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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Malaysia's Anwar's Sodomy Verdict D-Day 901; So near, yet so far?


Anwar Ibrahim has been critical of the New Eco...
Sodomy verdict time, again

By LISA GOH lisagoh@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: More than a decade after he was first convicted of sodomy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will know tomorrow whether he is found guilty of a similar offence.

The decision in the Kuala Lumpur High Court comes at the end of a trial lasting nearly two years.

Anwar, 64, who has been charged with sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, his 27-year-old former personal aide, faces up to 20 years in jail and whipping, if convicted.

In 2000, he was charged with sodomising driver Azizan Abu Bakar, convicted by the High Court and jailed.

His conviction was overturned in 2004 by the Federal Court in a 2:1 majority ruling and he was released.

He was charged on Aug 8, 2008 with sodomising Mohd Saiful at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur on June 26, 2008.

He has adamantly maintained his innocence throughout the trial which saw 27 prosecution and seven defence witnesses (including Anwar himself, who gave a statement from the dock) called.

Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden led the prosecution while veteran criminal lawyer Karpal Singh and S.N. Nair represented Anwar.

Highlights of the trial included the testimony of Mohd Saiful who told the court that Anwar asked him: “Can I f--- you today?” Mohd Saiful said he brought KY Jelly lubricant to the apartment where the alleged sodomy took place.

Other highlights included evidence that there were up to five unidentified male DNA profiles found around Mohd Saiful’s anal region.

The identifying of Anwar as ‘Male Y’, whose semen was found in the complainant’s anus, was another dramatic turn in the trial.

His DNA, taken from a towel, a toothbrush and a water bottle, all of which were acquired from his cell at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters in July 2008, had matched the DNA profile of an unidentified person labelled ‘Male Y’.

Anwar tried several times to have the sitting judge recuse himself – once over an allegation that Mohd Saiful, who was the key prosecution witness, had an affair with a prosecutor involved in the case.

All his applications to disqualify Justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah failed.

Should Anwar be convicted, he would have two chances – at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court – to overturn the ruling.

If acquitted, he walks out of the High Court a free man.


So near, yet so far

Insight By Joceline Tan

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s track record since his 2008 political comeback has been marked by missed opportunities. He is once again at a critical crossroads while his Pakatan Rakyat coalition struggles to find an alternative candidate for prime minister. 

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim looked a little tense during a packed press conference on Tuesday. He had a big week stretched ahead before his D-Day in court and he obviously had lots of things on his mind.

He kept his answers short and simple but managed to raise some eyebrows among reporters when he said that, “if I am jailed, involved in an accident or shot, we are prepared ....”.

What was he trying to say, some had asked. Who on earth would want to see him in an accident at this point in time? Surely not his supporters and the last thing his adversaries would want was to see him turned into a martyr.

Momentum to D-Day: Anwar, seen here with his daughter Nurul Izzah, has been on a nationwide roadshow to whip up sentiment over the court decision on his sodomy trial.>>

The press conference ended quickly and he flashed a dazzling smile as he left the room. He was in a hurry to go home to change and leave for a ceramah in Muar, Johor, later that evening. The Muar event was the first of a string of ceramah to whip up sentiment over tomorrow’s court judgment and Anwar has since blazed through eight states in six days.

The ceramah have attracted sizeable crowds but the sodomy trial has been a long and winding process, stretched over three years and fraught with so many delays that ordinary folk have been lost in the legal maze.

But the temperature has gone up again with the impending court decision and Pakatan Rakyat’s threat of bringing 100,000 protesters into Kuala Lumpur.

PKR, especially, is hoping to repeat the street protests that followed Anwar’s sacking in 1998, to create a wave of sympathy for Anwar and a momentum against the Government.

The Pakatan coalition has been talking about an Arab Spring in Malaysia and tomorrow’s demonstration is seen as another step in that direction.

Saiful: The victim in the sodomy trial eclipsed by the politics around Anwar. 
SMS orders have been flying from the PKR headquarters to its local leaders to produce the numbers tomorrow. Every PKR division has been ordered to gather 500 members and they have been told to wear black or white, the colours of mourning.

The Internet has been afire with conversation about the event, with the pro-Barisan Nasional side condemning the event as an attempt to subvert the judiciary and the pro-Pakatan side condemning those condemning the event.

More than 300 police reports have been lodged against the planned demonstration and the last one week has seen pages in Utusan Malaysia filled with news critical of Anwar and the demonstration.

“The verdict is still out there even though the general impression is that he can’t run. Monday will be a closure to the judicial process of a high-profile trial. With a general election ahead, it will also provide everyone an opportunity for political posturing,” said DAP’s Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi.

