The Straits Times Blogs - Carolyn Hong

1Malaysia, many meanings

2009-09-30T09:22:00Z

Carolyn Hong ponders Malaysia’s love for slogans.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

At the height of the 1Malaysia mania last month, I could have sipped a 1Malaysia coffee, while talking on my 1Malaysia phone as I headed to a 1Malaysia bank.

1Malaysia has invaded the country. Billboards now clutter the streets with the 1Malaysia logo.

Every so often, I'd spot a 1Malaysia tagline advertising coffee (instant coffee, at that), and have to endure the Salam 1Malaysia greeting over radio.

Former newspaper editor A. Kadir Jasin wrote in his blog that even Malaysia Airlines has added a 1 to its flight tag to become 1MH.

To top all that, there's now a 1Malaysia F1 team. A mischievous blogger joked that this will hopefully not be a case of '1Malaysia, 1Car, 1Lap'.

Malaysia's top comedians, Allan and Indi, have gleefully honoured it by dubbing their latest show 1Kind Show.

1Malaysia is a tagline created by the prime minister's media machinery as an overarching theme of his administration. It's a call to unity.

But despite its ubiquity, most Malaysians have no idea what it means.

There's no shortage of people to enlighten them, though.

The Chinese-based Democratic Action Party has equated it with its own Malaysian Malaysia slogan, ie. a country without racial privileges.

Minister in the PM's Department Jamil Khir Baharom has his own interpretation. While criticising a pop concert being held during Ramadan, he said his objection was made in the spirit of 1Malaysia.

More than mere silliness, this slogan is running the risk of becoming divisive as it's co-opted for a variety of agendas.

This has happened before. Former premier Abdullah Badawi’s Islam Hadhari (progressive Islam), too, became all things to all men.

Liberals saws it as sanction for their agenda, while the conservatives took it as an endorsement for their views.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's slogan fared better.

His 'Malaysia Boleh' (Malaysia Can) encouraged the overzealous to come up with the world’s longest popia or biggest kuih. But as it transcended race and religion, it did not become divisive.

As a political analyst friend noted, it didn't harp on racial and religious divisions. It focused instead on common goals.

But 1Malaysia may not have the same luck.

Non-Muslims join in the fasting

2009-09-19T08:16:00Z

Carolyn Hong notices many non-Muslims joining in the Ramadan fast this year.

In KUALA LUMPUR

I'VE never fasted before, but have always been fascinated by the practice of fasting for Ramadan by Muslims.

I've been listening to my friends' conversations about discipline, food, and types of food that should be eaten at sahur (the predawn meal).

'Try it,' a friend suggested as we chatted over iftar (breaking of fast) last week.

It sounded like a good idea, especially as I had been accepting invites to iftar nearly everyday. My calorie intake would have been horrific, if I dared to keep track.

I fasted for a day last Thursday. Not a full Muslim fast, though. I drank water. It was hard, yes, but my friends were right. Discipline is sharpened, and when you have conquered hunger, you can also conquer other weaknesses like unkindness. I can't say I did too well on that score though!

This year, for some reason, many non-Muslim Malaysians had joined in the Ramadan fast. I know scores of friends who had done so.

Most of them say it's about wanting to empathise. It's perhaps a reaction to the poisonous political atmosphere which had pitted the races against each other in recent months.

A church pastor Sivin Kit, who organised a Fast for Malaysia day on Sept 16, said he felt the 800-plus who signed up for the event did so, precisely for this reason. They were from all races and faiths, including Muslims.

'The ugly political climate had galvanised the silent to step up,' he said.

This event was held after soon after the protest where a group of Malays had stomped on a cow's head – an animal sacred to the Hindus – to protest the building of a temple in their neighbourhood. Six of them have been charged with sedition.

Someone asked me how the Muslims felt about the non-Muslim initiative. From what my friends tell me, they appreciate it!

Selamat Hari Raya to all.

Politician turns actor

2009-09-11T07:14:00Z

Carolyn Hong watches as Khairy Jamaluddin becomes a cab driver.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

LOVE him, or hate him; it doesn't matter. Malaysians are terribly curious about him.

When a short film starring Khairy Jamaluddin was released two days ago, the website it was on crashed within minutes from the sudden onslaught of hordes of people logging on to watch it.

