V. David, the man who made ‘May Day’ possible

V. David is a Malaysian trade unionist who was fearless and vocal in raising issues concerning the Indian community in Malaysia. In 1958, he was arrested under the Emergency Ordinance and detained under the Internal Security Act in 1964, 1969 (after May 13 racial riots) and 1987.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Many Malaysians probably take the 1st May holiday for granted. It is a day to stay home or for going out with the family. Or maybe it is a day to sleep in late.

Whatever today may mean to you, did you know that Malaysia did not always celebrate May Day or declare 1st May a holiday? This was because Malaysia was still at ‘war’ with the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and anything ‘labour’ or ‘socialist’ was regarded as ‘communist’. Malays were led to believe that anything ‘left wing’ is ‘budaya kominis’ and therefore an imported ideology from Mainland China and Russia, the two superpowers of those days that were sympathetic to the CPM cause. And Malays believed that communism is opposed to Islamic teachings.

Malays have of course come a long way since then, though they still have a longer way to go, and the perception of May Day is no longer one of an un-Islamic holiday associated with communism. But many probably do not know that getting Malaysia to endorse May Day as a workers’ holiday, and not a communist holiday, plus getting 1st May gazetted as a holiday, has to be credited to the renowned workers’ hero, V. David, who fought for many long years to get the Malaysian government to change its stand.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about V. David:

David V. (born 26 August 1932 - died 10 July 2005) is a Malaysian trade unionist and former opposition politician. He won a seat in the Malaysian parliament twice, representing the constituencies of Bangsar and Damansara. While in parliament, he was known to be fearless and vocal in raising issues concerning the Indian community in Malaysia.

David was a founding member and secretary of Selangor Factories Association, which he started in 1953. He was elected a Kuala Lumpur town councillor and became Transport Union secretary in 1958. In 1959, he was elected the Member of Parliament for Bangsar. In 1978, David defeated the Malaysian Indian Congress strongman, Deputy Minister S. Subramaniam, and became the Damansara Member of Parliament.

David was arrested under the Emergency Ordinance in 1958. He was also arrested under the Internal Security Act in 1964, 1969 (after May 13 racial riots) and 1987. In 1984, he became the Chairman of World Tamil Association.

To help you get a better insight into this unsung and forgotten hero called V. David, I would like to reproduced a 7 March 2004 article from the New Straits Times:

YBs (Yang Berharap) gearing up for the big day

By Ahmad A. Talib
The New Straits Times

Many years ago, when well-known labour leader V. David stood as a candidate in the general election, I would meet him and wish him luck. With his balding pate and the trademark thick spectacles and midriff, David would pace up and down the main hall of the Transport Workers Union and bark instructions to his supporters.

"Hurry up, we must get the manifesto distributed first thing in the morning. I don't have the whole day, you know!"

In 1978, David contested as a DAP candidate and won the Damansara parliamentary seat defeating the Barisan Nasional's Datuk S. Subramaniam, much to the delight of his party and supporters. As a fulltime trade unionist, David was a popular figure. It was difficult not to notice his bulk as he went from one meeting to another to get the best possible deal for his TWU members. With David at the helm of the union and Datuk Zainal Rampak as his running mate in the movement, members were generally happy with their collective agreements.

I would often drop in at the bilik gerakan of candidates I knew just to wish them good luck, and David was one of them. It was quite common to have the bilik gerakan manned by tough looking men or youths. I understand this was necessary as part of the security measures.

So, I was naturally quizzed by these toughies when I walked in to see David. In the elections of the `70s and part of the `80s, fistfights were not uncommon, forcing candidates to opt for their own security arrangement.

David's helpers were mostly Indians and they eyed me suspiciously as I looked around the hall trying to locate him. They must have been wondering why this young non-union like, skinny fellow wanted to see David. Is this fellow from the Special Branch? Or worse still, from the other political party trying to cause trouble! As they later found out, I was none of the above - just a reporter on his rounds to seek out bits and pieces for some political commentaries and news reports.

Well, that's that. The election is here again. March 21 has been set as polling day and March 13 fixed for nomination. These are days when every single member of any political party and every political leader waits for. This is D-Day! Every day in the last few months has been geared for the day when the ballot boxes are taken out, dusted and put to use again. All the homework they have done, the strategy they have formed, the plans and counter plans - they are being put to the big test.

The candidates and their supporters work just as hard to ensure victory. The adrenalin never stops pumping between the time when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced to his colleagues and the nation that the Dewan Rakyat would be dissolved to pave the way for the 11th general election. In any general election, the Prime Minister calls the shot, and Pak Lah just did, setting in motion a series of events that will climax on March 21.

On another occasion I recall the formation of a new political party, Nasma, which seemingly had the support of social activists, some intellectuals and leaders from non-governmental organisations. Nasma's introduction to the media was held at one of the city's leading hotels. What attracted much attention then was the party had a woman as president, Zainab Yang, who was then more known as the `Lorry Woman' because she was head of the Pan Malaysian Lorry Operators' Association.

There was considerable attraction to the formation of Nasma. Its proponents had high hopes but this was not backed by real political acumen and, within a few years, Nasma receded into the political wilderness, never to engage in serious battles after a brief and disastrous encounter on the Malaysian scene. The simple lesson for Nasma and other like-minded proponents - don't go into politics if you are short on resources. Politics is not a romantic journey, neither is it a trip to test one's grandiose plans and vague images of undying loyalty and worship.

Bob, an American acquaintance, asked me a few days ago how the campaign was going to be like now that the polling date had been set. "What campaign?" I asked. He looked puzzled. "Bob, in places like Kelantan the campaign has never stopped. It's like a football match - the players never take off their jerseys, and that being so, treat everyday as match day!"

House calls are known to be more personal and popular these days, partly because political rallies, in the traditional sense of the word, is a thing of the past. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, this stopping of political rallies. As a schoolboy in 1969, I saw political rallies being turned into a stage for racial name-calling and bad-mouthing with bloody consequences. It is best forgotten, really...

