The Egyptian Revolution and the Breaking of The Arabic Berlin Wall

The Egyptian Uprising

The new dawn for the people of Egypt has emerged. The unprecedented historic demonstrations in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other cities and towns in Egypt is proofing every one wrong that the Egyptians are an apolitical and apathetic people who will not rise up against the atrocities unleashed by the Government. It’s hopefully the of beginning of the end of the regime in Cairo.

The current political leadership of Egypt has the beginning in the toppling of the pro British King Farook of Egypt by Free Officers Movement under Gamel Abdul Nasser in 1952, and the subsequent appointment of him as President in 1956. Anwar Sadat took over the reign of Egypt after the death of Gamel Abdul Nasser in 1967 until 1981 when he was assassinated, by Islamist extremist for his part in making peace with Israel. Hosni Mubarak, the vice president was appointed by the military backed Government as the new president, a declaration of emergency was proclaimed by Hosni Mubarak which is still in force giving the police extra judiciary powers in suppressing any decent or real opposition to the ruling junta.

The Muslim brotherhood a fundamentalist Sunni Islamist group was banned as an illegal party. The Muslim Brotherhood is accused in the complicity of assassinating Anwar Sadat. The Islamist party is one of the protagonists for the regime, even though the regime is secularist in nature, efforts were unleashed to compete with the Islamic Party, to out manoeuvre them. Hosni Mubarak won all elections through his National Democratic Party with overwhelming majorities, by discreet and illegal methods.Eventhough the electoral results shows  favourably  to the ruling NDP party, similar to the electoral victories of parties like Pap of Singapore, Barisan National of Malaysia and Golkar of Indonesia, the media under clutches of ruling party portrayed the government as benevolent, the champion of Arab interest in the Middle East, fair and always ready to defend the people of their well being. Only twenty five percent of the people are registered voters. The election results were not the manifestation of the people’s mandate, gerrymandering and rigging of electoral process was promulgated in prolonging the rule of the autocratic ruler. The President’s grooming of his son Gamel Mubarak as the next president is very unpopular with the Egyptian people; this action of the Hosni Mubarak of creating his own dynasty after his planned departure, is just like adding fuel to inferno of anger. But the basic bread and butter, social justice, employment and housing issues were sidelined. A very high inflation rate, unemployment, extreme corruption of the ruling party, truncation of civil liberties and other problems were not solved to eradicate the people’s miseries.

But the spark which ignited this conflagration is the Jasmine Revolution of Tunisia, a small nation situated along the Mediterranean Sea, sandwiched between Libya and Algeria; which was under a ruthless despotic Government under Ben Ali, who was overthrown by the popular uprising of the people there. Shock waves spread across the Maghreb and the Middle East on the remarkable unprecedented, historical development, and it’s slowly engulfing the region, Demonstrations in Yemen, Jordan. Mauritania and Algeria are now unfolding. If the political tremor in Tunisia is Point three in the Richter scale, it is point seven in Egypt. The fear of the people against autocratic regime has collapsed and it is resonating across the nation and neighbouring countries.

The Face book, Twitter and the Internet mobilised the People for the popular uprising on the 25^th January. And on the 28^th January 2011 after the Friday prayers the world was shocked when the unfolding of the popular uprising was brought to the living room through out the world  by satellite TV channels  Al Jazera. Curfew was imposed from 6pm to 7 am, but the people were undeterred on the resolve, and it was ignored by the oppressed people of Egypt, it’s now or never for them, police stations were burned, armoured cars were torched, and the symbol of the ruling junta, the headquarters of the National Democratic Party was set ablaze. To appease the people’s anger, Hosni Mubarak announced the sacking of his Government and proclaimed a new Vice President and Prime Minister. But the demonstration has not subsided. The police have melted away and now the military is on the street to save guard public properties. The wrath of the people of Egypt is still continuing in the street of Cairo.

The uprising against the autocracy is like wild fire burning spontaneously ignited by the pent up feelings of the people. It is participated by myriads of people of different ideologies, religion and believes. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood has said that they are not the organisers of the demonstration. But there is a grave concern for this peoples uprising, could be hijacked by Islamists party like the Muslim Brotherhood, just in Iran in the 1979 Iranian revolution which was led by wide spectrum of people like trade unionist, socialists, communists, students and village folks but which was eventually was given a religious favour by Ayatollah Khomeini: And the country is now reduced to theoretical dictatorship. All the progressive forces which propped the revolution except the mullahs were persecuted and send to political oblivion. The Iranian who successfully dethroned Emperor Shah Reza Pahlavi, for his all his bad governance is now under a similar but a theocratic dictatorship doing all the same atrocities under guise of religion.

