They came from all over to send their Raya greetings(Photos by Teh/Lim)
Marina received lots of flowers and cards for RPK
Eye-witness Peng shares his experience in Kamunting today:
We arrived around 11.06am. Singing was underway when I got there. I was excited to see many people who were there to show support. People were mingling around with intermitten shouts of “Free RPK, Free Hindraf Five” and “Mansuhkan ISA”. There was no heavy presence of police. Marina was there. It was good to see her smile amidst the challenges she’s facing. People, she needs all the support we can give. …
I am glad that strangers could get together for a united cause. Today, I put a face to names that I know through blog comments. … It’s great to have met you all. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
If you visited Kamunting today, do share your citizen journalist eye-witness accounts in the comments below:
Blog reader Rakyat@Work comments:
Way to go folks. Keep it up. Thank you all you great people. God bless all of you. Tell RPK that many more ‘reserve’ supporters (those like me who cannot make it for the trip) are still around. Don’t worry, we will continue to support and uphold him and family in prayer as well. Have fun. Cheers. Wish I was there.
1142: The crowd is singing ‘Negaraku‘ now before dispersing. They have lots of lots of flowers and cards outside the camp, but these are unlikely to reach the detainees.
Another contact at the scene reports that the crowd earlier had sung two numbers, ‘We are Malaysians‘ (sung to the tune of ‘We are the world‘) and a ‘Selamat Hari Raya‘ song. “Everyone is so cheerful and glad to be here,” says my contact, adding that Marina was touched by the show of support. The turnout today is estimated to be in the region of 200 to 300.
Bakun Dam nearing completion(Photo by Raymond Abin/IPS)
Even before they can make up their minds what to do with all the electricity to be generated by Bakun, they have already started preliminary work on the 944MW Murum Dam, which is just 60km upstream from Bakun. Remember, Sime Darby has pulled out from the project to lay undersea power cables to the peninsula.
About a thousand indigenous Penan will have to make way as their homes will be submerged by the Murum.
How will the Murum Dam, which will be constructed in the Bakun catchment area, affect the Bakun Dam?
These are some of the issues I looked at in writing this piece for IPS:
PENANG, Malaysia, Sep 27 (IPS) – Preliminary work on a 3 billion ringgit (875 million dollar) dam in Murum in the north Borneo state of Sarawak has put the spotlight on a controversial scheme to build a string of public-funded dams to provide cheap electricity for energy-intensive industries to the state.
I hope all of you are having a good Raya break.
But let us remember our Muslim brother undergoing detention without trial, in Kamunting or elsewhere.
Read Farish Noor’s ‘Eidil Fitri in prison’ (Aliran) and Raja Petra’s ‘Give me liberty or give me death’ (Malaysia Today) from Kamunting.
I wish all Muslim readers a joyous celebration with their loved ones and friends.
Blog reader RastamanJB shares with us how as a stranger, he met and got to know the legendary J B Jeyaretnam:
I met him many times at the Kerala Reastaurant, Jalan Ibrahim, JB, and chatted with him about his WP.
He was a man worth his salt. His steadfastness and righteousness was there for all to see. It is a shame that we do not have anyone, and I repeat anyone, on both sides of the border to match him.
He was a very approachable person and talked to anyone who acknowledged him. A simple man, with his trade mark side-burns, collared T-shirts and short pants and sandals… popped into JB very often for his thosai and air suam.
The legendary Singapore opposition icon, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, better known as JBJ (photo credit: Wikipedia), passed away early this morning of heart failure.
After having left the Workers Party, he had just formed the Reform Party to mount a new challenge to PAP dominance. He was the interim secretary general of the party.
He was Singapore’s Mr Opposition, having broken the PAP’s 15-year monopoly in Parliament in the Anson by-election in 1981, winning 52 per cent of the votes to become Singapore’s first opposition MP.
I have just been informed by the Bukit Bendera MP’s office that they, along with several Penang-based civil society activists, are planning a drive to the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping on the second day of Raya to convey their greetings to the ISA detainees:
Flowers, cards and gifts, if any, will be passed on to Raja Petra and the other ISA detainees to let them know that they are not forgotten on this special day. RPK’s wife Marina has been informed of the event and hope that she will also be able to join us. The Press will also be invited for this event.
