My Dance Affair In Rawang

On Sunday, the 1st day of Aidilfitri, Mei picked Div and I up from our house and we headed to Nishah's for lunch in Bukit Beruntung. We had a vegetarian lunch because it's Navaratri. I must say Aunty's vege duck was awesome! hehe..

After lunch, we sat in the hall telling stories and drinking sprite. Valli joined us at Nishah's in after a while. Nishah showed us her baby pictures and Mei showed us her dance scrap book. Then it was time to get our hair, makeup and costume done.

It has been a while since I went to Rawang town. The place has always given me a very homely feeling. I like small towns for a change, growing up in KL. I sit alone at the back, listening to Nishah's parents telling me more about Rawang while the others were in Mei's car.

We got to the temple, it seemed abit too quiet at first. We got down and waited in a room. We tied our bells on and were ready to perform. The 5 of us entered as Bhakra Thunda was playing. I could feel the excitement of the people who were watching us. Their eyes opened wider and they were silent.

Nishah has been performing in this temple alone during Navaratri, but we joined her this year. So it was something different for everyone.

Then came Kalyan Pallavi. We took turns instead of dancing flat out. phew..hehe Half way through, I could feel my headdress coming out. Dang! True enough, I danced while my headdress was hanging from my hair and in a few minutes time, it fell to the floor. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the women gasping, whispering to each other. I thought to myself, that's it lah Nalina. I smiled even more and planned what to do with my headress. It was time for Nish and Mei to come in and for Div, Valli and I to go out. You know how we use our hands and facial expressions to "talk" in Indian dance? That's exactly what I did. I picked up my headdress, looked at it and "told" the audience how beautiful it is. Ran to Valli, "told" Valli, isn't this beautiful? And I asked her to put it on for me. Valli played along and secured the headdress to my bun. LOL. Not bad eh?

Moksha! We did short Moksha. thank goodness! I've always felt that short Moksha is more light, fun to dance and fun to watch. We came back for a bow and received little Ganeshas. Right after the performance, people came up to us to express how much they liked our performance. I was asked by so many people, was the headdress falling meant to be or it really fell off, cos you really made it look like it was planned. We were wondering how what you were gonna do about it. I told then that it accidentally fall and it was all spontaneous thinking.

Performing in a small town was good. People there are more humble and down to earth. They appreciate our dance and aren't shy to tell us so. It gives us dancers a big boost when we know that people appreciate watching us perform. It makes us want to dance better and perform more. And to perform for humble people, gives very big satisfaction to me. I would love to go back to the Vinayager Temple in Rawang again next year. :D

Valli hilang..hehe..she went home straight away after the performance, while we went to Nishah's

With Nishah's mom


Nishah and her parents


Mei took this shot

What you looking at? haha

Of Islam, churches and temples – Art Harun

Of Islam, churches and temples – Art Harun

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/36538-of-islam-churches-and-temples-art-harun-



SEPT 1 – Shouldn’t we, Muslims, ask ourselves whether we are – to a certain, if not large, extent – not to blame for the ridicule that has befallen our great way of life known as Islam? Are we blind or too much blinkered by what we believe to be the ways of Islam so much so that we are unable to see the signs before us? Or is it a fact that we just could not care less?



Many of us Muslims nowadays have become uptight about Islam. And to make matters worse, in our country, Islam is tied up to our race, – by a Constitutional provision, no less – our Malayness, so to speak.



Thus, it comes as no surprise that Islam and Malayness are almost interchangeable. Say something which could be remotely perceived as against Islam, and you would be challenging not only Islam, but the whole Malay race. And vice versa.



And these people declare that they are the defenders of Islam. The Caliphs. Defenders of the faith. As if Islam is not so great without them. As if God would retreat into oblivion without their help and undying assistance.



In the name of Islam they would do things. And sometimes, in doing so, they smear the good name of Islam. They reduce God into a creature of hate, prejudice and intolerance. Why? Just look at the picture. (I am sorry for the language. But I have to publish it verbatim to make my point).



These people were apparently angry with DAP for insulting Islam (or what they perceived as DAP insulting Islam). And so these very good Muslims spent some money on banners and gathered to show their displeasure. All in the name of Allah and Islam of course. Very Islamic indeed.



On Friday, 28th August 2009, right after Friday prayers, it is now well known to the whole civilised world, that a group of people gathered in front of the mosque. They then carried a severed head of a cow – complete with blood and all – and walked all the way to the State Secretariat building.

Apparently, they were protesting against the Government’s plan to relocate a Hindu temple to their area, which according to them, is a Muslim-dominated area. That was the apparent reason. The real reason or motivation, we will never know, of course.



The who’s who of that group promised bloodshed if that plan is not changed. He said that the temple would disturb them and the noises from the temple would disturb their prayers, et cetera. They then stomped and spat on the cow head.



All in the name of Islam. In the name of Allah the Almighty, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Allah the Provider and the Giver. Isn’t Islam great? Isn’t Islam so wonderful that it has defenders ever ready to defend itself?



I have just one question for them. If all of you are so pious and God-fearing, how is it that some noises from a temple could disturb you and your prayers?



And what’s with the cow head? You spat on it. You stomped on it. What was the whole purpose? To revile and mock another faith? Well, don’t I have news for all of you.