The official stand of Pakatan leaders is that the trial is a conspiracy to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister and they will stand by him.

Privately, they have been quite exasperated at the see-sawing political path of Anwar.

He has not shown the leadership they expected. They feel let down, many of them have watched the sex video and come to their own conclusions.

MPs from DAP have been given notice to attend and show moral support but, said Ooi, there is no signal to members to turn up in full force.

Monday will be a closure to the judicial process of a high-profile trial. - JEFF OOI >>

DAP knows that the Tahrir Square type of agitation is not the Chinese cup of tea and their response to the call to protest has been muted. They believe that if a government is to be overthrown, it should be via the ballot box rather than by Tahrir Square tactics and Malaysia is definitely not Egypt or Syria.

Besides, DAP is now the government in several states and it cannot be seen to actively encourage protests against court judgments. They would not want the same disruption repeated in their own backyard.

A leading PAS figure said their leaders would be present in court tomorrow, but PAS is not mobilising their members to make up the numbers.

“If you’re thinking of the Bersih type of crowd, that’s not going to be the case,” said the PAS leader.

Some had expected Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat to come out with a ringing endorsement for Anwar but the Kelantan Mentri Besar was in the news for another reason this week.

He was photographed presenting the keys to the house the state government had given to Kelantan football star Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, also known as Apek. Apek is a fantasy of many Malay girls and Nik Aziz advised him to “cepat kahwin” so as to avoid committing sin.

However, former Umno minister Tan Sri Kadir Sheikh Fadzir caused a stir when he gave an interview praising Anwar as a “great Malaysian leader”.

Ummi Hafilda Ali, the woman who had sparked off the first sodomy trial, called her own interview to renew her attacks on what she labelled the “3 As” – Anwar, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali who is Ummi’s brother.

Perhaps the most telling part is how Anwar is quite alone this time around as he went on his roadshow.

It was quite a different scenario from 1998 when Abim activists and religious figures from PAS lent their weight to his cause.

The PAS response to tomorrow’s decision has been rather complex.

Top PAS leaders, especially among the ulama group, have never been totally comfortable with the idea of Anwar as prime minister.

They hate the religious pluralism associated with Anwar; it is anathema to their idea of Islam as the one true religion.

Besides, they have everything to gain from a scenario without Anwar.

As the party’s Selangor leader Datuk Dr Hasan Ali put it, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang or Nik Aziz would be PAS’ choice for premiership.

It has been amid such complexity that blogger-in-exile Raja Petra Kamarudin or RPK gave a shattering interview about Anwar in several newspapers.

People are still digesting what he has said about Anwar being a liability to his coalition, the allusions to his sexuality and what appears to be RPK’s opposition to a Tahrir Square phenomenon in Malaysia.

The blogger has gone overnight from hero to zero among the very people who used to hang onto his every word.

This is basically the ABU segment – the cohort that is going to vote for Anything But Umno; they had loved him when he was telling them what they wanted to hear.

But what he is saying now is not what they want to hear, never mind if it is the reality, and they have thrashed him black and blue and accused him of selling out.

Said a pro-Pakatan academic: “My sense is that RPK is speaking his mind. I don’t believe he has been bought. He has seen the opportunities come and go for Anwar and (Anwar) has not withstood the test. I sense he is disappointed with Anwar and his leadership of PKR. I know many people who are pro-Pakatan and who do not disagree with what (RPK) said except they cannot come out and say it.”

While the Umno side recognises the political gains from RPK’s interview, they are not exactly comfortable with him.

RPK’s power of the pen is quite different from any other. He is a maverick and Umno is not sure where or who he will strike next.

Insiders say RPK is still with Pakatan although he burnt his bridges with Anwar more than a year ago.

He has attacked mainly Anwar. He has spared PAS and DAP and he has advocated Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah as the post-Anwar alternative.

All sorts of nasty stuff has been said about RPK sitting out the freezing winter of Manchester in Phuket.

He is not rolling in dough as some imagine; he is there on the goodwill of friends, staying in a US$40 (RM126) per day hotel.

RPK wants to come home, a move he thought would be possible only if Pakatan wins power.

He was banking on Anwar leading Pakatan to take over Putrajaya but he does not see that happening.

Anwar is damaged goods, he has squandered what could have been and RPK is simply saying it out loud.

Anwar’s post-2008 track record has been marked by missed opportunities and a lack of discipline in his personal life.

Even feng shui expert Joey Yap added his two-sen worth about Anwar’s future.

