Screenshots

Screenshots went down around 18:55hr yesterday after suspected Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks from unauthorised intrusion into the network. The NOC at Myloca was able to thwart the DDOS attack within minutes of our alert message.

Screenshots was brought back up around midnight last night, and a clean bill was pronounced at 09:00hr this morning.

Thanks my faithful two volunteers, Jerry Chong (Kuala Lumpur) and EL Ho (USJ), for keeping vigil at the data centre till the wee hours last night. Colin Charles (Melbourne) will do a post-resurrection 'ritual' after this.

SOURCE: Malaysiakini, Feb 27, 2006

UPDATE: Screenshots experienced a second round of DDOS on Monday afternoon. It was subsequently brought down for security audit.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (2)

A reader posted elsewhere in this blog an excerpt from Singapore Straits Times, an eulogy of the late S. Rajaratnam by foreign editor Warren Fernandez .

"In Malaysia, a row has erupted between the New Straits Times and their detractors, who have hit out at the paper for publishing a cartoon - a separate one from the original 12 depicting the prophet - which they say upset some Muslims. The newspaper has since apologised. Yet, underlying the dispute is a bitter power struggle, with racial overtones, that has been raging in Kuala Lumpur's media and political circles.

As one Malaysian editor put it:'The showdown is only 10% about the cartoon, and 90% about everything else."

Has anyone ever tried to fathom Pak Lah's wisdom in strategically placing two clashing maestros to helm the information machineries at the government and partisan political party sides, respectively, both with Pak Lah as the Commander-in-Chief?

On the surface, the appointments were sequential. Pak Lah placed Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan at The NSTP in 2004, and Zainuddin Maidin at MOI in 2006. Barely one week after the new Cabinet line-up was announced and the two senior pressmen clashed in public eyes, shamelessly.

We can feel the intense animosity, to the extent that one party was being accused of exposing Umno's internal secrets, and the other taking a jibe at "si dubuk tua dan singa sarkas pencen".

There must be a Pak Lah wisdom behind this, but it's certainly beyond most of us.

Famous last words: Let's stay off politics and leave it to the political animals.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (1)

UPDATED VERSION. Here are two photos which came in at 09:28 hrs, courteousy Nur Liza Annuar and her brother -- flood water was at waist height:

I was jolted up from sleep by a phonecall from Dr. Jacob George, who stays in TTDI Jaya, Shah Alam, which is a few kilometers away from menteri besar Dr Khir Toyo's official residence, separated by a few rivers where fates are worlds apart.

With words rattled in shock and agony, Jacob said his area was blacked-out, phoneline went dead, flood water was rising, and help has not arrived.

Before he put down his mobilephone, he announced that water has risen to the second step of the staircase leading to the bed room upstairs, and still rising. I could hear his son crying in the background.

There are thousands of working class dwellers in the areas, largely Malays, some with posh cars and others with decent ones, which somewhat denote the diverse social standing in the common eyes. But when floods invade in the wee hours, they are cut down to the same size. Kids moaned their ruined toys while parents started to count their losses of damaged appliances, furnitures, pionos and cars. Moving TVs upstairs as water keeps rising becomes the only passtime.

Their cars, soaked in flood water, howled out the same helpless sirens, from streets to streets, until the battery went dead.

Welcome to Khir Toyo's Selangor, which he touted as Malaysia's first Developed State.

This year alone, I was stranded twice along the stretch of NKVE from the Sungai Kayu Ara toll plaza right to the USJ exit of ELITE highway. What used to take me to reach home in 25 minutes took almost two hours. There were bad backflows of traffic as the stretch near the Guthrie Corridor Expressway entrance, where The NSTP printing plant is located, got flooded even with a short downpour.

Driving up the ramp from NKVE into ELITE highway, you could see the riverbank breaking its capacity with confluence feeding from Sungai Gambier and Sungai Damansara, before distributing the water into the highway. Batu Tiga folks should know this well.

As I blogged this, Jacob has joined some twenty UiTM students to roam the area to offer their voluntary services to those who need help. I reminded them to MMS me pictures taken through their mobilephones.

Mother Nature, with her wrath incurred, has been merciful to offer her outrage earlier on. Nobody had bothered to listen.

Jacob has been staying in Shah Alam, the Selangor state capital, for almost 12 years. He said this is the worse flood he has ever had. He had raised the alarm of the impending floods by posting pictures of breaking riverbank near Giant Hypermarket Shah Alam in my community portal, USJ.com.my. And that was way back in 2001.

As property developers gang-raped the ecosystem of Bukit Cerakah and the former Guthrie estates, and huge acres around the areas, money-spinning becomes irreversible. So does perennial gush of flood water.

Welcome to Khir Toyo's Developed State. Joceline Tan says the man has managed to keep his head above waters.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBacks (2)

Breaking news from Kuching:

The Berita Petang Sarawak newspaper 《 砂拉越晚报 》 has been suspended for two weeks for publishing a Prophet Muhammed caricature accompanying a story headlined: "Kami bersedia melancarkan perang jihad" on Feb 4. However, at the time of this blog entry, Screenshots could not verify what cartoon was used.

Berita Petang Sarawak is an affiliate of International Times 《 国际时报 》.

UPDATES: Read Malaysiakini.

TV3 & ntv7

According to a Bernama story time-stamped 17:26hr, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik responded to questions from reporters and stated that his ministry can take action against two of Malaysia's private television stations if they are proven to have shown footages of the controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

However, Keng Yaik said the action would be based on recommendation from the Internal Security Ministry.