God – and this our God, not any other God – says:

“And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds.” (Surah 21 ‘The Prophets’, verse 107. Translation by Shakir)



Our Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him – was sent as a mercy to the whole world. Not just to Muslims, to me or to you, but to the whole world.



And Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him -, in his last sermon, said:

“People, hear that your Lord is One, and that your father is one. You must know that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab, no non-Arab has superiority over an Arab, or a red man over a black man, or a black man over a red, except in terms of what each person has of piety. Have I delivered the message?”



Yes, all human beings are the same, regardless of whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims, Arab or non-Arab, Malay or Indian, section 23 residents or Kampung Buah Pala dwellers. The Prophet said so.



And as if to ensure that his followers had understood what he had just said, he ended that message by asking, “Have I delivered the message?”



Quite obviously, to some so called defenders of the faith – whose faith may be easily disturbed by some noises from some temples – the message has not been so clearly delivered.



And what about this:



“Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did.”

(Surah 6, “The Cattle” Verse 108. Translation by Yusuf Ali).



(Isn’t it an irony of sort that the above verse is from Surah Al-An’aam, which means “the Cattle”?).



Did you all read the Quran? God prohibits us, Muslims, from reviling others who do not believe in Allah. Lest they would, out of spite, revile Allah. And what were you doing with the cow head? If that was not reviling the Hindus, I do not know what is.



In fact, in all His wisdom, God had seen it fit even to defend some churches, monasteries and synagogues:

“They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right – (for no cause) except that they say, “our Lord is Allah”. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will).” (Surah 22, ‘The Pilgrimage’, Verse 40. Translation by Yusuf Ali).God creates all of us human beings. Of different colours and races. And also religions. Had He wanted all of us to be His followers, He could have.“If it had been thy Lord’s will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth! wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!” (Surah 10 ‘Jonah’, verse 99. Translation by Yusuf Ali).



That is His way. Because as oft said, there is no compulsion in Islam.



And what will be the punishment for all of you who marched last Friday, spat and stomped on the cow head, all in the name of our faith, Islam and our God, Allah? God bless you all. Because this is what the Prophet – whom I believe is also your Prophet – said:



“Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, curtails their rights, burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (by Abu Dawud)



Yes, you will get some personal attention from the Prophet himself on the day of judgment. Congratulations, guys.



It is interesting to note, what Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradawi said about these kind of people. Strange. Because while he was saying the following, he could have been talking about those people who were involved in that despicable act last Friday. This is what he said:



“A clear separating line should be drawn here between the teachings of Islam, which prohibit attacking non-Muslim places of worship, and the acts of some Muslims who possess a narrow-minded view of Islam.



Those people harm Islam and Muslims with their wrong behavior; as the threat they pose to Islam is much more than that of the enemies of Islam.



Along the same line, a traditional Arabic proverb reads, “A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend.”



The fanaticism we see in some certain people is often due to reasons that have nothing to do with religion, even if it takes the form of religion.



In fact, its reasons may turn out to be social, economic, or political, after thorough study. That is why we see it appearing in certain areas and not others; as some social circumstances and inherited traditions sow the seed of fanaticism and help it grow.



Therefore, it is unfair to accuse religion of being responsible for such fanatic acts.



To top it all off, that this wholly seditious act was done just after they performed the Friday prayer and in the holy month of Ramadan is an irony not missed by all Muslims and non-Muslims alike.Well

Am I?

I think I am, but fear keeps blocking it away from me, fear of being hurt again. I think it's time I get rid of the fear, seal it in a big envelope and throw it away, far far away. I can't remain in fear forever, it's time I come out and start loving truly again.

I think it's time I let fear go and start loving again...

Will you say it too, will you?

Muslims Protest

Read this people. News that isn't making it into mainstream media. Please, please spread this around. People need to know about this. The police didn't do anything much at all when these stupid people protested like barbarians. This is too much, fucked up situation.

Temple demo: Residents march with cow's head
Andrew Ong, MalaysiaKini
Aug 28, 09 3:52pm

Some 50 residents enraged with the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple to their area staged a noisy protest with a severed cow's head this afternoon.

The residents - from Section 23 in Shah Alam - who gathered after the Friday prayers, placed the head outside the gates of the state secretariat building for a short period before removing it.

"Where is Xavier? This head is for him," shouted one of the protesters in reference to Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar.

Jeyakumar is one of those in charge of non-Muslim affairs in the state.

Earlier, the protesters had marched some 300m from the state mosque to the state secretariat building.

The protesters also condemned Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, exco member Rodziah Ismail (as the area falls under her state constituency) and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.

Before dispersing, several protesters spat and stomped on the cow's head. The cow is considered sacred among Hindus.

Addressing the crowd, Section 23 action committee deputy chair Ibrahim Sabri said: "If there is blood, you (the state government) will be responsible if you are adamant about building the temple."

"This is a warning. Relocate the temple to Section 22. This cow is a present to the state government. This is a gift from us," he added.

The protesters also carried several banners which among others read 'Take Beer' (mocking PAS' rallying cry of 'Takbir') and 'Illegal temples are very small, but once relocated, they are as big as Putrajaya'.

