 |  | |||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified. To share the above article, please click the followings:
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A typical News on Flotilla in Isreal...
* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified. To share the above article, please click the followings:
Friday, June 4, 2010
Israeli "Defense" Forces attack on #flotilla
The Isreali Govt might want to change the name of their Armed Forces from "ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES (IDF)" to maybe "ISRAELI ATTACK FORCES (IAF)" because defending is a thing that I haven't heard them doing for a long time...
1. The government of Israel initiated an attack on a Turkish-flagged vessel in international waters.
2. Turkey and Israel were not at war at the time of the attack.
3. The Turkish vessel was not armed. Note: the kitchen utensils and (gasp) slingshots that the Israeli military trotted out for the photo-op can hardly be considered "arms" in a modern military engagement. Doubt that? Ok, picture yourself "armed" with said implements facing an enemy with automatic weapons, heavy ordinance, and air support. Still happy with your "arms"?
Taken together, Israel's attack on this humanitarian aid ship was not only a bone-headed diplomatic blunder and inexcusable waste of life, but also an act of war.
The Israeli's could easily have waited for the ship to reach its own territorial waters where Israeli law applies. In that instance the Turkish vessel would have been a blockade runner and the Israeli's would have had a legal leg to stand on. However, since the blockade itself is illegal the aid activists still would have been in the right. But at least it would have been a local problem. By "flexing their muscles" and totally blowing it again, (remember Lebanon?) the Israelis have shown themselves to be not only bullies, but incompetent bullies.
Worse, the Israeli's have committed an act of war on a NATO ally of the United States of America. When private citizens capture ships at sea it is piracy. When nations do it we call it war. At least United States did in 1812.
Now, picture a U.S. aid flotilla heading for Somalia with medicine and building materials. Imagine that the local warlords, bent on crushing the local population, don't want that aid to arrive. Or substitute Afghan drug lords. After they fire on American-flagged vessels and kill several U.S. citizens should we respect their sovereignty?
I understand that many Americans don't like Hamas. Tough. Many Palestinians do. They were democratically elected in very open and fair elections monitored by the Carter Institute. Hamas is vilified in the west because they are effective at providing basic services for their people, unlike the thoroughly corrupt Fatah. No they are not a pacifist group in any way and many of their acts have been deplorable. So deplorable that they can be accurately compared to the IRA. Would Hamas be easier to accept if they were Irish Catholics?
While many Palestinians have called for a single, secular state a minority of Israeli citizens cling to the racist ideal of a pure "jewish state." This minority has hijacked the Israeli government and enacted policies and actions that are anathema to any western understanding of equality and basic human rights. They have also now committed an act of war on a NATO ally. Sadly, the choice between formal military ally and campaign contributor will go to the latter. So much for credibility.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
American Onboard Attacked Flotilla Describes Chaos
June 01, 2010 2:07 PM
ABC's Lisa Chinn reports:
Ambassador Edward Peck, 80 years old, and the former Chief of Mission in Baghdad decided to take the trip to Gaza because they were trying to get materials to “Gazans need and are denied.” Peck, who returned from his mission by way of Israel – who ‘deported’ him remains “disappointed that Israel” chose to respond the way it has to what he calls a humanitarian mission.
Peck, a retired career diplomat and no stranger to controversy these past few years – he was a bold and loud opponent to Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, maintains that the bulk of material that was being brought to Gaza was “hospital equipment, building materials, and prefabricated housing.”
Peck saw no serious violence when the Israelis boarded the ship, and in fact, slept through most of it, saying it occurred in the early morning hours, around 4 a.m, and that by the time he got above board, the siege, which was peaceful, was over.
“I jumped out of bed fully clothed because there are no facilities on the ship. No shower, no wash, no nothin’ and went upstairs and there I encountered a group of Israeli commandos who said, ‘sit down,’ we heard that a lot, ‘sit down.’ They were by that time in control of the ship and fine. You know, they didn’t harm anybody after that. They harmed some folks in getting on board as people tried to block them from taking over. “
The ship he was on was far from the main, larger ship that may have seen the most violent action. Peck said they had been told Israelis might attempt to block the flotilla, and that those aboard his smaller ship had discussed in advance how they would handle such an event. After being taken, they were “incommunicado” in the words of Peck, and were unaware of what had happened to others in the flotilla. Peck said he had “concern that it might have been much rougher on some of the other ships. It was. People were tasered. People were shot. You know, people died on some of the other ships because they resisted. We didn’t . We had already talked amongst ourselves as to what we were going to do. I got there too late to lock arms around the wheelhouse because it was all over by that time.”