Personal schedules, family gatherings and even business decisions have been put on the back-burner in these couple of weeks. It's politics, morning, day and night. At the Tanglin nasi lemak stall behind the National Mosque, customers were discussing who would be dropped, and whether new Menteris Besar would emerge from some States. Isa, in between sips of teh tarik, gave his theory why Pak Lah, and the BN, would win handsomely, echoed by his friend Shah, a pensioner.

Well, we'll soon know. In the meantime, make sure you know where you are voting. Every vote counts, your candidate will tell you. All the best YBs. That's Yang Berharap, mind you, not Yang Berhormat...

CHAMPION FOR THE DOWNTRODDEN

From village hero, V David rose to become a pillar of the Malaysian workers’ movement
by K George
Aliran Monthly Vol 25 (2005): Issue 6


All his life he committed himself to the struggle for workers’ rights, social justice, freedom and democracy.

K George

Born on 26 August 1932 in a squatter settlement at the 3rd mile, Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur, V David started his life in abject poverty. His father, S Vethamuthu, had a small farm and a herd of cattle for survival. As he grew older, David had to help his father by going to houses around the area delivering milk daily. Despite this, he managed to complete his Senior Cambridge. As the years rolled by, his mother became a widow, burdened with the task of bringing up her only son.

Under the circumstances, it was only natural that mother and son became inseparably close. Even after his mother’s demise, she remained close to his heart until the last day of his life. It is no exaggeration to say that David used to visit his mother’s grave very often — not only every year on the occasion of her birthday, death anniversary, etc but whenever he stood for election, started a union, contested for leadership position and even before embarking on other important event. To him, she was a saint whose blessing he sought before undertaking any venture.

In 1954, he enrolled with the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA for a course in Economics, Political Science and Industrial Relations. At the same time, he also attended a course on Labour Unions organised by the AFL-CIO, the American National Trade Union Centre. Even when he was deeply involved in trade union and political activities, he continued his tertiary education. In 1980, he obtained a Masters in Commerce degree from the University of New Delhi. A few years later his thesis on international relations was accepted by Pacific Western University, California, USA, which awarded him a doctorate.

Compassion for the downtrodden

Even when David was in his teens, he was a hero in his village. The villagers often sought his advice and guidance. David’s compassion for the poor and downtrodden was natural, simply because of the condition in which he grew up. His first venture in 1953 was to form a trade union known as the Selangor Mill Workers Union (SMWU), which integrated with the Selangor Factory Workers Union. In 1955, the union’s name was changed to the National Union of Factory and General Workers (NUFGW). It was one of the “General Unions” that was recognised by the British colonial rulers.

On 31 August 1957, Malaya became independent. The NUFGW became so strong and popular under the leadership of the youthful V David that even the workers in the plantation industry preferred to be members of the new union. The Alliance government of independent Malaya detained David and amended the labour law to ensure the automatic deregistration of all existing general unions at that time. Since then, our 'democratic' government has never granted registration of general unions! David was subsequently released.

He became even more popular - loved by the working masses and disliked by the capitalists. Soon, he was approached by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to be its executive secretary. He travelled by truck and enrolled thousands and thousands of workers in the transport industry. Soon he was elected the General Secretary of the TWU and held on to that position unchallenged even after he had suffered two strokes.

Youngest MP at 26

In the 1959 General Election, David, already a member of the Labour Party, which formed a coalition with other opposition parties known as the Socialist Front, contested and won, becoming a Member of Parliament for Bangsar as well as Selangor State Assembly member. At 26, he was the youngest Member of Parliament – bold, vigorous and committed.

By mid 1960s, the registration of the Labour Party was cancelled. Its leaders like Dr Tan Chee Khoon, Veerappan, Tan Pock Kin, David and others decided to seek the registration of another party. I was then the General Secretary of the Federation of Armed Forces Civilian Staff Union as well as Vice-President of the MTUC and of CUEPACS. Like David, I too believed that trade unions had to involve themselves in politics. It was not an unusual phenomenon but a fact that was visible all over the world.

I was invited by the group to join and help with the formation of Gerakan. It was during this period that I grew closer to David. I am proud to claim that both of us knew what poverty was and that our commitment to struggle for the welfare of workers became a passion. David stood on a Gerakan ticket in the General Elections in 1969 and was elected to Parliament as MP for Datuk Keramat in Penang. However, being a civil servant and father of three young children, I decided to carry on with my job and union activity.

Gerakan became a very popular party and received multiracial support. In the May 1969 General Election, the party captured the state of Penang and formed the government with Dr Lim Chong Eu as Chief Minister. But within two years, it was embroiled in a leadership crisis, resulting in Dr Lim taking full control of Gerakan. Professor Alatas, Dr Tan Chee Khoon, David and other leaders left Gerakan and formed Pekemas, which contested in the 1974 General Election. Out of over 90 candidates, only Dr Tan Chee Khoon retained his seat as the MP for Kepong constituency. Pekemas did not last long. Subsequently, David joined the DAP.

He was elected to parliament on the DAP ticket in 1978 for Damansara and was successfully returned in 1986 and 1990 for Puchong. But in 1995, David did not contest because of health reasons.

Indomitable spirit

While holding the post of TWU General Secretary, he represented the union in the Executive Council and the Working Committee of the MTUC. He was elected as one of its Vice-Presidents in 1971 - a position he held until 1976. Two years later, he was elected the Secretary General of the MTUC. In 1979, he was elected to the governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He held on to this prestigious position and the post of Secretary General of the MTUC until 1992.
Apart from the above positions, he was also a Council Member of the International Transport Federation and President of the World Tamil Federation for some time.

