Rise above cheapskate politics

Rise above cheapskate politics

Call me queer. Well, not queer in the strict definition of  LGBTIQ. I am queer because I am a non-conformist. However, I checked the dictionary and found that  LGBTIQ stood for lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender, intersex and queer. Today, I want to touch on the last character, queer. 

I love queer people, especially the effeminate males  ! They are very sensitive and kind. In fact, I have encountered many queer, wonderful and lovely individuals in my life. 

Lokman  and Joshua were my primary school mate and secondary school mate, respectively. They always felt out of place. Lokman used bring green syrup to school and was always willing to share his stuffs. He loved to join the girls and chit chat and refused to join the boys. 

One day, Joshua came running back into our classroom from the soccer field. He complained that he was so supposed to play football but ended up being kicked around like a football. 

Then I was buddies with Nasir when I started working as a lawyer. A huge group of young lawyers would always hang out  to "Jom minum" during tea breaks or play bowling. Nasir would use "Naomi"  for Naomi Campbell as his name when we played bowling. 

My own nephew came out in the open as a gay. He's one of the most talented person I have ever known. He can sing, dance and play many musical instruments.  

We can always agree to disagree. We can always attack the views and opinions of a person. We can always attack the integrity and the political will of an individual. 

However, we cannot subject any individuals to personal attacks especially on their physical and/or psychological attributes.  By persecuting someone's so called lack of conformity to the societal norms, you are in fact subjecting the person to a form of bullying. 

I have a confession to make. I was a victim of bullying in school due to my obesity. I was always teased at. Enduring name calling was a daily chore for me.  I can relate to victims of bullies. I never liked my primary school days due to that.  There are good and bad queer people but my point is to attack the individuals ad rem (based on their arguments) and not ad hominem (personal attacks). 

Therefore, let us emulate  Pakatan leaders, Lim Kit Siang , Lim Guan Eng, Tony Pua, Rafizi Ramli, Mat Sabu and Anthony Loke who attacked the powers that be using empirical facts and figures from history and present. 

Let us not go down to the level of BN leaders like Bung Mokhtar (Batu Gajah leak every month too), Mustapha Mohamed (new office is like a virgin bride), Roselan Johar Mohamed (if you can't fight rape, just enjoy it) etc. 

An apology is a consolation but if one apologises for the same mistake over and over again then it shows that the apology is not genuine. Such recalcitrance and unrepentant spirit reek of cheapskate politics. We have to rise above cheapskate politics if we are serious in wanting to take over Putrajaya. 

Note : the characters above are based on actual persons but their names changed to protect their identities. Please add obesity into "LGBTIQ". They are also very much victimized. 

Nicole Tan Lee Koon

DAP Wanita National Executive Committee (NEC)  member 

DAP Negeri Sembilan State Committee

Cure for a sick regime

There is only one cure for a sick regime : Change the regime

I refer to the articles, “Why Malays would rather vote for an UMNO-led Barisan than a DAP-dominated Pakatan” by Megat Ibrahim and “DAP is its own enemy” by Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK), respectively. These are two classic examples of what RPK himself said in his article “Mukhriz is bigger than Kedah” : 

“You need to make people hate the DAP Chinese, the Amanah Malays, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Anwar Ibrahim, Mat Sabu, the opposition, etc. This is how the opposition does it and if Umno and Barisan Nasional want to remain in power then this is exactly the same game they need to play. If not, in 2018 Malaysia is going to get a new government”.

That is exactly what RPK and a host of other UMNO cyber troopers are doing. They are putting up smokescreens and diverting the Rakyat’s attention and repeating more lies to make the Rakyat hate DAP to avoid the inevitable end game that they fear the most : A change of regime in 2018 ! 

Just take Megat Ibrahim’s article. He started by saying that he can refute my arguments by using facts and figures from history. I scoured his article and found that his arguments  were all based on some hearsay evidence about the Perak constitutional crisis and  Facebook postings by a few DAP leaders. Using hearsay evidence and Facebook postings to counter statistical facts and figures is like pitting Malaysia against Germany in a football game. A foregone conclusion. RPK (at his new low) even supported Megat’s arguments. I say to the UMNO and BN cyber troppers (including RPK), give us actual facts and figures from history, then we talk. 