Details of travel:
Date: Thursday, 2 October 2008
Meeting Place: DAP Bukit Bendera Service Centre, Wayton Court, Penang
Meet at 9.00am
For those enamoured by free markets and deregulation, the US experience makes for sobering reflection – although some argue that the Military-Industrial-Media Complex is hardly a model of free market economics.
For some time now, market fundamentalists had preached that the government should have as little do as as possible in regulating business. Now, we see Wall Street being brought to its knees and turning to the US government to bail out failed financial institutions, the victims of their own unbridled greed. All this is the result of financial deregulation with little oversight.
This is also what happens when the Occupation of Iraq meets financial deregulation, a wild credit bubble (cheap credit) and a colossal debt:
A shattering moment in America’s fall from power
The global financial crisis will see the US falter in the same way the Soviet Union did when the Berlin Wall came down. The era of American dominance is over
John Gray
The Observer,
Sunday September 28 2008
Our gaze might be on the markets melting down, but the upheaval we are experiencing is more than a financial crisis, however large. Here is a historic geopolitical shift, in which the balance of power in the world is being altered irrevocably. The era of American global leadership, reaching back to the Second World War, is over.
Trams glide along the narrow streets of Amsterdam (Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Leidsestraat_Amsterdam.JPG)
Blog reader Josh, a Penangite in the Netherlands, is impressed with the trams over there:
I fully support the re-introduction of trams in Penang. I am a Penangite now living in The Hague, The Netherlands. Trams are the main public transportation here in The Netherlands, be it in The Hague, Amsterdam or Rotterdam.
Marina was able to visit RPK on his birthday in Kamunting on Saturday, 27 September. Interesting that part of RPK’s rehabilitation (or is it punishment?!) involves reading the NST! 🙂
Here is another touching account of their encounter:
Happy 58th Birthday, Love
Yesterday, 27 September 2008 was Pet’s Birthday. My two daughters’ and I were allowed the scheduled visit to see Pet at Kamunting on his 58th birthday.
When we wished him Happy Birthday he had forgotten it was his birthday and we told him that we had brought along birthday cards hand-drawn by his two grandchildren, ages 5 and 6, one from Jia Wei age 7, one card signed by a few of his friends and also three books. We had to handover all the items with the prison authorities and they would only give it to him after inspection. I told him of the numerous emails, sms, calls, on the blogs and our sons in the UK also sent him Birthday wishes.
This visit was also face to face and so I was holding on to his hands all along.
Some positive news from Chee Seng Garden in Tanjung Bunga, Penang, after the ‘miraculous’ flooding on hill-slopes (caused by hill-slope apartment/condo projects). The MPPP has said there will be no more projects on steep hillslopes. It’s a small victory of sorts for People Power over irresponsible developers.
A resident George Aeria sends us an update:
Since the floods on 6 September, we met up with the MPPP Engineering Dept directors and the developers on the 10th, but their response was pathetic. Thus, we, the residents, pushed for a meeting with the MPPP YDP and we finally got it on 20 September.
This meeting was a surprise to us as he acted as the role of residents’ champion and instructed all parties – both the developers, his MPPP Dept directors and all other government departments – to act responsibly and to resolve all issues at the housing estate. He even stated in the meeting that he would NOT approve any more hillslope developments above Class 4 slopes i.e. > 35 degrees.
Looks like Gerakan has some tough decisions to make, if they are to survive as a party. This is what Koh Tsu Koon says here:
“If you go on sentiments alone, I would say more than 60% (want us to leave), but we are taking a lot of factors into consideration, and a decision cannot be based just on sentiments.
I believe one of the factors is the Gerakan reps with positions in government will probably lose their positions if they pull out.
The choice for the party is simple: either return to its roots and embrace the reform agenda whole-heartedly (can it really do that within the Barisan and with the current party leadership?) or lose more and more of their members and disappear into oblivion.
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday. Lots of candles around – ‘cept they were not on my birthday cake. Some 2,000 Malaysians, many holding up candles to dispel the darkness of our times, gathered last night in KL calling for the release of RPK, the Hindraf Five and other ISA detainees.