The crowd gathered for about 15 minutes at the main entrance of the state secretariat building under the watch of more than a dozen police personnel.'We'll not budge an inch'

Speaking to reporters later, Action Committee chair Mahyuddin Manaf warned that the state government must give in or the residents would retaliate.

"We will not budge one inch, even if lives are lost or blood is made to flow. We will still defend Section 23 from having a temple built there," he said.

He added that a protest memorandum was forwarded to the state government two months ago but there has been no response.

On Aug 11, the state government announced that the relocation of the temple from Section 19 to Section 23 was final and will be situated 200m from the nearest house and 400m from a surau.

The temple will face an industrial lot and will be separated from the houses by a playground and a multi-purpose hall.

However, some residents felt that it was not appropriate to build a temple in a Muslim-majority area.

The Pakatan Rakyat state government accused rivals Umno of instigating the crowd to protest the relocation.

Jeyakumar to lodge police report

In an immediate reaction, a furious Jeyakumar described the protest as "unwarranted, unacceptable and without sensitivity towards other religions."

He also said that he will lodge a police report on the matter soon.

"These people should have ethics. They are inciting racial and religious hatred. I am going to lodge a police report against these people," he told Malaysiakini.

He also expressed disappointment towards the police personnel at the scene for not taking any action against the protesters.

"The police didn't stop anybody. The police should have arrested them and charged them for inciting hatred," he said, adding that he could tolerate with "ethical" demonstrations.


By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, Aug 28 — A group of Malay-Muslim protesters claiming to be residents of Section 23 have threatened bloodshed unless the state government stopped the construction of a Hindu Temple.

Amid chants of "Allahuakbar," the group also left the severed head of a cow at the entrance of the State Secretariat here as a warning to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The "residents" said that the construction of a Hindu temple in a 90 per cent Malay- Muslim neighbourhood was insensitive because activities there would disrupt their lives.

They claimed that the "noise" from the temple would disturb their own praying, and that they would not be able to function properly as Muslims.

The group of 50 over protestors marched shortly after Friday prayers from the Shah Alam State mosque to the State Secretariat.

“I challenge YB Khalid, YB Rodziah and Xavier Jeyakumar to go on with the temple construction. I guarantee bloodshed and racial tension will happen if this goes on, and the state will be held responsible,” shouted Ibrahim Haji Sabri amid strong chants of “Allahu Akbar!”

Ibrahim identified himself as the Deputy Chairman of the Resident’s Committee against the building of the temple in S23 here, which is perceived by some as being a Muslim majority area.

He told the press that the state should move the temple to Section 22 as ‘originally planned’, and also labelled Khalid a “traitor to the Malay race and Islam”.

It is understood that the protest is an immediate reaction towards the Selangor MB’s visit to the Hindu temple site yesterday, an act seen by the "residents" as disrespectful to the Muslims of the community.Mohd. Zurit Bin Ramli, who claims to be the secretary of the "Coalition of Malaysian NGOs" echoed Ibrahim’s stand on the matter, saying that it was irresponsible on the part of the state government to approve the construction as there was apparently a “90 per cent” majority Muslim population in Section 23.

“With a temple on our residential area, we cannot function properly as Muslims. The temple will disrupt our daily activities like prayers in the Surau. We cannot concentrate with the sounds coming from the temple,” stated Zurit.

When asked whether members of the protest were affiliated with any organisations or movements, Ibrahim claimed that the people present today were members of PAS, PKR as well as Umno who are “united in the name of Islam and the Malay spirit.”

The state government was also accused of lying to the people of Selangor.

The Chairman of the Residents Committee, Mahyuddin Manaf excitedly proclaimed that the committee would uncover “the lies” and find proof of the state’s misconduct.

“Khalid Ibrahim wears a mask of a Muslim, but in truth he is a liberal. PAS stands to lose out as a result. I voted for PAS as well as Khalid in the past elections,” Mahyuddin claimed.

The issue first cropped up when the Selangor government proposed that the Sri Mariamman temple be relocated from Section 19 to Section 23.

Legal Aid and Assistance to those Arrested in the Anti-ISA Protest on 1 August 2009

Bar Council Legal Aid Center lawyers' story on what happened during and after the Anti-ISA rally recently. Very interesting.
And I also can't help to feel happy when I see my name at the end. Eventhough I only helped with very few small things, I feel it's a good kick start, every small action can bring alot of changes.

For pictures and the original post, visit
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/bar_news/berita_badan_peguam/legal_aid_and_assistance_to_those_arrested_in_the_anti_isa_protest_on_1_august_2009.html


Legal Aid and Assistance to those Arrested in the Anti-ISA Protest on 1 August 2009
Thursday, 20 August 2009 05:19pm
Contributed by Ravinder Singh Dhaliwal, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and Stephanie Bastian


589 people including 44 juveniles were arrested on Saturday 1 August 2009 in connection with the anti ISA protests in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.

Two teams of lawyers from the Bar Council mobilised themselves to respond. The Human Rights Committee took charge of monitoring while the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur) formed an Urgent Arrest Team to provide legal aid and assistance to those who might get arrested.

News about the Arrests

As early as 6.30 am on that Saturday morning, volunteer lawyers of the Legal Aid Centre (LAC) had already gathered at the LAC office in Wisma Kraftangan. There were lawyers manning the Centre while others went on the ground along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Sogo areas and Masjid Jamek to monitor the situation.

