Her reaction to the ban of her concert by the Malaysian authorities indicates that she is one cool lady.
Too bad that The Star screwed up her concert.
Here is the story by Associated Press -
Erykah Badu Sad But Not Angry Over Malaysian Ban
by The Associated Press
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia February 29, 2012, 06:03 am ET
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Soul singer Erykah
Badu said Wednesday she holds no grudge against Malaysia's government
for barring her from performing after a photograph of her body art
offended some Muslims.
More than 1,500 people
had bought tickets to watch the Grammy-winning American singer at a
Kuala Lumpur auditorium Wednesday, but Malaysia's information minister
announced on the eve of the concert that it could not proceed because a
promotional photo of Badu with the Arabic word for Allah painted on her
bare shoulders was "an insult to Islam."
"It's
sad, because we traveled a long way," Badu told a news conference. "But
I'm totally understanding of (the minister's) protection of the laws
and its people. He doesn't want anything to happen. I'm good with that."
The
photograph ignited criticism from some politicians and religious groups
in Muslim-majority Malaysia after a newspaper published it Monday in a
feature to promote Badu's show. The daily has since apologized for what
it called an "oversight" that led to the photo's publication.
Badu,
41, said the photo was inspired by images from "The Holy Mountain," a
1973 surrealist movie by Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky.
"I
think art is often misunderstood in the realm of religion, and it's
OK," she said. "In America, it's a lot different. Art is also
misunderstood but it is not such a harsh gesture to promote the names of
God. I am learning and understanding about Islam in other countries
more as we travel."
Information Minister Rais
Yatim said Malaysia's Cabinet endorsed the ban Wednesday. Police feared
that if the concert went ahead, it could cause "various situations that
may lead to social excitement, and quarrels may break out due to
religious sensitivities," the national news agency, Bernama, quoted the
minister as saying.
Public reaction to the
concert ban has been divided. On Twitter, many Malaysians, including
Muslims, accused the government of intolerance, but others praised
authorities for being firm about defending religious principles.
Badu
said she would "absolutely" welcome another chance to perform in
Malaysia someday. She is scheduled to sing at a jazz festival this
weekend in Jakarta, the capital of neighboring Indonesia, the world's
most populous Muslim nation.
Embolden by the success of the anti-Lynas demonstration in Kuantan last weekend, the pro-Pakatan organisers are planning another one.
They are so bold as to threaten the Government.
This is the story which I cut and paste from The Star on-line :
KUANTAN:Another anti-Lynas rally will be held if the
Government does not shut down the rare earth refinery project in Gebeng,
said the Himpunan Hijau committee which organised the first protest on
Sunday.
Its chairman Wong Tack said he was disappointed with Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s
statement that the Government had to look for a solution that would
be acceptable to the people without affecting investments.
“We
cannot accept his statement. Therefore, the Himpunan Hijau 3.0 rally is
on – unless the project is cancelled,” Wong said at a press conference
yesterday.
The organisers had called on the Government to respond within 24 hours after the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally ended two days ago.
Najib had said Lynas was looking for an uninhabited location to
store the waste material from the plant, although it was scientifically safe.
Wong
said the committee would discuss with Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga
Sreenevasan on the possibility of holding a joint rally soon.
The Star, which I now believe to be supportive of the anti-Lynas campaign, however omitted a sentence from the same story which appeared on the newspaper's page 21 Tuesday edition..
Here is the missing sentence that you can't find on The Star online -
"We'll take it to the streets," Wong said at the press conference yesterday.
Star people, you all trying to tone down the story ka?
Hmmmm.....the 24-hours warning deadline had elapsed....so, how??? Guess making noise on a padang was not good enough, eh?
Another chance to look cute, girls? Sure or not, you still want to come this time. It's going to be the real street protest leh. Sure got tear gas and water canon one. I think this time better leave it to the brave Pas' Unit Amal tough guys and the Pakatan Malays la.
The most worrying thing about the Lynas rare earth issue to me is not the radiation risk as claimed by the pro-Pakatan demo people.
The scariest thing to me is that the whole issue seems to have developed a racial flavour on its own.
Yes, there are some Malays and other non-Chinese taking part in the demo in Kuantan on Sunday, but they were heavily outnumbered by their Chinese counterparts.
And yesterday, as I went to buy a newspaper at a shop, I noticed that all the Chinese newspapers put the Lynas story on their front page. Each splashed huge pictures of the thousands of protesters. The camera angles were such that the crowd looked really big in those pictures, The Chinese-owned The Star followed suit. The other English and Malay newspapers however seems to shy away from doing so,
The Lynas demo in Kuantan on Sunday was really a DAP show. eventhough Anwar Ibrahim as usual tried to hijack it. Guan Eng's people came down from all the way as far as Penang to make sure it was a success.
Indeed it was a success....not in highlighting an environmental issue, but rather in proving the DAP's capability in galvanising the Chinese community's support for the party.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Lynas issue was at best just an excuse for the demo which in actual fact is the first demo dominated by Chinese participants. DAP had managed to convince the Chinese that they had cornered the BN government not to be harsh on them.
The Lynas demo was arguably the biggest open air public demonstration dominated by Chinese protesters since 1969.
Auntie, the only mutant in Kuantan last weekend was that funny PKR ostaz who get caught la....and he became a mutant simply simply one. Lynas plant not built yet liao.
Someone called me this morning and complained about the bumiputera status of the Malaysian Siamese community.
It arises from a news that PM DS Najib Razak had a get-together function with the Siamese community yesterday and announced that they are bumiputera.
What Najib said was really nothing new, as the status was given to the community since Merdeka but maybe some people may have heard it for the first time.
There are less than 100,000 Malaysian Siamese in this country. They are mostly farmers living in their villages in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan.
This person who complained about their bumiputera status asked me how come they got it while other decendants of migrants such as the Chinese and Indians were not given the status.
Well, I tried to explain that the Siamese community have been living in the northern States for generations, and that they are not rally migrants from Thailand. But this was immediately shot down.
"I'm a fifth generation of my family living in this country. How come I cannot become a bumiputera? You yourself on the other hand is just a third generation immigrant, how come you are a bumiputera?" the person asked.
Shit man, tak pasal-pasal I sudah kena leh....At that point I really feel like singing this song - Pendatang Song.
Hmmm...but I let it passed. I know when the talk reached this stage, I better give way. No point in arguing.
So I just said I will check with the NRD if I can transfer my bumiputera status to the person. Honestly, I really don't need my bumiputera status anymore because I'm planning to migrate to Taiwan end of this year. It would be nice if I can have the person's Chinese status in return. All these while also I never asked to be a bumiputera or remember getting some discounted priced stuff for that status.
