The chinese-alike Malay?

(SOURCE: Malay Mail Online)

Now, the challenge is on Seputeh MP Teresa Kok to master the martial art for self-defense.

Senators are going after her - read here, here and here while DAP is standing firmly by her, saying she had done the right thing in exposing abuses by the police.

As for blogger Nik Nazmi, he has this to say:

Come on Malaysians, let’s be open and honest with ourselves. Tackle criticisms as they are, not by sweeping them underneath the carpet. I’ve experienced that mentality before, and it will not get us anywhere to continue prolonging it. Let’s go beyond the obsession with race as well, will ya?

Let’s not miss the woods for the trees.

Perdana Global Peace Forum 2005 is now hosting a blog here.

Currently, we have Jeff Ooi, Mack Zulkifli, TV Smith, Yvonne Foong and this blogger to maintain the blog.

Expect more updates when the forum resumes later (Dec 16) at 0850.

[UPDATED VERSION] She is only 16 and one of the speaker for the Perdana Global Peace Forum 2005.

It’s only a simple request by her, just like all her friends and the children of Palestine, which is the dream of peace, the dream of everyone of them to draw a map of their country, to play with her friends without being killed and the dream of reaching the other end of his town without a wall separating them from reaching their family members.

She asked: "What can we do to achieve peace? What can we do to live side by side with the Israeli children without killed to play together to dream of peace together, to plan to future together?"

Simple, STOP KILLING!

 [UPDATED VERSION] "Peace for us simply means the absence of war," Tun Mahathir Mohamad said in concluding his keynote adress for the opening session of Perdana Global Peace Forum 2005.

Throughout his speech, he reminded fellow attendants the primary purpose of the peace conference, which is to initiate and help make effective a sustained campaign against war, positive action to make peace a serious political, economic and social issue for every country and shouldn’t be just about voicing out frustration.

It’s also interesting to note when Tun Mahathir compared the now President of the World Bank Paul Wolfwitz as the most warlike of the Neo-con members of the American administration who once said:

"If they Iraqis deny they have Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD), then they are lying. If the WMD cannot be found then they are hiding."

He too chided the act of killing Iraqis by the very people who claim they wanted to stop the killing of Iraqis. He also condemned the killings of hundred thousands of poeple in peace time as if it is in pursuit of the national objectives. He quoted what the then Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations Madeline Albright said when she was asked by a journalist about the sanctions US and Britain has imposed on Iraq where half a million children have died and whether the price worth it?

"I think this is a very hard choice, but the price……We think the price is worth it."

A properly constitued World Court for crime against humanity, for wars and the killing of innocent people, with judges from neutral countries was called for by Tun Mahathir. He even suggested that the rest of the world should shun those guilty warlords and treat them as pariahs.

Before concluded his speech, Tun Mahathir called upon the establishment of Pro-Peace Anti-War NGOs with contacts and links with all the existing like minded group, in a way to ensure that "Peace" becomes the main issue in all democratic election everywhere.

His wish: One serious, active and sustained struggle against war and for peace.

Full speech of Tun Mahathir Mohamad can be downloaded here while live conference can be viewed here (Best viewed on IE6.0, users of Firefox might encounter some problems).

From YES to NO, next from another YES to another NO, let me tell you what, eventually the whole story will die down as a BIG NO.

Exactly, in Malaysia, there is nothing which is unusual.

Thanks to Jeff, MackZul and TV Smith, this blogger was invited to attend the Perdana Global Peace Forum 2005, as one of the participant.

This forum is organised by The Perdana Foundation, which was set up in 2003 and led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad with the aim of preserving, developing and disseminating materials by and on Malaysia’s past Prime Ministers. Based on the principle that past leadership can yield valuable insights for future development, the Foundation’s objective is to increase awareness and appreciation of Malaysia’s rich intellectual heritage.

The objective of the Perdana Global Peace Forum is obvious too, which is to have a firm action to move forward on the peace agenda. It’s also significant that the forum will facilitate dialogue with all participants, as well as to underscore the importance of respecting the opinions of all participants and recognize the right of divergent views as a basis for a peaceful solution to conflicts.

To quote TV Smith from Brand New Malaysian,

"It’s a ground-breaking, bold and progressive step by the organisers to embrace an important and growing voice that is non-mainstream."

Details of the conference can be found at this blog.

Last month, there were riots in France, where racism and unemployment were alleged to be the cause, to an extent where curfew laws were put in used.

Last Sunday night, racial violence erupted at Sydney’s Cronulla Beach when some 5,000 people, some yelling racist chants, attacked youths of Middle Eastern backgrounds.

The clashes follow assaults a week ago on two volunteer lifeguards at the southern Sydney beach, reportedly by youths of Arabic and Mediterranean backgrounds.

Mobile phone text messages began circulating after the beatings, encouraging people to retaliate on Sunday and employing racial slurs.

Tonight, the streets are quiet.

[LATEST UPDATE] Maxis SMS alert at 10:46am.

The 22yr old woman featured in the video doing ear squats in the nude - a Malay and 3 months pregnant - is testifying before thet Commission of Inquiry.

For more context, read here.

(Screenshot taken from the Prime Minister Office’s website
on 12th December 2005 at 11:55pm)

I believe this very racist commentary by specific brainless creature is trying to push through his personal agenda where apparently, national integration at large has been put at stake.

Worse, it was posted on the space dedicated for people to send condolences to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi upon the passsing of Allahyarhamah Endon Mahmood on the 20th of October 2005.

It’s also worrisome to see someone trying to steer this issue into another hatred story, never mind the fact whether it was being done intentionally.

While I understand certain quarters might feel provoked by the racial remark, however before this turns into another unwanted and unresolved matter, it’s my plea to every single Malaysian to exercise calm and coolness.

I would like to quote what blogger MackZul said on this matter. Quote:

I would also like to point out to my readers that we should not draw conclusions against Malaysian chinese. We should also not speculate on the writer. Frankly, the issue should be how this message got through, and not the content, which basically might be an attempt to smear Malaysian chinese in general.

I’m buying Mack’s idea not because I’m a Chinese, but merely by allowing that brainless creature’s agenda to be accepted and representing 23.7% of Chinese population in Malaysia which might indirectly disintegrate the society and create racial polarisation, do you think it’s fair?

Tolerance and respect are the keywords.

Related Link:
- The Sensintrovert | Chinese: The Most Racist Race in Malaysia?

Notably, nothing special with this photo, it’s just a pristine and serene village, that’s about it.

But what if I tell you that this is part of the mysterious unseen North Korea?

BBC UK hosts a string of pictures, contributed by a western businessman who has had the rare chance to travel throughout North Korea.