According to Yap, Anwar, who is a metal element, will apparently have to struggle in the Year of the Water Dragon.

Tomorrow’s protest will probably be the most videographed ever. Apart from the media coverage, the police intend to video everything to defend their actions.

The most curious part of the maelstrom is how the person who started the whole thing seems to have been forgotten.

Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the alleged victim in the case, has been eclipsed by all the political activity. The once effeminate-looking Saiful has grown into a rather handsome man.

He is pursuing a distant learning degree from Universiti Utara Malaysia and recently made the Dean’s list.
His life has changed irrevocably since the day he accused Anwar of sodomising him.

Regardless of whether the court agrees or disagrees with him, Saiful will never be able to live a normal life as we understand it.

The Prime Minister’s office has been a case of so near, yet so far where Anwar is concerned but, as the Malays say, if it is meant to be, it will be.

If it is not meant to be, then Pakatan will just have to move on to another prime minister candidate.

Related posts:

901 Malaysian Anwar’s life D-day? Rally allowed – only at car park!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

New US defense policy challenges trust; China in US gunsights!

 
 

WASHINGTON / BEIJING - US President Barack Obama's revamped national defense strategy may challenge mutual trust with China, experts said.

While promising to make the US armed forces smaller and leaner, Obama pledged to shift the country's military focus to the Asia-Pacific region.



The nation's military review says that US economic and security interests are "inextricably" connected with the area and the US military accordingly will "of necessity rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region", including strengthening Asian allies and investing in the strategic partnership with India.

Though Washington recognizes that the United States and China share common interests and stakes in the region, it fears China's rise will affect its economy and security in many ways and it worries about the strategic intention of China's military buildup, according to the review.

The assertive moves by the US may cause potential military tensions between China and the US, said Yuan Peng, an expert of American studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"China has repeatedly explained its defensive policy, but the US keeps pressuring China. This may irritate China and lead to negative reactions if the US continues to do so," Yuan said.


 

"However, we need to be clear that the draft of the plan, as a whole, is not China-centered, though it is somehow offending that the document puts China in a similar position with Iran," Yuan said.

In the 10 primary missions of the US armed forces listed in the draft of the plan, published on the US Department of Defense website, China was mentioned with Iran - a country labeled as a member of "the axis of evil" by former US president George W. Bush.

"Why does the US want to shift its focus to Asia-Pacific as the region has been the most peaceful area compared with other areas which saw conflicts and wars in the last three decades?" asked Xu Hui, professor with Beijing-based National Defense University.

The US military faces $450 billion in budget cuts through 2021, including about $261 billion through 2017, part of the administration's effort to put the US fiscal house in order.

But "budget reductions will not come at the expense of this critical region", Obama said at the news conference.

After the
war in Iraq came to an end last month and as the US is winding down its presence in Afghanistan, Obama said the nation can now meet the new challenges, especially from the Asia-Pacific region.

"Our military will be leaner, but the world must know: The United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats," Obama said.

In the document, the US listed China as one of the countries that will continue to pursue asymmetric means to counter America's power projection capabilities.

Although the Chinese government did not comment on the US review on Friday, the country had said earlier that it welcomes the US playing a positive role in the region, but it opposes Washington's involvement in disputes in the South China Sea.

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China in US gunsights


A colour guard of US. and Chinese flags awaits the plane of China's President Hu Jintao at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland (file photo) By Damian Grammaticas Beijing correspondent, BBC
 
The US review has prompted some to ask whether a clash between the US and China is inevitable >>
 
Is China's rise going to lead to conflict with America? Is Beijing destined to go to war with today's undisputed global superpower?

The question is not posed directly in the new US defence strategic review. But, unspoken, it is there, running through the document that seeks to shape America's new military thinking for the 21st Century.

Read the review and it is clear that the challenge posed by a rising China is at the very heart of America's new defence strategy.

The document is careful to say China is not destined to be an adversary. But it makes clear America is, nevertheless, about to retool its military to deter China, and, if necessary, to confront it.

Released by President Barack Obama at the Pentagon, the aim of the new strategy is there in black and white: to reshape the US military in a way that "preserves American global leadership, maintains our military superiority".

The Pentagon and the White House are certainly not ready to accept the notion that America is inevitably facing long-term decline while China is on an equally inevitable rise. America wants to remain number one, and this new defence policy is designed to achieve that.

Lack of trust

In the very first sentence of his preamble, President Obama says "our nation is at a moment of transition," and the review states: "We face an inflection point." It identifies two basic forces shaping the transition, one inside America, one outside.