The events unfolding now in the Maghreb and Middle East is like, the historic event of the breaking of the Berlin Wall and the liberation of Eastern European, Balkan and Russian vassal states. People cannot be fooled forever. This political transformation unfolding now hopefully liberates them from the crutches of poverty and frees them from the current political quagmire.

                                                                                                                                                                                         

Long live the Egyptian Revolution.

Change, before change, changes you.

Tunisia the 'Jasmine Revolution'

At last the wind of change has started to blow on those barren countries, which has been ripped of any growth in democracy. Any bud of resentment, criticism which protrudes this barren land will be quickly annihilated with the might of the despotic regime of Zine el-Abideen Ben Ali a ‘benevolent dictator’.

 Tunisia is the most Europeanized, Secular State in the Arab world, due part to the secular oriented policies of the regime, just like secular Turkey.  As the event  unfolding now in Tunisia, it is a secular non Islamists revolution. Is it the beginning of non religious Arab Revolution, will it ignite and flame the revolt, and spread from Rabat to Riyadh, from the Atlantic to the Euphrates: will the Kings, Sultans, Emirs and Presidents bring the desired change to placate the exploited people of the region, before change, changes them. When citizens are no longer afraid of the ruler’s bullets, the ruler’s days are numbered.

An explosion is inevitable when a thousand small injustices add up until the accumulations reach a critical point. Mohamed Bouazizi’s self immolation, an unemployed University graduate was the spark which ignited and caused a general conflagration. He was stopped by Police for not having a permit to sell fruits in a cart; he succumbed to the injuries and died.

Tunisia is continuously being ruled by one party after their independence from France for the past 52 years, and Ben Ali is in the helm of the country for the past 22 years. The country is plagued with rampant corruption, abuse of power, very high rate of unemployment, rising food prices, utter lack of freedom, jailing of opponents, censoring the media and stifling of civil society. Popular uprising unfolded simultaneously, the regime used all the tools of typical decadent countries, like water cannon, tear gas, live bullets, arresting protestors and torturing and jailing them. Even under live bullets and death, the people showed their undeterred resolve and demanded for the removal of their corrupted dictator Ben Ali. The police and the military which came to neutralize the demonstration failed miserably in front of the pent up resolve of the masses. The jittery President announced reforms after reform to propitiate and win the heart of the people, but the intensity of the demonstration newer subsided. And subsequently after pleading for asylum in France which was rejected, he booted to Saudi Arabia the haven and sanctuary of failed leaders.

The maddening situation in Malaysia is similar to the situations in Tunisia. 53 years of rule of Umno controlled coalition is claiming that they are the rightful rulers for eternity. The Prime Minister who fervently defends his 1 Malaysia Policy has recently said contrary to his altruistic policy, that he will defend this Government even on crushed bones, bodies and death.  The Government’s discreet and continuous propaganda of racialism, and ethnocentric superiority through BTN; raw racialism is being unleashed by the government for their political expediency, with the covert collaboration of their proxies Perkasa, Perkida and Utusan.  New Economic policy which was formulated for the restructuring of the economy was hijacked by Umno to enrich their supporters, cronies and their children, abandoning the real deserving folks. The police force, election commission, the Juduiciary, and the Civil Service has been made the tools and instrument of the ruling party, to prolong and to plunder the economic resources of the country. A vibrant economy which was at par with Singapore and Korea is now competing for foreign investment with Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.Spiralling inflation with cost of living going up,and when real wages are stagnating; this keeps the  working class under profound pressure to make their ends meet. Our education system is churning out graduates who cannot be competing in the job market. Our country is in a crisis.  A complete overhaul of the system must be executed; reforms must be formulated before this beloved country of ours goes to the abyss of destruction. For this to be a reality, the archaic decadent policies must be revoked. This is only possible when this putrid government is replaced.

As in the Maghreb, Malaysians must break the monopoly of the one party system; It must be overthrown through the ballot box before a two party system  can be formed, the one  party rule of decadent  Barisan must be banished. Hope the tempest from the distant land will ignite our people to act rationally and bring the desired change.

