Let's Get Engaged

Wednesday May 28, 2008

GOVERNMENT TO ENGAGE BLOGGERS IN CYBERSPACE

By SHAHANAAZ HABIB

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will take on bloggers in cyberspace and respond to wild and baseless allegations raised in blogs.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said remaining silent was no longer an option.

He acknowledged that the Government had overlooked the need to engage the new media, which was a new dimension in shaping public opinion, in the recent general election.

The Government had not been savvy in engaging the new media and lost out in cyberspace, he said, adding: “But we live and learn.”

Najib said this during a question and answer session at the Asia Media Summit 2008 here yesterday.

He in fact has started the ball rolling by putting a reply through his press secretary Datuk Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad to a posting on Malaysia Today, a news portal run by Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Najib said it was obvious that the Barisan Nasional Government would now need to engage the new media.

“We need to have people who are active participants of the new media, who are sympathetic and understanding of the government’s position.

“Therefore, instead of just criticising them (the new media) or running them down, the best thing to do is to engage them. Hopefully they will understand our perspective,” he added.

To another question, Najib said the Government gave the mainstream and new media a great deal of latitude to criticise.

However, he said: “There is a line which shouldn’t be crossed” because it could undermine the wider interest of society.

On action taken against blogger Raja Petra, Najib said he was charged with breaking the laws of the country – making baseless allegations and seditious remarks.

He said Raja Petra had been free to criticise the Government “very robustly and stridently” in his blog for years and the Government had not taken any action against him.

“But when certain things he said constituted a very serious attack against the institution, the Attorney-General decided that he had crossed the line,” Najib said.

Other than the new media, he said the established media too had become more critical since the elections.

“If you read the newspapers on a daily basis, you will see that they don’t hold back their punches. If they know there are weaknesses or abuse of power anywhere, they will latch on to these and criticise the Government and individuals openly,” he said.

In an immediate response, blogger Ahirudin Attan (Rocky Bru) welcomed Najib’s announcement that the Government would respond to allegations, saying:

“This is really good. It’s better late than never and it’s something for the blogging community to rejoice because blogging is about interacting with each other.”

The National Alliance of Bloggers president said one of the alliance’s aims was to get the Government to take part in blogging.

“This is because blogging is also about giving feedback to the Government and it’s great that the Government is picking up the opportunity (to blog).”

DAP’s PJ Utara MP Tony Pua, who is also a blogger, felt that the Government should be earnest in replying to issues or allegations levelled against it, pointing out that the Government should not use the medium only to win over public opinion.”

“If the allegations are indeed wild, then its response to correct them is welcome. But if it’s only to put down frank criticisms, then it'll defeat the whole purpose.”

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I don't know if I understand 'engage' in the same way as our DPM. To me, to engage means to get involved in a dialogue from which, hopefully, some understanding of both sides of the issue will result. It is not about 'them' understanding 'our' perspective with no reciprocity. It still comes from a 'we know better' approach. Besides, DPM seems to be suggesting that their engagement basically involves responding to 'wild and baseless allegations'. Why not respond to sound suggestions and ideas as well? What would be the difference between this 'engagement' and what the cybertroopers were doing before, except now, presumably, they actually put names to their comments?

Especially when at the same time, there was this:


Wednesday May 28, 2008

PM:GOVERNMENT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT 'ETHICAL JOURNALISM'

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no such thing as absolute freedom and the media should not be ashamed of “self-censorship” to respect cultural norms, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Prime Minister said different societies held different values, and while it might be acceptable in secular countries to depict a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, it was clearly not the case here.

“In a globalised world where news travels in the ‘blink of an idea’,, cultural insensitivities and arrogance can lead cultures and nations to collide,” he said in his speech at the Asia Media Summit 2008 yesterday.

The text of his speech was read out by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Abdullah said his Government continued to support “ethical journalism”, and its fundamental consideration was to have a media that was not only free but also responsible.

He said the Government also wanted the media not to undermine racial and religious harmony to the extent that it could threaten national security and public order.

