to the CEO of the most advanced state in Malaysia, Selangor, YAB Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim who will share some insights as Menteri Besar on a topic related to the forum's theme: ) Just add a rumour the BUM2011 Org Comm chair YL Chong, aka Desiderata, will be making the off-repeated SWANsong APpearance!:(

Okay, details from bum4msia.wordpress.com:

BUM2011 LUNCHEON FORUM UPDATE

Theme: Nation Building Across The Political Divide

Date: Sunday, 24 July 2011

Time: 10.30am to 2.30pm

Venue: Maju Palace Restaurant, Maju Junction, Kuala Lumpur

ADMISSION: Open to the Public, Fee Payable at RM50 per pax with Table booking at RM500 per table for 10 most welcome

Programme Outline:

10.00AM: Registration of Guests starts

10.45AM: Welcoming Speech

by BUM 2011 Organising Committee Chairman, YL Chong, Desi

11.00AM: Keynote Address by YB Menteri Besar of Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on a ***TOPIC related to the Theme wrt Selangor Experience

Q and A to follow: 20 minutes

BUFFET LUNCH TO BE SERVED 12.15PM to 1.15PM*********

Forum: 1.15PM to 2.30PM on Topic “Transformation&Reform: Sloganeering, Lip Service and Performance” featuring:

Panel of 4 to 5 Speakers to speak 10-12minutes each.

1. MP of Batu YB Tian Chua, “You haven’t heard of him? Thou art weird!”

2. Sdr Kim Quek aka Yong Thye Chong, malaysiakini.com columist

Author of “March to Putrajaya” all the way from JB!

3. Dr SM Yeoh, Maverick, Blogger-lawyer-management guru who gives free advice with a wit’ a dosage of Malaysian profanities

4. Sdr AB Sulaiman, malaysiakini.com columnist

Q and A to follow …

Kuala Lumpur

7 July, 2011

***NOTE: Topic to be finalised by Selangor MB’s Office

Updated @11.26PM:

Registration

BUM 2011 participation fee is RM50 per head inclusive of buffet lunch.

Payment mode: Online/ATM transfer to Public Bank a/c: 3149149826 ( FNR2U.Com Sdn Bhd)

After remitting payment, kindly email Kenneth Cheok at globallink.industries@gmail.com with the following details:

Your name:
No of attendees:
Amount paid:
Date of payment:
your email address/contact no.

BUM2011 Forum this Saturday -- Open Invite

2011-06-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

From bum4msia.wordpress.com...

BUM 2011 forum this Saturday

PRESS RELEASE

Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM) is belatedly commemorating World Press Freedom Day with a forum by popular speakers.

The ‘Bloggers’ solidarity with the press?’ will feature:

Cheam Toon Lee – former editor-in-chief who had served in Sabah/Sarawak,

Zunar as Malaysiakini cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque is better known,

Ambiga Sreenevasan – Bersih 2.0 chairperson and ex-Bar Council president,

Hata Wahari – former National Union of Journalists president until his employer Utusan Malaysia sacked him recently.

Selangor state assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad will give the keynote address on ‘Legislating freedom of information act in parliament”.

The event is co-organised by a group of bloggers in their individual capacities, the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, and the Centre for Policy Initiatives.

CPI director Dr Lim Teck Ghee said that with the political environment becoming more hotly contested and the mainstream media working overtime as cheerleader and fear leader for the establishment, it is vital that bloggers and those with integrity in the mass media quickly close ranks and provide Malaysians with truthful, fair and objective news and analysis.

“I hope this forum will serve to galvanise media practitioners and bloggers to reassert their adherence to the norms of journalistic ethics and independent reporting,” Lim added.

BUM2011 organising committee chairman YL Chong aka Desiderata said this year’s event almost never got off the ground as the Sarawak state elections came in April and interrupted the preparations. The BUM gatherings in previous years were all held in the month of May.

“Nevertheless, I was motivated to press ahead after learning about Hata Wahari’s plight. His sacking explains the theme for our fifth BUM outing,” he added.

Admission to the forum is free and open to the public.

Date: June 11, 2011
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall auditorium (1, Jalan Maharajalela)

More background and updates on the event are posted at the BUM dedicated website bum4msia.wordpress.com.

Contact person: YL Chong at 012-970 2285.

BUM2011 Is On!

2011-06-05T21:04:00.001-07:00

FROM: bum4msia.wordpress.com:)~~~~June 1, 2011

BUM 2011 Is Now at the Starting Blocks!

An exciting panel of speakers has been lined up for the BUM2011 Forum on June 11, 2011 to mark World Press Freedom Day (which fell on May 3, 2011). This evening forum is co-organised by a group of bloggers in their individual capacities (who call themselves BUMmers), and the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall and the Centre for Policy Initiatives.

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

Theme: Bloggers’ Solidarity with the Press?

Date: Saturday, 11 June 2011 Time: 7.45pm to 10.15pm
Venue: Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Auditorium (KLSCAH)

Admission: Free and Open to the Public

*************************
Programme Outline:

7.45PM: Welcoming Speech by Dr Lim TG, Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives;

7.55PM: Address by BUM 2011 Organising Committee Chairman, YL Chong, Desi

8.10PM: Keynote Address by YB Nik Nazmi  Nik Ahmad on “Legislating Freedom of Information Act in Parliament”

Q and A to follow: 20 minutes
*************************************

Forum: Bloggers’ Solidarity with The Press?

9.00PM to 10.00PM featuring:

Sdr Cheam Toon Lee, newsman, former GEIC 

Sdr Zunar, cartoonist, writer  

Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Chairperson, BERSIH 2.0 ;

Sdr Hata Wahari, NUJ President, “sacked” by Utusan Malaysia recently

Q and A to follow…

Kuala Lumpur  June 1st, 2011

A GoOD Read on Globalisation...

2010-09-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

Desi likes to read the works of Malaysians resident abroad, for somehow they are not caught up so much with the local politics which can easily colour one's objectivity because of one's partisanship. One such writer is a surgeon based in the US, and today's read is important because of the topic -- GLOBALISATION.

Many leaders here don't even know that we have entered a new millennium ten years ago for they continue to play politics of the 1970s to the 1990s -- prominent are the PERKASA and its many clones, Hindraf and its many offspring, ah,leading the pack of the originals is UMNO ...entrenched in Ketuanan Melayu concept, tongkat economics while the world outside has moved on for three to four decades by leaps and bounds, and they continue to KONSTAN GEAR... God save us from these socalled national leaders, they may have good intentions, as they keep reminding the Rakyat that their policies are for the good of the nation! --- BUT REMEMBER, the path to hell is paved with many good intentions. God save us from such good intenders! Desi always believes that the polititics of the future will largely hinge on the country's economic status, and unless Malaysian leaders wake up from their stupour, neighbours like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietname are going to outstrip us pretty soon in economic stature. Don't even talk about India and China, and there are still oud mouths like Ibrahim Ali playing the Jaguh Kampong dance and they don't realise the whole wide world is laughing at us. Their sandiwara and outOFtime steps are magnified and circulated superfast a hundred times by one of Globalisation's tools, The Internet, so much so even the authorities are baffled as some misguided Minister maketh pronouncements that other media like Facebook are western evils hat should be filtered before they endanger young Malaysians, and people like NameWee should be sut up for their own good. God save us indeed! Amen, YL, Desi

Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #32
September 15th, 2010

By Dr Bakri Musa

Chapter 5: Understanding Globalization

There is no doubt that globalization is an idea whose time has come….[But] the fact that [it] has come…does not mean we should sit by and watch as the predators destroy us.

—Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia

The one dominant force shaping the world today is globalization. That is, the increasing integration of markets, economies, infrastructures, and other institutions into one world standard. As a consequence, there is increasingly free movement of goods, capital, services, and ideas across borders.

Globalization, observes the World Bank, is not just an economic phenomenon. While the accounting of benefits and costs of globalization depends very much on one’s perspective, there is no question that it is a relentless and inevitable tidal wave. And like any tidal wave, one is more likely to survive and even thrive, if prepared. A non-swimmer will be swept away and drowned, but a skillful surfer will exhilaratingly ride the crest.

The choice then is simply whether you should prepare yourself to be a skillful surfer if not at least a passable swimmer, or let yourself be swept by the tidal flow. Stopping the flood is not one of your options.

While many clamor to join this global mainstream, just as many resist. Globalization is enthusiastically embraced by those steeped in the ways of the new economy and modern technology. Its detractors include such “America first” advocates as Pat Buchanan, as well as the Mahathir’s of the Third World. Such bewildering alliances and confluences reflect the complexity of this phenomenon.

One of the reasons for these diverse coalitions is that globalization is perceived differently by the various constituents both in the West and in the developing world. To American factory workers, it means the loss of their jobs to such places as China and Mexico; to their executives, an opportunity to reduce costs of production. Third World leaders view globalization as surrendering their nation’s sovereignty to multinational corporations; those citizens meanwhile look forward to the job opportunities afforded by these foreign companies. Such conflicting perceptions are understandable as there is no consensus what globalization actually means. That notwithstanding, there is at least a general agreement on what globalization is not.

What Globalization Is Not

Globalization does not mean a single all-powerful world government along the line of a vastly expanded United Nations issuing edicts from New York to remote corners of the world. This is a particular paranoia of American right wing groups who are forever on the look out for black UN helicopters ready to take over their country. Similarly, globalization is not another form of regional cooperation in the fashion of a strengthened Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Nor is it a political and economic entity along the lines of the European Union or a common market like Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement).

Globalization will not mean the decline or end of the nation-state, as some exuberant advocates proclaim and some nationalistic leaders like Mahathir fear. As Peter Drucker, the management guru and respected futurist noted, it will be a greatly changed nation-state that will survive globalization. In particular, totalitarian states that have a tight stranglehold on their citizens will have difficulty maintaining their grip. With the free flow of ideas and information across borders, the state’s propaganda machinery would be effectively neutralized. [Author’s updated note: We are certainly seeing this in Malaysia where the government-controlled mainstream media are losing their credibility and the accompanying rise of independent blogs.]

Globalization will definitely result in major changes in the power relations between and within nations. This can be disorientating to those comfortable with or dependent on the status quo.

Globalization does not mean a decrease in international regulations and rules. This would disappoint those advocates for a minimalist government, On the contrary, in many cases there will be increased rules with respect to human and labor rights, pollution and environmental laws, and international crimes, as the various national agencies will get increasingly coordinated with those across their borders. Thus polluters in Indonesia for example, will face the wrath of not only their countrymen but also neighboring countries. Environmental groups like Greenpeace are now forging global alliances that transcend national and political boundaries.

Lastly, to those who fear that the universe would be turned into a dull monotonous cultural landscape filled with the Madonnas, Michael Jacksons, and other icons and artifacts of the McWorld, globalization will not mean cultural homogenization. The fear of globalization being just another form of Western hegemony or neocolonialism is simply delusional. On the contrary, globalization provides a much-needed leveling of the playing field and gives small fringe cultural groups hitherto isolated in their remote villages or ashram an avenue to expand its influence worldwide.

It is significant that through globalization, the 13th Century Persian poet Jallaludin Al-Rumi is now the most widely read in America. Similarly Sufism, which once was relegated to the margins of Islam and presented to the world only at exotic cultural festivals, is now fast becoming chic in the West. The public library in my small California town now carries at least a dozen books on the subject. And they are always being signed out! The Internet enables Sufism to reach a much wider audience globally.

As more nations adopt and benefit from globalization, the present cultural, economic, and other dominations of the West would gradually be eroded. For example, once China becomes prosperous, it too will contribute its share of talent onto the world stage to challenge the supremacy now enjoyed by Americans. Further, once China has the market power comparable to America, manufacturers and marketers will cater to the Chinese tastes and market. And then by sheer momentum, that taste or trend will become universal. The reason America now enjoys supremacy (at least in popular consumer taste) is purely the consequence of it being the largest and most lucrative market. Producers and manufacturers everywhere cater to it. Thus by sheer mass dynamics, the American taste and style become universal.

from malaysia-today.net a letter worth a pound in gold...

2010-06-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

RESPONSE TO PRESS RELEASE BY MACC RE: BALA INTERVIEW IN LONDON
LETTERS/SURAT

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 Super Admin
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It is nothing less than astounding to now realize that an authority such as the MACC, who would have been expected to have done everything in their power to investigate the very serious allegations made against the Prime Minister, his wife and his brother, to now forfeit that opportunity on tenuous and exasperatingly flimsy grounds knowing full well that much preparation has gone into organizing this interview and to then pull out at the very last moment contrary to the false perceptions created by them up till now.

Americk Sidhu

I refer to the press release by the MACC this afternoon to the effect that they will not be sending their officers to London to interview my client P.Balasubramaniam (Bala), as promised.

The excuses (they do not qualify as reasons), given are as follows:

1. That the MACC will instead submit questions to which my client will give his answers in affidavit form.

2. That the A.G's chambers had provided advice along these lines to the MACC.

3. That precedence has been established in the Eric Chia case to the effect that a witnesses statement recorded overseas is inadmissible in a Malaysian Court.

4. That even if an affidavit was sworn by Bala it would not hold much weight in court if he was not available to testify.

These statements appear to be full of contradictions, misguided assumptions and ill-devised excuses used to decline the invitation to interview Bala which has been so vehemently pursued by the MACC in the past.

The recording of a witnesses statement can take place anywhere in the world as this statement forms part of the investigations conducted by the MACC for the purposes of a potential prosecution and is not intended to be used as evidence in a Court of Law. If this were the case, then the statement recorded from Saiful in the ongoing Sodomy II trial of Anwar Ibrahim would have been willingly tendered by the prosecution as part of their case instead of being guarded jealously and hidden from view. So this is really no excuse for not recording a statement from Bala. It would never be tendered in court unless it is used to discredit the oral evidence of a witness if that evidence contradicts a previously recorded statement. This process is called impeachment. That is why a statement is first recorded.

The MACC have assumed that Bala will not turn up in Court to testify.

Why have they assumed this?

Bala is ever prepared to testify against those personalities who have caused him and his family untold misery for the past 2 years. Was it not Bala who surfaced to tell his story as soon as he was able? Has he ever shirked from his duty as a law abiding citizen to assist the authorities in whatever way he could without compromising his own safety? All Bala asks is that the authorities concerned ensure that his well being is preserved if he is required to testify. Nothing more nothing less.

Bala could quite easily have gone into forced exile with RM5 million in his pocket and his life would have been a lot easier. Instead he has come forward to expose the misdeeds perpetrated upon him by a host of unsavoury characters who stretch all the way to the personalities holding the highest positions in government and their immediate family members.

If the MACC requires signed depositions from Bala to wrap up their investigations, may I suggest they consult the documents available all over cyberspace in the form of Bala’s 1st SD released in July 2008 and the 3 parts of his Q&A released in November 2009. These documents exhaustively detail all issues involved in this conspiracy and have been available for a long time now. If this is all the MACC required, why suggest that their investigations could not proceed without the cooperation of Bala? Why did Nazri inform Parliament that the MACC were emasculated in continuing with their investigations because Bala could not be found?

Bala was available at all times and the MACC knew this. We have documents to prove we had informed them of our willingness to cooperate as far back as December last year. Why is everyone becoming so coy at the eleventh hour?

It is nothing less than astounding to now realize that an authority such as the MACC, who would have been expected to have done everything in their power to investigate the very serious allegations made against the Prime Minister, his wife and his brother, to now forfeit that opportunity on tenuous and exasperatingly flimsy grounds knowing full well that much preparation has gone into organizing this interview and to then pull out at the very last moment contrary to the false perceptions created by them up till now.

This turn of events has certainly destroyed what little credibility the MACC had left and has confirmed the suspicions held by most right thinking members of society that they are a body existing solely to protect the interests of the powers that be and to ensure that any opposition to the government is dealt with by harsh, brash, unnecessary and lopsided vehemence with the sole purpose of destroying any legitimate questioning of the excesses of the ruling regime so that power is perpetuated in the hands of their masters.

As far as I am concerned, and I know I speak for the team of lawyers representing Bala in this matter, that we will all be in London at the Holiday Villas, Bayswater at 10 am on the 5th July awaiting the arrival of the 3 MACC officers who are supposed to interview Bala as arranged and as promised.

Let me add that whatever advice the MACC may have received from the Attorney General's chambers is highly suspect and devoid of any legal basis, but instead smacks of a hastily assembled concoction of very weak excuses designed to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation for those who are obviously in control and who are able to hijack the machinations of the State and to manipulate the system to suit their own illegitimate agendas.

And if there are still any reservations as to whether the MACC were indeed genuinely planning on interviewing Bala in London then that misconception has now been destroyed by the fact that they had, up till now, not bothered to book the conference room at the Holiday Villas, Bayswater even though they had assured us they would handle the booking. They had never intended to interview Bala and have spent the past few weeks scrambling around for an excuse not to. The only problem is the excuse is ludicrous and everyone knows that.

Asia Declaration on Internet Governance

2010-06-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

2010 Asia Declaration on Internet Governance Print E-mail
Non Governmental Organisations
Friday, 25 June 2010 19:07
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The Centre for Policy Initiatives endorses this declaration

2010 Asia Declaration on Internet Governance
"[The IGF is] multilateral, multi-stakeholder, democratic, and transparent."

- 2005 Tunis Agenda

"[We call for] a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society...full respect and upholding of universal human rights including freedom of opinion and expression; and "The universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms"

- 2003 Declaration of Principles of World Summit on Information Society.

On the occasion of the first Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) Roundtable in Hong Kong on June 15-16, 2010, we, civil society representatives from eight Southeast Asian countries, call on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and its Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) to fully uphold these aforementioned commitments and principles, as mandated by the United Nations Secretary-General.

We applaud the work of the first APrIGF towards building multi-stakeholder discussion on internet governance. In this vein of inclusive dialogue, we offer the following perspectives and recommendations to the MAG meeting in Geneva at the Palais des Nations on June 28-29, as well as for the fifth annual IGF meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania on September 14-17, 2010.

Key Observations of the APrIGF

In response to the first Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) Roundtable in Hong Kong on June 15-16, 2010, we, netizens, journalists, bloggers, IT practitioners and nongovernmental representatives from across Southeast Asia, offer the following observations from the Roundtable:

1. Critical issues of internet governance in Asia should guide future discussions on internet governance policy:

Openness

Open access to information is the right of every individual, a right that servers as a fundamental venue for one's knowledge- and capacity-building. Access to information ultimately helps foster creativity and innovation, thus promoting sustainable human and economic development.

Openness is key to a democratic and open society. Restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression online, such as state censorship which blocks Internet intermediaries, is one of the threats to open societies. Intimidation and state censorship facilitate self-censorship, a hazardous social phenomenon that further undermines democracy and openness.

Access

The internet is for everyone; it is a public good. Yet a Digital Divide between those countries and communities with internet access and those without persists, and has not been sufficiently addressed in discussions on internet governance. Proceedings at the APrIGF indicated a higher priority must be placed on addressing not only the global digital divide, but also regional and national ones. While Singapore enjoys high Internet access rates (70% penetration), countries like Burma and Cambodia are at the other end of the spectrum (0.22% and 0.51% penetration, respectively), ranked the lowest of 200 countries studied in the World Bank.

Internet access is fundamental for progress. Various factors, such as political, economic and social development, poverty levels, and technological infrastructure affect whether and how often people can access the internet. Internationally coordinated efforts must be made to address domestic policies that contribute to the digital divide in Southeast Asia and find solutions to bridge the gap.

Cyber Security

Definition of cyber security must include elements that address right to privacy and civil and political freedom.

An individual’s right over his/her own privacy, including personal data and information, must not be sacrificed. Information technology, such as IPv6, ZigBee, RFID, when used without transparent and accountable oversight, could pose threats to individual rights.

Today's information society connects personal IT devices directly to the outside world, no longer storing personal data on a single server. Given the involvement of the government and businesses (especially state-owned enterprises) in running such technologies, surveillance and identity theft remain a constant threat against Internet users.

In this regard, any national security policy must not deviate from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all international human rights covenants to which states are parties.

2. Opportunities exist to continue to improve the IGF Process:

Awareness of the IGF in Southeast Asia and at the ASEAN level is presently lacking. Furthermore, Asia-Pacific-wide representation of civil society at the APrIGF Roundtable was incomplete. There exists a need not only to develop awareness about the IGF, but also to provide learning materials to make the IGF accessible to all. Greater access to the IGF would help make it more inclusive with various stakeholders, including those from the least developed nations and marginalized and vulnerable groups in Asia-Pacific.

During the APrIGF Roundtable, an open dialogue and two-way exchange of information and ideas was not fully facilitated. Open space to discuss and articulate criticism and suggest solutions must be guaranteed in all IGF events. Such an effort provides practical benefit to Internet users, both present and future, when the outcome of the APrIGF Roundtable is developed into a roadmap. Clarifying and planning the roles of local, national, regional and international multi-stakeholders, will help promote and protect transparent and democratic Internet governance and hence information society in the region.

Requests to the IGF

The first APrIGF presented a valuable opportunity to analyze both the issues upon which the IGF focuses and the process by which it is governed. With respect to these priority issues and opportunities for improved processes, we therefore recommend the following:

1. Immediately address as an urgent global internet governance issue the increasing implementation of law that suppress and restrict freedom of expression and access to information, especially within developing countries;

2. Fully integrate the universal human rights agenda into IGF program and engage systematically and regularly with the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, in particular the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the UN Human Rights Council;

3. Ensure that the IGF policy proposals and recommendations are in line with international human rights principles and standards;

4. Strengthen the IGF's multilateralism and openness in the upcoming fifth annual IGF meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania in September and future national and sub-regional level IGF meetings in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific;

5. Extend the mandate of IGF for another five years;

6. Conduct wider outreach to civil society actors in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific and allocate financial resources to encourage and support their participation in the fifth annual meeting and subsequent global IGFs, and organize national and sub-regional level IGFs;

7. Ensure active remote participation in the annual meeting and subsequent IGFs, utilizing digital technologies such as live-streaming webcast, video conference, twitter and other social media tools;

8. Guarantee that technical discussions during IGFs fully accommodates new constituents and stakeholders and incorporate an assessment of policy implications on the rights of Internet users and society;

9. Develop a plan of action in order to facilitate follow-up and monitoring of IGF outcomes; and

10. Conduct an impact study by an independent organization to assess the effectiveness of IGF, in accordance with the principles set out in the 2005 Tunis Agenda and the 2003 Declaration of Principles of the WSIS.