Earlier, media reports said apart from RTM, TV3 and NTV7, two private TV stations owned by Media Prima, had allegedly also aired footages of the caricatures. According to Bernama, the Internal Security Ministry is currently looking into the matter.

Dr Lim's ministry, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), is responsible for the licensing of private television stations in the country, while the Ministry of Information oversees the government-owned channels, TV1 and TV2.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Tomorrow, there will be a public rally to rekindle the Spirit of Dato' Onn Jaafar at his birthplace, Batu Pahat, Johor.

I remember Dato' Onn, largely through the history books, as a visionary Bangsa Malaysia who was ahead of his time. During the founding years of Malaya, he used to settle his squabbles with the late Tan Cheng Lock, who was a monumental leader for the Chinese community, through exchanges of pantun into late nights, and they would, without fail, patch up after both were drained of the pantun juices.

Though law and order was evident during the British colonial rule, never was police intimidation used to settle their personal scores as Dato' Onn and Tan Cheng Lock wanted to work for the larger good of the country.

That was five decades ago, when commercial life was less complicated, powerplay was gentlemanly and civil, and the system was much less corrupt in all walks of life.

Dato' Onn founded Umno, but he had to leave the party, and was plunged into political oblivion, when his proposal to open Umno to all races in the country was rejected. Dato' Onn died a noble man, but revelled by generations of younger Malaysians for his broad-based political struggles. He struggled for all Malaysians, not just the Malays.

Neverthless, five decades after the passing of Dato' Onn, Umno has remained communal till this day.

But the concept of Bariasan Nasional, with Umno as the power backbone in a multi-partied coalition, seems to have sustained the test of time. It even went on to win over 95% of electorate's mandate in the 2004 General Election.

Lately, rumblings have gathered accent at the Umno grassroots. Screenshots collated some of these unsettling noise within Umno and sent out an alert several days ago. I hope the PM and the DPM are reading my blog, for once.

The link is available here.

We must teach our children that Dato' Onn was a monument in Malaysian history. He stood for good virtue and humility. And he was a good Muslim who lived up to every facade of Islam Hadhari that Pak Lah introduced five decades later as the leader of the very party that Dato' Onn founded. This part of history needs highlight repeatedly lest we forget.

At a time of global cultural clashings, at the local level, it's indeed the opportune time to rekindle the Spirit of Dato' Onn Jaafar and benefit from it, Umno and non-Umno members alike.

Republished. Originally posted at 08:56 AM

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

The Chinese media took over twenty hour hours after The NST had published its 'Unreserved Apology' to realise TV2 Mandarin News has been made a 'bullet' in a powerplay between Pak Lah's two media maestros, namely Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan at Jalan Riong, and Zainuddin Maidin at RTM.

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Merdeka Review editor has an analysis on why The NST had chosen to omit 8 paragraphs, which were fully published in the online version, from being read by the mass readers of the print version.

The Merdeka Review editor says Pak Lah did not benefit anything from the ensuing feud between Kalimullah and ZAM, whom he sees as proxies in a war between Pak Lah and the former Umno president, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Little Birds say the curtain will close abruptly when the feuding parties come to terms with one another, and possibly with a 'scape-goat' found as early as next week.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Via Tony Thien, Malaysiakini:

The sacked editor on duty who admitted responsibility for the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in the February 4 issue of the Sarawak Tribune today described Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's decision not to take action against the New Straits Times as "a wise one as there is a need to end the controversy and not to go on a witch-hunt."

“Let's forgive and forget,” was how Lester Melanyi, 40, described his reaction to the episode that landed him jobless after the management of the Sarawak Tribune blamed him for republishing the caricature Muslims consider blasphemous. [...]

After the interview, Lester sent a SMS to this reporter: “Please tell Pak Lah that I need a job to feed my family.”

Probably, Lester has watched RTM and TV3 air the Danish caricature on Feb 3, and felt it safe to republish it in Sarawak Tribune for the next day's edition on Feb 4.

Just a thought.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

It has now been established that TV2 may not be the only television station running the Danish caricature footage on February 3, as alleged in Berita Harian yesterday.

The footage, which came from wire service APTN, was actually shown by another government-owned station, TV1's 'Warta Pagi' - a Malay-language news programme . It is believed to have also run the clip at 7am on the same day, says Malaysiakini.

A source in RTM told malaysiakini that most foreign items in TV2's Mandarin news were usually a translation of TV1's Malay-language programme which appeared earlier in the day.

NST's evidence

How did The NST get hold of the jugular to make Minister of Infomation Zainuddin Maidin look like a fool?

Little Birds say a person from the radio section in RTM has managed to tape the Feb 3 TV2 Mandarin News archive and pass it out. RTM launched a full-scale investigation yesterday, at the instruction of both the PM and DPM. The man has been identified and made to talk.

It is not known whether this is the same copy that dropped into The NST's hands. But Satar is on the run.

And he talked before he was on the run.

Related to this, media report has it that TV3 and ntv7, which are all owned by Media Prima, a listed company which owns The NSTP and linked to Umno, also carried similar footage on Feb 3 though they have niether confirm nor deny the news thus far.

If TV2 Mandarin News, the Chinese section head Goh is shitting bricks right now, is feeling threatend as a victim of media witch-hunting, it may turn out that it is not alone.

Meanwhile, Satar is on the run. And he talked before he went on the run.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

SOURCE: The NST, Feb 25
This story breaks the cardinal rule of good journalism.
There is no source attributable to a reliable spokesperson.