“I do not see these laws as curbs on freedom. Rather, they are essential for a healthy society.”

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Self-censorship is what the media has been doing for a long time. Its use is insidious and results in journalists evading writing about the truth out of fear. I was at a forum in Kuching where journalists there said that they had to self-censor in order to keep their jobs. This is a very different thing from being mindful of sensitivities.

It is because we are forever self-censoring that no issues of any importance, particularly regarding our relations with one another, are ever discussed. This is why we then never solve anything. But journalists are expected to not talk about race or religion at all. THAT is what is deemed being culturally sensitive here.


A couple of years ago, a photo of Nori Abdullah, Hanis Tun Hussein and me appeared on the cover of The Star because we had been at the launch of a seminar on Islamic Family Law reform. I know The Star was criticised for this simply because they were seen as 'interfering' in Muslim affairs. Also my editors at The Star once wanted to ban a piece I did for my column criticising the Islamic Family Law that had been pushed through Parliament simply out of fear that it would offend 'someone'. Never mind that a lot of women, including Muslim women senators, had protested against the passing of the law and it is now in fact being reviewed by the AG's Chambers.

So, does the PM mean more of this? What was unethical about it?

I can't wait to ask that question this Sunday.

Saturday Evening and Sunday Morning...

Those of you who are at a loss as to what to do this weekend in KL, here are a few suggestions that are fun and make you feel good at the same time.

On Saturday May 31 night, head to One Utama for the Malaysian AIDS Council/Foundation's event to commemorate International AIDS Memorial Day. It starts from 7.30pm onwards and there'll be music and performances by people like Dina (1st runner-up of Malaysian Idol) as well as community groups. There'll also be information booths so you can find out more about HIV/AIDS.

On Sunday June 1 morning, if you can sacrifice your usual lie-in, take a walk from Dataran Merdeka to the National Press Club and show your support for media freedom. For information on the programme, please go to the Benar website here. If you're a journalist particularly, this would be a good way to spend your Sunday.

A Wedding

I went to a special event last night. Unfortunately I can't publish any photos or names because it was a confidential event. But last night I went to the wedding of two HIV-positive people, whom I'll call M (the groom) and J (the bride).

I've known M for a while. He's been HIV-positive for some time, acquired through the sharing of needles through drug use. He's been in and out of rehab centres several times, none of which helped. Eventually he found an NGO which suited him better and he cleaned up. Since then he's been working at various NGOs as an outreach worker, helping other drug users understand the dangers of HIV.

M has actually been one of the few HIV-positive Malaysians who has been on TV talking about what it's like to live with the virus. He is, like many drug users I have known, intelligent and articulate, able to talk with conviction about what it was like to be a drug user and then to find out that he's been infected. He can be emotional but is dignified always, never putting up with the pitying condescension that others sometimes inflict on those they deem 'less fortunate'.

I don't know J at all. All I know is that she became HIV-positive through her husband who left her with three children now aged 15, 13 and 8. From going to support groups for other HIV+ women, she started work as a peer counselor at PT Foundation and that's how she came to meet M.

Yesterday they had their akad at a masjid in Kampung Baru and then bersanding at PT Foundation's centre at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It was very much a community wedding. The staff and members of PTF come from the community themselves, that is, they are almost all former drug users, sex workers, transgendered persons and single mothers. They worked together to have the first ever wedding at their place and it came out beautifully, with hantaran, a pelamin, two MCs who were as smooth and slick as any on TV, dancers welcoming the newlyweds, the whole works. Hubby and I were Guests-of-Honour ( my parents were originally invited but they are in Japan) so we had to lead the merenjis ceremony, followed by other guests and M's parents and older sister.

The most impressive thing for me was the fact that M's family was there. Both his parents, two of his sisters along with their spouses and children came to celebrate with them. I spoke with his Mum, who speaks perfect English along with his sisters who are both PhDs, one who works as a civil servant and one a lecturer. It's not the type of family you usually associate HIV+ people with ( and that's if you believe stereotypes) but it's clear that M comes from a highly-educated family.

