The MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Abdul Samad from Pas, received a standing ovation and thunderous applause from 350 parishioners of the Church of the Divine Merch in Shah Alam. He had offered to meet the parishioners for a dialogue session on 27 March.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support,” he said, adding that he had achieved a majority of 9,314 votes in Shah Alam.
“On the part of Pas, we will now be a coalition government. Our policies will be based on consensus. There will be no attempts by any member within Pas to impose any form of law on the general public. We will be fair and just.”
We will do as required by the community and what is good for the community, he added. “We will carry out our duties based on good governance, transparency and accountability. I hope you will continue to give us your support and your suggestions and we will try to be worthy of your trust.”
I used to walk along the aisles of the magnificent Westminster Cathedral, the “mother church” of the Catholic community in the UK, in awe of its unusual Byzantine style, its heavenly choirs and the majestic organ music that reverberated across its cavernous interior. The Cathedral has been described as “a very special place of prayer, a refuge from the busy city, a space to find one’s own thoughts.”
But last night how the Cathedral must have groaned and sighed as Tony Blair, the war criminal, took to the pulpit to preach on “Faith and Globalisation”. The former British premier converted to Catholicism last year but has so far not publicly apologised for the invasion of Iraq despite huge anti-war demonstrations and opposition from Pope John Paul II in 2003. More than a million Iraqis have died since the invasion.
While large U.S. media organizations like CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX and the New York Times document that about 4,000 US military personnel have lost their life, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs data documents a death toll of over 74,000 U.S. military personnel from Iraq Wars, as of May 2007. Award-winning investigative journalist Dahr Jamail documents that the U.S. political-military-industrial complex is apparently pursuing a “divide and rule” strategy by actually arming the same groups, that are labelled as “extremists” or “terrorists” against a stated objective of “stability” and “peace” in Iraq.
Anti-war protesters, including Catholics, turned up outside the Cathedral yesterday to let Blair know exactly how they felt.
Start of the Maulud Nabi procession outside Kapitan Keling Mosque
Women and children in colourful attire participated
Police didn’t expect any trouble but kept a watchful eye
I thought I would head to George Town to see what was going on during the Maulud Nabi celebration today. Arrived near the Kapitan Keling mosque and saw a small crowd there.
The usual colourful procession started at around 5.00pm. Delegations from various parts of Penang participated, each led by a standard bearer carrying a banner indicating the name of the group and its location. The rhythmic, thumping beat of a kompang group livened up the proceedings.
Police had taken up positions. I saw four police jeeps with Light Strike Force personnel in addition to a couple of civil defence vans plus the usual traffic police. Plainclothes police were also around. They appeared relaxed, as if they were not expecting any problems - just keeping a close eye.
I chatted with a friendly police officer and he told me the earlier rumours were unfounded, but the police were there to keep the peace “just in case”. He said there had been no real incident after the election; the real test was during polling night but that passed without anything untoward happening.
As for the demonstration last Friday, he reckoned there were about 400 in the actual demonstration; the rest were largely curious onlookers.
Most people, he felt, had accepted the election results, and he didn’t expect any major problems.
In “my previous life”, I trained and worked as a chartered accountant in England before returning to Malaysia to be immersed in corporate life.
Well, you know what they say about accountants being boring! Before long, I found myself drawn to journalism and writing about human rights and socio-economic justice issues. I have always believed that we can build a more just and compassionate world.
These days I mostly write for Aliran Monthly, Inter Press Service, Asia Times, The Herald - and this blog! Inspiration isn’t always at hand, though - so grab yourself a cup of coffee and come share your thoughts with me.
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