The difference between the UMNO cyber troopers and the Pakatan cyber troopers is that the latter are attacking UMNO and BN out of their own volition as they really want a change of regime. They are sick and tired of being deceived by UMNO and BN every General Elections for the past 59 years.  

Just like Najib. Why isn’t there a motion of no confidence against Najib like in Kedah against Mukhriz ? Very simple : The same reason why the question “Where is the RM2.6 billion?” is still unanswered until today. Najib and the powers that be are absolutely corrupted.  

Najib is so corrupted that he will use whatever means possible to hold on to power. Whoever is not for Najib is against Najib. Najib removed all obstacles in his path faster that you can say “Lord Ganesha”. You scratch my back, I scratch your back. Najib puts his sycophants into positions of power. 

Najib is so corrupted that he can tell Ling Liong Sik that he took the SRC money and yet ask Ling to prove it. I am reminded of the Chinese martial arts term called Zou huo ru mo or "martial arts deviation" (Chinese: 走火入魔, literally means "walking fire entering demon") (something like Kundalini Sakti that went awry). It is a Chinese term traditionally used to indicate that something has gone wrong in martial arts training, applied to describe a psychological disorder believed to result during or after martial arts practice. Symptoms include hallucination and paranoia. 

Najib and his supporters are suffering from this martial arts deviation. Just replace the words “martial arts” with “deceive the Rakyat”.  UMNO and BN has been deceiving the Rakyat for the past 59 years until they are suffering from “deceive the Rakyat deviation” syndrome. They are incorrigibly delusional. They are suffering from a serious ailment. They can be likened to the Emperor with new clothes. They pranced around proudly oblivious to the fact that they are actually naked. They will continue to do and say delusional things until they are cured. There is only one cure. CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT !

Nicole Tan Lee Koon

DAP Wanita National Executive Committee (NEC)  member 

DAP Negeri Sembilan State Committee

Thaipusam

Hari Thaipusam merupakan hari yang penting and bermakna kepada penganut agama Hindu. Umat Hindu menunaikan nazar dan menebus dosa atau memohon ampun di atas dosa-dosa sebelum ini. Nazar merupakan permohonan  sesuatu hajat kepada Dewa Murugan. Jika permohonan dikabulkan, maka satu acara kesyukuran akan diadakan.

Pada hari tersebut mereka akan membawa susu yang berwarna putih kerana susu itu dianggap paling suci . Susu ini diisikan dalam belanga tembikar atau aluminium. Belanga ini akan dijunjung di atas kepala dari luar kuil hinggalah ke dalam kuil. Ramai juga lelaki Hindu yang mencukur rambut pada hari tersebut dan menyapukan campuran serbuk cendana dan air di atas kepala. 

Kavadi akan dijunjung di atas bahu atau kepala bagi memohon ampun agar dosa mereka dihapuskan. Kavadi ini diperbuat daripada beberapa rod besi atau kayu yang di atasnya terletak patung dewa Murugan dengan pelbagai saiz dan bentuk. Pembawa kavadi ini terdiri daripada lelaki , perempuan, tua, muda dan kanak-kanak. Berat dan saiz kavadi ini bergantung kepada kemampuan seseorang. Pelbagai cara menyeksa diri bagi menunjukkan mereka memohon ampun. 

Oleh yang demikian, inilah masa untuk kita membuat refleksi kendiri terhadap dosa-dosa kita sebelum ini. Pada pendapat saya,  setakat ini, refleksi yang berlaku hanya menilai dosa-dosa yang telah berlaku. Sepatutnya, kita perlu memikirkan bagaimana untuk bertindak balas sekiranya peristiwa yang sama berlaku pada masa hadapan dan merancang apa yang sepatutnya dibuat pada masa sekarang untuk mengelak dosa-dosa tersebut diulangi. 

Kita seharusnya mengambil iktibar daripada peristiwa-peristiwa tersebut untuk melaksakan sesuatu yang bertujuan supaya kita  boleh menjaga hubungan kita dengan tuhan; hubungan dengan orang lain;  hubungan dengan alam dan juga untuk kebaikan diri sendiri. Selamat menyambut Hari Thaipusam. Semoga diberkati !