Of course I was scolded again for trying to be too smart with my answer. But at least it was just for being a stupid irritating dumb ass and not because I am some sorts of a bumiputera supermacist. Actually, if it was someone else on the other end of the line, I may fight till the bitter end on this...but not with this person. This person is actually a good person except for the bad habit of reading too much DAP propaganda stuff in the internet,,,,I think.
Anyway, I am glad the person still called me despite knowing I'm a supporter of the evil BN :)
Ok, a bit about the Malaysian Siamese community, I took from Wikipedia -
Politically, Malaysian Siamese are recognised as Bumiputeras and are given similar status to the Malays, Kadazan-Dusuns, Ibans and Malaccan Portuguese.
Most Malaysian Siamese people are Buddhists of the Theravada sect. Their place of worship is called the Wat. Each Wat has several monks administering it.
Most Malaysian Siamese people lead a way of life similar to the Malays. This is evident especially among the Kelantanse Siams. One could not differentiate a Malay or a Siamese if they are not heard speaking their own language. The only distinctive mark among them is their religion and language. Otherwise Malaysian Siamese are like Malays as they also speak fluent local Malay dialects.
Pahang MB DS Adnan Yaakob had cheekily described the anti-Lynas demo in Kuantan today as a tourism demo. Beautiful Kuantan is after-all a tourist town.
Well, Tok Nan seems to be a different kind of man than Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman. He likes to be funny sometimes, even on serious issues.
Can't really blame the man. The Lynas demo was indeed funny - complete with a khalwat drama and everything.
I don't think if it's Ghani, he will even dignify the demo people with any comment, colourful or otherwise. All those khalwat elements would not interest him that much. He would instead let the demo people tire themselves by being stupid and continue with his work
We will probably see Ghani do exactly that now that the Pakatan gang are apparently planning to spark something similar to the Lynas thing in Johor.
The latest report that I got was that the Pakatan people are now laying the groundwork to do so in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi.
When I did this posting , A little pig oinking at our police , I was not sure where it was heading, except that it's the usual Pakatan's police bashing exercise. Only later on that I realise it's a start of a new campaign to undermine the BN government, especially in Johor.
On Friday last week, it was discovered that the Pakatan people had recruited 18 locals of Pengerang to be agents tasked with instigating the residents of Pengerang to protest against the planned Petronas RAPID pateroleum hub project. The project was expected to involve an investment of up to RM200 billion.
This Pakatan efforts is being helmed by PKR, Pas and of all people, the Johor Bar Council.
I don't know la how stupid the lawyers are, but this time they are clearly playing an open card by declaring that they are indeed pro-Pakatan.
What is also noticeable is unlike Lynas, the DAP this time is not among the Pakatan front liners on this particular issue. Quite smart of them. Pengerang is a Malay area, so, they just push their Malay balachis to do most of the dirty work. See. who said manipulation of racial sentiments is not a consideration among the Pakatan people?
I am not yet sure how they are going to angle their attack. It could be on environment or land matters. Either way, they will try to cook it up to be another national issue like Lynas.
Of course, just like Lynas, they can't stop the project but this is simply to stir up something. Johor has no real big issue, so this probably will do, so that they can have something to say during their ceramah or an excuse to initiate another publicity-attracting demo like the Lynas one. They know there is really nothing wrong with the project, but it's creating the negetive perception that matter to them.
They would never care that the RM200 billion investment of the project will generate economic growth of more than trillions of ringgit within 15 years.
They would never tell the villagers in Pengerang that by that time, their children will have lots of employment opportunities from the economic growth, and that their children would not have to go far from their hometown to get a good job.
These Pakatan people who wanted the Pengerang folks to protest against the project are almost entirely made up of outsiders. They never care that all these while, the place has been a Johor backwater, and that it is currently only famous for being the departing and arrival points of illegal immigrants via the so-called laluan tikus.
Do those people such as the suited up smarter than anyone else pricks from the Bar Cuncil really care about the mostly poor fishermen and farmers of Pengerang? I don't think so. They are just there to reap political benefit and use those whom they think could be manipulated for their ends.
The Pakatan people know they can't win in Pengerang as it is a BN stronghold, yet they will proceed trying to make an issue over the planned construction of the petroleum hub.
All that they want by creating the issue is not to protect the interests of the Pengerang folks but instead to have it to play with in projecting themselves as being people and environment friendly with the general election around the corner.
What la this latest thing I heard about people of a certain aspiring MB behaving so unashamedly as if their boss is already certain to get the job.
Cannot wait until Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman step down first ka? Cannot wait until after the general election ka? Cheyyy....
Hey, malu you know behaving like that.
I hear this from the JCS people, ok? Not Ghani people. Ghani people had already been told not to make noise about this nonsense as they need to focus on the coming general election.
These JCS people told me that this bunch of people are already touring Kota Iskandar, telling the people there which rooms they are going to occupy when their boss become menteri besar.
They were said to have even asked for the list of JCS people so that they can determine in advance who are to go to what post to suit their "needs".
Let's not even let me begin on how these bunch of people use filthy tactics to make sure Ghani vacate the MB post so that their boss can take over. Eh, Ghani don't want the post anymore la. No need to be so gelojoh, ok?
This is the old sickness of Umno. Party members who think they are so powerful just because they are from Umno. Lebih sudu dari kuah (more spoon than gravy). These are the sorts of people who are the curse of Umno.
These are the sorts of nonsense behavior which make people who are
pro-Umno but not party members got sick of Umno. Lets not even talk
about the fence sitters let alone those on the other side.
I don't know whether their boss know about their behaviour but if he does, he better tell them to stop it.
I know, the PM is going to spend quite a lot of time in their area when he visit Johor next month. But they should get it in their thick skull that he is going there not to endorse their boss as the next Johor MB. He is going there because their area is classified as "grey". That means their area are in danger and the PM need to be there to bolster support for BN. Got it or not? Sheeessshhh....
Talks on the ground among Johor contractors at the moment are that, if this aspiring MB really get the job, they need to hike up the cost of their projects by as high as 100 per cent to accommodate the demands of his machais.
I tell you....if this happened, Johor will definitely go into the longkang. This is what I have feared all the while.
My prayers now is for PM DS Najib Razak to be strong and wise in his decision.
Please Datuk Najib, appoint someone who can really take care of Johor after Ghani retires.
I guarantee you, if a wrong choice was made, that's the end of Johor as we know it.
Johor Pas youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat had alleged that a special branch police officer was apprehended by Pas members in the early morning today for distributing anti-Pas flyers in Pengerang, Johor.
He made the allegation during a Press conference at the Southern Johor Chinese Press Club in Johor Bahru.
He claimed that Pas have pictures of the policeman and that checks with the local police station had confirmed that the policeman is from the special branch.
