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Over 300 gather in PJ calling for end to ISA

Anil Netto
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Once again, a crowd gathered in PJ to call for the repeal of the ISA (Photo by Rakyat@Work)

Bebaskan RPK! Mansuhkan ISA! (Photo by Rakyat@Work)

Shackled by the ISA: Over in Penang, the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) held a commemoration of the 21st anniversary of Operation Lalang outside Prangin Mall with live bands, an ISA exhibition and talks (Photo by Mustafa K Anuar. More pics here and here.)

Blog reader kereem sums up the PJ event like this:

Great night! Great sing-a-long too! What an atmosphere… loved it! Felt so safe last week that I brought my daughter and wife along. Hope we will fill up the padang in no time

Rakyat@Work reports for anilnetto.com from Petaling Jaya:

2115: The rain pelts down now; more cars are honking and they are met with more cheers of approval from the crowd. Time to go back. People start leaving…. Well, another night is over.

My mate and I head towards our car, walking silenty and quietly, satisfed with the night. Our thoughts are with RPK, just hoping he was with us. I wonder what he is doing right this moment. We still need to pray hard and to continue until RPK and all the other ISA detainees are set free. That’s our target and that’s our mission… That’s the minimum standard we’re talking about, the new nation and the new rakyat! Good Night and God Bless All.

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Waiting for Rapid Penang’s GPS display boards

Anil Netto
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Rapid Penang can track the movement of its buses from its control centre in Lorong Kulit

Rapid Penang is now equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System), which enables it to track the movement of its buses around Penang.

The next phase involves setting up display boards in selected locations which would enable the public to know when the next bus is due to arrive. When I visited the Rapid Penang head office a few weeks ago, I was told that they had submitted an application to set up these display boards, but I am not sure what’s holding it up. I was impressed with its chief executive officer Azhar Ahmad, who appeared competent and friendly and seemed to be thinking ahead.

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Johor activist detained under ISA

Anil Netto
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Update: She has been released on bail. Check out Aliran president Ramakrishnan’s statement here.

Here we go again:

Cheng Lee Whee, a Suaram volunteer in Johor, has been detained under Section 28 of the ISA after she had made a report accusing the police of abuse of power during the eviction of urban pioneers in Kampung Baru Plentong Tengah yesterday.

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400 brave the rain in struggle to abolish ISA

Anil Netto
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They braved the rain; their spirits were not dampened

Singing Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”

Bob Marley performs the Redemption Song

I was wondering how many people would actually turn up for the final candlelight vigil seeking the abolition of the ISA because it started pelting down at around 9.00pm again. Unlike last week, the rain did not clear for a while. But when I arrived, I was heartened to see so many people had already gathered there, some with brollies, others without. This was probably the largest crowd gathered over the last six weeks of vigils – in the rain, some more!

They sang, they listened to speeches, they took an ikrar (pledge) to continue the struggle to abolish the ISA. Among the speakers was Aliran president P Ramakrishnan, who revealed that a police officer had asked him, minutes earlier, to get in touch with an inspector at the station for reasons unknown. “I have nothing to do with the inspector and if he wants to speak to me, he should contact me,” Rama told the crowd.

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Nik Aziz and his cheap, plastic BIC ballpoint pen

Anil Netto
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Here’s something our politicians can learn from Kelantan Mentri Besar Niz Aziz, who lives in a simple wooden house.

Farish Noor describes his encounter with the simple politician who still uses the same type of ballpoint that he saw him using when they met in 1999.

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Abdullah’s corporate boys leave the scene

Anil Netto
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Bye-bye, Abdullah. Closely followed by the exits of Kalimullah and now Patrick Lim from their current positions… All three riding into the sunset – or is that the mirage of the Penang Global City Centre project?

This report from mysinchew/Straits Times/ANN:

Businessmen close to PM quit

Two businessmen close to Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi are quitting their positions, as an expected exodus of his inner circle begins.

The two men – New Straits Times Press (NSTP) deputy chairman Kalimullah Hassan and Equine Capital chairman Patrick Lim – have been attacked in the past by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, for allegedly benefiting from Abdullah’s reign.

News of their resignations from their respective companies comes just days after Abdullah’s announcement that he intended to step down as premier in March.

With deputy prime minister Najib Razak set to take over the premiership in five months’ time, the circle around him is expected to rise, political observers and bloggers say.

Kalimullah is also group executive chairman of ECM Libra Investment Bank, which has made headlines with major deals in the past few years.

But he is better known as the controversial editor-in-chief of the mainstream New Straits Times (NST) newspaper, and has been accused by Mahathir of being a key ‘spin doctor’ for Abdullah.

Mahathir, who appointed Abdullah as his successor in 2003, has in recent years become his most bitter critic.

The former premier blames Kalimullah for allegedly blacking out his comments not only in the NST, but also in other mainstream media.

