DR MOHD SAFAR HASIM

Home Ministry banned 13 publications with immoral contents

2010-09-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Transferred from my other blog. Caution...This is last year's posting.

The Home Ministry (KDN) has issued a prohibition order banning 13 publications with immoral contents, unsuitable for reading public (See Bernama, 21 July, 2009).

The banned publications include: Cinta Awak Dalam Sehari, Pengantin Remaja, Masalah Seksual Yang Anda Malu Tanya, Rahsia dalam Rahsia Di sebalik Tirai Kamar Suami Isteri, Isteri Romantik di Kamar Yang Indah, dan Suami Romantik di Kamar Yang Indah.

Others are: Senggama kubur, Rintihan Jiwa Seorang Lesbian, Oh Fazrah, Serakah Anak-anak Zombie, Menyingkap Rahsia Keistimewaan Wanita, Pertama Gemilang dan Khazanah Mutiara Hikmah Suami Isteri dan Bakal Pengantin.

Gazetting of the prohibition order was made under section 7(1) of the Publication and Printing Presses Act 1984, punishable under sub-section 2, section 8 of the Act.

Principal Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Aziz Abdul Latif, said it was an offence to print, produce, reproduce, publish, sell, distribute or possess the publications.

Offenders could be jailed not more than three years or fined not more than RM20,000.00 or both. - Bernama.

The Law:

Section 7 and 8 comes under Part IV Control of Undesirable Publications with Undesirable Publications, of the Publication and Printing Presses Act 1984.

Section 7 Undesirable Publications.

(1) If the Minister is satisfied that any publication contains any article, caricature, photograph, report, notes, writing, sound, music, statement or any other thing which is in any manner prejudicial to or likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, security, the relationship with any forfeign country or government, or which is likely to alarm public opinion, or which is or is likely to be contrary to any law or is otherwise prejudicial to or is likely to be prejudicial to public interest or national interest, he may in his absolute discretion by order published in the Gazette prohibit, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, the printing, importation, production, reproduction, publishing, sale, issue, circulation, distribution or possession of that publication and future publications of the publisher concerned.

Section 8 (2) Any person who prints, imports, produces, reproduces, publishes, sells, issues, circulates, offers for sale, distributes or has in his possession for such purpose any prohibited publication shall be guilty for a term not exceeding three years or to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to both.

Comment: If people continue to write such materials and there are publishers willing to publish them without regard for the society's well-being, the law will continue to be relevant. The Government will continue to be the guardian of morality.

The Malaysian Flag: Part 3 The Conference of Rulers

2009-11-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

The Malaysian Flag: Part 3 The Conference of Rulers

Quote:

"The Conference agrees to accept the proposed Design No. 9 for the Flag of the Federation of Malaya subject to the Crescent and Star of the Flag being yellow instead of white in colour," minutes of the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of Rulers, Malay States on Wednesday and Thursday, 22 and 23 February, 1950, corresponding to 5th and 6th Jumadil-Awal 1369. (CO 537/9925. Political Developments: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Conference of Rulers)

MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF RULERS , MALAY STATES

The quote above came from the minutes of the Tenth meeting of the Conference of Rulers, Malay States held on 22 and 23 February, 1950 in Istana Selangor, Kuala Lumpur. However, the decision-making process not only involved the Malay Rulers but also the people and the Federal Legislative Council. It was quite a long-drawn process but in the final analysis, a good one.

The Conference of Rulers, Malay States was formed when the Federation of Malaya was inaugurated on 1 February, 1948. Historically, it had its beginning in 1895 when the Federated Malay States was formed, and a council comprising the Rulers of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, was formed initially called The Durbar. The Conference of Rulers is now part and parcel of the Parliamentary Democracy as practised in Malaysia.

Initially, the flag was in the agenda of the Ninth meeting of the Conference of Rulers. This was the original plan as it was the desire of the Federal Legislative Council to have the issue of the Flag of Malaya to be resolved quickly.

However, it was only during the Tenth meeting of the Conference of Rulers on 22 and 23 of Rebruary, 1950 that the decision on the flag of Malaya was taken. The two-day meeting was presided by the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al-muadzam Shah ibni Al-marhum Al-mu'tasim Billah Abdullah. All the Malay Rulers attended the meeting except the Sultan of Johore, who was represented by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim.

The Menteris Besar or Acting Menteris Besar of the nine States attended the meeting as Malay adviser to their highnesses the Rulers except Perak who was representd by the State Secretary, Inche' (sic) Mustapha Albakri bin Haji Hassan. The Governor of Penang and Malacca at that time were not members of this august body.