I have listened to my Muslims elderly, my Muslim neighbour from the old kampung, and my Muslim friends in Umno and PAS. When they told me The NST has hurt their feelings, I lent them my listening ears. I don't doubt their feelings. They are, after all, my brothers. I don't and I won't play poker with the feelings of my Muslim brothers.

I still kept some of the SMS messages from some of these Muslims brethren, which I received before and after The NST has published and republished the Non Sequitur cartoon, complete with time-stamps. I will show them to the police if requested. Let the law take its course and let justice be seen to be done.

Malaysia is my country. I want it better for my kids. For Malaysia and for my kids, I shall soldier on.

Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892 - 1984) inspired this posting.

* * *

LINKS:
- Lim Kit Siang's blog
- Merdeka Review

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (45) | TrackBacks (2)

Via Malaysiakini:

The minister (of Information Zainuddin Maidin) was also stunned by questions from two different reporters that TV3 and ntv7 had also aired the caricatures.

“When!... This is news to me,” said Zainuddin, a former journalist himself.

Have TV3 and ntv7, which are all owned by Media Prima linked to Umno, made voluntary declaration to either deny or confirm the story? We need an answer before the next kaboom.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (3)

It's official.

A breaking news from Penang says The NST case is closed. No action will be taken against the daring English tabloid. Please stay tuned to TV news.

We all have misspelt double-standards several times, so I should be taking time off to mourn Sarawak Tribune and Guangming Night Edition for heaven's sake.

Compared to TV3, TV2 and NST, which escaped the gallows for the same 'sin' of varied degrees, these two little papers were evidently born of different fate.

Feb 9, 2006: Sarawak Tribune, which was in the business of presenting news, found itself in the awkward situation of having to learn of its own fate in The NST (see picture above).

Here's Jeff Ooi signing off. Good-bye and good luck.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (44) | TrackBacks (1)

Watch out for NSTP Group EIC Hishmauddin Aun (picture below) and the puppeteer behind. Brace yourself, Malaysia's witch-hunting season has just begun!

While The NST appears to offer its 'unreserved apology' and announces its police report on a blog over the Han Sequitur cartoon it twice published and hurt the Muslims' feeling, Berita Harian declares an all-out war on the Minister of Information Zainuddin Maidin, blaming him for non-action over what it alleged as allowing RTM's Mandarin News in TV2 for airing the blesphemous Danish caricature of Prophet Muhammad on February 3 and getting away scot-free.

SOURCE: Berita Harian, February 24, 2006

However,al though The NST tells its readers in the print version that it is telling all that it has told the Internal Security Ministry, the portion implicating TV2 Mandarin News was only availale on the online version, running eight additional paragraphs.

Berita Harian, quoting The NST's reply to a show-cause letter from the Internal Security Ministry, says RTM has aired the caricatures in a government TV channel under the direct administration of "the country's most experienced journalist, Zainuddin Maidin, who was the deputy Information Minister at the material time".

The NST also asked the government whether appropriate actions should be taken against Zainuddin, or his ex-boss, former Informastion Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, or his former colleague, former deputy Information Minsiter Donald Lim Siang Chai for letting off TV2.

Summarily, with a little bit of arm-twisting the government and a lttle raise in the poker stake, The NST editors wanted a fair deal working to their favour so that everybody could walk away free.

If you remember well, the fate of Sarawak Tribune and Guang Ming are now big cold slabs in history. Don't call it double standards, but Toman Mamara finally took his "honourable retirement" for the mistake his editor did in Sarawak Tribune while Guang Ming bit the bullets for being suspended for two weeks and moved on.

Yes, memory is that short but nobody had pleaded clemency, the same way they did RTM and the ministers, on the journalists' behalf at that time.

Domestic delinquency in Umno

Last night, Screenshots has warned that Umno, which owns The NSTP Group of newspapers, is facing a serious matter of household delinquency that, if left unresolved, will negatively impact the party president and his deputy, both sequentially and consequentially, and even conversely.

I hope my grave concern is heard by the Umno chieftains and grassroots. Do the right thing. Rein in your traitors from within.

UPDATES: Malaysiakini reported a source story last night saying that Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan, in his capacity as the NSTP Group deputy chairperson and editorial adviser, assured editors and journalists that there was no cause for alarm.

Kalimullah was reported to have reiterated that the cartoon was not offensive and that the board of directors at a meeting this morning agreed to back the daily's editors.

"Even in the worst case scenario, he said the suspension would not last more than two weeks," Malaysiakini reported.

Meanwhile, the CEO's office at The NSTP Group has issued an urgent staff advisory in anticipation of a peaceful demonstration to be staged by PAS members in front of Balai Berita after the Friday prayers this morning. I am reproducing it for my friends and readers in Jalan Riong who may have missed the advisory in their course of work. Read on for more details.

Staff Advisory from NSTP CEO's Office

We learned that a public demonstration against New Straits Times is planned to be held tomorrow Friday February 24th 2006 commencing after Friday Prayers in front of our Balai Berita Bangsar office.

Following this, the Company has decided on precautionary security measures and all staff are advised to follow the advisory below.

1. All Balai Berita Entrance & Exit Gates will be closed from 1:30pm and will remain closed until situation permits itself. No vehicles will be allowed to enter or exit Balai Berita during this period of closure. Please call (03) 2282-3131 or check your email (where relevant) for information on the reopening of Entrance and Exit Gates.

2. We understand that the Police will close Jalan Riong to ALL traffic from 1:30pm. NO VEHICLES will be allowed to enter or exit Jalan Riong until the Police reopens the road.