Hereby signed by

Yap Swee Seng

Executive Director

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development

(FORUM-ASIA)

E-mail: yap@forum-asia.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mobile (Bangkok): +66.81.868.9178

Web: www.forum-asia.org
Sean Ang

Executive Director

Southeast Asian Center for e-Media (SEACeM)

E-mail: sean@seacem.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mobile (Kuala Lumpur): +60.166.533.533

Web: www.seacem.com
Chiranuch Premchaiporn
Executive Director
Prachatai Online Newspaper

E-mail: chiranuch@prachatai.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mobile (Bangkok): +66.81.6207707
Web: www.prachatai.com; www.prachatai.org/english Chuah Siew Eng
Publicity Officer
Centre for Independent Journalism

Email: sieweng.cij@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone (Kuala Lumpur): +60.340.230.772
Web: cijmalaysia.org
Ernesto G. Sonido Jr
Blogger
TechTanod, the Blog and Soul Movement, the Philippine Blog Awards

E-mail: 1fishtank@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +63.917829.8090

Web: http://baratillo.net/; http://techtanod.com/
Leang Delux
Active member
Club of Cambodian Journalist

E-mail: deluxnews@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mobile (Cambodia): +855.15.523.623
Web: www.ccj.com.kh
Ndaru

Blogger (Indonesia)

http://politikana.com/
Oliver Robillo

Founder

Mindanao Bloggers Community

E-mail: blogie@dabawenyo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mobile (Davao): +63.918.540.0878

Web: www.mindanaobloggers.com
Ou Virak

President

Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)

E-mail: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mobile (Phnom Penh): +855.12.404.051

Web: www.cchrcambodia.org
Phisit Siprasatthong
Coordinator
Thai Netizen Network

E-mail: freethainetizen@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone (Bangkok): +66.2691.0574
Web: thainetizen.org

Phoutthasinh Phimmachanh

Senior Knowledge Management Officer

Swiss Association for International Development (Helvetas-Laos)

Email: phoutthasinh.phimmachanh@helvetas.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phone (Laos): +856.21.740.253

Civil Society Representatives from Burma and Vietnam

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The Internet Manifesto

2009-09-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

A subject of interest to all Bloggers, copied from uppercaise.wordpress.com LED DARE by cpiasia.net:), but the original source is The Guardian, UK

The Internet Manifesto
12 September 2009

So what is it all about? Starting with the sentence “The internet is different”, the 17 declarations might not be hot news, but they tie together some of the more innovative positions about journalism in the age of the net, reports the Guardian.

The authors believe that the internet improves journalism if the media adapt their working methods to today’s technological reality, “instead of ignoring or challenging it”.

Furthermore, the signatories claim that “copyright becomes a civic duty on the internet”. And that there is indeed a value of quality online, because “the internet debunks homogeneous bulk goods”. Therefore, there is money in online journalism, although “tradition is not a business model” – its business model has to be adapted to the rules of the net.

The ‘Internet Manifesto’ bucks a trend
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/sep/08/internet-manifesto-future-journalism

Internet Manifesto
How journalism works today. Seventeen declarations

1. The internet is different.

It produces different public spheres, different terms of trade and different cultural skills. The media must adapt their work methods to today’s technological reality instead of ignoring or challenging it. It is their duty to develop the best possible form of journalism based on the available technology. This includes new journalistic products and methods.

2. The internet is a pocket-sized media empire.

The web rearranges existing media structures by transcending their former boundaries and oligopolies. The publication and dissemination of media contents are no longer tied to heavy investments. Journalism’s self-conception is, fortunately, being bereft of its gatekeeping function. All that remains is the journalistic quality through which journalism distinguishes itself from mere publication.

3. The internet is our society is the internet.

Web-based platforms like social networks, Wikipedia or YouTube have become a part of everyday life for the majority of people in the western world. They are as accessible as the telephone or television. If media companies want to continue to exist, they must understand the world of today’s users and embrace their forms of communication. This includes basic forms of social communication: listening and responding, also known as dialogue.

4. The freedom of the internet is inviolable.

The internet’s open architecture constitutes the basic IT law of a society which communicates digitally and, consequently, of journalism. It may not be modified for the sake of protecting the special commercial or political interests often hidden behind the pretense of public interest. Regardless of how it is done, blocking access to the internet endangers the free flow of information and corrupts our fundamental right to a self-determined level of information.

5. The internet is the victory of information.

Due to inadequate technology, media companies, research centres, public institutions and other organisations compiled and classified the world’s information up to now. Today every citizen can set up her own personal news filter while search engines tap into a wealth of information of a magnitude never before known. Individuals can now inform themselves better than ever.

6. The internet changes improves journalism.

Through the internet, journalism can fulfil its socio-educational role in a new way. This includes presenting information as an ever-changing, continual process; the forfeiture of print media’s inalterability is a benefit. Those who want to survive in this new world of information need a new idealism, new journalistic ideas and a sense of pleasure in exploiting this new potential.

7. The net requires networking.

Links are connections. We know each other through links. Those who do not use them exclude themselves from social discourse. This also holds for the websites of traditional media companies.

8. Links reward, citations adorn.

Search engines and aggregators facilitate quality journalism: they boost the findability of outstanding content over a long-term basis and are thus an integral part of the new, networked public sphere. References through links and citations — especially including those made without any consent of or even remuneration of the originator—make the very culture of networked social discourse possible in the first place. They are by all means worthy of protection.

9. The internet is the new venue for political discourse.

Democracy thrives on participation and freedom of information. Transferring the political discussion from traditional media to the internet and expanding on this discussion by involving the active participation of the public is one of journalism’s new tasks.

10. Today’s freedom of the press means freedom of opinion.

Article 5 of the German Constitution does not comprise protective rights for professions or traditional business models. The internet overrides the technological boundaries between the amateur and professional. This is why the privilege of freedom of the press must hold for anyone who can contribute to the fulfilment of journalistic duties. Qualitatively speaking, no differentiation should be made between paid and unpaid journalism, but rather, between good and poor journalism.

11. More is more – there is no such thing as too much information.

Once upon a time, institutions such as the church prioritised power over personal awareness and warned of an unsifted flood of information when the letterpress was invented. On the other hand, pamphleteers, encyclopaedists and journalists proved that more information leads to more freedom, both for the individual as well as society as a whole. To this day, nothing has changed in this respect.

12. Tradition is not a business model.

Money can be made on the internet with journalistic content. There are many examples of this today already. Yet because the internet is fiercely competitive, business models have to be adapted to the structure of the net. No one should try to abstain from this essential adaptation through policy-making geared to preserving the status quo. Journalism needs open competition for the best refinancing solutions on the net, along with the courage to invest in the multifaceted implementation of these solutions.

13. Copyright becomes a civic duty on the internet.

Copyright is a central cornerstone of information organization on the Internet. Originators’ rights to decide on the type and scope of dissemination of their contents are also valid on the net. At the same time, copyright may not be abused as a lever to safeguard obsolete supply mechanisms and shut out new distribution models or license schemes. Ownership entails obligations.

14. The internet has many currencies.

Journalistic online services financed through adverts offer content in exchange for a pull effect. A reader’s, viewer’s or listener’s time is valuable. In the industry of journalism, this correlation has always been one of the fundamental tenets of financing. Other forms of refinancing which are journalistically justifiable need to be forged and tested.

15. What’s on the net stays on the net.

The internet is lifting journalism to a new qualitative level. Online, text, sound and images no longer have to be transient. They remain retrievable, thus building an archive of contemporary history. Journalism must take the development of information, its interpretation and errors into account, i.e., it must admit its mistakes and correct them in a transparent manner.

16. Quality remains the most important quality.

The internet debunks homogeneous bulk goods. Only those who are outstanding, credible and exceptional will gain a steady following in the long run. Users’ demands have increased. Journalism must fulfil them and abide by its own frequently formulated principles.

17. All for all.

The web constitutes an infrastructure for social exchange superior to that of 20th century mass media: when in doubt, the “generation Wikipedia” is capable of appraising the credibility of a source, tracking news back to its original source, researching it, checking it and assessing it — alone or as part of a group effort. Journalists who snub this and are unwilling to respect these skills are not taken seriously by internet users. Rightly so. The internet makes it possible to communicate directly with those once known as recipients — readers, listeners and viewers — and to take advantage of their knowledge. It is not the ‘know-it-all’ journalists who are in demand, but those who communicate and investigate.

BUM2009's NEWS FLASH! Tomorrow is D-Day!

2009-05-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Have you signed on yet for Da Bloggers Event of da Year?

From cpiasia.net:

Home CPI Press Releases NEWS FLASH: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will hold a Dialogue at BUM2009!

NEWS FLASH: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will hold a Dialogue at BUM2009!
Press Statements
Written by BUM 2009 Chairman
Thursday, 14 May 2009 14:51
http://bum2009.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/news-flash-tun-dr-mahathir-mohamad-will-hold-a-dialogue-at-bum2009/#more-89

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14, 2009:

Yes,that “surprise speaker” we listed in the tentative Programme Outline – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad — has confirmed his participation at BUM2009 to be held at the Lake View Club, Subang Jaya on Saturday, 16 May 2009.

BUM Organising Committee Co-chair Sdr Ahirudin Attan aka Rockybru just confirmed that the former Prime Minister, who has established himself a “leading Blogger’s place” with the launch of chedet.com on May Day last year (coinciding with BUM2008), will hold an hour-long Dialogue, most likely preceding or just after the originally planned Afternoon Session.
BUM2009, plagged off as the Bloggers Event of the Year to mark World Press Freedom Day (which falls on May 3rd), focuses on both the old and new media, with special reference to the role of blogs and bloggers. The organisers have gotten a bit more ambitious and want editors from the mainstream media (Fourth Estate) to sit at the same table with their new media (Fifth Estate) brothers and sisters and discuss common issues.

Online journalists Steven Gan and Fathi Aris Omar and MSM newshounds Citizen R Nadeswaran of theSun, a regular at BUM, have also confirmed their participation, so also MP-Blogger YB Jeff Ooi and YB State Assemblyman-Blogger Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, along with civil society activists like Dr KJ John and lawyers Art Harun and Philip Koh.

“Have they failed us?” is a question that can be asked of the mainstream media as well as the new media, said Rockybru, Interim President of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs).

For the first time in three BUM outings, a session to be conducted wholly in Bahasa Malaysia to be chaired by Sdri Helen Ang, and will feature several leading Bloggers, including Berita Publishing’s Datuk A Kadir Jasin, and former Suara Keadilan editor, Faisal Mustaffa.

The Chairman of BUM2009 says for this year, there is room for only 200 bloggers and Bloggers-to-be! That’s going to be a problem, especially now that we have confirmed that the “Surprise Blogger” is helicopter-ing in for the Event!

Check out our official blogsite for details, at bum2009.wordpress.com.

Wanna Watch "High Noon" among MSM and Bloggers?

2009-04-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is another TEAser from YL Chong, de Jurassick newshiund, aka Desiderata, the writher-*BUMmer; sometimes I flag myself off as fullOFerrataand this belated Post is a demo -- short for demonstarion, not on the strets of Furong as I heed the authorities and some Royal advice on a Sunday, when I just had my fiill of CON BF!

This report's extract from theSun of Tuesday April 21, 2009 page 6 headlined:

Blogging Community Split
by Tim Leonard

It carries too familiar faces -- seemingly in a FACE-OFF as at that climax of HIGH NOON? If you don't know of Gary Cooper, then spend RM28 on a decent copy of the Original -- see, as an obedient child of the law, I even lend my body weight to fighting Copyrights offenders who sell pirate tapes.

I'll report more later, IF I HAVE THE TIME, or if you have the dime, I am willing to part with my Print copy of deSun for 20million! -- or aMore because High Noon is not just about gunslingers in a duel in the sun -- it's also about LOVE.

MeanW'ILE, please make do with the theme from the movie -- learn it by heART if you gonna stop thy love from moving House, yeah, for the more qualified Doctor, as compared with you bounty hunter or Robin Hood of the www. Guess what www stands for, my dear ER? First four answers getting it right may get an INVITE to see High Noon of the titled kind on May 16, 2009. Caveat -- on condition I can persuade de Boss...He's Almost Persuaded.

*BUMmer is a resident writer at BLOGGERS UNIVERSE MALAYSIA.

"Do Not Forsake Me:
The Ballad of High Noon"
and the Rise
of the Movie Theme Song
by Deborah Allison

http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/28/ballad_of_high_noon.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deborah Allison is based in the UK and has recently completed a PhD at the University of East Anglia: "Promises in the Dark: Opening Title Sequences in American Feature Films of the Sound Period."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do not forsake me O my darlin'
On this our wedding day.
Do not forsake me O my darlin'
Wait, wait along.
The noonday train will bring Frank Miller.
If I'm a man I must be brave
And I must face that deadly killer
Or lie a coward, a craven coward,
Or lie a coward in my grave.

O to be torn 'twixt love and duty!
S'posin' I lose my fair-haired beauty!
Look at that big hand move along
Nearin' high noon.

He made a vow while in State's Prison,
Vow'd it would be my life or his and
I'm not afraid of death, but O,
What will I do if you leave me?

Do not forsake me O my darlin'
You made that promise when we wed.
Do not forsake me O my darlin'
Although you're grievin', I can't be leavin'
Until I shoot Frank Miller dead.

Wait along, wait along
Wait along
Wait along

– “Do Not Forsake Me [The Ballad of High Noon]”, words by Ned Washington, music by Dmitri Tiomkin

“Do Not Forsake Me”, or “The Ballad of High Noon”, is perhaps one of the most widely known and fondly remembered theme songs of all time, but its colossal success depends on far more than a catchy tune. The ways that it was used within as well as outside of the film High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), were extremely progressive. It was tremendously influential and, as I will show, helped to popularise the use of theme songs in later years as well as to define the lyrical style that would dominate title songs in Western movies. It was also immensely effective in the way that it guided viewers' expectations of the film, helping to shape their experience of it. For fans of the Western genre it is an especially interesting work as its lyrics lay bare some of the issues and concerns most central to the genre as well as to the film at hand.
In 1952, when High Noon was released, few dramatic films featured songs. Where they did exist, they were mostly diegetic. The decision to open the film with a song that functions so overtly as a narrational device is consequently striking and its implications are diverse. However, they can, for the most part, be placed within two categories, marketing and narration.

High Noon was by no means the first film to be cross-marketed with a song or musical score. Although the first film soundtrack album, The Jungle Book, was not released until 1942, merchandising of film songs either as short-play records or sheet music had already been common practice for some years (1). In August 1929, the New York Times was quick to report:

Boundless radio has found a common denominator with the audible cinema, the theme song; and already “The Pagan Love Song”, “Evangeline”, “Broadway Melody” and “The Breakaway” are persisting through the tubes (2).
The author of this article notes that as early as the late 1910s theme songs proliferated in “silent” cinema – both as live accompaniment to film screenings and in other arenas of circulation – and cites the theme songs for Mickey (Richard Jones, 1918) and The Bluebird (Maurice Tourneur, 1918) as early examples. Russell Sanjek argues that Mickey was responsible for demonstrating to the film industry how valuable a popular song could be for promoting a film (3).
This lesson was repeated many years later when High Noon set a new standard for effective cross-promotion, and in so doing encouraged a horde of imitators. It won the Academy Award for Best Song and, according to Jonathan Groucutt, “opened the floodgates” for theme songs, initiating the “'hit-theme' mania” that had emerged in American cinema by the 1960s (4). After the success of “Do Not Forsake Me”, there was a vast increase in the number of films, especially dramatic films, to open with a theme song during the credits. Between 1950 and 1954, only 13 percent of American feature films used this device. Over the next five years the percentage grew to 22 percent and by the late 1960s this figure had risen still further to 29 percent. (5)

Tex Ritter
The biggest rise in the use of theme songs took place within the Western genre, argues Ed Buscombe, who claims that after 1952 most major Westerns opened with a theme song. He observes that this trend also resurrected the career of ex-singing-cowboy star, Tex Ritter, performer of “Do Not Forsake Me”, who found new success as a vocalist for a number of Western movie theme songs in the 1950s. (6) As one 1953 newspaper journalist opined,

Already the cycle is nobly launched, and judging from the rush around movietown to sign cowboy warblers who can give a pretty good imitation of Tex Ritter's agonised delivery of Gary Cooper's musical woes in High Noon, any picture of the Old West without such accompaniment may go begging for theatre engagements (7).
If the escalating popularity of theme songs can be partly explained by the success of High Noon, it should nevertheless be recognised that wider industrial factors underlay this trend. The drive to release theme songs through newly acquired or created recording arms of film companies had been hastened by the divorcement decrees of 1948. The severance of exhibition outlets from production companies and the loss of guaranteed revenue that these anti-monopolistic mandates caused, led production companies to seek alternate channels of gain. One of these was the expansion of their recording arms, and a more methodical cross marketing of music and film. (8) In 1951, a year before High Noon's release, a record executive argued that, “A film company must have a record arm. It could lose money, and it would still come out way ahead on the promotion of basic product.” (9) Jeff Smith describes the way this perspective influenced the release of High Noon:
UA touted the High Noon campaign as one of the biggest ever, and it features many of the components that were commonly used in later promotions, such as multiple theme recordings and co-ordinated radio exploitation... The centrepiece of the campaign was the six single releases of the film's theme song. Frankie Laine and Tex Ritter's versions, for Columbia and Decca respectively, were clearly the most important, but the tune was also recorded by Billy Keith, Lita Rose, Bill Hayes, and Fred Waring... Whereas a record promoter would seek out sales and exposure of a particular version of the theme, UA simply sought as much repetition of the tune as possible (10).
High Noon has acquired a reputation for precipitating changes in the style of film scores more generally, as well as they ways in which they were marketed. Although “Do Not Forsake Me” has, in itself, attracted considerable praise, the implications for later film music have been framed negatively by a number of musicians and critics. Some have argued that the desire to incorporate a theme that could be independently marketed took priority over the scoring of music appropriate to the film's narrative and mood. Composer Elmer Bernstein claimed that “Do Not Forsake Me” precipitated the demise of the classical film score, whilst film historian Roy M. Prendergast went so far as to argue that it “unknowingly rang the death knell for intelligent use of music in films” (11). Dorothy Horstman blamed High Noon for killing off another musical genre, the cowboy song, as the “adult Western” took precedence over singing Westerns (12). These criticisms may indeed hold some water, but at the same time High Noon represented a renaissance in the way that title songs were adapted to narrational purposes, using “Do Not Forsake Me” in a sophisticated fashion to lay out some of the important themes at the start of the film.
Before looking in some detail at the words of “Do Not Forsake Me”, and considering how the song relates to High Noon, as well as its relationship to the Western genre more generally, it is important to note that the lyrics of different versions vary substantially from one another. Like several other movie theme songs of the 1950s, such as those of The Man from Laramie (Anthony Mann, 1955) and 3:10 to Yuma (Delmer Daves, 1957), the version played in the film contains very specific narrative references that were toned down or removed in order to create a more universal tale for the release of tie-in singles. The lyrics of Frankie Laine's hit recording of “Do Not Forsake Me” were thus amended to omit all direct references to the film's villain, Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald). Ned Washington wrote the lyrics for all three of these songs and thus stands out as a figure of central importance in the development of the Western theme song during the 1950s. Generating a prolific quantity of similar material throughout this decade, notably including the theme song for Gunfight at the OK Corral (John Sturges, 1957), he played a central role in securing the success of the song's formula.

The most exceptional feature of the lyrics to the version of “Do Not Forsake Me” that opens High Noon is the extent to which it summarises the plot, even suggesting the way in which the story ends. Narrative précis, as well as invocation of specific characters and narrative events, emerged as a fully-fledged song genre in 1952, the year that saw the release of both Fritz Lang's Rancho Notorious and High Noon. Although Rancho Notorious, which used this technique, predated High Noon by several months, its theme song never achieved the same degree of fame and influence.

Perhaps the paradigmatic example of the Western theme song, “Do Not Forsake Me” outlines the main story elements, including the initiating events, the backstory, and the primary conflicts that must be played out at the film's climax. Nevertheless, the strategy allows the preservation of a remarkable level of suspense. We know what the conflicts are that will be acted out, but not the details of their development.

High Noon is built around the tense anticipation of the arrival of the nefarious Frank Miller on the noonday train. The song develops the implications of this event, hinting at the coming duel between Miller and Sheriff Will Kane (Gary Cooper) – “I must face that deadly killer” – as well as endowing Kane with an emotional depth that is less fully evident from his actions on screen. It bestows upon the film an ongoing psychological tension, heightening the drama of each minute – “Look at that big hand move along, nearin' high noon” – as well as pointing forward to the climax.

The inevitable mortal battle with Frank Miller, indicated in the song, is the physical conflict that will provide the action and spectacle intrinsic to the genre. However, from our knowledge of the archetypal persona of the Western hero, coupled with Gary Cooper's star image, we can surmise that “torn 'twixt love and duty” provides the internal conflict that will be the film's driving force. Instrumental phrases from the song are used throughout the film and these persistently remind the viewer of the corresponding lyrics. Graham Fuller writes that, “with its throbbing tune and recurring line of desperation – 'what will I do if you leave me?'... it provides a chilling motif, ebbing away at moments of despair to suggest the real reason for the torment etched on Kane's face.” (13). At several points in the film, a line from the song is heard, complete with lyrics, but only very faintly. The technique is thus less intrusive than the verses that punctuate Rancho Notorious or Gunfight at the OK Corral.

The song, at first glance, seems very simple in both structure and message. A slightly closer look exposes a work of considerable complexity. Ostensibly addressed not to the viewer but rather to Kane's wife, Amy (Grace Kelly), the song jumps back and forth between tenses. It refers to historical events, such as the backstory of the conflict between Kane and Miller, and Miller's vow of revenge on Kane for putting him in jail: “He made a vow while in State's Prison, vow'd it would be my life or his...” It also points forward to the choice that Kane will make when Miller arrives, borne out of the emotional dilemmas that pervade the body of the film: “If I'm a man I must be brave...” Its description of these is centred on the choice he must make between “love and duty”. This is a feature common to many Western films. Robert Warshow has argued that a general feature of gender relations in the Western is that

If there is a woman [the hero] loves... he finds it impossible to explain to her that there is no point in being 'against' [killing and being killed]: they belong to his world... In Western movies, men have the deeper wisdom and the women are children (14).
In “Do Not Forsake Me”, as in “OK Corral”, the woman is invoked as support, a figure of strength in the background, without whom the hero cannot succeed. She is required to facilitate the hero's success in the physical realm by bolstering his psychological strength and yet, when it comes to a choice between honourable machismo and the love of a woman, she will almost inevitably lose out: “Although you're grieving, I can't be leaving until I shoot Frank Miller dead.”
Although the song lyrics are in the first person and seemingly derive from Kane, it is no secret that they are actually performed by Tex Ritter – his contribution is prominently advertised during the opening credits. Although this establishes a distance between these words and the character of Kane, who is not in any case a character we might expect to express himself in song, the technique is significantly different from the introduction to Rancho Notorious by an omniscient narrator who withholds information. “Do Not Forsake Me” does not narrate with the benefit of hindsight, and yet the archetypal plot elements it invokes allow the viewer to extrapolate further narrative events, including the final showdown. The song appeals to our knowledge of other Western movies and in doing so it encourages us to model our expectations of the film according to generic conventions.

To précis the plot in the opening theme song may seem a curious ploy. One possible explanation of this strategy can be found in Richard Combs' identification of High Noon as representing a precise stage in the development of the Western genre. He argues that, “A developing sense of its own ritual is one of the things that defines the 'classic' Western, but also leads it to outstrip itself (as perhaps all classicisms must), and finally to dissolve itself” (15). Certainly the film schematically draws attention to its formal attributes and yet Claude Mauriac's interpretation of the pleasures that we seek in watching this genre is perhaps more satisfactory. He writes: “We love Westerns in proportion to whether they offer us just enough surprises to make us experience the pleasure of seeing images we have seen a hundred times before” (16).

In its avowal of the primary pleasures we derive from watching Western movies, and its meaningful augmentation of the experience of viewing High Noon, “Do Not Forsake Me” has secured for itself a prominent place in the pantheon of movie theme songs. The enormous contribution it has made to the heritage of Western theme songs as well as the developing art of cross-promotional marketing deserve to be remembered in the present era where such synergy has come to be taken for granted. Through its narration of universal themes within a specific tale it is a unique piece of writing that has had enduring repercussions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Deborah Allison, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Endnotes:

Jeff Rovin, The Signet Book of Movie Lists, NEL, New York, 1979.