David became the “guest” of the government for the fourth time in October 1987 along with 105 others - innocent victims of Operation Lalang under the obnoxious Internal Security Act. This time he had to spend 222 days in the Kamunting Detention Camp. It could not break his indomitable spirit which remained intact. All his life he committed himself to the struggle for workers’ rights, social justice, freedom and democracy. He had been a persistent critic of the government’s capitalistic policies and its unjust refusal to grant citizenship to the Indian plantation workers who were born in this country in spite of their pioneering economic contribution to this nation.

In his final three years, he became bed-ridden. His wife, Grace Sivapakiam, took special care of her husband until the last day on July 10, 2005. Their only son, Norman David 22, who is studying medicine in Bangalore, India, was present at the time of his father’s demise.

V David will be remembered as a pillar of the Malaysian workers’ movement for many years to come. His memory will be cherished and recalled with fondness as someone who had given his best for the workers and who had sacrificed the best part of his life in the struggle to uplift the poor and the downtrodden.

Is DAP showing its true colours?

Aiyah, bilalah orang DAP nak buang otak Cina dan tukar kepada otak Malaysia? Patutlah orang Umno suruh orang DAP balek Cina. Aku dah lama nak masuk DAP tapi meluat tengok perangai Chinese Chauvinist DAP ni.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Karpal Appeals To PM For Hindraf Leaders' Release

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- DAP Chairman Karpal Singh today appealed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to instruct Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to revoke the detention order on the five Hindraf leaders detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Karpal said that despite the detention orders by the King, Syed Hamid could at any time under the law revoke the orders on the five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

The King had on March 26 ordered for the leaders two-year detention, effective Dec 13 last year, be continued until completion.

"I would have thought, in line with the reconciliatory stance of the government in bringing about reforms, including setting up of a judicial commission for the appointment and promotion of judges, the five leaders would have been set free to rejoin their families.

"In fact, the Government should, in line with this approach, repeal the ISA," said Karpal, who is also Bukit Gelugor MP, in a statement tonight.

On Dec 13 last year, the authorities detained M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar for organising a mass rally in the federal capital and making demands for the rights of Indians in the country.


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Nik Aziz’s son was detained for more than five years. Do you know the name of this son? There are about 90 or so ‘Muslim terrorists’ who are in their seventh year of detention. Okay, we have five Hindraf activitists, now popularly known as the HINDRAF 5, who have been under detention for the last four months. And their names are M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar. Yes, that’s right, five Indians going by the name of M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar have been under detention without trial since the last four months and we want them freed without any further delay.

That’s work with me. I am all for it. Now, can be list down the names of the other 90 or so Malaysians who have been detained for up to six to seven years? The five Indians are called M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar. I want to know the names of the other 90 Malaysians -- Malays, Chinese, Indians, and other ‘natives’. Can we also list their names down? Who are they? Where are they from? The five Indians have been under detention since Christmas last year. Some of the other 90 have been under detention for six or seven Christmases.

I believe in FIFO (first in, first out) not LIFO (last in, first out). Okay, we know that the HINDRAF 5 -- M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar -- have been detained for the ‘crime’ of organising a massive demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on 25 November 2007. What are the crimes of the other 90 -- whom no one cares what their names are?

According to the government, the HINDRAF 5 are under detention because they have links with international terrorists and had planned to create chaos in Malaysia. Of course, that is a government lie and we certainly don’t believe that lie. Also according to the government, the other 90 have been detained because they too have links with international terrorists and they too had planned to create chaos in Malaysia. The government could be correct on this one because most of these 90 or so are Muslims and, according to America, all Muslims are terrorists.

Okay, maybe not all 1.2 billion or so Muslims are terrorists. Maybe only 0.1% of Muslims are terrorists. But that means we have to be careful about the balance 99.9% because they could also be terrorists since they share the same religion.

Hmm…is not the government using this same argument to detain the HINDRAF 5? Since 0.1% Indians in Sri Lanka are terrorists then M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar must also be terrorists since they share the same skin colour and religion.

As I said in my earlier piece, yes, let us fight for the release of the HINDRAF 5. I agree that they are victims of political persecution. But if you do not want to also fight for the release of the other 90 at least mention their names to show that you know who they are.

In fact, there are also some Chinese amongst those 90. Yes, and I bet you did not know that. I bet you do not know how many of them are Chinese. And I further bet you do not know what their names are. And I dare bet my last dollar that you don’t know why they were detained and how long they have been under detention.

Do you know, 20 years ago, a young Chinese girl from Kuala Terengganu was detained because she spoke about Jesus Christ to some Malays. The Malays reported her and the unfortunate girl was detained under ISA. Don’t you Chinese, in particular you Christians, feel outraged? Or is it you don’t dare express outrage or else you will also have to express outrage about the Muslims who have been detained for more than six or seven years?

One of my schoolmates, Hilmi, was also detained under ISA. He was detained because he left Islam to become a Christian and eventually went up to become a senior priest in the church. I bet you will now express outrage about Hilmi’s detention because he is a Malay who became a Christian. But if he was a Malay who remained a Muslim then you probably would not be interested to know why he was detained.

I met one Chinese woman while she was still under ISA detention who told the Suhakam Commission of Inquiry that she was asked to strip naked so that her Malay jailors could feast their eyes on her naked body. Still not outraged yet? Okay, I also met a Chinese chap who was beaten senseless. He no longer knew how long he had been detained. He just sat there and cried and was not able to utter a word. They had beaten him so bad that he had lost his mind. The Suhakam Commissioners were speechless and did not know what to say. I hope, now, you are outraged and can see the ‘logic’ of broadening your focus beyond just the HINDRAF 5.

DAP is not a Chinese party. No doubt 30 Indians contested under DAP’s banner on 8 March 2008 and Hindraf was certainly a factor that swung the election results. But we must not just ‘bodek’ the Indians. If DAP wants to be perceived as a ‘Malaysian’ party, rather than a Chinese party that is merely exploiting the Indian issue, then it has to broaden its ‘perjuangan’. PAS is currently debating whether to admit non-Muslims into the party. If they vote in favour of that move, and Chinese Christians and Indian Hindus join PAS, then DAP may become irrelevant. And there are Indians and Chinese waiting to jump into PAS the instant it opens it doors to the non-Muslims.