3. Plan your work schedule with the above road and gate closures in mind:

a. Staff are strongly discouraged to set appointments in Balai Berita with outside parties in the afternoon. Please reorganize your scheduled meetings to another date.
b. Leave Balai Berita before 1:30pm if you have outside appointments in the afternoon;
c. Ensure all third party guests leave Balai Berita before 1:30pm;
d. Everyone will be denied entry into Balai Berita area during the Police road closures. The Police may redirect traffic to use detour roads.
e. Staff who are denied entry to Balai Berita are advised to stay away from the area until Balai Berita area is cleared by the Police. Please call (03) 2282-3131 or check your email (where relevant) for information on the reopening of Entrance and Exit Gates.

4. Staff are not allowed to loiter around Balai Berita perimeters. All staff in Balai Berita building are required to remain indoor at their workplace. Staff found loitering will be directed by Security Personnel to return to their workplace. For your safety, please follow the instructions of our Security Personnel without question.

5. Staff cars parked along Jalan Riong and Jalan Liku are advised to remove their ‘NST Car Park’ stickers. It is highly encouraged to avoid parking along Jalan Riong and Jalan Liku to avoid unnecessary damage against your vehicle.

6. The Company will make extra car park space allocation at the Roof Top (6th Floor), utilizing the all the sports facility area at the Roof Top. Please use these allocated space.

7. No cars are allowed to be parked in the ‘tunnel’ or ‘driveway’ area.

8. Staff are strongly advised to remain calm and composed and do not provoke or antagonise the demonstrators.

9. For security purposes, staff are advised not to wear or display (eg: shirts, caps, newspapers, briefcase, stickers, etc) that may be associated with NSTP, NSTP brands (i.e: NST, Berita Harian, Malay Mail or Harian Metro) on Friday February 24th 2006.

10. Should building evacuation exercise be necessary, please follow the proper evacuation procedures. (Please refer to Section 7 Evacuation Plan & Fire Prevention in your NSTP Corporate Information Directory i.e the ‘Black Directory Book’ containing also the pictures of all employees).

11. As a stern advice, staff are strictly prohibited from participating in the demonstration in any form; failing which disciplinary action shall be taken against the staff.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBacks (5)

Little Birds say there was a floor briefing in The NST yesterday. Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan told those present that he stood by his newspaper's decision to publish the Non Sequitur cartoon, and would personally write today's frontpage.

Here it is, without the courage for a byline:

SOURCE: The NST, Feb 24, 2006

The NST admits that it has misjudged how people would react to Wiley Miller's syndicated cartoon Non Sequitur it published twice on Feb 20 and Feb 22, respectively.

"It is a process involving the human factor, and human errs," The NST says in the frontpage apology.

Blame, blame, blame

Prominently, NST 's apology, which it qualifies as an unreserved one, comes with blames.

Internally, the paper blames a sub-editor for letting through the cartoon. Externally, it blames "one blog and some media, including (Minister of Information) Zainuddin 's (Maidin) RTM" for highlighting the issue relating its publishing of Non Sequitur cartoon.

On February 22, it blamed A. Kadir Jasin and this blogger for conspiring in a personal vendetta againt The NST, which it claims as an institution in Malaysia.

Today, the tabloid says it has lodged a police report on Tuesday (Feb 21, 2006) against "the blog for inciting religious hatred against The NST".

It is also apparent that The NST, a self-professed fighter of media freedom, is schematically out to kill the whistle-blowers, starting with a blog. Though Screenshots has not been explicitly named, to be prepared for any eventuality, I need legal help.

On the other hand, in today's frontpage, Berita Harian starts to blame RTM's Mandarin News in TV2 for airing the blesphemous Danish caricature of Prophet Muhammad on February 3 and getting away scot-free.

Meaningful days are looming ahead for Malaysians who do care for the wellbeing of this country. Brace yourself, Malaysia's witch-hunting season has just begun.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 05:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBacks (4)

Primed at 8.5% dividend in 1987 and then slipped to the lowest ebb of 4.25%in 2002, the EPF has been improving on the returns of cash deposits entrusted by its members.

From 4.5% in 2003 to 4.75% for 2004, we are now given 5% for 2005. Thank you and keep it up!

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 05:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Did you hear that? Former Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that the editor of The NST should be suspended for "two to three months" for publishing twice a comic strip linked to the controversy over the Prophet Muhammad caricatures.

SOURCE: The NST, Feb 24, 2006

"Although the newspaper is not suspended, the editor should be suspended. Because one can see that when he prints it, he doesn't understand the feelings of the Muslims," said Mahathir in a Bernama story time-stamped 20:18hr. Quote:

"So, why do you publish it (the comic strip). It shows that you lack understanding of the sentiments of the Muslims. And again they reproduce it yesterday as if to say that what is so wrong about this." [...]

"If you have done wrong, action will be taken and the action has to be consistent," he said, referring to the suspension of the Sarawak Tribune and Guang Ming newspapers for reproducing the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

So, is Umno feeling disturbed by the bad press plaguing its mouthpiece, The NST?

Evidently, Umno members, even the faceless, Internet-connected grassroots, are feeling a little ruffled and unsettled.

More importantly, it looks like a matter of household delinquency in the Umno family that, if left unresolved, will negatively impact the party president and his deputy, both sequentially and consequentially, and even conversely.

That will not be good for the whole country. Read on to find out why.

There is an interesting story in AgendaDaily which focusses on one challenging issue for the Umno members to ponder: Is close proximity to the Prime Minister a license to expose Umno secrets?

Some others have started the questioning, albeit feebly. But the decibels are getting higher, like this one.