New York Times, 4th August 1929.

Russell Sanjek, American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years – Volume III: From 1900-1984, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1988, p. 47.

Jonathan Groucutt, “Scoring for the '60s”, The Movie, vol. 7, chapter 75, pp. 1498–1500.

Statistics given in this article are based on my survey of 2636 title sequences from American feature films of the sound period.

Ed Buscombe (ed.), BFI Companion to the Western, BFI/Andre Deutsch, London, 1991, p. 194.

Harold Hefferman, “The Minstrel is the Man of the Hour”, Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1953. Cited in Texas Jim Cooper, “Tex Ritter: His Songs and Personality Expressed the Ethos of Our West”, Films In Review, vol. 24, no 4, April 1970, p. 211.

A detailed account of the film industry's move towards diversification and conglomeration, and the resultant increase in cross-promotion of films and records can be found in Jeff Smith, The Sounds of Commerce: Marketing Popular Film Music, Columbia University Press, New York, 1998. See also Alexander Doty, “Music Sells Movies: (Re)new(ed) Conservatism in Film Marketing”, Wide Angle, vol. 10, no. 2.

Cited in Smith, 1998, p. 59.

Smith, 1998, pp. 59–60.

Russell Lack, Twenty Four Frames Under: A Buried History of Film Music, Quartet Books, London, 1997, p. 207; Roy M. Prendergast, Film Music: A Neglected Art, W.W. Norton, New York, 1977, pp. 102-3.

Dorothy Horstman, Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy, second ed., Country Music Foundation Press, Nashville, 1996, p. 331.

Graham Fuller, “High Noon”, The Movie, vol. 5, chapter 53, pp. 1052–53.

Robert Warshow, “Movie Chronicle: the Westerner”, in Gerald Mast and Marshall Cohen (eds.), Film Theory and Criticism, Oxford University Press, New York, 1974, p. 403.

Richard Combs, “High Noon”, Monthly Film Bulletin, June 1986, p. 187.

Cited in Lotte H. Eisner, Fritz Lang, Secker and Warburg, London, 1976, p. 301.

A Reprisal...plus a Revival

2009-04-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

ONE BLOGGER that has been assumed to be a permanent feature of the annual Bloggers Universe Malaysia series is presumed "MISSING" for a week or so now. I reprise one piece of writing that's relevant to the current state of Blogosphere and the state of Raja Petra Kamaruding. I hope he maketh it to join a merry band of fellow Bloggers -- vvvvvvve call ourselves BUMmers! -- and B2B, that'sBUMmers2be! at the BUM2009 gathering soon kambing to Lake View Club on 16th May 2009 in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day. Surf to bum2009.wordpress.com for details, butt don't tell the SpecialBrunch! -- YL, Desi

From cpiasia.net where YL earns some kaya as Editor to top up the peanuts butter ofr his french toast!:)

Home Bloggers Buzz Raja Petra Kamarudin on Civil Disobedience
Raja Petra Kamarudin on Civil Disobedience
Bloggers Buzz
Written by Raja Petra Kamarudin
Friday, 23 January 2009 12:36
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/17149/84/

Published by Malaysia Today

22 January 2009

Civil Disobedience 101
Some have asked me about the meaning of Civil Disobedience (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience). It’s actually quite simple. You defy the powers-that-be, but you do it in a passive, not active, manner. You do not resist. You just do nothing. And is this not what Malaysians are good at, doing nothing?

For example, when they charged me in court and asked me to plead ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’, I refused to enter a plea. I told the judge, “I shall not respond to the charges on the grounds that the charges are both mala fide and defective.” The judge, however, took that as a ‘not guilty’ plea.

I then raised my voice and told the judge, “I did not plead not guilty! I said I refuse to respond to the charges.” He still took that as a ‘not guilty’ plea and I now face trial.

In another earlier case, I pleaded ‘not guilty’ and the court set bail. I then refused bail and was sent to the Sungai Buloh Prison for three days. My wife came to prison at the behest of the prison authorities who were worried about my safety. Sirul and Azilah had threatened me in front of a senior prison officer, Thana, and they were worried that I might not survive prison.

I told my wife they should not have phoned her to come to prison and that I still refuse bail. Even the tears my wife shed would not move me until she told me they were throwing a party at the Selangor Club on Friday and that I was invited. Hmm…..a party. I am a softie when it comes to partying.

Okay, I told her, prison can wait. Partying comes first. I agreed she post bail and made the party that Friday. Okay, not everyone’s perfect.

Now, how do we take Civil Disobedience to the next level?

Tomorrow, at 9.00am, they will be charging 24 people in the Petaling Jaya Court for the alleged crime of ‘illegal assembly’ during an Anti-ISA Candlelight Vigil at the PJ Civic Centre on 9 November 2008. On Sunday last, they broke up a picnic that was attended by about 200 people at the same PJ Civic Centre. The police declared the picnic an illegal assembly and threatened to use force if the crowd did not disperse.

It appears like the government refuses to allow Malaysians to assemble for picnics or whatever unless they first apply for a police permit. The problem is, when you do apply for one, they will reject your application. So it is a Catch 22. You are breaking the law if you assemble without a police permit but when you apply for one they will refuse to give it to you.

Now, let us look at a hypothetical situation. This is just hypothetical mind you. I am not suggesting we actually go out and do this.

Say, this Sunday, four of us sit down on the ground holding candles in front of the PJ Civic Centre. Just four people -- not more than four people. That would be considered an illegal assembly. The police will then come to arrest us and we shall spend the night in the PJ Police Station.

We would then be brought to court and charged for participating in an illegal assembly. When the charges are read out in court and we are asked to plead ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’, we tell the court, “Guilty and proud of it.”

Depending on the mood of the judge, we will either be fined or a jail sentence will be imposed, or both. We then refuse to pay the fine and go to jail.

The following Sunday, another four people do the sit down with candles in front of the PJ Civic Center and we go through the whole process again. Another four people will go to jail. We continue doing this until the jails are full and there is no more space to house us. As it is now the jails are already full. Sungai Buloh Prison is filed up to twice what it was built for, as are the other jails all over the country.

We keep sending four people to jail every week until they abolish or waive the ridiculous law that requires an assembly of four people to apply for a police permit.

That is what is meant as Civil Disobedience. I am not, of course, suggesting we actually do this. I am just giving you an example of Civil Disobedience, which is what Gandhi did to bring the British government down and which eventually gained independence for India.

Anyway, in the meantime, while you ponder on the above, read this item which was e-mailed to me by a close friend:

The Umno ‘Wow Factor’

A farmer named Lakbir Singh was overseeing his herd in a remote pasture in Bolehland when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young Malay man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the farmer, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

Lakbir looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within mere seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data is stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-colour, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the farmer and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Lakbir.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car. Then Lakbir says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a graduate from Oxford and a Member of Parliament for Umno," says Lakbir.

"Wow! That's correct," exclaims the yuppie with the customary Umno's Wow Factor, "But how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required," answered Lakbir. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, and to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter you are, and you don't know a thing about cows. This is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog."

BUM2009 Is At Da Starter's Blog!

2009-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

***ABOUT BUMmers, Surf to da new home form today: bum2009.wordpress.com -- YL aka Desi saying Adieu for now, see you on May 16, 2009 at Da Lake View Club IN PERSON!:)

Home About Us April 13, 2009...7:43 am
Bloggers’ Universe Malaysia (BUM) 2009 Takes Off at Starter’s Blog!
Jump to Comments

KUALA LUMPUR: About five weeks from now, BUM2009 will tap-dance in again at The Lake View Club, Subang Jaya, and the Organising Committee is giving you good notice to keep yourself free for a date at Da Bloggers’ Event of Da Year!

And we will have an extra session on top of last year’s two as we believe the new media scene has attracted a lot of interest after its power and influence and impact at the March 8, 2008 General Elections were duely noted by many quarters, both political and social.

Mark Saturday, May 16, 2009 in your diary. The BUM2009 Organising Committee has gathered at the Starter’s Block, and with these vibrant members all fired up to make the Event memorable for all BUMmers, with many who served at last year’s BUM2008 — does this Logo strike a chord with you? –

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

making a re-apprearance.

Chairman: Sdr YL Chong aka Desiderata

Co-chairman: Sdr Ahirudin Attan aka rockybru

Bahasa Malaysia Chair: Sdri Helen Ang

Treasurer: Sdri Helen Hoh

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Liew Hui Mei, ES Shankar aka donplaypuks, Capt Yuosf Ahmad aka ancient mariner, Dr SM Yeoh aka maverickysm, Chris Chew aka mob1900, Frances Yee aka primrose.

ADVISER: Dr Lim Teck Ghee

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

BUM2009 will feature the following:

THEME: 4th and 5th Estates — on Collision Course?

(1) Morning Session’s Topic:

The Media - Civil Society’s Perspectives

(2) Afternoon Session’s Topic:

This session will feature mainly Bloggers writing in Bahasa Malaysia
and the Chair coordinating this will soon announce the topic — Stay tuned!

(3) Evening Session’s Topic:

Has The Old Media Failed Civil Society?

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

The BUM2009 OC — that’s for Organising Committee! – will try to keep the Entrance charge as low as possible, like maybe at last year’s BUM2008’s at RM50 per person, or an additional RM10 as there is an extra session this year! Of course, it’s FREE for our OC for all their hard work, and for the esteemed speakers, who cometh with special roles like lending their minds and thrust-and-parry with all comers during the entertaining Q and A session.

PS: One morsel of information I must leave with you before I temporarily take leave: Desi heard on the grapevine for the May 16, 2009 dinner, THREE LAMBS are headed for the Warren Buffet’s table at da Lake View Club, Subang Jaya!

Details of the programme will be posted within a week from now.

STAY TUNED!

YL Chong,
Chair
BUM2009 Organising Committee
13 April 2009

I Have Been Serving Some TEAsers...4BUM2009:)

2009-03-09T03:08:00.000-07:00

TEAserToo:

Monday, March 09, 2009

A 1,000 apOLOGIES for too much C&Pastrying...

But it's better to "borrow" some flowers of wisdom than display one's own vain attempt at clear thinking. I always strive to originate some pieces, but we all have our downtimes. Especially when one had to run around to do the "needful" playing diplomat, DAN cari-cari makan-makan, the former role I learnt about two decades ago. I wanted to test if that fine art of doing the cocktails circuit is still wit' Desi -- we will be able to tell when BUM2009 cometh around.

The latter role sees Desi supplementing a writer's mousey plain bread&butter wit' some Kaya!

Please keep Saturday, May 16, 2009 FREE >>> No, the Event -- some arrogant ones claim it's gonna be the Bloggers' Event of Da Year! -- is not free of charge, but vvvvvvve of BUM2009 Organising Committee will keep the Entrance charge as low as possible, like at BUM2008's RM50 per person. Of course, it's FREE for our esteemed speakers, and some VIP Guests who cometh with a small ***donation:) And that's where ***Desi's diplomatic skills cometh in BIG!:)

Doing some self-trumpeting, surf to: bum2008-desiderata.blogspot.com NOW! (OOoops, you are already hear!:) So meanwhile, while I hone my PR skills in more ways than one, please share this well writ piece for Rumination. I know many are R&R on this "holy"day, you can do more than Rest&Recreate! Mondaes are not blue when you put on your thinking cap. Even non-French.

Many streams lead to one river; many rivers lead to the Ocean, and Desi's humming UNCHAINED MELODY. I wonder if I'd meet that Lady in Red at the Butterfly Valley? If you do not understand even 30% of what's written so far, it's alright. You call on sisdar at allofhelen.blogspot.com -- she may oblige if you sing her praises; I get lots of past&PRESENTries from this sweet Ipohlang! And her significant other, John:):) That's the whole purpose of writHing a Blockedpost -- first and foremost, Entertain myself; if my ER are enterained, that's a BONUS! Hence, if thou art a non-Blogger, get on de BBandwagon, pronto!:)

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

The above has been a double Cut&Pastry from this lazy BUMmer's on kitchen, so if you wanna taste more, please get off thy BUM and surf to:

BN has its work cut out

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 – Yesterday marked the first anniversary of Malaysia’s historic 12th general election, when Malaysians voted in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in five states and denied the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.

TEAser wan:

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

BUM2009 Making Headway to Starter's Blog!

ONE RECENT SUNDAY for lack of something more stimulating to ruminate on, Desi wrote:
TEAser Sundae Offering: BUM2009 in the making...
and something's brewing in SoPo Blogosphere so BIG you can rest assured BUM2009 will be fully booked a week or two before COB.

Meanwhile, a BUM2007 and BUM2008 star attraction makes interesting reading, published by a mainstream media paper, so who says without a doubt it's 100% justification to have MSM completely boycotted? And did you notice there is a SCHISM -- ah, Desi likes strange words! -- between once lovers in SoPo blogosphere?

Is there no room for ameliorated love affairs -- maybe Valentine can help shoot its Cupid's arrows at SoPo*Phere? (The * stands for Blogo ok!:( Questions, questions, questions: Ah, these are some of the issues to be taken up -- mayhaps -- at BUM2009; art thou kambing? I heard that Three lambs are following Mary around at the vicinity of the Lake View Club:::

********************** meanW'ILE, hear's aMore education! ******************

Home The Blogs The Corridors of Power

RPK takes on...everybody

IF YOU WANNA BY BEE-SYBODY some aMore...:) -- Desi, March 3, 2009

*********************************So on a kaypohish vein, on Tuesday March 3, 2009 -- which is Boycot MSM die, if you still remember! Me, I am wit' MORRIE aMore! --

Hear's to The Starter's Blog for BUM2009!

Rockybru, being All-Blogs Interim Council Prez, and I have agreed to lead in organising BUM2009, gathering a band of Bloggers in their intrepid individual capacities -- in association with the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) second time around.

Date: Saturday May 16, 2009 (Traditionally this Annual event is to be held -- in the minds of the Initiators -- in May as World Press Fredom Day falls in this poetic month, and desi has that bent!:)

Surf to bum2007.wordpress.com and bum2008-desiderata.blogspot.com for the history...)

Venue: That Club in SJ somewhere where the lambs are roaming free and plenty until they land up at Warren Buffet's table, and Desi&Co aren't no vegans! Cyber hooligans to some ministerial minds, or vagabonds to others more poetic, and yet more likely "unemployed" writers, in some Menteri's eyes again! -- some even Jamesy mayhaps! --but all APs are cateredfor.

Organising Committee BUM2009: Most of the familiar faces in BUM2007 and BUM2008 OCs will be back --they aweways come back for more, like Oliver/Olivia twisties -- and as OC chairman, Desi has invited a few Blogger mateys to join the bandwagon to spread the weight around -- on a slimming diet, anyone?

Adieu PS: So dear ER, Stay tuned for MORE ON BUM2009, this coming Sundae, InsyaAllah!

posted by desiderata at 12:45 PM

I am in a sort of Depression...

2008-12-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

SO IT'S MAINLY A ROUTINE OF CUT&PASTE FOR CURRENT POSTNGS. This is to record what I feel are significal events to help us, including desi, to see the BIG PICTURE as the world unfolds. Not just unfolding, but changing, rapidly. Yes, the only two constants in life after a human's birth are death and change. I believe this series of C&P started a few days ago is a useful exercise in doing some "catchUP" ON THE ECONOMIC FRONT. Today I'm reprising a Post from an Aussie pressman about the economic landscape of the Other "Lucky Country". It's good for us Malaysians to know what's going on elsewhere -- Globalisation, emember? -- so that we can feel the economic pulses worldwide, and like Boy Scout, always BE PREPARED!

Sunday, October 19, 2008
So China will save us from a recession, right?
On Saturday the Age's China correspondent John Garnaut took us inside the faltering boom:

"On September 1, after eight boom years, the daughter was told to take an extended "rest" without pay. She knew the factory was in trouble. In March Han's 20-year-old son started work, loading the dust-like iron ore "fines" into compactors so that it doesn't all blow away when dropped into the furnaces. On September 27 he was stood down on a fortnightly roster of unpaid leave. "If the factory closes this whole village will have nothing to eat," Han says.

For five years China has been the saviour of the Australian economy. Its massive urbanisation has pumped up the prices of Australian resources and began to fill the economy with cash when it was needed after the housing bubble earlier this decade. Now, with the world rocked by the financial crisis, if China can no longer afford to pay inflated prices for commodities then the Australian economy is in deep trouble."

Also I attempted to sum up how things look at the moment:

"This was the week that fear of a financial meltdown morphed into fear of a global recession.

Believe it not, it’s an improvement. A meltdown of the financial system would have destroyed the needed to recover from a recession...

It has taken massive injections of government funds into formerly private banks in order to shirt back from the brink of a meltdown to do it as well as government guarantees of bank to bank lending and near-global unlimited guarantees of bank deposits.

Australia did its part on Sunday, abandoning an ill-conceived plan to guarantee only the first $20,000 of each Australian bank deposit and declaring that Australian taxpayers would guarantee the overseas borrowings of every Australian bank, building society and credit union without limit, in return for a fee.

Both in Australia and the US the enormous premiums that financial institutions were charging each other just to do normal business have begun to shrink. They have a long way to go until they have shrunk back to where they were, but at least they are no longer inexorably climbing.

A day later the US economist Paul Krugman was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics. He has specialised in examining the collapse of trust in Japan at the end of the 1990s. There, no matter how low official interest rates fell (and they got close to zero) Japan’s banks wouldn’t part with whatever money they could get and Japan’s citizens were reluctant to borrow from them and deposit with them because they had lost faith in the system itself.

Japan remained in or near recession for a decade, a situation Krugman described as “a scandal, an outrage, a reproach,” and a human disaster which had “subtracted value from Japan and the world on a truly heroic scale.”

Until the US modified its flawed $US700 billion financial system rescue plan this week to make it more like that introduced in the UK, and until the much of rest of Europe and Australia followed suit Krugman was worried that Japan’s lost decade would be repeated worldwide.

The Washington meetings attended by leaders including Australia’s Wayne Swan on the weekend brought forth a shared determination to do whatever is necessary to ensure that financial institutions lend to each other rather than hold on to their money - even if it means taking them over.

As Krugman put it on Australia’s ABC radio within hours of receiving his Nobel Prize, “if you can’t persuade people to lend to each other, then one way or another the government has to take over the function of getting money moving – it has to do whatever is necessary”.

On Wednesday at the National Press Club Kevin Rudd seemed to revel in the turn of events. “What we have seen is the comprehensive failure of extreme capitalism – extreme capitalism which now turns to government to prevent systemic failure, an institution it spent decades deriding,” the Prime Minister said.

What’s at stake is more serious than a game of blame.

It is well accepted that poor people and poor nations usually find it hard to borrow from banks, even for good projects. Economists call this a market failure. What’s concerning them is that that failure would spread to everyone – that after being too generous with funds, investors and financial institutions will no longer lend them out at all. Nothing was more emblematic of the problem than the failure of the fast food giant McDonalds to extend its loan with the Bank of America last month. “If McDonald’s can’t get a loan using one the best business models on earth, who can?,” the critics asked.

In Australia, even after Sunday’s financial rescue package, funding for potentially worthwhile projects has become to find. Funding for potential duds has dried up. Most of the members of the consortium which was to bid against Telstra for the right to build Australia’s fibre-to-node broadband network are reported to have withdrawn. Telstra itself is said to be finding it hard to find the finance. As the ANZ pithily put it in a note to clients, “investment in Australia cannot be expanded if it cannot be cost-effectively funded”.

It had been thought that Australia would escape the recession set to sweep through the industrialised world. The US, the UK, the European Union and Japan are all on the brink of recession and New Zealand has already slipped into it.

Our strong card was our exports. Huge increases in the prices and volumes of our coal and iron ore shipments gave us our second biggest trade surplus on record in August. Coal export prices have jumped 70% in the past three months after jumping 54% in the three months before that. We are earning 30% more from our exports than we were a year ago, and many of the prices are locked well into the future.

But the future beyond that looks awful. When the current contract prices end they will be replaced by new ones much lower. TD Securities is predicting a drop of around 30% in Australia’s terms of trade. The Baltic Exchange Freight Rate Index, usually a good predictor of commodity prices, is down 75% from its peak and is expected to fall further.

“Having ridden the back of the commodities boom over the past 5 years, the sharp reversal in prices now well and truly unfolding spells huge trouble for Auistralia,” says TD Securities.

“The further commodity prices fall, the more problematic is the outlook. Indeed, it is easy to see why the Reserve Bank is embarking on one of the most aggressive interest rate cutting exercises seen in Australia, and the government is willing to spray money around to the embattled household sector.”

The problem isn’t that the Australian economy has begun to turn down. Employment is continuing to grow. It’s that the psychology of employed Australians has begun to change.

For years now Australian households in have been spending more than they earn – behaviour that seems irrational until you consider what’s been happening to their wealth. As the value of Australian’s houses has soared (along with their ability to get access to that value through refinancing) and the value of their share market and superannuation portfolios have also soared it’s felt rational to spend up.

Now the mechanism has been thrown into reverse. Although Australians are still earning just as much as they were, they are now seeing the value of their savings and their houses shrinking. It feels right to pull in their heads.

Gerry Harvey of Harvey Norman says this week he had “stores out there where sales are up 5% and 10% and lots of stores that are down 5% and 10%, but the sum total is we are down 4.7%… I can't remember when that last happened”.

Tuesday’s $10.4 billion economic security package was designed to turn things around. There is little doubt that it will, at least during the fortnight in December when around $8 billion of the package hits the accounts of pensioners and family benefit recipients. When the US pumped a similar proportion of its income into cheques paid to families in May it managed to avoid a recession. But it’s a trick that only works for a while.

The government’s thinking - or perhaps it’s a hope – is that by the time the effect fades, perhaps in a few months, Australians will have noticed the sharply lower mortgage rates and feel better about spending anyway.

If that doesn’t happen, the Reserve Bank will cut rates again, and then again. And we may just get another economic stimulus package. Australia is blessed compared to its counterparts in that it has begun the process with a very high interest rate so it can do a lot of cutting until it gets to zero. By contrast the US has an official interest rate of 1.5%. There’s not much more it can do. The Australian government is debt-free and has tens of billions awaiting spending in special funds. It can afford many more stimulus packages than the US.

Some observers think that that was one of the reasons it made its package is so big – to show that it could. The actors in the ABC’s Hollow Men noted that “$10 billion” is a figure that gets attention.

The competing theory is that the government is expecting such an economic downturn that only $10 billion can prevent it. By not making public its forecasts until the release of the Mid-Year Economic Review next month the government is fuelling that suspicion.

"This package is bigger than we have ever seen before," said Professor Bob Gregory of the Australian National University this week. "That must mean that their forecasts are worse than anything we've ever seen before."

An unspoken government aim appears to be maintaining Australia’s high house prices. Yeas ago a Howard government Minister Ross Cameron observed that rising house prices “makes for happy voters.” The authorities’ aim right now is to stop voters getting much more unhappy. The government and the Reserve Bank can’t control share prices, but they can influence house prices by doubling and in some cases tripling the First Home Owners Grant and by slashing interest rates.

Having the Treasury’s Official of Financial Management spend another $4 billion funding the mortgages sold by non-bank lenders is another way of keeping downward pressure on mortgage rates.

We have moved a long way from the days when these sorts of measures would be seen as unwelcome signs of government interference in “the market”. The financial market has been barely functioning, and even now no one is certain that it is back on the road to health.