The Centre received the first report of arrests at about 9.00 am. We also received reports that people were beaten up by the police and excessive force was used in the course of arrests even though those taking part in the assembly were not violent. In one incident, when one of the lawyers called on the police not to use excessive force the police shouted back, “if you want to talk about rights, you go to court, you lawyers all you know is rights, rights, rights!”

As the day progressed, more and more calls were coming in informing the lawyers about arrests taking place at the different hot spots. Some arrests even took place outside Wisma Kraftangan itself! A few of the volunteer lawyers were also tear-gassed and harassed by the police.

Sieving through the Information

The lawyers at the Centre began sieving through the information while trying to figure out the actual situation, especially where the detainees were being held. Where it was possible, lawyers asked the persons detained to confirm their whereabouts and advised them about their rights through the calls. They were also counseled to voice their requests to meet the lawyers and not to sign any statements without the presence of lawyers.

The information suggested that those detained were taken to a number of police stations including those on Jalan Campbell and Jalan Tun H S Lee, but it also seemed to suggest that everyone was being moved to the FRU PGA Complex in Cheras.

To clarify the situation, the lawyers attempted to contact various police stations including Bukit Aman and Cheras to confirm the arrests, determine the location of the detainees and notify the authorities that they would be acting for the detainess – without much success. Most police stations denied holding any detainees and the FRU PGA Complex could not be contacted.

In the end, it was decided that one of the lawyers would take a trip to the FRU PGA Complex, Cheras and to report back to the rest. He arrived at about 3.00 pm and was probably one of the first lawyers to arrive on the scene.

FRU PGA Complex – Extremely Uncooperative and Inaccessible

At the Cheras FRU PGA complex it was clear that hundreds of people were in police custody. This was evident from the truckloads of detainees being driven in. At this point, more lawyers had arrived but their efforts at gaining access to their clients proved difficult, as the police and the FRU Officers were extremely uncooperative. Lawyers were made to stand and wait outside the huge Complex and repeated requests to talk to an officer or person in charge to find out what was happening was a futile effort. There was an absolute lack of response from the officers manning the gate.

To make the problem worse, it was not clear if the Complex could be used as a detention centre. There appeared to be no police officer in charge, investigation officer or OCPD and the Complex became one huge inaccessible fortress.

Those police officers that we had to interact with just said ‘NO’ to every request or query. They did not even bother to invoke Section 28A (8) of the CPC as they normally do. A senior Officer told one of the lawyers “Don’t talk to me about the law, you lawyers know the law and all I know is this is a ‘kawasan larangan’ so you cannot go in”. They were uninterested in the law. It was just a case of “no” and “you can do what you want.”

Despite being at the Cheras FRU PGA Complex for close to 5 hours, and despite numerous attempts on our part we never managed to gain access to any of the persons being held here. It was clear that the police have scant regard for Article 5 of the Federal Constitution. In situation after situation they deny lawyers the right of access and continue to make a mockery of Section 28A (2) to (7) of the Criminal Procedure Code which specifically allows for such access.

At some point, buses began to leave the complex. It was not clear at this stage what was going on. Were detainees being released or merely being moved to different police stations? As has become standard police operating procedure in this country, the police never provide any information about what is going on! We asked but as usual we were met with a wall of silence.

Lawyers thus had no choice but to resort to chasing police buses on motorbikes to try and figure out what was going on. After several attempts, one of the lawyers finally caught up to one of the buses at the train station in Cheras. Detainees were being let off the bus here and the lawyer managed to speak to them. This was the first time that we were able to confirm that releases were taking place.

It baffles the mind as to why the police had to resort to such secrecy pertaining to their actions. If you are going to release someone – why not just say so. If you are going to remand someone – is it so difficult to inform the family and friends that a remand order is being sought and let them know where and when the remand hearing will take place?

There are a lot that needs to be done to reform the police force, but one immediate step that they could easily take (if they wanted to) would be to be more transparent. But old habits die hard and the lack of transparency and secrecy appear to have become part of Polis Di Raja Malaysia’s organisational culture.

Bukit Jalil Police Station – Interviewing Clients and Remand Hearing

While the lawyers were still at the Cheras FRU Complex, they began to receive reports that some of the persons detained were being held at the Bukit Jalil police station. Some lawyers remained at the Complex to monitor the situation while others began traveling to Bukit Jalil.

Another group of lawyers headed to Petaling police station upon hearing of the detention of three juveniles there. When they arrived at the Petaling station, they discovered that one of the three juveniles had already been remanded for four days.

The first volunteer lawyers arrived at Bukit Jalil at around 9.00 pm. They spoke to the OCPD and asked to see their clients. After waiting for almost 2 hours, they finally managed to see the IO, Inspector Buruwin. They repeatedly insisted on access and finally at about 11.00 pm the team began to interview about 40 persons who were being detained in Bukit Jalil police station. It was not certain if the remand would take place immediately and so the lawyers waited outside the police station till 2.00 am when they were informed that the remand hearing would only take place at 11am on Sunday (2 August).

The volunteer lawyers regrouped at the Bukit Jalil police station at 9.00 am on Sunday. Despite being told that the remand proceedings would take place at 11.00 am, the team wanted to turn up early since some of those detained on Saturday had been detained as early as 9.00 am on Saturday morning and there were concerns that the remand hearing might take place before the 24-hour deadline.