Happy Ponggol

Happy Ponggal

Ponggal is celebrated in mid-January (winter solstice in the Hindu calendar) by festival marking the rice harvest to give thanks to the Sun God, named Surya, for a bountiful harvest. 

Ponggal, a mixture of sweet boiled rice is made and offered to  the Sun God or Surya. The name is derived from the Tamil word pongu, meaning "boil over" or "flourish."

New clothes are donned and festivity fills the air in the house during Ponggal. A colourful kolam is made out of rice paste, outlining Surya's chariot. 

In the centre of this is placed a clay pot or ponggal panaai over an earthen stove. The pot is filled with milk and fresh rice and adorned with ginger and tumeric stalks. While the newly harvested rice grains boil in milk, brown sugar or jaggery is added along with cashew nuts, raisins and ghee. 

As the rice mixture boils furiously frothing freely over the pot, family members cry out "pongollo pongal". This is a celebratory cheer which literally means "may this rice boil over". And this is a wish for overflowing fortunes for the family. Visitors greet each other with "paal pongitha?" Which means: "Has the milk boiled over in your house?" 

Traditionally, the rice is cooked over a brick stove in the open yard of the house.

Whilst the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by roasting a turkey and Chinese celebrate winter solstice by eating rice balls and the Hindus celebrate Ponggol by boiling rice in milk, they are all to thank God for the abundant blessings. We should remind ourselves that celebration of  gratefulness should transcend religion and races and let us wish all our HINDU friends "Ponggol o Ponggol" when you see them !!

Impian Malaysia dari kaca mata DAP

12hb Januari 2016 oleh Nicole Tan Lee Koon

Pada 9 Januari 2016, saya sungguh bertuah kerana dapat menghadiri Persidangan Kepimpinan Pakatan Harapan yang penuh bersejarah apabila perjanjian dasar bersama ditandatangani dan dilancarkan. Pakatan Harapan perlu menjadi kuat, bersatu dan teguh untuk memenangi pilihan raya terpenting iaitu PRU 14 akan datang. UMNO amat terdesak saat ini sehingga bergabung tenaga dengan PAS untuk mengaburi mata rakyat Malaysia, terutama orang Melayu demi meneruskan hegemoni mereka dengan cuba memecah-belahkan keutuhan Pakatan Harapan.

Kuasa telah merosakkan UMNO sepenuhnya.

Kini, mereka sampai ke tahap yang mereka tidak peduli sama ada dipandang buruk ataupun tidak. Mereka tidak peduli kerana mereka mengalami perubahan sistematik daripada sebuah kerajaan ‘busuk’ kepada kerajaan teruk dan akhir sekali kepada sebuah kerajaan zalim. Sebuah kerajaan zalim yang membenci pembangkang. Mereka melayan pembangkang seperti musuh.

Daripada melibatkan diri dengan debat sihat bersama pembangkang, kerajaan zalim sebaliknya menggunakan sumber negara (contohnya wang pembayar cukai) untuk memanipulasi media massa. Cuba lihat laporan terpilih milik The Star, NST, Utusan, TV3 dan RTM. Mereka bertindak seperti jurucakap kerajaan. Sebuah kerajaan zalim yang menggunakan taktik kotor seperti 3R (Religion-Agama, Race-Kaum dan Rulers-Pemerintah) untuk menyebabkan perpecahan di kalangan rakyat. Kerajaan zalim, malah sanggup mengkhianati kaumnya sendiri untuk terus kekal di tampuk pemerintahan.

Kini, UMNO dan PAS bergabung tenaga untuk mengulangi pembohongan kononnya DAP sebuah parti berasaskan Cina. Mereka mengulangi pembohongan kononnya DAP sebagai anti-Melayu dan anti-Islam. Mereka mengulangi pembohongan bahawa jika Barisan kalah dalam Pilihan Raya Umum akan datang, orang Melayu kehilangan hak dan kuasa mereka.

 Propaganda ala Nazi

Inilah yang cuba diulangi UMNO tanpa bosan agar rakyat percaya bahawa pembohongan itu satu kebenaran. Kesan propaganda ala Menteri Propaganda Nazi, Joseph Goebbels: mengulangi sesuatu pembohongan sehingga menjadi kebenaran.