Avoiding recession will need everything that Mr Rudd and his advisors will come up with.

Posted by Peter Martin at 10/19/2008

Labels: china, commonwealth budgets, financial system, gdp, reserve bank

Are you surprised that police are perceived as the most corrupt?

2008-12-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

Desiderata is not at all! Neither are Malaysian businessmen!

Let's hear it from a survey conducted by Transparency International (TI),acccording to a news report from sun2surf.com:

Msian businessmen say police force most corrupt institution, survey finds
by Maria J.Dass

PETALING JAYA (Dec 9, 2008): Malaysian business people are highly critical of the government's efforts to fight corruption compared with those in other Asia Pacific countries.

They also rated the police force as the most corrupt institution in the country with a Bribe Payers Index (BPI) of 4 (1:not all corrupt, 5: extremely corrupt), according to Transparency International's (TI) 2008 Bribe Payers Index (BPI) findings released today.

The business community also believes that their own companies are highly involved in corrupt practices in Malaysia and the region, while political parties were singled out as the most corrupt institutions in the Asia Pacific region with a BPI of 3.6.

The outcome of the survey is similar to the results in the Global Corruption Barometer 2007, said Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.

"TI believes that while most of the world's wealthiest countries already subscribe to a ban on foreign bribery, under the Organisation for Economic Corporations and Development Anti-bribery Convention, there is little awareness of the convention among the senior business executives interviewed in the BPI."

"Therefore it is crucial that governments go beyond speeches and proclamations, and show greater dedication to combat bribery and corruption in spite of great resistance by self-serving pressure groups whose main interest is to benefit themselves even at the expense of civil society."

"Governments have to ensure that foreign bribery should be stopped at source and make good on commitments to prevent and prosecute such practices."

Ramon said TI-M believes that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill and two other bills to be tabled by the government in this parliamentary session will help improve poor public perception at home and abroad - that Malaysia has a mediocre score and success in fighting corruption.

"It is important that all MPs support the bills and improve them during the second reading and pass them with maximum parliamentary and public support," he said.

The survey was conducted among senior business executives from companies in 26 developed and developing countries, including Malaysia. A minimum 100 executives were interviewed in each country and the enterprises they represent were selected through a stratification process that took into consideration the size of firms, their sector and location.
Belgium and Canada showed good results by sharing the first place with a score of 8.8 out of 10.

AT A GLANCE--------------------
Practices prevalent among companies from their own countries, when operating in their own continent or region

Bribery to high ranking officials to or political parties
Malaysia: 42% of 92 respondents
Asia Pacific: 47% of 763 respondents
Average (26 countries): 41% of 2,292 respondents

Bribery to low level public officials to speed things up
Malaysia: 38% of 94 respondents
Asia Pacific: 45% of 769 respondents
Average: 43% of 2,430 respondents

Use of personal and familiar relationships on public contracting
Malaysia: 44% of 93 respondents
Asia Pacific: 44% of 762 respondents
Average: 42% of 2,401 respondents

Assessment of government action in the fight against corruption in Malaysia (100 respondents)
Very Ineffective – 27%
Ineffective – 46%
Neither – 9%
Effective – 12%
Very Effective – 6%

Sectors in Malaysia perceived to be affected by corruption (1:not all corrupt, 5: extremely corrupt)
Police – 4
Political Parties – 3.8
Registry and Permit Services – 3.6
Parliament/Legislature – 3.3
Customs – 3.3

Updated: 07:38PM Tue, 09 Dec 2008

A wonderful morn to Thee

2008-12-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Especially to my Muslim friends who have performed the Haj; "SELAMAT HARI RAYA HAJI".

Last night I had a celebration of nostalgia with some close buddies -- and a re-discovered poet=buddy of mind must have "Desi" in mind/kind when he composed this, which I again lived up to my reputation that preceded me across SOUTH of the border bporrowing his intellectualism wit'out an AP!:) I know a buddy won't mind, poets naturally are kind, sort of.

So JOEpsc, Terima Kasih.
Tehtarik and Furong's bestA kambing awaits Thee at Lingam's -- Don't bring thy CJ!

So here's something borrowed from http://jp-sijun.blogspot.com/;
Go visit thy neighbour to read more of a fellow poet-asSpirant's hallowed ground.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Nostalgia

Photo: JOEPSC

Abiding me through thick and thin,
A good companion you have been,
Profoundly you know me for years;
While I have aged but none the wiser,
Still fall like one enchanted lover.

Upon the tinkling of your bell,
Out ring your chants of haunting spell;
My eyes do mist with film of tears,
My mind is lured to somewhere yonder,
Where memories of old grow fonder.

You do inspire a hope and dream,
To slake my lust for days sublime;
A picture from the past you paint,
In it I still hear sound of scream,
Though some are lost in mists of time.

You leave me restlessly to crave,
For something somewhere in time gone by;
And this won’t pass to grant me rest,
But pesters on with every sigh –
Sad yearning beats hard in my chest.

You can’t hold long the days of old,
To let all mysteries be told,
That’s why I’m always back too soon,
When nothing there will make me flee,
A precious solace waits for me.

Events of past do come alive,
Familiar voices do revive;
Soft wind blows from the tranquil deep,
To whistle old songs in the trees;
And loved ones ever make eyes weep,
But soon they’ll fade with passing breeze.

Nostalgia - sentimental longing,
Enduring every whim and fancy,
To heal a heart that’s ailing,
Fill mine with comfort to the brim!

Written by JOEPSC

A significant speech to share with Media friends, esp...

2008-12-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

Bloggers and B2Bs who missed the Forum last Fridae ight -- quite an intimate crowd of 50 made special efforts to enjoy a special TGIF's kind of night -- followed by Kapitalist HiTea-cum-Supper with exquisite mee siam (awe da way from Bangkok?)and hot coffee (bru-ed by Rocky?), and teh tari' (The K did not attend cos Desi forgot to send the invite, maaf ia!:) -- and hear's the highlight keynote:

GreAtings from cpiasia.net: from YL Chong, Editor, CPI_______________________________________________

Keynote speech by YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1312:keynote-speech-by-nik-nazmi-nik-ahmad&catid=130:Bloggers%20Buzz&Itemid=165
Bloggers Buzz
Written by -
Saturday, 06 December 2008 10:00

How New Media Trumped Old Politics and the Road Ahead

by Yang Berhormat Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
Seri setia state assemblyman / political secretary to Selangor Menteri Besar

5 December 2008

ASSALAMUALAIKUM AND GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN.

In May 2007, I was invited along with Tony Pua, Jeff Ooi and Soon Li Tsin to speak about blogging in Malaysia. I spoke about the battle between the New Media and Old Politics: how the old politics of divide and rule; command and control is unable to cope with the open nature of new media. The new media, I argued, with a combination of Web 2.0, greater functions and interfacing with mobile devices is becoming more powerful and potent than ever before.

PERSONALLY, I WAS INVOLVED IN THE INTERNET AS FAR BACK AS IN 1997, WHEN AS A 15-YEAR OLD I SET UP MY WEBSITE ON GEOCITIES. I STARTED WRITING IN MALAYSIAKINI IN 2001 FOLLOWING THE REFORMASI MOVEMENT, AND MY BLOG WAS UP IN THE SAME YEAR.

Of course, we have seen how effective NEW MEDIA has become across the globe. While Howard Dean failed in 2004, he paved the way for Barack Obama to make use of the Internet to emerge from being a junior senator with a funny name to the President of the United States. Closer to home, political consultant Douglas Schoen in Power of the Vote revealed how the netroots played an important role in the South Korean Presidential election as far back as 2002.

But we did not expect that it would play such a big role in Malaysia so soon that in less than a year after the function, Tony, Jeff and I all became Yang Berhormats. The 8th of March 2008 illustrated how new media has trumped old politics. It has changed how campaigns, even governments are run radically.

Before this, old politics reigned supreme. Since Independence, the majority OF Malaysians accepted the big tent of the Alliance Party and later Barisan Nasional as the one viable model of government for the country. This was considered ingenuous at that time: the Alliance leaders rejected Dato’ Onn Jaafar’s multiracial Independence of Malaya Party due to the perception that the country’s divided society was not yet ready for a truly malayan party. The Alliance allowed different communal parties to operate within the stratified structure; yet to convince the British administrators it provided for multi-racial co-operation among the elite.

This worked initially because the bulk of society lived separate lives, mixing but not combining – what JS Furnivall famously described as a ‘Plural Society’. This allowed the Alliance and their BN successors to perform feats of dubious duplicity in their discourse.

Their leaders appealed to communal sentiments when they operated at the grassroots level – in gatherings and through the vernacular media – but then spoke of unity and moderation to the wider public. It worked well, playing with our deepest fears and insecurities fostered by the huge inequality across racial lines that we inherited from our former colonial masters, while at the same time telling us that they were the only ones that could preserve our harmonious existence, even if it did not go beyond mere superficialities.

MEANWHILE, the Malaysian establishment maintained the colonial-era legislation that allowed for the muzzling of the press and suppression of public debate on what was called ‘sensitive issues’. Media ownership was narrowed and often in the hands of certain parties. This has contributed to the stagnant and limited nature of our press and public discussion.

This is why we see even the best and brightest of Malaysians believing that the status quo is the only route to power. This is why even the most honourable of politicians end up playing the politics of the lowest common denominator and pandering to age-old prejudices. This is why, they avoid promoting an enlightening and visionary brand of politics. As Tun Musa HItam once said: “a young Malaysian politician has to play the race card to the hilt even if there was not a single chauvinistic bone in his body.”Also, if Malaysians are susceptible to rumours and scare-mongering, it is because they do not have a free and open press to tell them otherwise.

But the emergence of a new media, amongst other factors, has changed the landscape. Here the ‘new media’ needs to be looked into its entirety, meaning not merely blogs and the Internet but also mobile devices and connectivity. Tiny, affordable mobile phones can take pictures, record videos and send out e-mails. The same content can be uploaded on the Internet at Starbucks to be shown on Youtube. This becomes a catalyst to viral communication as acknowledged by Jun E Tan and Zawawi Ibrahim. In fact, the uproar over the 2006 UMNO general assembly has illustrated to us how those used to old politics fail to even understand the most basic technology: the satellite TV. This was apparent when some in the ruling party replied that the racial rhetoric at the assembly was typical, without realising that this was the first time the Malaysian public was exposed to its antics.

Not only was the conference shown live on Astro, but it then provoked an excited debate in the blogosphere. Previously, the government could manipulate or simply silence the fallout over gaffes like this. The mainstream media would downplay, even refuse to report the incident; while the few independent publications had too small an audience and too long a production time to have a major or immediate impact. Now, what used to be idle Mamak shop chatter has now made its way to the Web, for all Malaysians to consume and discuss.

In the same year, a government minister announced plans to require the registration of blogs. This was another gross misunderstanding of new technology. A Malaysian blogger can still host his blog overseas while making the content available in Malaysia. In fact a blogger can reside anywhere in the world and still reach Malaysians. Indeed, it is a technical possibility to prevent content from reaching the public, but this is difficult, messy and imperfect. Furthermore, various ways exist to circumvent Internet censorship - as countries such as China have found out.

By the time the 12th General Elections took place, blogs were a force to be reckoned with in the urban constituencies. I set up a campaign website that solicited donations and showed my campaign videos. Several mainstream journalists contacted me to cover my campaign, but little, if any of their stories ended up being published. Instead, my team organised a “blog for Nik Nazmi day” during the run-up to the election to hype up the campaign as well as launched a Friends of Nik Nazmi page on Facebook. Keadilan sent out SMSes to millions of voters, customised for each constituency to get our message across.

When the results trickled in on 8th of March, it was clear that the urban voters, especially the younger generation, voted against the BN in a big way. Clearly, the new media played a big role in trumping old politics. Of course, other factors also came into play: a united Opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim, rising costs of living and a weak government. But the new media definitely had a key role, in that it helped bring out voters by the thousands, many of whom were voting for the first time in their lives.

What next?

While we have established that the new media played an important role in trumping old politics, the next question is: “What next?”

Politically, it is clear that new media has changed campaigning in Malaysia. UMNO has also recognised this fact and many of their leaders have entered the blogosphere despite having denigrated it in the past. Khir Toyo, Muhammad Muhammad Taib and Ali Rustam have all started blogs. Even Najib Razak has set up his own website. While this is generally a welcome development, we cannot forget that their sectarian, divisive and backward message remains the same.

We need to realise that while the last General Elections has breathed new life into Malaysian democracy, more needs to be done. More needs to be done for new media to succeed. More needs to be done to end old politics once and for all. More needs to be done for democracy to be entrenched in the Malaysian landscape.

We need to push the envelope, to consolidate the gains we have made and make them a permanent feature in our national life. Those opposed to a multiracial and democratic Malaysia are attempting to turn back the clock with every old trick in the book. Their most potent weapon thus far has been sectarianism.

Racism is still rife, and as the establishment comes undone further due to the discontent on the ground, the racial rhetoric will become more apparent. Samuel Johnson once said patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. In Malaysia racism is the last refuge of the politicians. The use of arbitrary force, including the ISA continues unabated as we have seen in the manifestly unjust detentions of Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Teresa Kok.

Ironically, the new media was very much involved in these arrests: Petra is of course the editor of Malaysia Today while Khir Toyo made some accusations against Teresa on his blog that was picked up by Utusan in an attempt to stir up Malay sentiment. Not long before Teresa was arrested, photos that purportedly showed her campaigning against Jawi signboards made its rounds over the Internet. Furthermore, the BN-controlled mainstream media has attempted to exploit what they believe to be divisions in the blogosphere.

But the nature of the new media means that those standing up for democracy can use it to counter the slander and the spin. This was not possible before due to the dominance of the government-controlled media, but ICT and its tools now allow us to get our side of the story out to as many people as possible at the lowest cost available.

In my mind, we can advance our cause through the new media by pursuing the following five points:

1. First, unity is essential. It is important that practitioners of the new media respond with a united voice against the arbitrary use of the law or other, more insidious attempts in order to silence, intimidate or control them. Also, attempts to split the progressive movement in the country along sectarian or even ideological lines must be exposed and resisted. The fact is that there are only two groups in Malaysia today: those who want to change the country for the better, and those who do not want this.

2. On the other hand, however, the netroots must always keep in mind that we have to practice what we preach. We too, must exercise the principles of independence, free speech and critical thinking on our blogs or websites. We must allow views different from ours a free hearing. We too must be willing to accept criticism and the fact that some people will not agree with us no matter what.

The great danger in these times of transition is that we become too frustrated and resort to uncouth or even extreme methods in opposing the old politics. We cannot do that. We cannot allow the reactionary forces in this country to claim the moral high ground on any point. We must ensure that the new media always remains an avenue for free and open discourse. If there is something we disagree with, it is always better and more effective to come up with a proper rebuttal to it rather than censor or deride the holder of those views.

3. There is also a need for us to continue to expand the netroots. The greater Internet penetration, and the more tech-savvy Malaysians are, the easier the process of democratisation becomes. Part of our activism must therefore go to ensuring that access to ICT is expanded across the board in Malaysia. Part of our agenda must ensure that the people in the places with the least access to such technology gets it, and more importantly – they are given the resources to use such innovations critically and well. It is no accident that in Selangor, BN seats only remain in the rural areas.

This is, however, more than just about politics. Giving underprivileged Malaysians access to the Internet, especially young ones, also helps close socio-economic gaps. Knowledge is power. Someone with Internet access in today’s globalised; knowledge-based economy definitely has an edge over someone who does not. Spreading ICT will help to resolve the great inequalities that exist in our society.

The Selangor state government has introduced a wireless service in Shah Alam and hopes to expand it to over 90 percent of urban areas by 2010. Currently there are over 13 million Internet users in malaysia, half of the total population. As Jun-E Tan and Zawawi Ibrahim wrote in Blogging and Democratisation in Malaysia: A New Covil Society in the Making, bloggers are the new thought leaders of the younger generation.

4. New media practitioners should also maintain the highest journalistic ethics and standards. Blogs, regardless of what they were originally created for, are now public documents that are in the public domain. This is especially true for socio-political blogs and websites. Its owners, therefore, must ensure that their writing receives the same duty of care and professionalism that goes into other journalistic mediums.

Take note, the last thing that is being advocated here is for bloggers to ‘watch what they say’. Overcautious self-censorship and the lack of courage will doubtlessly compromise the new media the same way it emasculated its mainstream counterpart. Rather, what is alluded to is the undeniable fact that being ethical, transparent and professional in ones blogging gives one’s writing credibility amongst ones audience that is unbeatable.

5. This may be controversial, but perhaps new media practitioners should explore forming alliances with certain members of the mainstream media. It is true, as alluded to earlier, that most mainstream media outlets in the country have regrettably been reduced to becoming mere tools of the ruling party. We need to acknowledge however, after 8th of March, there has been some shift in the mainstream media in trying to become more credible, perhaps with the exception of Utusan Malaysia.

While during campaigning it was difficult to get my story published in the mainstream media, on 9th of March, I received a call from one of the journalists who told me today she will cover my post-election activities and the editor has promised her it will be published this time around. True enough, it was published immediately the next day

But there are many restrictions that continue to exist, and that many journalists ‘still in the system’ are growing increasingly frustrated with the restrictions imposed on them and desire a free press just as badly as their new media counterparts do. We must never forget that our goal is not to supplant or destroy the traditional media, but to free it from undue political influence and complement it as channels of public opinion. The netroots should therefore reaffirm its commitment to campaign to support mainstream media journalists who continue to uphold the principles of integrity in their reporting.

The Selangor state government has formed a taskforce on the Freedom of Information to look into ways on how the state can get around the OSA to promote a more transparent and accountable government through a freedom of information enactment

Malaysia has already come a long way through the new media. If the latter continues to be fully utilised courageously and shrewdly, then our country can progress further still. But old media will not disappear, and it is crucial that we get the old media to advance our cause. Even now, we see some changes from the mainstream media, but more needs to be done for lasting change to become a reality.

The new media has provided new possibilities and unleashed new forces. The new media has trumped old politics. The new media can be the vanguard for a new Malaysia.

Thank you.

A Forum on Friday that Would Rock You Bloggers!

2008-12-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Also would Rock&Roll B2Bs, which is short for Bloggers-to-Be!

From cpiasia.net:)

OPEN INVITATION TO ATTEND
Forum and Book Launch on "New Media and Democratization in Malaysia" in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, December 5, 2008

A Forum on "New Media and Democratization in Malaysia" will be held on Friday, December 5, 2008 from 8.00-10.00pm at the KLSCAH auditorium, Kuala Lumpur. The forum will feature as keynote speaker Yang Berhormat NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD, a Selangor State Assemblyman, and Political Secretary to the Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The occasion will also witness the launch of a book titled “"Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia", and its co-authors Prof. Wan Zawawi Ibrahim, and Sdri Jun-E Tan, will be present to speak about their work. Other speakers include representatives from the organizations collaborating in the programme.

Members of the public are invited to attend the forum which is jointly organized by the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI), SIRD-Gerak Budaya, the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs) and the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).

The Forum was initiated mainly by the CPI YouthSpeak Section which has the objective of promoting discourse through writings and discussion at the CPI website coordinated by Wan Fadzrul and John Lee, and via public forums such as this current one, to encourage the youth of Malaysia to take part actively in the democratization process in the country.

____________________________

The Final Programme is as follows:

THEME: "New Media and Democratization in Malaysia".

*** Date/time of Forum: Friday, December 5, 8.00pm-10.00pm, with Tea to follow

*** Venue: KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall auditorium,
1,Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur

**** (1) Welcome speech by Sdr YL Chong, Editor, CPI

**** (2) Keynote speaker: YB Sdr Nik Nazmi, PKR SA and Political Secretary to Selangor MB

**** (3) Sdr Wan Fadzrul Wan Bahrum, CPI YouthSpeak Coordinator

**** (4) Sdr Yeoh Lee Hin, CPI (Chinese) Web administrator

**** (5) Sdri Jun-E Tan, co-author of "Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia"

**** (6) Prof. Wan Zawawi, co-author of “Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia”

**** (7) Sdr Teh Yee Keong, KLSCAH Representative

***** (8) Sdr Ahirudin Attan aka Rockybru, Interim President, National Alliance of Bloggers

***** Q and A session
____________________________________

NOTE: For further information, please contact

YL Chong: 012-9702285
Helen Ang: 013-2240985

Life is Bizarre! (2)

2008-11-16T23:15:00.000-08:00

Reward for Scoundrels, Punishment for Those Walking the Talk.

Bizarrarity2 from NegaraKu, stolen from malaysia-today.net;
meanwhile, please be Ms Patience w'ile I hunt for BizzararityWan from NegaraKu that I intimated Yesterday -- when all my troubles seemed so far away:) -- I'd search for hiding shyly like furongknight AnakMerdeka in some archives.

Only the good die young
Posted by Super Admin
Friday, 14 November 2008 09:38

The Special Branch stood by helplessly as Ramlang spoke at ceramah after ceramah to set the record straight on what happened in the Federal Territory mosque the day Saiful swore on the Quran that Anwar had sodomised him.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

The Pink Panther

Ariff Shah anticipated he would win the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election by at least 5,000 votes. Anwar Ibrahim’s camp, in turn, was confident they would win, but probably by 10,000 votes or so. This would mean Anwar’s win would be lower than Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s 13,000-vote majority in the 8 March 2008 general election.

This would be a disaster. Anwar must win by a majority higher than Wan Azizah’s. And a plan was required to achieve this. They needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat. And the plan was like a plot from a spy story and executed with military precision to boot.

An operations centre was set up in a hotel about half an hour from the heart of the Permatang Pauh election campaign. The purpose was to poll the voters’ sentiments, in particular the Malay voters who made up the majority of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency. What were the issues troubling the voters? What was foremost in their minds?

The thing needling the Malay voters in Permatang Pauh was as to why Anwar did not also swear on the Quran in a mosque that he did not sodomise Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Saiful had done the so and swore than Anwar did sodomise him. Why won’t Anwar do the same and swear that he did not?

The simple-minded Malay voters did not seem to realise that such a ritual is not part of Islamic teachings. One does not use the Quran and God to gain political mileage. Furthermore, if Anwar were to do so smack in the middle of an election campaign, it would be interpreted even more that Anwar is doing so merely to gain more votes. That move could backfire badly and could in fact result in some lost voters rather than help gain more.

Instead of aping Saiful, Anwar had to discredit what the young man had done and prove to the voters that the oath was all a farce and of no substance. And to do that they needed the very imam who had taken Saiful’s oath to confirm so.

Contact was made with the imam, Ramlang Porigi, who was in Kuala Lumpur. The imam was suffering bouts of guilt conscience and he was troubled by the whole episode. He was an unwitting participant in what he considered a character assassination exercise. He did not know at the time they summoned him to the mosque what it was all about. He was appalled when he discovered what they were up to but he was trapped and could not get out of it. How now to rectify the injustice done to Anwar?

The imam was pleased when contact was finally made. Yes he would be very happy to spill the beans and inform the public how they set up the so-called oath-taking ceremony and the flaws in the whole exercise. And he was prepared to take centre-stage and reveal the truth.

Imam Ramlang was scheduled to make an appearance two days before polling day, the most crucial period in the by-election campaign when Umno would go all out in the dash to the finishing line. His family was spirited to safety and Ramlang went underground. Two days before the election they brought him up to Penang in a convoy of cars and superbikes that would spring into action and whisk him away in the event they set up roadblocks and attempt to detain the imam.