M himself admitted that he never thought his family would be so supportive. It just goes to show, he said, that sometimes HIV+ people's fear of their own families is unwarranted. He said he did worry about telling his parents that he was marrying not just a woman who has three kids but also one who is HIV+. But before he could tell them, J had already told his mother about her status. His Mum simply asked him if it was true and when he said it was, she just nodded her agreement. I guess she knows that nobody knows more about what it means to be HIV+ than another one. I felt particularly touched when M's parents went up to merenjis because it really showed how much the union had their blessings.

The whole process of getting married is a tedious one for anyone. For HIV+ people it's worse. M and J come from different states. M firstly had to ask permission from his hometown to get married in KL. To do that, the authorities wanted proof of his previous divorce. Unfortunately it had been so long that he could neither remember the date nor produce any documents to show that he had indeed dissolved his previous marriage. It was only when his father stepped in that the authorities relented.

Then they had to submit to the mandatory HIV test. J comes from Selangor where it is required, as does Perak where M comes from. But both already know their status and were not hiding it from each other . (The purpose of the HIV test is supposedly so that nobody marries someone who's HIV-positive unknowingly). At first the religious authorities insisted that they had to still do the tests. Finally M got a letter from his doctor to confirm his HIV status and went to his hometown to submit it.

There, they insisted on counselling him. This is how it went:

"Bagaimana kamu dapat HIV?"

" Saya dijangkiti semasa saya berkongsi jarum sambil mengguna dadah."

"Aha! Saya dah teka, tentu itulah caranya kamu dapat!"

After that, M told the officer that he didn't want to be 'counselled' by him and that was that.

At the khenduri, I met another old HIV+ friend who introduced me to his wife and two kids. Like M, he had married an HIV+ woman with children, a pretty young woman who was pregnant. Apparently their doctor had told them their viral loads (the amount of the virus in their bodies) was undetectable because they are on antiretroviral medicines so it was pretty safe to try for a baby. Hopefully they have a good doctor taking care of them and they should be able to deliver a HIV-negative baby. (To ensure this, the baby should be delivered by ceasarian section and she must not breastfeed it afterwards).

I was happy I went because it was a happy event. And it gives you hope that at least for some HIV+ people, life can be pretty normal. Still, the fact that I cannot put their names here is an indication that the stigma and discrimination attached to AIDS hasn't waned. While M and J may not mind too much, I still have to think of their parents and families. The stigma of AIDS throws up a wider net of discrimination than we think.



The 25th International Candlelight AIDS Memorial Day was last Sunday May 18. But we don't need a special day to remember those who have gone too early from an easily preventable disease, and to show our support for those still living and their families.

And this is why they go on to have brilliant careers...

Thursday May 22, 2008

School Uniforms Sexy, Says Group

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian group condemned the uniform worn by girls at government schools, saying it encouraged rape and pre-marital sex.

“The white blouse is too transparent for girls and it becomes a source of attraction,” National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia vice-president Munirah Bahari said in a statement.

“It becomes a distraction to men, who are drawn to it, whether or not they like looking at it,” she said, calling for a review of uniform policy so that it did not violate Islamic ideals.

In multicultural Malaysia, home to majority-Muslim Malays as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians, female students at government schools have a choice of wearing a white blouse with a knee-length skirt or pinafore.

They may also wear a “baju kurung” and a headscarf is optional for Malay students.

Munirah said that “covering up” according to Islamic precepts was important to fend off social ills, including “rape, sexual harassment and even premarital sex.”

“This leads to babies born out of wedlock and, to an extent, even prostitution,” she said.

“Decent clothes which are not revealing can prevent and protect women from any untoward situations,” she said, suggesting that girls wear a blouse of a different colour or with an undergarment.

However, the girls themselves also came in for criticism, with the association saying that some used the white blouse to lure men.

“This is the source of the problem, where we can see that schoolgirls themselves are capable of using this to attract men to them,” Munirah said.

“This could see them getting molested, having premarital sex and all sorts of things.” – AFP

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If we need more proof that our education system is producing intellectual midgets, this is it.

