Sabtu, 16 Julai 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 07:11 AM PDT

BERLIN, July 16 – MotoGP championship leader Casey Stoner led a works Honda one-two to take pole position for the German Grand Prix today.

The Australian (picture) beat Spanish team mate Dani Pedrosa by 0.252 seconds at the Sachsenring circuit with Spain's world champion Jorge Lorenzo completing the front row of the grid for Yamaha.

Stoner's pole, with a best time of one minute 21.681 seconds, was his sixth of the season.

Italian Marco Simoncelli, who had been quickest in practice, qualified fourth on his Gresini Honda followed by Yamaha's American Ben Spies and Honda's Italian Andrea Divizioso.

Italy's Valentino Rossi, a nine times world champion in all categories, endured his worst qualifying performance of the season in 16th place for Ducati out of 17 riders.

France's Sylvain Giuntoli, standing in for injured Italian veteran Loris Capirossi, was the only man beaten by Rossi in the qualifying session. – Reuters

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Mancini names Nasri and Aguero as Manchester City targets

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 06:53 AM PDT

LONDON, Jul 16 – Roberto Mancini broke the unwritten convention of talking about another club's player when he said he would like Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero to sign for Manchester City if his Argentina team-mate Carlos Tevez leaves the club.

Most managers usually adopt a coy attitude and tiptoe around naming players they would like to sign but Mancini (picture), showing some refreshing honesty, also said he would like to sign Samir Nasri from Arsenal before the end of July.

Aguero, 23, has been the subject of widespread speculation that he will move to England this summer, with Chelsea also reportedly showing an interest, while Tevez has made no secret of wanting to leave City, saying he would like to return to South America to be closer to his children.

In an interview with Sky Sports News, Mancini said: "Aguero is a player that can play for Manchester City because he is young and he is a good player like Carlos.

"He can score a lot of goals and can play with Mario (Balotelli), with Edin (Dzeko)... it could be that he joins."

Aguero has also been linked with a move to Atletico's city rivals Real Madrid, as well as Juventus.

Mancini was also candid about signing Nasri from Arsenal.

Nasri has one year left on his contract with the London side, although Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said he wants to keep him even if he does not renew his deal, and would allow him to leave for nothing next year.

Mancini told Sky: "Samir is under contract with Arsenal. Also for Samir it depends on many things."

Asked if City had made a bid for the 24-year-old Frenchman, Mancini said: "I don't know... but for Nasri it is difficult.

"I hope that we can buy because we need other players, and I hope that this player can arrive before the end of the month."

Mancini also said he respected Tevez's decision to want to leave City for family and personal reasons.

Mancini said: "When you talk about a player like Carlos it's difficult because Carlos is a fantastic player, a good guy for me.

"Every time I spoke to Carlos he never said to me 'I want to leave', he said he is missing his daughters, his family

"I am very sorry if Carlos wants to leave because for me he is a good man and he's a fantastic player, but I respect his decision."

Corinthians of Brazil have bid around US$64.47 million (RM193.89 million) for Tevez, according to Brazilian media reports. – Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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Bollywood hit ‘Delhi Belly’ causes upset

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 02:52 AM PDT

MUMBAI, July 16 – Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's new film has been a hit at the box office but has also led to protests and even a court case against its dialogue and content, which critics say is vulgar and offensive.

The screwball comedy "Delhi Belly", starring the actor-producer-director's nephew Imran Khan, revolves around three, scruffy, debt-ridden room-mates who unwittingly fall into a life of crime with a mafia boss.

The film, which is mainly in English with a profanity-peppered dialogue and toilet humour, had by Monday taken a total of 487.5 million rupees (RM32.78 million) since it opened on July 1, the web site bollywoodhungama.com said.

But with India as a whole still a conservative place, not everyone is happy.

On Monday protesters stormed a cinema in the western city of Kolhapur, forcing a screening of the film to be cancelled.

Another theatre was attacked in the central city of Indore following action by a right-wing Hindu organisation that called for the movie to be banned for having too much abusive and vulgar language.

Even in India's more liberal entertainment capital, Mumbai, a complaint was filed in court, accusing Aamir Khan, who has a cameo role, of showing "obscene" acts and outraging and insulting religion or religious beliefs.

Industry analysts, however, have said the film has aroused public interest as it was a reflection of young people in modern, urban India.

"'Delhi Belly' is on its way to becoming a sort of a cult film for the youth because it speaks the language they speak," said Komal Nahta, who tracks Hindi-language cinema.

Pre-publicity focused on a song whose lyrics suggested a popular expletive in northern India, the scatology and the sex scenes of the protagonists.

"Many people wanted to go and check the film and find out themselves what was so different in it," said Vinod Mirani, a Bollywood trade analyst.

"The curiosity value due to a good marketing plan has worked well."

Also named in the court case, which has been adjourned until later this month, are Khan's wife, Kiran Rao, who produced the film, UTV Motion Pictures chief Ronnie Screwvala, director Abhinay Deo and the writer Akshat Verma.