Ambassador Peck, who was deported from Israel and flown into the U.S. this morning, returning to his Chevy Chase, MD home the way so many Washingtonians do after a long flight – by Metro. Peck returned with only the clothes on his back and the hat on his head, and his take on being ‘deported’ from Israel is bit humorous, given the difficulties he experienced, telling ABC NEWS that the Israelis told him, “You’ve broken Israeli law, I said ‘which one?’ They said you have entered the country illegally. I said I’m sorry. But if I’m brought into the country under armed escort that is not entering the country illegally. Forcibly. We’ll they don’t agree with that. I was deported so I suppose that goes on my record. “
For his part, Peck believes this will be a “major political flap” for Israel and that “bad things have happened, are happening and will happen as long as what’s going on in Palestine and what isn’t going on in Palestine continues, that’s a dead end street, as several of Israel’s leaders have said.”
* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified. To share the above article, please click the followings:
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Reversal of Anwar Ibrahim
by Rachel Motte
This week, Barack Obama reached out once more to the Muslim world. Following his promise last June in Cairo, President Obama hosted a Summit on Entrepreneurship, “to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.” Bringing together 250 participants from 60 countries, the Administration once again tried to build bridges between East and West, and even brought Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along to close the summit on Tuesday evening.
Yet it remains as hard as ever to figure out who are America’s real friends and allies in the Muslim world, aside from the good King and Queen of Jordan, a handful of emirates, and the Saudi royals. Take the strange case of Malaysia, for example. The Malaysian state and its ruling party are broadly constructive and cooperative with the United States — but its political opposition is another story. And that’s the reverse of what often gets portrayed in Western media.
The present Malaysian leadership is pro-business, pro-American and prepared to stand up and be counted in the Muslim world as a strategic U.S. ally. During the recent Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged to assist Washington on numerous fronts, and even shut off petroleum supplies to Iran within hours of returning home to Kuala Lumpur.
The present Malaysian leadership is pro-business, pro-American and prepared to stand up and be counted in the Muslim world as a strategic U.S. ally. During the recent Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged to assist Washington on numerous fronts, and even shut off petroleum supplies to Iran within hours of returning home to Kuala Lumpur.
Though Malaysia isn’t quite as far along as Muslim nations such as Jordan or Egypt with respect to Israel — it refuses to recognize the Jewish state or its passports — its official anti-Israel position does not come from a societal wellspring of anti-Semitism. Though Malaysia used to have a small Jewish community of its own, it dwindled as a consequence of the Second World War rather than, as in most of the Muslim world, as vengeance for Israel’s founding.
Malaysia’s reputation as a majority-Muslim nation known for moderation and stability is hard won in this decade, and a result of the leadership of the present Prime Minister and his immediate predecessor.
Prior to October 2003, Malaysia’s position as a responsible member of the community of nations was less certain. This was thanks to the country’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed. Even in power, Mahathir was a well-known anti-Semite and anti-American.
This past January, Mahathir declared that the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were “staged as an excuse to mount attacks on the Muslim world.” He didn’t stop there. Speaking at that same month’s General Conference for the Support of Al-Quds (that is, the Arabic name for Jerusalem), he declared that Israel was created to solve “the Jewish problem” in Europe after Hitler failed to complete the Final Solution. “Even after their massacre by the Nazis of Germany,” said Mahathir, the Jews “survived to continue to be a source of even greater problems for the world.”
The case of Mahathir isn’t merely one of a has-been politician with a penchant for vile Jew-baiting. He still retains influence with hardliners. And the man whom he mentored, and then repudiated, is now leader of Malaysia’s political opposition — and he’s showing the world how well he learned under Mahathir’s tutelage.
Anti-Semitism is now resurgent in Malaysia thanks to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a charismatic firebrand of a politician who collaborated with Mahathir — as a deputy prime minister and top aide— for nearly a decade in a relationship that Ibrahim described as being one of “father and son.” In 1998 Ibrahim got impatient about taking over from Mahathir, embarked upon a power struggle, and lost. For his troubles, Mahathir put him on trial for corruption and sodomy: and Anwar Ibrahim ended up in jail at the hand of his mentor.
Upon his release, Anwar Ibrahim came to Washington, D.C., and has spent the past decade cultivating a genteel, enlightened image in the West. Otherwise informed American observers of foreign affairs have adopted him as an exemplar of liberal Southeast Asian and/or Muslim democratic governance. Just a few years ago, he was invited to teach for a year at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, from which he cultivated the acquaintances of eminent Jewish Americans like Paul Wolfowitz — as a means of showing just how far behind him was his own militant Islamist past.
