Joe Fernandez
we expect more from our rulers? By virtue of the fact that they are royalty, they must conduct themselves withdignity and maturity and not throw a tantrum whenever a whiff of a critique blows their way. Queen E was criticized many times in the past and how did the royal house respond? By trying to improve themselves and bring themselves to the 21st century. We have so many kings, which are mostly ceremonial. They shoud be appreciative that the rakyat still respects them enough to continue with the monarchy system. Such a big disappointment.When LGE was reported to have said in private that Johor is the worst State in the pen., he also apologised but many people surely feel that it was unnecessary because it is the Truth! Insult surely not to the (suffering)people there but to the lousy management and administration who deserved the critique!
we expect more from our rulers? By virtue of the fact that they are royalty, they must conduct themselves withdignity and maturity and not throw a tantrum whenever a whiff of a critique blows their way. Queen E was criticized many times in the past and how did the royal house respond? By trying to improve themselves and bring themselves to the 21st century. We have so many kings, which are mostly ceremonial. They shoud be appreciative that the rakyat still respects them enough to continue with the monarchy system. Such a big disappointment.When LGE was reported to have said in private that Johor is the worst State in the pen., he also apologised but many people surely feel that it was unnecessary because it is the Truth! Insult surely not to the (suffering)people there but to the lousy management and administration who deserved the critique!
Dr Chua Soi Lek’s tornado tongue do not respect Islam and out to trying to demolish the instution of Sultanate of Johore with help of Jewan Kaur, FMT
Jewan Kaur says rakyat is at the crossroads when it comes to challenging subjugation, be it reclaiming their basic rights or taking the authorities to task over their misdemeanours.
However, the issue of “deify royalty at all costs” has reached a saturation point. Are the people of this country not “good enough” to question or reflect their unhappiness over such unwise spending by a Sultan?
Twelve years ago, Sultan Ibrahim, then crown prince of Johor, owed the traffic police RM26,700 in summonses. Did the traffic police dare ask that he settle the huge outstanding amount? No, not a soul had the guts. It was out of sheer embarassment that he paid up the fines after news about it reached the Press.
More “drama” was in store. In 2005, a brawl occurred on Pulau Rawa after a Johor prince allegedly gatecrashed a wedding party. The prince ordered some guests off the island after a fight broke out when a woman refused to dance with one of the gatecrashers.
Among those arrested was a 20-year-old prince from the Johor royal family and the police very “kindly” decided to keep the names of the culprits “private and confidential”.
Moral outrage
There is no denying that respect has to be “earned” but when it comes to the monarchy, the motto is that respect has to be “absolute”. But do they truly deserve the rakyat’s unconditional reverence?
The rakyat has not forgotten the royal families’ misdemeanours, particularly those by Tunku Ibrahim’s late father, Sultan Mahmud Iskandar, a man of turbulent temper and with the nickname “Moody” to boot.
The nation still remembers the “Douglas Gomez” incident that happened in November 1992. Gomez, a coach for the Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar field hockey team, was unhappy at being asked to withdraw from the semi-final national hockey match by the Johor Education Department director.
Needless to say, Sultan Mahmud Iskandar was not pleased and personally summoned Gomez to his palace, Istana Bukit Serene. At the palace, the Sultan not only reprimanded Gomez but also assaulted him.
This incident provoked a nationwide moral outrage that resulted in constitutional amendments that no longer gave members of the royalty immunity from the law.
Sadly, some lessons are never learned and abuse of “privileges” continues.
Seven years ago, a member of the Malaysian royalty apparently assaulted a young woman called Yasmin, whom he accused of two-timing him with another policeman.
Another victim, Rahim Mohd Nor, who was allegedly assaulted by a royal member, described his assault as an act of sadism.
By the way, was the Sedition Act 1948 not amended after the “Douglas Gomez” incident to allow public criticism of the rulers? So why the hostility towards Nizar for questioning the RM520,000 “wastage”?
Why is it that when the rakyat turns around and questions members of the royalty, “all hell breaks loose”. Why the hypocrisy?
MCA Don’t respect Islam now MCA Minister proof indirectly above Sultan
The evidence or argument that compels the mind to accept an assertion as true. 2. a. The validation of a proposition by application of specified MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek Tongue Tornado!not to respect Islam and trying to demolish the instution of Sultanate of Johore - it is not from right hand to left hand, it should be from the Treasury’s right pocket to his left pocket.