At home growing budget pressures mean there have to be cuts in military spending. At the same time there is the awareness that, abroad, China's growing economic strength is changing the dynamic of power in Asia.

US President Barack Obama US President Barack Obama insists his country welcomes the "peaceful" rise of China >>
 
The new defence posture, says the US, encourages "the peaceful rise of new powers". That is code for welcoming China's ascent, and has been said many times before.

As to what China's rise means, the new strategy is open-minded. "Over the long term," it says, noncommittally, "China's emergence as a regional power will have the potential to affect the US economy and our security in a variety of ways."

Note the way that China is described as an emerging "regional power". The Pentagon is not ready to accord China the status of a global power or superpower, or even an emerging superpower, a reflection of the fact that China's military reach is still far from global.

However China's economic influence does now span the world. America and China are bound by mutual self-interest. But the review is clear there is a real lack of trust.

"Our two countries have a strong stake in peace and stability in East Asia and an interest in building a co-operative bilateral relationship. However, the growth of China's military power must be accompanied by a greater clarity of its strategic intentions in order to avoid causing friction in the region."

Arms race

So the US is still hedging its bets. Already last year, the Obama administration unveiled its "pivot", turning America's gaze towards the Pacific. That shift is clear in this new doctrine. "We will of necessity rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region", it says several times.

Now America is stating that it will work on several fronts to counter China's emerging power.

There is a clear concern about China's efforts to develop weapons that would make it hard for US forces to operate in parts of East Asia. China is investing in "anti-access" and "area denial" weapons like so-called "carrier killer" missiles that could sink US aircraft carriers at sea. It has also invested heavily in submarines and is building stealth fighter jets.

Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army undergoing a tug-of-war at a military base in Hefei in December 2011 The US and China may send up in a tug-of-war over the Pacific region - and perhaps globally >>
 
All of those could push US aircraft carrier fleets further from China's shores, limiting their ability to influence vital trade routes in the South China Sea, or to defend Taiwan if it is attacked by China.

The review says "states such as China and Iran will continue to pursue asymmetric means to counter our power projection capabilities." But it promises "the United States must maintain its ability to project power in areas in which our access and freedom to operate are challenged".

"The maintenance of peace, stability, the free flow of commerce, and of US influence in this dynamic region will depend in part on an underlying balance of military capability and presence," it says.

So the US wants to keep its military superiority over China intact. What that leads to is an escalating arms race as America moves to counter China's own advances.

In a way the Pentagon may be copying China's own strategy, investing in similar types of weapons. There will be a focus on developing increasing air and naval power, and on advanced weapons such as even more sophisticated stealth jets, missiles and drones, along with cyberwarfare and space capabilities too.

Making friends

Strengthening a network of alliances around China is the other pillar of the strategy. "We will emphasise our existing alliances, which provide a vital foundation for Asia-Pacific security. We will also expand our networks of co-operation with emerging partners throughout the Asia-Pacific region."

“Start Quote
China must make the US realise that its rise can't be stopped”
Global Times State-run Chinese newspaper
 
Already the US has close defence relationships with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Australia. It is working to build ties with Vietnam, Indonesia and is "investing in a long-term strategic partnership with India".

What all this amounts to is a very robust message of deterrence to China. The US will contest any challenge to its dominance. It will cement core alliances with China's neighbours and protect its interest in East Asia.

To return to the question we began with. Will there be conflict between the US and China one day?

The answer may well depend on how China responds to this new policy. Will it seek to assert its own power in East Asia? Will that cause growing friction?

One early response to the new US policy has come from the state-controlled Global Times newspaper, often nationalist in its opinions.

It says "China needs to enhance its long-distance military attack ability and develop more ways to threaten US territory in order to gradually push outward the front line of its 'game' with America".

"China," the paper says, "must make the US realise that its rise can't be stopped and that it is best for the US to show friendliness towards China."

By  Li Lianxing, Ma Liyao and Tan Yingzi  (China Daily)

Related post;

China warns US on Asia military strategy

‘Poke eye’ Melayu English in many public institutions inexcusable!



The Star/Asia News Network

Melta: Language mistakes on Mindef website inexcusable

PETALING JAYA: The Defence Ministry's English Language mistakes on its website is inexcusable, said Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta) president Dr S. Ganakumaran.

“If these sort of mistakes happen with ordinary people, it is still excusable, but if large institutions make such mistakes, it becomes a big problem because they should be the ones setting the standard. If such mistakes are present, what can we expect from the rest of the country?” he asked.

He said if the ministry had chosen to use English as a part of their website, they have the responsibility of ensuring that it is done correctly.