Indeed, as recently as 2008, Al Gore — usually a savvy and perceptive man — could be found posting on his blog in defense of Ibrahim’s dignity in the face of criticism. That’s big-name Western approval one can’t buy — but one can work hard for it with the right enemies and media outreach inside the Beltway.
It also helps if one knows what to tell Western audiences who tune in to Western media outlets. This past March, in an interview with CNN World, Ibrahim told Wajahat Ali, “Stoking the flames of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism is a good distraction from the stench in [Muslim societies’] own backyard, namely rampant corruption, denial of basic human rights, abuse of power and the suppression of civil society.”
The reality is that if you’d asked a well-informed American who the liberal democrat was in Malaysia between 1999 and 2009, he or she might well have said, “Anwar Ibrahim.”
But does Anwar Ibrahim’s portrayal of himself outside Malaysia match Anwar Ibrahim’s actions within his own country? Unfortunately, Ibrahim has decided to make his mark in domestic Malaysian politics — away from CNN, Al Gore, and Johns Hopkins — as an anti-American, anti-Semitic demagogue.
The proximate cause of Ibrahim’s descent into the foul rhetoric of anti-Semitism was his decision to exploit the government’s hiring of a Washington, D.C., public relations firm, APCO, to do minor communications work within Malaysia. Like many international firms, this one has done business within Israel, and even counts among its senior personnel persons of the Jewish faith.
Ibrahim has now effectively trashed his old friends in Washington and has used this PR contract as an excuse to spin a dark conspiracy theory of Jewish control, Zionist plots, and subversion.
Ibrahim’s lieutenants have charged, among other things, that the Malaysian government has “engag[ed] a company that has a close tie with the Zionist regime in Israel. Its advisory panels consist of former security chief of the Israeli government, and many of their staff are formerly from the Israel Security Agency,” and that “its operators in Tel Aviv have close links to the Zionist regime.”
Ibrahim himself has delved headlong into anti-Semitic theorizing, publicly alleging that there are “Israeli intelligence personnel in the Police IT unit.” Worse, he connected his anti-Semitism to his anti-Americanism, when he angrily denounced the Malaysian Prime Minister’s politically courageous decision to stand with President Obama and cut off oil supplies to an Iran seeking nuclear weapons. Ibrahim stood in the legislature to charge that the supposedly “Jewish-controlled” PR firm hired by the Prime Minister was, in fact, working to manipulate Malaysian policy on America’s behalf.
Ibrahim angrily demanded: “How can our foreign policy have changed dramatically,” unless Jews were controlling Malaysian affairs for America’s benefit? “Our policy on Iran shows how weak we are. Unprecedented in the history of our country, even Mahathir Mohamad himself never shifted in Afghanistan and the Palestinian question.”
Remarkably, Ibrahim closed his statement with oblique praise for Mahathir — the man who shaped Ibrahim’s core thinking on things Jewish and American.
The sad truth is that we shouldn’t be surprised by Ibrahim’s descent into anti-Americanism or anti-Semitism. When he told CNN that “stoking the flames of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism is a good distraction,” he wasn’t condemning: he was observing and prescribing.
This is not the first time Ibrahim has gone down this road: he has a history of Jew-baiting when expediency calls for it. To pick just one example, in 2008, with Malaysian elections approaching, he casually tossed out this charge in an interview with IslamOnline: “I have evidence proving that the government is backing the Jewish lobby in the U.S. and some parties inside Israel.” (To the credit of the Malaysian electorate, Ibrahim’s opposition coalition failed to win a majority in that election.)
And as scholars of terrorist finance like Ilan Weinglass have documented, “Anwar Ibrahim is a founder and director of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a think tank in Virginia that has alleged links to terrorism.” In 2002-2003, Ibrahim’s institute in Virginia was even investigated by the FBI, IRS and CIA for alleged financing of Hamas and Hizbollah.
In looking for America’s friends in the Muslim world, it’s often difficult to know the Good Guy from the Bad Guy. But it’s a good rule of thumb that the politician promulgating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories is not a friend of America.
In Malaysia, the events of the past few months have made it crystal clear a strange role reversal: it’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who is whipping up anti-Semitic sentiment — and it’s Prime Minister Najib Razak who is, for better or worse, standing firm with President Obama and the United States.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Orang Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu? — Zaini Hassan
30 APRIL — Sudah banyak kali saya menulis mengenai sikap sahabat kita, orang Cina Malaysia terhadap kerajaan yang ada sekarang. Saya juga sering mengaitkan cita-cita DAP yang mahu “pulun” semua sekali pengaruh Cina di negara ini.
