‘Bigger wave needed to crush Umno’

Hindraf wants all like-minded forces to come together to unleash a neo-democratic revolution to end Umno's reign.
 
PETALING JAYA: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi wants all like-minded forces to come together to unleash a new wave of people’s power against Umno, which the movement considers an “iron-fisted evil regime”.
The movement’s leader in exile P Waythamoorthy told FMT that there is a need to move beyond the wave generated by Bersih 2.0 on July 9.

“Bersih 2.0 is all about free and fair elections. It’s good for a start but we need to find something bigger to move the masses like in Egypt.

“We definitely need to move beyond Bersih or else there is a risk we will degenerate into tame re-runs like Bersih 3.0 and so forth,” added the lawyer, who is currently in London.

Waythamoorthy was elaborating on a statement he circulated via e-mail yesterday to thousands of supporters, sympathisers and others listed in his movement’s address book.

He said Hindraf will urge all like-minded forces to join hands and help ferment a “neo-democratic revolution” by changing the mindset of the people.

“If Malaysians can be awakened from within and if they realise that democracy is their birth right, not the privilege of a few, then a neo-revolution of people’s power can be a reality,” he added.

The people, he said, will need to be convinced on exactly what they will receive out of their neo-democratic revolution.

Mere rhetoric about change, he warned, will not be enough and may in fact be nothing more than ventilating ignorance while mouthing empty slogans that lead nowhere in the end.
“Bersih alone cannot do magic!” he stressed.

Nine core challenges

Delving into specifics, Waythamoorthy opined that the people will generally appreciate a renewed focus on nine core challenges.

He reckons equality, in the truest sense of the word, as the mother of all challenges.

Elsewhere, he cites respect for human dignity, individual rights and civil liberties; religious freedom in accordance with universal principles; dismantling of all racist polices; complete overhaul of the judiciary, the police and smashing of the nexus between the force and the underworld.

However, the Hindraf chief does not see any prospects of the neo-democratic revolution on the immediate horizon unless there is a complete overhaul, to begin with, in the mindset of opposition leaders.

PAS, he said, will never entertain the prospect of equality among all religions, a stand that PKR is expected to endorse, and both Malay parties are expected to remain silent on Article 153 being observed by Umno in the breach.

The business-centric Chinese community and the elite Indians, as evident during Bersih 2.0, will never leave their comfort zone and take to the streets like Hindraf and others, said Waythamoorthy in painting a partial picture of gloom and doom in the outer urban areas and suburbs for the forces of change and reform.

Hindraf’s stand on the opposition, he added, is not a bundle of contradictions “but merely a case of facing the hard realities and urging the adoption of the difficult choices necessary in triggering the neo-democratic revolution”.

Ultimately, he thinks, that the people can be expected to decide but this will mean not allowing the politicians to continue holding them to ransom as in the past.

“All Malaysians are fair-minded, caring and potentially given very much to sharing and sharing alike. Never underestimate them. They can be easily awakened so long as there are enough politicians who are sincere and truly desire change and reform,” he said. -FMT

Alcoholism in our society

By Susan Luees David

On May 23rd the NST have published that Malaysia ranked world’s 10th largest consumer of alcohol. This is something to be proud of my friends? I’m not saying this is solely contributed by the Indian and Chinese community only but ALL, I repeat ALL. I would like change this negative achievement of us therefore I want to start from home which is my community. Here I would like to share the effects of Alcoholism. There are many and varied. Let us consider them by the various people and groups of people they can affect:

Individuals:-

Emotionally – alcoholism numbs the feelings we have and makes it so that we self-medicate any time we start to get sad, angry, or scared in any way. We stunt any emotional growth or progress that might be made were we to be sober instead.

Socially – alcoholism fixed my anxiety at first, but eventually I drank in isolation–afraid to venture out into public because I was such a madman. I could only seek out other hard core alcoholics and drug addicts that consumed like I did.
Spiritually – alcoholism is like trying to find God while running on a hamster wheel. We live in fear and abandon our hopes and prayers we might have once had.

Physically - The physical effects of alcoholism are well documented and there is a high morbidity rate. Most say that the average alcoholic that continues to drink will die something like 22 to 36 years ahead of their time (depending on which data you look at). This is complicated because most alcoholics also smoke cigarettes and some abuse other substances as well, which also affect their health. Those who do recover from alcoholism will sometimes quit smoking, or continue to smoke, so mortality rates can become very confusing when trying to look at things like this.