The convoy arrived in Penang at 5.00pm without incident. Ramlang was scheduled to make his first appearance at 7.00pm to address a mosque congregation. And when he did, the women in the congregation were reduced to tears and the men surged forward to hug him and shake his hand.

The exercise was a success.

Ramlang was to make his next appearance at a massive rally later that night. All the top opposition leaders plus Anwar himself would be addressing a crowd of 30,000. That would be when Anwar would garner an additional 5,000 votes and secure a majority exceeding his wife’s in the 8 March 2008 general election.

Two imams dressed in robes and turbans were brought to the rally escorted by a full complement of security personnel. They were merely decoys. The crowd surged forward, Special Branch officers amongst them. They strained their necks in trying to get a look at the imams who coolly took their time to stroll through the crowd. Everyone was trying to figure out which of the two imams was Ramlang. Ramlang, meanwhile, was smuggled in through the back, dressed in a tracksuit. Before they realised it Ramlang was on stage addressing the crowd.

As soon as he finished they whisked him away and sent him into hiding. Around midnight word got out that the order from Kuala Lumpur had been given to detain Ramlang. The security boys bundled him into a car and smuggled him out of Penang. The Special Branch scoured the whole of Penang looking for the imam to no avail. Ramlang was safely housed in the neighbouring state far from the long arms of the men in blue from Bukit Aman. His family too had by then disappeared and the Special Branch did not know where to find them.

Security was beefed up when Ramlang made his next appearance on the eve of the by-election. They badly wanted to get their hands on him but not even a fly could penetrate the wall of security men. The Special Branch stood by helplessly as Ramlang spoke at ceramah after ceramah to set the record straight on what happened in the Federal Territory mosque the day Saiful swore on the Quran that Anwar had sodomised him.

Anwar won the Permatang Pauh by-election with a majority higher than the general election just months before that. Ramlang went back to Kuala Lumpur to lead his normal life again, if that was now possible in the aftermath of Anwar’s impressive win that to a large extent could be credited to what the imam revealed to the Permatang Pauh voters.

The government did not dare sack Ramlang. But they did put him in cold storage. A few days ago, when they thought that all had by now calmed down and people had forgotten the whole episode, they sent the imam a show cause letter with a view to terminate his services.

Ramlang has been given two week to justify why he should not be sacked from his government job. He had cost Umno the Permatang Pauh by-election. Anwar won with a higher majority than expected because the imam had revealed the truth. Revealing the truth is not something that a God-fearing imam should do. A good imam is supposed to serve the government, not serve God.

Ramlang does not want to resign even though he is being pressured to do so. If they want him out then they can sack him. He will accept that fate if that is what God has in store for him. All he did was to tell the truth. All he did was to reveal what really happened, which is opposite to what the government-controlled TV stations are saying. He fears God more than he fears man, as what all God-fearing imams should be like.

The government’s move to sack Imam Ramlang Porigi will just make matters worse for Umno. Instead of redeeming itself Umno will just incur the wrath of the people. God-fearing men who tell the truth are punished. Scoundrels are rewarded. That is the message Umno will send to the people.

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

DESIDERATA:

What's happening in NegaraKu maketh Desi want to spirit away to my 20million
spirite
DES
tination

and I will sing wit' my buddies/buds feting on CON BF BRUNCH LUNCH DINNER and SUPPER awe dayz, nightz, lazy afrenoonz too:) ~~~~~~~~

From kididdles.com:)

Home on the Range
Written By: Brewster Higley, Music By: Daniel Kelley,
Copyright: Unknown

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
And the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the light from the glittering stars
Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free
The breezes so balmy and light
That I would not exchange my home on the range
For all of the cities so bright

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Oh, I love those wild flow'rs in this dear land of ours
The curlew, I love to hear scream
And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks
That graze on the mountaintops green

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Rain or Shine, the Seremabn Vigil Goes On ...

2008-11-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

Because Serembanknights are caring -- daring2? -- souls.

Although it rained cats and dogs and wolves last Friday an hour before the scheduled start of the THIRD SEREMBAN ANTI-ISA CANDLELIGHT VIGIL at Dataran Seremban Park, the pom-pom gals led by angelA and the tom-tom boys led by Des, or ws it zorro aweDAway fromKuala Lumpur, were in full swing.

It was a small and intimate gathering of 50 Furongknights -- many came armed with umbrellas as a heavy downfall at 7.00pm prevented a punctual start planned for 8.00PM -- the message from a special Vigil envoy from Kuala Lumpur Sdr Bernrad Khoo aka zorro was that it is not the numbers -- but the spirit of solidarity for fellow Malaysian brothers number 60-plus still victims of ISA langishing at Kamunting camp that lifted the morale and spirits of all those present. At least half of those who braved the rain have now become familiar faces to Desi. "Syabas and keep the candle flame burning, mateys!" and it was a unanimous decision that vvvvvvve shall meet again, same time, same place next Friday, November 21.

Just a quick wrapup of the evening's pretty informal fellowship -- three wakil rakyat (SA from DAP for Nilai, Kepayang and Senawag) were present to give short messages of endorsement for the freedom and human rights crusade the vigils represent. The good thing was "deliveries" were made in all the major languages ofmuhibbah in NegaraKU -- Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin!

A special appearance was made by a PSM spokesman< I'll call him Daudara socialist like Desi:)(minta maaf, I did not get your nama! -- See you againnext week and i'll record:) -- he promoted among the participants a sepcial event his party is progressing, nation-wide Cyclothon IN Suppoer of Six Appeals, including one on the Abolishment of the Internal Security Act. The press members present wer kindly invited to attend a Press Conference on this Cyclothon the following day (November 15, 2008) at the Dataran. (Well, for the record, as I post this, the PC is now over by a few hours ~~ Desi)

Desi usedthis vigil occasion to do some soft PR for the Centre for Policy Initiatives, distributing extarcts from the organisation's website -- cpiasia.net -- an article by leading blogger Haris Ibrahim (who was present all the way from Kuantan the previous Friday when surprise Raja Petra Kamarudin and his lovely wife, Marina, graced the occasion after gaining his freedom just several hours before!)

Dear ER here, please surf to the following ***link to read the article about the minor victory in a court of lwat that rendered RPK back into the arena where he rightly belongs -- WIT' THE RAKYAT!

***http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1237:haris-i-and-art-harun-on-rpks-freedom-case&catid=130:Bloggers%20Buzz&Itemid=160

Haris I and Art Harun on RPK's freedom case
Bloggers Buzz
Written by various
Sunday, 09 November 2008 11:43
Two gazes at the hard work by the legal team, the sgnificance and emotions arising from the court case which raised cheers and caused many Malaysians to jump in jubilation last Friday (November , 2008) -- an important crossroads for the Malaysian nation fighting for human rights and justice. It is cause for hope and celebration, but the challenges ahead remain -- THE ANTI-ISA CAMPAIGN MUST GO ON, THE CANDLELIGHT VIGILS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL NEGARAKU SEES THE END OF THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT. Here the gazing starts with two Bloggers who are in the forefront in the anti-ISA crusade. ~~ YL Chong, Editor, CPI

*****************EXCERPTS~~~~~~~

Gaze 1:

The People’s Parliament
We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers - Emmeline Pankhurst

An ounce of courage, a few good men, and the prayers of the good people of this nation

By Haris Ibrahim

November 7, 2008

A few days ago, in answer to the question, ‘How should a judge endear him / herself to the Bar’ that was posed in cyberspace, I offered this, in response :

‘Treat lawyers with the same courtesy that the judges themselves expect be shown to them, hear impartially and devoid of any bias, and decide according to the law, without fear or favour.

No more, no less’

:
:
:

Gaze 2:

RPK's Release: A Tapestry of Thoughts and Emotions

By Art Harun @gazerofnavels.blogpsot.com

Saturday, November 8, 2008

After having a "super kow" Nescafe tarik at the Pelita restaurant near the Shah Alam Court, I drove back to my office in Kuala Lumpur for a lunch appointment. RPK was ordered to be released about an hour before. I was elated. I was emotionally drained. I was satisfied.

The scale of what Imtiaz, myself and the battery of lawyers involved in the RPK's habeas corpus application had managed to achieve had however yet to fully sink in. On the Federal Highway, I received calls after calls and text message after text message. News traveled fast in these days and age. Barely 45 minutes after the order was made, for example, an old schoolmate of mine called from Kedah to congratulate me. He said he saw the news on TV.

I was pumped up with adrenalin. I was oblivious to whatever things which were happening around me. The slow Friday crawl on the Federal Highway gave me time to really ponder and reflect at what had just happened in Court that morning. But the main feeling was one of disbelief.

It was when the coffee lady was serving me coffee in my office that the full magnitude of it all began to sink in. The whole office had known of the RPK case was won earlier. In-house e-mails were sent to everyone in the firm as soon as my secretary received the news from me. I took a sip of the hot coffee. The coffee lady stood there, not leaving my office as she would usually do after putting my obligatory mug of coffee on my desk. I looked at her. She smiled.

"Boss, you menang itu Botak punya kes ah?", she asked.

Before I could answer, she followed up, "saya tadak tau Boss buat itu kes. Itu Botak sekarang sudah keluar ah? Itu macam bagus ah..."

The "Botak" was of course RPK. There she was, a coffee lady, who could barely speak Malay or English, whose function in my office was to serve all of us coffee, twice a day, expressing her happiness that the "Botak's" case had been won!

I said, "ya, itu Botak nanti petang mau keluar".

She smiled and walked towards the door. Almost thankful to me. Almost grateful to me for making her day.

At that moment, it all sank in.

________________________________________________

The ladies ably led by angelA, to whom Des is co-pilot in coordinating the Seremban Vigils for three sessions now -- were scheduled to perform some LINE-DANCING. In view of the soothing weathing, they decided to leave the danzing to next Friday. Thanks to song-themer Ms SIEW FA, vvvvvvve chorus the night away with our special furongknightly renditions of

* Where have all the flowers gone?

** And I HAVE A DREAM -- Yes, we all have our Malaysian Dream:) I believe I heard somene whisper, Furongknights' rendition on November 14, 2008 ****taped at 9.30PM surpassed the AbbA's, Mama Mia!

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

**** ANECDOTE by YL Chong:(

The newshound in me made me detour to two gentlemen under an umbrella at about 9.15PM and this converse followed:

"Salam brudder, selamat datang. You dari PAS atau PKR ke?"
"Tak, mari engok saja..." (rounghly-lah,my recall as the reply was prettyNsoft!)
"I jemput saudara jika nak berucap, ke depan untuk share-lah pandangan anda ..."
"Tak payah-lah, ..." (I believe they were both quite SHY! ala wan anakmerdeka, a fellow furongknight blogger for whom I've reserved a signed kopi of MN V:)I left her my number, she still prefers to remain Cik ANON:) A state of affair which I respect!:)

++++OR mayhaps, I later realised, they came for mistakenly assuming angelA and Des were offering SpecialBrunch!:):)++++ Food4Thought

CHOW! It's adieu for now, not goodbuy:)
Till we meet again next Fridae, 8pm same place.

THIRD ANTI-ISA Seremban Candlelight Vigil

2008-11-13T01:27:00.001-08:00

on Friday November 14, 2008, beginning 8.00pm.

I ***bum-ped into a Furongknight this morning at Temiang and he came up to greAt Des, asked about how angelA was after her arrest at PJ Anti-ISA Candlelight Vigil last week. I smiled and replied that all is well that ends well.

He then asked now that RPK aka Pete has been released from ISA detention, would the Candlelight Vigils in Seremban gon on ... I said with a caital Y and a s-mile seen by my Blogger matey Bernard Khoo aka zorro 40miles away -- YES!:)

SO...
Third Consecutive Friday, ie TOMORROW -- Please come. Alone. With family. With friends. To show that wit' PEOPLE'S POWER, VVVVVVVe can do anything!

BECAUSE VVVVVVVe, the people, believe
In the power of united vision and concerted efforts
BECAUSE VVVVVVVe, the people, hope
The spirit moves, hills, valleys and mountains.
BECAUSE VVVVVVVe, the people, care
And will continue to care, and dare

_____________________

ANTI-ISA CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN SEREMBAN

Written by YL Chong
in cahoots with angelA and zorro

Following two successful *Anti-ISA Candlelight Vigils last Friday and the Friday preceding in Seremban, the same group of concerned citizens in the capital city of Negri Sembilan are organising the Third Vigil aimed at gathering a larger crowd than the first Vigil's 150 and the second's 200+.

THIRD ANTI-ISA CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN SEREMBAN

In Solidarity with All ISA Detainees, numbering 60-plus

Venue: DATARAN SEREMBAN PARK

Date/Time: Friday, November 14, 2008 at 8.00PM – 10.00PM

Contact: ANGELA OOI 019-3628367
YL Chong 012-9702285 (Ref: desiderata2000.blogspot.com)

ALL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE INVITED TO TAKE PART:)
PLEASE BRING YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ALONG!

EXCERPT from "Midnight Voices and Other Poems" (see July 7, 2007 Post at desiderata2000.blogspot.com:) by Desiderata-YL Chong + Companion Essay POETRY as a Special Medium of Communication; published April 2007; pages 89 and 90:

In April/ May 2003 at the height of the US-led war on Iraq, my thoughts went back to the ‘60s, when the Vietnam War took a heavy toll on both Americans and Vietnamese, and the rumination inspired the following poem:

Warfront Faraway

The United States and allies have been
Raining missiles on Iraq for eight days now
Targetting a tyrant called Saddam Hussein

Soldiers, civilians have fallen dead
Iraqi more than American or British
But the blood that oozed was commonly red

Peoples across the nations protest
They clamour for a ceasefire
They do not understand, they ask:
"Mr President Bush, Why war?"

I too do not understand
Why they see the warfront far away
At home the destitute, the downtrodden,
Women and children are crying, dying
The citizens face daily war
Against hunger, discrimination, injustice

Who'd pause for these unprotesting victims?
Born of leaders who only see
The War on the far horizon

42. Charity Begins at Home

When the Vietnamese refugees came by the boatloads off Malaysian shores to escape the war in their homeland; some reports, later denied, stated that the authorities even wanted them to be “shot”, later weakly amended to wanting the refugees to “be shoo-ed away”! It’s hypocrisy of the highest order that humans often ignored that sufferings of fellow humans in the neighborhood, but wanted to practise “charity” on war victims like widows and orphans on the warfront faraway. Yes, there was an instance when a homeless local woman had to depend of using a shop’s facilities to have her daily baths, and shared in the food thrown her way by the shop’s patrons, but when the Welfare Department knew of her case, the “generous” charity handed out was an allowance of RM100 a month! But they throw away millions for a fund just for one war victim from far, far away because the latter case enjoyed much fanfare and received VIP treatment.

May these participants be reminded that “Charity begins at home” – and these are some of the sentiments that inspired my writing this “war” poem in the midst of US-led war against Iraq earlier this year. Quite often it is the 15 minutes of media fame that provided the motivation for donors of charity. It’s all so easy to criticise other parties engaged in a war, about the death and carnage wrought on civilians and women and children, but they forget on the homefront, it’s daily warfare too -- on the streets littered with runaway children, or homeless old folks who can’t afford two square meals a day. Armchair critics need reminding that “war” is not just about soldiers engaged in combat in Afghanistan or the West Bank in Palestine, it’s just as real in the neighbourhood for homeless children and youths.

It is appropriate to end this section on war with the soulful lyrics in one stanza from “Where have all the flowers gone?” popularised in the ‘60s by The Brothers Four, so relevant to not just Americans but all thinking citizens worldwide, because in one way or another, the Vietnam war impacted on peoples throughout planet earth:

Where have all the soldiers gone? long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone? long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards ev’ry one
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

JUBILATION -- Read on to find out WHY!

2008-11-08T01:37:00.000-08:00

JUBILTATION is seeing the wira championing the cause of civil rights and human justice for all Malaysians FINALLY AMONG US IN PERSON, touching, feeling and linking hands with Serembanknights singing the SONG OF FREEDOM and HOPE from about 9.00pm at the Dataran Seremban Park.

Raja Petra Kamarudin is back in the battle field -- still carrying the torch for some 60-plus ISA detainees held against their will at the Kamuntig camp. Centrally, that was his message, continue to show concern and care for those still held as detainees, some for as long as EIGHT BLARDY LONG YEARS OF THE BEST PART OF THEIR MALAYSIAN LIVES!RPK did not talk about the sad pligt befalling himself; it is for thosee 60+ fellow Malaysians he spent about two months with and who shared his joy of gaining freedom because they know RPK will still lead the fight against the dehumanising ISA.

This is a short Post -- made long by a few recalls of GLAD SOUNDS!:):) -- because Desi feels that the fact that we achieved a minor triumph means we have more battles ahead. Don't sound too joyful yet as there are hills to climb and many hurdles to cross ahead before VVVVVVVe, the Rakyat, reach the peak where People's Power rules supreme, not UMNO supremacy. The ISA is the shield these enemies of the People use to safeguard their Ketuanan Melayu and Robber-barons who hide under the guise of safegiarding the land called NegaraKu when they are the very ones robbing the nation's resources (Petronas oil riches -- where art thou?) and people dry.

Let's take a breather and thanks all your comrades who made up the numers of about 250 last night at the Second Seremban Candlelight Vigil for Anti-ISA war. We won a small battle, there is still the war to be fought -- until the much-abused-by-the-UMNO iblis INTERNAL SECURITY ACT is abolished and that would be the greatest triumph of awe!

May we hear the Gladdest Sound of Awe! When the ISA is buried along with the UMNO-led Government!

The Gladdest Sound....
YESTERDAY:)

From thestar.com.my:

Saturday November 8, 2008
Court orders Raja Petra's release from ISA detention

**** Use your creative mind to "imagine" the jubilation!
even as you chorus-ed John Lennon's peace message last night:)-- Desi***

Court frees Raja Petra

Going home: Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and his wife Marina Lee Abdullah leaving the Shah Alam High Court after his release from detention under the ISA Friday. - GLENN GUAN/The Star

SHAH ALAM: Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, editor of popular news portal Malaysia Today, was freed after the High Court here allowed his application for a writ of habeas corpus seeking his release.

High Court judge Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad found his two-year detention order under the Internal Security Act unlawful.

The Bar Council welcomed the decision, saying “it gives us hope that the judiciary will act with courage, integrity and independence when the liberty of an individual is threatened by the arbitrary use of power under the ISA”.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz said the Government may appeal against the court decision.

REPRISE
An earlier Gladdest Sound...
SOMETIME AGO

Friday, October 19, 2007

Ah, the gladdest sound for a long time

Once I was familiar wit the refrain -- The most beautiful sound I ever heard, Maria, Maria, Maria...

Today I read the gladdest sound for a long, long w'ile yet in NegaraKu, so do I tell Y&A Sabrina Down Under "See, there is some HOPE nyet?" And to another Y&A Theels in the UK "Come home to Malaysia, we need you!" and to yet another Younger Malaysian working abroad in Sri Lanka, "Sdr Imran, don't run, balik kampung, ada Harapan lagi!"

From theSUN,(unlike you cheapskates, I pay RM0.30 for the daily kopi!:( -- page 1 October 19, 2007

RM2.5m for
ex-detainee

'The award of exemplary damages is
necessary to show the abhorrence of
the court of the gross abuse of an awesome
power under the Internal Security Act."
~~ Judge Mohd Hishamudin

The successful litigant was former ISA detainee Abdul Malek Hussin,
who suffered a 57-day police detention in 1988 which was declared "unlawful".

Abdul Malek, who is also Chairman of the Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections, told the press he felt vindicated by the judgement, adding that the findings of the court were more reasons why the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) should be set up.

After a tea-break, Desi came back to see the following summary of RPK's latest posting (thanks madmonk!:):

RE: Raja Petra's Narration of Ali Rustam's Speech at PPP Annual State Convention) ,2007

Main message: by UMNO Malacca Menteri Besar Ali Rustam to PPP delegates

"UMNO does not need support from BN component parties. UMNO is un-sinkable (unlike the Titanic). Even God can't sink UMNO.

Chinese and Indians can go back to China and India respectively. PPP can leave BN anytime or immediately. PPP will not get any seat in Malacca."

DESIDERATA: I've written at least two articles headed akin to ARROGANCE OF POWER related to this Chief Minister who could tell off a component party leader to fly kite", so what would he tell Opposition supporters like me? "Ship out, izzit?"

I surfed to the ORI at malaysia-today.net, and RPK -- whether in rumour or humour and in serious mode, go ask the Prince!as sometimes he is like Desi, with a sense of weird humour and rumour and some DDC!:) --he ended the said article quoted by madmonk with --teasing thee withjest last two paras, cun?

______________________________________________________

"There is much speculation on who will be Najib’s Deputy when he takes over as Prime Minister. This question has been satisfactorily answered on 15 October 2007. Ali Rustam made it clear that he and not the Prime Minister makes the decisions. As far as Ali Rustam is concerned the Prime Minister pengecut, the Perak Menteri Besar is kaki bodek while the Pahang Menteri Besar is gila who does crazy things. Yes, that leaves only him remaining as the most suitable candidate to become the next Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Hmm.....should I seriously consider migrating?"

___________________________________________________________

Pondering over the ending remark, I now withdraw my AP(knot-of-RM20k-generating-kind:(peal to twain-shalt-meet penangpearls, Theels and Sabrina, and Imranto return to NegaraKu. Perhaps not. mGf, You make up thy own mind. I waver a lot nowadays.See you, or mayhaps knot.

____________________________________________________________

UPDATEd @4.55pm:

From geocities.com cometh some records which show the siting judge was indeed a special breed. He is our guiding light in this present tunnel of dark justice overhanging the Judiciary.

"SYABAS!" is in order to Yang Arif Mohd Hishamudin:

Mohd Hishamudin
Mohd Yunus

Turning point in the judiciary?
Kim Quek

5:16pm, Thu: Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus' judgment to release the two Internal Security Act detainees is the first courageous judicial act to defend the constitution against excesses of the executive in a long, long time.

Ever since the former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas was sacked for resisting interference from the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1987, the entire judiciary has been completely cowed by the executive, so much so that it has become a rubber stamp to the will of the executive, particularly in cases of conflict between the ruling power and its opponents.

This notoriety of our judiciary reached a zenith during the infamous trials of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, when the shameful and despicable conduct of the courts brought universal condemnation and ridicule.

Within this oppressive environment, Justice Hishamudin's courage and integrity deserves our admiration and congratulations. Through his act, he has opened a small window to let in fresh air to our suffocated judiciary. It is hoped that this small stream of fresh air will eventually grow to a gush of strong wind to restore our judiciary to what it should be, a true defender of the constitution, as indicated by our new chief justice.

In our moment of elation, let us be vigilant to see that Justice Hishamudin is not victimised in any way for his courageous act. And if that should happen, let the whole nation stand up to defend him.

On a more sombre note, this incident demonstrates how utterly low our judiciary has sunk to. The balance of facts and law in this habeas corpus case is so overwhelmingly tilted in favour of the applicant that in any democracy, the judgment would have been a foregone conclusion.

But in Malaysia, it is a surprise to the nation and possibly a shock to the executive, as this kind of judicial event has never happened in most people's memory.

Not only that, it is celebrated as a historical event.