Others in attendance were: The High Commissioner, Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney, The Chief Secretary, Sir Alexander Theodore Newboult, and the Acting Attorney General, Mr. T. Brown.

Sir Henry Gurney informed the Malay Rulers that the Federal Legislative Council had taken an informal vote on the final two designs of the flag, with No. 1 getting 24 votes and No. 9 getting 47 votes. Sir Henry said if a formal vote were taken No. 9 would prevailed. The two designs were displayed on a board for the Rulers to view.

He explained that No. 9, had an eleven-pointed star and eleven stripes representing the nine Malay States and the two Settlements. Obviously, this was not the same design when it was revealed to the public. In the interim, changes had been made by changing the five-pointed star to eleven pointed-star.

Sir Henry addressed the Rulers: "We do not know what further views Your Highnesses have."

The Menteri Besar of Selangor, Raja Uda bin Raja Muhammad speaking for the other Menteris Besar, said: "May it please Your Highness, we the Menteri Menteri Besar all have agreed to design No. 9."

The Sultan of Kedah, Tunku Badlishah ibni Al-marhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah was the first Ruler to speak. His Highness suggested that the Crescent and the Star should be in yellow. "I think the Rulers consider yellow to be Royal," The Sultan said. The design on display showed the Crescent and the Star in white.

Sir Henry said: "Your Highness. There is nothing at present in the design to denote membership of the British Commonwealth except the colours red, white and blue."

The Sultan of Kedah pressed on: "All colours are represented there except yellow."

The Sultan of Perak agreed with design No.9, without any amendments. The Sultan's view was made known by the Perak State Secretary. The Sultan of Selangor agreed with the Sultan of Perak. So was the Sultan of Kelantan. Those for white appeared to gain ground.

Then, the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan spoke supporting the Sultan of Kedah's suggestion. This was followed by the Sultan of Terengganu who also supported the suggestion.

The Sultan of Pahang, who was presiding the meeting, indicated that he preferred the Star and Crescent to be in yellow. It was clear that following the Sultan of Pahang's "vote", yellow has an upper hand.

The Raja of Perlis brought up another issue. "I do not feel that it would be necessary to have an eleven star because the eleven stripes of the Flag already represent the nine Malay States and the two Settlements. I would, therefore, suggest that it should be a five-pointed star," the Raja said.

The Sultan of Johore, whose state flag has a five pointed star said: "I would prefer a five-pointed star in yellow."

As only two Rulers voiced their opinion on the eleven-pointed star, the issue was not carried.

At this stage, the Menteri Besar of Pahang, spoke: "I am commanded by His Highness the Sultan of Pahang to express the personal feeling of His Highness on this matter. His Highness agrees to design No 9 except that the Star and crescent to be in yellow instead of white."

Sir Henry Gurney intervened to say:" Would Their Highnesses the Sultan of Kelantan, the Sultan of Selangor and the Sultan of Perak have any objection to the Crescent and Star being in yellow?"

All three Sultans said they have no objection.

Sir Henry then said:" Well, Your Highnesses, my next step would be to move a formal motion in the Federal Legislative Council for the design No. 9 with the Crescent and Star in yellow. It is hoped that all the Malay members of the Legislative Council would support this."

Below is the file containing minutes of the Conference of Rulers meeting on the Flag of Malaya available in National Archives of United Kingdom.

Below is the paper Flag of Malaya which was sent to London by the Government of the Federation of Malaya.

The Malaysian Flag- Part 2 The People's Views

2009-11-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

The Malaysian Flag- Part 2 The People's Views

The Masthead of Utusan Melayu dated 3 Sept 1949 (below), and the masthead of The Malay Mail dated 15 Nov. 1949 (underneath it). Utusan Melayu was published in Singapore before moving to Kuala Lumpur. The Mail Mail was an English daily published in Kuala Lumpur. It changed to an afternoon paper after it was bought over by The Straits Times. The following views and comments by the people of then Malaya were qouted from these two newspapers.

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The MALAYSIAN FLAG Part 2: The People's View

In 1949, newspapers and radio were the only mode of mass communication in Malaya. There were no Internet, no mobile phones and no television. More people could have participated in the choice of the flag of Malaya. But, based on the three available designs, most likely and the obvious choice would still be design listed as number 3.

In The Malay Mail poll, the newspaper revealed that some 45% chose the third design, about 5% chose the first design and only one chose design number 2. No actual number was given. However, the newspaper itself indicated that the participation was low. There was no similar poll taken by the Utusan Melayu. The Malay Mail in an editorial suggested that opinion of rural people should also be taken into consideration and this could be done by the information department. Whether such action was taken could not be ascertained.