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said such mistakes were absolutely inexcusable, especially because it was from a government website.

“This mistake gives a very bad impression and image of the Government. They have improved in many ways, but little things like these overshadow them,” she said.

National Translation Institute of Malaysia managing director Mohd Khair Ngadiron said there was still no perfect replacement for a professional translator's work.

“More often than not, machines tend to translate work literally, and even if we use Google to translate, we must still look at the context,” he said.He said anyone setting up a website should get a professional body to do its translation because the site would be viewed by many globally.

 Websites of other ministries have ‘poke eye’ English, too

By JOSEPH SIPALAN jsipalan@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: While there are no ministries which advise against “clothes that poke eye”, a check has shown numerous errors on their respective websites.

A check on the websites of the Prime Minister's Office and the 22 ministries, apart from the Defence Ministry, found eight with English translation that fell below what could be considered good standards of the language.

Among them was the Education Ministry that states:

Education in Malaysia is on-going efforts towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God”.

It was reported yesterday that the Defence Ministry had carried literal and somewhat amusing English translation on its website.

Other websites that used sketchy English include the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

The websites for the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, Tourism and Natural Resource and Environment ministries also had noticeable grammatical errors, but had better language by far.

The Transport Ministry had taken down its English site for “maintenance”, while the Higher Education Ministry did not have such option.

However, most ministries clearly took the effort to make sure they used proper English on their respective websites including the Prime Minister's Office.

Two notable ministries were Home and Women, Family and Community Development that chose to use a more “approachable” way to explain their goals and functions instead of a “dry” approach.

Related Post:

“Clothes that poke eye”, Melayu English!

901 Malaysian Anwar’s life D-day? Rally allowed – only at car park!


Another twist in Anwar’s life

Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

The Sodomy II verdict is around the corner and the PKR leader is pushing for a show of support with his party’s call for a mass rally on Monday.

YET another confrontation is brewing between PKR and its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the authorities as his long-drawn Sodomy II trial climaxes with a verdict by Justice Mohamad Abidin Diah on Monday.

Anwar, who is charged with committing sodomy against his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26, 2008, is mobilising 100,000 people outside the courthouse on the day in an effort to presumably influence the verdict.

In the spotlight: Anwar and his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail leaving the Kuala Lumpur courthouse in this file picture.>>
 
That number of people in a small court compound is also a sign of desperation on Anwar’s part, irrespective of whether that actual number of people turn up or not.

It is also an attempt to shake the political establishment, grip the nation’s attention, revive the flagging fortunes of his PKR and try to avert the inevitable.

Anwar has had a long and unrelenting political career that saw him rise to become the second most powerful man as Deputy Prime Minister but then fall from grace ending up as a prisoner only to rise again on his release in 2004, as leader of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

He came within touch of the country’s highest post, his lifelong dream, winning 82 seats in parliament in the 2008 general election.

The problem is that the political establishment saw Anwar as an outsider who first used the Islamic reform movement Abim to pressure for change and then when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad opened the doors, Anwar abandoned friends and principles and entered Umno.



He made short shrift of his opponents as he climbed up the Umno ladder and was helped along by Mahathir until 1999 when he was to have challenged his own benefactor for the Umno presidency and take the Prime Minister’s post that goes with it.

But he fell foul of powerful political interest groups and was expelled and jailed on corruption and sodomy charges in 1998.

He served his corruption sentence and was acquitted of sodomy and released in 2004 only to put together a loose knit grouping of three parties, including his own PKR, PAS and DAP, to win handsomely against then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in the 2008 general election.

He managed to combine his grievances, especially the black eye incident, with the grouses of the people and romp home against an ineffective prime minister, winning big but not big enough with just 49% of the popular votes.

After that an eager and impatient Anwar, instead of accepting the people’s verdict and playing his role as Opposition Leader, styled himself as the Prime Minister-in-waiting and launched his Sept 16 gambit that failed miserably when Barisan MPs refused to defect.

His credibility plunged with nearly everyone – the international media, his own supporters and the Malaysian public at large.

In the meantime, Umno saw fit to change horses, urgently retiring Abdullah and putting Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the captain’s seat. Anwar fought very hard to prevent Najib taking over but he failed.

Najib began his political and economic transformation of the nation and three years on is poised to call a general election on the strength of the changes he has introduced principally the repeal of the ISA and other outdated laws, a Peaceful Assembly Bill that allows demonstrations and repeal of Sec 29 of the Police Act that requires police permits.