That’s an amazing turnout! Full report, pictures and video clips by DeadAlienX here.
(Listen to RPK speak days before his arrest. The BBC interviews him here. If you would like to send an email to your favourite politician(s) calling on him/them to release all ISA detainees, click here for details.)
The event was organised by two different groups: Hindraf and a coalition of NGOs led by the Writers Alliance for Media Independence. As the original venue Dataran Merdeka was cordoned off by police, the vigil turned into a peaceful march to the Kortumalar Pillayar Temple, opposite Puduraya.
The whole event last about an hour. If you were there, do send in your citizen journalist eye-witness impressions.
Teresa Kok with parents and party supporters at a press conference this afternoon following a molotov cocktail scare at her parents’ home at 2.55am today (Photo credit: M Soon) The molotov cocktail failed to explode and no one was hurt. But a sheet of paper on which was written a threat and vulgar words was found.
Some 300 people turned up for an Abolish ISA candlelight vigil in Penang last night (Photos by Amiruddin, Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi)
John Pilger’s award-winning War on Democracy, which was screened at the opening of the Freedom Film Fest in Penang last night
Just a couple of updates on what’s been happening around Penang:
But before that, a Molotov cocktail was reportedly hurled into Teresa Kok’s parents’ house at 2.55am today. Thankfully, they failed to explode and no one was hurt.
Last night, some 300 people attended an Abolish ISA candlelight vigil in front of Dewan Sri Pinang for the third Friday night in a row. More pictures by Amiruddin here.
I wasn’t there as I was at the Wawasan Open University attending the Freedom Film Fest (see below). From what I hear, those who attended the candlelight vigil wrote dozens of greeting cards to the detainees in Kamunting. Many wanted to send cards to Raja Petra. Organisers pointed out there are 65 other detainees in Kamunting who would be happy to receive cards as well, so some in the crowd said, okay, we will write one card to Raja Petra and a second one to another detainee! RPK sure has some ardent readers. Speaking of which, I just discovered this morning that I share the same birthday as Raja Petra… which is nice 🙂 Many happy returns, Raja Petra!
Some good soul has come up with an easy way for you to send a protest email to your ‘favourite’ politician for detaining RPK and others under the ISA. Click here.
Meanwhile, the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) also organised a peaceful demonstration at Masjid Jamek in Kuala Lumpur at noon yesterday. Full report here. Check Haris Ibrahim’s and Susan Loone’s blogs for more initiatives against the ISA.
Quite a few things happening tonight.
Check out the Freedom Film Festival in Penang this weekend. It is organised by Komas and is being held at the Wawasan Open University from today until Sunday. The action has already begun… Details of films here. Choose what you like and come and support the festival.
You might also like to join in the Abolish ISA Movement’s candle-light vigil in front of Dewan Sri Pinang tonight from 9.30pm onwards.
This seems to be a compromise to the transition plan – or is it the end of the transition plan? – under which Abdullah was supposed to hand over power to Najib in June 2010. But there was uncertainty over whether Abdullah would even get the 58 nominations he needs from the 191 party divisions to defend his presidency in December.
By putting off the general assembly, he gets to test the waters to see if he can secure those nominations; and if he can’t, he gets to stay on a little longer probably until March and hand over to Najib then. Najib too won’t be seen as power-hungry if he bides his time a little longer.
So will we see a Razaleigh vs Najib contest for the presidency? And where does Muhyiddin fit in? How will Najib, as finance minister, handle the economic slowdown in the coming months? Still a few critical questions hanging in the air. Meanwhile, Anwar is out there…
1229: Abdullah will decide his next move – whether to defend the presidency – by 9 October. He insists that he is not under any pressure to decide. But the pressure seems obvious.
1221: The Umno general assembly has been postponed from this December to March 2009 but the divisional elections will go on as scheduled from 9 October. So will Abdullah stand for the presidency or stand aside for Najib?
A concerned Penangite has just sent me this article from the Independent in the UK:
EU watchdog calls for urgent action on Wi-Fi radiation
By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Europe’s top environmental watchdog is calling for immediate action to reduce exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi, mobile phones and their masts. It suggests that delay could lead to a health crisis similar to those caused by asbestos, smoking and lead in petrol.
