RAPID KL not so Rapid

Over the past 2 months, I've been a frequent user of the Rapid KL bus service. I use it almost 10 time a week back and forth from KL Sentral to SIRIM Shah Alam. If anything, I know how it is like using it's service.

Sure, at first glance, it's got class. It's main attraction is the air conditioning, two tv sets, well maintained interiors and relatively cheap bus fares. You can use the same 2 ringgit ticket for the whole day! Of course it's only merely a rival for the Metro bus they have in Nashville, but hey, it's getting there. But comparison is only as far as the bus conditions. For the service they offer, well, they have a long way to go.

I can easily say that even after using the service for two months (June-July) I am not totally sure what the bus frequency is. They say a bus every 15-20 minutes, but my average waiting period is at least half an hour, and there were cases, i.e. more than once, where I had to wait for an hour or so.

Is it?

And then there's the rudeness issue. Rapid KL bus conductors are known for their rudeness. Well actually there are some of those nice and kind few, I don't want to rule them out. These ruder ones are known to sometimes skip a bus stop and just speed off, leaving disappointed consumers standard. It's as usual as getting a bus on time. In the pass two months, I've experienced this a few times already.

On one occasion, as I was on my way to Shah Alam, this particular Chinese woman wanted to board the bus to Kelang. Before boarding, twice she asked the bus driver whether the bus goes there, and the driver twice said no. Being an old lady like she was, she didn't hear the replies and stepped onto the bus and asked again. This time other passengers replied no as well. But even before she was able to step off the bus, the bus started to move. The poor old lady lost her balance and fell. Poor lady. Bad driver.

Their reasoning for the frequent delays are because of unexpected traffic jams. What an excuse. Don't tell me that after being in service for more than 2 years and still can't predict the traffic?

Rapid KL buses are also over crowded. Severely over crowded, especially during rush hours. With the sky rise of oil prices, it's obvious that people would prefer to take public transport as a mean of transportation. Buses included. So it would be really, really helpful if they can increase the number of buses and hence, increase the frequency. After all, I remembered the government once promised to allocate more funds towards public transport due to this oil price increase. But when?

I've also come to know that sometimes the touch n' go cards in the buses malfunction. T n' G cards are supposed to make ticket transactions faster, but these malfunctions retard the process all together. Users of these cards are even asked to take the next bus in hope the card readers work. This is just some inconvenience examples 'offered' by Raopid KL.

A Land Called Paradise

Listen to this very good nasyeed from Kareen Salama.

Friendly Friendster

I realized that nowadays, that it's become a trend to use photos people put up on Facebook/ Friendster and publish it here and there. We saw it happen to a certain Saiful. Yesterday, Malay Mail publish a photo of a guy whose girl friend was killed after trying to escape from her parents condo using ropia rope. And the photo was grabbed from Friendster. (Sorry for not being able to recall the guys name and linking that Malay Mail article. Can't find them on the net, but here's the story)

Some people say doing so is an invasion of privacy. Others argue that since it's put up on the internet, it's for everyone to see, and becomes public property.

Which ever side you're on, next time you plan to do something 'big', make sure you delete your photos. Unless you plan to be famous that is!

Power Sharing

I was really surprised when I learned Pak Lah announced that UMNO has held three talks with PAS after the general election. More so after he confirmed that the first meeting was held to discuss a possible power sharing deal between PAS and UMNO in Selangor. PAS would be even be given the Menteri Besar role.

What a deal! Such deals remind me of America's puppet government they have in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would be exactly that if PAS were to share power with UMNO. PAS would be tied on strings and be pulled and twitched every here and there. Just like that guy.


Thank you for your 'generous' offer. But no thanks. We would rather pull our own strings. We would survive, even better, too!

First Class Stupidity

When you have first class stupidity, there's no beating you. You are the MAN!!!