SALUTE TO JUDGE AND JUDGMENT

30 May 2001 will be remembered in Malaysian history as a day when the people's long suppressed hopes for justice were rekindled by a learned, honest and courageous judge whose refusal to accept the Internal Security Act (ISA) struck at the very heart of repressive law and oppressive rule in this country.
On 30 May 2001, Justice Dato' Mohd Hishamuddin Mohd Yunus, in the Shah Alam High Court, ruled that the detention of two Parti Keadilan Nasional leaders, N Gobalakrishnan and Abdul Ghani Haroon, under ISA was unlawful. Justice Mohd Hishamuddin ordered the Police to release them immediately.

In making his ruling, Justice Mohd Hishamuddin added that the detentions had been carried out in bad faith, violated the detainees'constitutional rights, and ignored their procedural rights.

Justice Mohd Hishamuddin also ordered the Police not to re-arrest Gobalakrishnan and Abdul Ghani for at least twenty-four hours. This was an unprecedented order given past Police practice of immediately re-arresting the rare ISA victim who was freed by the Courts.

Justice Mohd Hishamuddin even told Parliament that `it is high time' to reconsider the relevance of ISA so as to prevent and minimize abuses of law by the authorities.

The Malaysian people will see in Justice Mohd Hishamuddin's ruling the beginning of the end to an unfortunate tradition of judicial reluctance to challenge the use of draconian legislation and brutal force by a regime that has increasingly set aside the rule of law.

Together with all Malaysians who are concerned with Justice, Freedom and the Rule of Law in this country, Aliran salutes both Judge and Judgment for this historic defence of the Constitution, civil liberties and human rights.

Until the full written judgment is available, Aliran reproduces, below, excerpts from the oral judgment delivered by Justice Mohd Hishamuddin to permit Malaysian citizens to appreciate some of the legal and political issues involved:

On why the further incarceration of the detainees was in breach of the Constitution: `The affidavits by the respondents are vague in nature and inadequate. The grounds for arrest must be clearly stated in the affidavit and it cannot simply parrot the provisions in the Constitution. There must be some reasonable amount of particulars (on the grounds of arrest) to be fair to the detainee who believes he is innocent.'

On how the Police ignored procedures: `The Inspector General of Police and director of Special Branch have prematurely made up their minds to detain them for the 30 days well beyond that stated in the ISA. The IGP and director of SB have ignored procedural rights.'

On the Police's denial of visits by families or legal counsel: `Not allowing access to one another is cruel, inhuman and oppressive, not only to the detainees but also to their family members. What harm would the visits of the family members bring? The visits can be closely monitored. This court does not understand such reasoning. It is a blatant and gross violation of the detainees' constitutional rights. It is unlawful to deny them (their rights).'

On habeas corpus: `There were no affidavits filed by applicants because for 40 days they were denied access to their lawyers. If applicants truly believe that they were framed and their detention was unjust, it is their right to file habeas corpus as guaranteed under Section 5(2) (of the Constitution).'

Aliran calls upon all Malaysians concerned with Justice, Freedom and the Rule of Law to take inspiration from Justice Mohd Hishamuddin's ruling to continue the struggle to protect civil liberties and human rights – and particularly to erase the dark shadow of ISA upon our society.

- Aliran Executive Committee
Thursday May 31

Dedicated to Awe de Furogknights at Inaugural Anti-ISA Vigil

2008-11-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

This is a light-hearted take-away (ta-pau) in lieu of knot accepting Des' tehtarik offers by all these awesome/full VIVACIOUS, VICTORIOUS and VVINSOME vigilantes at the special gathering in my hometown to show SOLIDARITY WITH RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN and ALL ISA DETAINEES.

"Des" instead of the usual Desi (Yes, I also don't mind accepting free teh-si at the chinoserie kopitiam!:) because my new found Seremban leadknight "V"igil ante-ISA Angela, the sixth Agent before Bond, James Bond, hitting you in the face so-ON in Quantum of Solace... says "si" rimes wit' an unfortunate Chinese sound meaning "die-lah"... and a Furongnitie doesn't argue with a fella bird chirping down at THE DATARAN SEREMBAN PARK lust night.

No wan died, off course, but many were doing TGIF's fellow shipping/sheeping-with
'TigerBirs smuggled from SUC? with our honoured guest Marina Lee Abdullah, the sparkling Pete's partner in representing him in absentia up to about 90% (Pete still holds the 10% AWOL in Kamunting ... Keep wellA!:)

Okay, start from the BEGINNING:

6.30-7.15PM:

Desi was with brudder Kopi at LINGAM's CH, Paul Street, awaiting "no-show" guests to my offer of endless rounds of tehtari":(

I then arrived with Kopi at DSP at about 7.20PM; trained as a newshound, I had nver been "late" for any assignment except once -- I'll tell ye about that incident in detail from the head when you buy Desi brewed coffee at Lingam's (which earns Angela's SIRIM_seal of AP two days ago!:) and delicious kambing, after which you won't be going anywear.

Seated comfortably at a squareish walled pot holding a palm tree, I was watching the huge screen overlooking the Traffic lights selling, atop BN gomen propaganda-ganda wang anda, that Solace-y movie ...but I digress (to nudecomers to Blogsworld, it's a pitch I use to seduce 'em joining the Bwagon -- "digression" is one privilege a Blogger cab abuse to Hi- or Lo- heavens, who the hell careth?!)

After 5 minutes, this early bird spied another black bird taking a prime location at the next walled palm-tree pot. In bloggerspirit, I walked up to him, intro myself as YL-Desi (whispered so Angela and her cohorts at the SUC could not hear us:( and this CONverse followeth:

D: Hey brudder, dari mana u? PKR member ke?

B: Oh, I dari Port Dickson, siar-siar saja (This is my best recall, K! Please don't ask me to put up Errata...)

D: Bagusni, u datang jauh untuk support kandlelite virgil ... (Yes, I pronounced it with an "r" sound to Bahasa-Malaysia-sise da word so brudder and I can understand each other vely de wella...a li'l like "dalam kandungan sihat" greAting:)

B: Apa tu VIRgil? I ke sini strol saja. Makan angin (yes, there was a slight wind blowing'..) Habis kerja relaks sikit-sikit di park ini. (No, he didknot say Park-tou!--Des:)

D: (hiding his disAP that this brother did not come for the candlelight, but still, we enjoy the same moon and starlight).

Okay, nanti mari-lah jumpa rakan-rakan sama tuju perjuangan anti-ISA ... Khas sokong brudder Raja Petra wira negara kita.

(Des salam-ed him and without AP, extended B to join the kapitalistik crowd at SUC on be1/2 of agent oh-oh-ONE.:)

___________________________ ACT 2 ____________________________

7.30PM
A young gentleman skipped into my second lieutenant's and my fool view, and before 60seconds had passed, I thought I knew him for at least a week now. Yes, it's Angela's
sonny boy KENNY, who said he was following SunTzu's script by being the frontliner trooper to ensure the coast/park is clear and has enough space for us to light up a few hundred candles, blowing' in the Furong wind.

Kenny reported that the KL gangz escorting Marina and family, headed by Zorro, that inimitable cross between Banderos, so hand&legsome, and Sherlock, wit' piedpiper polutant in his rightcapitalistic hand, and the leftist one directing traffic to the square... This convoy from KL sined in at about 7.45PM. (See, I do time-keeping besides being a bookie at Midnight!:)

I told my buddie we would be happy to have soemthin' like 50-to-60 peeps, but the troopers began marching in after din-ning from 7.45PM, from Tampin, Port Dickson, and a wholesale family awe da way from SEPANG (dear buddy, Cut&Pasta, from a comment in da steal of the night:)

****Sukhihotu Uncle,
I am the man talking to you in Seremban last night.

By demon,

I owe thee a kopi of that Midnight Voizes, just guft me your contact addie, I promise I wouldKNOT share wit' the SpecialBrunch!:(

Anyways, after 30 minutes, I counted and the final tally was 150. I would roster the names hear but I forgot the last one I exchanged greAtings with -- 149 I know, but even if ONE was amiss, it's bad manners, my late Mum told me, and as I said earlier, "...a Furongnitie doesn't argue with a fella bird chirping down at THE DATARAN SEREMBAN PARK lust night."

TO BE CONTINUED...:)

____________________________ ACT 3 _________________________

When I logged on again at 1.28AM, I am happy to read a comment from Mark&Co (are these guys/gals LAWYERS? Pretty and useful in these challenging times as I told Angela should the SB make any Midnight Calls, like hardworking doctors of the medical kind...:)

So reprising:

"1 comment(s):

O dear, Desiderata,
We arrived just about 8pm last night and were taken in absolute by the atmosphere and the warmed of everyone.

The rush from KL didn't help at all coz we were looking forward for the teh-tarik and meeting you in person.
Alas, perhaps next time?
Anyway, the gang had dinner only after 10pm but no ones complaining.

Well, its a good start for Seremban ya? surely, full credits must be for our energetic Angela.
Think we'll catch you this Sunday at PJ vigil then.

Good nite
Cheers
Mark&Co.

By Mark&Co, at 12:45 AM "

Desi's heart was lofted and his age is now 365 younger to hear from AP gang -- I guess these are Y&As -- like "Sam KK and" Co who were early birds I tried to recruit for YouthSpeak assignments at cpiasia.net and because they also were stalking Des&Co when we dis-missed or dis-mistered, as we are awe geat parctitioners of gender equality in Peyton Plavesque Seremban, which explains Angela's role!:) -- they warm my heART, bringing down the BP, which also maketh one younger. Believe me, Zorro is going from 51-to-50 as opposed Y&A johnleemk (whose nama came up in a con I had with one SEPANGknight****) going 17-to-71! because of mixing with these young'uns!:) That apostrophe stands for "g" as in G-string, and don't visualise girls by the PD beach! It's guitar s......! What were you Y&As thonking of ZorroDesi&Co?

Back from Digression, the night Vigil formally was called to order when Puan Marina was called on to update us on her beloved hubby, RPK, whom we always call Pete. There were Wakil Rakyat from DAP. PAS and PKR -- I don't know if there were annie from BN components, Angela assured Des she included all major political parties in her INVITES list; I hear the SB crashed the partee...starting at SUC at 6.00PM; maybe they heard about the capitalistic dishes served dare!:)

Wella, I menjemput-by-sweetpersuade YB Kamarul Baharin, PKR NS chairman and MP for Teluk Kemang to lend his tenor voice to help Des's pre-midnight voiz in leading those present in reciting an ODE TO SEPTEMBER, composed exactly 30days before. The poet-aSspirant practised memorisation of the verses; but the more he tried the worse it became, so we all chorused the lines by candlelight plus moonlight plus starlight.

Just an extract hear!

"We shall remember it's the kind of September ten years ago
Reformasi with thy comrades we sang our ode to freedom
In this season of goodwill
Among brothers and sisters above colour, creed and race
We will light the candle of peace
and seek the final release
From oppression of all human kind
Until everyone other chained by the Cruel one
Is release to the bosomy kiss of the Malaysian sun
and the embrace of tender September wind and showers
of blessing of love, charity and release
from all worldly bonds

Because you taught us to see the face of cruelty of Masters
of abuse, oppression and indulgence
Will one day be overcome by what is inherently Right
So well fought for by one dear to all we call Pete
One day soon, we will again celebrate

Till then, take care
Have faith, believe

On that hopeful note, stay the course
THANKS EVERYBODY FROM NEAR&FAR
It's just adieu and not goodbye
ALWAYS REMEMER IT'S OUR COMMON CAUSE
Fighting alongside Marina to raise the bar
For freedom,justice and humanity
Above age and gender, colour, race and creed
There's no barrier too high
In our little hands lies NegaraKu's destiny
GOoD Night, GoOD health, GOD bless Thee.

I:
S:
A: men

PS: For another takeaway of fond memories, help thyself via brudder Bernard Khoo aka zorro-unmasked's tapau-rite

"ANTI-ISA VIGIL - SEREMBAN HITS FIRST HOME RUN"

at:

http://zorro-zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com/2008/11/anti-isa-vigil-seremban-hits-first-home.html

___________________________________ ACT 4 __________________________

This ACT was compulsorily added with a little help from my friend, blogging at:

http://steest.blogspot.com/2008/11/seremban-first-lady-of-anti-isa.html

About the First Lady of Anti-ISA!

"It’s impossible not to like her. She’s so down-to-earth, friendly and approachable. There are no airs about her. She doesn’t have any illusions of grandeur, having been thrust into the limelight these days. It’s incredible to note how she welcomes everyone with so much gratitude in her face. People stop in their tracks when they realize she’s present. She does not show tiredness and irritation as friends and strangers greet her throughout the vigil. People want to shake her hand, they want a picture taken with her, they want to say hello or just stand near her.

I watched her tonight as I did on the other two occasions; it struck me that she is very much like any First Lady displaying grace, charm, poise and energy. She holds her head up high. She pays attention to what people are saying. She doesn’t take for granted the support she receives..."

GOoDnight2:):) @2.29AM

Speech of Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid at BUM2008

2008-05-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 01 May 2008 16:00

Speech of Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid at BUM (Bloggers Universe Malaysia) 2008 held at the Lake View Club, Subang Jaya on 1st May, (Labour Day) 2008. (in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day)

With compliments from Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid (Former Judge of High Courts for Borneo & Malaya. An Invited Guest at BUM 2008.)

Dear Mr Chairperson, Fellow panellists and Bloggers of all shapes and sizes, colours and antecedents, whether you blog and turn MPs or you were VIPs now turn bloggers. I am neither.

I am asked to say that “bloggers are smart people with forward thinking views”. I agree in a majority of cases and I heartily congratulate you.

I am glad we have several professionals in the house and that none of the doctors “is a person who kills your ills and kills you by the bills”. Luckily you call this an event. If it is a conference then you can have the confusion of the speakers multiplied by the number present.

Thank you for this invitation to meet bloggers and to speak at such a significant event. I was informed that this meeting is open to those in the Government and the Opposition and is meant to be a happy hunting ground for both.

I had been afraid that I was to come in pyjamas because some time in March a company, claiming to be “Asia’s first and leading” in blog advertising, had assembled about 300 young male and female bloggers of Malaysia and Singapore for fun and games…in pyjamas! Thankfully we are not in that grouping.

Oon Yeoh of the Star has commented (on 24th April) that “socio-political activists, retrenched editors and Opposition politicians used to be the only people who did political blogging. These days Barisan National Politicians are falling over themselves trying to get into the act. A former BN Menteri Besar, a current BN Chief Minister and a current BN Federal Minister have started blogging”.

We also have Mr Lim Kit Siang and Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders holding their own blogs and “speaking” to whoever wish to engage with them.

In the spirit of blogging, I shall save time by not addressing anyone like Tun, Tan Sri, Datuk and so on. In that way, I do not disappoint anyone that I may miss out. I must however do justice today by noting that I am among seasoned journalists[2] or SOBs [3]. I will just note them in my Paper here (in the session “Fostering Civil Society – Various Voices”: Ahiruddin Atan @ rockybru, Prof Dr Azmi Sharom (of University of Malaya), Dr Lim Teck Ghee (Director of Centre for Policy Initiatives) and Ms Jacqueline Ann Surin (Journalist). Then the next session (“The Fifth Estate (Bloggers) as Agency for Change”) will have YB Jeff Ooi (now MP), YB William Leong (Lawyer MP), Haris Ibrahim (Human Rights Advocate), R Nadeswaran @ Citizen-Nades plus a special (mystery YM Raja Petra Kamarudin) guest.

Without any further introduction, let us dash into the topic “Fostering Civil Society – Various Voices”[4]. From what you have placed before us, you accept that we are not yet a Civil Society. And BUM 2008 want us to inch our way or drive there or surf the net until we can improve our society which earns the description of “Civil Society”.

At this juncture, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me point out that “Civil Society” itself has two meanings at least…firstly that such society comprises of voluntary civic and social organisations as opposed to the force-backed structures of a state. Those interested can refer to Adam Ferguson and Georg Wilhem Friedrick Hegel[5] and some writings by Malaysians. Believe me when I say that “civil society actors have obtained remarkable amount of political power without anyone directly electing or appointing them”.[6] In this respect, just about any organisation outside of Government or GLC[7] can be within the Civil Society.

The second meaning is that Civil Society is the “Third Sector” as distinct from the Government and the Business.

But be warned: “A regime in which only civil society existed would be a regime of anarchy”…hence the requirement for Law & Order or Governmental regulations whereby the conduct of the population is maintained for the greatest good of the majority.

The growth of civil society has been one of the most significant trends in international development.[8].

I managed to peep into Greece…they have a Civil Society Index Diamond[9]. But after research, they found that their situation is not balanced … the four dimensions are the structure, environment, values and impact.

I think what the BUM 2008 organisers have in mind when they put “Civil Society” in the topic is one where our Society or population conducts itself in a civil manner! Hence the two definitions that I had dealt with do not apply except that you know that bloggers come within the description of “Civil Society”.

That being the case, it is now time that we seriously think, weigh and consider the blogs that we have and what these blogs can do for our country.

First the BUM 2008 Chairman Mr Y L Chong (or Desi) appeared in the daily under the title “Change mindset on blogging”. U-en Ng writing a letter to the newspaper said that “Blogs (are) merely a medium of communication” (25/4/08). The executive director of the Centre for Independent Journalism, V Gayathry, cautioned that “leaders should look into the content, the messages and not the blogs”. This is where differences emerge – blogging can empower each of us to have our own website and we can express our thoughts, deliver ideas and share our experiences. Generally bloggers try to be honest in their postings but then again some can be biased or offer unfair comments (and a few can even be downright liars!) So we must start with ourselves…if we can offer the truth and convince our readers and those whom our blogs can reach, we can have a fresh start to getting them to act in the best interests of the community.

If any blogger, just because he/she sees himself or herself as being free to write anything vile or vicious or seditious takes the opportunity and brings out bad vibes, then that blogger is not a credit to our happy bloghood[10] and ought not to operate in the blogosphere[11]. Having said that, bloggers appear to be free to move about and help our community to achieve “Civil Society” status.

Bloggers should be aware of their limitations in respect of copyright, trademark, defamation[12], Official Secrets Act and Sedition. (You might want to read “Blogging – Are you exposing yourself to legal liabilities?” by Sabrina Mohamed Hasshim (2007) 2 CLJ i.)[13] and some 12 Dos and Don’ts for Blogging and Copyright Law. I have provided the organisers a copy in case some of you might want to read at leisure.

Now comes the crunch.

Since you have asked me to deal with “Fostering Civil Society…” I take it that you want suggestions as to what bloggers can or must do to achieve such a noble objective. And I think what you meant was “Civic Society”. (Civic with a “c” and not “l”.)

We must be quite relieved that the situation in Malaysia is unlike in the Philippines, some countries in South America and Africa (Zimbabwe included) and recently in Sri Lanka. You can recall that President Musharaf, upon taking office, allowed the increase in radio/TV stations and newspapers. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi allowed more discussions and publications among Malaysians and did not fetter the printing of news and complaints. Result? Both in Pakistan and Malaysia, the Press (and naturally the Alternative Media or the Blogs) heavily criticised the Government leading to their current political situations.

The PM admitted that the BN lost the online war. “We did not think it was important. It was a serious misjudgement”. (at the Invest Malaysia Conference). But compare the Singapore Prime Minister’s cautious stance: “….laws would be relaxed but only carefully…” Some observers believe that the Malaysia-style digital coup is not possible in the island republic.

What I wish to stress here is that the Blogs can be used and/or misused. And I am happy that for this event, we want to know how Blogs can foster Civic Society. (And so I shall not touch the politics or politicians…may they behave themselves in and out of Parliament or the State Legislature, especially those who smoke cigars).

There are many and various problems we confront daily. As a result we are not yet a civic society. The challenge is for bloggers who are present here today and members outside to wield your power (of persuasion) and your authority (via your expertise and knowledge) to reach more Malaysians, get them to be active in their community and interact in order to identify non-civic problems and those situations which cause our country to be less civic!

First and foremost let us examine each of us. How civic-minded are we? How do we treat our neighbours? How do we conduct ourselves and driving on the roads? The accident rate is excessive for a nation of “sopan santun”. And our buses run Off the Roads into ravines? Is it because the tolls are too high and too many? Is there hanky-panky in the licensing of bad drivers? Or we paid too much for low-quality roads? This is a fertile ground for bloggers to delve into and raise the issues in the blogosphere and then get more citizens to be concerned.

Safety and security: do citizens have to be fully responsible for our own – at home, in offices, outside, while travelling? Or do the Authorities and Police have a bounden duty to perform? Here the bloggers can investigate the misconception (eg what are taxes for?), areas of responsibility and duties and bring to bear to all concerned so that a good system can set in and a proper standard of safety and security can be maintained…for the sake of our families and children (and their future).

The Poor….how can our rich country still have very (or hard core) poor in our midst? There are cries that in many areas, where money is collected, a lot of cash have slipped away or mismanaged. From my rough calculation, if every sen (or now every 5-sen) is honestly collected, we can build a luxury kampong every few months. We can provide the poor with houses complete with water and electricity and organise an industry in which they can work in. Poverty is then eradicated. Some bloggers can go into this area and figure out the “leaks” and put your corks to safeguard the cash.

Remember also the women and children.

New Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek has said that “bloggers are important” And he wished he could see bloggers[14]. He added that “everybody wants to know what’s happening in the country”. This naturally is one clear path on which bloggers walk on. Here then is testimony that bloggers can do your part in fostering civic society.

The services by local and city councils can and must be monitored. Their work impacts on how our daily lives are geared and whether we pay more for less or do we get value in the process. The activities in the respective constituencies and areas help in the development of civic consciousness which in turn fosters the civic society that this event BUM 2008 desires. So some bloggers will need to dig deep into the various aspects and write (and be read by as many) in order to gain the involvement of the residents.

I need not list here the various aspects as we can discuss these and come to come conclusion in due course. But write you must and get readers to be interested. In the billions and billions[15] of words posted by millions and millions of bloggers world-wide, one outstanding element helps spread the importance and impact and that is “the connection” or links that each blog can garner to reach the wider audience…

Cleanliness and health. In these areas of concern, bloggers can find out the respective facilities that exist and those that are lacking and bring to the attention of those given the duty to take care. Are the medicines genuine? Is there any shortage of medical staff and doctors? What can be done? Bloggers (or other citizens) ought not to just complain but should suggest solutions. Are the aged and the disabled being adequately taken care of? If not, why not? The standard of civic conscience and civic conduct is measured by the care we give to the parents and grand-parents, the infirm, and the disadvantaged.

When we reach a certain standard in this aspect, we can say we have achieved Civic Society quality.

I hope these broad areas will open your eyes to more details and minor issues of concern.

All in all, when all of us conduct ourselves well in the world arena and within our community, we can truly claim that our Civic Society is of international status and we can justly be proud. To bloggers who help in this direction, I say “Heartiest Congratulations” and “Thank you”.

By Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Former Judge of High Courts for Borneo & Malaya. An Invited Guest at BUM 2008.

[2] “Bloggers can be journalists and journalists can be bloggers. See Apple v Does.

[3] Successful and Outstanding Bloggers.

[4] There are differing definitions, interpretations and meanings to “Civil Society”.

[5] A German Philosopher.

[6] Wikipedia.

[7] Government Linked Corporations.

[8] The World Bank.

[9] Do you know that our Malay dictionary describes this as “bentuk ketupat”.

[10] Collection of local blogs.

[11] Collective Community of all blogs.

[12] Remember the lawyer who wrote the judgment for the Judge and put high liability?

[13] I am grateful to Encik Hamid Ibrahim (you all know him in CLJ) for bringing this to my attention.

[14] Bloggers…where are you? Why did you not invite the Menteri to this event?