Different people have different ideas about what the national flag should be, ranging from emotional feeling to what colours should be used.

"Sir, none of the three proposed designs for the national flag of the Federation showed any nantionalism in them," says a letter in the Utusan Melayu on 6 December, 1949. Only in the third design was yellow colour used in the crescent and star, yellow being the famous royal colour . Is this colour steeped in Malay customs to be left out?

"Moreover, in my view there was nothing in all the thee designs to show a close relantionship between the royal and the people based on Malayan nationalism originated from the Malay. This is because of absence from the flag "red and white" the flag of original Malay nationalism since Hang Tuah's period. " the letter added.

Therefore, since Malaya is on the way to independence, may I suggest that the Federation flag should be based on "red and white" and a quarter of the red should be in blue and the crossed krisses in yellow and encirled by eleven stars in white," says Hasnad.

In The Malay Mail, a reader named D.M.F. lamented that "Britain has no place in the Federation flags which were submitted to the Legislative Council..." (MM, 21 November, 1949).

The reader suggested that Malaya follow the footsteps of South Africa, Canada and Australia "who all have small reproductions of the Union Jack in the left-handhand corner in their national flags. The reader also suggested that the crossed krisses in the first choice should make the design eminently suitable.

The Malay Mail wrote an editorial on the flag issue.

Networking with Fayoum University, Egypt

2009-11-10T01:32:00.000-08:00

11 Nov. 2009

Almost a year ago, three of us from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, namely Assoc. Prof Dr Zamri Arifin and Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Ariffin, and I visited Fayoum University, about 100 km south of Cairo, to forge closer ties with the university. We are part of a group doing research on Middle East tourism. Fayoum University is one of 12 universities in Egypt with tourism faculty. The following is an account of the visit that appeared in the Fayoum University's website (News Archives). The official pictures below were taken during a courtesy call on President of Fayoum University where we exchanged our respective universities' plaques.

"17-Nov-2008

President of Fayoum University Prof. Dr. Ahmed El Gohary and Vice President for Community Service and Environmental Development Prof. Dr. Abdel Hamid Abdel Tawab Sabry received Sunday 16/11/2008 a delegation from the National University of Malaysia.
The delegation also embraced a number of professors of communication, media and urban studies in Malaysia. The meeting focused on exploring the possibilities of cooperation in education and research between both universities.
Prof. Dr. Ahmed El Gohary said that the primary objective of this visit is to open new channels of cooperation in the field of student exchange in addition to providing scholarships for the faculty staff.
At the end of the visit, Prof. Dr. Ahmed El Gohary presented the University Shield to the Malaysian delegate as a symbol of friendship and cooperation. Also, the head of the Malaysian delegation presented the National University of Malaysia Shield to Fayoum University President."

As a follow-up of that visit, Prof Dr Ibrahim Eraqi, Deputy Dean of the Fuculty of Tourism and Hotels, was appointed a visiting professor at the Institute of West Asian Studies, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, for two weeks. During his tour of duty, Prof Ibrahim (extreme left) delivered a plenary paper at the IKRAB's conference in early December, 2008, lectures to post-graduate students in the Faculty of Islamic Studies and the Faculty of Economics and Administration. At the end of Prof Ibrahim's visit, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed.

In April 2009, Prof Dr Siti Rogayah Tibek, IKRAB's Director , Prof Dr Jamal Othman, IKRAB's Deputy Director, and I took part in Fayoum University's annual international conference on tourism, which was held at Sharm El-Sheikh, where we presented three papers.

The Malaysian Flag Part 1: The Beginning

2009-10-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

THE MALAYSIAN FLAG: Part 1 The Beginning

INTRODUCTION

The Malaysian Flag, popularly known as Jalur Gemilang or the Stripes of Glory, is a very important symbol of Malaysia. Its history began not with the formation of Malaysia but in 1949; more than a year after the Federation of Malaya was established. The flag had been hoisted in many places such as Mount Everest, the North Pole, the Antartica, and it went around the world and into space. Come September 16, 2010, it will have a greater and special meaning throughout the nooks and corners of the country.

From 2010, Malaysia Day on 16 September will be a public holiday and celebrated as a National Day, throughout the country together with August 31, which is Merdeka Day, making it a twin celebration. The announcement by the Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak on October 19, 2009 brought joy to the people of Sabah and Sarawak who have been asking for the day to be recognised as such. It will be the first time Malaysia Day will be celebrated on such a scale. Previously, only people in Sabah and Sarawak celebrated the auspious day.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Although there were many Sultanates in the Malay Peninsular prior to the coming of the Europeans, there were no available records of flags (or panji-panji) used by the Sultans. This gap may have to be filled by later researchers.