Recently, Pak Lah announced that Terengganu were allowed to use the Mercedes E200 kompressor, but not for the use of the exco. Those Mercs, are only to be used by their foreign dignitaries. Read here and here.

So all 14 cars, worth RM3.43 million, will be used only by those visitors to the state.

No disrespect, but will there be a need to use all 14 cars at once? Will there ever be a time when that many people come to the state, all at once? I surely doubt that. Allocating 2-3 cars for that purpose would be more than enough, but allocating 14 is some what a waste. The cars will be let to rot if not used.

And now, what will be the next move of Terengganu? Will they buy new Perdana V6's or simply use their 'old' ones instead? We'll see.

If true that the previous Perdana's were old and the need to change cars is there (DAP penang didn't change cars after going into office) ,I honestly believe that it would be wise to sell all but save 2-3 Mercs for the use of foreign dignitaries visiting the state. Then buy new Perdana units. I'm sure they'll be saving money doing so. But that's just my ten cent opinion.

Update on Terengganu Merc Purchase

The issue goes on about the purchase of 14 Mercedes E200 Kompressor by Terengganu state government. Many have been critical of the obvious over jolly expenditures of the state.

And heck, adding salt to the wound, the money used for the purchase was our very own tax money. We worked hard for the money, and we fulfilled our duty to the government by paying our taxes, only for them to be used extravagantly and unnecessarily. While they enjoy the cruise of their luxurious rides, we the people pay the burden by driving an old squeaking Dutson, or worse yet, driving nothing at all.

And the timing of the purchase couldn't get any worse. Right in the middle of all this oil crisis when prices of everything is looming sky high. When the majority of us had to adapt our life styles to accommodate the change. When businesses collapse and some of us with less to eat. While we became desperate, they become jolly. Here and there they say they are sincere in finding a way to help raise the burden on the people's shoulders. This purchase surely doesn't help the cause.

Even if Protos Perdana cars are that bad, why go for the E200? Surely there are other safer cars equipped with airbags in the market right? If Japanese cars like Accord or Camry or not a choice, why not the Peugeot 407 for instance? Or a C Class Mercedes? Why, are they not class enough?


And what did state Commerce, Industry and Environment committee chairman, Toh Chin Yaw had to say about all this commotion? "I don’t see why the procurement was made an issue.''

What a care-less jerk. And they say they cared about us.

Between Rallys and Road Blocks

Which would you prefer?

These two events have really been synonym to one another. Where there's a rally, there's a road block. Erm, correction there. It should actually read, whenever there's even a slight twitch of a call for rally, there'll be dozens of road blocks. That's more like it.

Road blocks are set up by the police kononnye to prevent these rallies from taken place. Kononnye ia menggangu ketenteraman awam. So, as a step to prevent this unwanted event, road blocks are set in every corner of the city.


As a result? Massive traffic jams. Jams that would take hours to subside. And war zone like sceneries. They barb wire places and carry guns, much a view you would associate with Palestine and Afghanistan (no disrespect to those countries). And they do this for days, most recently, for three days!

Where as rallies may also cause a little stir on the roads, but only on roads near to/leading to the rally point.And the jams only last the duration of the rally (a day at most).


Fact is, the uneasiness and discomfort the police road blocks cause the greater public is far worse than that brought by rallies. The police are like 'bagai tikus membaiki labu' when it comes to dealing with rallies. So why bother? Even if (although very untrue) road blocks bring the same amount of displeasure to the people as do rallies, at least in rallies you can get your voice heard.

People are familiar with prank calls to fire fighters. Every once in a while, some nut head would go out and call the fire department and report a 'fire', just for the fun of it. Datang la satu angkatan bomba just to find out there was actually no fire. Kesian abang2 bomba.

Well, guess what? Now, you can actually make prank rally calls to the police. Ya! Just cry 'rally' in your blog and surely police would hold up road blocks to 'prevent' them. Yup, it's that simple. And you don't even have to be anyone particular to try it out. And the deal doesn't stop here. You can even be anywhere on the planet! It's no joke. Just look at what happen over a week ago. You should give it a try!