"Delhi Belly" has an "A" certificate – allowing only viewers above 18 years old – but some have criticised India's censor board for allowing it through uncut.

One outraged critic, fearing for the collapse of traditional values, suggested they had failed in their duty as "the custodian of (the) censor code" and called for the government to axe funding to the regulatory body.

"Delhi Belly" used foul words that were becoming "the normal lingo or behaviour of our young professionals," Mohan Siroya wrote on the shadowplayindia.com site.

Aamir Khan, whose production company is behind the film, is unperturbed by the criticism and threw a party last week to toast its success.

"I am glad the audiences have loved the film and enjoyed it," he said.

Verma wrote the film in 1996 but could not find any interest for it, he added. Khan's wife got hold of the script and decided to make it immediately, he said.

The 15-year wait indicates how far Hindi-language cinema has come, moving from a time when even kisses between the hero and heroine were censored to one where sexual suggestiveness and even nudity is more accepted.

Film critic Taran Adarsh said the involvement of Aamir Khan had undoubtedly helped in its success but so had its innovative script.

"It's a shift from what people like these days and from what's been churned out by Bollywood," he said.

"We have to respect the opinion of the censors (and) the fact that they've allowed a film like this. It's not stereotypical but it is a bit bolder in terms of its visual content and speaking. I think it's beyond the boundaries."

The key test is whether future films with similar content are treated in the same way, he added. – AFP

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Palin biopic now showing in theatre not so near you

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:26 PM PDT

ORANGE (California), July 16 — "The Undefeated," a flattering documentary about Sarah Palin's rise in American politics, opened in a handful of US movie theatres yesterday, drawing die-hard fans of the Tea Party favourite from far away.

Distributors put the film in just 10 AMC theatres nationwide, mostly in reliably conservative markets like Dallas, Texas and Orange County in southern California.

But if it does well this weekend, it will expand to new and not-so-conservative markets.

Palin greets supporters as she arrives for the premiere of 'The Undefeated' in Pella, Iowa on June 28, 2011. — Reuters pic

A successful roll-out would be a welcome vehicle to whip up enthusiasm for the former Alaska governor as she prepares to tell Americans in the next few months if she will seek the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential race.

Fundraising tallies for Palin suggest she needs the help. Her primary fundraising committee brought in a paltry US$1.6 million (RM4.8 million) in the first half of 2011, a fraction of the US$18.25 million Republican front-runner Mitt Romney's presidential committee collected in the second quarter alone.

"Run, Sarah, run!" shouted Californian Sherman Roodzant, 64, as the final credits rolled on the 1.10pm showing in a half-filled theatre in Orange. Roodzant drove 240km to see it and said it was worth every mile.

"It was awesome," Roodzant said. "It showed her life story and showed what a great American she is and what a great potential leader she is. It made me feel stronger toward her."

That kind of fervour is exactly what distributors are banking on. They saw it at the premiere last month in a small town in conservative-leaning Iowa.

"I couldn't believe the crowd reaction" in Iowa, said Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of ARC Entertainment, which is handling the film's distribution. "It is a biased crowd, but still."

Documentaries, however, are notoriously difficult to market and there is particularly stiff competition this weekend.

The final "Harry Potter" instalment is opening in a staggering 4,375 US and Canadian theaters and should break box-office records.

Filmmaker Stephen Bannon based the documentary on Palin's memoir "Going Rogue" and uses her readings from that book to narrate a good part of the film. It takes moviegoers from her political infancy as mayor of the Alaskan town of Wasilla to her governorship in Alaska, where she took on Big Oil.

Then one day, Palin gets a call from Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking her to be his running mate in 2008.

The film takes aim at the wave of criticism Palin faced once the "outsider" arrived on the national political stage. To illustrate the attacks, Bannon shows a pride of lions feasting on a zebra.

Towards the end of the film, which features Palin making speeches to the emerging Tea Party movement, the audience in Orange began to clap.

Business owner Robert Benson drove 90 minutes to see what he called "a terrific film" that "gives her some gravitas."

"I didn't realise how accomplished she was as governor of Alaska," said Benson, who said he would like to see Palin run for the presidency.

But Benson acknowledged it was "bizarre" to see a film like this in a commercial movie theatre.

"I am amazed it is in 10 theatres," said Benson. "I am amazed that AMC did it. I think, to their credit, it is probably going to work out well for them."

Gay Meador, 62, said she was "shocked and ashamed" that the Orange AMC theatre was the only place where "The Undefeated" was showing in her area, let alone California.

She will recommend it to friends, and not only ones who are Palin supporters.

"There is a midnight showing. ... You can sneak out in the middle of the night so the neighbours don't know where you went," said Meador. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Palin biopic now showing in cinema not so near you

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:41 PM PDT

ORANGE, California, July 16 — "The Undefeated", a flattering documentary about Sarah Palin's rise in American politics, opened in a handful of US cinemas yesterday, drawing die-hard fans of the Tea Party favourite from far away.