Since the scandalous issue exposed, can anybody counts how many lies were created by these leaders trying to answer a simple question?
Since the scandalous issue exposed, can anybody counts how many lies were created by these leaders trying to answer a simple question?
‘You mean to say Liow ranks higher than the Johor sultan? Even the sultan has to bid for the number plate.’
Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, had to tender paid for it Is Liow Tiong Lai above our Sultan?
Yes…he has to explain…Even our Sultan paid for it and there are people who are not happy even though my Sultan go through a normal process and paid by using his money. But look at this idiot…he got it free…How could this happen….I want the govt to return back our Sultan money…
MCA already in deep waters,why want to go deeper unless theres more to it than meets the eye? No umnoputras got the WWW car plate free? Is MCA being slowly buried by some top order?Thats a serious thought to ponder by MCA!
Now it is not a question of money, but the lies to cover up something which could have been straightforward. Getting the car plate number for free does not exonerate Liow from being a liar.
Even the Johor sultan, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, had to tender and at a record sum.Now it is not a question of money, but the lies to cover up something which could have been straightforward. Getting the car plate number for free does not exonerate Liow from being a liar.The problem with BN is that any improvement on transparency and accountability is likely to encounter pressure from certain lobby groups for special treatment.Thus a straightforward deal looks clouded with secret wheeling and dealing. I guess it all started with the Health Ministry official given the task of registering an official car for the minister.He was empowered to tender within certain limit. But since it was made public and amid public outcry over the huge sum, Liow tried to pull himself out the issue … and with disastrous result.Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai could not tell earlier that who should pay the RM24,200 for the WWW 15 vehicle registration number he won in a recent tender for his official car. However, he said yesterday that the Road Transport Department (RTD) has notified him that the number plate would be issued free.
Such an argument is in line with former Human Resources Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn’s remarks. However, when answering reporter’s questions on behalf of Liow earlier, former Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said that the money was just going “from the left hand to the right hand” as all the money goes to a government consolidated fund from all ministries.
There is a contradiction between Liow’s argument and Chua’s explanation.
Meanwhile, the RTD stressed that the person who had bid the number plat would have to pay for it. Then who has paid the money?
If the minister did not pay it, are ministry secretary-generals, ministry director generals and deputy ministers enjoying the same benefit?
If it was paid by the ministry, the money will eventually go into the Treasury through the RTD and thus, it is going “from the left hand to the right hand”.
There are many questions to be answered. However, a principle that cannot be compromised would be, if the money was paid by the ministry, the number plat would then be a government asset and the minister cannot bring the number plat with him if he leaves his post, regardless of how meaningful the number is to him.Therefore, they should still make it clear why the number plat WWW 15 should be issued for free while other people have to pay, as it relates to public interest.It is actually confusing that a number plate tender can actually bring so many problems. It shows that the government’s operation lacks transparency while the regulations are not clear enough or having a grey area, confusing even ministers and officials.The problem with BN is that any improvement on transparency and accountability is likely to encounter pressure from certain lobby groups for special treatment.Thus a straightforward deal looks clouded with secret wheeling and dealing. I guess it all started with the Health Ministry official given the task of registering an official car for the minister.He was empowered to tender within certain limit. But since it was made public and amid public outcry over the huge sum, Liow tried to pull himself out the issue … and with disastrous result.
Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha must explain why his MCA colleague Datuk Seri Dr Liow Tiong Lai received the WWW 15 vehicle registration number for free, the DAP has said.
“There are no free numbers unless there is an exemption by the transport minister,” DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today, referring to Kong.
Kong is MCA secretary-general while Liow is the party’s deputy president.
Liow has said the Road Transport Department (RTD) had given the WWW 15 vehicle registration number to him for free, deepening the mystery as to why the number was valued at RM24,200 in the first place on the department website.
WWW 15 is among the vehicle registration numbers in the WWW series that helped bring in some RM12 million for the RTD. An unnamed officer earlier said that the name listed as the winning bidder had to pay up, be it an organisation or an individual.
“Kong Cho Ha, did you exercise your powers reasonably? Is it not an abuse of power?
“What JPJ (RTD) did was correct, you must bid for the number to increase the revenue,” Lim added.