The Parodox of Najib

           The Paradox of Najib

               The recently concluded UNMO general assembly with Najib’s ethnocentric rhetoric just killed whatever semblance of sanity, which he had earlier propagated through his 1 Malaysia policies. The political tsunami of Mar 2008, has shattered the myopic view of the invincibility of the ruling BN. The disenchantment of the Malay masses from UMNO, the political awakening of the Indian voters after the Hindraf’s demonstration, and the detention of Hindraf leaders, and revitalised Chinese voters gave a stunning blow to BN. After the 2004 election where Malaysian’s were relieved of Mahathir’s abysmal policy of hatred,racialism and corruption, the people welcomed Dato Sri Ahmad Badawi to do the correction, of all the previous policies which Mahathir envisaged and implemented. DS.Badawi promised reforms in the Judiciary,the Police force,the Economy and a Transparent Government. The 21years of Mahathir's dictatorial rule, and the mind set of Civil Servants,and Mahathir's stooges in Umno, laid stumbling blocks in his implementation of these reforms.Badawi became a sacrificial lamb for all the follies of Tun Mahathir, he was blamed for the bad performance at the polls, and was booted unceramoniously by his deputy and Dato Sri Muhyideen, just like what Najib’s father did to Tunku in 1969 after the dismal performance of the Alliance Party in 1969.

                The political scenario of the post 1969 election and  of 2008 had many similarities. In 1969 the Alliance party lost Penang State to Gerakan a multi racial party formed by Professor Syed Husien Al Atas, Dr. Lim Chong You and Dr. Tan Chee Khoon; The People Progressive Party under Seenivasagam brothers only was 2 seats short of forming the Perak State Government. The opposition in Selangor took 19 of 40 seats. Kelantan was again captured by Pas under Asri Muda. After the successful, planning, orchestration and execution of May 13 riots by antinationals. Gerakan of Penang, and PPP of Perak. Pas of Kelantan was successfully coerced, intimidated, threatened and forced to join the Alliance party to form Barisan National.

                So after the initial inertia, Umno without identifying and remedying and formulating policies to recover their losses in Mar 2008 election, continued with their old mode of policies of post 1969 era. Malay unity was expounded feverously by Umno, in their mouth piece Utusan, and government and Barisan National controlled and owned  media.Discreet message of Malay unity was called by Umno to Pas; Some Pas leaders were hoodwinked and promised important post if  they were to join Umno to form a new coalition with Barisan National. This “gila talak” failed miserably by the intervention of the leadership of respectable Tok Guru Nik Aziz. Pas lost Kelantan in 1974, 1978 and 1982 because their mistake in joining Barisan National.Their failed marriage with  BN and their lost of support is a good lesson which cannot be dismissed or forgotten so easily by Pas.Once bitten twice shy. 

                Pm Najib in order to break the anti establishment mentality of the Indian community, and the helpless situation of MIC, where their supreme leader Datuk Sri Samy lost the battle in Sungai Siput to an humble Medical Doctor, the 'Makkal Sakthi' the clarion call of the Indian discontentment was hijacked by Umno, they identified some debauchers among them ,and formed the Makkal Sakthi Party in lightning speed; and the party was inaugurated with much fanfare by PM Najib. The Makkal Sakthi Party within a very short period,succumbed to internal bickering.Calls for the removal of DS.Samy were orchestrated by some disgruntled MIC members with covert support of Umno. When all this policies failed to provide tangible result,BN formulated long term programs to wrest back their lost support.It started to plan and execute an highly immoral and treacherous move to wrest the state government of Perak.

                The legally elected People State assembly of Perak was outlawed and thrown into disarray with  the complicity of the Palace and Umno. Now another attempt has being unleashed by Umno, by the controversy of the appointment of the Selangor State Secretary, to destabilize Selangor led Pakatan Government and to take over State through the back door.  

                                Umno had outsourced the crowds for their engineered demonstrations again Pakatan like the despicable cow head demonstration, the anti Khalid Ibrahim state secretary controversy demo, the pro Syabas demonstration with the support and blessing of PDRM; but a candle light vigil of the opposition is not tolerated by the Police which has been transformed just like private organization of Umno. The verdict of Teoh Beng Hock's death as neither homicide nor murder has made a mockery of our System of Justice.