For the purpose of this article, the history of the Malaysian flag begins with the coming of the British. The Union Jack was first hoisted in Penang when Capt. Francis Light took over the island for the British Crown in 1786 and renamed it The Prince of Wales Island. Likewise, the Union Jack was hoisted when the British took over Singapore and Malacca; and when it turned the Malay states of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and later the other Malay states into British Protectorates.

Penang, Malacca and Singapore became settlements of the British East India Company (EIC). According to Wikipedia (accessed on 31 Oct. 2009), the EIC, founded in 1600, used a flag as seen below. This flag was used until 1858. Although there were red and white stripes in the EIC flag, it should not be construed that the flag of Malaysia was based on this flag.

After the British intervened in the Malay States, starting with Perak (the Pangkor treaty, 1874), and went on to Selangor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan; the states were later linked to form the Federated Malay States (FMS) in 1895. The Federated Malay States adopted a flag (seen below). This flag was used from 1895 to 1946.

Malaya came under the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945 after defeating the British. When the British returned in 1945, the British Military Administration (BMA) was installed. Soon after, a new entity called Malayan Union was inaugurated on 1 April 1946 comprising the nine Malay states and the Settlements of Penang and Malacca. Singapore became a separate colony. British instituted indirect rule in Malaya prior to the Second World War. Malayan Union directly colonised Malaya. It was not known whether an official flag was ever used by the short-lived Malayan Union Government.

On 1 February, 1948, the Federation of Malaya was inaugurated replacing the Malayan Union which was rejected by the Malays. The new entity was a federation of states as opposed to union under the Malayan Union.

HOW THE FLAG OF FEDERATION OF MALAYA CAME INTO BEING

The idea for a Federation of Malaya Flag was mooted in the middle of 1949. A Committee under the Federal Legislative Council was formed to make recommendations for the design of the Flag (Federation of Malaya Order No. 61 of 1949). A competition was organised and announced in the newspapers.

The Malay Mail of 10 August, 1949, carried the following announcement on Page five:

Federation of Malaysia to have own flag
The Federation is to have its own flag and members of the public are invited to submit designs. The specification for the design, states an official release, is that it must be simple and should keep to the colours of yellow, red, white and blue with the general design symbolic of the Federation and the unity of the nine States and the two Settlements. (Please note the designated colours. I will touch on this later.)

Designers will have until September 10 to put forward their ideas which may include symbols such as a kris, cross krisses, a tiger or a crescent; They should be forwarded to the Clerk of the Council, Council Chambers, Kuala Lumpur.

The following committee will consider the designs submitted: The Chief Secretary, Sir Alex Newboult (chairman), the Menteris Besar of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, and Johore; His Highness Tengku Yacob ibni Sultan Abdul Hamid and Enche Zainal (Abidin. In the report Abidin was left out) representing the Malay Members of the Legislative Council; The Resident Commissioner, Penang, Mr A. V. Aston, representing the Settlements; Mr H.H. Facer and Mr Yong Shook Lin, representing unofficial members of the Legislative Council.

A draughtsman at the Public Works Department in Johore Bahru, Johore, by the name of Mr Mohamed bin Hamzah, who read the announcement in The Straits Times , published in Singapore, dated 10 August 1949, decided to try his luck. He submitted four designs on 13 August 1949, merely three days after the announcement. The designs were sent under the following cover letter.

Source: http://eriyzaqistina.blogspot.com/

When the competition was closed on 10 September, a total of 373 designs were received by the committee.
After deliberations, the Committee selected three most promising designs and decided to ask the public to give their views.

"Principal account taken into consideration in making the selections, says the report, were that the design should indicate the unity of the nine States and the two Settlements and partnership with the United kingdom and symbolic of the Federation, and that it should be simple for ease of manufacture," (The Malay Mail, Nov. 15, 1949, pg. 1).

OPINION POLL IN THE MALAY MAIL
The Malay Mail, the only English daily published in Kuala Lumpur, ran an opinion poll asking its readers to participate in the ballot.

The poll headlined: Which Shall Be the Flag of Malaya? first appeared on the front page of The Malay Mail on 15th November, 1949. The three shortlisted designs were displayed with one above the other, the top one being the most favoured by the Committee. Ballot form to enable people to choose was only printed in later editions of the newspaper. There was space in the ballot for people to give suggestions or alterations to the designs.

The Utusan Melayu, which was then published in Singapore, also carried the news about the three designs. However, it placed the third design in second place, instead of last as in The Malay Mail.