Of Bombs and Blogs

Folks, I know you all are dying for me to say something about Dad's latest bombshell. But as always I make it a point not to explain him to anyone since he does that pretty well himself. Just go to his blog and work it out for yourself.

I spent all afternoon yesterday with him and Mum at his office at Petronas. He had three TV interviews to do, two with Indonesian TV and one with CNBC. And received one visitor. The rest of the time we chatted while he looked over his blog posts. He writes them himself, then someone types them up, he reviews them and after he's satisfied with them, he gets them to post. As always with new bloggers, he is now soooo in love with blogging. I reminded him that I told him a year ago that it's very liberating. And he does read all the comments. (Even my ShaSha posted one yesterday to her Tok Det! I hope he managed to read it before he left the office.)

He's calm and as articulate as always so if anyone thinks he's gone wonky, he sure hasn't. His visitor will attest to that. He's gone off to Japan today to speak at the annual Nikkei conference.

So the situation is Dad, Mum and Mokhzani are out of UMNO for now and Mukhriz still in (but with gloves off). The rest of us don't count since we were never members in the first place.

I bumped into some old friends of his today and they said, "So much better to be free, you know...". Yep.

(Folks, I am stuck in a workshop for the next three days so advance apologies for lateness in posting comments.)

Melina and Friends Celebrate!

Some of you may remember Melina Jokita, the 15-year old girl from Timor Leste who had two holes in her heart repaired last year thanks to your generosity. Melina and the other children from Timor Leste are doing well in Melaka, getting better and going to school. They have also been joined by a few other children, also here for medical treatment and for schooling.

On May 24th, Timor Leste will celebrate the 6th anniversary of its independence and the children in Melaka will be making a presentation to remember and honour the sacrifices of the many individuals including fathers and mothers during the turmoil in their country especially most recently. The children will take the opportunity of this celebration to promote the native culture and tradition of their beloved country.

If you happen to be in Melaka on Saturday May 24, do drop by at the

C I J Primary School
Jalan Parameswara
Bandar Hilir
Melaka

from 5pm to celebrate with the children. The programme will be as follows:

The Theme of the Celebration is “ONE NIGHT IN TIMOR LESTE”.

5 pm – 6.30pm OPEN HOUSE, Finger Food provided
Movie and Slide Show re Timor Leste

6.30pm Timor Leste Anthem

6.40pm Speech by Maria Pereira on behalf of the Timor Leste’s youth

6.45 pm Speech by Timor Leste Ambassador for Malaysia Mr Juvencio Martins

and Presentation of letters of appreciation

7.15 pm Traditional Culture Performances

Meantime, one of the children Marciela Branco has started her own blog, http://timorlestenewgeneration.blogspot.com/, which tells the story of these orphans and how they were helped by Malaysians. Do take a look. Marciela learnt to do this all by herself, something she could never have dreamed of back in Dili.

Barcelona Bon-Bons

Hi folks, sorry for the long silence but I needed the break. There is nothing quite like travel to a totally different place to soothe over grief so my trip to Barcelona helped a lot.

I went to Barcelona to attend the 19th International Harm Reduction Conference where I had been invited to speak at a plenary session. This is an annual conference which discusses the harms related particularly to drug use such as HIV/AIDS, TB, Hepatitis and other diseases. About 1300 people attended the conference including a tiny delegation of Malaysians comprising myself, two colleagues from UM and UKM and three people from our Prisons' department. The Prisons officers had come to present a paper on the recently-begun programme to provide methadone-substitution therapy in our prisons to drug-using prisoners. I missed their session but I have to say that, as is sadly typical for some of our government people, the enthusiasm to learn anything new from others was minimal. My colleague from UM had pleaded with the conference organisers for a place on a visit to a Spanish prison for one of our Prisons' people which they finally agreed to as long as she could also arrange an interpreter for him. After much trouble she did, but despite all this, the Prisons' officer turned up late for the bus and missed the visit altogether.