                Umno has failed miserably in identifying the root cause of their predicament,and failed  to implement  remedial measures and be relevent again: but corruption, nepotism, abuse of government funds, the profligacy of Mega Project like the Wawasan Towers was continuously unleashed by BN just like our former PM Tun Mahathir.

                The old failed sodomy trials are again promulgated by Umno to finish DS Anwar forever. Now the obnoxious Umi Hafilda’s truncation is the last bastion of Umno to defend the Malay Supremacy and their continued political domination of the country.

                The continued support of Umno, to the corrupted shenanigans in Sabah and Sarawak in the plunder and rape of their economic resources, for Umno’s expediency of maintaining their fixed deposit of support. Sabah and Sarawak has been reduced to be the poorest states in Malaysia. Ketuanan Melayu which the Prime Minister supports through Umno’s mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia and Perkasa, the subsidiary of Umno, will be highly irrelevant to Sabah and Sarawak, may be before the formation of Malaysia in 1965; but for the majority of Dayaks and Kadasan Dusan is it not a betrayal,of the wishes of them, who joint Malaysia as Independent entities, through the 20 point agreement for joint prosperity in a new nation. The social engineering promulgated by federal leaders in changing the racial composition by giving Malaysian citizenship to illegal Indonesians, Filipinos and Pakistanis and others; is it not a blatant exacerbation of nationhood. No investigation of this putridity has been carried out or persecuted. With the new awakening of the people of the land below the Wind and  Hornbills, stop dreaming Prime Minister, East Malaysia cannot forever be your fixed deposit.

                And the people know the difference of what you are, your rhetoric and all the feel good speeches you make. And if Umno Bn continue with policies like this, it won't be very long before it joins the list of failed political party like Golkar,Congress of India, Kuomintang of Taiwan and LDP of Japan. And  people  know that can forever be cheated, that the time is ripe now to send you and Barisan National to political oblivion.

Happy Birthday my dear friend

Happy Birthday my dear friend

Today is another day in your life which is proclaiming you are aging, but who is not getting older. You have been a wonderful person all through my life. I remember you as an ideal friend. Never bragging about your richness and or belittling about my financial status when we were in the schools. I have been for most of my life the uncrowned king of pauperdom.  Especially after many of my failed business ventures. But you are so shrewd and good with your good business acumen and support of your hereditary wealth, has been able to multiply your money. Yours is multiplication, but mine is always minus and division. But my dear friend I can’t rest on my laurel, except my defeat, and spend the rest of my life with the guilt feelings of failed ventures and to leak my wounds of disgrace. You called me sometime this month and telling about all the planetary changes in the celestial world that it will bring good fortune to me. My dear friend, I have forgotten about remembering anything positive happening in my passage life for the past five years. If at all if your predictions are true: for a person who is in prolonged period of darkness in a dungeon, wouldn’t it be difficult to see the naked night without discomforting his poor eyes.

Happy birthday my dear friend. Next time why not identify some our socially incapacitated populace and show your concern to them by giving them some basic needs like rice and sundries etc, which they will be thankful from the depth of their heart, wouldn’t it be meaning full; rather than feed people who are already well fed and who wouldn’t need any food or will be thankful to you. May be they will spit venom behind your back, lamenting that your area miser to just provide the plane vegetarian food served there. The devotees in your temple wouldn’t be satisfied even you give them gold platted vadais. Give to the real deserving destitute, not to all the rich and mentally retarded devotees who are pursuing their goal of entreating the poor God and Goddesses with all the rituals taught by our neo priest for eternal richness. You should not fall for this, my dear friend.

History has availed with countless examples of religionist and people with money, their complicity which is to mute progressive thoughts. His divine hoods will propagate that this world is a mystic world, preach that that all are falsehoods except their teachings. But they will enjoy all the fruit of modernity and will curse and say everything in this world is insecure and wrong.

Come back to reality; share your wealth with the poor, not all of your money but a small amount whatever you are spending in appeasing the Gods, their devotees and the clergy. Be careful with false friends and true enemies. You might have read in your primary school the story of the king with the golden cloak even when the king is unclothed; none of his subject was able to reveal his nakedness. You must have friends around you who will tell the truth without any gratification. Don’t get yourself surrounded by apple polishers, with people swearing upon god that you the person of all the godly attributes and unblemished.