New blog gadget

I just found a new blog gadget. Now visitors to my blog can search videos on You Tube straight from here. It's below the shout out box. How cool is that? Or am I just being 'darat'?

Terengganu and Mercedes

Recently, our distinguished Menteri Besar decided that it was time to part with their Proton Perdana V6 Exclusive and buy some Mercedes E200 Kompressor instead. And by some, I mean 14, with a total cost of RM3.43 million. The cars were to be the formal cars for exco officers, state assembly speaker, secretary, legal adviser and finance officer of the state of Terengganu.

So why did Mr. Ahmad Said buy these cars? Easy, read the answers here as reported by The Star.

Swoish! There goes Ahmad Said..

Please don't judge this action at first glance, for our ever so kind MB here had very 'pure' intentions. The move actually can cut cost in the long run, the MB says. As you see, the MB, from all his vast amount of wisdom, has determined that RM 3.43 million is actually much lesser than RM 2.03 million (if he were to buy new Perdanas instead, ~145k each). His knowledge in mathematics must be far superior than us, else how do you explain this logic? This guy here is probably able to make calculations in other dimensions.

And the Perdana's he says, coughs up a lot of money in maintaining them, and that to maintain a Merc is far cheaper. Yup, can you believe that? I was really surprised when I read the news. I never knew that maintaining a Perdana would be so costly, even though you can easily buy Proton spare parts anywhere in Malaysia for a cheap price. I don't think you can buy Merc parts that easily. Heck, my father used to own a Perdana (not even V6 exclusive), and he used to up and down between KT, KB and KL all the time. He never mentioned of the expensive maintenance cost.

And our MB even came up with an example of this. He says that the Proton Perdana of state Commerce, Industry and Environment committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw, which has twice undergone expensive repairs costing RM50,000 within 36 months. So, if that large sum had to be spent on all 14 cars over the duration of 4 years, this would sum up to RM700k. Our rough eyes and limited knowledge says that 2.03 million + 700000 is still less than 3.43 million, but hey, that's why our knowledge is limited. So again, don't question that.

"We are far-sighted," the MB admits. So to all those not-so-far-sighted people out there, if you ever feel like buying a car to keep for 4 years, word of advice from MB, go for the cheap Mercedes E200 kompressor. And it also cuts a few bucks on oil, too.

Speaking of which, Ahmad Said is acting in accordance to what Pak Lah has told us to, i.e. change our life styles. He has actually changed his life style for the better! Bravo MB, may your wisdom enlighten us all.

The money used in the purchase is in fact not that from the state's royalty. In other words, the money used is from tax payers. But alas, that's ok. How else can we contribute to our leaders if not by giving them our money? They need to live luxuriously, and be able to travel comfortably, else they won't be able to function to their full extent in their honorable duties to help the people of Terengganu. Takpe kalau kite hidup bersederhana or miskin, asalkan orang2 besar dapat hidup mewah. That's always been the governments motto.

Terengganu, bandar raya warisan persisir pantai

Oh, and the fact that even the PM and DPM have Perdana's as their formal cars is nothing. Kata Terengganu maju, bandar raya lagi tu. So kereta pon kene lah maju, seriring dengan kemajuan Terengganu itu sendiri. Ta begitu? Now who dares to question the 'kemajuan' of Terengganu, when even our exco's ride in Merc?

Balek KB lagi

So last weekend was my fourth time going back to Kota Bharu over the past 2 months. I've made myself so familiar with Kb, that for the first time, I was able to drive my way back and forth from some notable places in the town.

I went back to KB this time following my dad as he had to distribute my sister's wedding cards to some relatives and friends there. Initially we wanted to depart from Sg. Buloh as early as 1 am Saturday morning, but over slept meant we had to postpone it till 9.30 am. And I drove all the 7 hours, stopping for bathroom twice and for lunch. That was by far the longest distance I drove single handily.