When pressed by reporters, Suhaizan however admitted that the "policeman" was released shortly after he was detained and no police report had been lodged about the alleged incident.
Now, that's rather convenient isn't it?
Accuse the police of doing a dastardly deed without any evidence and then sit back to see the damage done.
Before I proceed further, here is something I previously wrote about this Suhaizan fella so that you all have a better understanding what kind of a jerk he is - Guan Eng's cute pet pig .
Personally, I am of the opinion that this prick should be charged under the Seditious Act for trying to smear the reputation of our police force.
Please excuse me, as I need to express my anger in Malay for this. I will try not to be too vulgar.
"Sesiapa boleh dakwa polis kalau dah terdesak. Pas dah tersepit dengan isu Israel Anwar dan Bai'ah laknat dunia akhirat, cuba nak cari scapegoat dan divert isu. "Banyak kerja lain polis nak buat. Apa nak susah-susah sebar risalah. Orang Umno kan ada. Dia orang Pas sebar risalah fitnah cara terang-terangan tak pe pulak. Memang kerja dia orang nak cari isu konon nak dapat simpati....piiiiraaah!!!! "Selama ini polis berkorban nyawa pertahankan keselamatan orang ramai, tak siapa peduli atau nak puji melangit jauh sekali. "Dia orang ni sebenarnya jenis manusia tak makan saman. Main jubor 3/4 kali masih nak kata manusia anugerah tuhan. "Jilat bontot DAP tak apa, tapi orang Islam yang nak hulur tangan berdamai ditolak bulat-bulat. "Biar dia terjun dengan labu-labunya. Tohmahan mereka ni tak jadi kudis. "Sebelum ini lagi teruk polis kena bashing but they are still walking tall.
If there is going to be a place where Johor BN will lose in the next general election, it should be in Kulai.
Kulai has about 34,000 voters. It is the parliamentary constituency in Johor with the biggest percentage of Chinese voters.
The current MP of Kulai is former MCA president Ong Ka Ting.
The Kulai parliamentary constituency comprise 31 per cent Malay voters, 59 per cent Chinese and 10 per cent Indians.
There are three State constituencies within the Kulai parliamentary area.
1. Bukit Permai - 52 per cent Malays, 36 per cent Chinese and 11 per cent Indians. The seat currently belongs to Umno.
2. Bukit Batu - 30 per cent Malays, 63 per cent Chinese and 7 per cent Indians. The seat currently belongs to Gerakan.
3. Senai - 22 per cent Malays, 67 per cent Chinese and 11 per cent Indians. The seat currently belongs to DAP.
The situation in Kulai is not good at all for BN. The leadership of Umno and MCA there are in disarray while their machinery in a state of paralysis. Only Gerakan, led by its Bukit Batu assemblyman Cheong Chin Liang seems to be doing some serious work. Kulai Wanita Umno also seems to be trying their best but they were hampered by a lackasadical attitude among division leaders.
It is understood that Kulai Umno leaders are currently jockeying for the single state seat allocated to them in Bukit Permai. Up to four leaders from the division were said to be lobbying the party leadership in Kuala Lumpur to be the Umno candidate there for the coming election.
Pas' presence there may be small and Umno likely to retain the seat, but the probability of Malay votes going to the opposition for the parliamentary seat from Bukit Permai will be quite significant in the overall scheme of things.
Even in Bukit Batu, the hardworking Cheong is struggling to keep things together for BN, especially among his Chinese constituents. It is going to be a 50-50 chance for BN in Bukit Batu as DAP is expected to field a strong candidate there.
It will be even more difficult for BN in Senai with its 67 per cent Chinese voters. MCA, which was supposed to field a candidate there are really handicapped with Ong Ka Ting hardly bothered to be in his area now that he knows he is already out of power in MCA and not going to defend his Kulai seat.
As for the Kulai parliamentary seat, DAP is expected to field their biggest gun, State opposition leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau who will also be defending his Skudai state seat. Any MCA candidate fielded there is expected to be blown out of the water by Dr Boo if Kulai BN do not get their act together.
The situation was made even worse by the refusal of the Kulai Umno division leaders to work with the party's State liaison committee which were trying hard to coordinate with the grass-root leaders in defending, especially the Kulai parliamentary seat. As far as Umno leaders in Kulai are concerned, all that matter to them is the single Umno seat of Bukit Permai.
It was quite sad, especially for grass-root members who are worried over the situation yet were hopeless to do anything because their leaders are only interested to further their own agenda.
It is understood that BN number two man Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is coming to Kulai at the end of this month to see for himself the situation there. Hopefully he will talk some sense into the ears of Kulai BN leaders, especially those from Umno.
So, Anwar Ibrahim today refused to retract his support for Israel's security or sue WSJ for "misreporting" his statement.
He said Nik Aziz, the supreme leader of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (is it Pas or Pis ?) who earlier demanded for him to do those had accepted his stand.
Well, what can I say to that....
Honestly, I am lost for words.
I wonder what Nik Adli, the son of Nik Aziz has to say about all this.
Nik Adli, who fought alongside the Afghan Mujahideen forces against the Soviets in the late 1980s was detained under ISA from 2001 to 2006 for being suspected of leading the Kumpulan Mujaheedin Malaysia which military wing Kumpulan Militan Malaysia was headed by Zulkifli Abdul Khir, whose story I had posted here -
I surfed the net and found this old article about the incident which started the ball of fire rolling across the globe over the past three decades and shaped the life of people like Nik Adli and Zulkifli Abdul Khir.
I'm putting the article here in memory of a dear friend and all who lost their life due to the cruelty of those in power in the state called Israel.
SABRA AND SHATILA
By Robert Fisk
What we found inside the Palestinian camp at ten o'clock on the morning of September 1982 did not quite beggar description, although it would have been easier to re-tell in the cold prose of a medical examination. There had been medical examinations before in Lebanon, but rarely on this scale and never overlooked by a regular, supposedly disciplined army. In the panic and hatred of battle, tens of thousands had been killed in this country. But these people, hundreds of them had been shot down unarmed. This was a mass killing, an incident - how easily we used the word "incident" in Lebanon - that was also an atrocity. It went beyond even what the Israelis would have in other circumstances called a terrorist activity. It was a war crime.
Jenkins and Tveit were so overwhelmed by what we found in Chatila that at first we were unable to register our own shock. Bill Foley of AP had come with us. All he could say as he walked round was "Jesus Christ" over and over again. We might have accepted evidence of a few murders; even dozens of bodies, killed in the heat of combat. Bur there were women lying in houses with their skirts torn torn up to their waists and their legs wide apart, children with their throats cut, rows of young men shot in the back after being lined up at an execution wall. There were babies - blackened babies babies because they had been slaughtered more than 24-hours earlier and their small bodies were already in a state of decomposition - tossed into rubbish heaps alongside discarded US army ration tins, Israeli army equipment and empty bottles of whiskey.