The new Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly finally wore a songkok when he went before the palace to take his oath of office. Earlier, this Chinese State Assemblyman from DAP wrote in his Blog that he will never wear a songkok and that he will boycott any function that requires him to wear one.

Kurang ajar sungguh! He has been a State Assemblyman for many terms and is now the Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly and he still does not know that one must never mengadap Tuanku with a ‘kepala gondol’ (naked head). Even if you mengadap the Queen of England or the Emperor of Japan you can’t do so with a naked head. This is called ‘dress code’.

I remember once when Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, the Sixth Sultan of Selangor, was denied entry into the Lake Club. He was actually the guest of honour of the Club President and was being escorted there by my grandfather, Raja Sir Tun Uda. But they were both denied entry into the Lake Club, so the Sultan and my grandfather just turned around and went home without a fuss.

Even a Sultan can be denied entry. And he did not say anything or protest even though he was a Sultan and wielded immense power in those pre-Merdeka days. Do you think it is unfair if the Sultan denies someone entry into the palace if that person refuses to observe the proper dress code? Anyway, some were in fact not properly attired when they mengadap the Sultan recently but Tuanku did not make an issue out of it. Tuanku was very accommodating and chatted with everyone in a very friendly manner even though some were ‘disrespectful’ or, in palace lingo, tidak beradat.

Let us grow up and move ahead (even the Sultan was prepared to close his eyes to the DAP ‘protest’). We need to rise above the ‘I refuse to wear anything that is Malay’ tantrum. And Karpal Singh should stop whacking those DAP leaders who wore the songkok during the recent swearing-in ceremony because this will just make these people suffer from songkok phobia. And to throw up the excuse that they refuse to wear the songkok because ‘it is something Malay’ does not go down well with the Malay grassroots who are already being poisoned by Umno that ‘Malay land is falling into the hands of the Chinese’. Why make it easier for Umno to convince the Malays that this is so?

Okay, the very stubborn State Assemblyman who would rather get sent to hell than wear a songkok finally relented and wore one. Of course, wearing a songkok is a small sacrifice when the prize is the position of Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly. DAP had earlier decided that they will leave it to each state to decide whether to wear one or not. And Selangor decided that they will wear one when they mengadap Tuanku in keeping with proper adat istiadat istana. So can Karpal please now leave them alone and stop whacking them for ‘becoming like Malays’.

And if these Wakil Rakyat, both Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen, do a good job, the Rulers may want to reward them. I know Karpal is not happy if any of the DAP leaders become Datuk or Tan Sri or, heaven forbid, Tun. Hey, this is the way the Rulers reward dedicated, hardworking, loyal and faithful servants of the people. So please stop warning the DAP leaders that if the Rulers offer them any award, decoration or title they should reject them like how Lim Kit Siang did so some years back.

Would you rather they buy them from Umno like all those other Chinese towkays and tycoons? For RM100,000 to RM250,000, depending on the state, the Chinese and Indians tycoons can get a datukship. Fortunately, though, those are not states that are under Pakatan Rakyat control. If the Rulers feel that some DAP leaders have done a great job and Their Highnesses would like to decorate them, then let it be. Hey, maybe not a single DAP leader will get a datukship until the day he or she dies. But in the event the Rulers decide they would like to dish some out, then stop getting in the way. Just allow the DAP leaders to accept these awards. After all, if they have done a good job then they deserve these awards.

It is very discouraging to hear that warnings have already been given that DAP leaders should not accept these awards. Why embarrass the Rulers? Better Karpal or Kit Siang just issue an official Press Release, today, that DAP leaders are forbidden (diharamkan) from accepting decorations and awards from the Rulers. Then DAP leaders can be excluded from the awards list and the Rulers can be spared the embarrassment of offering them to the DAP leaders only to have the DAP leaders tell Tuanku, “Thank you Tuanku, but no thank you, not interested in your stupid awards and decorations!”

Aiyah, bilalah orang DAP nak buang otak Cina dan tukar kepada otak Malaysia? Patutlah orang Umno suruh orang DAP balek Cina. Aku dah lama nak masuk DAP tapi meluat tengok perangai Chinese Chauvinist DAP ni.

The true JIHAD

IKIM must stress that jihad is your personal war. It is a war against your own heart. It is a war to resist all forms of temptation. It is a war to evict ego, lust, greed, envy, jealousy, vanity and all forms of diseases of the heart. It is a war very few win.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

This is what IKIM wrote in The Star today in its article called Peace or war, it is our choice:

Jihad with its multitude of branches has very strict rules, especially when it relates to confrontation with an enemy.

ONE cannot find words strong enough to condemn the Sept 11, 2001 tragedy. It is not human if one does not share the pain and suffering that the affected families are going through and will endure for a long, long time to come.

Those who choose to define this violent act as jihad or “holy war” need to know that Islam is such a structured and comprehensive guidance that even the procedure to attend to the call of nature is explicitly taught to us by the Messenger of Allah. If one follows those rules while going to the bathroom, it becomes an act of worship.

Islam had nothing to do with this action (Sept 11), even if, after a thorough investigation, those that perpetrated it turned out to have Muslim names or had come from Muslim lands.

Islam does not permit violence. Unfortunately many ignorant Muslims and non-Muslims are not fully aware of this fact, or choose not to acknowledge it.

Jihad with its multitude of branches has very strict rules, especially when it relates to confrontation with an enemy. Indiscriminate killing or harming of women, children, old men, people who take refuge in their houses, animals and even plants, especially those of economic value, is forbidden at all cost.

War is permitted in Islam, just as it is permitted in many other religions, provided it is a pure act of defending the religion, life and state.

(READ MORE HERE: http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/6803/84/ )

While I am very careful about disputing or debating the opinions of religious scholars (because many view me as a ‘deviant’ Muslim not worthy of commenting on matters related to Islam), I cannot allow the above piece to pass without some form of ‘engagement’.