He is also reforming the election laws and procedures, and has been criss-crossing the country meeting all kinds of people and offering aid and promising that the government is for all the people, not just a few.

Najib is now preparing to introduce a Race Relation law in the March sitting of Parliament that would further undercut the opposition chances at the polls by promising a fair and egalitarian society without discrimination based on race, colour or ethnicity.

Anwar on the other hand has been, as his one-time ally Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) claims, a frequent traveller overseas giving speeches at numerous conferences while his sodomy trial here dragged on with numerous postponements.

Surprisingly, at the trial, Anwar preferred not to testify under oath but gave a speech from the dock decrying government oppression and persecution likening himself to Nelson Mandela.

He also gave up his chance to rebut Saiful thoroughly.

Further sensitive parts of Saiful’s testimony were held in camera, at Anwar’s request. Anwar also promised to call a long list of alibi witnesses but did not do so, weakening his case.

As many, including RPK, have said, Anwar received a fair trial this time compared with 1999.

Whatever the verdict, for Anwar it is just another day and event in a tumultuous career that could have easily floored a lesser man but not this incorrigible optimist.

Rally allowed – only at car park

By RASHITHA A. HAMID rashitha@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have allowed the much talked-about Free Anwar 901 gathering to go on as long as it is held at the car park of the Jalan Duta Court Complex here.

The court complex has parking bays for 1,000 vehicles.

City police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohmad Salleh said the decision was made after a discussion with PKR deputy president Azmin Ali yesterday.

“After the discussion, they (the organisers) promised to have a peaceful gathering at the car park,” he said during a press conference.

Approved site: The car park outside the Duta Court Complex where the rally is allowed take place.
 
The meeting between DCP Mohmad and Azmin lasted for one and half hours at the city police headquarters.

Meanwhile, Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Zakaria Pagan said they had imposed 10 conditions on the organisers and supporters.

They have banned the use of “Free Anwar 901” tagline and the organisers were allowed to use only two loud hailers for crowd control purposes.

“The use of Free Anwar 901 tagline and amplifiers is strictly forbidden,” he said.

Stressing that no speeches were allowed, Zakaria said the organisers must ensure that participants did not cause any nuisance.

He said they were only allowed to assemble at the public car park on the left side of the main road.

“Participants should not step outside the boundary,” he said, adding that “excess” crowds would not be allowed.

He also said the participants must not carry any form of weapons, cooperate during spot checks and that the crowd should disperse within an hour after the verdict was delivered.

The rally is planned to coincide with the court decision in the high-profile sodomy case of Opposition Leader and PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, 64, is charged with sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at a condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

On Thursday, Inspector-Gene-ral of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the organisers had been asked to meet the city police chief to discuss whether the gathering should be held at another location instead of in front of the court complex.

Anwar told a ceramah last night that the court's decision was secondary and the most important thing was for Pakatan Rakyat to win the general election.

In PUTRAJAYA, the Alliance of Non-governmental Organisations Malaysia and several individuals have lodged police reports against the rally.

Its secretary Mohd Jurit Ramli urged the authorities to take action against the organisers on grounds that the gathering would be an insult to the country's judiciary.

The group, comprising some 50 NGO leaders, lodged 45 reports against the gathering.

Related posts:

Malaysia's Anwar's Sodomy Verdict D-Day 901; So near, yet so far?


Politician, hero or zero? RPK hits back at critics!

 Malaysia's Anwar walking a tightrope! He should resign ...

China warns US on Asia military strategy


President Obama: "The tide of war is receding"

China's state media have warned the US against "flexing its muscles" after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific.

In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama's move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity.

But it said any US militarism could create ill will and "endanger peace".

Mr Obama also plans $450bn (£290bn) in cuts to create a "leaner" military.

Thousands of troops are expected to be axed over the next decade under the far-reaching defence review.

The defence budget could also lose another $500bn at the end of this year after Congress failed to agree on deficit reduction following a debt-ceiling deal in August 2011.

Mr Obama said the "tide of war was receding" in Afghanistan and that the US must renew its economic power.



Regional disputes
 
However, he told reporters at the Pentagon: "We'll be strengthening our presence in the Asia-Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of this critical region."

Xinhua said the US role could be good for China in helping to secure the "peaceful environment" it needed to continue its economic development.


US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on the new challenges for the US military >>

But it added: "While boosting its military presence in the Asia-Pacific, the United States should abstain from flexing its muscles, as this won't help solve regional disputes.

"If the United States indiscreetly applies militarism in the region, it will be like a bull in a china shop, and endanger peace instead of enhancing regional stability."