Distributors put the film in just 10 AMC cinemas nationwide, mostly in reliably conservative markets such as Dallas, Texas, and Orange County in southern California.

But if it does well this weekend, it will expand to new and not-so-conservative markets.

Sarah Palin greets supporters as she arrives for the premiere of "The Undefeated" in Pella, Iowa, June 28, 2011. — Reuters pic

"Run, Sarah, run!" shouted Californian Sherman Roodzant, 64, as the final credits rolled on the 1.10pm showing in a half-filled cinema in Orange. Roodzant drove 240km to watch it, and said it was worth every kilometre.

"It was awesome," Roodzant said. "It showed her life story and showed what a great American she is and what a great potential leader she is. It made me feel stronger toward her."

That kind of fervour is exactly what distributors are banking on. They saw it at the premiere last month in a small town in conservative-leaning Iowa.

"I couldn't believe the crowd reaction" in Iowa, said Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of ARC Entertainment, which is handling the film's distribution. "It is a biased crowd, but still."

'Gives her gravitas'

Documentaries, however, are notoriously difficult to market, and there is particularly stiff competition this weekend.

The final "Harry Potter" installment is opening in a staggering 4,375 US and Canadian cinemas and should break box-office records.

Then one day, Palin gets a call from Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking her to be his running mate in 2008.

The film takes aim at the wave of criticism Palin faced once the "outsider" arrived on the national political stage. To illustrate the attacks, Bannon shows a pride of lions feasting on a zebra.

Towards the end of the film, which features Palin making speeches to the emerging Tea Party movement, the audience in Orange began to clap.

Business owner Robert Benson drove 90 minutes to watch what he called "a terrific film" that "gives her some gravitas".

"I didn't realise how accomplished she was as governor of Alaska," said Benson, who said he would like to see Palin run for the presidency.

But Benson acknowledged it was "bizarre" to watch a film like this in a commercial movie cinema.

"I am amazed it is in 10 theaters," said Benson. "I am amazed that AMC did it. I think, to their credit, it is probably going to work out well for them."

Gay Meador, 62, said she was "shocked and ashamed" that the Orange AMC cinema was the only place where "The Undefeated" was showing in her area, let alone California.

She will recommend it to friends, and not only ones who are Palin supporters.

"There is a midnight showing . . . You can sneak out in the middle of the night so the neighbours don't know where you went," said Meador. — Reuters

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Carla Bruni confirms pregnant, won’t reveal gender

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 06:49 PM PDT

The bump is clear in this July 9, 2011, file photo as Carla Bruni and President Sarkozy board a boat at the president's retreat in Fort de Bregancon. — Reuters pic

PARIS, July 16 — France's first lady Carla Bruni spoke openly about her pregnancy for the first time in a newspaper interview published yesterday — but kept the baby's gender a secret.

Rumours have swirled for months, starting with a story in gossip magazine Closer in April and followed by near-obsessive coverage of Bruni's baby bump, but yesterday's interview with regional daily Nice Matin was the first official confirmation the presidential couple are expecting their first child.

Bruni is said to be due to give birth in the autumn, around the time President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce he will run for a second term in next year's election.

Bruni, a singer-songwriter and former model, declined to say whether her baby was a boy or a girl.

"There are some things that one has to keep secret," she said.

Asked why she had been so discreet, Bruni, 43, said: "First in order to protect myself, to avoid having to expose my personal life. It's a great joy for me, but one that is fairly banal after all.

"People have other problems and it would be out of place to talk about it too much," she added.

Photographed by Nice Matin, Bruni appears relaxed and maternal in a flowing pink gown, lounging on a floral-patterned sofa and strolling through the gardens of Fort de Bregancon, the president's retreat in the south of France.

Shots of Bruni taken in May at the G8 summit in Deauville, showing her wearing a black dress with a prominent bump, garnered intense coverage and nearly overshadowed an otherwise protocol-heavy gathering of world leaders.

Yesterday's interview, the day after the Bastille Day national holiday when many French people are relaxing at vacation homes, had the feel of a well-staged press event, coming on the heels of a photo spread in Paris Match magazine featuring the presidential couple lazing in swimwear at the beach.

With Sarkozy labouring under weak poll ratings nine months from the election, Bruni's pregnancy appears to be a stroke of good fortune that could win sympathy points with some voters.

Sarkozy and his former wife, Cecilia, divorced shortly after he was elected in 2007. He has since accustomed the French public to following episodes of his private life as they are played out in gossip magazines.