[15] Do you wonder where those words (you write, you delete?) go to? One pessimist thinks these billions are being collected by an unseen (and misunderstood force) and kept in the stratosphere and will in due course cover and blanket the earth in darkness. BB Bloggers beware!

MSM Coverage of BUM2008

2008-05-04T02:51:00.000-07:00

The BUM2008 Organising Committee thinks it's Worthwhile for Bloggers to Engage the Fourth Estate! Some 20 members of the mainstream media attended the Bloggers Universe Malaysia Gathering. It's a New Landscape out there at the Fourth Estate vis-a-vis interacting with the Fifth Estate, and such discourse and conversation will only contribute to a Better Malaysia ~~ Desi

Saturday May 3, 2008
Bloggers organise discourse to network and brainstorm
By JADE CHAN

BLOGGERS are here to stay. Relegated once to the insignificant list, the latest shift in the political arena has redefined their presence and given them the due recognition.

As a testimony to their emerging influence, a special discourse was held recently featuring several personalities from the blogging world, media and academics. More than 150 bloggers and non-bloggers attended the Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM) 2006, a half-day discourse at the Lake View Club.

Themed Towards A Civil Society, BUM 2008 was organised by a group of bloggers in their individual capacities in association with the Centre for Policy Initiatives.
Journalist and blogger: National Alliance of Bloggers president Ahirudin Attan @ Rockybru questioned whether self-censorship would be imposed on blogs and online news.

“This event is an avenue for people to come together to network and brainstorm with leading members in specialised areas, in light of the tremendous changes in the political landscape and even media field,” said BUM 2008 organising committee chairman YL Chong @ Desi.

“We need to engage each other, whether those from the fourth estate (mainstream media) or fifth estate (new media).

“A blog is merely a channel; the brainpower behind it determines its quality and contest so the cyberworld can accept it,” said Desi, stressing that newcomers in blogging need to know their core strengths and specialise in that area in their blogs.

The talk's afternoon session featured National Alliance of Bloggers (NAB) president Ahirudin Attan @ Rockybru, ex-judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid, academician Dr Azmi Sharom, Centre for Policy Inititatives director Dr Lim Teck Ghee and journalist Jacqueline Ann Surin speaking on the topic Fostering Civil Society - Various Voices.

The evening session, entitled The Fifth Estate (Bloggers) As Agency For Change, featured laywer-cum-MP William Leong, human rights advocate Haris Ibrahim, journalist R. Nadeswaran and blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin.

Rockybru outlined the possible challenges for blogging and the civil society, and questioned whether self-censorship would be imposed on blogs and online news.

On an ideal civil society, he said: “If the judiciary and media aren't free, it won't create the civil society we're hoping for.”

Dr Lim paid tribute to the community of political bloggers who have provided important information, analysis and feedback on key issues taking place in the country.

He said the impact of bloggers could be seen in the results of the recent general election.

Syed Ahmad pointed out that “civil society” had two meanings. “Firstly that such society comprises voluntary civic and social organisations as opposed to the force-backed structure of a state.

“The second meaning is that civil society is the 'third sector' as distinct from the Government and the Business,” he said.

“But be warned. 'A regime in which only civil society existed would be a regime of anarchy', hence the requirement for law and order or government regulations whereby the conduct of the population is maintained for the greater good of the majority.”

Dr Azmi said one could be within society and make a change.

“My students were excited after the recent election. For the first time, young people saw that their vote made a difference and that it mattered.

Paying tribute: Centre for Policy Inititatives director Dr Lim Teck Ghee speaking at the discourse.

He said the internet could provide an alternative to the mainstream media.

Surin focused on blogging becoming an alternative source of news and guidelines for posting comments on blogs, citing MalaysiaVotes.com, the site she created with two journalists to cover the recent general election.

“News publishing doesn't belong to major establishments anymore. As a result of shift in power, there is a higher level of participation in newsmaking, thus creating a more vibrant democracy,” she said.

Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is also a blogger and a guest at the event, said it was good to see that bloggers were given the recognition they deserved.

“I hope this trend continues to grow and that bloggers become a force to be reckoned with,” he said.

A blogger who wanted to be identified as Shanghai Fish said BUM 2008 was a good way to meet and socialise with fellow bloggers, while getting new input from the speakers.

“As a blogger, I don't write anything I don't take full responsibility for. Everything that I've posted was done with a clear and honest conscience,” said the NAB member.

The above article & photo taken from the Star

MSM Coverage of BUM2008 - Sin Chew

2008-05-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

賽阿末：避免對已故或退休者不敬‧不公佈12法官貪污事

2008部落客大會主講人與大會職員、主持人合照，前排左三及左四分別為林德宜和拉惹布特拉，右一、右三及右四分別為梁志堅、鍾仁隆和前法官賽阿末；後排右起為部落客全國聯合會主席阿喜路丁、阿斯米薩侖博士和新聞從業員納迪斯。（圖：星洲日報）

（雪蘭莪‧首邦市）被形容為司法界吹哨者的前法官拿督賽阿末表示，他不會在部落格公佈其1996年以匿名信方式暴露12名法官貪污與濫權事件，以免對已故或退休的法官不敬。

即使他已不在司法界活躍，他仍掌握司法界貪污濫權的情況；因為現任法官不時找他約會，告知內情。

他強調，這些能找他揭露內情的法官，多是屬於清廉、公正的一群。

暴露法官貪污濫權被迫辭職

賽阿末曾於1996年以匿名信方式暴露12名法官貪污與濫權，結果被迫辭職。

自稱從未使用過部落格的賽阿末也是2008大馬部落格大會的主講人之一，他說，當年他在匿名信所提到的12名受賄法官，一些已退休，一些已逝世，如果他再度公佈，不僅對他們不尊敬，也沒有必要。

他是在問答環節，受聽眾詢問時說，由於海外的聘約工作繁忙，儘管他沒有時間設部落格，但他絕對站在正義的一方。

他引述一位前部長說過的話，“寧願政治人物受賄，也不能讓法官貪污”。

http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/64356?tid=1

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林德宜：勿僅批評政府‧馬哈迪應交代任內課題

* 國內

2008-05-02 19:57

（布城）馬哈迪的部落格不應只集中批評現任政府，他也應交代在他任內發生的司法醜聞、種族問題，以及用政府資金拯救官營大企業等課題。

政策研究中心主任林德宜博士接受星洲日報訪問時發表上述談話，他也是週四（5月1日）晚上在梳邦再也舉行的2008部落格大會主講人之一。

他表示，他不想看到馬哈迪自設的部落格，只是為了本身的政治議程，做出辯解。

盼部落格不含私人議程

他認為設置部落格是個人的權利，如今前首相馬哈迪也設本身的部落格，相信馬來西亞人都樂於閱讀馬哈迪的部落格，但同時希望他主持的部落格內容，是確實和能令讀者有收獲，而絕沒有私人議程在內。

他指出，很多馬來西亞人已對馬哈迪時代，犯下的錯誤和成功的一面，都已有更深入的瞭解，並認為他須為任內發生的事件負責。

因此，他說，他希望馬哈迪利用部落格，針對任內發生的司法醜聞、大企業拯救計劃、種族問題等，做出解釋，甚至給予詳細的解答，列出事情的過程，讓真相大白。
星洲日報‧2008.05.02

http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/64359?tid=1

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

林德宜：鼓吹馬來人至上主義‧國家原則局誤導新生代

* 國內

2008-05-02 19:51

（布城）經濟學者林德宜博士認為國家原則局（Biro Tata Negara）是鼓吹馬來人至上主義的政府部門，使馬來青少年新生代，自小就存有馬來主義至上的觀念。

他建議部落客採取各種管道，揭露類似政府部門，並提醒新生代這是狹窄思維的作為。

林德宜認為，這個根源不解決，國家永遠會陷在種族主義惡性循環的圈子裡。

種族問題根源所在

林德義是於週四（5月1日）晚上在梳邦再也湖濱俱樂部舉行的2008部落格大會上發表演說。

他認為此類政府部門的作為具偏差，它傳達不確實的訊息，讓馬來青少年和新生代，自小就存有這種牢不可破的種族觀念，這也是國家種族問題根源所在。

他表示，本屆大選的成績顯示，政治部落格為大眾提供關於國家大課題的訊息和分析，揭發政府濫權和貪污事件，已產生很大影響。

他認為，這反映公眾普遍上視部落格提供的訊息來源是可靠的。

他吁請當局勿視部落客為敵人，應該鼓勵他們為國家建設及進行對話。

http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/64357?tid=1

MSM Coverage of BUM2008 - Nanyang Siang Pau

2008-05-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

- 国内新闻 -

林德宜：政府打压失民心 “勿把部落客当敌人” 2008/05/02 18:13:33
●南洋商报

（吉隆坡2日讯）政策倡导中心主林德宜呼吁政府勿把部落客视为敌人，反之应鼓励他们对促进国家建设及国民发展对话的贡献。

他说，当局若打压部落客的言论，将导致公众对政府失去更多信心。

他说，本届大选显现出部落客所发挥的影响，许多国內外分析员皆赞同，部落客在开拓开放讨论空间所扮演的角色。

他出席该中心与一群部落联办的“迈向公民社会”研讨会上，提到部落客对政治的影响时说，在主流媒体持续受到钳制下，很多公众认为，部落客所写的评论更加诚实可信。

打造更好言论氛围

为此，他预测国内部落对政治的影响及受欢迎程度将持续增加。同时，他表示为了确保更高层次的影响，他促请部落客打造更好的言论氛围。

另一方面，这次研讨会主要提供交流平台，让公众针对作为第五权的部落客所扮演的角色，以及如何推动公民社会的发展作出探讨。

研讨会出席者包括2008年部落客世界筹委会主席钟仁隆、联合主席邱登水、马来亚大学法学院讲师阿兹米、《票选大马》网站编辑洁克琳、士拉央区国会议员梁自坚、人权律师哈里斯、《太阳报》副总编辑纳徳斯华兰、《今日大马》主编拉惹佩特拉。

也是著名部落客之一的民主行动党日落洞区国会议员黃泉安未克出席研讨会。

http://www.nanyang.com/index.php/images/view.php?ch=7&pg=10&ac=839461

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

- 国内新闻 -

部落格设求变议程 “我们应拿回决定权” 2008/05/02 18:13:45
●南洋商报

《今日大马》主编拉惹佩特拉说，透过部落格平台建立广大群众想要改变的议程，可让2008年大选有不一样的改变。

“我们应该取回决定权，来决定应该将哪个政党或政府送进国会。”

他指出，人民的选择可以促使我国政党政治互相制衡，也將能夠让服务人民的代议士意识到他们是由人民委任出来的。

“我聘请你，我也可以辞退你。”

他说，未来我国社会的趋势是人民代议士将以服务人民为己任，并非以政党的事务为先。

http://www.nanyang.com/index.php/images/view.php?ch=7&pg=10&ac=839464

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

- 国内新闻 -

阿希鲁丁赞扬部落客推动公民社会有贡献 2008/05/02 18:13:45
●南洋商报

全国部落客联盟主席阿希鲁丁说，过去一年部落客在推动公民社会发展方面已作出许多努力，尽管目前司法制度改革已经看见希望，但新闻业未见有任何改变。

他是引述前最高法院院长敦沙烈阿巴斯过去提及我国要达到公民社会的境界，惟有司法制度及媒体能夠获得自由的谈话这样说。

他说，不然，我国离开公民社会还有有一段长远的路。

部落客应提出建议

另一方面，前高等法院法官赛阿末则提出另一看法，他提到针对每天各种不同的社会问题，部落客不应只是批评，而是提出建议。

他说，部落客世界是可以让个人拥有自己的网站，可以表达、传递及分享观点。

他強调，部落客的挑战是在于以他们的说服力及专业知识，以传达讯息给于人们，使公众活跃互动，谈论社会课题。

http://www.nanyang.com/index.php/images/view.php?ch=7&pg=10&ac=839465

Bloggers Buzz at the BUM2008!

2008-05-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Picture taken from jaffpoint.blogspot.com/

Since Desi was dead-tired from running helter-skelter for past 24, here's mitigation for stealing one back from mGf Ahirudin Attan, also President of Interim Council of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs), drinking bir (rut ke?) dan tehtarik at rockybru.blogspot.com, just one pint! :) ~~:)
Those who did not find time nor the dime to land at Lake View Yesterday -- when all Bummers' troubles seemed so far away -- YOU really missed the Hap Bloggers' Event of the Year! But, never mind, come to BUM2009; meanwhile, here is a Virtual journey back 24! ENJOY! ~~ Desi

Bum2008

The 4th estate has failed us? Politically-appointed editors to blame?

The role of the mainstream media (MSM) came under heavy scrutiny at the Bloggers' Universe Malaysia 2008 held for the second year in a row at the Lake View Club, Subang.

Pics taken from Maverick's blog

Haris Ibrahim of People's Parliament says the 4th Estate has failed the people and called on Malaysians to reclaim the integrity of the profession.

Citizen Nades defended journalists and blamed politically-appointed Editors and draconian Press laws for the failure of a big chunk of the
MSM in serving the people.

Zorro, Kee Tuan Chye, Jeyapelan Mahesan, and Desiderata, among others, spoke on the the issue.

Jeff Ooi took part in the conference via a pre-recorded video clip. Steven Gan could not make it but BUM 2008 had Nades and RPK.

I spoke of what the National Alliance of Bloggers was up to the last one year and of my fear that the New Media, bloggers in particular, may one day entertain self-censorship as a compromise with advertisers and Government. The 2pm-midnight event attracted some 200 bloggers, activists, journalists and politicians.

Desi and Zorro moderated the two sessions and they have both kindly agreed to plan for BUM 2009. (Rocky, Did I? Zorro, I did? Someone or me was high on rut bir! ~~ Desi) Syabas to Desi and Gang for another excellent party!

p.s. RTM, Bernama, the Star, Utusan, the (new!) Malay Mail and several other papers covered the event.

PS: Mine, desi's -- knot rocky's, as Chair of BUM2008 Organising Committee, I have delight in abusing my privileged position!) so that the following ONE-LINER can be used as evidence in any court of law only against desi, not rocky! ~~ As Chair, I invited the MSM to the Hap Event everyone, who just has one eye open, would agree that the Malaysian landscape, including in the mainstream media (MSM), has changed lots since March 8, 2008; hence, in accord with the spirit of BUM2007's theme, let's all "Engage and Embrace", whether you're in Fourth, or Fifth, or real or virtual Estate!

LINKS:

* BUM2008 Report: http://www.cyusof.blogspot.com/

* Coverage at BUM2008: http://melvin-mah.blogspot.com/

* BUM2008 Fantastic Night: http://maverickysm.blogspot.com/

* Scenes from Around BUM2008 in Subang Jaya: http://howsy.blogspot.com/

* BUM 2008 - View from the Bridge :) http://jaffpoint.blogspot.com/

Dear Esteemed Readers (ER in blogspeak:):

Please send a Comment here if you have a Post covering BUM2008, and we will pick it up
to LINK HERE - alike the above first Famous Five (OMG, do you still read Enid Blyton's! That's a rhetorical Q!:) -- for posterity. Desi's not compleatly altruistic hear! -- enhancing his Blue Heaven to try reach that rainbow of 20million. See you here, or there, or wherever GreAt Minds Think, not necessarily Alike, as long as you defer to Desi, last word from the Chair. I promise -- Thanks mateys awe:) "Mucho Gracias", in the words of Sdr Teck Ghee, who I must say enpowers Desi lots in this Bloggers' Abencha!

* Double Happiness & BUM2008: http://allofhelen.blogspot.com/

* BUM2008 Buzz: http://primroses.blogspot.com/

* Standing Out or Fitting In?
http://joshburped.blogspot.com/search/label/issues

* Gathering of Malaysian Bloggers 2008: Live Blogging
http://lifefull2020.blogspot.com/2008/05/gathering-of-malaysia-blogger-2008-live.html

BUM2008 Achieves Full Attendance!

2008-04-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Theoretically speaking, according to our Treasurer, Sdr Tony Yew, with a s=mile so wide I could see it from Furong, some 70km from Petaling Jaya.

To convert theory to Reality Show, those 30-odd sign-ups who have pledged to pay, please turn up punctually at 2.15PM May 1 at the Lake View, to prevent palpitations rising in Tony's and Desi's hearts. Soft, not hard.

Theoretically, the magic number of 110 of Registrants was more than attained by about 10.00pm the day before D-Day which is May the First -- Labour Day, marking Bloggers' Universe Malaysia (BUM) 2008 Gathering at Lake View, Subang Jaya.

As Chair, Desiderata, knottyaSsusual, told a happy Tony Yew, whom I dubbed our MoneyMan to one caller who was numbered about 120, that he has led an A-teAm in accomplishing the Marketing Mission for BUM2008. "On behalf of all in awe, Syabas!"

Theoretically, the 10 or so late-signups, 24 hours after COB the day before Yesterady --hey, why are Malaysians such diehard addicts of being late, ah? -- might have to stand from 3.00pm to 8.30pm except for the Hi-Tea break and of course, when two lost lambs return to Warren Buffets' tabel to declare that dinner starts punctually at 8.30PM. I just bought a nu'e watch from Chee Cheong Kai, just testing the saiko market. Oops, Seiko! I don wanna the Japanese tycoons to sue the BUM2008 Organising Committee!

So to all comers -- Bloggers and non-, and Bloggers-to-be or not to be, that's the question, plagiarising The Bard -- ENJOY YOURSELF OKAY! Don't let any leg of the two lambs run away!

I did promise you won't regret signing on for BUM2008; after tomorrow, you would come back, like Oliver, or Olivia, asking for more. Or amore!:)

Thanks for the support, see ya very soon. I'm having FUN-d already, at thy expense;) -- Desi
12.42am, May the First, your day, my day, OUR day!

"DEAR ALL: Please send us the LINKS to any Posts you will write, I am sure, about this HAP Bloggers' Event of the Year. If any problem, email our Webmaster hohhelen@gmail.com"

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UPDATEd at Hi-Noon D-Day After!: TWO UPPERS and wan Downer!

UPPER1:)The Reality Attendance was a lusty 170, with 130 paying Guests which means VVVVVVVe exceeded our tArget by 20! Next year Rocky's A-teAm from ALL-BLOGS will have to look for a LARGER VENURE -- to cater for 300?

UPPER2: As I read theSun today, page 10, I was happily greAted by this news break. (At BUM2008 partee, I had shared with some MSM and non-MSM mates that I always enjoyed covering former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Love/like or hate him, he's colourful, fool of wit and byteing sarcasm, enough to rival RPK's (and of course, claiming greAtnurse by a(R)s(E)ociation, Desi's!)

Meet blogger
chedet
aka Dr M

PS: If you have to ask who this chedet is, please come toBUM2009, pay RM50+, ++ for tuition f(R)ee!

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

DOWNER wan!:(

Received this sms from fellow BUM2008 OC ANCIENT MARINER aka Capt Yusof Ahmad, member at 10.38AM, and I waited to post this ringing around for more information, but could not get much more, so be patient okay! Will update when we get substantive details!

"Latest development:
6 Policemen are
in Raja Petra's
house. Pls pass
the word!! (from
............(name of Blogger
wit'held until I get clearanz--Desi:).

Stay tuned ...

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

Cut&Paste from mGf sailing the Hi-Cs at http://www.promptus.blogspot.com:)

"Friday, 2 May 2008

Raja Petra Kamarudin's six surprise vistors
Police at RPK's HouseSomething Stinks in the State of Malaysia.
Earlier this morning, the day following a very successful B. U. M. 2008 gathering which he attended with his charming wife, and spoke so eloquently, I receive news that Raja Petra Kamarudin has had six policemen visit his home, and that they had entered the premises, and as far as is known, are still there.Why they are there, and what their intentions are is not known, but surely it can not be a social call.What is happening may be slow to emerge, but will update as and when possible.Thus far there has been no news about this reported incident from any other sources.

Registration/Payment Deadline is Now APRIL 29, 2008

2008-04-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

Please be officially informed that the CLOSING DEADLINE for REGISTRATION/PAYMENT is extended to Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at close of business 5.00PM, or at that point of time when the NUMBER OF REGISTRATIONS/PAYMENTS RECEIVED REACHES 110, whichever is earlier.

The BUM2008 Organising Committee has advised that Seating is limited, and the revised target open to Regsitration stands at 110. A dozen Media representatives have been Registered to attend. Hence, a wider coverage of the Hap Bloggers' Event of the Year is expected than last year's (REF: bum2007.wordpress.com).

Help us by signing up as soon as possible. Ask your Friends -- Blogger or non-, hopefully, Blogger-to-be! -- to sign up too!

Thank you for your interest and cooperation. -- YL Chong-Desi, Chairman, BUM2008 Organising Commitee; April 24, 2008

BUM2008 TOUCHES DOWN ON MAY 1: UPDATE

2008-04-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

STOP PRESS!

The King of Bloggers residing at the most visited or gate-crashed cyberhome known as malaysia-today.net simply called by matey fans as "RPK" -- often mixed up with PKR, I often wonder about the connection! -- has confirmed he will be present at BUM2008 at the Lake View, Subang Jaya to celebrate Labour Day with fellow 150 Bloggers and Friends!

Yes, you heard Desi right! -- Raja Petra Kamarudin is gonna help raise the FUN-d and desibelles at the Hap Bloggers' Event of the Year with his story-telling and rumour-wining and dining which often proved later to be factual, to humour his legion of readers. As Chair, I won RPK over with a diplomatic request that he is allowed to deviate from the said Topic as long as he entertains the participants with his brand of byting sarcasm so famously engraved in reams of paper at Bukit Aman when a double Muhammad tried to trifle with a seasoned Blogger who not only could quote Shakespeare, but also the Quran from where this writer humbly continuaaly learns about Islam. I admit I also learn some 4-letter words -- like Hell and F***! Hey, spell it out for you guys thinking othervice - Fake!

Can you imagine the opponent being a confessed State CEO lacking English mastery that he could not fill up the Immigration forms properly to rationalise his departure with RM2.4million out of Ozland. Luckily for the bloke, some Oz courts also turned into kangaroo, but I digress. Except an observation that this same guy has been rewarded to Minister-level via the backdoor -- for carrying Pak Lah's bag?

So to now double state for the record, Raja Petra is that "Surprise speaker" flagged off in our earlier Post dated March 24, 2008 for the Evening Brainstormy Session. Just listening to this insider into Royalty and UMNO and Opposition goings-on, especially the shenanigans committed by self-deluded "untouchables", is worth thy RM50 investment! (Plus of course, the Lamb/s if it/they could get to Warren Buffet's table by 8.30pm on May the First, -- which is steal a rumour to humour Thee!)

So late-comers, as is won't of diehard Malaysian habit not just sighted at the nunnery, what are you waiting for? The Treasurer says the Registrations is in the last lap towards the number 110-mark. Make a dash for it, you may just break M Jegathesan's 100m sprint record! ~~ Desi

Pictures of BUM 2007 taken from Tengku Mohd Ali Bustamann's blog.

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This Post was originally written on March 24, 2008. The above was UPDATED on
April 23, 2008 on receiving confirmation from reliable sources -- which is good journalism practice -- that the rumour you heard that Raja Petra Kamarudin is gate-crashing BUM2008 is now proven to be true. Okay, gate-crashing's stretching a byte -- at our OC's diplomatic overtures, he's helicoptering in!:) ~~ Desi

Yes, First of May – your day, my day, our day, unless thou a tycoon-boss be. The majority of us are earning bread-and-butter working for others -- It is safe to assume this is the case for 95 percent of Malaysians, yes?. We would happily like to be proven wrong, And if any Blogger reading this here who is also that rare multi-millionaire Boss, please contact the BUM2008 Organising Committee pronto! YES, there is such a committee labouring for at last three weeks now laying the groundwork for BUM2008 to lift off.