In a column in the NST on Friday (10 Oct), Kalimullah defended Abdullah’s short reign and harshly attacked critics such as Mahathir.

‘One thing Najib will not have to worry about is a predecessor breathing down his neck, slandering him, his Cabinet, his party colleagues, his family, aides and friends. Because, for all his weaknesses, Abdullah is a decent, religious man,’ Kalimullah said in the column.

So who will be next to go and who will replace them?

It appears that Equine will now come under new parties, and concerned Penangites will be watching them very, very closely to see what they have in store for the Penang Turf Club land.

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Last Abolish ISA vigil in Penang tonight

Anil Netto
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The sixth and last weekly candlelight vigil will be held today (Friday) at 9.00pm in front of Dewan Sri Pinang. This series has been organised by the Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA (Abolish ISA Movement).

On Sunday, GMI will be holding a commemoration of the 21st anniversary of Operation Lalang at the open space outside Prangin Mall in Penang from noon to 10.00pm. It looks as if there could be another candlelight vigil in PJ on Sunday night.

If you have not already seen the latest issue of Aliran Monthly, go here for more information. This issue focuses on the ISA and the unholy concept of a ‘national security state’.

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More environmental concerns

Anil Netto
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The last two postings on the environment appear to have struck a chord among some of you:

Blog reader Adam and the Ants says the problem isn’t confined to Penang:

The whole country for that matter is being raped. Try coming down to Seremban, it’s even worse. Nobody cares.

Orangutan in Perak is concerned about the waste discharge from a coal power plant:

The coal power plant in Manjung, Perak is flushing million of tons of sulphate, nitrate, chlorine oxide residue, and other toxic waste into the sea for the last five yeras. All this waste can have a damaging effect on the sea and the environment…. Tons of sea water is used and sent back polluted. This plant has another 20 to 25 years to go. Think what can further happen to the sea by then.

Over in Pahang, Phua Kai Lit is appalled:

In my hometown of Kuantan, the hill (Bukit Pelindung) near the beautiful Teluk Cempedak beach is being deforested step by step.

Some of the culprits (appear to be) government agencies that build offices and housing for their staff!

Andrew shares with us his experience of the floods in Penang:

I experienced the (floods) on the way back from Chulia Street to Gelugor after supper.

Just like a scene out of “The day after tomorrow”, the roads were filled with angry rushing water. Poor motorcyclists were being splashed full bodiedly by passing cars.

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Penang, paradise lost…

Anil Netto
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Here are more telling signs of the worsening environmental situation in Penang. Time we woke up and did something about it.

Blog-reader Steve Oh shares with us what Penang was once like:

Anyone who knows Penang will tell you it is such a beautiful island with an alluring and rare charm that even beguiled Somerset Maugham the novelist, who spent time there. But take a drive along its unique sinuous coastal road round the island and you will see how the poor island has suffered a tortuous existence since development hit the island. It is like Cinderella ill-treated. The Pearl has lost its lustre, and without its blue seas, perhaps greenish at ground level, it has lost its natural appeal.

I inspected a beachside property and was aghast to see several illegal houses built of concrete and zinc roofs that had been there for some time right smack on the beach in front of it. And you can even find illegal food shops on some beaches! You wonder where all the sewage go. There are big open monsoon drains that flow into the sea and you can find some beside those beautiful hotels. Do they seriously want people to swim in the sea? Ask a silly question! Sigh.

Yes, we remember our childhood days on the beaches of Penang. We used to dig for siput at Gurney Drive. They were plentiful and you could play on the sand and the water was typically Penang but not as crystal clear as the sea at Muka Head but still relatively unpolluted.

The rape of Penang’s natural heritage will not stop until Penangites themselves mobilise to stop the rot. The new government has a challenge on its hands but it is a challenge that requires every Penangite to feel a sense of ownership and chip in.

Mut recalls what it was like fishing off the coast of Penang:

Even in the early 80s we could still find nice sandy beaches; for me, the srtongest signal that something was going wrong came when fishing trips yielded worse catches.

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What happened to the blue waters of Penang?

Anil Netto
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Ever been in a plane and looked down carefully at the sea around Penang?

These satellite images paint a thousand words. Look at the mess around the island and mainland. And take a careful look at the colour of the rivers leading to the sea. Black. Siltation and pollution. Ugh!

Now, would you really want to swim in these waters? You can see the contrast between the murky waters around Penang and the deep bluish green hues of the Andaman Sea farther north leading up to the breathtaking islands of south Thailand.

Is this the price we have to pay for industrialisation and ‘progress’? Is this an acceptable price, do you think? Who is to blame for this? Industry (untreated discharges that flow into the sea)? Property developers (hill-cutting that leads to siltation and sedimentation)? Lack of effective sewage and effluent treatment plants? Government (for its ‘pro-business policies’ that fail to take into consideration compliance with tight enivironmental regulations and standards)? Or all of the above?

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