Khairy, the Umno Youth chief and controversial son-in-law of former premier Abdullah Badawi, has a starring role in the 7-minute film titled Meter.

Click here to see Meter

He plays a taxi driver who spouts alarmingly vicious opinions, to the bemusement of his passengers. Malaysians will recognise the 'passengers', and a rival cabbie played by model Amber Chia.

Meter is a story of Malaysians who say one thing, and do another. Armchair critics, lah.

Khairy, 33, is liked and disliked in equal measure. As a politician, the verdict is mixed. As an actor, he's pretty good!

Meter is among the 15 short films, each four to seven minutes long, released to celebrate Malaysia’s 52nd independence.

These films are soul-searching, and are as far from feel-good propaganda as can be.

Some poke fun at Malaysians (like Meter), others are reflective or dark. There is one made by the late famed director Yasmin Ahmad (Chocolate), and another one in which she has a cameo (House).

You can watch them all on 15malaysia.com.

Political munchies in Malaysia

2009-08-31T22:50:00Z

Carolyn Hong eats nasi nyonya under the watchful eye of Lim Guan Eng.

KUALA LUMPUR

WARNING - Eat here only if you are a fan of, or at the very least, are indifferent to opposition politics. Because if you do, you'll have a giant poster of the Democratic Action Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng watching over you.

For that matter, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, too.

Welcome to the Rocket United Café in Petaling Jaya, the first café affiliated to the DAP. The rocket is the DAP's symbol.

'Jom, Ubah!': Enjoy your meal with a touch of political spice.
PHOTO: Carolyn Hong

As much about politics as it is about food, the cafe is partly owned by the DAP, or as the menu says, "licensed by the DAP". Members get a 10 per cent discount.

Walk in, and be greeted by a massive poster of Mr Lim and Mr Anwar acknowledging a ceramah crowd, with the opposition slogan "Jom, Ubah!" (Just Change it!) emblazoned on it.

Flip open the menu, and a photo of Mr Lim in handcuffs stares up at you as you peruse the offerings of nasi lemak, Sarawak laksa, char kuey tiaw, and more.

Mr Lim, now the Penang Chief Minister, was jailed in 1998 for sedition after he made certain allegations in relation to the case of an underaged girl who was said to have had an affair with a prominent Umno leader.

While deciding on the choice of coffee, you can read about DAP's history as a spin-off party of Singapore's PAP.

After eating, browse the rack of DAP merchandise from button badges to pens to books, and the party's newspaper Rocket. And if you have not registered yet as a voter, ask the cashier for help.

This must be first political café in town.

Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad opened his Loaf café in Langkawi and KL some years ago, but that has nothing to do with politics at all. Actually, if you didn’t know that Dr Mahathir owned it, the only clue would be his favourite foods on the menu, if you knew what those were.

Politics is so much a part of Malaysian life that there is hardly any sphere that politics hasn’t got its toehold in. So why not food?

It is certainly innovative, tapping into the thirst for politics that grew after the 2008 general election turned everything topsy turvy.

Oh yes, I almost forgot! The food at United Rocket Café? It consists of a wide range of Malaysian hawker favourites, and they were actually quite good.

Pretty inexpensive for Petaling Jaya, too. What will they think of next?

United Rocket Café is located along Jalan SS2/63, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

H1N1 paranoia or practicality?

2009-08-17T08:08:00Z

Carolyn Hong wonders if her sore throat warrants a visit to the doctor in the face of H1n1.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

WHEN my throat started to itch on Sunday, I actually toyed with the idea of going to the doctor. I was feeling a tad paranoid about the Influenza A (H1N1) epidemic as there seems to be a sudden spate of flu-related deaths in Malaysia.

The number is up to 64 now, with two or three new cases a day.

I didn’t go to the doctor after all. The sore throat vanished by the morning, and I guess I was instead infected by the low-level fear (or awareness, if you want to take a positive view) of H1N1.

In recent weeks, more and more Malaysians are walking around with face masks.

Two weeks ago, at a 20,000-strong street demonstration against the Internal Security Act, I was nearly stampeded by hundreds of mask-wearing protestors. They were at a higher risk of being tear-gassed, but took precautions against swine flu.

On Monday, top Barisan Nasional leaders including deputy premier Muhyiddin Yassin wore masks to the nomination of candidates for the Permatang Pasir by-election.