This time around, Alhamdulillah, there were no more tragic accidents. However, the pick of my stay in KB this time was that I had my first taste of durian for the first time in at least 5-6 years!hehe..I actually ate durian, and not just 1, but 3! My aunts and uncles had been persuading me all along to have a taste of the durians from my grandfather's orchard. We easily get 100 durians a day and the durians are said to be of the highest quality, durians you won't be able to find anywhere else.

They persuaded me to an extent they even asked me to join them durian picking, which I reluctantly followed. We got two big buckets full of them. And once back, they persuaded me some more, saying how much I was missing out on the taste. The temptation was there, and pretty soon, I bucked under the power of persuasion and tried two pieces of it. Then after that, they urged me to try another piece, this time from one so called durian raja. Durians are said to be the kings of fuits, and this durian, is the king of all durians, they say. Lol. Again I bucked. And it took me almost half an hour to finish them!


Here's my review. The first two were ok. They didn't taste as bad, but not good either. Surely not something I would go craving for and go crazy after. But I could accept the taste. However, the durian raja, despite all what was said about it, for me tasted really bad! I couldn't accept that after taste, and had to hold myself from throwing up. It was one of those nightmares!

So that was my story for the weekend. Btw, this is the last week of my two month internship at SIRIM.

Anwar Arrested

Speculation about Anwar being arrested today is proven to be true when a hand full of masked police arrested him at his house compound earlier in the afternoon. He was earlier in Putrajaya to give statements to ACA. Upon arriving his house, he was detained.

Read news here (Malaysiakini) and here (CNN). What will happen next? We'll see, but surely, a repeat of '98 is on the cards.

Mr. Bling-bling

I couldn't stop myself from blogging about this picture when I saw it. At first glance, I counldn't really recognize this super star. Mistaken it for some black rapper.


Guess who's our Mr. Bling-bling here.

Ronaldinho.

Anwar- Shabery Debate

Yesterday night I (as with many other Malaysians did) watched the historical debate between DS Anwar Ibrahim and Dato' Ahmad Shabery Cheek. The title of the debate was, 'Today we form the Government, Tomorrow we reduce fuel prices'. And what a debate it was, if you're on Anwar's side, that is. For if you were supporting the government, well, let's just say it didn't really go according to plan.


Such was the 'defeat' of the government, that the debate coverage even failed to reach the front page of local mainstream newspapers (mind you, this is a historical event!). And when they did cover the story some pages down, oh how they manipulated the story well. NST read 'Shabery Stands his Ground Against Anwar', and it's onine version read, 'Anwar-Shabery live TV debate ends with no clear winner' Read it here. I failed to find the coverage in BH or Utusan.

Of course the organizers didn't proclaim the clear cut winners. There need not be one, for it was not about who wins. It was about getting the message across. It was about being able to converse the message to the people. It was about telling the people the truth. This is not PPM.

Any clear mind would have noticed the inability of the Information Minister to reply to most of the questions thrown by the opposition. He failed to find an answer, and at times seemed to be at a lost for words. He ended up attacking Anwar, instead, accusing of the latter this and that. Anwar on the other hand, despite starting a bit slow, picked up his pace along the way and talked very confidently, conveying the message clearly for everyone to hear. His words were precise, and he didn't stray away from the main agenda of the debate (unlike his opposition).

Of all the negative effects this debate had upon the government, one consolation can not be denied. The government has to note that should former Infromation Minister, Zam Mydin was to retain this position after the general election, this debate could've been far worse. For if it was him, fuhh.... 'We are not like Burma, we are not like Pakistan' lah. Unimaginable.

Here's to show what the general public thought of the debate. A poll conducted by mSTAR.com, at which Shabery's vote in declining every second. lol. Read the full story of the debate here.

For those who missed the live broadcast, you should be able to watch it on youtube.