As newspapers were printed in black and white then, there was a need to describe the colours of the flags. Based on the designs (in black and white) and the descriptions given the images were reconstructed. The three designs reproduced below showed an almost exact replica of the designs as printed in The Malay Mail.

Image by Farizah Mohd Safar based on the design and description which appeared as black and white in The Malay Mail

The following explanation was printed under the first design: The design most favoured: Three colours, red white and blue have been incorporated in the design. Red appears on six of the existing States flags, white on five and blue on three. These colours also appear on the Jnion Jack and their use denotes the close of the federation of Malaya within the Commonwealth of Nations. The unity of the Federation is symbolised by the eleven white stars of equal size each star representing a State or Settlement. The stars are arranged in a circle equally spaced without denoting any particular order or arrangement of the States and Settlements. The Kris is a weapon of great antiquity peculiar to the countries of the Malay Archipelago and is a symbol of power and authority. The incorporation of the Kris identifies the flag with the Federation immediately.

Image by Farizah Mohd Safar based on the design and description which appeared as black and white in The Malay Mail

The following explanation was printed under the second design: Second choice. The explanation of this desgin is substantially the same as for the first except that the stars are arranged in two circles. The inner circle of five stars represents the five fomer Unfederated Malay States of Johore, Kelantan, Kedah, Trengganu anmd Perlis and the outer four former Federated malay States of Perak Selangor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan and the Settlements of Penang and Malacca. (It is obvious these two designs were submitted by same designer. But who?)

Image by Farizah Mohd Safar based on the design and description which appeared as black and white in The Malay Mail

The following explanation appeared under the Third choice. The eleven blue and white stripes represent one State or Settlement. The Star and Crescent represent the Sultanate monarchies of the Malay States and the religion of the States. The red field represent British Protection and complete the three colours red, white and blue denoting the association of the federation with the Commonwealth of Nations. (It should be noted that the colour of the Star and Crescent was not stated in this first report. However,when The Malay Mail reprinted the poll over several days, it was stated as yellow. More on this colour issue later).

Below is the flag of Johore. It is interesting to note that the Crescent and the five-pointed stars in the red field in the third design and the flag of Johore bears an uncanny similarity. The designer of the third design was Mr Mohamed Hamzah who was a Johorean. Could the Johore flag inspired Mr Mohamed in his design of flag of Malaya?

As it turned out, majority of people who took part in the ballot, chose the third design. An informal vote was taken by the Federal Legislative Council. Design number 1 received 24 votes, and design number 9 received 47 votes.

These results were presented to the Conference of Rulers on 22 and 23 February, 1950. Discussions centred on design number 9.

The Malayan Government informed the British Government that it had officially adopted the Flag of the Federation of Malaya on 19th April, 1950. The flag was hoisted for the first time on 26th May, 1950 at the Istana Selangor, residence of the Sultan of Selangor. The Istana was in Kuala Lumpur, which was then part of Selangor. Attached with the letter were "three copies of facsimile in paper of the Flag of the Federation of Malaya".
In his letter to The Far Eastern Information Department of the Foreign Office, Acting Deputy Director, Department of Public Relations, Federation of Malaya, Mr Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff, wrote:

"It will be observed from the design that the Flag contains eleven red and white stripes and en evelen-pointed Star. These are symbolic if the unity of the nine States and two Settlements which make up the Federation of Malaya. The yellow colour used for the Star and Crescent is the Royal colour and represents the Sultane Monarchies of the Malay States. The three main colours -- red, white and blue represent partnership of the Federation of Malaya and the United Kingdom and the association of the Federation of Malaya with the Commonwealth of Nations." (CO 953 764 Information Policy Department). I snapped the paper Flag attached in the file with my mini camera. Unfortunately, the image was not sharp.

Source: FO 953 764 Information Policy Department (Image not sharp)

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
1. 10 August 1949 - Announcement of Contest for Design of Federation of Malaya flag appeared in The Straits Times.
2. Encik Mohamad Hamzah, a PWD draughtsman sent his submission of four designs on 13th August 1949. barely three days after the announcement appeared. At least one of the designs was short-listed and placed third.
3. Poll carried out by The Malay Mail
4. Decision by the Conference of Rulers
5. Hoisted for the first time on 26th May, 1950 at the Istana Selangor grounds, in Kuala Lumpur.
6. Two designs were presented to the Conference of Rulers meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 22 and 23, 1950.
7. The Conference of Rulers discussed the flag on 23 Feb. 1950. Certain changes were suggested by the Malay Rulers.
8. On 19th April, 1950 the final design of the flag was approved and sent to King George VI, who gave his consent on 19 May 1950.
9. When Malaya attained Independence on 31 August, 1957 the flag was adopted as the National flag.
10. The flag was adopted as Malaysia's National flag when Malaysia came into being on 16th September, 1963.
11. It became known as Jalur Gemilang or Stripes of Glory on 31 August 1997, on the 40th anniversary of Malaysia's Independence.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1. Farizah Mohd Safar helped redesiged the three proposals of the flags based on the description in The Malay Mail. The proposals in The Malay Mail appeared as black and white.
2. Faizal Mohd Safar assisted with the animation of the Malaysian flag.