Where were the murderers? Or to use the Israelis' vocabulary, where were the "terrorists"? When we drove down to Chatila, we had seen the Israelis on the top of the apartments in the Avenue Camille Chamoun but they made no attempt to stop us. In fact, we had first been driven to the Bourj al-Barajneh camp because someone told us that there was a massacre there. All we saw was a Lebanese soldier chasing a car theif down a street. It was only when we were driving back past the entrance to Chatila that Jenkins decided to stop the car. "I don't like this", he said. "Where is everyone? What the f**k is that smell?"
Just inside the the southern entrance to the camp, there used to be a number of single-story, concrete walled houses. I had conducted many interviews in these hovels in the late 1970's. When we walked across the muddy entrance to Chatila, we found that these buildings had been dynamited to the ground. There were cartridge cases across the main road. I saw several Israeli flare canisters, still attached to their tiny parachutes. Clouds of flies moved across the rubble, raiding parties with a nose for victory.
Down a laneway to our right, no more than 50 yards from the entrance, there lay a pile of corpses. There were more than a dozen of them, young men whose arms and legs had been wrapped around each other in the agony of death. All had been shot point-blank range through the cheek, the bullet tearing away a line of flesh up to the ear and entering the brain. Some had vivid crimson or black scars down the left side of their throats. One had been castrated, his trousers torn open and a settlement of flies throbbing over his torn intestines.
The eyes of these young men were all open. The youngest was only 12 or 13 years old. They were dressed in jeans and coloured shirts, the material absurdly tight over their flesh now that their bodies had begun to bloat in the heat. They had not been robbed. On one blackened wrist a Swiss watch recorded the correct time, the second hand still ticking round uselessly, expending the last energies of its dead owner.
On the other side of the main road, up a track through the debris, we found the bodies of five women and several children. The women were middle-aged and their corpses lay draped over a pile of rubble. One lay on her back, her dress torn open and the head of a little girl emerging from behind her. The girl had short dark curly hair, her eyes were staring at us and there was a frown on her face. She was dead.
Another child lay on the roadway like a discarded doll, her white dress stained with mud and dust. She could have been no more than three years old. The back of her head had been blown away by a bullet fired into her brain. One of the women also held a tiny baby to her body. The bullet that had passed into her breast had killed the baby too. Someone had slit open the woman's stomach, cutting sideways and then upwards, perhaps trying to kill her unborn child. Her eyes were wide open, her dark face frozen in horror.
"...As we stood there, we heard a shout in Arabic from across the ruins. "They are coming back," a man was screaming, So we ran in fear towards the road. I think, in retrospect, that it was probably anger that stopped us from leaving, for we now waited near the entrance to the camp to glimpse the faces of the men who were responsible for all of this. They must have been sent in here with Israeli permission. They must have been armed by the Israelis. Their handiwork had clearly been watched - closely observed - by the Israelis who were still watching us through their field-glasses.
When does a killing become an outrage? When does an atrocity become a massacre? Or, put another way, how many killings make a massacre? Thirty? A hundred? Three hundred? When is a massacre not a massacre? When the figures are too low? Or when the massacre is carried out by Israel’s friends rather than Israel's enemies?
That, I suspected, was what this argument was about. If Syrian troops had crossed into Israel, surrounded a Kibbutz and allowed their Palestinian allies to slaughter the Jewish inhabitants, no Western news agency would waste its time afterwards arguing about whether or not it should be called a massacre.
But in Beirut, the victims were Palestinians. The guilty were certainly Christian militiamen - from which particular unit we were still unsure - but the Israelis were also guilty. If the Israelis had not taken part in the killings, they had certainly sent militia into the camp. They had trained them, given them uniforms, handed them US army rations and Israeli medical equipment. Then they had watched the murderers in the camps, they had given them military assistance - the Israeli airforce had dropped all those flares to help the men who were murdering the inhabitants of Sabra and Chatila - and they had established military liason with the murderers in the camps.
And then there are Gaza and the other Palestinian occupied territories.
For that, listen to exiled Singaporean surgeon Dr Ang Swee Chai, who was in Sabra and Shatila during the massacre in 1982 and still working to help the Palestinians till today.
You don’t have to be an economics graduate from Harvard like
Jeremy Lin to do the math on the media explosion about Linsanity.
The suddenly celebrated Lin is a four-fer: a God-fearing, Asian-American, Ivy League benchwarmer who has changed the
fortunes of the New York Knicks. That’s a lot of glorious idiosyncrasy in one camera-ready package, especially in a town teeming with copy-hungry journalists.
Add in the fact that he is an actual team player wearing a Knicks uniform and it’s like spotting a unicorn playing point
guard at Madison Square Garden.
Since cracking the starting lineup because of an injury and other unusual circumstances, Lin, a 23-year-old, undrafted,
unheralded, twice-cut player, has torn up the league, setting records for a first-time starter.
Unfortunately for Lin and the rest of us, the over-the-top coverage that followed ended over the line, exposing underlying
racist tropes that still lurk in the id of American sports journalism, and by extension, the rest of us.
From
the start, his run threatened the tabloid supply of puns and
superlatives. “Lincredible!” shouted The New York
Post on Feb. 11. And because tabloids have a back page and front page
to shout from, we’ve sometimes been treated to a double dose of
wordplay: “Lin and a Prayer” was the cover headline on The Daily News
one day last week, while the back page blared “Just
Lin Time.”
But
all the froth and fun started to curdle, first on Twitter — the Fox
Sports columnist Jason Whitlock tweeted a crude
reference about Lin’s anatomy and the boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.
suggested that Lin was getting attention because of his ethnicity, not
his accomplishments — and then in the tabloid press — on Wednesday,
perhaps at a loss after several breathless days of punning,
The Post went with the unfortunate “Amasian!”
The
combination of Lin’s ethnicity and accomplishments created some excess,
but no one could have predicted how low
it might go. On Saturday, an article on ESPN’s mobile site recycled an
ancient and blatantly offensive ethnic slur, and in the process
suggested that some corners of sports journalism remained a backwater in
the culture, a place untouched by a history of civil
rights struggle and decades of progress. ESPN quickly changed the
headline and has fired the person who wrote it, but not before all but
ruining a sweet sporting story.
It
would be lovely to rewind the tape and get back to a story that
resonated with people like me — I wouldn’t watch
pro basketball with your eyes — for reasons that have nothing to do
with Lin’s ancestry and everything to do with his improbable rise.