Back to Square One

My fellow intern friends here at SIRIM finished their training last Friday.

Now I'm back eating alone in the cafe.

Rantau Panjang Trip

A word of advice: don't let the duty free title of Rantau Panjang deceive you! If you ever plan to go to Rantau Panjang, please conduct a thorough survey of the prices of things at other places, namely Kota Bharu for instance. And make sure you're a good bargainer!

This is because if you are not aware of the prices of things in Kota Bharu, the people at Rantau Panjang would sell to you at quite a high price, as my previous experience proved. Especially if you're an outsider. And these people at Rantau Panjang are great actors indeed! They'll lie straight in your face saying that they offer the lowest price, and you'll easily fall for them.

So to play it safe, it's better to just buy things at Kota Bharu. Even Klantanese buy their stuff at Kota Bharu. Even if you're a good at bargaining prices, I doubt it'll be worth the few ringgit you save, considering the one hour drive from Kota Bharu adding to the oil price increase. Not to mention Kastam. They'll take a 10% tax for your goods.

But anyway, it was a fun experience indeed. It's been 2 years since I last met my elder sister, and it was fun spending the time on the road trip, all of us. We teased each other and shared jokes, and even Mak wasn't spared. But teasing the bride to be was the funniest of all! Heck we won't be able to do much of that anymore once she ties the knot in 3 weeks time.

Walimatul Urus

Here, I'd like to invite all my friends to come to my elder sister's wedding on the 2nd of August, 2008.


And here's the direction to my house. hehehe..


If anything, you can always contact me on my number, ym, email, or heck, even on Friendster. And by all means, do come!!

So You Don't Want PAS, eh?

I was on the bus ride back home from Sirim the other day when I overheard (yes I was ear dropping) the bus driver talking with this passenger about the new Selangor Government which is under PKR and Barisan Rakyat. Both sounded their displeasure about it and were discussing the negative part of this new government.

I didn't really make out what they said as I wasn't paying much attention. However, that discussion brought me back memories of a few years back when I was still in Science Dungun (probably form 4).

I was riding a taxi back to Dungun after this holiday break. At that time, Terengganu was still under PAS rule. The taxi driver and the guy sitting next to him were discussing their disgust at that government saying this and that. They were also name calling and cursing at the same time. The funny part was, after driving for like 1/2 hour, the driver stopped his car and both men got out. Where did they go? To buy lottery numbers, of course! My inner self giggled.

So you don't like PAS, eh? Truth is, I don't really think PAS would mind!

Err, do I sound stupid?

Yes you do, honorable Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, our Home Minister.

This is taken from Malaysiakini:

Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar mendakwa sikap Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang suka meminta bantuan Amerika Syarikat dan negara luar mendorong kuasa besar itu sanggup mencampuri urusan Malaysia.

"Saya tidak pernah mengatakan dia pengintip. Dia yang melaporkan dan memang benar Amerika suruh kita (Malaysia) berhenti penyiasatan (tuduhan liwat). Inilah buktinya dan kalau dia fikir betul itu hak dialah," kata menteri dalam negeri.

First of all, America was merely giving it's opinion regarding the sodomy allegations. I don't believe they wanted to interfere with Malaysian business. This is in fact emphasized when Tom Clasey said when asked by the press,"......Malaysian police are supposed to be investigating this accusation. I think you can talk to them as to the status of that (the sodomy charges).

Oh, enough of the 'melapor' crap. The news was all over the world in a matter of minutes. And heck, it was a reporter that asked Tom Clasey the question regarding Anwar, which prompted his answer. It wasn't the Government's main agenda to talk about it.

And as far as my understanding of the English language goes, I don't see the part in Tom Clasey's speech where he asked Malaysia to stop the investigations against Anwar. Then again, probably Syed Hamid's understanding is better than mine, where he is able to decipher a secret message in that speech. Right?