Mentally - “water on the brain.” Yes, a lifetime of drinking does in fact turn your brain into mush eventually. This is well documented as well.

Families:-

Alienates children – kids take it the hardest, because they don’t know if the “switch has been flipped or not” with their alcoholic parent. Living this way has a negative effect on grades, social skills, and just about every other aspect of a child’s life.

Perpetuates abuse – well known and well documented. What might be understated is the amount of verbal abuse that is simply “put up with.”

Divorce!!!!

Worse than divorce in some cases – the family holds together despite the dysfunction and potentially passes the disease on to others. Consider that children of an alcoholic parent are 4 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves.

For young addicts and alcoholics, they have proven that group therapy is worse than no therapy at all, but family therapy has shown some degree of promise. These points to the fact that addiction is a family disease and needs to be treated as such in most cases.

Society as whole:-

WILL LOOK DOWN ON YOU & CHASE YOU OUT OF THE SOCIETY AS A DIRT

In general, my dear Indian wife, how are you going to save your husband from the above?

Here kicks in our famous “patti vaithiyam” cook super extra thick dhal curry which means you need to add extra “parupu” to your dhal, it shouldn’t be watery at all but must be as thick as possible. This dhal curry need to be served with well fermented idli or thosai. 

“Fermentation” in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. A more restricted definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol.
Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desirable, and the process is used to produce alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and cider. Fermentation is also employed in the leavening of bread, and for preservation techniques to create lactic acid in sour foods such as sauerkraut, dry sausages, kimchi and yogurt, or vinegar (acetic acid) for use in pickling foods.

Poked on the forehead with a pen for not doing classwork

A kindergarten operator alleges that a teacher poked her son's forehead with a pen and left a scar and also refused to apologise to her.

PETALING JAYA: A teacher who could not control his anger poked the forehead of a pupil with a pen because he did not complete his classwork, the boy’s parent alleged today.

Relating the incident which happened on Monday, SA Bibi Yanem, 45, said her son, S Timothy Deeran, and his classmates in Year 4 Semangat, Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Jaya, were told to copy a dictation by their Malay language teacher, Islahuddin Ibrahim.

“However, my son missed a few words from the dictation and could not complete his work,” said Bibi Yanem, a kindergarten operator.

Unable to pass up the work when instructed by the teacher, Bibi Yanem said her son was then called up to the front of the class by Islahuddin .

“When he checked my son’s work and saw it incomplete, Islahuddin took his pen and poked and scratched my son’s forehead,” claimed Bibi Yanem.

Bibi Yanem also alleged that this left a scar on his forehead.

Angered by the incident,  Bibi Yanem and her husband M Shegar then went to the school at about 8am yesterday and reported the matter to the school principal, Abdul Rahman Mansor.

After hearing her grievances, Rahman then called her son and Islahuddin to his office to get to the bottom of the matter.

In the meeting, Bibi Yanem claimed Islahuddin said that he was unable to control his rage when he saw Timothy’s work was not done.

“But I told him if you have no patience, then you should not be a teacher,” she said.

Islahuddin then promised the parents that he would issue a written letter of apology to them in a few hours time.

However, when Bibi Yanem went back to the school at  about 11am, Islahuddin refused to give her the letter.

“Islahuddin arrogantly told me in the staff room  that it was against his ethics to write such a letter. He even challenged me to take action against him,” she said.

Bibi Yanem told Rahman what had transpired but claimed the principal merely kept mum on the matter.

“He didn’t object when I told him that I will take this matter to the media,” said Bibi Yanem.

On whether she had reported the incident to the district education office, Bibi Yanem said she had not done so yet but had lodged a report at the Puchong Jaya police station.

When contacted, the school administration was unable to comment on the matter as Rahman had left his office.

Media Event 21/7/11: Teacher injures standard four student Shegar (10) with ball pen and nearly poking his right eye for not writing out Karangan in time.

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In Reply :
Date : 20/7/2011

Media Event 21st July 2011 (Thursday)

Re : Teacher injures standard four student Shegar (10) with ball pen and nearly poking his right eye for not writing out Karangan in time. Accelerating racism in Secondary schools. Letter to DPM and Education Minister.
Date : 21/7/2011 (Thursday)
Time : 2.00 p.m
Venue: HRP HQ as above.
Note : The mother and student would be present.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
S. Jayathas
(Information Chief)
012-6362287