Lin
came out of nowhere — the last Harvard player in the N.B.A. was a
half-century ago — which is all the more unusual
in pro basketball, where, unlike pro baseball and football, almost
every player comes with a strong pedigree and a high draft number.
The
back story was irresistible: Lin was sleeping on his brother’s couch on
the Lower East Side; as a high school recruit,
he was ignored by Stanford even though he played almost just down the
street. Every angle was explored, including his Taiwanese grandmother
taking in a game on television. (You know that something bigger than sports is under way when a
politician mediates a cable dispute
that has kept Lin off the air in parts of New York and basks in the
reflected glory, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York did on Friday.)
Pablo S. Torre, now a reporter for Sports Illustrated,
first wrote about Lin in 2007 back when he worked at The Harvard
Crimson. He has enjoyed watching and contributing to the mushroom cloud
of coverage.
“I
think there is every kind of demographic outlier in play with this
story,” he said. “The beating heart of the story,
no matter what anybody says, is the fact that he is Asian-American.
Yes, the N.B.A. has Yao Ming, but Jeremy is normal-size and from this
country, so it creates this huge cognitive dissonance. There is a
novelty factor to seeing someone who looks like Jeremy
doing this.”
Unfortunately,
that novelty presented some asymmetries that turned an unlikely rise on
any number of levels into a single
note about race. The real story is more complicated and interesting
than the one that lived in punny, lazy headlines: Lin is a proud
Christian, which brings in the heartland. As an Asian-American, he
represents the triumph of the immigrant. East Coast elites
can find traction in his Harvard background, while actual basketball
fans cannot resist his court knowledge and deft shooting hand.
This
is a story that had something for everyone, including the journalists
who covered it. Even though sports reporters
are thought to be a deeply cynical bunch, every once in while a tale
comes along that turns them all into fanboys. Here, amid the
millionaires and endless contract talks, was a genuinely heartwarming
saga. It may be bad manners to clap in the press box, but
that doesn’t mean reporters can’t root for an amazing story.
The
Lin story has broken out into the general culture because it is
aspirational in the extreme, fulfilling notions
that have nothing to do with basketball or race. Most of us are not
superstars, but we believe we could be if only given the opportunity. We
are, as a matter of practicality, a nation of supporting players, but
who among us has not secretly thought we could
be at the top of our business, company or team if the skies parted and
we had our shot?
“I think once you get past all of these interesting variables of race, it is the quintessential underdog story,” said
Jason Gay, sports columnist at The Wall Street Journal, calling it the stuff of Hollywood screenplays.
How important is the theme of under-recognized brilliance? Mr. Gay
wrote a piece about Ed Weiland, a part-time blogger and FedEx driver
who first predicted two years ago — based on a lot of wonky statistical
analysis — that “Jeremy Lin is a good enough player to start in the
N.B.A. and possibly star.” For two days last
week, that article was the most popular one on
WSJ.com. When a journeyman blogger spots greatness in a journeyman
point guard and you insert the alchemy of achievement, you’ve got a tale
with legs.
Of
course, what Lin is achieving is most likely not sustainable. Reporters
who are penning exultant homage will be more
than happy to be part of the crew that installs his feet of clay. But
for the time being, who can blame them for hopping into the froth and
ginning up more?
Sports,
even for those of us who spent a fair amount of time being the last
picked, are a palliative to the small and
large indignities of actual life, a way to change the subject to the
triumphs and failings of others. When someone who had been written off
takes over Madison Square Garden and owns all the monied players around
him, it’s hard not to stop typing and marvel,
along with the rest of the nation.
“A kid of out of nowhere plays lights-out basketball and has magical success in the center of the media world,” said
Terry McDonnell, the editor of Sports Illustrated, which put Lin on the cover last week. “What’s not to like?”
What’s not to like is that part where some doofus writes a blatantly racist headline and a wonderful yarn turns ugly.
It turns out that the road to excess does not lead to the palace of wisdom, as William Blake said a long time ago. Sometimes
the road to excess ends up in the ditch.
E-mail: carr@nytimes.com;
Fmr. President Clinton Gripped By “Lin”sanity
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – There’s only a few people who could upstage the Big Three of the Miami Heat at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Sunday, one of those people showed up and shared his thoughts on the “Linsanity” that is gripping the nation.
Former President Bill Clinton was in Miami and took in part of the Heat’s victory over the Orlando Magic Sunday afternoon.
The Heat won the game 90-78, but it wasn’t the Heat that was getting the attention of President Clinton, instead it was the “Linsanity” that is following New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin.
“Well, I’m a New Yorker I like it,” former President Bill Clinton told CBS4?s Jim Berry of the Jeremy Lin-phenomenon. “You know, he’s a very impressive guy. He makes the most of the team.”
Lin has come out of nowhere to become one of the leaders of the New York Knicks team.
Playing in Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni’s point guard friendly system has helped, but Lin has been playing lights out, with the exception of having problems with turnovers.
Lin played his college ball at Harvard and then disappeared before showing up for the Knicks a few weeks ago.
Since then, he’s averaged 14.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game while playing only 24 minutes a game.
Sunday, Lin poured in 28 points, 14 assists and 7 turnovers, in just his latest stellar performance that has earned him a trip to All-Star weekend in Orlando this weekend.
One of the biggest problems that many NBA pundits have pointed to is that when Carmelo Anthony finally returns to the lineup, Lin’s numbers and ability to make plays will drop dramatically as Carmelo begins to hog the ball and the shots.
Clinton isn’t worried about his Knicks making the transition.
“They’re [the Knicks] playing like a team and I think they’ll integrate Carmelo and Amare fine,” Clinton said. “I think it will be great. I think they’re a real team; look what they did today, it’s great.”
Lin’s story has become something of a legend as he’s come out of nowhere to be the hottest thing in the NBA not in Miami. Clinton said it’s easy to see why people identify with the former Crimson star
“He was sleeping on his brother’s couch and then became the starting point guard for a pro basketball team. I mean that is a smart, hard-working kid, good values.”
No one knows how good Lin can be this year or in the following seasons. But, Clinton believes in Lin just like the rest of New York and knows in the end, for Lin, it’s all about the win.
“I think it’s a Cinderella story,” Clinton said. “He’s a winner. He’s just one of those guys that knows how to win.”
ORIGINAL POSTING
I was woken up this morning by a call from a lady in love.
The object of her love is Jeremy Lin.
Jeremy who?
The lady explained that this boy is the hottest property of the Chinese diaspora at the moment. She went like really ga ga over the boy.
"I am no longer Chinese....I am Linese," she said, giggling like a school girl. Obviously forgotten was her long time love for handsome boy Guan Eng of DAP.