Later on, an attempt to get them to meet with the Iranian delegation who have done great work with prisoners using drugs was brushed off in favour of a visit to the Barcelona football stadium instead. I wonder what report they will give back home on their attendance at the conference, if at all. The head of the delegation was funded by the UN but the other two was funded by our Prisons Department (ie with taxpayers' money) and after Barcelona, they were off to Paris. Doubt if they were visiting Parisian prisons.

To be fair, Barcelona is a hard place to have a conference in. It's a beautiful city and as luck would have it, despite forecasts for bad weather, in fact we had beautiful weather, cool and sunny which made it difficult to stay indoors. It's got many attractions from palaces, churches,museums to great food to good shopping. The vibe is cool and creative which is not surprising given that this is the hometown of Picasso, Miro and the incomparably eccentric Gaudi.

It says a lot for Barcelonans that they nurtured geniuses like Picasso and tolerated and supported nutty architects like Gaudi. A visit to the Picasso Musuem which showcases the artist's early works ( some from age 8) confirms that this was a man born to paint. Looking at his evolution from the conventional portraits that he painted at the age of 15 to his later abstracts, you get to understand better why he painted the way he did and how the political landscape shaped him. And the Spaniards actually celebrate artists like these. I was in Spain in the '80s when his masterpiece about the Spanish Civil War, 'Guernica' was returned to Spain. It made the headlines. At Madrid airport, Customs officers insisted on opening the canvas to make sure it was the real Guernica that was returning to its homeland and not a fake.

Inside of the Sagrada Familia.

Gaudi is another cattle of fish altogether. His buildings look completely crazy but all of them are architecturally sound with many innovations. His Sagrada Familia church is still being built and won't be done until 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. It is an Alice-in-Wonderland building filled with symbols taken not just from Christian religious history but also nature, with flowers, fruits and animals sculptured onto the walls and towers. The inside of the church is glorious high-ceilinged space that looks as if you're in a jungle of tall flowers.

My favourite was the Casa Battlo which was a residence that Gaudi designed for a wealthy family. It is as quirky as any home could possibly be. Door frames and staircase handles are curved wood, walls and floors are curved and flowy and chimneys are mad splashes of colour. Yet everything works and makes sense in terms of letting in light and air. Still, you have to wonder about the conversations Gaudi must have had with his clients when they must have wondered if he was completely off his rocker.

Rooftop of Casa Batllo.

Casa Batllo chimneys.

As a city, Barcelona strikes me as very livable. People are friendly and despite warnings about pickpockets, I didn't feel unsafe. (Mind you, one of our Prisons guys got pickpocketed on the metro). Public transport is very good with buses plying the wide boulevards very often. A new environmental-friendly initiative by the city is Bicing. Under this system, you can buy a prepaid card (1 Euro a week or 24 Euro a year) which you use to rent a bicycle from the city to cycle everywhere. At your destination there is a place to park and lock your bike and your card ensures that it is always you using the bike. It's still an experimental system but you see many people riding the white and red Bicing bikes everywhere and the traffic jams are never as bad as any of ours. Barcelona has a great website that explains its sustainable transport policies as well as everything else happening in the city. By the way, at pedestrian crossings, a reminder painted on the road reminds you that most accidents in Barcelona involve pedestrians crossing roads without looking. It sure makes you check for cars before you step out.

I'm convinced a First World city (or any city) of the best kind is the type that gives equal access to all of its citizens. At the Fondation Joan Miro museum, I saw teachers taking groups of little kids and explaining Miro's art to them to enthusiastic response. Even more astoundingly I saw a guide take a blind man around the exhibits. He wore white gloves and was encouraged to touch Miro's sculptures while the guide explained the art.

Barcelona is in the Catalunya region of Spain and the people proudly call themselves Catalunyan and speak Catalan. Catalan is their first language, it is taught in schools alongside Spanish (Castillian) which is the national language and all signs are in Catalan first. It's a bit like going to Kelantan and having all signs in Kelantanese first, followed by Bahasa Malaysia. For those expecting to practice their Spanish in Barcelona (like my hubby), it can be a bit of a shock because Catalan is quite different. Having said that, people are very welcoming when you do try to speak Spanish and nowhere near as snooty as the French when you stumble and stammer.