In one way or another, celebrating Labour Day worldwide is giving recognition to the dignity of man’s labour, to be appropriately rewarded in remuneration that can provide decent Shelter, Food and Potential Development of the Individual, and a sense of Security and Well-being, especially in a country like Malaysia which is blessed with plentiful natural resources.

So holding this year’s BUM2008 is a double celebration of sorts as it is also working towards an annual initiative to mark World Press Freedom Day, which falls in the poetic month of May. Next year, to make it three consecutive years, the National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs) ideally would take on the task and challenge of organizing bum2009.

As flagged off in a TEAser Post here on Sunday March 16, 2008, bum2008 is organized by a group of Bloggers in their individual capacities in association with a relatively young organisation called the Centre for Policy Initiatives. The bum2008 Organising Committee comprises the following:

Chairperson:

YL Chong aka Desiderata

Co-Chairperson:

Bernard Khoo aka Zorro

Helen Hoh, Webmaster Ipohlang who also designed the Banner above … Kudos!

Chris Chew aka mob1900 …who is famous for his lampooning posters, and will soon splash a Poster on Bum2008 that will become another Desi’s collectible!

Howsy, bum2007 Co-chair who made a last-minute re-APpearance on hearing that several APs are being offered as a Lucky draw this year, steal a rumour to humour Thee.

Other VIP Members: Liew Hui Mei, Capt Yusof Ahmad, Frances Yee,

who will welcome thee wit' broad s-miles seen even from de South China Sea. BTW, Kept de one and only Ancient Mariner in the 21st century, has promised the rest of the Commitee a cruise on his ship after bum2008 is successfoolly held once he can get it back from the Caribeen Sea!:) Meanwhile, Mei 0305 is busy scuba-diving helping the captain look for his Lost treasure, and Primrose is tending to her flowery gardnern.

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT:

RM50 per head to be paid into Treasurer TONY YEW's Bank Account; click here >> REGISTRATION & PAYMENT for payment procedure. There is limited seating for 120 attendees only, so it's on a "First-come, First-served"basis, and we hope Readers would not leave till the last minute to register.

PROGRAMME OUTLNE

Theme: TOWARDS A CIVIL SOCIETY

Venue: Lake View Club, Subang Jaya

Registration: 2.15pm to 3.00pm

AFTERNOON SESSION

To be chaired by Zorro,

from 3.00pm to 4.30pm.

The Topic is:

“Fostering Civil Society -- Various Voices”

Speakers:

Welcoming Address: YL Chong-Desi

Sdr Ahirudin Attan aka rockybru,
President, National Alliance of Bloggers
Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid,
Ex-Judge; "Judge whose conscience divulged truth 12 years ago and now proved 'correct correct correct' via latest video-clip".
Dr Azmi Sharom,
Academic
Dr Lim Teck Ghee
Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives
Sdri Jacqueline Ann Surin,
Journalist

Q and A: 30 minutes

____________ HI-TEA BREAK _________

EVENING SESSION

To be chaired by Desi,

from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.

The Topic is:

“The Fifth Estate (Bloggers) as Agency for Change”

Speakers:

Sdr Jeff Ooi, Blogger-MP
Sdr William Leong, Lawyer-MP
Sdr Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights Advocate
Sdr Steven Gan, Editor-in-chief, Malaysiakini.com
(Apologies: withdrawn, on Urgent Foreign Assignment)
Sdr R Nadeswaran aka Citizen-Nades from theSun, award-winning investigative newshound
A special Guest Speaker? CONFIRMED: Raja Petra Kamarudin

Q and A: 30-45 minutes

_____ BUFFET DINNER starts punctually at 8.30pm_____________

There will be Updates on the progress of this Bloggers’ Hap Event of the Year in Malaysia, so:

Stay tuned!

Payment & Registration

2008-04-14T02:56:00.000-07:00

Remit RM50 per head to: Yew Wei Keat 1-12080-24112-4 Maybank.

Then Email a note to tonyyew@gmail.com, informing date of depositing in the payment; plus advising the name/s of person/s to be Registered. If need to contact Sdr Yew, tel: 012-2138257.

On May 1, 2008 PLEASE BRING ALONG YOUR BANK RECEIPT which is treated as the ENTRY PASS to BUM2008. See ya!

STAR Metro Spotlights - BUM 2008

2008-04-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 12, 2008

Change mindset on blogging

By SALINA KHALID

salina@thestar.com.my

THE negative perception about bloggers and blogging should be changed, said Centre for Policy Initiatives chief executive officer Dr Lim Teck Ghee.

Dr Lim said blogging could be seen as an alternative media to the masses.

“It provides a platform for public discourse irrespective of their background. The notion that bloggers mainly have negative intentions including bringing down the government and destroying the country's racial harmony is an erroneous view and politically motivated,” he said.

He added that most bloggers were concerned about the nation.

“Having a healthy public discourse will help unify the nation and build the country as well,” he added.

Therefore, the Centre for Policy Initiatives is organising a half-day public discourse at Lake View Club, Subang Jaya, on May 1.

The BUM2008, will carry the theme Towards A Civil Society and it will feature well-known bloggers, academician and journalists.

The afternoon session will talk about Fostering Civil Society – Various Voices with the National Alliance of Bloggers president Ahirudin Attan, ex-judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid, academician Dr Azmi Sharom, journalist Jacqueline Ann Surin as well as Dr Lim.

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, lawyer-cum- Selayang MP William Leong, Human Rights Advocate Haris Ibrahim, Malaysiakini.com editor-in-chief Steven Gan and journalist R. Nadeswaran will talk during the evening session.

Registration fee is RM50 per person and is limited for 120 on first come first serve basis. The fee includes buffet dinner.

For more information, log on to http://bum2008.desiderata.blogspot.com/.

Article taken from the Star.

Webmaster AweOfHelen: ERRATA ~~ bum2008.desiderata.blogspot.com should read as bum2008-desiderata.blogspot.com

The Sun - Press Coverage on BUM 2008

2008-04-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge

Friday April 11, 2008

Taken from The Sun

Bloggers To Discuss Their Roles

by Joshua Foong

SUBANG JAYA: The increasingly relevant role of bloggers as part of the new media will be examined and built upon at “Bloggers Universe Malaysia Gathering 2008” (BUM 2008) to be held next month.

In the wake of the general election, which saw the ruling party losing its two-thirds majority and control of four states, underlining the influence of the alternative media, bloggers are gathering to discuss and re-evaluate their roles.

BUM 2008, with the theme “Towards a Civil Society” is organised by blogging individuals in association with the Centre for Policy Initiatives, to focus on building civil society via interaction among bloggers.

BUM 2008 will be held at the Lake View Club, Subang Jaya from 3pm to 8pm on May 1. The two dialogue sessions include “Fostering Civil Society: Various Voices” and “The Fifth Estate (Bloggers) as Agency for Change”.

Panel speakers are National Alliance of Bloggers president Ahirudin Attan aka Rocky, former judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid, academician Dr Azmi Sharom, and theSun deputy editor (special reporting) R. Nadeswaran aka Citizen Nades. Others are journalist Jacqueline Ann Surin, blogger-turned-MP Jeff Ooi, lawyer-MP William Leong, human rights advocate Haris Ibrahim, Malaysiakini. com editor-in-chief Steven Gan and Centre for Policy Initiatives director Dr Lim Teck Ghee.

“Bloggers are part of the growing new media. It is incumbent on the bloggers to mature along with the civil society,” said organising committee chairman Chong Yen Long.

“Although the existence of blogs in Malaysian media is still at a stage of infancy, many have recognised that blogs are a channel that cannot be ignored. This awareness is shown by leaders notably the newly appointed information minister who has laid plans to engage bloggers through dialogue,” he added.

Those wishing to attend are required to pay RM50 per head to Yew Wei Keat 1-12080-24112-4 (Maybank) and email a note to tonyyew@gmail.com, stating the name to be registered and date of payment.

Participation is limited to 120 people. For details, call 012-9702285 or visit bum2008-desiderata.blogspot.com.

Sin Chew Daily: Press Coverage on BUM2008 Press Conference dated 10th April 2008

2008-04-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

BUM2008 Organising Committee member Ms Liew Hui Mei -- who spends many getaways at exotic islands around the world scuba-diving for ANCIENT MARINER's treasure chests -- also PRomotes the Hap Bloggers' Event of the year. Here's an UPDATE of press coverage of yesterday's Press Conference. I recognise Dr Lim TG's, but who's the other face in the picture, no resemblance to Einstein, is there? -- Desi

林德義：影響社會政治發展‧部落格成國人訊息來源
星洲日報‧2008.04.11

（雪蘭莪‧首邦市）政策倡議中心主任林德義博士認為，大選成績顯示，部落格已經成為大馬人批評國家政治及經濟課題及接收相關訊息的主要平台，這影響未來社會及政治發展。

他說，和大部份亞洲國家比較，大馬部落客顯然非常關心國家發展，擁有許多社會及政治發展為主題的部落格，大馬網民在這些部落格中針對許多政策進行省思和批判，也檢討如何為國家帶來改革。

林德義週四（4月10日）在政策倡議中心及2008大馬部落客世界聯合召開的新聞發佈會上這麼表示。這兩個組織將聯辦集合多名著名部落客主講的“朝向公民社會前進”論壇。

有關活動將配合勞工節，在5月1日下午2時15分至晚上8時，在梳邦再也Lake View俱樂部舉行，主講者包括行動黨日落洞國會議員黃泉安、公正黨士拉央國會議員梁自堅、《當今大馬》總編輯顏重慶、前高庭法官拿督賽阿末艾迪、林德義、哈里斯依布拉欣等。

有關論壇只公開給約120人，報名費50令吉（包括一頓自由餐）因此有意參加者可通過電郵：tonyyew@gmail.com報名，並通過其戶口（Yew Wei Keat，1-12080-24112-4，maybank）付款。
詳情可致電劉慧妹（016-976-4653）詢問詳情。

鍾仁隆：正面發展
歡迎新聞部部落客交流

2008大馬部落客世界主席鍾仁隆表示，他歡迎新聞部長拿督阿末沙比里表示要與部落客會談，並認為這是一個正面的發展。

他說，與其打壓部落客，不如與部落客交流及瞭解部落客的想法。

詢及部落客是否應該透明化，包括不隱瞞自己身份時，他表示，大多數的部落客都透露其真正身份，所以指部落客沒有透明的說法是不對的。

不過，他認為，有關部落格是否透明與部落客的責任是息息相關的，有一些有動機的部落客的確會匿名發表一些文章，而不匿名的部落客如拉惹柏德拉在部落格文章卻面對法律的控訴，所以部落客還是應該慎言。

Merdeka Review: Press Coverage on BUM2008 Press Conference dated 10th April 2008

2008-04-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

部落客推动社会发展
五一研讨会商第五权

《独立》新聞在綫

■日期／Apr 10, 2008 ■时间／04:35:54 pm
■新闻／家国风云 ■作者／本刊曾薛霏

【本刊曾薛霏撰述】“2008年部落客世界”（Bloggers' Universe Malaysia，BUM2008）筹委会与政策创议中心将于5月1日联办《迈向公民社会》（Towards A Civil Society）研讨会，讨论部落客在推动公民社会发展和营造论述的角色。

“2008年部落客世界”筹委会主席钟仁隆及政策创议中心（Centre for Policy Initiatives）主任林德义今早在雪州首邦市湖景俱乐部召开记者会，呼吁公众人士出席这场配合劳动节及世界新闻自由日的研讨会，并共商作为“第五权”（Fifth Estate）的部落客在扩张国内议论空间的角色。

林德义表示，许多政治分析员都肯定部落客在第12届全国大选期间所发挥的作用，甚至首相阿都拉巴达威也承认忽略了部落客的角色是国阵败选原因之一。不过，他认为，部落客在开拓议论空间扮演重要角色，不是因为部落格这个媒介，而是部落客所写的内容。

林德义说，由于互联网比平面媒体享有相对自由的空间，他们可在部落格上更自由地撰写分析和评论；部落书写的内容水准非常高，并为社会发展提出许多重要的看法，而这类内容更是鲜少在主流媒体上读到。

部落客被喻为“第五权”

林德义也指出：“不过这种现象并没有得到深入的分析和讨论。我国的社会政治部落客在亚洲排名相当高，我们有的部落客，不一定能在菲律宾找到。他们不断地在国家未来的方向及如何改革社会的议题上提出批判性的讨论。”

钟仁隆表示，部落客是新兴媒体之一，美国更称之为“第五权”，我国现有的社会政治部落客希望能与公民社会一起成长。

本身也以Desiderata撰写部落客的钟仁隆也认为，部落客确实促使我国的议论空间日益生机勃勃，尽管他强调不愿过度扩大部落客的影响力，但部落客所撰写的内容确实向主流媒体施压，迫使他们顺应时势改变写新闻的方式。

他以去年由干净与公平选举联盟（Bersih，净选盟）号召的“万人诉求大游行”为例，主流媒体仅报道有四千人出席，但部落客和网络媒体的报道，只要贴上照片即可知道主流媒体所报道的仅是“部分的真相”（half truth）。

匿名发表不成问题
记者问部落客是否应公开其姓名，而不是匿名写部落格？林德义回答道，我国许多著名部落客如Rocky Bru（原名阿西鲁丁，Ahirudin Attan）、黄泉安、哈里斯依布拉欣（Haris Ibrahim）等都以真实姓名写部落格，没有匿名写部落格的问题。至于回应留言者是否应以真实姓名示人，应由当事人自行决定，无法强制，这与读者用笔名投书报章的情况相似。

钟仁隆的看法与林德义相似，不过他强调，部落客发表言论时必须小心，别惹上官非。最近《今日马来西亚》（Malaysia Today）编辑拉惹柏特拉（Raja Petra Kamaruddin）遭马来西亚北方大学校长诺丁卡迪（Nordin Kardi）起诉诽谤，必须赔偿马币400万元。

虽然这项活动乃由一群部落客自发举办，谈论的议题也以部落客为主，但是主办当局希望公众人士积极参与，将于5月1日下午三时在首邦市湖景俱乐部（Lake View Club）举行，共有两场座谈会及晚宴，报名费为马币50元，仅限120名额，先到先得，有意参加者可联络刘慧妹，电话：016-9764653。

两场座谈会分别请到国内知名部落客和学者主讲，第一场主题为《打造公民社会——多元声音》（Fostering Civil Society——Various Voices），主讲者是全国部落客联盟（National Alliance of Bloggers）主席阿西鲁丁（Rocky Bru）、前高等法院法官赛阿末依迪（Syed Ahmad Idid）、马来亚大学法学院讲师阿兹米沙隆姆（Azmi Sharom）、林德义及《票选大马》编辑洁珂琳（Jacqueline Ann Surin）。

第二场座谈会的主题为《第五权（部落客）促成改变的机构》（The Fifth Estate(Blogger) as Agency for Change），主讲者为黄泉安、士拉央国会议员梁自坚、人权律师哈里斯（Haris Ibrahim）、《当今大马》总编辑颜重庆及《太阳报》专题报道副编辑纳德斯瓦然（R.Nadeswaran）。

政策创议中心也将推介其网站，并在网站中贴上该中心的政策研究文章，供网民阅读。

Rumour about lambs arriving at Warren Buffet's...

2008-04-10T06:14:00.000-07:00

Table at the Lake View Club, the Venue for a Hap Event for Bloggers and Friends for 2008 cometh MAY the FIRST -- which is also a public holiday. That's the rumour that Desi heard when he bumped into buddy Sdr Chai Huat this morning before a Press Conference scheduled at 11AM.

Due to bum2007's tsunami of complaints (omitted for Civil Society promotion sake from bum2007.wordpress.com -- including from Desi! -- that many participants missed a second helping of finger-lickin' gooder than KFC chicks, the first lamb reported for duty early at BUM2008.

The second lamb had gone for a walk with Mary, so if you people could track them down before 8.30pm May 1, I am sure the obedient lamb will ensure your AP is fulfilled. I know our house artist, MOB1900 (yes, the guy who explains why BUM is defined as BLOGGERS' UNIVERSE MALAYSIA FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, he adds), has captured the image of the lambs in their naked, roasted glory to whet thy APpetite! See the saliva-inducing draw up dare!

MOB SAYS: (en)JOY! repeatedly.

Back to business, I wish to state for the record YL and saudara TECK GHEE, director of CPI, arrived at the Press Conference room right on time i.e. at 10.30AM. I rehearsed a byte on what we would say to the MSM, which stands for mainstream media -- a term of endearment coined by Howsy, who's also rumoured to have come back from the US jest for the lamb! -- who later turned up in full force.

BUM2008 Organising Committee member Liew Hui Mei passed me the following list -- please don't pass on to the SpecialBrunch,okay! Welcome all, thanks for the writing which will appear tomorrow, I was promised! I may line up at the nearest SE7EN11 when the sun rises to retrieve 13 copies of theSUN:)

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

Press roll-call, who were cordially invited by CPI to come join the fun on May 1:)

1. Kwong Wah - Ms Lim Poh Hui

2. Sin Chew - Mr Tan Wei Tee + Photographer Mr. Teh Chin Hooi

3. The Sun - Joshua Foong

4. MerdekaReview - Ms. Chen Shaua Fui

5. Oriental Daily - Ms "Yay" Chang "Ia" Fen + Photographer Mr. Lim Swee Giok

6. The Star - Ms. Salina Khalid

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

WHY 13? Don't you know it's a lucky number?Some of you readers here are pretty slow, aren't you, not reading the Blogs!:)

As I do not wish to MIS-quote myself and/or Dr Lim, I am not penning a long report about the Press Con. Just a couple of lines:

Dr Lim said the influence and impact of Bloggers and civil socity action groups was telling in the recent GE2008, a fact belated acknowledged by BN leaders, right up,or down, to the Prime Minister. However, he stressed that like the Fourth Estate, which is represented by the MSM present, the alternative and new media, including Blogging, which constitute the Fifth Estate, are just instruments for channelling the news, information and points of view by the writers. IT IS THE MESSAGE/CONTENTS THAT TRULY MATTERS AT THE END OF THE DAY.

YL just stressed on one point, and that is there is no reason why the Fourth Estate members would not be able to engage with their younger brethren *Fifth Estaters meaningfully -- as there are more common grounds for both new and traditional media than there are differences. (*as Bloggers are termed thus in the United States which certainly leads the trend in tis new, still evolving media ...)

I would look silly reporting about what I said in case I committed any faux pax, so I refrained. I urge you wait for an UPDATE at the first dawn tomorrow when I will do a Cut&Paste, a skill I have mastered since taking to Blogging three years ago.

Meanwhile, I heard someone -- is he/she myGOoDfriend? -- whisper: "How about a third lamb for late-comers as some of us come from outstation like Ipoh and Miri?"

Give some people one inch, they want the 'hole barn yard!:) Signing off, Blogger's fave style, LOL! For starters, LOL is "laffing out loud", which taiko-Blogger-cum-MP Jeff 001 states loudly enought, although he's now resient in Penang, "It's still aloud!"

For some of the Speakers, try to recognise their "FACES" eh! If there is any
"mix-up", complain to webmaster Ms Helen Hoh of Ipoh, to whom I owe
barrels of Tehtarik for all the hard work to date.
The Bum-mers' party of the year ain't over until this Ipoh lady has finished singing, okay!

As for MOB1900 aka Chris Chew -- now chomping on the first leg! -- have you found Mary, nyet? Bloggers when hungry can be damn'd angry, and you do not want a riot at the Lake View!:)

Now that you hear the rumour has been confirmed to be well grounded -- as is wont of most rumours on blogosphere like what Raja Petra Kamarudin often spreads around -- sign up for BUM2008 before number 120 is taken.

Faces

2008-04-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

And here are some of the FAMOUS people you will meet at BUM2008 on MAY the FIRST -- get their autographs, they will be worth a tidy sum by the time next BUM2009 cometh around! YL is a collector, he speaks with authority! ~~ Desi

Sdr Ahiruddin Atan aka rockybru,

President, National Alliance of Bloggers

Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid,

Ex-Judge

Dr Azmi Sharom,

Academic

Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives

5. Sdri Jacqueline Ann Surin

Journalist6. Sdr Jeff Ooi, Blogger-MP

7. Sdr William Leong, Lawyer-MP8. Sdr Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights Advocate9. Sdr Steven Gan, Editor-in-chief, Malaysiakini.com

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT

2008-04-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Remit RM50 per head to:

Yew Wei Keat 1-12080-24112-4 Maybank.

Then Email a note to tonyyew@gmail.com, informing date of depositing in the payment; plus advising the name/s of person/s to be Registered. If need to contact Sdr Yew, tel: 012-2138257.

On May 1, 2008 PLEASE BRING ALONG YOUR BANK RECEIPT
which is treated as the ENTRY PASS to BUM2008. See ya!

BUM 08 Banners & Buttons

2008-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some banners and buttons (made by Mob1900).

Right-click the file, “save as” in designated folder, put them up in your blog and help us spread the word!

Banners

Buttons

BUM 2008 Poster

2008-03-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

FAQs

2008-03-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

What is the Centre for Policy Initiatives?

According to its Director, Dr Lim Teck Ghee, The Centre for Policy Initiatives is a non-profit, independent policy reform organization seeking to improve the quality of public awareness and discourse on key national issues. The primarily internet-based think-tank – the CPI’s website is currently under preparation and expects to go public shortly - has as its leading members Dr. Azly Rahman, Jeff Ooi, Dr. Lim Teck Ghee and Purushothaman Nair..

What's up with holding this in Lake View Club?

We had a successful outing last year – bum2007, don’t you remember? Mudah Lupa, ke? (REF: http://www.bum2007.wordpress.com/ )-- at Lake View Club, so it’s back to an expected familiar welcome and great feast at what is anticipated to become a regular haunt for Bloggers. Our journalist/blogger, Desiderata has checked out the menu to meet the tastes of the majority of anticipated Guests -- Halal buffet is served there and full conference facilities are available there (plus bum2008 Organising Committee believes we can get a better offer here than the Croc Farm next door, so we won’t risk it:). Please note that the Menu stated below is subject to slight variation!

Buffet? Yum. What’s on offer?

High Tea
*********

Sandwiches
Assorted Nyonya Kuihs
Curry Puffs
Coffee & Tea

Picture courtesy of caterer, Kampung Ku Restaurant.

Buffet Dinner
************
Curry Chicken Potato
Sweet & Sour Fish Slices
Fried Omelette
Deep Fried Spring Rolls
Butter Prawns
Mixed Vegetables
Crab Meat Beancurd
Fried Mee Hoon
Chinese Fried Rice
Mixed Fruits
Orange Cordial
Agar-agar

Venue - How To Get There

2008-03-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

The Lake View Club
Lot 3606, SS12/1, Subang Jaya
47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Malaysia
Tel: +603 3733-8342

Wikimapia it here.

SUNDAE INTERNUDE: bum2008 is kambing, Mayday! Mayday!

2008-03-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sundae Interlude: at a Nudists' Camp? WHERE? WHEN?

TEAser Post sent back to original owner at www.desiderata2000.blogspot.com.

http://www.bluechippuerhtea.com/