Eh auntie, you are not that young any more lah.
And get that Valentine spelling correct, ok? So malu la.
Anyway, here is a bit of Jeremy Lin from Wikipedia -
When appeal by MCA-reject-turned-PKR Johor chief Chua Jui Meng to contest his former constituency Bakri was snubbed by DAP handsome poster boy Lim Guan Eng, everyone seems to think that Guan Eng got something serious against Jui Meng.
I believe most of you had already read an article in the MCA's pro-DAP The Star on the matter several days ago which pointed towards that conclusion.
The truth is, except for Jui Meng being formerly an old enemy, Guan Eng actually doesn't think much of the man. When Anwar Ibrahim put Jui Meng as PKR chief in Johor, Guan Eng probably had a very good laugh.
It just confirmed the fact that PKR have no one else to lead them in the State and that Johor PKR will have to kow tow to Johor DAP if they want to achieve anything. The same way that Johor Pas is now beholden to Johor DAP.
Case in point was the Tenang by-election where the Pas lady candidate received less than 3,000 votes of which more than half of them were from pro-DAP voters in the Labis Tengah ballot area which were made of about 93 per cent Chinese.
It is not a secret that in Johor, the only real problem faced by BN is the perceived dissatisfaction of the Chinese community.
All BN's black or grey areas are those with over 45 per cent Chinese voters. This was largely due to the constant harping about the Chinese community being victimised in this country by none other than DAP leaders.
In all honesty, there are no real big local grass-root issues in Johor which had not been handled by the State government.
Ok, there are questions about Lim Kang Hoo, JCorp, Medini, Kulim and such, but those are not what will swing votes to BN or Pakatan in large number. In the first place, were the allegations true? How many of the ordinary reasonable men and women out there really care about those corporate wheeling and dealings? How many seats in Johor will BN lose because of those question marks?
What? In Pakatan's states got no such question is it?
For those who don't believe me, please try to walk around in down-town JB and befriend a Chinese guy. Then ask him what is his main grouse against BN. I bet he will not say it's KPRJ doing business with Lim Kang Hoo. He will instead most likely say that he is not happy because last night some DAP people told him that Malay enforcement officers (who are likely members of that evil Malay Umno) have this very bad habit of throwing innocent Chinaman out of window of tall buildings.
Never mind, lets get back to Guan Eng and Jui Meng. Let me repeat this - Jui Meng and Johor PKR are NOTHING without the support of Johor DAP. They do not even have a proper election machinery in Johor.
Jui Meng will lose if he contest in any area without DAP's help. That's a fact. The only place he stands a chance to stand on his own two feet is in his old constituency of Bakri in Muar where some of his old MCA supporters are still loyal to him.
Guan Eng know this and when Jui Meng made his intention known that he wants to go back to his now DAP-held Bakri, he seized the opportunity to teach the Johor Pakatan people two lessons -
1. DAP is the supreme leader of Pakatan in Johor
2. The Lim family are the ones who calls the final shots in DAP, even in Johor.
Everyone should by now know about the lesson number one.
But lesson number two is what is even more important to Guan Eng this time.
He need to tell off the hugely popular but independent-minded Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau that not being a Lim disqualifies him from being a real major player in the party.
It is known by everyone that Dr Boo has had his run-ins with Guan Eng and his Johor-based proxies. So far Dr Boo seems to hold his ground against Guan Eng as far as Johor-related matters were concerned.
However, it so happened that Dr Boo and Jui Meng are not the best of friends either.
Initially, Jui Meng had wanted the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat which in 2008 was contested by PKR.
This spectacularly pissed off Dr Boo as his Skudai constituency is within that parliamentary area and he had worked hard to increase DAP's support there. Gelang Patah which has 54 per cent Chinese voters is a prime target as Kota Iskandar, the state administrative capital is located there.
It was said that Dr Boo would definitely win if he contest either his current Skudai state seat or Gelang Patah parliament seat or BOTH.
Dr Boo was so angry at the prospect of Jui Meng contesting in Gelang Patah that in September last year he refused to attend a major Pakatan dinner function near Sutera Mall in his Skudai constituency which was attended by Anwar and other Pakatan bigwigs. He repeated the snub, again at the same place last week during Johor PKR CNY gathering which was again attended by Anwar.
Jui Meng has now realised that Dr Boo may sabotage him if he press on wanting to contest in Gelang Patah. He knows that the DAP people loyal to Dr Boo are willing to do that. They would rather let BN win in Gelang Patah in order to spite Jui Meng. That was why he decided to approach Guan Eng and his people in KL to get their blessing for him to go back to Bakri.
Now, Guan Eng being Guan Eng, he decided to rebuff Jui Meng, knowing this will hugely embarrass the hapless man, who suddenly has no where to go. I can just imagine Guan Eng breaking into his trademark childish sniggering after pulling that fast one on Jui Meng.
Brilliantly, this also put Dr Boo in a rather tight spot. He is now forced to give way to Jui Meng. As Johor DAP chief , Dr Boo could not be seen as bullying a weaker PKR ally.
By right, Gelang Patah should be PKR's but most of the Pakatan's hard work there were done by DAP. Even if Dr Boo decides that he do not want to sabotage Jui Meng if he is to be the Pakatan candidate there, his people may still go ahead and sink the man, with or without Dr Boo's instruction.
Guan Eng may emerge the victor in this personal one-upmanship with Jui Meng and Dr Boo, but what he may not realise is that Johor Pakatan may lose in both Gelang Patah and Bakri due to this little game he played.
Jui Meng may lose in Gelang Patah because of the Dr Boo's unhappiness factor while DAP may lose their Bakri parliament seat because of the unhappiness of Jui Meng supporters there.
Well, guess some people rather keep their big ego rather than using their brain. In this case good also lah, Now BN stands a better chance in Bakri and Gelang Patah. Thanks Guan Eng.
Was about to relax and take a nap when I noticed this NST SMS Alert -
NST 19/02 : PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah said problems arising from Anwar's statement in support of Israel has been ironed out and is now a non-issue.
Wah! like that also can ka? So easy liao.
All those Pas people already kena ironed out ka? Sheeshhh.... so much for being Islamic fighters. Not yet sent to fight the IDF sudah kena sterika out by Anwar and his gang. What la you all....
Non-issue? Oi! Those Palestinians are still being butchered la Kak Wan. You don't read papers ka?....internet also got their stories you know.
ORIGINAL POSTING
When I read this posting Istana Sebilliong Ringgit by Rocky, I was so tempted to write a similar one. Got materials already over here.
But on second and third and twenty ninth thoughts, I decided not to.
Not worth it la.
As if people really appreciate it that a corrupted chicken shit pro-BN blogger like me sticking her neck out for them writing about such things.