Pemuda Umno is more subdue in poise, but it is getting restless, evident from the collective accent and individual rumblings.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (3)

A. Kadir Jasin speaks to AgendaDaily.com.

“Dendam apa?... sedangkan masa saya jadi Pengarang Kumpulan NST dan Ketua Pengarang Kumpulan dulu mereka tak ada lagi di NST.

“Jadi saya tak faham apa yang mereka maksudkan saya ada dendam peribadi tu.”

"Mereka (NST) bercakap mengenai kebebasan akhbar tetapi bila kita tulis kritik mereka... mereka kata ini vendetta... vendetta apa... jadi mereka ni perkataan vendetta pun tak faham.

“Saya berhenti dari NST bukan pasai depa pun dan bukan zaman depa pun... saya berhenti di zaman Tun Dr Mahathir. Jadi nak dendam apa,” katanya.

According to AgendaDaily, Kadir has responded to the NST Page 2 story on Feb 22, titled What The NST says, via a clarification sent to NST Group EIC Hishamuddin Aun, and he hopes that it will be published.

In the event that the clarification is not published in the next few days, Kadir will distribute it to all newspapers. He tells AgendaDaily:

“Surat itu supaya semua orang tahu apa sebenarnya yang berlaku. Bagi saya kalau dah buat salah... minta maaf sajalah."

The message: You are what you write..

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

The fate of Non Sequitur changed overnight in Malaysia. The comic strip by Wiley Miller, which caused The NST to get a 'show-cause' letter from the government, has been discontinued as of today.

Non Sequitur has since been replaced with Wizard of Id by Parker and Hart.

Why axe Non Sequitur at this juncture, one might ask? Is it an admission of guilt for having published a controversial instalment on Feb 20, and defiantly re-published it on Feb 22 despite having caused much furore among the Muslim community in Malaysia?

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 06:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | TrackBacks (0)

Here it is!

SOURCE: The New Straits Times, Feb 23, 2006

The government says, by publishing the caricature which "was inappropriate and could invite negative reactions in the country, especially the Muslims", The NST has breached the conditions of the newspaper's publishing permit under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

The NST has three days to give reasons in writing why actions shouldn't be taken against it.

Berita Harian, the sister newspaper that NST Group EIC Hishamuddin Aun edits, carries the story as the frontpage side-bar.

Screenshots beats all media to break the news on The NST being issued the show-cause letter at 18:16hr yesterday.

After suppressing the story for a day, Wong Sulong and Ho Kay Tat finally decided to run the news on Page N3 and Page 2 in their respective tabloids today.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Screenshots is made to understand that PAS Youth will submit a memorandum pursuant to the issue to the Internal Security Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, at 10.30am at the PM's Office today

The delegation will comprise PAS Youth Exco members led by deputy chief, Ustaz Idris Ahmad.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 05:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBacks (3)

UPDATED VERSION. Minister of Information Zainuddin Maidin (ZAM) described The NST's decision to re-publish today a Non Sequitur cartoon by Wiley Miller, which it originally published on Feb 20 and had induced several police reports yesterday, as unwise and a provocation that is uncalled for'.

ZAM said he received many phone calls and text messages (SMS) from the public who were outraged by the paper's action. "Bila dah tahu timbul kemarahan orang ramai, NST patut lebih sensitif," ZAM said.

He said, by right, a responsible media organisation must play a role to calm the situation and not to cause further tension.

He regretted that The NST had acted insensitive towards Islam and the Muslim community, and had gone against the directive from the Prime Minister who has repeatedly reminded the media to be extremely careful when handling such issues.

ZAM added that the issue was discussed in the Cabinet meeting chaired by DPM Najib Abdul Razak today in which Cabinet members, including non-Muslim ministers, had expressed their regrets over NST's actions.

He said a decision has been taken at the Cabinet meeting. He, however, said the decision will only be announced by PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also the Internal Security Minister, when he returns from Australia tonight. See Bernama story here and here.

Apologise, say Umno and PAS Youths

Umno Youth today demanded The NST Group Editor-in-Chief (picture left) to apologise whole-heartedly to Muslims and all races in Malaysia for publishing a Non Sequitur cartoon by Wiley Miller on Feb 20. Umno Youth said the caricature had ridiculed and hurt the feelings of the Muslims. See Press Statement here.

Meanwhile, PAS Youth rejected the clarification given by The NST today pursuant to the incident, and issued a 24-hour ultimatum for The NST to offer its unreserved public apology to all Muslims in the country. Failing which, PAS members will stage a demonstration in front of Balai Berita in Jalan Riong on Friday, Feb 24. See HarakahDaily report here.

'Show-cause' letter

Meanwhile, Little Birds in the mainstream media said The NST has been issued a 'show-cause' letter pertaining to the issue. However, its content was not known, neither is the timeframe for The NST to submit its reply.

Screenshots was made to understand that NSTP CEO Syed Faisal Albar and Group EIC Hishamuddin Aun were summoned to a closed-door meeting with DPM Najib Razak at 5.00pm yesterday.

However, The NST decided to go ahead with today's provocative Page 2 story after the meeting with Najib.

Little Birds suggested to Screenshots that the copy, which carried no by-line, was written by neither Hishamuddin nor his Group Editor, Brendan Pereira. It's by someone else who thought blessings had been given from 'the very top'.

UPDATES: In a dispatch time-stamped 21:52hr, Bernama quoted deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharom as saying that Hishamuddin and NST Group Editor were summoned by the Internal Security Ministry today to give their explanation over the issue.

