Malam Kembalikan Hak Rakyat - 9 Ogos 2009

Satu majlis makan malam anjuran ranting Kampung Baru Simpang Pulai dan Ranting Taman Bersatu telah diadakan bagi mencari dana untuk ranting-ranting tersebut menjalankan segala aktiviti mereka serta persiapan kemungkinan bakal diadakan pilihanraya negeri Perak.

Lebih 46 buah meja telah berjaya dijual termasuk meja-meja yang menyajikan makanan halal.

Pimpinan tertinggi yang hadir, Dato' Seri Ir Nizar, YB Sivakumar, YB Dr Lee Boon Chye dan tentunya saya sendiri. Selain daripada itu, amat dialu-alukan juga pimpinan Cabang Gopeng termasuk Ketua Wanita Negeri, Puan Fathmawaty Salim yang telah sudi hadir.

Saya juga mengalu-alukan kehadiran para hadirin yang datang untuk mendengar ceramah pada malam itu. Juga terima kasih kepada pihak polis yang begitu 'cool' dan cuma memerhatikan dari jauh.

Suasana sungguh meriah dengan penceramah yang begitu bersemangat dan para hadirin yang begitu responsif. Majlis digamatkan lagi dengan acara cabutan bertuah.

Sekalung tahniah buat penganjur. Syabas!

Sumbangan Kasih Sayang - 5 Ogos 2009

Walaupun tidak lagi mempunyai dana daripada Kerajaan Negeri, saya masih cuba membantu penduduk dalam kawasan seliaan saya selagi termampu.

Telah datang kepada pengetahuan saya tentang nasib Saudara Anorbit bin Abdul Rahman yang telah pun berusia 60 tahun tetapi masih bekerja sebagai pengawal keselamatan. Sdr Anorbit mempunyai isteri dan seorang anak yang masih menuntut. Rumah kediaman beliau uzur dengan atap zink yang bocor.

Sejumlah kepingan zink disumbangkan bagi menggantikan yang telah bocor. Saudara Abu Bakar Mat Hasan yang juga merupakan ketua kampung, Kampung Simpang Pulai Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Perak, banyak membantu dari segi tenaga dan hal ehwal kebajikan penduduk kampung. Beliau tetap setia menjalankan tugasnya dengan penuh amanah walaupun tidak lagi mendapat sebarang elaun. Bagi diri saya sendiri, tiada apa yang dapat saya berikan selain sekalung terima kasih yang tidak terhingga atas komitmen beliau dan persaudaraan yang dihulurkan olehnya terhadap saya walaupun kami berlainan fahaman agama.

Semoga dengan sumbangan tersebut, Sdr Anorbit sekeluarga dapat menyambut kedatangan Ramadhan dengan lebih selesa.

Sukan, Pengerat Silaturrahim - 26 Julai 2009

Bagi menggalakkan aktiviti yang sihat di kalangan penduduk kawasan DUN Simpang Pulai, saya telah menghadiahkan satu set jaring gol futsal dan sebuah piala pusingan kepada penduduk Taman Chandan Desa.

Rukun Tetanga Taman Chandan Desa pula mengambil inisiatif untuk menganjurkan satu pertandingan futsal dikalangan penduduk Chandan Desa dan Taman Bersatu yang berdekatan.

Sebanyak 8 buah pasukan telah mengambil bahagian pada pagi Ahad tersebut. Dan saya telah diberi peluang merasmikannya dengan membuat sepakan penalti. Malangnya, bola tersasar jauh...

Saya merasa cukup terhibur dan kagum melihat gelagat dan semangat kesukanan para peserta dan penonton.

Sukan sebegini memang patut digalakkan kerana ianya dapat mengeratkan silaturrahim sesama jiran tetangga dan di antara golongan remaja dan dewasa.

Sikap sebegini jika dipupuk dan dijaga, akan dapat membendung gejala sosial dikalangan masyarakat pada hari ini.

When will it end ?

Death in police custody has become rampant. So much so that it no longer shocked the nation. Only when the cruelty of it surfaced in the form of pictures of police brutality splashed across the net, did the nation take notice. Or else it would be treated like the footnote of a book. Read and forgotten.

The authorities it seemed, always have an answer ready. Detainee was under the influence of drugs, intoxicated to the point of being overdose and died. Detainee committed suicide by hanging himself (in a police lock up, how is that possible, explain?). While transporting detainee to another lock up, detainee jumped into the river and drowned (while under police custody, how is that possible, again explain?). A perfectly healthy detainee suddenly developed a bad case of pneumonia and died.

And when all else failed, turn it into a racial issue. Good ol' racial issue...

Ganapragasam and Kugan died in police custody. When pictures of physical torture endured by the late Kugan splashed across the internet, it quickly turned into a racial issue. Some questioned on why the public was defending an Indian criminal. Others demanded to know why the minority became the target of such inhumane act.

Kugan was a suspect, yes. But in the eyes of the law, one is innocent until proven guilty.

The majority of the police force are made up of Malays, yes. But there are also Indian, Punjabi and Chinese police personnel.

Teoh Beng Hock, a young man, 30 years of age, an aide to one of the Excos of Selangor Pakatan Rakyat led government, died after being taken to the MACC office for questioning last week. It was reported that he was not even a suspect, merely a witness to the supposedly misused fund worth RM2400 in purchasing 1500 pieces of Malaysia flags. After being questioned for about 10 hours, Beng Hock was found dead within the premise of MACC.

Police classified the death as 'kematian mengejut' or sudden death. Which suggested that he either accidentally fell or committed suicide.