BBC Asia analyst Charles Scanlon said the US decision to focus on Asia would have come as no surprise to China's leaders. However, to some in Beijing, it would look like a containment strategy designed to curtail China's growing power.

Beijing officials have yet to comment.

However, the Communist Party's Global Times newspaper said Washington could not stop the rise of China and called on Beijing to develop more long-range strike weapons to deter the US navy.

'Flexible and ready'
 
The US strategy shifts the Pentagon away from its long-standing doctrine of being able to wage two wars simultaneously.

However, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta emphasised the military would retain its ability to confront more than one threat at a time, and would be more flexible and adaptable than in the past.

Mr Obama said: "The world must know - the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats."

No specific cuts to troop numbers or weapons programmes were announced on Thursday - those are to be presented as part of the federal budget next month.

But a 10-15% reduction to the US Army and the Marine Corps is being considered over the next decade - amounting to tens of thousands of troops, Obama administration officials have told US media.

Initial Republican reaction to the review was negative. Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, California Representative Howard McKeon, said the new policy was a "retreat from the world in the guise of a new strategy".

"This is a lead-from-behind strategy for a left-behind America," he said in a statement.

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Friday, January 6, 2012

“Clothes that poke eye”, Melayu English; Lost in translation!

baju melayu + samping + sonkok (picture of myself)

All abuzz over ‘Ethical Clothing

Netizens laughing at Mindef's  no 'clothes that poke eye' dress code

By JOSEPH SIPALAN and JOSEPH KAOS Jr
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: If you are working at the Defence Ministry, be sure not to wear “clothes that poke eye”.

This was one of the many colourful descriptions of “Ethical Clothing” (etika berpakaian) that is acceptable within the ministry’s standards.

Netizens on social networking sites were literally ROFL, which is cyberspeak for “rolling on the floor laughing”, as they shared the link to the ministry’s amusing English translation of the staff dress code on its official website.

Lost in translation: The amusing English translation of the staff dress code on the Defence Ministry website.

“Clothes that poke eye” is a literal translation of pakaian yang menjolok mata, which is supposed to mean revealing clothes in Bahasa Malaysia. Other finds included: “collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang three”, which, in Malay, is berkolar baju Melayu cekak musang berbutang tiga. 

Baju batik lengan panjang berkolar / cekak musang buatan Malaysia, meanwhile is translated as “long-sleeve batik shirt with collar / mongoose fight made in Malaysia”.



There was also “shine closed”, which was translated from kasut bertutup, or closed-toe shoes.

Another was the brief summary of the ministry’s history on the website, which read: “After the withdrawal of British army, the Malaysian Government take drastic measures to increase the level of any national security threat.”


The actual summary in Bahasa Malaysia read: Selepas pengunduran tentera British, Kerajaan Malaysia mengambil langkah drastik untuk meningkatkan tahap keselamatan negara dari sebarang ancaman.
The ministry took down the English translated version several hours after it went widespread on Twitter and Facebook.

A ministry spokesperson said a clarification has since been posted on the website, adding that page hits shot up remarkably yesterday.

The clarification on the website said corrective action was being taken on the related software to ensure translations were accurate. 

Lost in translation

On The Beat By Wong Chun Wai

Malaysians have to accept the reality that horrendous English is here to stay.

Does it come as a surprise that the English translation on the Defence Ministry website is so atrocious that it has become the butt of every joke in town? It’s not even Manglish, but simply sub-standard English.

Malaysians used to be amused at the bad Bahasa Malaysia subtitles in movies but the “clothes that poke eye” translation for “pakai­an yang menjolok mata” simply takes the cake. “Ambil kuih”, if literally translated.

Last week, the social media zoomed in on the ministry’s official site which had a page listing out guidelines on “ethical clothing” that have to be adhered to by its staff.

Other interesting examples included “collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang three” for “berkolar baju Melayu cekak musang berbutang tiga” and “long-sleeve batik shirt with collar/mongoose fight made in Malaysia” for “Baju batik lengan panjang berkolar/cekak musang buatan Malaysia”.

There was also “shine closed” which was translated from “kasut bertutup”.

Thankfully, the Defence Ministry responded in double quick time – it not only took down the relevant pages but also posted an online clarification promising to make the necessary corrections. Still, time on the Internet moves by the milliseconds so the spread in cyberspace could not be so easily contained.

The ministry adopted the right and honourable approach by not offering any lame excuse or shifting the blame.

This is not the first time lazy and incompetent officials have got us into trouble. If they are not capable enough, they should seek the help of professionals.