Reference
1. Malaysian flag. Wikipedia (accessed on 20th Oct. 2009).
2. Sonia Ramachandran. 18th August 2006. National flag chosen by people in one of the country's first public polls. New Straits Times. (Sonia Ramachandran interviewed me for the story).
3. CO 537/6025. Political Developments: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Conference of Rulers.

The Teoh Beng Hock Inquest: The Diary

2009-08-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

The Teoh beng Hock Inquest: The Diary

New Straits Times reported today, 13 Aug 2009, about one "official daily notebook" belonging to one Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation officer. The notebook was blank on the day the investigation was supposed to take place.

What struck me as odd is the "official daily notebook", a term which sounded quite peculiar. Could this be Official Diary, as I believed the proceeding took place in Malay. Normally, an investigation officer would have with him his investigation diary or ID. This diary is very important to him in his official duties.

There is another diary though. At the beginning of a new year, government officers are given an official diary or OD. This OD is a personal diary, a person may or may not enter anything in that diary. But this diary (OD) is different from the other diary, the ID.

So what is "official daily notebook"? Is it ID or OD?

The implication of this piece of information is big. Just imagine Teoh Beng Hock is dead and the "official daily notebook" was blank.

In due course the investigation officer will be called to testify. What happened if there is another record, this time in the form of an investigation diary (the ID)?

A lot of questions will be asked...

Incidentally, the t4tbh.blogspot.com has resumed publication with lastest posting on Aug. 10. 2009.

In Defense of Freedom of Publication

2009-07-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

The internet and blogs in particular are the closest that we now have to the concept of free market place of ideas.

Here, all kinds of materials are presented; opinions and views expressed. Some of these opinions and views we may like because they are in conformity with our long-held views, and some we may detest for the oppposite reason.

For the same reason, true and false information are being foisted in the internet and blogs in support of a particular cause. The general public may not know which information are true and which are false.

John Milton (1632-1704) sowed the idea of free market place of ideas when said:

"Let Truth and Falsehood grapple; whoever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?", (Areopagitica and Of Education, 1951, AHM Publishing Corporation, Arlington Heights, Ill 60004, page 50).

Milton said this in a speech delivered in English Parliament in 1644. The essence of his speech was on press freedom as he was against censorship of the press which was prevalent at that time in England.

Milton's ideas became not only the basis for the phrase "Free Market place of Ideas" but press freedom.

With regard to free market place of ideas, Milton argued that if truth and falsehood was allowed to be exposed, truth would eventually prevailed.

There is similarity in what Milton said and what is happening in the internet.

To be continued

There is a Malay proverb which says: Bangkai Gajah Tidak Boleh Ditutup Dengan Nyiru. (Carcass of An Elephant Cannot be Covered with a Harvesting Pan).

j9-

Tun Abdullah receiving his Honorary PhD (Civilisational Islam) Scroll

2009-07-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

YABgh Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former Prime Minister receiving his Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy scroll from the Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir in a special ceremony today.

The award was given in recognition of his role as the nation's leader and for introducing innovations including the concept of Civilisational Islam in nation building.

In his speech, he elaborated on the Islam Hadhari concept which he said was not a new religion or a new mazhab. It was just an approach towards development. It too can accept universal values so long as they not against Islam.
The Director of Institute Islam Hadhari, Prof Dato' Mohd Yusof Othman who delivered the public lecture in the form of a seloka, managed to mimic Tun Abdullah's northern way of speaking.
Tun Abdullah stressed that Muslims should show the way that the teachings of Islam, which is based on moderation and tolerance and practice high values in life, brings good tidings to people.

The Yang DiPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Proclaimed the Chancellor of UKM

2009-07-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

The arrival of the Yang DiPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan at the Dectar compund

Photo Credit: PRO UKM

Double Historic Occassions for UKM on 21 July 2009

2009-07-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today, the 21st of July 2009, is a historic day for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Tuanku Muhriz Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir will be proclaimed the new Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His Majesty is the third Chancellor after Tuanku Jaafar Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, and Abdul Razak Hussein.
A second historic occassion is the awarding of the Honorary PhD degree to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Abolish ISA?