Carla Bruni and President Sarkozy go to the beach at Fort de Bregancon. — Reuters pic

While many people say they would prefer a more low-key president, many are still interested in Sarkozy and his private affairs. He was recently the subject of a film called "La Conquete", which has drawn nearly 700,000 viewers since it came out in May. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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British Library launches ‘Europe’s oldest book’ appeal

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 06:19 PM PDT

File photo of people at the British Library in London on June 20, 2011. — Reuters pic

LONDON, July 16 — The British Library has launched an appeal to help it buy the oldest book in Europe, an "almost miraculous" survival from the Anglo Saxon period over 1,000 years ago.

The small volume was buried with one of England's most popular saints, Saint Cuthbert, at a time when the country was being swept by continental invasions following the departure of the Romans, and despite its age is still in perfect condition with its original leather cover.

The Library is now just £2.75 million (RM13.75 million) from its target of £9 million to buy the Cuthbert Gospel.

The book was loaned to the library in 1979 and has stayed there ever since but if the bid is successful it will stay there permanently.

It has also been agreed that if the gospel is purchased, it will spend half the year at Durham Cathedral, where the saint is buried.

St Cuthbert, also known as the "wonder worker of Britain," died in AD 687 and was buried on the Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne. He was widely regarded as Britain's most popular saint up until the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.

When Viking raiders invaded Lindisfarne in 875, a group of monks fled, taking Cuthbert's body with them. After seven years of travelling with the body, the monks finally buried the saint again at what became Durham Cathedral.

The book was found with him when his coffin was reopened in 1104.

The book, written in Latin, is the Gospel of John. After it was taken from the coffin it was placed in a new shrine behind the altar of Durham Cathedral.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England by Henry VIII in the 16th century, the text passed to a series of private collectors.

Chief executive of the library, Dame Lynne Brindley, said in a statement: "The St Cuthbert Gospel is an almost miraculous survival from the Anglo-Saxon period, a beautifully preserved window into a rich, sophisticated culture that flourished some four centuries before the Norman Conquest." — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Bersih and the wider trust deficit problem

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 05:12 PM PDT

JULY 16 — Somewhere in Streatham, south of London earlier this year, I found myself slouching lazily on a couch watching the BBC with a friend and his still lazier cat. On television was the Egyptian revolution "live", with protesters and government supporters throwing rocks at each other. Such was the lamentable state of Egypt that used to be the apex of human civilisation not once, but twice. Its deeply-flawed institutions had reduced Egypt into a state of anarchy.

"Don't you find this impossible?" I think I asked my friend. "We know these protesters want Mubarak out but what about his supporters? Are their wishes less legitimate than those protesting on the streets?"

The reply came promptly, "The importance of a credible election. Credible elections are important in determining popular opinion. Nothing in Egypt has enough credibility or the competence to ascertain the popular opinion right now."

The Arab Spring is an extreme example but it does highlight the importance of a working electoral system. It highlights the importance of individuals trusting a system to aggregate popular opinion fairly and peacefully.

For this reason, the effort at electoral reforms by Bersih is important. Some of its demands add transparency in the electoral process and transparency goes a long way in creating credibility.

Bersih, of course, is about electoral reforms but the question of confidence in institutions is really part of the larger trust deficit problem in Malaysia. The problem of trust deficit is this: a considerable portion of Malaysians distrusts the government. And they are not libertarians. Rather, they are part of the everyday people.

It does not matter whether that portion makes up the majority of Malaysian society or not. The point is that they are big enough that they cannot be ignored, or banned just like that. There is no place for an ostrich if the country plans to solve the deficit.

For Malaysia, distrust in public institutions will not degenerate to the deplorable level seen in the Arab world recently anytime soon. It is an exaggeration to say otherwise. That is a long way down the canyon. Yet, various other not-so-ideal things can happen with the lack of confidence in public institutions.

When the public distrusts the courts, the police and everything that is commonly understood as the typical uncontroversial functions of the state, the government will have a hard time doing its job.

Take distrust in the police, for example. Crime cannot be the responsibility of the police alone. Crime fighting requires co-operation from the public. In an overly distrusting environment, is there a reason for a person to aid the police? Be a witness for the police? Is there a reason for the person to report the occurrence of crime to the police? Is there a reason for the person to believe the police will protect them?

All that will see individuals investing in their security, taking resources away from more productive activities. They make redundant activities typically funded by taxes.

This is already happening. Drive around Petaling Jaya and other neighbourhoods and one can see what effectively are gated communities. Residents are pooling their resources to hire private firms to secure their property.

It shows they are distrustful of the police. Or at least how they do not believe that the police are competent enough to serve them, the taxpayers. What, one might ask, is the point of paying taxes to support the police force when one has to employ private security firms to keep one's house safe?

And just to be naughty, if there was enough trust between the public and the government, the government would not have to spend millions of public funds for public relations exercises. That money can better be spent elsewhere. Yet, in times of great scepticism, what would be wasteful during normal times could become a necessity to keep the government running.

It is good to keep a healthy dose of scepticism against the government and the state in general. Yet, there is some optimum level of scepticism before destructive cynicism sets in.