Seperti mana yang saya tulis sebelum ini, DAP sejak akhir-akhir ini sungguh senyap dalam pergerakannya. Di Selangor pun ia senyap, di Pulau Pinang pun ia mulai senyap, di Perak pun begitu. Senyap-senyap DAP sebenarnya diam-diam berisi.
Gerakan halus mereka bergerak kencang. Harus diingat arus bawah lebih bahaya berbanding ombak di atas. Tapi apakah BN sedar dengan strategi DAP itu. Jika kira-kira 30 tahun dulu, malah 20 tahun dulu, orang Melayu generasi saya amat cuak dengan DAP atas sikap cauvinisnya, kini generasi Melayu sekarang tidak tahu itu semua. Mereka sudah tidak peduli.
Mereka tidak membaca pun buku 13 Mei yang ditulis oleh Tunku Abdul Rahman dan mereka tidak pernah tahu pun wujudnya perarakan penyapu oleh DAP yang mahu menyapu orang Melayu pada masa itu.
Bukan tujuan saya mahu membangkitkan rasa benci kepada parti itu atau kepada sesiapa, tapi ia adalah sejarah yang semua orang anak-anak Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asli malah sesiapa sahaja harus dan berhak tahu mengenainya.
Saya pernah menyarankan supaya buku 13 Mei itu dijadikan teks di sekolah. Matapelajaran sejarah yang sesetengah daripada orang Melayu sendiri amat membencinya, harus diperkuatkan semula. Aspek kenegaraan, soal-soal realiti kemalaysiaan harus diterapkan.
Masukkan juga satu subjek mengenai konsep 1 Malaysia yang sudah mulai disukai ramai itu. Sejarah silam dan aspek kontemporari harus disatukan menjadi satu subjek wajib, yang harus diikuti oleh semua pelajar, bukan sahaja pelajar Sastera, malah juga pelajar Sains.
Tujuan saya membangkitkan semula perkara ini bukanlah bermakna saya ini ultra-Melayu, tetapi untuk menyatakan mengenai realiti politik yang berlaku di sekeliling kita sekarang.
Pilihan raya kecil Hulu Selangor amat unik. Dalam sains politik, ia amat menarik untuk dikaji bagaimana orang Cina (bukan semua, tapi rata-rata) masih tidak mahu kembali kepada parti kerajaan.
Apa lagi yang mereka mahu? Apakah mereka masih merasakan merekalah penentu kepada sesuatu keputusan pilihan raya di negara ini?
Perlulah diingat pilihan raya umum 2008 bukanlah satu ujian sebenar bagi proses demokrasi di negara ini. Ia terlalu artifial. Tsunami yang berlaku adalah akibat kemarahan rakyat kepada kerajaan ketika itu dan kecelaruan fikiran orang Melayu ketika itu.
Akibatnya, DAP telah berjaya mencuri peluang itu. Orang Cina ramai-ramai memihak kepada mereka dan berlakulah tsunami politik yang tidak pernah berlaku dalam sejarah Malaysia.
Tapi jika diambil Hulu Selangor sebagai model pilihan raya umum ke-13 kelak, orang Cina bukanlah (lagi) penentu kepada keputusannya. Orang Melayu masih lagi menjadi faktor mutlak bagi menentukan kepada keputusan itu, dengan syarat — mereka bersatu.
Bersatupun, mereka haruslah secara majoriti menyokong kerajaan dan orang India pun turut serta memberi undi kepada parti kerajaan, maka ketika itu orang Cina bukanlah penentunya. Kecualilah jika orang India dan Cina solid lari daripada BN, maka BN akan tersungkur.
Namun, hakikatnya angka majoriti undi BN di Hulu Selangor bukan lagi satu gambaran kepada kemenangan sebenar. Itu pilihan raya kecil. Semua jentera tertumpu di sini. Dalam pilihan raya umum situasinya adalah jauh berbeza.
Secara angka, Melayu Hulu Selangor pun masih tidak solid. Kita tidak pasti apa lagi yang mereka mahu. Semua yang mereka mahu sudah diberi. Umno pun sudah tunjuk perubahan. Seorang rakan memberitahu ''mungkin kita perlu pendekatan radikal untuk menyelesaikan masalah yang tenat."
Namun, keputusan Hulu Selangor amat disenangi oleh Lim Kit Siang. Beliau dalam ucapannya di rapat umum penutup selepas keputusan kekalahan mereka diumumkan, memberitahu para hadirian yang rata-rata terdiri daripada orang Melayu, keputusan itu sebenarnya ialah kejayaan kepada “rakyat” Hulu Selangor.