Rocky different la. They said BN paid him USD10 billion already. That's
why he don't mind getting into trouble. Got money already ma. What can
they do to him, isn't it?
Maybe I should leave it to those brave incorruptible Pakatan bloggers to write about such stuff. Let them once a while take a break from spewing venomous hatred at Umno and take some proper risks to do some good instead.
Ok lah, today is a lazy Sunday. I am going to lay back and listen to this song instead of getting into trouble. This recording was the earliest ever made of this band....by Danish TV for goodness sake. Oh, this one for you too Rocky, salute.
I am going to sing this song to my beloved Johor after the general election.
It was a contest between two Chinese parties for the support of their community in a country where they are the minority. That's the bare fact which no one should dispute.
Soi Lek - He appeared to be more blunt by telling the Chinese of the dangers they face if they abandon MCA and give their full support to DAP which is an ally of Pas, an Islamic hardline Malay-based party.
However, I believe what he was really trying to tell the Chinese audience is that, DAP may win their votes but its Pakatan allies will lose, and therefore Pakatan will not win the general election to protect Chinese interests as promised by DAP.
This raise a real possibility of BN being in power without much representation from MCA and the coalition forming a government dominated by right-wing Umno which will be even less sympathetic towards Chinese interests.
Guan Eng - He tried to play the Chinese hero character and projected an image of a crusader against a corrupt and evil BN government. It's part of the usual tactic of running down the rival MCA by insinuating it as being an Umno stooge who failed to protect the interests of the Chinese despite the party being part of the government. He also stressed that DAP are more capable of standing up to its Malay allies in Pas and PKR.
Who wins?
I think Guan Eng succeeded more in asserting the DAP's Chinese character. The fact that he was the one who insisted for the debate to be held in Mandarin makes him the winner from the start on this count. However, this will have a far reaching negative implications as far as Pakatan as a whole is concerned. They will lose even more votes of the Malays and other races.
Soi Lek, in a way succeeded in this debate for being able to draw DAP into an open fight. MCA has now shown Malaysians, and especially the Chinese that they are not a totally a spent force and still needed by the community to protect their interests in this Malay-majority country.
UPDATED 2
Been searching for new thing to update this posting.
Got all excited over The Star headline just now -
Forum kicks off with a bang
By ISABELLE LAI
The report starts promisingly -
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Chinese at a Political Crossroads forum kicked off with a bang Saturday as MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek brought down the housewith his fiery opening speech.
Dr
Chua appeared to be metaphorically rolling up his sleeves in
preparation for his debate with political opponent, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in the evening.
And then, this is all the quote that was taken from the big bang.
"He (Lim) is more interested in issuing countless statements to condemn
or challenge others, behaving like a true street fighter. He has
forgotten that he has a state to look after," said Dr Chua to tumultous
applause.
Yup, that's all. The rest are just the usual background stuff. Chey, what la you all Star people. So really anti-climax leh..
I think better just wait for the debate.
UPDATED
Apparently, it was DAP's Lim Guan Eng who requested for the debate to be conducted in Mandarin.
Here is an excerpt of today's report by pro-Pakatan Malaysian Insider -
“There is nothing racial about it; it’s a national conference
consisting of many topics and issues that cover all ethnic groups,”
Asian Strategic Leadership Institute (ASLI) director Datuk Michael Yeoh
said at a press conference here.
“It (the conference) looks at [the changing of our political
structure] and concerns all issues ... (that) every Malaysian should be
concerned about,” he added.
Yeoh said the debate, themed “Chinese at a Crossroads. Is the 2 Party
System Becoming a 2 Race System?”, was originally to be conducted in
English, but was changed to Mandarin following Lim’s request. “Guan Eng asked, why is a Chinese topic not conducted in [Mandarin]?
So we have decided the whole debate will be in [Mandarin],” Asli senior
vice-president Ng Yeen Seen explained.
“The (rest of the) conference will be conducted in English, but if
the floor wishes to ask questions in [Mandarin], then the speakers will
use Mandarin to answer,” she added, saying that most speakers are
bilingual.
ORIGINAL POSTING
As far as I am concerned, MCA macho man Dr Chua Soi Lek had already won the tommorrow's debate against DAP handsome boy Lim Guan Eng.
Why? Because Guan Eng, in his unbridled enthusiasm, had in the first place agreed for the debate being in Mandarin, which to me is a big mistake for him.
To me, he had fell into the trap of acknowledging that DAP is a Chinese party and not a multi-racial one as claimed. Soi Lek on the other hand should be ok with the language being used as MCA has no problem of itself being a Chinese-based party in a multi-racial BN coalition.
Ok, just look at the topic they are going to debate on - “Is the two-party system becoming a two-race system?”. What la Guan Eng, you want to debate on something like that in Mandrin? You sure lose one on the perception front.
Trust me, the Chinese do not want a two-race system and that is exactly why the smart MCA PR people choose the subject. In all probability, the two-race system is what we will have in this country after the next general election. The Bumiputera (and other races) on one side and the Chinese on the other. It is already happening in Sarawak, and that is exactly what DAP is banking on to win more parliamentary seats, especially in Johor. The Chinese will be at the losing end in such a system.
Guan Eng , you should had at least insisted for the debate to be in Bahasa Kebangsaan. Now you are reduced to promoting and defending the Chineseness of DAP. Very damaging liao....especially for your Pakatan friends.
Despite this debate being the hotest topic among the Chinese community at the moment, the other Malaysians do not seems to be really interested in it. It has become a Chinese thingy. They will say "Ya la, MCA are Chinese, DAP also Chinese. Let them kung fu each other lah."
Yup, just look at the way the Chinese papers and Chinese-owned Star promoting the debate and then just look at how the Malay and other English papers covering it. Very contrast.
Guan Eng cannot carrying around bluffing people that DAP is a multi-racial party anymore after this debate. That I am sure, especially as far as the non-Chinese are concerned. I know that Guan Eng is a bit childish and not so smart, but to fall into Soi Lek's trap like that, I actually feel a bit sympathetic towards him. Really, I am not kidding you.
Probably Guan Eng has now realised his mistake. That is why he has been calling for follow-up debates with Soi Lek in Bahasa Malaysia and English after this. But really la Guan Eng, it's too late already. Finish the tomorrow's debate first ok?, then talk about trying to get another date with Soi Lek for damage control. Hopefully Soi Lek will be merciful and let Guan Eng have another go.
Oh, btw, I also think Soi Lek will make minch meat out of Guan Eng at the debate. Being a more seasoned politician who knows his stuff very well, Soi Lek will be too much of an opponent for Guan Eng. Well, the last big debate Guan Eng had was with the jaded Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon and it was more or less a draw. Koh is not even in the same league as Soi Lek. If Soi Lek can survive the sex video scandal, what lah Guan Eng to him.