Quite unfortunately, the current government of Malaysia — the Abdullah and the Najib administrations alike — is too good at inculcating public cynicism against itself. Given how the government tries hard to erode the independence of public institutions, the government is undermining public confidence in public institutions.

Bersih is a modest effort at trying to ultimately restore credibility to public institutions. In its little way, it is an effort to tackle the wider trust deficit.

The Najib administration, however, disagrees and demonises Bersih instead. Maybe that is not at all surprising. The flawed institutions of status quo benefit the incumbent. The administration and its fiercest supporters are happy with the status quo. In jargon-speak, they have captured the public institutions.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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My Bersih story

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 04:34 PM PDT

JULY 16 — I marched at the first Bersih rally in November 2007, but Bersih 2.0 was a whole different experience.

First, the level of BN paranoia and intimidation was way more intense than what it was in the first gathering. Secondly, there were more "newbies" — particularly the young and the middle class. The crowd was also more multi-racial.

I will be frank. Like many Malaysians I too was anxious and a little scared a few weeks beforehand as the atmosphere become more charged as the Umno-BN elite got more agitated. It reached such ridiculous heights that when Wardina Safiyyah came to an event in my constituency and spoke about (physical) cleanliness and someone in a Bersih T-shirt was spotted, she was vilified by Umno cybertroopers.

But as it became more Orwellian, absurd and idiotic — my mind reached a tipping point when the fear, while still there, was overwhelmed by a determination to stand up to all this. Maybe it's just the adrenaline, but I felt that it was God's way of giving us the strength to face all this.

I spent Friday night in Kuala Lumpur — dropping by Nurul Izzah Anwar's aqiqah for her son in Segambut (where everyone chatted anxiously about what would happen the following day) — before retiring to a hotel quietly to ensure that I would be able to take part in Bersih the next day. While the city's access points were choked due to unnecessary roadblocks by the police, the city centre's streets were eerily empty.

As I woke up the next day and went down for breakfast, journalists and Bersih activists dominated the coffee house. We traded the latest gossip — one shocking piece of information from a journalist was that the city's mortuaries were being emptied in case there were casualties on July 9.

I would not have taken it so seriously had I not been told by a policeman a few days before that their instructions were clear if the people stood their ground: they were to use tear gas, followed by rubber bullets, with the third and final option being "live" bullets.

In retrospect, after what happened to Baharuddin Ahmad who died and what the police did to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his security team, Khalid Samad, Mohamad Sabu and many others, this does not sound so far-fetched.

Still, the stories of courage from the day abound. A few friends — from non-political backgrounds — texted me asking how they could participate. A doctor at a government hospital who was on call on Friday night was nervous but wanted to join: "Even if it's just me, I'm adding one more Malaysian to the cause."

Another MCKK senior, working at a government agency, was supposed to join me at my hotel to go together but due to the road closures decided to pray elsewhere and join the crowd there.

A college friend — who is now a banker — was not sure about joining as he had not been in any demonstrations before and did not know anybody there. When I suggested that he to come to the city by LRT and accompany me, he immediately did so.

One of my Keadilan Kelana Jaya members warned me that the Special Branch was moving into the hotel in large numbers to monitor the guests. As we tried to gather bits of information through our handphones and the Internet, we concluded it would be best not to join the senior leaders at KL Sentral as the police would be in full force there and instead go to Jalan Hang Tuah.

We left at 1pm. Forgetting that Khairy Jamaluddin's red shirts were gathered at Bukit Bintang, we drove straight into the police cordon and had to use another route. Zigzagging through the city, we found ourselves in Jalan Hang Tuah but saw a huge contingent of police at Masjid al-Bukhary, where we planned to pray.

It was then we saw Dr Yaacob Sapari, the Selangor state exco who told us it would be safer for us to pray at the fire station's surau instead. Having completed our prayers, we walked into the rain towards Pudu station. It was hujan rahmat, I thought to myself as rain would make the tear gas and water cannons less potent.

A small crowd of Bersih supporters was gathered near the Bukit Bintang-Pudu junction. Many were PAS members from the east coast with a smattering of city dwellers who decided to join the fun. We were amused at the curious sight of a small number of red shirts with Malaysian flags. Some of the Bersih supporters were even given red shirts as Umno Youth tried hard to boost their small numbers!

At the head of the crowd, I saw Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa. Realising that no other Pakatan leader was there I decided to go to the front as well, although I had little experience in leading demonstrations (being at the front and being a follower are two different things). After being informed that the back lanes behind Pudu were clear, we decided to walk through the back lanes.

Most were in normal shirts to avoid being stopped and harassed by the police. But we marched with gusto in the rain, chanting "Bersih", "Daulat Tuanku", "Hidup Rakyat", "Reformasi" and "Allahu Akbar." Tourists and Malaysians in the nearby eateries cheered us on while we asked them to come and join us. I decided to don the Bersih T-shirt that I had kept in my bag.