The remand hearing at Bukit Jalil began at around 12.00 noon on Sunday. The two juveniles who had been detained at Petaling police station were brought to Bukit Jalil in a van. Puan Naziah was the presiding magistrate and she began by hearing the remand applications in respect of the two juveniles. She ordered them both released.

She then proceeded to hear applications for remand in batches. She began with batches of three but towards the evening the batches got bigger with the last ones numbering 17 and 21. It was only during these proceedings that we learned that about 13 persons arrested early on Saturday morning had already been given remand orders. This remand hearing had apparently taken place at about 2.00 pm on Saturday afternoon when we were still at Wisma Kraftangan and the anti-ISA gathering was in full swing!

The 13 had apparently been arrested at about 3.30 am on Saturday morning. No lawyer was present at the proceeding and the majority of the 13 were remanded for four days. While the remand hearings were going on, 21 more persons who had been held overnight in the Brickfields police station arrived.

The remand hearing was a long drawn out process. By about 4.00 pm some of the volunteer lawyers were exhausted. Many of them had been at the Bukit Jalil police station until 3.00 am on Saturday night and then returned to Bukit Jalil at 9.00 am on Sunday morning. It had by now became clear that the remand hearings would run into the night. Following that, an SOS was sent out for reinforcements. By 6.00 pm more lawyers began arriving at the Bukit Jalil police station to assist.

The remand hearing finally came to an end at 9.15 pm – after almost 10 hours! The total number of persons whom the police sought to remand was 77. The police failed to get remand orders against 59 persons and over the course of 10 hours, 3 juveniles, 11 women and 45 men were released. There were cheers of joy and jubilation as those released met their friends and family outside the police gate. Over the course of the day, a total of 18 persons were remanded - 1 juvenile, 5 women and 12 men.

The final batch of lawyers came out of the police station at 9.30 pm to applause and shouts of “hidup peguam” from the crowd of family members and friends of the detainees.

Bail Application – Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court

On 3 August 2009 (Monday), 29 persons were brought to the Sessions Court and charged; 16 for being part of an illegal assembly and 13 others under the Societies Act for distributing T-shirts for an unregistered society (Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA or GMI).

The volunteer lawyers did the bail applications. The prosecution asked the Court to impose a bail of RM6,000 and a RM5,000 bond on the juvenile. The Court, however, after hearing arguments from the lawyers, fixed bail for each of the 28 at RM500 and allowed the juveniles to be released on a RM 300 bond.

The police then whisked off four of the women who had been offered bail in the Sessions Court to the Magistrates Court where they were charged for apparently not producing their ICs when arrested. Once again the lawyers conducted the bail application and bail was set at RM200 each.
Making a difference

The presence of lawyers at Bukit Jalil police station and the Court made a difference. At the remand hearings on Sunday in the Bukit Jalil police station, the police failed in three out of four cases to get a remand order. This failure rate is unprecedented. We remember all too well, previous situations of mass arrests – when almost everyone would get remanded. The maximum remand against the 18 was only two days - which meant that they had to either be charged on Monday or released.

The number of persons who were released at the remand hearings on Sunday stood in sharp contrast to the situation on Saturday afternoon when 13 unrepresented persons were remanded, the majority of them for the maximum of four days.

The lawyers who handled the bail application also did a good job by getting a bail as low as RM500. In previous situations of mass arrest, bail had sometimes been as high as RM2,000.

Thank you

The Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur) would like to thank all those who were part of the Urgent Arrest Team over the weekend and all those who responded to the SOS for more volunteer lawyers, chambering pupils, and staff of the Centre. Everyone played their part. Truly it was a wonderful team effort involving many people – some of whom gave their time and effort on short notice.

We laud them for sacrificing their time and energy over the arduous three days. From being with us at our Centre to monitor the arrests, to traveling to different police stations on Saturday to try and locate those detained, for going to Bukit Jalil police station to assist in the remand hearing and for turning up at the Court on Monday to help in the bail application.

Their combined efforts and commitments to the fundamental tenet that every one has the right to legal counsel made a real difference to the length of time that the detainees had to suffer in police custody.

We thank the following persons for assisting in one way or another. Their presence made a real difference to the lives of all those detained:

Ravi Nekoo, Ravinder Singh, Fadiah Nadwa, Saha Deva, Stephanie Bastian, Valen Khor, Harleen Kaur, Rajen Devaraj, Puspawati Rosman, Harvindar Singh, Rajesweri Paramesevam, Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin, Nik Waheeda, Farida Mohamad, Sasha Lyna, Murnie Hidayah, Farhana Abdul Halim, Syuhaini Safwan, N. Surendran, Latheefa Koya, Honey Tan, Pushpa Ratnam, Lim Chee Wee, Ragunath Kesavan, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Daniel Joseph Albert, Syahredzan B Johan, Jonson Chong, Patrick Dass, Lee Choi Wan, Chow Siew Lin, Steven Thiruneelakandan, Brian Jit Singh, Verghese Aaron Mathews, David Dinesh Mathew, Khaizan Sharizad (Sherrie), Rachel Vanuja Suppiah, Seira Sacha, Adiba Shareen, Soo Siew Mei, Lim Kar Mern, Joanna Loy, Ahmad Zamri B Asa’ad Khuzaimi, Zulqarnain B. Lukman, Azizzul Shariman B Mat Yusoff, Ariff Azami B Hussein, Zulhazmi B. Shariff, George Varughese, M Puravalen, Richard Wee, Chin Hsu Lin, Chin Oy Sim, Andrew Khoo, Bavanee Subramaniam, Sivamalar Genapathy, Elizabeth Anne, Jeevanathan Angappan, Sheena Manicam and Nalina Grace Nair.