Johari said officers of the ministry would submit a report based on the editors' explanation to the PM. Johari added that action could be taken against NST if the government was not satisfied with its explanation in twice publishing the cartoon.

Watch this space.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBacks (4)

When you decide to be a whistle-blower, just be mindful. Often times, the Messenger gets killed, the original issue thwarted. Might is Right.

Whistles blew like blaring horns on The NST yesterday, and this is how the self-proclaimed 'Malaysia's newspaper of record' reacts to the questions from the Nation, claiming innocence and feeling victimised (Feb 22, Page 2):

Police report by PAS Youth Chief Salahuddin Ayub

Police report by MAPAN president Dr Ma’amor Osman

Source: Malaysiakini (Chinese Edition)

The typical NST spin shifts into a higher gear, claiming ownership of being media freedom fighters, and it says:

The NST also reproduced the caricature today, apparently defiant, showing no remorse.

On February 20, Screenshots readers asked me two questions which I feel obligated to highlight since it has become an issue of public interest. However, I have also decided that these questions are best to be answered by no one but the perpetrators, namely Hishamuddin Aun and his editors.

The questions, which are reprinted in toto in Sin Chew Daily (February 22, Page 12), and to which The NST had dodged answering, remain valid, and I quote my original text:

The readers asked me whether the cartoon is tentamount to mocking Prophet Mohammad?

They also asked me, by carrying the derogatory comic at a time when the global controversy over the offensive caricature of Prophet Mohammad is about to ease off, whether it serves anybody any purpose?

So back to the core issue.

Should the senior editors of The NST be subject to a unique set of moral standard different from those bestowed to the purged editors at the Sarawak Tribune?

Is the personal opinion of Hishamuddin Aun, the NSTP Group EIC (picture left), pursuant to the caricature, more indispensible than those of The NST employees and the Nation?

We shall let justice take its own course, and it will be seen to take its own course while the Court of Public Opinion preside, at home and abroad.

This is what The NST postures as the key issue in the whole controversy:

The Big Picture, with the controversial caricature reproduced:

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 08:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (55) | TrackBacks (8)

Muslims in Malaysia have reacted to the daring English tabloid editors who work in what Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan postured as the country's newspaper of record.

Bernama says a political party and three NGOs -- The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM), the Peninsular Malay Students Federation (GPMS) and Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA) -- which are under the auspices of the Majlis Angkatan Permuafakatan NGO-NGO Malaysia (MAPAN), have filed police reports. They wanted action to be taken.

PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub is to follow up with a Press Conference at 11.00am today. PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa declared PAS will participate in the World Protest Day against the blasphemous caricature of Prophet Muhammad scheduled for Friday, March 3.

It's heard that The NST will defend itself with a reprint of the comic on Page 2 today while The Star and theSun will not run the story despite receiving newsflash from Bernama.

UPDATES: Sin Chew Daily, Malaysiakini, Malaysiakini *Chinese), Malaysiakini (BM), HarakahDsily, SK Thew's blog.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 03:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

I'll be Celcom-ed to listen to Steve Jones today. There's this thing called MoSoSo.

Text me if there's new development on the daring English tabloid editors.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Screenshots was alerted to look at a comic strip published in a national English tabloid today.

The readers asked me whether the cartoon is tentamount to mocking Prophet Mohammad?

They also asked me, by carrying the derogatory comic at a time when the global controversy over the offensive caricature of Prophet Mohammad is about to ease off, whether it serves anybody any purpose?

The tabloid that runs the above comic strip commands a sizeable reach as it has an audited circulation of 135,000 copies per day, making the cartoon extensively exposed since this morning.

Why did the editors, including the Commander-in-Chief in the newsroom, decide to run the bad-taste comic today?

Was there a hidden message from these seasoned mainstream journalists?

To quote a minister, are there petualang and agen asing in our mainstream media?

This is the full comic strip which apparently brings the Prophet to the profane, street-level:

The national English tabloid in question is none other than The New Straits Times (February 20, 2006 Life & Times Page L8).

The Group EIC is Hishamuddin Aun.

A reader told Screenshots:

Look at the Non Sequitur comic strip today in the Life & Times section (Page L8) and see if you think it's in bad taste. [...] Will they have their printing licence revoked or suspended.

Probably not as they are the Government newspaper.

We shall let fellow Malaysians cast their verdict.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (42) | TrackBacks (6)

Many people know I hate Maxis for many of my bad, personal user experiences accrued over the last five years or so. I have gone on record as the person who rejected the box of Maxis chocolates, and proudly so.

Strategically, I maintain the Maxis postpaid line so that I reserve the locus standi to screw them up whenever they get cock-ed up in service quality. Meanwhile, I signed up for Plan 75, so that half of my monthly ARPU of about RM120 goes to Celcom, my alternative out-calling line. Since Maxis is only loyal to me by half, I should reciprocate the goodwill in a dignified way I command.

The hypothesis is that, let's have more Jeff Ooi's who are willing to endure the inconvenience of carrying more than one cellphone. Once we bring down Maxis' ARPU, we collectively cut its profitablity. Put the money where the mouth is, and that's basically to teach Maxis to be humble to the end-users. If it hasn't, let's do more.

Nothing makes my day better than reading the Page 22 story in The Edge (Feb 20, 2006), titled: The going gets tougher for Maxis. Things look cynically good for me at the home and international fronts - crunching time for Maxis?

Home-front: Despite intense lobbying (I didn't say golfing, OK!) with the regulator, Maxis did not get a reprieve from the interconnect rates adjustment, which came into effect from February 15, that it had wished for.