2009-07-20T00:34:00.000-07:00

Cattleya: First bloom from my mini garden

If all people can be as pure as this orchid, I think laws are irrelevant.

Abolish ISA Movement has a new supporter in Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former Prime Minister of Malaysia. This is perhaps the strongest voice yet in support of abolising the law seen by many as very restrictive and draconian.

No doubt the Government will take due cognizance of this new support. But the reality is whether the law, a remnant of the Malayan Emergency, is still relevant in the present circumstances.

The recent Jakarta bombing of two international hotels will not go unnoticed by the Government and rightly so.

In principle, I believe, under the present circumstances, many would agree that the law should remain but some amendments have to be made to the law to reduce its "harshness".

Prof Reginald Hugh Hickling, when he was at the AG Chambers, was responsible for drafting the ISA when Malaya wanted to end the 12-year Malayan Emergency in 1960. There were safeguards in the law but these safeguards were taken away over the years when amendments were made to the law.

In an obituary, New Straits Times said: In 1989, Hickling wrote, "I could not imagine then that the time would come when the power of detention, carefully and deliberately interlocked with Article 149 of the Constitution, would be used against political opponents, welfare workers and others dedicated to non-violent, peaceful activities." (See The Malayan Bar web portal, and NST, 28 February, 2007).

Hickling made it very clear that ISA was meant for "organised crime" as stated in its preamble.

Although in the past Hickling had questioned the application of the ISA, last year he spoke about his change of mind over the issue following worldwide terrorist attacks, the NST said.

In one of my meetings with Prof Hickling when he was in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and on his brief visits, I asked his view on repealing the ISA. He said the law that should be repealed was the Printing Presses and Publications Act. In his view, the PPPA would have a greater impact than the ISA, as the ISA affected a "small" number of people.

Probably in looking at the possibility of amending the ISA, the amendments made to the law should be revisited and to restore the "safeguards" provided for in the original law.

When the ISA was debated in Parliament in 1960, PAS President, Dato' Mohamed Asri Muda reminded the Government that the law was meant to combat Communism.

The archietct of ISA, Prof Hickling, passed away on Feb 11, 2007 in England at the age of 86.

Vision 2020: Perfect or Blurred Sight?

2009-07-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

The term "Vision 2020" has created something not really intended in the actual plan. To be sure, the figure 2020 is a play of words, a pun. However, many thought it was the year Malaysia would achieve a developed nation status.

For instance, Edaris Abbu Bakri in his book Pengurusan Strategik: Konsep dan Aplikasi untuk Pendidikan, published by Utusan Publications and Distributors Sdn Berhad, 2004, took the year to be part of a vision.

On page 22, he described a vision as brief, compact, to the point and not more than 25 words. Additionally, he wrote, a good vision must answer questions such as WHAT, FOR WHOM, and WHEN. He made reference to Vision 2020 "which stated the year 2020 as the year to determine the success of the national vision."

The other meaning, a perfect sight, is more credible. Vision 2020 is a long-term target for Malaysia to achieve developed nation status. If it can be achieved in the year 2020, well and good, but under the current economic predicament, this is not likely to be. So it will go beyond the year 2020.

In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia defines VISION as the desired or intended future of a specific organisation or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objective and strategic direction. Vision is a long term objective.

WIKIPEDIA defines MISSION as the fundamental purpose of an organisation or an enterprise, basically describing why it exists. Mission is short-term objective.

Put simply, VISION is a dream, and MISSION is the programme for achieving the dream. As such, timeline is not part of a vision or a dream!

Before going further, let me paint a scenario.

Lively discussions are going on in the school corridors, meeting rooms and workshops all over the country. The subject matter being discussed by education administrators and teachers is how to improve and upgrade schools so the schools can be categoried as, among other things, "sekolah cemerlang" and "sekolah kluster". The coveted prize is to be a cluster school as the school will be more independent and there is a big reward of RM500,000 for the school.

Schools are working hard to produce excellent and consistent academic results, excellent co-curriculum activities, excellent environment, etc. etc. In short, a mini and silent "revolution" is taking place in the school system throughout the country. This can be only good for the nation.

Part of this process is for the schools, and education departments to come up with vision and mission statements. Therein, lies the problem. The term "Vision 2020" subliminally comes into play.

So the vision of a state education department is to be "Terbilang Pada Tahun 2010" (Excellent in the Year 2010). It can be argued that such a statement is more of a mission statement and not a vision statement. This is certainly not right.

Schools throughout the state are following the lead of the state education department by coming up with similar vision statement.

What happened come year 2010? If this excellent status is not achieved in the year 2010, schools or the state education department will need to change it to 2011 or 2012.