The warning, from the EU’s European Environment Agency (EEA) follows an international scientific review which concluded that safety limits set for the radiation are “thousands of times too lenient”, and an official British report last week which concluded that it could not rule out the development of cancers from using mobile phones.
Let’s see what happens tomorrow at the emergency supreme council meeting. Umno seems to be facing a leadership crisis. The sand in the hourglass is emptying rapidly for Abdullah.
And all the while, Anwar is waiting and working behind the scenes. . Having missed two self-imposed deadlines, he appears to be adopting a different approach: keeping a lower profile, while waiting to spring a surprise. Here’s something I wrote today for Asia Times:
PENANG – Malaysia’s political opposition insists its plan to topple Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s government is still on track, as doubts emerge about the credibility of those claims after it missed two self-set deadlines for ushering in political change.
You couldn’t make this up, could you?
All I can say is that some people are easily offended. I think Teresa’s point was that the meals didn’t exactly constitute a balanced diet; neither were they finger-lickin’ good. Know what I mean?
Anyway, it’s the most read article on theSun website! You got to hand it to ’em… They do know how to keep us entertained… 🙂
But, more seriously, see Wong Kok Keong’s concern below.
Report lodged against Teresa Kok for insulting egg
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24, 2008) : The Seputeh Umno Youth division lodged a police report today against Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, claiming she had insulted the Royal Malaysian Police and the egg, which is an essential food of the underprivileged.
The division’s deputy head Alawi Dahalin and several other members lodged the report at the Brickfields police station.
Well, what do you think? Should Penang rush into Wifi or should it adopt a very cautious approach, after studying all the scientific concerns? Perhaps we need to probe deeper into why Germany has advised its citizens to avoid Wifi and why the European Parliament has just voted for stricter safety limits.
You decide if it’s safe enough. I guess the difference between Wifi for the whole of Penang and other devices that you buy (e.g. mobile phones) is that in the former you don’t have a choice whereas in the latter, you can choose whether you want to use them.
To recap, this is what the BioInitiative Report says:
No lower limit for bioeffects and adverse health effects from RF has been established, so the possible health risks of wireless WLAN and WI-FI systems, for example, will require further research and no assertion of safety at any level of wireless exposure (chronic exposure) can be made at this time.
The European Parliament “is greatly concerned at the Bio-Initiative international report concerning EMFs, which summarises over 1500 studies on that topic and which points in its conclusions to the health risks posed by emissions from mobile-telephony devices such as mobile telephones, UMTS, WiFi, WiMax and Bluetooth, and also DECT landline telephones.” Further, it points out the need to “address vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, newborn babies and children.”
Contrast that with this report:
WHO studies Wi-Fi risks
The Province
Published: Thursday, September 25, 2008
The amount of non-ionizing radiation absorbed by a person’s body from a Wi-Fi station is less than one-fifth that they receive from FM radio and TVs that surround them day and night, the World Health Organization has concluded.
And the level of non-ionizing radiation — radiation such as light or microwaves that do not cause genetic damage — from the wireless computer routers are between 0.002 per cent and two per cent of international safe-exposure guidelines, the WHO says in a report that considered 10 years of research.
Children are especially vulnerable to radiation from mobile and cordless phones, Wi-Fi and other devices, because their brains and nervous systems are still developing and since their heads are smaller and their skulls are thinner – the radiation penetrates deeper into their brains.
The Swedish research presented this month at the first international conference on mobile phones and health and represents an analysis of data from one of the biggest studies carried out into the risk that the radiation causes cancer, and was led by Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden.
This would be enough for me to adopt a very cautious approach, looking out for public health and safety all the time. Few people are against technology, but we need to make sure it’s safe i.e. not harmful in the long run.
This from theSun:
Guan Eng: No proof of wi-fi health risks
By Himanshu Bhatt
GEORGE TOWN (Sept 25,2008) : The Penang government has found no evidence that the open wi-fi transmission network planned over the whole state would pose a health hazard to inhabitants, and will go ahead with the project.
Chief minister Lim Guan Eng said today the economic and social opportunities presented by the project should not be stopped when there is no concrete proof that it is risky.
He stressed that the wi-fi band frequency was, in fact, lower than that for mobile phones.