Telekom Malaysia (TM) has lost much of its fixed line revenue for years as mobile telephony gained popularity and Telekom began to make more calls outside its fixed line networks. With the new interconnect rates, TM will now py 27% to 30% LESS when its users call mobile networks, and receive 21% to 32% MORE revenue from calls made to its fixedlines.

The interconnect rate is an internal settlement involving only the telcos, so the end-users can sleep through it.

In other words, while end-users are not impacted by the interconnect tariff adjustment, Maxis' loss is essentially TM's gain. So the expected outcome may be that Maxis looks set to be the biggest loser of the three tecos in the country.

International-front: Indonesia is giving a cash-run for Maxis on three counts, says The Edge:

1. All three big boys in Indonesia telcos are given 3G spectrum - Maxis is brought down to a level playing field. And there are five 3G-spectrum holders in Indonesia -- the flat is going to get flatter!
2. Maxis' investment in Indonesia, namely PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler (Lippo Tel) now has to pay a one-time upfront fee of US69.14 million (RM257.82 million) if it still wanted to keep the two blocks of 3G spectrum amounting to 10Mhz. Pay-up date is March 14, 2006.
3. Additionally, LippoTel also has to pay Indonesia some US$345.8 million in licensing fees over 10 years for its spectrum.

It's an accepted fact that a 3G start-up like LippoTel will not be able to recoup its investments in the short term. So, where is Maxis going to raise fund -- interests are on the up-trend currently - apart from milking the cow in Maxis Malaysia? When that happens, will that shrink CapEx for network improvement and negatively impact quality of service (QoS) in Malaysia? When that happens, will Maxis investors and shareholders revolt?

So, is it a wonder that, s The Edge says, some analysts are cutting their price targets for Maxis by 50to 70 sen.

Dey... do you think analysts will be excited about the Q4 results that Maxis scheduled top release this Wednesday?

I luuuuuuuuuuuuv Maxis (together now, 3x)

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (1)

Intense spotlight is suddenly turned on the RELA corp.

Thinking that the issue would fan out in days, Screenshots was hands-off thought it received numerous tip-offs, alerts and remiders from the readers and sources since the news broke on February 15.

It was not the case. Conspiracy theorists went on overdrive and you can't fault them for doing so as informationw from the authorities was not forthcoming. And if did, more doubts were cast as more questions remained unanswered.

On the public domain, reports in the local and international media were uncanny and starkly conflicting.

However, despite the disconnects in the sotries, some commonalities emerged.

There were immigrants. There was harrassments of the immigrants. There were deaths of the immigrants. Many immigrants.

Apparently, there has been harassment, and possibly violence. And there has been raids that ultimately ended with deaths, the unexplained deaths, whether it's by accidents or by designs.

What lent to the conspiracy theorists' punditary was simple. What Pak Lah's minister said and what BBC News said, don't tally.

SOURCE: BBC News, Feb 6, 2006

Making things more unsettling is the fact that, as BBC News put it, when five bodies were dragged out of a small lake in Selayang last week, it did not merit a single mention in the media.

For those uninitiated, the role of Rela corp, which comes under the Home Affiars Ministry, includes area defence using the concept adopted by the Home Guard, which is to maintain peace and security of an area until relieved by the security force.

Did they trespass their jurisdiction?

You surely know the outcome when the numbers don't tally and no one can see the records.

And there were deaths. Unexplained deaths involving the oft defenceless immigrants.

February 15: The Malay Mail:

A group of bachelors at a house in Kota Kemuning, Section 30, Shah Alam, claimed they were beaten up and forced to do the duck walk around the housing area and apologise to some residents for causing a din early on Sunday, Feb 12.

Suhaimi Zam, a 22-year-old computer technician, went on record by stating that "they treated us like illegal immigrants”. Twenty one of his colleagues-cum-housemates were allegedly forced by Rela members to endure the humiliation of having to do a 50-metre ‘duck walk’ en masse to a neighbour’s house in the reported incident.

SOURCE: The Malay Mail, Feb 15, 2006

February 16, BBC News:

But illegal immigrants still make up a large population - hundreds of thousands of people, according to estimates - and the economy depends heavily on foreign workers.

And they live largely anonymously, so anonymously that when five bodies were dragged out of a small lake in Selayang this week it did not merit a single mention in the media.

Exactly how the five died is unclear. There are conflicting accounts from migrants living in the area and from the authorities.

But what is known is that in the early hours of last Saturday, 11 February, an immigration raid took place. The officers jumped from their trucks and made for Selayang's large open market, where many of the migrants work. Mohammad Shaiku, a Burmese with a work permit, was working that night.

"I was inside the market," he said. "The police arrived after two that night and rounded up people. And after that some people ran off to the lake and after that I think the police beat them."

I asked him whether it was the regular police, polis biasa, who carried out the raid, or Rela, Malaysia's controversial baton-wielding volunteer reserve, which was mobilised last March to tackle the immigration issue.

"Rela," he said. "Rela, Rela."

The use of Rela has been criticised by Western human rights groups who say its members are not properly trained or supervised.

February 17, The Malay Mail:

A spokesman for the Shah Alam police said they had interviewed residents to get a clearer picture of the incident. However, he declined to reveal the outcome of the investigations. The spokesman also confirmed that they have contacted Rela on the matter, but have not yet identified the Rela members involved in the case.

The neighbours have spoken to The Malay Mail. A neighbour of the 22 bachelors, who were forced by Rela members to ‘duck walk’ to his home, has denied knowing any member of the ‘raiding party’.

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General was quoted as saying that he was "not aware of the progress of police investigations" and was waiting for the Police investigation report. As such, he added, the rela members will carry out their duties "until proven guilty".