This confusion is worrisome. Teachers attending courses such as PTK are being taught that vision has a timeline. The implication may be larger than a simple confusion. It may affect this silent revolution.

Perhaps, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister should look into this matter.

Two UKM graduates helmed media organisations

2009-07-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Two Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia graduates have been appointed to senior positions in the media organisations.
Datuk Ibrahim Yahaya, who obtained his masters degree in communication management from the School of Media and Communication Studies, was appointed the Director General of Broadcasting, atthe Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture from March 16, 2009.
While Mior Kamarulbaid bin Kamarul Shahid who obtained a similar masters degree was appointed the Group Editor of Berita Harian from July 7, 2009.
Datuk Ibrahim previously worked as a journalist withv Berita Harian, editor of TV3, Berita Publishing, media consultant of RM and advisor to the Minister of Information. Datuk Ibrahim, popularly known as Tiger among friends is a blogger at duniatiger.blogspot.com.
Similarly, Mior Kamarulbaid served in Berita Harian as a journalist before being appointed as its Deputy Group Editor. After leaving Berita Harian he worked with TVUmno and was an editor with Millejium Publications.
Mior was among several people involved in the restructuring of editorial positions in NSTP after Datuk Johan Jaaffar was appointed the Executive Chairman of Media Prima and the rejoining of Dato' Ahmad Talib as Executive Director, News and Editorial Operations. Dato' Ahmad is also a blogger at pahitmanis.blogspot.com
Mustafa Omar, who is now the Group Editor of Harian Metro/Metro Ahad, was a master student in the communication management programme but withdrew from the programme because of work commitment.
Datuk Ibrahim Yahaya is the first outsider to be appointed to the post. Previously, the position was filled by government servants.
Apart from the two, another UKM graduate is Dato' Wong Chun Wai who graduated in Social Science and History. He is now the Group Chied Editor of the Star Publications. Dato' Wong is also a blogger at chunwai08.blogspot.com.
Several UKM graduates in Communication are holding positions in broadcasting and print media, including at TV3 (Azmi Atan, Rosli Abu Hassan, Phang Chinn Fei, Junaidi Suboh), NTV7 (Abdul Ghani Ahmad) Utusan Malaysia (Zulkifli Jalil, Abdul Razak Din), RTM (Sabri Mansor), and Mstar (Dr G Manimaran). There are many more which escaped memory when writing this piece.

Congratulations to all of you. Pay us a visit when you are free.

Tuanku Muhriz , the new Chancellor of UKM

2009-07-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir will be proclaimed as the new Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on 21 July 2009. Tuanku Muhriz is the third Chancellor after Tuanku Jaafar ibni AlMarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman who passed away recently. Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was the first Chancellor of UKM.

On the same day, the former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will received his Honorary PhD (Civilisational Islam) degree from Tuanku Muhriz.

Review of Tan Sri Mazlan Nordin's Book

2009-07-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Title of Book:Tokoh dan Akhbar Melayu: Penebus Peminggiran Melayu
Author: Mazlan Nordin
Publisher: UKM Press
Year Published: 2009
ISBN: 9789679429152
In the market: August , 2009

Tan Sri Mazlan Nordin, 84, was awarded The Most Eminent Journalist of UKM, authored the book entitled Tokoh dan Akbar Melayu: Penebus Peminggiran Melayu. The book is expected to be in the market by August 2009.

For Tan Sri Mazlan, who worked as a journalist
for the last 50 years, the book is his labour of love.
He started researching about several prominent journalists before his time while serving as a resident writer at the School of Media and Communication Studies from 2004-2006.
His research include Abdullah Munsyi , Ibrahim Yaacob, Rahim Kajai, Ishak Haji Muhammad, Ahmad Boestamam, and A Samad Ismail. Each of them has special stories about them not normally known by the people.
This book, for the first time (if not mistaken) recognised Abdullah Munsyi as a journalist. Abdullah Munsyi was an editor of Bustan Ariffin magazine (1821-1822), making him the first Malay journalist. Bustan Ariffin was a magazine containing the teaching of Christianity, which was edited together with a Christian priest.
Tan Sri Mazlan served in Utusan Melayu, and Voice of America. He returned to Utusan Melayu, before moving to Berita Harian. Later, he served in Bernama, thence to Utusan Melayu and back to Bernama as its Chairman.
People at his age whould prefer to relax and retire, but not Tan Sri Mazlan. He not only continue to write as a columnist, but is trying to compile his column called Personally Speaking in the New Straits Times and another book about Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
Unievrsiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has awarded him the Honorary PhD in Communication for his contributions to journalism in 2005.
He was awarded the Most Eminent Journalist by Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) in 2002.