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Will Abdullah spring a surprise?

Anil Netto
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Hmm, I wonder what’s going on… Are we in for a surprise?

Mahathir, for one, suspects that Abdullah has something up his sleeve:

It is said that on 9th October, the day before the divisions are to hold their meetings, he will announce that he will not stand for election as President of UMNO. The question is, will he announce it? I have this suspicion that he will not. If he does not it would not be surprising. He is not a man of his words.

There really is no reason for this extension unless it is because of a possibility to influence the divisions into countering the Supreme Council and its demand that Abdullah steps down. In which case the extension may be further extended. Already SMS messages are denouncing Najib.

Meanwhile Suara Keadilan, citing sources, has a report predicting that Abdullah will defend his Umno presidency.

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Inspiring sense of one-ness outside RPK’s trial

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Raja Petra arrives in court for his sedition trial this morning

Rakyat@Work sends us this eye-witness account from court:

Folks, keep supporting Raja and be there tomorrow? It was a fantastic experience. I got to shake hands with great people such as Marina, Din Merican, Lim Kit Siang, Ronnie and some famous bloggers. You wanna feel what justice is all about? Be there.

There were really generous people too, who gave out free T-shirts, drinks, and cakes. Of course, stocks of T-shirts for sales were also available. A feeling of one-ness was there: people of different races who share the same sadness but carry the same hope and resolve to see this through. It’s difficult to express in words.

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RPK in court now

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Lim Kit Siang reports from the Sessions Court in PJ:

In Petaling Jaya sessions court now where the celebrated RPK sedition trial has just started.

Big crowd of RPK supporters and well-wishers including household names in Malaysian blogosphere like Haris Ibrahim, Zorro and Delcapo in court but space too limited to accommodate even a substantial number of people who had to overflow outside.

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From tsunami to fire, Tg Bunga fisherfolk need your help

Anil Netto
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Four fishermen’s homes were damaged in the 26 July blaze

Faizal showing me his tiny home a few weeks before the fire

Now even that is gone: What’s left of Faizal’s home after the fire

In early July 2008, I wrote a blog entry ‘Where has all the tsunami money gone?’ highlighting the plight of several fisherfolk in Tanjung Bunga, victims of the 2004 tsunami that hit the shores of Penang. They were forced to relocate to temporary housing – actually, they were more like small cubicles in a longhouse on the beach – as they were unable to obtain lots in affordable flats built on the site of their former fishing village.

Now what little they had has literally gone up in ashes after fuel stored for their motorboats accidentally leaked and caught fire, seriously damaging four longhouse homes belonging to Faizal bin Mhd Yusuff, Ahmad bin Ismail, Ramli bin Din and Ismail on the night of 26 July 2008.

The fisherfolk received prompt assistance of RM300 from the Buddhist Tzu Chi group in Penang. They also received relief assistance of RM1,000 each from the Pejabat Daerah dan Tanah. The Penang Office for Human Development chipped in with close to RM10,000 to help the fisher folk replace their burnt nets so that they could go back to the sea as soon as possible.

Now the fishermen are hoping to rebuild their homes and repair the damage done. For that, they will need to raise a total of RM21,000.

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Penang govt to widen consultation on wi-fi health risks

Anil Netto
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Some good news reported in The Star. The Penang state government will broaden its consultation about the possible health risks of wi-fi.

Wide consultation is a good idea. Such public consultation should take place before any major project is  launched.

“The state government is ready to cancel and abandon the project if there is scientific proof to show that the health of the people will be adversely affected by the wireless network,” says Guan Eng.

Fine. But what if studies point to significant health risks? When it comes to untested new technology and public health,  caution should be exercised – especially if we are not sure of the long-term effects.

There is a difference between free wi-fi for the whole of Penang and say, mobile phones. In the former, the technology is thrust on the people, who do not have a choice. In contrast, in the case of mobile phones, people are free to choose whether or not to use them.

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Recalling the day Malaysians stirred from their slumber

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This is a new book by Kee Thuan Chye, published by Marshall Cavendish Editions, which is shooting up the best-sellers’ charts. (It was No. 2 on the MPH’s best-sellers’ list on 27 September – RPK’s birthday! – which seems appropriate as one of the highlights of the book is a lengthy interview with him.)

It is a collectors’ item, for it captures the mood of the nation in the aftermath of the political tsunami that swept across the land on 8 March.

Other highlights are interviews with Guan Eng, Zaid Ibrahim, Steven Gan and Husam Musa.

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JBJ is laid to rest; salute to an inspirational life

Anil Netto
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Today, J B Jeyaretnam is laid to rest after a long struggle for democracy and human rights in Singapore. Looking back, we can now see what an inspirational life he led, his principles and idealism shining forth like a beacon.

Hopefully, there will be others who will rise to accept the baton and continue the race. In years to come, the legend of JBJ will be narrated to future generations of Singaporeans, who will come to regard him as one of the island republic’s greatest heroes in the fight for democracy and freedom.

Aliran President P Ramakrishnan has issued a moving media statement, paying tribute to this giant of a man.

Today Singaporeans will bid farewell to an iconic symbol of a fighting spirit that had stood up for democracy and human rights, paying every price that was extracted from him!

We were saddened to learn of JB Jeyaretnam’s demise in the early hours of Tuesday, 30 September 2008. JBJ, as he was fondly referred to, succumbed to a heart attack, bringing to an end a life that reflected an indomitable spirit and a formidable fortitude that helped him to stay the course. Full statement

200 attend Abolish ISA vigil in Penang

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Ordinary Malaysians scrawl their signatures on the Abolish ISA banner

The Bishop of Penang (left) was among those who showed up

Some 200 concerned individuals turned up tonight in front of the Dewan Sri Pinang to attend the weekly candle-light vigil. The turnout was slightly lower than last week’s 300 perhaps because of the Raya holidays as some were still out of town.

But there were a few ‘visitors’ from KL attending tonight’s vigil, taking advantage of the holidays to return to Penang. One of them remarked that the Penang police appeared to be more tolerant of these candlelight vigils compared to the cops in KL.

Aliran’s Angeline Loh read out the names of the 66 ISA detainees and the duration of their detention as the crowd listened in silence.

A huge ‘Mansuhkan ISA’ banner was placed on the ground and those present then scrawled their signatures to support the call for the repeal of the Act.

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Another candlelight vigil in Penang tonight

Anil Netto
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Another Abolish ISA candlelight vigil today in front of Dewan Sri Pinang at 9.00pm. It is organised by Penang-based civil society groups belonging to the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI).

Syed Hamid gets fewer nominations – but wins

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Some of you may have missed this news item as it was just a small snippet in The Star:

Syed Hamid has won the Kota Tinggi Umno division head post uncontested – after the membership of his opponent, who actually secured more nominations, was suspended by the Umno disciplinary committee. It was 23-21 nominations in his opponent’s favour.

Syed Hamid wins uncontested
Compiled by V.P. SUJATA, LEE YUK PENG and A. RAMAN

HOME Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar won the Kota Tinggi Umno division head post uncontested after his challenger A. Malek A. Rahman’s membership was suspended, reported Utusan Malaysia.

Malek’s membership was suspended by the Umno disciplinary board chaired by Tengku Tan Sri Ahmad Rithaudeen Tengku Ismail for three years or one election term.

Prior to the suspension, Malek received 23 nominations and Syed Hamid 21 for the division head post.

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