[Ravinder Singh Dhaliwal is the Chairperson of the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (KL), Fadiah Nadwa Fikri is the Secretary and Stephanie Bastian is the Executive Director]

A Funny SMS

Soben forwarded an sms to me. It made me laugh out so damn loud..lol..read it, damn funny

HEIGHT OF POVERTY

Wife stitching husband's condom

HEIGHT OF INNOCENCE

A girl applying Clearsil to her nipples thinking they're pimples

HEIGHT OF AMBITION

An ant climbing on the leg of an elephant with a motive of rape

HEIGHT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

A spider web found in a prostitute's pussy

HEIGHT OF LAZINESS

Naked man sleeping on top of a naked woman expecting an earthquake to do the rest

HEIGHT OF PATIENCE

A guy standing in a queue to fuck his wife

BN's Stupid Move

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 – Nearly as soon as he filed his papers to contest the Permatang Pasir by-election yesterday, Umno candidate Rohaizat Othman ran into controversy.
Rohaizat, 38, was bombarded with questions from reporters after it became known that he was disbarred as a lawyer last year over allegations of fraud that implicated his law firm.
According to the Malaysian Bar website, he was disbarred on March 7 last year. This means that he cannot practise as a lawyer or appear before a court, but he is allowed practise syariah law.
According to Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan, Rohaizat was disbarred for violating Section 103D of the Legal Profession Act (1976), which covers misconduct by individual lawyers.
“The offence was for personal liability and does not involve any other persons, as Rohaizat was named by the complainant, and not his partner,” Kesavan explained.
“Rohaizat was disbarred on March 7 last year and he appealed against the Bar Council decision to the High Court, which also dismissed his appeal on Aug 12 this year,” he added.
Rohaizat’s case involved a complaint over the lack of accounting for monies from stakeholders of Koperasi Pekebun Getah. Kesavan said: “When the board looked into this matter and the order was made, there was no reimbursement to the stakeholders involving the sum of RM161,000.
“Even if you pay, the offence has been committed and it is a serious offence as this involves dealing with client’s money.
“If you are an innocent party, you would not be found guilty by the disciplinary committee and the charge levelled under Section 103D is tantamount to criminal misconduct,” explained Kesavan.
Kesavan elaborated that Rohaizat’s partner would only be hauled up if a complaint was lodged for negligence of the law firm but as far as Section 103D is concerned, the offence carried a personal liability.
It also does not preclude him from standing as an election candidate, but it is certainly not an advantage.
He and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) Penang commissioner Mohd Salleh Man,
52, were the only two who registered as candidates for the by-election on Aug 25.
The by-election for this state seat on mainland Penang was called after the previous PAS assemblyman died, making it the country’s eighth by-election since the general election took place in March last year.
The opposition will certainly capitalise on the controversy to illustrate their claim that Barisan Nasional (BN) is a patronage machine which disregards moral principles routinely.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed the scandal would not call into question the credibility of BN’s candidate, saying: “There is no controversy with regards to his candidacy as we have done our homework.
“As far as the law is concerned, he has been declared eligible to contest and we believe the voters will understand when we explain to them what actually happened.
“We have our ways of explaining to the voters, the opposition can do whatever character assassinations they want.
“We will expose all their lies and the rakyat can judge for themselves,” added Muhyiddin.
Penang Umno chief Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had informed the press on Sunday Rohaizat’s disbarment was due to a scandal which involved Rohaizat’s partner.
He insisted that Rohaizat was innocent of the alleged fraud in his firm.
“This is an issue of public perception. We will explain to the voters what really happened,” Ahmad Zahid said.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin told The Straits Times that it was Rohaizat’s business partner who was involved in the fraud and who dragged the entire firm into the mess.
He said Rohaizat had settled the problem after his partner disappeared.
Rohaizat, who graduated from the International Islamic University in 1995, has stopped practising law.
The controversy will be fodder for the opposition, which has the upper hand going into this contest.
This state seat is part of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat held by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
But the opposition is also on the defensive after nearly losing the most recent by-election in Kelantan last month. The PAS candidate won the Manek Urai seat – also a stronghold – by a mere 65 votes.
“In the aftermath of the Manek Urai state by-election and the steps taken to reform and change the country, the winds of change are beginning to blow and I think it has reached Permatang Pasir,” Muhyiddin said yesterday.
Political analysts are not as confident, although many believe that the BN may be able to slash the majority.
The Manek Urai by-election showed that internal bickering among parties can severely damage their electoral showing.
The opposition is also fending off accusations that it has sacrificed Malay interests to win support from the minority communities.
“It will be a test as to whether the attacks against the Pakatan will stick. It is significant as this is the power base of Anwar,” said law professor Abdul Aziz Bari.
Permatang Pasir is not as Malay-dominant as the Manek Urai. Of its 20,290 voters, about 72 per cent are Malays, 26 per cent Chinese and almost 2 per cent Indians. But the Malay votes are large enough to be visible, especially as the Chinese voters are expected to remain in favour of the opposition. The number of Indian voters is negligible.
The campaign kicked off yesterday with a noisy nomination process filled with the chanting of slogans, the waving of banners – and the wearing of face masks due to the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic.
There was a brief scuffle when police tussled with opposition MP N. Gobalakrishnan outside the nomination centre. The Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member had failed to heed two warnings by the police to stop using a loudspeaker to make provocative remarks. He was handcuffed and taken away. – The Straits

