E Contrario

I had a shock when a few Suara Keadilan colleagues alerted me that on the front page of Metro, 14 Sept, it was reported that Monasoefian’s elder sister (45 years old) died in Wangsa Maju Police Lock-up.
Monasoefian was a devoted fighter of Reformasi. We first met in the lock-up in Petaling Jaya in the days [...]

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Nadiah Bamadhaj has been invited to display her art in the Singapore Art Museum starting September 15. Included in the exhibition are 6 pieces of collaboration works by her and me from “147 Tahun Merdeka“.
The works of “147 Tahun Merdeka” were exhibited in Reka Art Space from 1-24 September 2005:
http://www.reka-art.com/gallery/exhibitions/2005/nadiah.html

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Happy Birthday Malaysia!
Malaysia is suffering from amnesia. There is a collective memory loss over the date of birth of our nation. Most people also have a problem with identifying themselves with the Malaysian nationhood as it currently stands. Several surveys, recent and old, show that a majority of Malaysian feel more attached to their respective [...]

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On 9 September 2006, Shih Ming-teh, a long time democratic activist spent 25 year in jail, led a massive sit-in to press for the resignation of President Chen Shui-bian. Shih is also one of the founders and ex-chairman of ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Coincidentally, one of the corruption allegation involved President’s son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming [...]

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Mooncake is a special festival food for the season of autumn. The Mooncake Festival sometimes also known as Lantern Festival (Pesta Tanglung) in Malaysia falls on the 15th of the 8th month of Chinese lunar calendar. The actual name of the festival is called Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节).
The exceptional aspect of Mid-Autumn Festival is that it [...]

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Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) normally falls on September. September is a very significant month for Reformasi. It reminds me of the days in the beginning of the struggle.
In 2000, I wrote an article, “Mooncake and Reformasi” which was was published on 12 September. On that night, Reformasi supporters gathered in the house of Dr Wan [...]

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Following the advise of Adnan Yaakob, let’s organise a logo design competition for a new Umno flag. The following are some early entries:-
Original Umno Flag:

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Proposal by Adnan Yaakob, but the RM1 coin has been abolished by Bank Negara due to too much counterfeit.

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Proposal by Ku Li, supported by Azim Zabidi of BSN. The coin tree [...]

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Adnan Yaakob was known for behaving like gangster. But still you gotta love the honesty of this guy.
At the Sungai Siput Umno delegates meeting on 9 September, Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan said the kris brought bad feng shui to Umno.

Hishamuddin and his Taming Sari
As a traditional Malay weapon, kris epitomizes fights and skirmishes. His interpretation [...]

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I attended a PAS-sponsored dinner at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall tonight (6 September 2006). The function aimed at promoting PAS to the Chinese community.
PAS top leaders present were: President Hadi Awang, Deputy President Dr Nasaruddin, Secretary General Dr Kamaruddin Jaafar, Dr Hatta, Mujahid Yusof Rawal. Dr Hanimah, and so on.
In his speech, PAS President [...]

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巫统近日来势汹汹、咄咄逼人，看来执政的民政党也被压得喘不过气。这场冲突爆发，直接粉碎了国阵团结精神的神话，此时此刻不论哪方劝架都无济于事，杯水车薪，就不到熊熊的燎原烈火。
好戏还在后头。这一边巫统打「马来人边缘化论」，民政祭出「誓死力保华人首长」的尚方宝剑。双方各出法宝，一来一往，精彩的招数，叫各位看官，瞪得目不暇给。

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对垒的结局如何，要多战几个回合才能分晓。乍看之下，民政党老树盘根，似乎不易被推翻。问题是，我们或许没留意，树干的内部是否已给白蚁蛀腐。这回，槟州巫统叫阵，表面上只有几个区部的运作，实际上完全是有备而来的。
无可否认，民政党近期将进行领导交替，虽说林敬益把主席棒子移交给许子根，党内新的权力结构还没有建立起来。许子根或者有意留任槟州首席部长，党内未必全体赞成。巫统这时趁虚而入，完全不令人意外。
槟州巫统兴师问罪，分明是趁火打劫，在民政前景未明朗时，借机发难。目前民政最大的危机不是外来威胁，而是领导层太天真的把全部希望放在首相伯拉，一厢情愿地以为伯拉会扮演一个公正的仲裁人。
这幻想是不现实的。有人觉得炒这个课题的只是一小撮种族分子的把戏，这是绝对错误的判断。近期巫统和华基政党的摩擦，与巫统的党争有很大关系。不幸的，仇视民政州政权是大部分槟州巫统派系的共识。
面对着老马的挑战，伯拉当前的处境没有条件阻止槟州各派的要求。倒民政之风已经在槟州巫统内掀起，就连他的女婿凯利也是这运动的急先锋。
这件事上，伯拉显示本身的无能，更没法维持国阵各党之间的合作及和谐，巫统将抓紧他年底党大会时急需支持，力争交换条件的凑码。伯拉为了避免槟州巫统分裂，以至部分派系向老马或其他不满势力倒戈，民政党在槟州的政权必是牺牲品。

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