Tanpa mahu menyentuh perasaan orang Melayu di situ, beliau sebenarnya merujuk 'rakyat' itu sebagai orang Cina Hulu Selangor yang rata-rata tidak memberi undi kepada BN, tapi sebaliknya memihak kepada DAP.
Kit Siang ternyata amat gembira, sebaliknya Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek dan Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon yang gagal.
Ironisnya, apa pula maksud Soi Lek apabila beliau berkata '”MCA kena vokal”? Saya pun tak tau?
Orang Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu?Tajuk di atas penuh bermakna. Apa lagi yang orang Cina Malaysia mahukan? Kita tolak dulu sebab-musabab mereka tidak menyokong kerajaan yang ada sekarang. Kita kaji dulu apa lagi yang mereka mahu?
Ikut sejarahnya orang Cina berhijrah ke Tanah Melayu ini untuk mencari peluang. Mereka hidup susah di tanah besar China ratusan tahun dulu. Seperti mana orang putih berhijrah ke benua Amerika untuk mencari peluang, begitu jugalah orang Cina yang kini menghuni di negara bertuah Malaysia ini.
Ternyata, percaturan datuk moyang mereka dulu berbaloi. Mereka dapat apa yang mereka mahukan. Mereka hidup mewah di bumi bertuah Malaysia ini.
Malah, bukan Malaysia sahaja, Singapura pun mereka kuasai sepenuhnya. Singapura bukanlah negara asal mereka. Orang Cina Singapura pun asalnya adalah dari tongkang yang sama bersama-sama orang Cina Malaysia. Cuba bezanya, Singapura berjaya dikuasai sepenuhnya, dan Malaysia tidak.
Di Malaysia, orang Cina hidup aman damai bersama-sama orang Melayu, Pribumi dan India. Berbeza dengan di Singapura, di sana orang Cina yang menguasai politik dan sekaligus pemerintahan negara itu. Di Malaysia, politik dan kerajaannya masih lagi dikuasai oleh orang Melayu.
Sistem kedua-dua negara itu sama, cuma ia terbalik sahaja. Orang Melayu di sini, orang Cina di sebelah tambak itu.
Bezanya orang Melayu di Singapura dan orang Cina di Malaysia amat berlainan sekali. Orang Melayu di Singapura hidup biasa-biasa sahaja. Orang Cina di Malaysia hidup lebih daripada biasa-biasa.
Malah Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pernah memberi gambaran sekiranya semua bangunan orang Cina di Kuala Lumpur diangkat dari peta, yang tinggal hanyalah Kampung Baru itu sahaja. Semua yang lain ialah kepunyaan orang Cina Malaysia.
Orang Cina Malaysia amat hebat. Kesemua pekan-pekan besar dan bandar-bandar di seluruh Semenanjung, Sabah dan Sarawak dikuasai mereka.
Mereka juga berjaya melahirkan para profesional yang paling ramai dan berjaya. Sistem sekolah Cina mereka adalah antara yang terbaik di mana-mana sahaja di dunia ini (jika ada).
Kebanyakan pelajar-pelajar di kolej-kolej swasta yang terbaik di Malaysia dipenuhi oleh pelajar-pelajar Cina. Orang Melayu hanya mampu ke kolej milik kerajaan dan yang tidak ternama. Pusat-pusat membeli belah di kompleks-kompleks ternama di Malaysia dipunyai oleh orang Cina.
Di organisasi korporat dan swasta, orang Cinalah yang menguasainya. Orang Melayu boleh di bilang jari dan pekerja bawahan. Malah, kini mahu mohon kerja di situ pun perlu faham cakap Mandarin, sebagai prasyaratnya.
Akhir sekali, orang paling terkaya di Malaysia yang banciannya dijalankan saban tahun oleh sebuah majalah busines di Malaysia mendapati lapan orang Cina yang berada di 10 ke atas. Berikut adalah senarai 10 orang terkaya di Malaysia.
1.Robert Kuok Hock Nien
2.Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan
3. Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng
4. Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow
5. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay
6. Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan
7. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhry
8. Puan Seri Lee Kim Hua
9. Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King
10. Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun. (Sumber: Malaysian Business, Feb 2010)
Itulah hakikatnya Malaysia tanah airku yang tercinta ini. Apakah kerajaan sekarang yang sudah memerintah 52 tahun ini terlalu zalim, kejam dan kuku besi?
Apa lagi yang orang Cina Malaysia mahukan? Tapi saya tahu, anda tahu jawapannya. — Utusan Malaysia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