Finally, the US only said that it opposed 'any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures for anything other than legitimate purposes of the law.' In other words, the US will oppose only IF the allegations were politically driven. So why should Malaysia be so upset? It's not like the allegations were politically motivated, right?

p/s: Please people, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Dato' Syed Hamid is stupid. He's a very intelligent man, else he wouldn't be a minister. But we all make silly mistakes every once in a while which consequently make us look stupid. That makes us human.

Bapa-bapaku!!

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj: Bapa Kemerdekaan/Bapa Malaysia

Tun Abdul Razak: Bapa Pembangunan

Tun Hussein Onn: Bapa Perpaduan

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad: Bapa Pemodenan Malaysia

Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi: Bapa ________________

Fill in the blank. Use your imagination

Bala Missing

It was reported that Balasubramaniam, arguably one of the most popular Indian figures in Malaysia after declaring two SD's in 24 hours, has gone missing.

The PI's nephew R. Kumaresan lodged the police report last Saturday. Bala, his wife, S. Sentamil and daughter, was last contacted by Kumaresan on Thursday and went missing shortly after announcing his second PR.

Question is, is he hiding? Or is someone hiding him? Or worse, is he lying at the bottom of the sea? Fishy indeed.

Read more here.

Meanwhile, DPM Datuk Seri Najib denied his involvement in Bala retracting his first SD. As usual, that's just standard procedure. I mean, no bad guy would confess right? Read here.

Mystique Metro

Amar and I used to always make fun of Harian Metro for it's ever mystique headlines. They always spurned the title so it had a mystique flavor.

Today was no different. The title: Lembaga Ganggu Operasi.

Lol. It was about a langsuir which was haunting immigration workers working in Kenyir Lake.

Whilst all other major papers were covering stories regarding scandals of the highest degree, Harian Metro came up with this headline. Good for you! At least it stirred our imagination.

Bala's Second Revelation

Balasubramaniam today retracted his statutory declaration by claiming that it was forced, less that 24 hours after declaring it. I told you Malaysia's political scene is colorful. Brace yourselves people and expect the unexpected, cliche as it may sound.

Read more here.

Who is actually pulling the strings in all this drama and scandal? Is it one of the names mentioned repeatedly in papers? Or is it that these names are just characters plotted by a power far greater?

Saiful Bukhari

Who is Saiful Bukhari? What are his intentions? What was the driving force behind his bold proclaims that he was sodomized? Was he corned? Pressured? Or was is a desperate attempt for 10 minutes of fame? Surely all these questions swing around in our head as the latest developments in Malaysian politics unfolds.

Saiful Bukhari was a college drop out from UNITEN studying Electrical Engineering. While at UNITEN, Saiful was active in student's politics, and said to be once in the running to be a Student Representative. However, due to poor results (which he described explicitly in a blog), he opted that it was best if he discontinued his degree. His childhood ambition was to become a pilot.

Saiful Bukhari wrote in a blog regarding his decisions to quit studying and also apologizing to UNITEN students for all his wrong doings for the pass few years. He also mentioned that money initially saved by his mother for him to pursuit his ambitions (as a pilot) had to be used to treat his severely ill mother. His mother has since passed away. I sympathize him, surely I do. Later he received a scholarship to enroll in an electrical engineering degree in UNITEN, thus harboring his pilot dreams. These confessions by Saiful was published in his friend's blog, Najwan, but can only be accessed by certain users. It was since been republished at this blog.

Recently, a picture of him waving to reporters as he walked out a building (supposedly police headquarters) was published by KOSMO in an issue dated the 3rd of July. I couldn't find the picture online so I can't publish it here. But the picture was him wearing a white shirt waving and smiling at reporters as though he was some kind of celebrity.

From my point of view, a person sodomized unwillingly, wouldn't be acting in that manner. He should be in a state of shame and embarrassed. He should have held his head down, shying away from reporters or something in that manner. That's how rape victims are. They wouldn't want their faces to be exposed to the world. Heck some might even want the world to swallow them! But no, not Saiful. In such a away it was as if he was saying to the reporters, "Hey, aku kene liwat, ambillah gambar aku!"