Menurut statistik yang dinyatakan oleh Lim Kit Siang dalam ucapan beliau di Seremban pada 10 Januari 2015 di majlis makan malam Adun Senawang, P Gunasekaran, dari 1970 hingga 2000, demografi di Malaysia menunjukkan bahawa jumlah penduduk Melayu meningkat daripada 44 peratus kepada 55 peratus; Cina menurun daripada 34 peratus kepada 24 peratus dan India menurun daripada 19 peratus kepada 7 peratus.

Beliau juga mengatakan ada 114 kerusi majoriti-Melayu daripada 162 kawasan pilihan raya parlimen di Semenanjung. Menurut statistik itu, bagaimanakah mungkin golongan Melayu hilang kekuasaannya di negara ini? Lagipun, ada lebih ramai ahli Parlimen Melayu selepas kebangkitan Pakatan. Ia penting untuk Pakatan Harapan tidak terjerumus ke dalam perangkap mereka dengan tidak meletakkan calon Melayu DAP di kawasan kubu Melayu.

Pembohongan yang diada-adakan UMNO dan PAS berniat untuk memperdaya golongan Melayu. Ia taktik berbahaya dan jahat. Ia bukan setakat merendah-rendahkan kebijaksanaan orang Melayu tetapi merendah-rendahkan orang Melayu secara umumnya.

Sekiranya pembohongan itu dipercayai, ia satu kerugian besar buat Melayu.

Isu 1MDB belum selesai

Sebelum ini, Najib mengatakan bahawa kerajaan tewas dalam perang persepsi (tanggapan) berkenaan 1MDB. Dia mendakwa rakyat hanya percaya kepada pembohongan tentang 1MDB dan bukannya perkara sebenar. Kini, mesej Tahun Baru Najib atau pembohongan terbarunya ialah 1MDB bukan lagi satu isu. Isu 1MDB telah diselesaikan. Wujudkah mana-mana rakyat Malaysia berfikiran waras yang bersetuju akan hal ini?

Di manakah wangnya? Siapakah yang memberi wangnya? Ke manakah wang itu pergi? Apakah motif mereka yang dipanggil sebagai penderma itu? Berapa ramaikah yang ‘menderma’ wang berkenaan? Di manakah baki wang itu? Semua soalan itu sedang berlegar dalam minda setiap masyarakat Malaysia yang berfikiran waras. Isu 1MDB semestinya belum selesai. Kita perlu ulang soalan tanpa jemu sehingga kita dapat jawapannya: “Di manakah RM 2.6 billion itu?”

Bagaimanakah caranya untuk kita membalas kembali hujah kotor seperti DAP anti-Melayu atau anti-Islam? Sejak hari pertama, DAP bersumpah untuk menjadi sebuah parti untuk semua kaum, tidak kira Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan, Iban dan sebagainya. Kita perlu bertindak balas ke atas kempen jahat mereka secara efektif dengan mengulangi komitmen kita untuk menjadi sebuah parti untuk semua, tanpa mengira kaum, agama dan negeri, tanpa jemu.

Kita perlu mempertahankan diri kita dengan fakta dan angka untuk meredakan ketakutan rakyat bahawa kononnya kebangkitan DAP mengakibatkan kehilangan kuasa politik orang Melayu. Ini cara terbaik untuk melawan kempen sebegitu. Inilah impian DAP buat Malaysia. Untuk semua kaum dan agama!

*Penulis merupakan Ahli Majlis Eksekutif Kebangsaan (NEC) Wanita DAP dan Ahli Jawatankuasa DAP Negeri Sembilan

http://www.roketkini.com/2016/01/12/impian-malaysia-dari-kaca-mata-dap/

DAP's Malaysian Dream

                                                             

DAP’s Malaysian Dream

On the 9th of January 2016, I had the good fortune of attending the historic Pakatan Harapan’s leadership conference of which the common policy framework (CPF) in the form of the Pakatan Harapan Agreement was signed and launched.