It's almost 2am and I can't sleep. Suddenly feeling hungry. No proper food in the kitchen. End up cooking maggi kari. Put in an egg and a huge onion. Quite nice also. Still...so much for being a rich corrupted pro-BN blogger.
I am now lying on the floor in front of my new second hand netbook. Really love this thing. No need to go to the cybercafe any more. Can write anything any time now.
My next big project is to buy a computer table. Must find one which is cheaper than this netbook. Budget for the table should be around RM150. Maybe can find some second hand stuff again.
Ok, maybe I will buy that after getting a new pair of shoes. The one I'm wearing to office now has really worn out. Hmmmm....see lah how.
I know, most of those reading this probably think that I am bluffing. But those who really know me actually would think that I'm being mild. Either way, I don't care lah. I'm now just having itchy fingers and want to write something. Crap also never mind. Anyone want to read or not, not my problem.
Actually, my salary is not so bad. It is just that I have lots of commitments. After taking care of things, I don't have much left for myself. That's why I have to live a hobo life like this.
Anyway, I think my life will be better after the next general election. BN will retain Johor, hopefully, by wiping out the Pakatan people (which is hard but not impossible). I will then be able to do what I really want and leave this beloved State of Johor.
Let others worry about Johor without Ghani Othman as MB. I am quite certain now he is retiring after leading Johor BN through the election. My bet is now on Khaled Nordin. Sorry YB Osman Sapian. I know you are the leading candidate now, but I'm just being realistic about the choice between you and Khaled. Well, good luck Johoreans.
I have made some plans. Even scouted the place I'm heading. Probably end of this year. Hopefully PM will call for the election around June. Just nice for my plans to fall into place.
This is the place I am planning to go.
It is really a nice place. I am going to buy a bicycle and use it to go to class which is somewhere near where this picture was taken....cycling in winter....very cold, but so nice :)
Today there is going to be a small demo by JB MCA and Gerakan youths over the toll charges at the newly completed Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) of MRCB.
This is a hot issue here....eerrr, among those who frequently travel to Singapore. The Pakatan people have been going to town about it. Make it as if the evil BN government is sucking the rakyat's blood again.
Now MCA and Gerakan also joined the fray. Well, never mind lah. The more the merrier.
These people said they don't like the toll charges as they are imposed at the CIQ of the Causeway. Meaning that those coming in and out of Singapore will have to pay it even if they do not use the EDL after leaving the CIQ, such as going to the Inner Ring Road or Stulang.
What they want is for the toll charges to be imposed only on those who use the EDL, and not on those going in and out of Singapore but choose to use other routes.
As it is today, the EDL is free for those who use it, unless they go to or coming in from Singapore.
Personally, I prefer the way it is now. I know, not seems to be fair to those who drives to Singapore and of course Singaporeans coming here la...but, aiya, those who drives to Singapore are rich la, and the Singaporeans are even richer. A bit a bit leeching on them cannot ka?
Hmmm...if cannot, never mind lah. MCA is going all out on this issue. Dr Chua Soi Lek, their president said the other day that the government had agreed to review the matter....so, actually no need to demo demo. Bising kacau orang saja la itu.
BTW, most Malaysians working in Singapore and living in JB go there by motorcycle or bus. No need to pay toll. Bus fare probably a few sen more expensive. That's all.
Here is a bit on EDL, courtesy of Wikipedia -
JB Eastern Dispersal Link (also known as Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Scheme) is a new expressway in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The 8.1 km (5.0 mi) expressway will connect the end of North-South Expressway Southern Route at Pandan to the new Sultan Iskandar Building CIQ Complex in the city centre. It will act as bypass to CIQ complex without using Tebrau Highway (Federal Route Jkr-ft3.png) to the city centre.
Last night MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek told Chinese Johoreans that they should not vote for Pakatan because if the State falls to those people, they will have a Pas MB.
He said a State government in Johor led by Pas will be disastrous to Chinese interests, particularly their businesses as Pas is only interested in their Islamic agenda.
He was attending the Gelang Patah MCA CNY celebration at a Chinese School in Skudai, a hotbed of DAP.
Hmmm.... fine, but I think Dr Chua need to be more "deep" than that in convincing the Chinese not to fall for DAP tricks.
First of all, Pakatan will never be able to win in Johor in the next general election.
Even the most fanatical Johor DAP people know this.
They know that their Malay allies in Pas and PKR would not make that much impact on the Malay Johoreans (unless of course if the Umno people sabotage each others like what they did in Sungai Abong and Maharani in 2008 la).
Therefore, what Johor DAP really want are more parliamentary seats. State seats are just bonus to them.
They themselves do not want a Pas MB as they know that Johor Pas are led by not so bright Malays. Really, can you name a bright Pas fella in Johor? Mazlan Aliman? Please don't make me laugh.
Ok, now they are talking about Salahudin Ayub. Come on lah, if the guy is so good, why the hell he went all the way to Kelantan in the first place? Remember arr, he was the Pas campaign director during the Tenang by-election. See, what happened? The husband of the Pas candidate went and faked his MC also he cannot handle. Like that also cannot handle, how to become MB lah? The most he can be is something like that stupid dum dum Nizar of Perak whose balls are in the pockets of cousins Ngah and Ngeh.
Honestly la, DAP knows Johor will not survive a Pas MB. They know the Chinese in Johor do not want that to happen too.
All they want from Pas is for them to break up the Malay votes so that they can win parliamentary seats such as in Gelang Patah and Kulai. That is all.
Johor DAP will try to tell the fence sitters among the Chinese not to worry about Pas. They will stress on them to just give them their votes for parliamentary seats. They will still have the BN wakil rakyat in the State to do the donkey works while having a Chinese DAP rep in parliament to bolster the DAP strength in the event Pakatan takes over Putrajaya.
This will exactly happened in places like Tebrau. Halim Sulaiman of Puteri Wangsa need to buck up. DAP have been pumping more than 3,000 new Chinese voters who are their supporters into his area since early last year. Stop kacau-ing Maulizan and MB and do your work lah? You don't want to be wakil rakyat tell early lah. Can put someone else there to do the work. Save the crap until after the election, can or not?
Errr, ok lah, back to Soi Lek....please uncle arrr, tell Jason of Gelang Patah to be more handsome handsome. Maybe he can takes on Dr Boo in Skudai. The boy got great potentials but everyone thinks he is a bit of a gangster. Need to be refined a bit eh. The rest you know what to do lah. Push a bit la uncle, don't wait until the Umno guys having to go to all the temples and Chinese schools before you all like in Bakri. Can arrr?