There is no way it could be justified that Beng Hock committed suicide. He was to be married the next day to the mother of his unborn child.

His death brought forth the wrath of Malaysians. The public demanded an explanation. The public demanded a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the matter.

When pushed to the corner, yes back to the good ol' racial card. Government controlled Malay newspapers turned Teoh Beng Hock's death into a racial issue and went as far as to suggest that, to go against MACC is akin in going against a Malay institution. The absurdity of it all!

A life is a life. A life lost is not measured the worth by the ethnicity or the social standing. Teoh Beng Hock was somebody's son, somebody's brother, somebody's fiancee and the father of an unborn baby.

A Royal Commission must be set up. MACC must be investigated on the interrogation techniques applied.

Justice must be given to Teoh Beng Hock,his family and his unborn child.

Unity Goverment - Anticipate or Participate

The past few weeks saw the media buzzing with reports and comments from various leaders on the idea of the so-called 'Unity Government'.

For those who follow the politics of Malaysia closely, must realize that this has not been the first time talks on a Unity Government came from the quarters of PAS.

About a year ago, the buzz was on the 'muzakarah' issue between a few prominent PAS leaders with the then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi. The muzakarah was quickly translated by the BN influenced media as the possibility of PAS-UMNO securing ties for the good of Muslim/Malay.

Tok Guru Nik Aziz shot down the whole idea by saying that any sort of a merger with UMNO would mean being bitten by the same snake, from the same hole, twice.

He likened the secret meeting between Tun Abdullah and a few PAS leaders to a 'muqabalah', meaning a mere discussion.

The statement from PAS spiritual leader, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz managed to simmer down the issue. Therefore, it was most unfortunate that PAS Party President, Tuan Haji Abdul Hadi brought about the issue of a Unity Government at PAS 55th Muktamar recently.

As much as the top leaders of PKR, PAS and DAP reaffirm their commitment to Pakatan Rakyat, the possibility of PAS merging with UMNO is still very real. After all, PAS and UMNO are the two biggest Malay/Muslim based political parties in Malaysia.

After the political tsunami in March last year, Malaysians had a taste of what politics based on idealism and principles feels like, instead of falling back to the same voting pattern based on race and racial sentiments.

Malaysians plucked up enough courage to change the political landscape of this country. We see now, no longer do the Malays fear DAP, and the sight of non-Muslims waving PAS flags proudly, was something almost unimaginable, more than a year ago.

Malaysians are ready for changes, but are the politicians ready as well?

Parti KeADILan Rakyat has a platform ready for Malaysians who believe in justice, equality and politic beyond racial line can be achieved.

I, for one, like to toy with the idea of a 2-party system. The 2-party system is made up of Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. No more PKR, no more PAS, DAP and no more UMNO, MCA, MIC.

No longer would any quarters be using race and religion to divide Malaysians for their political survival.

No longer would keris wielding be acceptable to anyone.

Instead, the debate would then be based on good governance, transparency, idealism, economic plans, the list could go on but it would not include things like - any particular race supremacy and quotas.

Maybe, only then would Malaysians be truly united. But it certainly will not happen with a Unity Government.

Siri Jelajah ke Kg Sengat

Bersama-sama Ketua Kampung lantikan Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Perak, Tuan Haji Zainuddin, saya telah pergi dari rumah ke rumah dengan berjalan kaki.

Ianya memberi peluang saya melihat dengan lebih dekat keadaan infrastuktur kampung tersebut. Permasalahan ketiadaan longkang atau longkang yang tersumbat menjadi antara aduan utama penduduk.

Selain daripada memberi penerangan tentang isu-isu politik semasa di Perak, saya juga sempat bertanyakan khabar para penduduk dan berkenal mesra dengan mereka.

Dalam siri jelajah ke Kampung Sengat juga, saya berkesempatan menziarahi sebuah keluarga yang baru kehilangan orang tersayang.

Majlis Pelancaran Kutipan Derma Pesakit Kanser, Loke Sai Keong - 26 Mei 2009

Loke Sai Keong adalah seorang muda yang baru mencecah usia 22 tahun. Dalam usia semuda itu, beliau terpaksa menanggung penyakit kanser paru-paru.

Apabila disahkan menghidap kanser paru-paru kira-kira 3 bulan yang lalu, Loke Sai Keong tergamam memikirakan bagaimana orang semuda dirinya boleh mendapat penyakit tersebut. Beliau tidak minum arak malah tidak pernah merokok.

Kesakitan yang ditanggungnya menyebabkan beliau terpaksa berhenti kerja. Buat masa ini segala perbelanjaan perubatannya adalah tertanggung dibahu abang ipar beliau.

Ibu bapa Loke Sai Keong sudah berusia dan tidak mampu lagi bekerja.

Atas keprihatinan penduduk Kampung Baru Simpang Pulai, satu majlis bagi mengutip derma telah dianjurkan bertujuan meringankan beban yang terpaksa ditanggung Loke Sai Keong dan keluarganya.

Ahli Parlimen Gopeng, Dr Lee Boon Chye dan Adun Simpang Pulai, Sdr Chan Ming Kai telah turut hadir ke majlis tersebut bagi menunjukkan sokongan moral.

Semangat kejiranan dan permuafakatan penduduk Kg Baru Simpang Pulai wajar dijadikan contoh.

Adalah diharapkan Loke Sai Keong dan keluarga dapat bersabar dalam menempuh saat yang getir ini. Kepada Loke Sai Keong didoakan semoga cepat sembuh.