Pakatan Harapan must be strong, united and steadfast to win the mother of all elections, i.e GE 14. UMNO is so desperate now that they are joining forces with PAS to deceive Malaysians, especially the Malays in order to continue with their hegemony by attempting to break Pakatan Harapan's unity.

Power has corrupted UMNO absolutely. Now, they have reached a stage whereby they don't care whether you perceived them to be bad or not. They don't care because they have experienced a systemic metamorphosis from a rotten government into a bad government and finally into a wicked government.

A wicked government abhors opposition. They treat opposition like enemies. Instead of engaging the opposition with healthy debates, a wicked government uses national resources (i.e tax payers' monies) to manipulate the mass media. Look at The Star, NST, Utusan, TV3 and RTM's selective reporting. They are like the government's mouthpieces.

A wicked government uses dirty tricks like 3 Rs (Religion, Race and Rulers) to cause disunity among the Rakyat. A wicked government will use all dirty tactics in order to perpetuate their evil rule. A wicked government will even betray their own race in order to hold on to power. Now, UMNO and PAS have joined forces to repeat a lie that DAP is a Chinese party. They repeat the lie that DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam. They repeat the lie that in the event Barisan loses the next General Elections, the Malays would lose power. This is what UMNO is trying to repeat ad nauseam to make the Rakyat believe a lie to be the truth.  The Goebbels' effect : repeat a lie many times until it becomes the truth.

Based on statistics given by Lim Kit Siang in his speech made in Seremban on the 10th of January 2015 at the ADUN (YB P. Guna) Senawang's dinner, he said that from 1970 until 2000, the demographics of Malaysia has shown that the population of Malays have increased from 44% to 55 %; Chinese dropped from 34 % to 24 % and Indians dropped from 19 % to 7 %. Kit also said that there were 114 Malay-majority seats out of 162 parliamentary constituencies in the peninsula. The rest comprised 22 Chinese-majority seats and 29 mixed seats and there are no Indian-majority seat. Based on the above statistics, how can the Malays lose power in this country ?  

Further, there were more Malay MPs after Pakatan's resurgence. It is imperative that the Pakatan Harapan do not fall into their trap by not fielding DAP's Malay candidates in Malay strongholds.

The lies perpetrated by UMNO and PAS are intended to deceive the Malays. It is a dangerous and wicked tactic. It is not only insulting to the intelligence of the Malays, it is insulting the Malays in general. If these lies are believed then they would do a great disservice to the Malays.

Before this, Najib alleged that the government lost the perception war on 1MDB. He claimed that the Rakyat only believed the lies about 1MDB and not the truth.

Now, Najib's New Year's message or latest lie is that 1MDB is not an issue anymore. 1MDB issue is now settled. Does any right thinking Malaysian agree? Where's the money? Who gave the money? Where did the money go? What was the motive of the so called donor(s)? How many people 'donated' the money? Where is the remainder of the money ? These questions are bombinating in every right thinking Malaysian's mind now. The 1MDB issue is definitely not settled. We need to repeat this question, ad nauseam until we receive an answer : "Where is the RM2.6 billion?"

How do we counter such wicked arguments that DAP is anti Malay or anti Islam ? Since day one, DAP swore to be the party for all races, i.e Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans etc. We need to effectively respond to their wicked campaign by repeating ad nauseam, our commitment to be a party for all, regardless of race, religion and region. We need to arm ourselves with the facts and figures to allay fears that the DAP’s resurgence would result in a loss of Malay political power. This is the best way to counter such campaign. This is DAP's Malaysian dream. For all races and religion ! 

Nicole Tan Lee Koon

DAP Wanita National Executive Committee (NEC)  member

DAP Negeri Sembilan State Committee

Blessed New Year !

As I write, we have celebrated Thanksgiving; Winter Solstice festival and Christmas. Soon it will be the start of another New Year. I look forward to a better New Year and new challenges. 

 

We should not make new year resolutions, we should live out our new year resolutions. Get cracking, my friends. Life is too short to fret but yet do not spend all your time smelling the roses. Have a balanced life. Live well, eat well and exercise well. 

 

For the pessimists :

 

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” – Neil Gaiman;

AND for the optimists :

 

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley.

 

Have a blessed New Year !!