Wen Jiabao at WEF Annual Meeting in Davos 2009Last April, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his entourage must have laughed their heads off when they saw the words in Chinese printed on the banner backdrop at the welcoming ceremony in Putrajaya.

The words were literally translated from the Bahasa Malaysia sentence, “Istiadat Sambutan Rasmi Sempena Lawatan Rasmi TYT Wen Jiabao Ke Malaysia” (Official welcoming ceremony in conjunction with the official visit of His Excellency Wen Jiabao to Malaysia).

The Chinese translation had so many serious syntax and grammatical errors that the Chinese-literate Malaysian ministers and members of the media could only cringe in embarrassment. Translated literally, it read, “Official welcoming ceremony, with him Wen Jiabao His Excellency’s official visit Malaysia”.
Our officials apologised to Wen Jiabao and this was widely reported in China.

Although Bahasa Malaysia is our official language, it is necessary that all our official websites also have an English version simply because English is the language of the Internet. There are many convenient translation tools on the Internet, such as Google Translate and Yahoo BabelFish, but while these tools claim to be able to translate practically every language on the planet to another, they are not meant to substitute the services of professionals.

I decided to use Google Translate to translate “pakaian yang menjolok mata” and was pleasantly surprised that the English equivalent was “dress scantily”; it was certainly much better than “clothes that poke eye”. But on the more difficult phrases, this tool failed miserably.

What our ministries should do is to engage professionals who are not only competent in English but are able to make their websites attractive. Two ministries – Home, and Women, Family and Community Development – have websites that are regarded as more “innovative and approachable” and they will certainly draw more visitors.

The bigger issue here is that Malaysians have to accept the reality that horrendous English is here to stay. The day our leaders killed English as a medium of instruction and further downgraded the language as a subject in schools was the beginning of its demise.
 
Teaching hours for the subject have been drastically reduced and a compulsory pass is not even required in our school exams. So how serious can we be about uplifting the standard of English in this country? Worse, many teachers who are teaching English in schools are themselves not fluent in the language. It’s truly a case of the blind leading the blind.

Just yesterday, a retired civil servant, Dr Pola Singh, wrote that in the course of going through the application forms for jobs meant for graduates, he came across numerous instances of local graduates listing down that they have an “honest” degree when they meant an honours degree.

Honest to goodness, this is no laughing matter.

Related post:

‘Poke eye’ Melayu English in many public institutions inexcusable!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Google acquires more IBM patents


Image representing IBM as depicted in CrunchBaseImage representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

Latest batch of IBM patents include email, server backup, e-commerce, advertising, mobile technologies, and database tuning

By Juan Carlos Perez | IDG News Service

Google has acquired more IBM patents, adding more than 200 to approximately 2,000 patents it had previously bought from IBM.

The move, first reported by the blog SEO by the Sea, was confirmed by a Google spokesman who didn't immediately comment on why the company is interested in these particular patents and on how they may benefit Google products and its customers.

[ Discover what's new in business applications with InfoWorld's Technology: Applications newsletter. | Get the latest insight on the tech news that matters from InfoWorld's Tech Watch blog. ]



The latest set of IBM patents, transferred to Google on Dec. 30, 2011, includes 222 patents and covers a variety of technologies, including email management, server backup, tuning and recovery, e-commerce, advertising, mobile Web page display, instant messaging, online calendaring, and database tuning. Google acquired about 1,000 IBM patents in July of last year and about 1,000 other IBM patents in September.

In the past, Google officials have said that acquiring patents helps the company prevent intellectual-property lawsuits and that, when one is filed against it, patents boost Google's ability to defend itself.

It's hard to determine which patents represent technology that Google plans to develop and which ones are intended as litigation protection, said IDC analyst William Stofega.

However, considering the rash of IP-related lawsuits in the mobile market, it's safe to assume that many mobile-related patents Google acquires are meant to strengthen its ability to fight lawsuits, said Stofega, who is IDC's program director of mobile device technology and trends.

"Google has had a great run with what they've done so far and it's clear their patent portfolio isn't as rich as those of others, especially in mobile," he said. "If you're going to be a mobile platform player, you need to make sure you have your ducks in a row regarding intellectual property."

A large part of Google's motivation for buying Motorola Mobility is the latter's patent portfolio, which includes more than 24,000 patents. That $12.5 billion deal is due to close early this year, after the companies obtain all necessary approvals.

Juan Carlos Perez covers search, social media, online advertising, e-commerce, Web application development, enterprise cloud collaboration suites, and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.


Gun Ownership on the Rise!


Private Gun Ownership on the Rise (Infographic)


Source:LiveScience

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