We twisted and turned through the roads and back lanes of downtown Kuala Lumpur as we marched, while the group grew steadily. Other groups from different gathering spots merged seamlessly with ours. The group was incredibly diverse, urban young Malays rubbing shoulders with non-Malays from different age groups.

Veteran demonstrators mixed with first-timers. My subsequent conversations with friends confirmed what I saw — middle-class families including those with children in private schools and students of private colleges, GLC managers and government officers came out in large numbers for Bersih 2.0. The class divide, at least in the urban areas, appears to have been breached.

This was Middle Malaysia. It is difficult to imagine this multiracial and diverse crowd engaging in violence or being a threat to national security. But they cared for clean and fair elections, as well as the freedom of assembly and standing up to the authoritarian tactics of BN and the police. This was also the Facebook generation, as many took photos as a memorabilia from history, legacies for their children and grandchildren in a better Malaysia hopefully.

Finally, as news of police violence in KL Sentral and barricades in other parts of the city filtered in, the crowd decided to head towards KLCC. The crowd — now numbering at least 15,000 to 20,000 in my group alone — turned around to head towards KLCC on Jalan Ampang.

We wound up at the back of another group that had got there earlier, so I ran to the front to help marshal the crowd forward. Some wanted me to hang back in the rear for my own safety, but I answered: "If a YB is scared to lead by example, he does not deserve to be called one." I said this not out of pride or recklessness but rather a determination to not let fear control me and hopefully motivate the rest in a small way.

As we marched towards Dr Mahathir's towering monument, we realised that the police personnel nearby could not do anything due to the size of the crowd. Helicopters hovered above us as more police were watching from a distance. I waved at them, to show them that in spite of the massive arrests, brutality and roadblocks, the rakyat was not cowered.

We had a sit-in at the Jalan Ampang–Jalan Yap Kwan Seng–Jalan P. Ramlee junction in the shadow of the Petronas Twin Towers. Without the stadium that we agreed to assemble in, we had to opt for such a place as it would give the people room to retreat if the authorities reacted with force.

Without a PA system or a stage, we made do with what we had to help the leaders — Bersih 1 chairperson Syed Shahir Mohamud, Pakatan leaders Dr Hatta Ramli and Datuk Seri Chua Jui Meng and Nasruddin Tantawi — speak, with Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Che' Gu Bard) acting as the moderator. I stood beneath the makeshift stage, waving a copy of the Federal Constitution that was handed to me by a fellow demonstrator.

After nearly half an hour of the sit-in, the FRU was making its way on Jalan Ampang, coming from Jalan Sultan Ismail. We dispersed. I thought of going into Suria KLCC but the police were already there.

Finally, I decided to go through the KLCC Park with a few of my local Keadilan members that I met during the march. I was still wearing my yellow Bersih T-shirt, feeling motivated after our impromptu KLCC rally. Heck, if the police wanted to arrest me now, please do so I thought. I was exhilarated but tired.

As we made our way back to my hotel, we bumped into other people. Some were still walking towards KLCC but I warned them that the FRU was out in full force. Others like me were heading back. I felt satisfied.

My thoughts were of my young family. I am fortunate to be blessed with a loving and supportive wife. Our first child has just been born, and more than anything else, my determination stemmed from a desire to fight for a better Malaysia for him. I played a part, no matter how small, in fighting for change.

Something important happened in Malaysia on July 9, 2011. For many ordinary Malaysians who had never bothered about politics, it was their first demonstration. The intimidation and brutality, rather than breaking them, actually extinguished their fear and strengthened their determination that things must not be the same again.

While the government's 1 Malaysia campaign is floundering in spite of the millions of ringgit being paid to overseas consultants, the real Middle Malaysia showed that we could fight for a cause that is bigger than what divides us on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

Polis tubuh pasukan khas siasat kematian Baharuddin

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 02:26 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 Julai – Polis mengadakan pasukan bebas khas untuk menyiasat kematian seorang peserta perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 Sabtu lalu, kata Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur Datuk Ku Chin Wah.

Ketika dihubungi The Malaysian Insider, Ku berkata pasukan itu akan menjalankan siasatan berhubung kematian Baharuddin Ahmad, 56, di Hospital Kuala Lumpur selepas dilaporkan pengsan di kawasan KLCC ketika cuba melarikan diri daripada tindakan polis yang melepaskan gas pemedih mata dan air berasid.

Pagi tadi, keluarga Baharuddin yang diwakili oleh abangnya Major (R) Kassim Ahmad dan anaknya Azhar Kassim menyerahkan memorandum kepada Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Ismail Omar meminta agar diadakan siasatan segera.

PKR pula diwakili oleh anggota Majlis Pimpinan Pusatnya Sivarasa Rasiah dan Naib Presiden N Surendran manakala Lawyers for Liberty pula diwakili Eric Paulsen dan Renuka T Bala dan Warga Aman diwakili oleh Pengerusinya Rajaretinam serta Lee Khai Loon dari Youth for Change.