Couple

I'm sitting in my college's Communication & Information Technology Center (CITC). I was banging my head to my essential old school rock CD and now to local upcoming band Couple's CD. They're good, kinda Beatles-ish music, in English and Malay. Shahrin, Ojoe, Ariana and Aidil are the members of Couple. Their influences are the Beatles, the Beach Boys, The Who, The Raspberries, The Beat and Weezer.

From left, Ariana, Ojoe, Shahrin and Aidil

Their album, Teenage Disc Fantastic consists of three Malay songs and seven English songs, written by Aidil, who also produced the album. The CD costs only 15 Ringgits, very affordable. My favourite songs in this album are, C'mon Operator, Menarilah Hey and Hey Now. I also like the cover of the album, but it somehow reminds me of Madonna's Confessions On A Dance Floor album cover. Don't ask me why, aku pun tak tahu..haha. The lyrics of the songs are provided along with loads of pictures. The album has received good reviews as well.

The cover for the album

“A sexy monster unlike anything heard from these homegrown indie pop pioneers... bound to spark a dancefloor riot”
- The Star

“Overflows with a punky exuberance that recalls the mighty Buzzcocks at the height of their powers, with the melodic flair of Cheap Trick and The Raspberries”
- Koko Asia

Rolling Stones has named them one of their 25 best bands on MySpace.

Their songs have been featured in Kami The TV Series, Kami The Movie, Malaysian Gods, Remaja and also in the trailer and pilot episode of upcoming American web serie called Hemanzee.



They've also got exclusive albums in America and Japan.

“… honest to goodness sunshine pop… half an hour of pure, unadulterated, adrenalized powerpop”
- Power Of Pop

“A brilliant pop record, and by brilliant we mean bloody expletively brilliant”
- Think Online

“… ultra catchy songs… glorious…”
- New Sunday Times

“A collection of sinfully addictive tunes”
- The Star

Their MySpace page is full with information on their stuff. Go check it out at www.myspace.com/couple

Get their album! :D Support the local art scene. Cheers!

Nalina & Politics

Many of you think that only lately I have been very political and gosh, the amount of "advice" I got recently is huge.

I've got to correct what some people said to me.

1st of all, I have always been very political, always. Just that I've been quiet, only spoke of such matters to a few people.

The Introduction
I met Anwar Ibrahim when I was in kindergarten. We made a trip to the National Library and I cannot remember for what reason he was there, but anyway, he was there. I remember this very clearly. He was one of the friendliest people I met at that time. He was very gentle and always smiling. I remember shaking his hand. I remember sitting next to him while he read us a book, how privileged of me to sit next to him.
I went home with lots of questions to ask my dad regarding Anwar. Who is he? What does he do?
That was my first introduction to politics. I looked up to Anwar after that.

The Start
I think I was 11 or 12 when the whole Mahatir and Anwar feud was happening. I was interested to know what was happening between the both of them and started keeping myself updated by reading newspapers. That was were my interest in politics grew. I had to have my daily dosage of newspaper before starting my day. I stated reading about other things too. I used to spend so much time with newspapers till my dad had to stop me and get me to do something else.
I also asked my father alot of political questions at that time. Why does Mahatir not like Anwar? Did Mahatir frame Anwar up with the sodomy accusation? Yes, I had been already asking very controversial questions by that time and had made up my mind that the Government was up to no good at the age of 12.
Then came the General Election. Keadilan was newly formed. I followed the campaigns through the newspapers. Sometimes I wonder how did I managed to not be a supporter of BN despite only to have follow mainstream media which usually brainwashes the Rakyat to support the Government. I have to thank my dad for that, ho told me things the papers never did.
I was at that time, a huge supporter of Keadilan and told my parents that they must vote for Keadilan. Yeah, a 12 year old telling her parents that they must vote for Keadilan because it was the right thing to do. hehe
Also at the age of 12, I remember very clearly I was in my uncle's house. Everyone was there, my cousins, my aunties, uncles, mom and dad. I don't think anyone remembers this but me. My aunt asked me, Nalina, what do you want to be when you grow up? I answered, politician. Another aunt said, is that even an occupation? Do you know what did you said? You're only a young girl and you want to be a politician? I nodded and said yes.
So yeah, I was already pumped with political juices even before I could go to high school.

The Lost Times
After the latest General Elections, Hindraf rallies, Bersih rally and all that. I just felt so tired with how the damn Government and police was ruling the country. I was sick and tired of all of it. I decided to stop reading the first few pages of the newspaper, kinda stopped following local politics. It was like I gave up, no more hope for this country's political state. Kinda stoped talking about it too.