If you were to carefully note the gist of the article, it is apparent that the term ‘jihad’ has been taken only in the context of war, in particular a holy war in defence of Islam. No doubt IKIM has taken pains to mention that war is allowed by Islam, a necessary evil of sorts, but it must be waged only in defence of one’s life, limb, property and religion and not as an act of aggression. This can be interpreted as war is not only allowed, but becomes necessary, when one is the victim.

There is nothing Islamic about this at all. Whether one is a Muslim or not, this same concept would apply. You have a right to defend your property and your territory, your life and that of your family, your country and the freedom of your nation, your religion plus the freedom to practice your religion, and so on. Oppression and persecution must be opposed and it is the duty of mankind, Muslims not excluded, to come to the aid of others, even if they are not Muslims, who suffer oppression and persecution. This means, if a Muslim nation is acting unjustly towards non-Muslims, then Muslims must oppose their Muslim ‘brothers’ in defence of the oppressed non-Muslims.

Opposition to oppression and persecution must cut across religious lines. The oppressors must be opposed at all costs. It does not matter who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed. Muslims must fight the oppressing Muslims even if those oppressed are not of the Islamic faith. This is something the IKIM article did not mention.

Most importantly though, what the IKIM article did not mention is that jihad has nothing to do with war. There are many renowned Muslim scholars who disagree that jihad means war. Others would argue that there are two forms of jihad, one being war. Then, of course, there are those who equate jihad to war. Which of the three schools of thought is correct is up to one’s interpretation of Islam. The jury is still out on which is the correct interpretation. And rest assured that there are many interpretations of Islam and everyone believes that his or her interpretation is correct while the others are all wrong.

This not only holds true for Islam. All religions suffer from this and that is why we have many sects in most religions. And the different sects of the same religion would solve their differences by going to war and by killing each other. And, until today, the wars are still going on and millions die just because they have interpreted their holy book differently.

Anyway, the jihad that I am talking about -- which many scholars view as the correct interpretation and which IKIM did not elaborate -- is the ‘war’ against oneself. “Get thee behind me Satan,” some would say. The three ‘religions of the book’ believe that when Satan was evicted from Heaven, he made a ‘deal’ with God that he would mislead mankind to prove that humans, who are made from clay, are weak compared to Satan, who is made from fire. God agreed and challenged Satan to do his worst.

Since that day on, Satan has been attempting to inflict mankind with the ‘disease’ of greed, lust, vanity, jealousy, and much more. And this is the greatest penyakit (sickness) facing mankind. And God wants mankind to fight all forms of temptation that lurk in our heart.

Bearing arms in defence of God, King and Country is easy. Defending your life, family and property is also not that difficult when push comes to shove. But fighting against oneself is the true test of the pudding. We all have egos. We all feel lust. We all suffer from greed. Everyone is vain to a certain extent. And who does not get jealous? In some countries, crimes of passion are not a crime since it is very difficult to fight emotions, in particular jealousy.

So the greatest jihad is the war against your own heart. Some say that this is the only ‘war’ while others says that this is the greater jihad and armed conflict the smaller jihad. Nevertheless, this is the most difficult jihad and many lose this war, miserably.

Just look at what is going on in Malaysia. Just look at all those mosque-going, church-going and temple-going Malaysians. Many ‘religious’ people are the most corrupt. Rape, murder, corruption, abuse of power, oppression, persecution, etc., are committed by not only those who profess a religion but also by those who practice their religion to a fault (in particular leaders in government cum heads of religion). But some of these people are the worst people on the face of this earth. And the perfect gentleman appears to be those atheists and agnostics who are good because they are good at heart and not because they want to go to Heaven -- in fact they do not even believe that there is a Heaven and Hell.

IKIM must stress that jihad is your personal war. It is a war against your own heart. It is a war to resist all forms of temptation. It is a war to evict ego, lust, greed, envy, jealousy, vanity and all forms of diseases of the heart. It is a war very few win. It is a war that even the most religious Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. fall victim to in the battle against Satan.

The new de facto Minister of Law has many enemies, especially in Umno. His critics call him a drunk and an apostate (at least they don’t call him a womeniser, as what most Umno people are). But then I too have been accused by Umno people of the same ‘crime’; so it is no surprise. When Malays want to discredit you, they use these arguments against you. But Zaid is more Islamic than most Malays. At least Zaid opposes ‘un-Islamic’ laws, which most Malays support and defend as necessary.

Syeds are supposed to be descendants of the Prophet -- at least this is what Malays believe. But Syed Hamid Albar says that the ISA shall stay while the ‘drunkard apostate’ Minister is opposed to it. Who is more Islamic? Who is the better follower of Islamic teachings? Give me a ‘dunk apostate’ over the ‘Prophet’s descendant’ anytime. They are certainly better people.

This was what The Sun reported yesterday:

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim says he finds the Internal Security Act (ISA), which has been regarded as draconian by the Opposition and the legal fraternity, unacceptable.

"I am against any unjust and harsh law, and ISA and OSA (Official Secrets Act) are unacceptable to me," the de facto law minister said of his stand on the two Acts during an interview with Nanyang Siang Pau.

"In fact, I have stated my stand (on these laws) in my books," he said.

Umno’s really losing the plot

They decided that the only way to grab back Selangor and ensure that Selangor remains in Malay hands would be to isolate the non-Malays. And this would be done by kicking out Kuala Lumpur from Selangor and then by creating a new ‘Malay city’ called Shah Alam.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have been attending quite a few Umno brainstorm sessions, organised for the specific purpose of conducting a postmortem on the 8 March 2008 general elections. Of course, not all were open forums like the Hotel Singgahsana and Holiday Villa ones. Many were closed-door sessions. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as ‘closed-door’ to Malaysia Today. We not only have our tentacles in the meeting rooms and boardrooms but in the bedrooms as well.