Many parents are so fearful that they rush their young children to hospital at the first sign of a spiked temperature, and want the government to close schools for a spell. At the moment, schools are only being closed on a case-by-case basis.

The fear is understandable. Bombarded by so much news, it’s hard to make sense of the seriousness of the epidemic in Malaysia, and whether it is likely to get worse.

It is not helped by scary newspaper headlines claiming that up to 5 million Malaysians may catch the virus (that’s 20 per cent of the population!).

A doctor (and Gerakan politician) Hsu Dar Ren tried to give a coherent explanation on his blog. He said that most of the flu cases now are H1N1, with the vast majority showing mild symptoms. But these don’t get always get detected.

But because they go uncounted, the mortality rate seemed extraordinarily high.

On Sunday, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai confirmed it. He said the number of actual cases would be about 20 times that of confirmed cases. That would make it about 80,000 cases in Malaysia, so far.

Most of the deaths were due to complications of underlying diseases.

That sounds less alarming now, but the authorities should have spoken up much earlier. The fear is already causing people to swamp hospitals with 900 to 1,000 coming in daily with flu symptoms. Waiting time is four hours at some hospitals.

Still, it's better than being lackadaisical or expecting the government to magically block the virus from our borders. On the positive side, Malaysians are waking up to the need for better personal hygiene as basic steps like washing hands are often not observed. Now, I’m seeing people scrub their hands as if they are preparing to conduct a surgery.

Meanwhile, I’m noticing a hint of a scratchy throat again. To the doctor?

Gassed, chased and blasted

2009-08-02T09:58:00Z

Carolyn Hong caught a ride from the anti-ISA street demo with a protestor.

IN MALAYSIA

A TAXI driver was my saviour on Saturday afternoon. He had come to join the massive anti-ISA rally in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, but stopped to pick me up instead as I flagged him down on Jalan Sultan Ismail. Ah,
thank God.

I had inhaled enough teargas and noxious fumes by then, and my feet were blistered from running from the stampeding crowd. The protest was running out of steam, and would end soon.

Like many, I had been ‘chased’ down the road and ended up at the light rail transit station opposite the Sime Darby building on Jalan Sultan Ismail. But it was closed.

The air was thick with choking fumes, and we were stranded. A railing barred us from the busy road but hitching up my skirt in the most unladylike fashion, I clambered over it. The cabby came along minutes
later.

It was a long drive along jammed roads into Bangsar where I left my car, and I listened to him talk about why he supported the protest.

It was about the ISA, yes, – but much more than that too; it was also about the overwhelming imbalance of power without checks. The sense of helplessness against governmental power.

The rally was organised by the Anti-ISA movement against the Internal Security Act which allows for detention without trial, indefinitely. The ISA has become seen here as a tool to suppress political dissent,
as well as to hold suspected terrorists.

The protest drew 15,000 to 20,000 people, and was supported by the opposition.

The cabby wasn’t interested in terrorists or the opposition’s lack of a coherent policy on this. (The opposition seems to be using the anti-ISA cause as a rallying cry, rather than with any real policies on national security.)

He saw the ISA as the symbol of excessive power against the people.

The endless shots of teargas and repeated blasts of water cannons chasing people down the street merely reinforced this belief.

And when Barisan Nasional supporters ask why people blame the police, and not the protestors, for the chaos in the city centre, that's the answer.

People see it as an overwhelming imbalance in power, and the protestors as victims of oppression.

The government really needs to find a new response to street demos, rather than reacting with teargas and water cannons. Perhaps, they could even think of allowing some demonstrations with police supervision.

After all, as Prime Minister Najib Razak said, the government is already in the process of reviewing the ISA. The protestors and the government, it would appear, are on the same page on the ISA.

BN's bold new (virtual) universe

2009-07-10T09:57:00Z

Carolyn Hong exchanges tweets with a couple of Barisan Nasional politicians.

In KUALA LUMPUR

WHEN I first spotted (and voted) in the poll on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s blog on Thursday afternoon, there were only a few hundred votes.

By the evening, it had shot up to over 10,000. Twenty-four hours later, it was over 35,000 and counting. Every few minutes, a couple of hundred votes are added.

The poll asked readers to vote whether they agreed with the Malaysian government’s decision to switch the language of instruction for Math and Science back to Bahasa Malaysia and the vernacular languages. It is now in English.