Dalam memorandum itu mereka menuntut agar kesemua pegawai polis termasuk pegawai-pegawai tertinggi yang menyelia operasi di kawasan tersebut digantung tugas sehingga selesai penyiasatan kes tersebut.

Selain itu mereka juga mahu siasatan yang komprehensif tanpa sebarang percubaan untuk melindung mana-mana pihak dijalankan dengan segera dan laporan penuh hasil penyiasatan diumumkan kepada orang awam.

Selain mengenakan tindakan undang-undang ke atas semua pegawai polis yang terbabit, memorandum itu juga mahu Ketua Polis Negara dengan segera meminta maaf dengan keluarga Allahyarham Baharuddin dan seluruh rakyat Malaysia kerana menyalah guna kuasa dan menggunakan kekerasan berlebihan terhadap rakyat.

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Pusat hiburan: MB Kedah tidak mahu layan tekanan

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 02:15 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 Julai – Menteri Besar Kedah Datuk Seri Azizan Abu Bakar kekal dengan keputusan kerajaan negeri yang mahu melaksanakan secara sepenuhnya Enakmen Hiburan dan Tempat-tempat Hiburan 1997 yang melarang pusat-pusat hiburan beroperasi sepanjang bulan Ramadan.

"Ustaz (Menteri Besar) Azizan tidak akan berundur! Itulah pendirian beliau dalam isu ini dalam nada yang sangat tegas.

"Saya yakin seluruh umat Islam akan berdiri teguh di belakang beliau dalam menangani isu ini. Jika takut dilambung ombak, jangan berumah di tepi pantai," kata Setiausaha Politik kepada Azizan, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Kenyataan ini dikeluarkan sehari sebelum Azizan diminta PAS pusat memberi penjelasan kepada jawatankuasa kerja parti itu.

Laporan The Malaysian Insider pagi ini memetik Naib Presiden PAS Salahuddin Ayub berkata, PAS mahu Azizan memberi penjelasan kepada jawatankuasa kerja pusat parti itu esok rasional larangan penuh ke atas operasi pusat-pusat hiburan semasa Ramadan yang bermula bulan depan.

Bagaimanapun menurut Setiausaha Agung PAS Datuk Mustafa Ali, Azizan tidak dapat hadir sebaliknya akan menghantar wakil ke mesyuarat esok.

Azizan juga merupakan Pesuruhjaya PAS Kedah.

Kelmarin, Penasihat DAP Lim Kit Siang berkata perkara tersebut akan dibangkitkan pada mesyuarat kepimpinan Pakatan Rakyat minggu depan.

Keputusan itu dibantah oleh MCA dan Gerakan.

Baru-baru ini Azizan berkata enakmen itu bukan sesuatu yang baru, sebaliknya telah diperkenalkan 14 tahun lalu oleh kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN).

Dalam kenyataannya hari ini, Sanusi yang juga Ketua Penerangan PAS Kedah menambah, Kelantan yang diperintah oleh PAS juga telah melaksanakan polisi seumpama itu sejak 20 tahun lalu, dan masih berlanjutan hingga ke hari ini.

"Mengapa MCA Kelantan tidak melompat seperti di Kedah. Kenapa MCA tidak meghasut masyarakat Siam yang ramai di negeri itu untuk memberontak?

"Jelaslah bantahan dan tentangan ini bukan berasaskan hak asasi, ketidakadilan kerajaan atau tuntutan supaya menghormati budaya masyarakat bukan Islam," kata beliau sambil menambah, bantahan seumpama itu berteraskan kepentingan politik MCA dan BN.

"Cuma di Kedah, racunnya juga meresap ke dalam DAP," kata Sanusi.

Katanya, larangan operasi pusat-pusat hiburan iaitu karaoke, pub, disko dan persembahan terbuka sepanjang Ramadan tiba-tiba menjadi isu besar.

Menurut Sanusi, akhbar-akhbar berbahasa Cina memainkan isu ini sejak lima hingga enam hari lalu apabila pengusaha pusat hiburan tidak diberi lesen operasi pada bulan Ramadan, khususnya di Pejabat Daerah Kota Setar.

Oleh itu katanya, apa yang dibangkitkan bukan isu baru kerana polisi berkaitan sudah wujud sejak 14 tahun lalu, cuma penguatkuasaannya tidak menyeluruh.

Sejak 1997, pada bulan Ramadan Kedah tidak membenarkan sebarang bentuk hiburan, termasuk pada malam Jumaat sepanjang tahun.

"Malah lama sebelum itu, rakyat Kedah sudah akur dengan peraturan itu.

"Semasa industri hiburan belum berkembang pesat, hanya ada panggung wayang, persembahan nyanyian di rumah-rumah kenduri, ekspo dan pesta ria, joget, mak yong dan wayang kulit, masyarakat sangat menghormati bulan Ramadan dengan memberhentikan aktiviti seumpama itu," katanya.