For example, one closed-door session chaired by Muhammad son of Muhammad, the ‘expired’ politician who managed to convince an Australian court that he speekee no Ingleesh, and handpicked by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to head the ‘Grab Back Selangor from the Opposition’ campaign, came to the conclusion that Malaysia Today was a contributing factor in Barisan Nasional’s disastrous performance.

And what should they do about it? The Vice-Youth Chief of Umno PJ Utara came out with the perfect solution. “Arrest Raja Petra!” suggested the sorry excuse for a Melayu Baru. Yes, why are the Chinese making so much noise about the high Malay and low non-Malay quota in local universities? Can’t the non-Malays see that education is wasted on the Malays? The more you educate the Malays, the more stupid they become. The Melayu Lama like Tun Ghaffar Baba, who only received a Standard Six education, have proven to be cleverer than these Melayu Baru. It is better that the Chinese and Indians are denied places in local universities than they become stupid like the ‘educated’ Malays -- especially if they receive an education in universities headed by BTN operatives like Nordin Kardi.

And why do these ‘highly-educated’ Umno people want me arrested? Because the voters exercised their democratic right in a general election. It seems it is a crime for the voters to vote for any other than Umno and Barisan Nasional. Why then hold the elections? Why not Umno and Barisan Nasional just abolish the elections and the government rule perpetually? Then no crime can be committed because no one would then be able to vote and therefore they will not be able to vote against Umno and Barisan Nasional.

Has it not occurred to these Melayu Baru that not only is voting your right but voting for whomsoever you like is also your right? There has been no crime committed here. So why must I be arrested when what the voters did was merely to exercise their democratic right as enshrined in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia? Read the Constitution properly. It says that elections will be held after three years and before five years from the last election and all eligible citizens may register as voters and exercise their right to vote. It does not say anywhere in the Constitution that the voters must vote for Umno or Barisan Nasional.

As I said, education is wasted on these Melayu Baru from Umno and the Chinese and Indians should thank Umno for the biased New Economic Policy and the manipulation of racial quotas in local universities. I, for one, do not wish for my children or grandchildren to receive a local university education if the end product would be graduates with the narrow and outdated mentality the likes of these Umno Melayu Baru.

Anyway, back to the Umno brainstorm sessions I attended. The latest one was yesterday at the Holiday Villa in Subang and the guest of honour was Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (see photographs here ). First of all, Muhammad son of Muhammad instructed the Umno branch and division heads and committee members to boycott the event, so the hall was not full in spite of it being quite a small hall (they actually announced this in the gathering). Most of the key people were absent save for those such as Tamrin Ghaffar, Mazlan Harun, Fahmi Ibrahim, Kadar Shah, etc. -- who most of you have probably never heard of. I would not go so far as to classify them as ‘expired goods’ but they would certainly not be in the same league as the powerbrokers, kingpins and warlords.

The theme of the entire session was that the Malays have lost political power. In 2004 there were 119 Malay Members of Parliament if the number of seats that Umno and PAS won are combined. This time around the number of Malay Parliamentarians were reduced to 101. They very cleverly left out the 20 Malay Members of Parliament from PKR which would bring the 2008 total to 121, which is higher than in 2004.

Maybe Umno considers PAS a Malay party. Therefore the 23 PAS Parliamentarians are included in the head count -- while PKR is considered a Chinese-Indian party so the 20 Malay Parliamentarians from PKR are considered ‘non-Malays’. Anyway, the bottom-line is: there was an increase in Malay Members of Parliament this time around, so this ‘Malays have lost their political power’ argument is an outright lie. The figures speak for themselves. We have more Malay Parliamentarians now than in 2004. Period.

But does it really matter what race these Members of Parliament are? What is important is that they do their job, serve the people, and run this country well. I would rather have a sincere, dedicated, honest, hardworking, and God-fearing Chinese, Indian, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist Wakil Rakyat than a slimeball, scumbag, crooked, hypocritical, manipulative, Malay-Muslim whose sole purpose in life is to cheat, rob, rape, plunder and murder people who get in their way and interfere with their plans. And is this not what we have witnessed over 50 years, in particular the last 40 years or so since they ousted the perfect Malay gentleman called Tunku Abdul Rahman?

While on the subject of the Tunku, allow me to talk about what was revealed at yesterday’s session in Holiday Villa. Other than Tengku Razaleigh, who read out his speech from a prepared text, the other two speakers were Mazlan Harun and Fahmi Ibrahim. Mazlan is the son of the infamous Datuk Harun Idris, the engineer and architect of the equally infamous ‘May 13’ race riots in 1969. Fahmi Ibrahim was Datuk Harun’s political secretary.

The MC had a very strange way of introducing Tengku Razaleigh. The MC, who spoke too much and spoke more than what he should, introduced Tengku Razaleigh as a very short man and short men, said the MC, are known to be very smart. Now, what has a man’s height got to do with how smart he is? Next, the MC said that Tengku Razaleigh may be considered too old at 71, but that does not mean he still does not have a few good years left in him.

I was beginning to wonder whether the MC was trying to promote Tengku Razaleigh or whether Muhammad son of Muhammad had slipped him a few Australian Dollars with instructions to sabotage the event by running down Tengku Razaleigh.

Fahmi Ibrahim then spoke about how the Malays once lost political power in 1969 and Tun Razak, who had ousted the Tunku and had taken over as Prime Minister, summoned Datuk Harun and told him to come out with a plan on how the Malays can grab back political power and prevent this fiasco ever happening again.

They decided that the only way to grab back Selangor and ensure that Selangor remains in Malay hands would be to isolate the non-Malays. And this would be done by kicking out Kuala Lumpur from Selangor and then by creating a new ‘Malay city’ called Shah Alam. They sat down to redraw the Kuala Lumpur boundary and two weeks later they submitted the new Kuala Lumpur master plan to Tun Razak.