More than 80% voted against the move.

Dr Mahathir had uploaded the poll, saying "Seems to me like the Government is not listening to the voice of the people. Perhaps a blog poll might enlighten the Government as to the opinions of the people."

Online polls are not new, of course, but they are new to BN politicians who tend to view the new media with suspicion. It’s still new to many of them, and they are also unused to the clamour of dissenting views.

But they have been forced to change by the new political climate.

In recent weeks, some BN politicians have even begun interacting with the public through the Internet, going one step further than their opposition counterparts who have had a long headstart in this area.

On the same day that Dr Mahathir uploaded his poll, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin took part in a live Internet chat hosted by the New Straits Times. It was short – just half an hour – but this is the first time I recall such a senior Minister doing so.

Mr Muhyiddin is the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister.

Other BN politicians who have taken part in the NST’s live chat include the Malaysian Indian Congress president S. Samy Vellu who even gamely answered questions about his hairdo.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has been tirelessly Twittering away to explain the switch in the education policy, and has responded to scores of comments from his ‘followers’.

It’s a new world, and on Thursday, after a breathless string of tweets posted during a break in campaigning in a by-election in rural Kelantan, Mr Khairy mused: "Updating Twits esp debate on #PPSMI in car from Laloh to Manek Urai Lama. 2 universes. Deep, rural heartland & deep, profound Twitterverse."

Mr Khairy and the Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik have also held live chats on their facebook profiles, although the volume of comments tends to overwhelm them.

Today, Prime Minister Najib Razak uploaded three videos on his blog where he replied to questions about his first 100 days, the environment, and his plan for key performance indicators for his Cabinet.

Truth be told, these were not terribly exciting – and Mr Najib’s tweets are more pedestrian. Today's example: 5.00pm - Appointments.

But it is an astounding change from a year ago when the BN barely seemed to notice that the Internet existed.

Tackle the basics first

2009-06-13T05:04:00Z

Carolyn Hong on how M'sia is yet again grappling with its English education.

In KUALA LUMPUR

MANY years ago, I met an English-language teacher from a school on Pangkor island, and it stunned me to hear that she had failed one of the national English exams.

It was an optional English paper, equivalent to the GCE O-Levels English exam, which was offered as part of the school-leaving exam called the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

Pangkor island, off the coast of Perak, is rural with mostly fishing villages, and its teachers were not the best.

This left me with a deep sympathy for rural kids and their struggle to learn English. And I do understand why they and their parents are so resistant to the government’s attempts give greater importance to English in the Malaysian school system.

This problem resurfaced yet again this week after the Education Ministry asked for feedback on a proposal to make English a mandatory pass in the SPM.

While many academics and politicians support it, The Star reported that the majority of the 500 parents who rang the Ministry were stoutly against it.

Students never had to pass English before to obtain the school-leaving certificate but they must pass Bahasa Malaysia. According to Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the pass rate for English is around 70 per cent.

Besides this proposal, the government is also reviewing the controversial policy to teach Mathematics and Science in English. It will decide in a week or two whether to continue, scrap or modify the policy.

The policy is intended to familiarise students with technical terms in English to prepare them for higher education, but there has been a strong backlash.

It’s not hard to understand why. Part of the reason is the simple fact that rural kids will lose out. With the lack of resources in their schools, the students simply have no means to learn enough English to pass the subject.

If they fail, they will also fail the entire exam if a pass in English is made compulsory. This leaves them with barely any job options as the SPM is about the minimum required by many employers.

(The other source of resistance to greater English use comes from language nationalists who fear a dilution of the mother tongue.)

This is a political minefield for the Barisan Nasional government as the rural constituencies remain its strongest political base. At a time when the BN is severely weakened, it will be even less willing to take risks.

The opposition – in particular Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Parti Keadilan Rakyat – is also against the use of English to teach Math and Science, but has not disclosed its position on making English a compulsory pass.

The BN will have to tread carefully, but at the same time, it needs to do something drastic to raise the standard of English which has fallen to dismal levels. Horror stories abound about how school-leavers and graduates struggle to speak even simple English.

It could find it easier if it did things the right way round – ensure that there are competent teachers and adequate resources – before imposing a mandatory pass. A good part of the resistance will melt away.

Anyhow, is there really a need for 'passing' or 'failing' the SPM?