“Kong Cho Ha has to answer. There are now two big question marks on the part of Liow and Kong,” the DAP leader said.
Before claiming that WWW 15 was given to him for free, Liow had at first said yesterday that he was not sure who paid the RM24,200 for the registration number.
He however confirmed that the Health Ministry did not pay for the bid but defended himself by saying that the “process (of bidding) was handled by JPJ (RTD).”
Pressed for answers over who paid for the bid, Liow said “not sure, I have to check”.
“All ministers are eligible for one number; I didn’t exercise the option earlier,” Liow had said.
“Numbers to me are not important; what is more important is service to the people,” he added.
Thousands of people had thronged the three Kuala Lumpur RTD branches to place their bids for the coveted WWW numbers.
Nizar, no need to see Sultan Johor! You already explained and the sultan response, is political! What you said is the fact that nobody can denial. Prophet Mohamad S.A.W said ‘tell the truth although it is bitter’!Nizar should forget about explaining anything to the Sultan of Johore. The Sultan’s public remarks on the WWW episode are really unbecoming of a person in his position. The bottomline is that the Sultan has somehow helped create a situation where his name was linked, inadvertently or otherwise, with the bidding for the WWW or whatever. He should take heed of the lessons from this episode, put it down to experience and move on in a dignified manner. No one is going to be impressed by him if he carries on flogging a dead horse. There are more important things to worry about in this country than WWW plates and pandas. No one can imagine Queen Elizabeth making the kind of public remarks attributed to the Sultan., A few Johoreans may have malliciously advised the Sultan, who may have been in the dark about what actually transpired. I think Malaysians or the Rakyat in general who have been following the whole episode know the truth of the matter. There is nothing to fear as you are a man of God who has not done anything wrong. Justice will prevail.
Joe Fernandez
we expect more from our rulers? By virtue of the fact that they are royalty, they must conduct themselves withdignity and maturity and not throw a tantrum whenever a whiff of a critique blows their way. Queen E was criticized many times in the past and how did the royal house respond? By trying to improve themselves and bring themselves to the 21st century. We have so many kings, which are mostly ceremonial. They shoud be appreciative that the rakyat still respects them enough to continue with the monarchy system. Such a big disappointment.When LGE was reported to have said in private that Johor is the worst State in the pen., he also apologised but many people surely feel that it was unnecessary because it is the Truth! Insult surely not to the (suffering)people there but to the lousy management and administration who deserved the critique!
we expect more from our rulers? By virtue of the fact that they are royalty, they must conduct themselves withdignity and maturity and not throw a tantrum whenever a whiff of a critique blows their way. Queen E was criticized many times in the past and how did the royal house respond? By trying to improve themselves and bring themselves to the 21st century. We have so many kings, which are mostly ceremonial. They shoud be appreciative that the rakyat still respects them enough to continue with the monarchy system. Such a big disappointment.When LGE was reported to have said in private that Johor is the worst State in the pen., he also apologised but many people surely feel that it was unnecessary because it is the Truth! Insult surely not to the (suffering)people there but to the lousy management and administration who deserved the critique!
Nizar, no need to see Sultan Johor! You already explained and the sultan response, is political! What you said is the fact that nobody can denial. Prophet Mohamad S.A.W said ‘tell the truth although it is bitter’!Nizar should forget about explaining anything to the Sultan of Johore. The Sultan’s public remarks on the WWW episode are really unbecoming of a person in his position. The bottomline is that the Sultan has somehow helped create a situation where his name was linked, inadvertently or otherwise, with the bidding for the WWW or whatever. He should take heed of the lessons from this episode, put it down to experience and move on in a dignified manner. No one is going to be impressed by him if he carries on flogging a dead horse. There are more important things to worry about in this country than WWW plates and pandas. No one can imagine Queen Elizabeth making the kind of public remarks attributed to the Sultan., A few Johoreans may have malliciously advised the Sultan, who may have been in the dark about what actually transpired. I think Malaysians or the Rakyat in general who have been following the whole episode know the truth of the matter. There is nothing to fear as you are a man of God who has not done anything wrong. Justice will prevail.