For crying out loud, being sodomized isn't something to be proud of! I know I wouldn't.

P/s: Here's a blog describing Saiful explicitly. It's from a person who knew him well enough, from the days at UNITEN. And here's a blog from Saiful's fiancé. The layout of the blog is marvelous, considering the fact that she made the blog solely to show support for Saiful. And plus, in this moment of 'sadness and grieving', it's quite remarkable she had the time and will to design such a blog. Siap ada counter tu.. tak maen la cikai2 kan? Menarik2..

Najib: Yes I met Saiful Before

Najib has finally admitted that he met up with Saiful Bukhari days before the latter lodged the sodomy report to the police.

The reason: Saiful reported the sodomy to him first and ask for his help and advice. Before this, Najib claimed that he met Saiful a few months back as Saiful was asking for a government scholarship.

Wow, I never knew that ministers, especially a Deputy prime minister could be so easily approachable by any Tom, Dick and Harry. Ok fine, to anyone who knew his officers. What more, you can also go and meet the DPM to ask for scholarships. This guy is so nice, he opens his doors to just about anyone for just about any reasons! Where else can you find a minister as nice and people friendly like Najib?

This statement was made in the press statement of which Najib answered questions regarding the Altantuya case.

Read more here. These sequence of cases just proves (as it has over and over again) that rumors are a better source of news than newspapers or members of the government.

To tell you the truth, I'm really excited and grateful to be in Malaysia at this time. So many things are going on, and I'm able to witness them first hand. And the prospects of things to come excites me even greater. Sunday: 1 million rally. Can't wait!

Breaking News

And shocking indeed! Gruesome too!! All in one.

Akhirnya, pecah temberang!!

A private investigator of Razak Baginda released a sworn statement linking Najib Tun Razak with Altantuya. Najib is said not to have only knew Altantuya, but also had an intimate relationship with her.


The 16 page declaration by Balasubramaniam Perumal (the private investigator) can be followed here. Balasubramaniam also claimed that he was questioned by the police some two years ago amid that murder said that the statements he gave connecting Najib and Altantuya were omitted by the police later.

Read more of the news at Malaysiakini.

I was watching a press statement by Najib broad casted by Buletin Utama TV3, and I must say, Najib looked uneased! He couldn't look anyone in the eyes, his eyes were moving up and down, he was unsteadily rocking back and forth, resah gelisah. Never saw him in a state of depression like that before. But he still managed to deny the reports linking himself with the murder, claiming that he never knew Altantuya in the first place. He also stated that, as a citizen of Malaysia, he is entitled to a just investigation.

In what is set to be the most shocking revealed conspiracy ever in Malaysia, this gruesome murder is surely to get worldwide intention. May the guilty one get convicted, who ever it may be. Stay tuned.

US Presidents and Islam 1

At first glance, there isn't much of a bond between the US presidents and Islam, apart from the fact that over the past couple of years, the US presidents has waged war against some Muslim nations, which include, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan. Or is there?

Let's start with Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. It is well known, even by the West, that Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of an English translated version of the Quran. The copy, translated in English by George Sale in the 1750s was the same one used by the first Muslim congressmen, Keith Ellison to take his oath into office. So what did Jefferson had to do with this Quran?


Jefferson was said to purchase the Quran while studying law and helping his mentor, George Wythe, prepare cases for trial. Inspired by people like George Sale and Frieherr von Pufendorf and wanting to broaden his knowledge on law and religion,he read the holy book as the Quran not only held the scriptures of Islam, it was also a source of specific juridical outlines. In a way, the Quran was a lawbook to Jefferson.