Perhaps, the exam cert would serve its purpose better if it listed all subjects taken along with the grade obtained.

It would be for the universities, scholarship foundations and employers to decide if the school-leaver meets their requirements.

That raises the other question, of course – does the SPM meet the standards of a credible school-leaving exam? That’s another issue. So many issues!

Malaysia manufacturing by-elections?

2009-05-05T07:31:00Z

Carolyn Hong doesn’t think so but says that Malaysians are getting worn out.

In Kuala Lumpur

SEVEN by-elections in 14 months is excessive, by any standard, and some Malaysians seem to be getting suspicious.

Are the by-elections being manufactured to keep the opposition winning streak going? The opposition had won four out of the last five. Each time, it seemed like another nail in the coffin for the Barisan Nasional.

The sixth will be held on May 31, and a seventh became a possibility after an opposition MP declared his intention to quit.

In the last electoral term from 2004 to 2008, there were just six by-elections in four years.

Three of the earlier by-elections were clearly legit, since their MPs or state assemblymen had died. But another three were caused by resignations of the incumbent – all three from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the party of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The first was caused by his wife who resigned her Permatang Pauh seat to allow Mr Anwar to contest, the second by a state assemblyman in Kedah who was accused of bigamy, and the third by an assemblyman in Penang who was being investigated for graft.

The seventh by-election looms after the Kota Alam Shah MP M. Manoharan, who is in detention under the Internal Security Act, said he might want to resign.

His message was conveyed through his wife, but he will only decide after meeting his Democratic Action Party’s top leadership mid May.

It could be a cry for help from his wife who is managing his political work, or to put pressure on the government to release him from detention. He was among the five Hindu Rights Action Force leaders who were arrested for leading thousands of Indians onto the streets to demand help for their community.

Two have since been released.

Or it could, as some analysts speculate, be Mr Anwar’s strategy to keep creating by-elections to distract the Barisan Nasional, and to keep up the momentum of a winning opposition streak.

Conspiracy theory? The country is full of them.

Analyst Prof Mustafa Ishak from the International Islamic University was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying that he believed that four or five more by-elections have been lined up by Mr Anwar.

“Anwar has decided on the by-elections. He has decided where these should be held, his battle plans and the effects of the by-elections,” he said.

That could be stretching it. A by-election takes a heavy toll on any political party’s coffers, and its energy reserves. And it’s a rather transparent strategy, if at all it is one.

Still, the spate of resignations timed one after another is taxing.

The BN may turn the tables on the opposition this time by refusing to contest in the Penanti by-election on May 31st.

An independent-minded opposition MP from Penang, Mr Jeff Ooi, remarked that although he personally wanted to help crush UMNO, he realised that people were tiring of by-elections.

He noted in an entry in his blog that none of the outcomes of the by-elections could change the political representation at the national level.

“By-elections are justified if God so decides to recall any of the elected YBs to his side. But by-elections cannot be justified if they were to be manipulated to fulfill non-taxpayers’ agenda of finding solutions to intra-party problems.

“Unjustifiable by-elections are a betrayal to voters and akin to raping democracy and the democratic process and I deplore that,” he wrote.

Many will agree.

Mushrooming in Malaysian courts

2009-03-17T05:56:00Z

Carolyn Hong wonders if more litigation is the best way forward.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

There are two giant banners hung prominently in front of the huge Kuala Lumpur court complex, off Jalan Duta.

Buat Kerja – Do Your Work.

It caused some outrage and amusement when they first went up about a year ago. Surely, judges are not children who need to be told. Neither is their support staff.

But oh well, their workload has increased tremendously, thanks to the political upheavals in the last year. I’ve lost track of the cases, and it’s safe to say that most Malaysians have.

Cases arising from the toppling of the Perak state government last month have flooded the courts. They seem to be multiplying every few days, with new offshoots growing all the time.

The old opposition Pakatan Rakyat government has filed various suits on the take-over, while the new Barisan Nasional government has filed their own.

Arising from there, eight people have been charged with insulting the Sultan of Perak over his decision to install the BN government.

Today, veteran opposition politician Karpal Singh was charged with sedition for threatening to sue the Sultan.

There are a mind-boggling number of other defamation suits, as well as criminal defamation and illegal assembly cases in court involving bloggers and politicians.