The federal government then annexed Kuala Lumpur and in the same process the non-Malays were ‘kicked out’ of Selangor. Shah Alam was then developed and flooded with Malays to dilute whatever non-Malays left in Selangor. In fact, constituencies like Bangsar-Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, which had a majority Chinese-Indian population and which the opposition always won, were also diluted when Malay areas like Pantai, Sungai Pancala (near Kepong), Segambut Dalam (near Jalan Ipoh) and Kampong Pasir (in Old Kelang Road), were merged with Bangsar-Brickfields to become Lembah Pantai.

But now, lamented Fahmi Ibrahim, the Malays are also voting opposition, so these ‘Malay-majority’ areas have fallen to the opposition. This plan works well when the non-Malays vote opposition while the Malays vote government. But when the Malays also vote opposition then the result would be like what we saw on 8 March 2008.

The Umno ‘masterminds’ appear lost. They faced this same problem in 1969 and they solved it then by redrawing the constituencies so that there would be no non-Malay majority areas. And where they can’t do much, like in Kuala Lumpur, they then remove Kuala Lumpur from Selangor. Selangor would then remain in Malay hands while Kuala Lumpur, which will fall into the hands of the non-Malays, can still be controlled through Dewan Bandaraya, the Datuk Bandar, the Minister of Federal Territory, etc. This means, even if all the seats in Kuala Lumpur fall to the opposition, the government will still be able to retain control -- like what is happening now even though 10 out of 11 seats are under opposition control.

Another revelation of Fahmi Ibrahim was that the late Agong, who was then the Sultan of Selangor, cried as he signed over Kuala Lumpur to the federal government. This is actually true and most Malaysians saw this live on TV. The Sultan was terribly unhappy at having to hand over a big chunk of very valuable Selangor territory to the federal government. But there was really nothing much His Majesty could do. The federal government of Tun Razak and the Selangor State Government of Datuk Harun wanted to get rid of Kuala Lumpur so that Selangor could be ‘saved’. Almost 40 years on and they have discovered, much to their horror, that this plan worked for only one generation. One generation later and this senjata sudah makan tuan.

So, now, they are conducting postmortems all over the country to figure out what went wrong. But what they are saying gives an impression that they do not yet have their fingers on the pulse. They are going around in circles like headless chickens trying to figure out what to do. And they keep reflecting on May 1969 when, according to them, the same thing happened. But they had solved the problem in 1969. How come, now, the problem has cropped up again, after almost 40 years or one generation?

Yes, that is how Umno does its postmortems and how it is taking corrective measures to restore the ‘lost Malay political power’. And Hishammuddin Hussein ‘apologises’ that the Chinese misunderstood his keris drama when he was only demonstrating ‘Malay culture’ and which the Chinese should get used to because it may happen again in December this year. And Umno talks about how to grab back the 'Malay states lost to Chinese hands' like how it happened once before in 1969. And Umno tries to sabotage the five opposition-led state governments by squeezing their finances so that the states can be brought to the brink of bankruptcy.

Yes, the more Umno talks, the more damage they create. And the more Umno steals the fives states’ money, the deeper the hole becomes with which we can bury Umno for eternity. Keep talking, Umno. Keep sabotaging the five states. But don’t forget to also look out the window at the very severe economic Tsunami, the extremely high inflation, and the serious food shortage that is coming fast to our shores. By the time Umno wakes up it will be like the morning after Boxing Day when the Tsunami hit this region. There will be nothing left to save amongst those thousands of bodies floating in the flooded fields and rivers. By then it will not matter who is running this country because there may not be any country left to run. And when that happens, the new four-letter word on every Malaysian’s lips will be U-M-N-O.

Spin machine spinning out of control

The Agong is not the only victim of this spin machine. There is a book called ‘100 DALIL MENGAPA NAJIB TAK BOLEH JADI PM’ that Malaysia Today has received from an anonymous source.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

‘Malaysia’s Exim Bank: A Morass of Bad Loans’ said Asia Sentinel, an online newspaper. The Asia Sentinel report went on to say:

Bank Negara sits on a report that a government-owned bank has lost millions on loans to politicians and royalty

An explosive auditor’s report on the government-owned Malaysia Export-Import Bank that details tens of millions of dollars in politically tinged nonperforming loans and possible illegalities has been hidden away in a central bank file for more than four years without being acted upon.

The report, by auditors from Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank, probes borrowers closely tied to the United Malays National Organisation, the leading party in the country’s ruling coalition, as well as companies tied to the Sultan of Terengganu, the current Malaysian king. The report into the bank’s lending activities details inadequate risk management on projects amounting to RM116 million (US$37 million).

Among other shortcomings, according to the Bank Negara report, was a RM13 million (US$4.13 million at today’s exchange rate) loan to companies related to BTM Resources Group Bhd ‑ Besut Tsuda Wood Products Sdn Bhd, Besut Tsuda Industries Sdn Bhd and Gimzan Plywood Sdn Bhd. The name of Besut Tsuda Wood was earlier changed from Mizan Timber Industries Sdn Bhd to BTM Timber Industries Sdn Bhd.

Mizan Zainal Abidin is the name of the current Malaysian king. Sources within the Exim Bank and other Malaysian financial industry sources say the group is headed by Mizan, who is also the Sultan of Terengganu.

Besut Tsuda Wood Products, according to the Bank Negara audit report, “suffered repeated losses, tight liquidity and was technically insolvent" and "appeared less efficient than the market because its competitors were making profit despite lower sales." The report described the firm as a "loss making company, (that) resulted to declining shareholders funds."

(http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1162&Itemid=32 )


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The Asia Sentinel report certainly looks bad for Malaysia’s Agong if you do not know the real story behind this whole thing. It makes one wonder who is behind this ‘leaked information’ and whether it was done to intentionally embarrass the Agong as punishment for throwing a spanner in the works. Last month, the Agong rejected Umno’s choice of Terengganu Menteri Besar and it is an open secret that His Majesty’s displeasure resulted from the siphoning out of RM1 billion a year in oil royalty since 2000.