SAKMONGKOL AK47
Nizar Jamaluddin, former MB of Perak, is in a pickle these days. We can’t leave him alone though because he represents the people. What happens to him could also happen to us later when we, out of public spiritedness, raise an issue involving the royalty. So, the rakyat must continue to speak because, we actually do remember the tenets of Malay customs and etiquette.
I can’t offer Nizar any ideas on how to resolve his predicament with the Johor monarchy. Perhaps he may have to offer momentary lapse of memory as defence. He has simply forgotten an important ingredient in Malay custom. He will not suffer embarrassment if he adopts this defence because others more prominent than him have chosen to adopt selective recollection. Mahathir Mohamad forgot so many things when faced with the issue on the VK Lingam tapes. Or Nizar embraces humility and admits that he is stupid in this area.
But which part of the Malay custom are we talking about? This article seeks to explore the corruption of a very important component of Malay customs and etiquette — his relationship with the Malay Ruler. That relationship is represented by a code of conduct expressed in the avowal Pantang Melayu Derhaka! This is probably the part of Malay customs and etiquette which is referred to. This is the underlying and awe-inspiring code of conduct that regulates the relationship of the Malay subject with his Ruler. Pushed to its extreme form, this code of conduct leads to the blasphemous deification of another human being. That however is a separate matter best left to Islamic theologians to debate as the deification of another human being means making the human equal to the Almighty.
This subject has recently come to the fore when Nizar tweeted his discomfort on the amount of money spent to acquire a car number plate. His tweet invited the ire of Johor folk. Johor Umno Youth was quick to exploit the issue. What was it that Nizar said that raised so much venomous response from the axe to grind Umno Youth?
Can the unease of one person upset the whole institutional structure that has always upheld the position of the Malay monarchy? Nizar’s grumblings were not directed at the person of the Ruler or at the institution. What Nizar did was to raise the issue of indecent spending. This wasn’t a case of disputing whose money it is. Even if it’s your money, if it’s applied in a controversial manner, ownership of the money is irrelevant. Nizar said out loud his opinion against the “idea” of indecent spending. The better idea on such a large amount of money would be to apply it to socially beneficial ends.
When the late Zakaria built his mansion amidst the squalor of Pandamaran a few years back, the issue was the building of a palatial home amidst the hovels in Pandamaran. The behaviour was indecent.
Since the issue has been politicised, we will take it from there. So, now we are interested in the politics behind the avowal. The Malay monarchy is the symbol into which is invested special meanings which are sometimes operated as a tool for political expediencies. In the hands of Umno, the special meanings invested are mostly used for political convenience as exemplified in the recent gathering of the so-called absolute loyalists before the Johor monarch.
Would anyone subscribe to the view that behind the pretentious display of undying loyalty, it’s only Umno that upholds the institution of the Malay monarch? If anyone does, then he has forgotten that in 1993 it was Umno which mobilised the whole nation into a frenzy, demanding doing the King Philip and Marie Antoinette thing on the Malay monarch.
Because in the hands of a manipulative Umno, the primordial code of conduct is now being used as the measure of one’s Malayness, loyalty and patriotism all at once. The Malay who appears as straying from the measure is to be taken as someone who has violated the meaning of being Malay. In Umno’s twisted political lexicon, unconditional loyalty to the institution of the Malay monarch forms an indispensable and mandatory cultural DNA. Without which, one ceases to be Malay enough deserving of support and communion with fellow Malays.
The avowal can universally be translated to mean the people shall never be disloyal to the king. The term disloyal is used in its most general forms. The common man never trespasses the king in any way and form; never shall he insult the king in mind, never speak evil and more so does not commit trespass of the person upon the king. The term treason is also a close description. Used in these terms, Umno and its surrogate NGOs can then brand Nizar, his party and all those who support Nizar as unMalay, unpatriotic and disloyal. It is this vicious use that we are now objecting. Umno cannot now claim to be sanctimonious when what it attempted to do to the Malay monarchy in 1993 was clearly worse and disloyal.
We turn to the venerable Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals to search for the origins of this avowal. It is there that this covenant, which was to form the basis to measure the Malay’s cultural affinity and ethnic oneness, originated.
The ancient king figure being represented by king Seri Teri Buana (STB) and the people figure by Deman Lebar Daun (DLD). Seri Teri Buana is one of the three mythical figures that appeared at Bukit Siguntang Mahameru. He was made king when DLD, the incumbent ruler of Palembang, abdicated from his throne in favour of STB because of the mythical origins of the latter.