On the one hand, political disputes are not immune from the law. Politicians are subject to the law. And the court is supposed to be a neutral party to deal with disputes of all kinds, purely on the law.

That is the theory anyhow. It’s intended to take politics out of the equation, and perhaps to defuse political tensions by having a neutral party arbitrate.

But at the same time, there’s no escaping the political nature of these cases. They are about politics. And like it or not, there are political considerations and implications.

The best political outcome – and when I say the best, I mean the best for the Malaysian people – may not be a purely legal one. Will it chart a way forward for a better Malaysia?

There is a serious leadership vacuum in Malaysia. It is locked in a messy political impasse, as the economy threatens to go into a tailspin. It’s not entirely clear if the court system can provide the best solution.

Budget offers cold comfort

2009-03-11T06:27:00Z

Carolyn Hong discovers that ordinary M’sians are fearful of the future.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

"WHAT’S in it for me?" many ordinary Malaysians were asking yesterday, as they scoured the mini-budget for goodies that would directly benefit them.

As the economy flails, many Malaysians fear losing their jobs or facing wage cuts and being unable to make ends meet. They didn't take much comfort from the RM60 billion stimulus package tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

The package offered assistance for retrenched workers and the unemployed, and goodies in the form of scholarships, rebate for car purchases, and tax incentives for house buyers.

But there were no measures to put money directly in the hands of the ordinary Malaysian who may still have jobs but an unsteady income.

Their apprehension came through in a wide range of interviews carried in the local media yesterday.

Mrs Anjalai Devi, 36, was quoted by NST as saying that she was worried about the unstable income of her family. She and her husband have a combined income of RM2,000 a month, but it is not steady. He is a contract worker while she is a tuition teacher.

She hoped that he would be able to be retrained, but the mini-budget only has provision for retrenched workers and unemployed graduates.

Mr Joseph Timmiah, 41, a cleaner, and his wife, also a cleaner, earn a combined income of RM1,400 a month. They live in a council flat for free.

He is happy that the government is offering a RM5,000 rebate for old cars as he has a very old Proton that breaks down often, but prefers help to buy a house.

Mrs Saemah Mohammad, 67, who earns about RM70 a month selling food and kuih in Johor Baru, told the Star that she hopes the government will help her. She has to support three of her five grown-up children, two of whom are disabled and one ill.

Mrs Vonica Khoo, 44, a housewife who lives in a middle-class neighbourhood in Petaling Jaya, was quoted by the NST as saying that it does not offer a helping hand for the middle class.

"It somehow does not address the needs of the entire cross-section of the Malaysian society, which is not only made up of the poor and low-income and those who have lost their jobs, but also the middle-income group which is one of the main drivers of the economy," she said.

But Mrs Khoo, who has two teenage children, hopes that the assistance for the retrenched will help keep society stable and the crime rate down.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations secretary-general Muhammad Shaani Abdullah sums it up by saying that the government has offered some breathing space. But the people still didn’t have enough to spend.

"At the end of the day, the people will still find it hard to make ends meet," he said.

The tree of democracy

2009-03-06T06:52:00Z

Carolyn Hong sits under Ipoh's most famous tree.

IN IPOH

ONCE upon a time, it was just another tree at a road junction in Ipoh. Today, the curious locals are posing for photographs beneath the ‘Democracy Tree’ and there isn’t a tree more famous than this one near the Ipoh State Secretariat.

It was the one under which the 28 assemblymen of the ousted government of Perak held their assembly "sitting" last Tuesday. They were barred from entering the state assembly hall about 200 metres away.

After a brief stand-off with police and their water cannon, they decided to hold their meeting under the tree. Over 15 minutes, three motions were tabled and passed – all three aimed at dislodging the new Barisan Nasional government that was installed after defections left the Pakatan Rakyat with fewer seats.

The tree came in useful. A TV cameraman, frustrated at being kept at bay by belligerent opposition supporters, climbed up its branches to get a vantage point. He stole the show when it looked like he was on the verge of losing his balance. But all went well.

This tree has a romantic story attached to it too, according to the China Press daily. It said a local Indian boy meets his ex-girlfriend's brother there once a month for news about her, and to give money to her. She lives nearby.

He waits under the tree while the brother goes to talk to his sister, and comes back with news. This has been going on for a year.