Kata Sanusi, apabila industri hiburan berkembang dan mencetuskan kesan sampingan yang membimbangkan, diadakan pertemuan pegawai-pegawai daerah yang

bertanggungjawab memberi kelulusan lesen hiburan bagi mengetasi kesan industri itu yang kian membentuk budaya baru masyarakat.

"Persetujuan dicapai pada tahun 1997 untuk memberhentikan pemberian lesen pada bulan Ramadan, bulan suci umat Islam. Namun, penguatkuasaannya tidak menyeluruh di semua daerah," katanya.

Sanusi menjelaskan, sejak kebelakangan ini budaya berhibur terutama di kalangan muda-mudi diterima, umum sebagai antara penyumbang berbagai-bagai gejala.

"Maka pada tahun ini, perbincangan diadakan semula untuk mengkaji langkah-langkah membendung kegiatan ini, terutama di bulan Ramadan.

"Maka, satu kertas cadangan diangkat untuk dibentangkan dalam mesyuarat Exco Kerajaan Negeri dan telah diluluskan," tambah Sanusi.

Larangan operasi pusat hiburan sepanjang Ramadan meliputi pusat karaoke, disko, pub dan persembahan terbuka yang boleh diakses dengan

mudah oleh masyarakat awam seperti di restoran dan 'coffe-house' manakala pusat rekreasi seperti snuker, biliard, kafe siber dan boling dibenarkan.

Persembahan budaya dan agama masyarakat bukan Islam dibenarkan dengan pertimbangan pegawai daerah, katanya.

Kata Sanusi, MCA paling lantang menentang melalui kenyataan di media dan menghasut masyarakat bukan Islam dengan dakwaan bahawa kerajaan sedang

menghalang hak asasi masyarakat bukan Islam.

"Peluru ditabur dengan menuduh DAP bersekongkol menafikan hak bukan Islam di Kedah. Wakil rakyat DAP juga kepanasan dan mula bersuara.

"Ada wakil rakyat DAP dari negeri lain yang meminta seorang pimpinan PAS menemui YAB Ustaz Azizan untuk menarik balik larangan ini," katanya sambil menambah, ia sebagai langkah ekstrem dan tidak selari dengan semangat Pakatan Rakyat.

Menurut Sanusi, isu terbaru ini hampir sama dengan reaksi ketika kerajaan merobohkan pusat sembelih khinzir tanpa lesen di Kampung Berjaya dua tahun lalu.

"Saya percaya hasutan ini akan terus berkembang dengan tuduhan yang lebih berat kepada kerajaan, dan akan mendapat sokongan semua parti dalam Barisan Nasional.

"Sikap diam tanpa menyokong langkah kerajaan ini patut dikira sebagai menyebelahi penghasut," katanya.

Mengenai rasional kepada penguatkuasaan Enakmen Hiburan dan Tempat-tempat Hiburan 1997, Sanusi berkata, "hakikat yang harus diterima ialah majoriti pengunjung pusat-pusat hiburan adalah orang Melayu Islam."

"Kalau MCA dan parti-parti yang mewakili masyarakat bukan Islam mendakwa kerajaan harus menghormati hak mereka, mereka juga sewajarnya menghormati hak umat Islam, terutama menghormati kesucian bulan Ramadan yang sangat istimewa bagi umat Islam."

Katanya, Kedah didiami oleh 2.1 juta orang iaitu 1.8 juta beragama Islam manakala 300,000 adalah bukan Islam.

"(Jadi), bagaimana kepentingan 1.8 juta orang lagi? Parti politik tidak sepatutnya hanya menjadi jurucakap tauke-tauke, tetapi harus juga bertanggungjawab kepada keseluruhan rakyat berbilang kaum dan agama.

"Jika kita diminta menghormati budaya dan adat masyarakat bukan Islam untuk menjadi sebuah kerajaan yang baik dan adil, mereka juga harus menerima sikap itu kepada umat Islam," katanya.

Sehubungan itu soal beliau, "adakah menyertai Pakatan Rakyat bermaksud umat dan pemimpin Islam mesti sentiasa mengalah demi menjaga hati dan hak masyarakat bukan Islam?"

"Bukankah satu deklarasi telah dipersetujui dan ditandatangani bahawa Pakatan Rakyat menerima Islam sebagai agama rasmi negara ini dan kebebasan mengamalkan tuntutan agama dijunjung oleh semua.

"Mengawal kegiatan yang membawa keruntuhan kehidupan beragama di kalangan umat Islam adalah intipati ajaran Islam sebagai agama rasmi dan satu kewajipan yang dituntut oleh Islam, terutama kepada pemerintah.

"Ini wajib difahami oleh semua parti dalam Pakatan Rakyat dan dalam BN sekalipun," katanya lagi.

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Sabtu, 16 Julai 2011