One of the great qualities of Jefferson was the fact that he didn't lay down any judgment before learning as much as he could into that matter. This was also one of the reasons he bought the book, because even during his time, people with the slightest knowledge about Islam condemned the religion (just as today). His curiosity to what Islam is all about persuaded him in buying the Quran. Before long, he began to learn Arabic and to read Arabic text in it's original form.

Jefferson become highly influenced by the holy scripture and he understood it in terms of law, religion, and culture. The influence Islam had over him can be proven by his various work. Thomas Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and among the pillars of the declaration is '........ that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.....'. Sounds familiar, right?

And in Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) last sermon, he said, "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has superiority over white except by piety and good action....... Nothing should be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves."

Then there's also the similarity between the United States Constitution with the teachings of Islam. Read here.

Usually, people that read the Quran with the purest intentions and openness to understand it would eventually unlock it's secret and proclaiming it's truth, and convert to Islam. There's plenty of examples of converts of such type, most notably, Umar al-Khattab, and Yusuf Islam, to name a few. Thus, was it possible, that after reading and studying the Quran and the various teachings of Islam, Thomas Jefferson converted to Islam?

In an article I read, it was said that Thomas Jefferson avoided public comment on faith whenever possible. And I quote, 'It was not until long after his death that we became able to read most of his scornful writings on revelation and redemption. And it was not until long after his death that The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (Jefferson Bible) was publishable.

I have yet to read any of his religious writings so I can only speculate. Why did the author describe them as scornful? Jefferson was clearly a clever man, else he wouldn't be one of the Founding Fathers and be the major author of the Declaration of Independence. To was so clever to an extent that when President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Noble Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

So why did all the other works by the former president receive such glorious praise, but those regarding religion didn't? Surely the quality of his thoughts regarding religion is extraordinary. Or was it because his thoughts on God being One with no partners too shocking for them to bare?

And his 'bible', the Jesus of Nazareth? I never encountered a Christian who referred to Jesus that way. It's usually Jesus son of God, Jesus Christ or what ever. But Jesus of Nazareth? I live it to you to ponder.

For more, visit this very interesting website called How Thomas Jefferson Read Quran.

Malaysian's Believe Anwar's Innocence

In a poll conducted by Merdeka Center shows that only 6% believe that the sodomy allegations against Anwar were true, while almost 60% believed that the charges were politically motivated. The poll was conducted on 225 ethnic Malaysians. Read here.

Meanwhile, amid the US statement regarding this scandal, Malaysia is contemplating on sending a protest note to the US. Pak Lah claimed that this was an attempt by the US to meddle in the country's domestic affair. Foreign Minister, Dato' Rais Yatim went even further by stating that it was Anwar who reported that case to Washington, and that he should not report to them every time he faced a crisis in the country. He called Anwar a 'tukang lapor' - snitch.

In a daily press briefing, Tom Clasey, the Deputy Spokesman for Washington, when asked about Anwar Ibrahim, replied that he hoped 'the rule of law stand above politics' in Malaysia (the daily press briefing is a daily briefing conducted by the US government to answer questions by reporters regarding domestic and world issues). He also added that the US would oppose any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures for anything other than legitimate purposes of the law and that he hoped there wasn't a repeat pattern of what happened a decade ago. That's all he said. Read the full press statement here.

And fact is, it's within the right of anyone, to give their interpretation of anything. So, I see nothing wrong in the US releasing that press statement. Heck even Malaysia does that all the time. We condemn the internal affairs of israel, Myanmar's Junta, and a whole list of injustice that has gone throughout the world. So now, when injustice happens in Malaysia, the whole watching world gave their concerns. That's all that is. Lumrah alam. It's in the nature of the world. Read what Karpal Singh had to say (final paragraphs).

And to claim that Anwar reported to Washington was a naive and childish claim indeed. It's as if the US was Anwar's big brother. LOL. The news of the sodomy allegations were spread world wide the very night the accusation was made. In this high tech information and communication technology world that we live in, news travels fast. Very fast. Rais Yatim should take note.