This was the first, and probably the last, under-the-tree assembly – dubbed the Tree House by the New Straits Times, and a shady meeting by some others.

The Ipoh High Court has issued an injunction to prevent further such meetings.
But this won’t be the last of the sittings. Under the state constitution, the state assembly must be convened every six months.

The last sitting was in November last year. Mid May is the deadline.

Expect another showdown. Despite the BN's hopes of a quick settlement, the opposition is determined to keep the flames alive. Analysts have warned that the state will be highly unstable for months, perhaps even more unstable than the previous PR government.

Increasingly, it appears that fresh polls are the only way to resolve the impasse that has already spawned an uncountable number of law suits.

Meanwhile, the tree has been identified as a rain tree after debate raged for a few days. The Sin Chew Daily called it a yellow flame tree while The Star said it was a raintree.

Yesterday, the China Press quoted an expert from the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia as confirming that it's a rain tree (samanea saman).

A man of principles

2009-02-27T08:36:00Z

Carolyn Hong says MP Karpal Singh should continue to court controversy

IN KUALA LUMPUR

NO ONE could accuse the Malaysian Parliament of being boring. With MPs going at each other almost everyday, the din in the august House can be quite deafening at times.

But scuffles were unheard of until Thursday, when a minor one broke out outside the hall when Umno Youth members confronted Mr Karpal Singh, a feisty opposition MP.

Mr Karpal, 69, who is in a wheelchair, enraged them when he accused Umno Youth of sending him bullets in the mail.

“Singh is King,” Mr Karpal said, playing on the title of a new Bollywood movie to declare that he would not be cowed.

The Umno Youth took umbrage, and about 20 of them confronted him asking for an apology. A scuffle broke out when other opposition MPs came to his assistance.
Mr Karpal has been in the centre of controversy since Barisan Nasional toppled the opposition government in Perak earlier this month.

He threatened to sue the Sultan of Perak for installing a new BN government, sparking an uproar and almost 100 police reports have been lodged against him.

The police have forwarded the papers to the Attorney-General’s office to decide if he should be prosecuted.

Mr Karpal is no stranger to Malaysian politics or the law, or controversy. He is a prominent lawyer who handles mainly criminal cases and is as fearless in court as he is in Parliament.

His reputation for being larger than life, earned him the nickname "Tiger of Jelutong" after his constituency in Penang. He is now MP for another constituency, Bukit Gelugor, also in Penang.

He has been wheelchair-bound since 2005 after a motor accident in Penang.

Such is his fame that the bank manager whose car crashed into Mr Karpal’s taxi reportedly cried out “What have I done, I hit the Tiger of Jelutong!” when he realised that it was the MP in the taxi.

Two of Mr Karpal’s sons are now also in politics. Mr Gobind Singh is an MP in Selangor, while Mr Jagdeep Singh is an assemblyman in Penang.

Mr Karpal is the national chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, and is a true veteran of the party. But he often clashes with it on crucial issues, notably his stands on the Islamic state and party-hopping.

It is no secret that his party colleagues are sometimes dismayed at his outspokenness and he is often left without supporters.

As the opposition tries to keep a united front, it is clear that some among them would prefer Mr Karpal to tone down his outspokenness. But that is unlikely to happen.

In a way his independence benefits the opposition. His unwavering position has earned him respect as a man of principles and could help the opposition avoid the tempting trap of political expediency.

Bitten by the travel bug

2009-02-19T08:28:00Z

Carolyn Hong finds out why some M'sians are still holidaying this recession.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

BUFFETED by endless political crises and dreary economic news, some Malaysians are seeing holidays as a much-needed respite despite having to tighten the belt.

Hard times or no, both Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have both reported a sharp spike in bookings during their travel promotions this month.

This comes amidst a stream of gloomy news as government data shows manufacturing sales sinking 21 per cent in December from a year earlier, exports down 15 per cent, and imports sliding 23 per cent.

Malaysia Airlines, which held a 10-day sale, said its online bookings tripled. It said the response has been "overwhelming" although it did not provide the exact number of sales.

The top five destinations are Sydney, Melbourne, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

AirAsia, which held a 500,000 free seats promotion, said it sold 279,000 seats on last Tuesday alone, its highest ever in a single day. About 40 per cent of these came from the promotion.

Times may be hard, but some travelers say they need the holiday to keep sane.