The Come Back
The news of Tan Beng Hock's death had really got me angry and pissed off. I couldn't it down and do nothing, let Beng Hock die in vain. Something had to be done, not only for Beng Hock, but also the rest who have died in police custody and to prevent future deaths in the hands of the police and now, the MACC as well.
My blog right before that was more to my personal life and music. It became political after the death of Beng Hock. I followed various political blogs as well.
One day, I came across a blog saying that there will be an anti-ISA rally on the 1st of August. I've always been only watching rallies through the media, mass and private. I was in front of my PC the whole day when Hindraf had their rally. This time, I thought to myself, no more sitting down, I have to stand up for myself now, we Rakyat have been silent for too long.
I made my way down to Masjid Jamek on that Saturday morning with my Black Baby (that's my DSLR camera's name..hehe). I some how ended up in the Bar Council Legal Aid Center a few hours later, helping with small things I could.
For my side of the story on what happened during the Anti-ISA rally on 1st Aug, Saturday and pictures as well, visit http://nalina-goddess.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-was-at-anti-isa-rally-saturday.html
It was an awesome feeling being able to help even if it was very small. felt like I helped made a very slight difference, a good start. So yeah, help from my side will be continued.

Okay. So now you know how and why I'm so into politics. It's been nurtured since I was a child.

Nalina, you are too young to be involved in all this lah.
Then? When is the right age? When I'm 50 and only have 10-20 more healthy years to make a difference? Why not start now?

You're whole life is gonna get ruined if you got arrested that day (1st August) or any other day.
That is what the Gov and the police want you to think. So that you won't get brave and go against them. For God's sake, don't let them intimidate you. Your life will not be ruined if you get arrested for no reason. Chill! As long as you know your rights and how to deal with the police, you should be okay.

But Nalina you're only a girl!
I swear if any more people come up and tell me that, I'll whack the daylights out of you. So what if I'm a girl. I'm gonna be frank here. Females have vaginas, males have penises, other than that, we are pretty much the same. And for goodness sake, women should have equal rights in everything, including politics! Seriously lah, please don't let me smack you for saying women shouldn't dwell in politics.

Why you even bother? It won't make any difference.
OMG! If you don't bother and I be like you and other people be like me, then ofcause lah no difference will be made. If I bother, you bother, she bother, he bother, they bother, we all bother, then it will make a difference lah. People's voice is very strong. If we all come together and say what we have to say, it would be a success. It's not going to be easy, it's going to be very tough but we MUST NOT sit and do nothing about what's happening. Get your arses up and make a change!

I don't want to talk to you in protest that you went to the rally and you could've got arrested.
Seriously, someone actually told me that, don't want to talk to me it seems, what a good friend. BITCH! Don't talk lah, takyah. At least I know I made a small difference and you didn't. So yeah, maybe you shouldn't talk.

Those are most of the negative responses I got. There has been positive ones as well I must say.

Good Nalina, you've got my support but just be safe.
Thank you, can never have more than enough support and it means alot to me.

Wah, you so brave ah!
Let's just say I'm sick of what's happening and i want to make a change, that's where I get my bravery from.

Next time you go for rally, call me also. I want to do something too.
Yes, yes! Please come for the rallies and show support. Very much appreciated. It'll make a difference. I'll love you for it. :D

Is there anything I can do to help?
Yes, there are many things you can do. If you have a blog, start blogging about what's happening, enlighten people on what's happening. You can even use Notes in FaceBook and tag people to get them to read it. Small things like that do help alot, it raises awareness among the Rakyat, which is a very important thing.

So there you have it, an understanding on why and what made me got interested in politics. I was inspired by one of Malaysia's biggest politicians when I was a young child.

Two Face Najib, by Tony Pua

Tony Pua was elected in March 2008, the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara under the Democratic Action Party (DAP). He is also the DAP National Publicity Secretary, as well as the investment liaison officer for the Penang Chief Minister based in the Klang Valley.

TWO FACE NAJIB
by Tony Pua
Monday, August 10, 2009
3.55PM
http://tonypua.blogspot.com/

When asked by the press on whether the recent articles in Utusan Malaysia was stirring up racial sentiments, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak who is allegedly promoting a "1Malaysia", called for "moderation" by "all parties".

But he continued to defend Utusan Malaysia by saying that "...we cannot just blame one party, because other parties might have caused uneasiness."

Who, may I ask is causing uneasiness? Or is Najib just trying to tell lies like Utusan Malaysia on non-existent, ficticious statements allegedly made by opposition leaders? As they say, by tell a lie often enough, UMNO hopes that the people will perceive it as the truth?

And Najib himself is propagating these lies by asking today that "pihak berkuasa menyiasat kandungan blog Ketua Pemuda Sosialis DAP, Loke Siew Fook, yang dikatakan menghina Islam," when Anthony Loke is a victim of a vicious fitnah attempt by UMNO bloggers and cyber-troopers.

Anthony has filed a police report on the post which claimed that he wrote a post "insulting" the Perak royal family, which is utter bunkum!

Of course, leaders with no integrity like Najib and Zahid makes no qualms about riding on these fake and false accusations to defame and discredit the DAP leaders.

I'm not just angry, I'm absolutely seething at these leaders absolute lack of morals and honesty.