It all started in November 1999 when the opposition kicked Umno out of Terengganu. A few months later, the federal government cancelled the 5% oil royalty that the state had been enjoying for more than two decades. They then handed the money over to Idris Jusoh, the Umno state chief, to manage. To circumvent the law, they reclassified the oil royalty as wang ehsan.

In the first place, Terengganu should have been allowed to retain 100% of the oil revenue under the terms of the Federation Agreement which stipulates that all state resources belong to the state. However, in 1974, they passed the Petroleum Development Act, which allowed the federal government to ‘rampas’ the state’s oil resources and nationalise it. This in itself was a breach of the Federation Agreement. The federal government then gave back 5% of this revenue to the state in the form of ‘royalty’. But in 2000 even this was rampas from the state when it fell to the opposition.

The misappropriation of this wang ehsan and how Idris Jusoh, Patrick Lim, Wan Farid, and their friends in Umno, siphoned out the money through various projects such as the Monsoon Cup is well-documented and has been discussed in great length in this same column so we do not need to repeat the details here. Suffice to say that The Agong saw more than RM7 billion of Terengganu’s money, from more than RM150 billion that the federal government pumped out of the ground since 2000, disappear and His Majesty decided that enough is enough.

The new Menteri Besar, who was handpicked by His Majesty, has now demanded that the RM1 billion a year be paid direct to the state and that it should no longer be handed over Idris Jusoh, Patrick Lim, Wan Farid, and his gang of thieves. And this has upset Umno who now wants to hit back at The Agong. And this was why the ‘secret’ about the EXIM Bank was leaked. Of course, those who do not know what is going on behind the scenes would quickly jump to the conclusion that The Agong is a slimeball just like all those others who have been robbing this country blind. But there is certainly more than meets the eye as far as this case is concerned.

Mizan Sawmill was a company set up more than 35 years ago by the then Menteri Besar, Wan Mokhtar Ahmad, and his business partners, Dato Yong, Dato Azhar and Dato Yusoff. Dato Yong was a gangster who had been banished to Terengganu under the Prevention of Crime Ordinance (PCO). Dato Azhar later became the Terengganu State Secretary while Dato Yusof was the then Sultan of Terengganu’s Private Secretary. The Sultan then was the present Agong’s grandfather.

The present Agong was still in primary school and not at all involved in the business of these very notorious plunderers infamously known as ‘The Gang of Four’. Even back then the Terengganu Malay Chamber of Commerce was very upset with how ‘The Gang of Four’ raped and plundered the state’s resources but no one could do anything about it since the four were the Menteri Besar, a Chinese gangster, the State Secretary and the Sultan’s Private Secretary.

About 25 years ago, the Terengganu Malay Chambers of Commerce raised the matter with the Parliament Back Benchers’ Club (BBC) Chairman, Shahidan Kassim, who then brought it to the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ghaffar Baba. There was a huge brouhaha, which made the front pages of the mainstream newspapers, in particular the Malay language newspapers, but because of the Constitutional Crisis that had just blown up, they decided to play up the issue and slant it as if it was the Sultan himself who was behind all this.

Mizan Sawmill then applied for huge tracts of forestry land in the Kenyir Lake under the guise of ‘tourism’ project. But what they really wanted to do was to cut down the trees, not to embark on any tourism project, and no one dared take any action to stop them, mainly because of the powerful people behind the company. This upset many members of the Terengganu Royal Family, the present Agong included, but then Umno and not the palace called the shots -- and in the 1980s, at the height of the Constituational Crisis, who dared challenge Umno? Even the palace kept mum lest they incur the wrath of the Umno warlords and kingpins.

Besut Tsuda, the company that was mentioned in the Asia Sentinel report, was a joint venture between Japanese interests and the Terengganu State Economic Development Corporation (SEC). This was set up about 35 years ago and was the cashcow to siphon out money to fill up Umno’s war chest. The head of Besut Tsuda was an Umno man appointed by the Menteri Besar. Besut Tsuda and Mizan were two separate entities. Besut Tsuda was for purposes of financing Umno Terengganu while Mizan was for the personal coffers of the Umno Menteri Besar of Terengganu.

Both these companies that were set up 35 years ago by those who walk in the Terengganu corridors of power when the Agong was still in primary school are now being linked to The Agong. This is clearly a spin machine that is spinning out of control. Maybe they think that this ‘revelation’ will frighten The Agong and will probably make His Majesty ease up on the demand that the RM1 billion a year wang ehsan be taken back from Umno and handed over to the state as what had been decided by Parliament in 1974.

The Agong is not the only victim of this spin machine. There is a book called ‘100 DALIL MENGAPA NAJIB TAK BOLEH JADI PM’ that Malaysia Today has received from an anonymous source. Of course, the party that gave us this book wants Malaysia Today to publish it, maybe a dalil a day for 100 days. We are still studying the contents of this book to assess whether the 100 dalils are mere innuendoes and insinuations or are really points of substance. No, contrary to what the government says, Malaysia Today does not publish innuendoes and insinuations.

Those close to the Deputy Prime Minister are not being spared either. Malaysia Today was given the name of the ex-Minister who has been accused of molesting the cigar girl in the Havana Club in a five-start hotel in KL Sentral. Malaysia Today’s initial investigation points to a smearing campaign aimed at bringing down all those close to the Deputy Prime Minister and it seems the incident has been denied by the girl concerned.

On Sunday, Najib sealed a secret pact with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Yes, Najib has thrown his forces behind Abdullah and has sworn to sink or swim with his boss. This has riled the Team B forces and they now want Najib and his boys brought down as fast as possible so that Abdullah can be isolated and brought down as well in due time. And this is probably the reason for the smear campaign that suddenly intensified the last few days.

Hmm…everyone is trying to bring down everyone so maybe we should just sit back and watch who is going to be the last man standing. Then, maybe, we can leisurely stroll in and pick up the pieces, if there is anything left to pick up after this.