Take good care, my dear friend.

Happy Birthday.

The Fallacy of Textbooks

The fallacy of Textbooks

Malaysia has joined the exclusive club in the falsification of history textbooks similar to Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the Nazis of Germany. In Saudi Arabia children are taught from the very young that all who adhere to a religion different from them are dogs and pigs. They are never taught to recognize the dignity of humans other than their kind, whom they call to be converted or be eradicated. This education system is exported to Pakistan, Afghanistan India and all their communities in Western Europe and the Americas. This system of hatred is incorporated in their school curriculum which has been the cradle for  terrorism and militancy. Nearly ninety present of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters are students of these Saudi sponsored schools.

The Pakistani text books after 1980’s started the distortion of their textbooks with new virility as per whims and fancy of the changing ruling Military juntas. Their county’s history starts from the first Islamic Arab conqueror Mohammad bin Qasim or after the birth of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. Their history teaches that the Indian subcontinent is devoid of any culture or civilization prior to the conquest of the region by the Muslim warriors. India’s contribution in art, philosophy science and mathematics were just ignored. Aurangzeb the Muslim Emperor was immortalized as the pinnacle in greatness of Islamic history from Hindu Kush to the Bay of Bengal and the Deccan Plateau. Fierce anti Hindu, Sikh and Christian propaganda is unleashed among the people from a tender age; the non Muslims are always portrayed as subhuman, pagans, and believers of multiple gods and immoral. As the majority of the Pakistani Muslims are the Sunni sect, under the influence of the Deobandi Salafi doctrine other minority sects like the Shiites, Ahmadis the Sufis are degraded and sometimes called as heretics. This is one the main reason for the sectarian violence against the Islamic religious minorities, where their places of worship are defiled and maimed especially during their religious festivals like Ashura, or on their Friday congregations.

The Jewish Regime propagates through their history textbooks that people of Israel are the chosen people of God, discounting the existence of Palestinians in the occupied land, and instrumental in creating the Palestinians Diaspora; made them the unwelcomed refugees in all the surrounding Arab States. And likewise the Palestinian propagates a policy of extreme hatred and the extermination of the Jewish people in their history textbooks. And Japan with all the atrocities and war crimes, still glorifies their war in Asia Pacific in their text books.

And in Malaysia the history was rewritten to serve the agenda of Malay ethno religious nationalism which started, after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.Dr.Mahathir to counter the Islamic resurgence among the Muslims expounded by Pas during the 80’s, played the Islamic card for his political survival, unwittingly competed with Islamists and he out shown them. Even though it was started to reform Muslims and instill Islamic values among them and not directed at non Muslims, it was hijacked by ethnoreligous fanatics. He feverishly started implementing policies in Islamic education, Islamic Banking, Islamic Architecture, Islamic dietary and dress code, Governance,and empowerments of the Sharia Jurisprudence. And this climaxed with the controversial declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic State. This implementation of the Islamic policies coupled with extreme views of the (BTN) Biro Tata Negara (National Civic policy) is a policy similar to the Nazis’ chosen race created and deliberately poisoned the minds of Malays as superior race.
 As such it is not surprising to see our new history textbooks are written in belittling anything else than Islam and Malays. The number of pages allocated to other races, culture and religion are minimum and unbalanced, and it’s deliberately written for non Muslims to appreciate Islam, the Sharia and the holy Prophet only. My intention is not to belittle the Great religion of Islam or their esteem Prophet. Our history syllabus must be inclusive encompassing all the contribution of multiculturalism of the nation. Our education Minister’s latest announcement that history will be a compulsory subject in SPM examinations only makes this an important matter to ponder and where a solution must be envisaged to solve this matter. As our Honorable Prime Minister’s 1 Malaysia policy which he fervently defends and propagates, this will be a test, whether his policy is desperate policy to hoodwink the non Malays to get their support by branding their coexistence and well being as nation as 1Malaysia for his political expediency or otherwise.. He has not stated his stand on this matter to date, not to exaberate his Perkasa which is preaching hatred and Umno a party which survives with fodder of Racial Supremacy ethos. Dear Prime Minister, you cannot talk of holistic policies of unity and goodwill, and allow it be dismantled brick by brick, piece by piece to appease your racialist party. Malaysians must oppose this hagemonistic policies on the education our children. A strong message must be given through the ballot box.