SOURCE: The Malay Mail, Feb 17, 2006

February 18, The Malay Mail:

SOURCE: The Malay Mail Feb 18, 2006

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said Rela’s role and powers should be reviewed by an independent commission. "This is imperative in the light of various incidents of inappropriate behaviour by Rela members," she said.

“Rela was set up in 1972 to combat insurgency. But times have changed, and there is a need to review its role and the scope of powers granted to its members,” she said, citing the wrongful detention of illegal immigrants, like Nepali Mangal Bahadur Gurung and Indian national Pajirudeen Pichaikani.

Mangal spent 51 days in Kajang prison and received a stroke of the rotan after being wrongfully detained in March last year. He was eventually released from prison on May 12 after his conviction was set aside.

Likewise, Pajirudeen was arrested by Rela officers in Puchong on April 22, who suspected him of being an illegal immigrant, despite him showing a photocopy of his passport to the officers.

The migrant worker was freed on July 8, two days after The Malay Mail highlighted his case.

“However, it appears that even locals are now victims of power abuse by Rela members,” said Fernandez, referring to the duck walk incident involving 22 Information Technology (IT) workers last Sunday.

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 07:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (0)

Paul Choo, a co-founder of LensaMalaysia, beats some 400 other entries to emerge top winner in the Beauty of Fuo Guang Shan (FGS) Photo Contest, held in conjunction with the Lunar New Year.

Paul's entry was unanimously picked as the best picture for this year's contest, says Sin Chew Daily (Feb 17, Metro Edition Page 28). The picture vividly depicts the majestic beauty of the FGS Dongchan Monastery, portraying the blooming colours amidst the heavenly serenity of the temple compound, the newspaper says.

People familiar with photography would know that the contrasting elements in the picture were a big challenge -- normally, the foreground of flowerbeds would become very dark if the metering was perfect only for the sky and the horizon, where the decorated lights started to come on. And mind you, the contest forbids the use of computer manupulation, so there must be a way to get that winning shot!

We will get Paul to share his techniques. More details in LensaMalaysia frontpage. Be inspired!

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 06:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Malaysians have a national passtime -- window shopping in malls and boutiques during weekend.

Cash registers at the retail outlets may sing, while national bonding among our multi-races takes a beating as it finds little space to flourish. There's simply not much capacity building for a Malaysian identity that's generated from the bottom-up, save for the regular manufactured, canned top-down feel-good make-believes.

I've often asked: Why don't we grab the digital cameras to shoot the beauty of Malaysia and its diverse rich cultures and start sharing our commonalities instead of harping on our heredictary differences and acquired boundaries and blockades?

Candid shot courtesy LensaMalaysia member MyBest: Penang

Festive seasons, when people unwind a little from the daily rut-race to relax and reflect, are a good opportunity to capture these moments of joy cameraderie oozing uncontrollably from among our neighbours and neighbourhoods.

LensaMalaysia was formed on September 28, 2005 when twelve of us, notably Malay and Chinese photography enthusiasts, put together our heads and efforts to help Malaysia make a difference. No big mantras, but this is all what we believe in: Let's look behind the lenses, let's capture those decisive moments when Malaysians interact, and let the photos do the talking.

Photography guru CY Leow, a Penangite who has since retired in the Southern Hemisphere, reprised his 2005 effort and brought us his 2006 collection of Lunar New Year pictures captured when New Zealanders thronged the streets to celebrate on Feb 11. His 24-picture collection is available here.

MyBest, another LensaMalaysia member from Penang, saw CY's picture, posted a fond remark, and reciprocated with his own 31-pix collection of the national-level Lunar New Year celebrations and Open House held at the Heritage Enclave in Penang on February 4 .

Courtesy MyBest, Penang

Click here to view his 30 other pictures. "CY is from Penang and I'm sure he misses good old Penang," says MyBest.

Before this, when LensaMalaysia member KL-based Penangite JYTioh started a thread on the same topicone week before the dawn of the Year of Bing Xu, his efforts was echoed by fellow enthusiasts like Fireblade, Leonard Yang, imwhoim, Paul Choo, Ahmad Faizal, Mohamd Fadzli, Jimmy Choo, Ailin Chia, Alan Ang, MKLai7, Kelvin 'lanatir' Tan, wokaholic, moriazi, danroxx11, and probably more.

LensaMalaysia Moderator, Ahmad Faizal, has this stunning shot on the first day of Chinese New Year.

Courtesy Ahmad Faizal: Kuala Lumpur

Last year, we did the same when it was time for Bulan Ramadan and Deepavali.

Read on for six more pictures I randomly selected to tell this Malaysian story. Go out there and shoot, and let the photos do the talking for Malaysia!

Courtesy MyBest: Penang

Courtesy CY Leow: Wellington, New Zealand

Courtesy JY Tioh: Petaling Jaya

Courtesy Mohd Fadzli: Ipoh

Courtesy Fireblade: Robson Heights, Kuala Lumpur

Courtesy Paul Choo: Jenjarum, Selangor

Posted by Jeff Ooi at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

The NST (Feb 17, 2006).

The Star (Feb 17, 2006).

The NST (Feb 17, 2006).

The New Straits Times Rafidah: If God says you stay, you stay

KUALA KANGSAR, PERAK, Thurs. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz today took a swipe at her detractors, saying they will bear the consequences if what they say about her is not true.

"Even if they talk until they foam at the mouth, if God says you stay, you stay," she said, apparently referring to the fact that she had kept her job in the Cabine