The Sejarah Melayu tells us the ancient king took a total of 39 ladies as brides but as soon as each union was consummated, the bride contracted chloasma — a skin disease that left the face discoloured or blackened. He was resigned to spending life as a roving bachelor when fate intervened and he was informed that his man Friday, DLD his sidekick, has a beautiful daughter, Wan Sundari. Whereupon he summoned his faithful former king now turned sidekick and expressed his desire of wanting the daughter of DLD. Fearful that his only daughter may be stricken with the same affliction, DLD asked for a covenant with the king if he wants his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Since then, only the second part of the ancient covenant has been stressed over and over again. This part read: “That your descendants shall never for the rest of the time be disloyal to my descendants, even if my descendants oppress them and behave evilly.” And DLD said: ‘Very well your highness, but if your descendants depart from the terms of the pact, then so will mine’.”
But what was the part of the people’s bargain?
“Your highness, the descendants of your humble servant shall be the subjects of your majesty’s throne, but they must be well treated by your descendants. If they offend, they shall not, however grave be their offence, be disgraced or reviled with evil words: if their offence is grave, let them be put to death if that is in accordance with shariah law.”
Clearly then, there are two sides of the Malay customs and etiquette which are in question. Not only does the first part need adherence to, the observance of the second part is also demanded.
It took a president to rescue an 80-year-old microbiologist from a Rajasthan jail, where he had been incarcerated for a crime that nobody is sure he even committed in the first place.
So here are the bare bones of a story that can either make you boil over with rage or shrug your shoulders with indifference. You pick your choice :
Less than 24 hours after the flying visit of Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari concluded on Easter Sunday the 8th of April, the Supreme Court ordered that Dr Khaleel Chisty be released on bail from a jail in Rajasthan. Justices P. Sathasivam and J. Chelameswar, god bless their souls, ordered that the good doctor must stay in Ajmer, but told his counsel who requested that he be allowed to go home to Karachi, that he should file a separate application for a judgement on that one.
Both Supreme Court judges probably heard and read about Dr Chisty’s case as part of the wall-to-wall press coverage devoted to Zardari’s visit. Evidently, over lunch at Manmohan Singh’s home at Race Course Road in Delhi, Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik raised the subject with his Indian counterpart, home minister P. Chidambaram. Let the old man go, Malik said.
And guess what Chidambaram replied ? That there were legal issues involved, and that the court still had to take a view.
Now, was Chidambaram, a mighty fine lawyer himself, giving Rehman Malik a small taste of his own medicine? Remember that the Pakistanis have resorted to the so-called legal option each time India asks for movement on the Mumbai terror accused. Each time the Pakistanis reply, saying, Oh you see the judges have thrown out the case due to lack of evidence from India that would stand up in court.
Chidamabaram has been quite upset with the Pakistani argument all these years, and believes that Pakistan has been dragging its feet, or procrastinating, or both. He’s probably right, too.
But does that justify leaving an 80-year-old man to the mercy of India’s heartless judicial system?
Turns out that Dr Chishty, a reputed microbiologist from Pakistan, came to Ajmer to visit his ailing mother in 1992. That is, only 20 years ago. Here, he got embroiled in a local quarrel and when push came to shove, was accused of murdering a man. The trial court in Rajasthan has since kept him in jail, still hearing his case. No amount of pleading by family members, uprooted from Karachi and in Ajmer, stirred the hard hearts of the Rajasthani courts.
The world changed, meanwhile, and Dr Chishty became an older man. But the long arm of the trial court still pursued him. Until Easter Sunday, the 8th of April, when Zardari decided, with considerable panache and derring-do, that he wanted to come and visit the shrine of Moinuddin Chishti, in Ajmer, because the Sufi saint, known the region over as ‘Gharib Nawaz’ or the Saviour of the Poor, had the power to move millions.
Now whether or not Zardari’s visit changes the face of the India-Pakistan relationship, the incredible story of Dr Khaleel Chishty has certainly influenced two Indian judges enough to order that justice be done to him.
Perhaps, some of us in the modern world underestimate the power of Sufi saints. Certainly, they have come to the aid of an ageing man, grown old and lonely in an alien land.
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