A political aide, who does not want to be named (for obvious reasons!) said he recently booked a trip to two-week trip to New Zealand in May because "I need a break from the crazy politics of this country."

"I need to get away, somewhere, anywere, it doesn't matter," he said.

He felt that it would be money well spent, especially as fares are cheaper than last year.

The competition between Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia has driven prices down, while fuel surcharges have also been scrapped or lowered as global oil prices plunged.

"It seems like a bargain to fly nowadays so it is very tempting to go on holidays all the time," said executive Ms Sarah Hussin, 32, who is going to Australia soon, and London in a few months. This is besides the short weekend hops to nearby destinations.

Travelling with her husband and young daughter, she said she hasn't really been affected by the economy, and felt that she should travel while she could.

"I may regret it later but I think I can still afford to treat myself for now," she said.

The travel bug is still biting, it seems.

Telling fact from rumour

2009-02-13T09:07:00Z

Carolyn Hong relates how it's now difficult to do so in Malaysia.

In Kuala Lumpur

THE toppling of the Perak government 10 days ago has spooked Malaysian politicians so much that they are seeing shadows in every corner.

Rumours are so rife that they have become impossible to sort from fact. Any MP or assemblyman who can't be contacted immediately becomes a target of rumour.

This is, of course, because defections are necessarily a secret business.

From the experience of Perak, an MP or assemblyman's "disappearance" is the first alarm bell.

On Thursday, it was the Port Klang assemblyman Badrul Hisham Abdullah, from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), who had to call a press conference to explain that he had not defected.

"The allegations are not true and fabricated by the opposition to create chaos within the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor," he said.

Mr Badrul, 49, had been named by a TV station and online news portal as having gone missing due to domestic problems. They also claimed that he had been marginalised in the Selangor state government and only given minor duties.

He was said to be ready to defect to Umno.

But he denied all these. Accompanied by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's right-hand man Azmin Ali, he said it was a "technical problem" that he had reportedly not turned up at his service centre for a long time.

Mr Azmin also denied that Kulim assemblyman Lim Soo Nee, from PKR, will defect.

These rumours had sent scores of reporters waiting patiently outside the house of Selangor chief minister Khalid Ibrahim on Thursday night, as he held a meeting with his assemblymen.

The Pakatan Rakyat has 36 assemblymen to the Barisan Nasional's 20 in Selangor. This large majority of 16 makes it hard for Selangor to change hands. At least eight assemblymen must cross, and that's a very large number.

Besides Selangor, the PR also held Perak (which fell after four assemblymen defected), Kedah (eight-seat majority), Penang (18-seat majority), and Kelantan (33-seat majority).

Kedah is the riskiest because of its relatively small majority that would take four defectors to break. One of the PKR assemblymen V. Arumugam also resigned suddenly (and has since "disappeared"), prompting a by-election that will be held on April 7. Mr Arumugam, who is battling allegations of bigamy, claimed he had been threatened to get him to defect.

The fever had also spread to Negri Sembilan where the BN holds a six-seat majority, forcing its leaders to deny any potential defections.

Many analysts have pointed out that the defectors or potential defectors appear to be largely from the PKR. This is not surprising. PKR is the newest of the three opposition parties, and formed by breakaways from Umno in 1998 when Mr Anwar was sacked.

The DAP and Parti Islam SeMalaysia, on the other hand, are long established. Their members believe in the ideology of Malaysian Malaysia (DAP) and Islamic state (PAS).

This was why it was such a shock that a DAP assemblywoman Hee Yit Fong had jumped ship in Perak, after being in the party for 20 years.

PKR does not seem to have cemented a strong ideology or build up a good party network. In 2008, it was well known that it had to scramble to find hundreds of candidates to run in the seats that it contested.

The calibre of some was not entirely up to mark.

One of its candidates in a parliamentary seat in Johor caused a stir when he simply did not show up to file his papers, giving a walkover to the BN.

Even party insiders say the PKR needs to focus more on building up its internal strength and cohesion.

As a coalition, the PR has begun to meet more regularly to build cohesiveness, and to coordinate strategy. This Sunday, its MPs are meeting for a closed-door discussion to hammer out issues.

It's an exercise that has taken a long time to begin. And it'll take a while before the results are seen.

Until then, the fear of more defections is likely to remain, haunting PKR leaders - and keeping Malaysian politics uncertain.