RIFLE RANGE BOY

They say that you, an individual do make that count. That is what they tell us when election day comes. They persuade you not to waste that vote and that it is everybody's birthright to choose their leader. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, so you do your share of your bargain. Cynics would reply them that a single swallow does not make up the whole summer. And that your single vote will never make the difference. That had never been a single incidence of an election decided by a single vote. But wait, there is! A constituency in Rajasthan was indeed caught in such a predicament in a 2008 Elections. A Congress candidate secured 62,216 votes versus his BJP opponent who managed 62,215 votes. The recounting of the postal votes and later, all the votes, showed exactly the same results. That, in itself, demonstrated how accurate the counting was! Zero error rate. The case later went to the courts when the loser accused the winner's second wife to have v...

It had a fiesta mood, jovial demeanour, smiling faces, honking road users, the same colour motif and the chant. The roads were their path to reach the point of salvation. Interlaced amongst the crowd were banners, placards and cheeky messages. Everybody was courteous and everybody wanted their voices to be heard. Orang asal with years of neglect were down with their banner. So were the workers with minimum wage on their mind. The LGBT representative was there with his rainbow hued flag to be counted. The only time I last saw so many people don yellow was during Thaipusam celebration during my childhood back in Penang! Come to think of it, there were so many similarities between this peaceful march and Thaipusam celebrations in Penang. People would come from near and far to witness the procession. The joy was in the walk as there was where old friends of yesteryears would be met. The march would be interrupted by occasional kavadis that would tickle our interest- in Bersih 4.0...

Somehow we got a good deal. The maker was in a good mood he made us, our country. The lush of greenery, the evergreen trees, the stable tectonic plates, the absence of major catastrophes, the strategic location was our selling point. Our quaint lazy ambience with rich natural resources must have earned our nickname comparing it to a golden land. Ah, people were always lousy... But there was a world, once. This same trait must have been the pulling factor that drew unsavoury visitors who wanted all for themselves. The early settlers, with no malice on their mind, ushered them in with open arms, typical of how they would honour their weary guests as described by most of the holy scriptures that they knew. The conniving guests, with evil exuding through their eyes and souls plot devious mischiefs to create pandemonium just to appear of as peacemaker at the same time. The host started fragmenting. The guests suddenly appeared more composed, more cultured and wiser. With th...

Written by Renee Talalla She is a language teacher who is married to a retired member of the Malaysian Diplomatic Service Tired, sleepy and aching all over, but have to write this down to get it out of the mind and system before I can sleep. So here is my account of Bersih 3 written at 11pm on 28 April 2012. As law-abiding and not terribly brave senior citizens, we had opted out of Bersih 2 when it was banned, pronounced illegal, KL on lockdown etc. This time, like so many others, we decided we had to show our support for clean and fair elections. Needless to say we did not expect trouble, but prepared for it nevertheless - salt, wet towel etc in a backpack. We were confident the crowd would be disciplined and the police restrained after the debacle of Bersih 2. At 10.30 am my husband and I caught the LRT to Pasar Seni. Packed train and the crowd chatty and friendly. From Pasar Seni at about 11am we strolled past the Central Market then along the embankment and down Tun Perak. ...

July 23, 2011 JULY 23 — Good Morning! Chancellor, vice chancellor and graduating students. It is so good to be back! I am deeply moved by the conferment of this honour upon me. That it comes from my alma mater is especially significant for me. That it comes at this time is almost providential, for it allows me and all lawyers to reflect on our roles in the societies we live in. For this honour and this moment of reflection, I extend my grateful thanks to the Council and Senate of the University of Exeter. Tired of injustice and oppression, people the world over are crying out for truth, goodness, justice and universal love and understanding. The events in Malaysia over the past six weeks culminating in the rally for free and fair elections on the 9th of July, has taught me so much more than I could have ever learned in the last 30 years as a practising lawyer. My team and I faced first-hand the full force of the unleashed power of the state, and I realised then the importance of...

(from Malaysian Insider)..... The palace will surely be running an enquiry into the shockingly embarrassing faux pas on the part of the Queen when she met the Prime Minister Najib yesterday. How could her majesty have been allowed to make such an appalling blunder?  There could not be a more glaringly bright garment in the royal wardrobe. Brilliant daffodil yellow! From head to toe! If her majesty had worn this on the streets of KL the previous week, she would have been arrested! No question about it! Was it is a genuine faux pas or is it a classic case of pacifying a child after pinching its butt? Not that the British are not known for their subtleties! I remember be told whilst preparing for the English professional examinations, not to be too confident that that oral examination and viva voce went on too well. The examiners who were just too nice could have failed you too miserably or have written a nasty remarks on your score chit after all that niceties! How do yo...

 I would be doing grave injustice if I do not mention at least in the passing about the Malaysians of all walks of life and all corners of the globe who came together for a similar cause. Remember this date 9th July 2011. from all walks of life During the height of the public rally, from the comfort of the armchair in the cool dry ambiance of my home, (it was pouring outside) I had the opportunity of gazing through some of the most stirring moments since the moment Tunku hailed heartily the cry of Merdeka to the nation in 1957, via the plethora of excellent photographs depicted via Facebook. In a very long time, Malaysians forgot their differences and came together for a single cause -to be heard! the stand-off At the end of the whole brouhaha, two things were quite clear to all of us. Everyone has come out smelling of roses in spite of the dented egos, injuries here and there, loss of business for a day and the initial fear of the sequelae. The Government is h...

SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011 M. Bakri Musa www.bakrimusa.com bakrimusa@juno.com A remarkable thing happened this past weekend. To many, the event on Saturday was nothing more than a massive public demonstration that capped a long brewing confrontation between those advocating “fair and free elections” and those who deemed that our elections are already so. As with any fight, the drama was played out long before the event, and by the time the actual battle took place, the participants had long forgotten the original issue. Instead, now the preoccupation is who blinked first, who outsmarted whom, and most of all, who lost and who won. These then become the new overriding divisive issues, eclipsing the original one. The losers would return to their corner with their new resolve: “Next time!” And the battle continues; they never learn! There were plenty of losers this weekend but few winners. The winners may be few but their achievements scaled new heights. To me, this weekend was one of ...