As for food, I only have one recommendation to make: just go to the Mercat de la Boqueria (Boqueria market) at La Rambla and have the seafood. It's fresh, varied and just out-of-this-world delicious.

Hope you enjoyed this little travelogue. I will get back into things Malaysian once I've caught up with everything.

An Inky Situation

One of my regular commenters and blogger, Donplaypuks, asked me to blog about this issue but I haven't been reading the papers much lately for obvious reasons. So I thought I'd just post his comment here and see if anyone will pick it up:

The MPs are not asking the obvious question in Parliament, i.e.

(1) did the EC & its famous Chief actually place an order with the Indian Govt for 48,000 bottles at RM2.4 million or for any other qty of Ink from any other country?

(2) Was the Ink delivered before 8th March to M’sia or was there a delay/screw up?

(3) If the EC Chief answers that the Ink was delivered on time, can we get the Auditor General to issue a certificate of verification & confirmation.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the red-herring about ink smugglers was hatched to cover up either an administrative screw-up or right from day 1, they have been lying to the Public.

I sometimes think even our new MPs have the IQ of a mosquito in that they seem incapable of making a concerted effort to get to the bottom of an important matter.

Thanks DPP.

I am off to attend a conference in Spain tonight and may only have intermittent access to internet. So apologies in advance if your comments get posted late.

Zahari Zain 1958-2008

(with younger daughter Mariam.Photo taken by older daughter Suzana.)

Doting father...

(Tantyo, Zahari, Tara, Marina, climbing Mt Kinabalu, April 21, 2007)

Most affectionate friend and cousin...

Devoted son and brother....

You've left a gap in our hearts that can never be replaced.

(Folks, thank you so much for your kind messages of condolences.)

Bad Day and Blog Break

Folks, today has been a bad day as you may know. Both Raja Petra and Syed Akbar Ali got charged with sedition. I can't tell you more about it because I've not really been in the loop. The best info is probably on Malaysiakini or RockyBru or elsewhere. But am thinking about them both and hope they are well, will get the best of help and will come out alright.

The reason I have been out of the loop and also why I'm taking a blog break is very personal. A very dear cousin of mine is very very ill of lung cancer. We - his kids, his brothers, mother , his cousins and friends - have been keeping vigil at the hospital since last night. It's distressing because he's young and it's all happened so fast. So I hope you'll forgive me if I don't blog for a while. I just can't think about anything else at the moment.

If you'd like to send prayers this way - and also to RPK and Syed Akbar - that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

'Protecting' Women by Caging Them

Sunday May 4, 2008

Ministry wants Local Women Going Abroad Alone to Get Family Consent

KUALA KLAWANG: Local women intending to travel abroad alone may need family consent in a bid to prevent them from being used as “drug mules” by international syndicates.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said a proposal to this effect would be made soon to the Cabinet, following several incidents where women were used to smuggle drugs overseas.

Out of 119 cases of Malaysian women hauled up before foreign courts, 90% were linked to drugs, he said. (But what proportion of the total number of women travelling abroad alone were these 119?)

“Last night, my ministry, together with the Home Ministry, have jointly forwarded a report to the Cabinet on the matter.

“Both ministries agreed that factors like family, religion, immigration laws and preventive measures need to be considered before a Malaysian woman goes abroad alone,” Rais told reporters after officiating at the Malaysian Silambam Association's Jelebu branch here yesterday. (Religion???)

On the proposed requirement for family consent, he said it would enable the woman's family to monitor her departure and serve as a preventive measure against her being duped by international drug syndicates. – Bernama

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I have to say that I always thought Dr Rais was much smarter than this. Isn't it just typical of the patriarchal paternalistic approach that our male politicians adopt that they didn't seek to consult the Ministry of Women or any woman about this before they submitted this ridiculous proposal to Cabinet?

I travel alone a lot. Not once have I ever gotten into trouble with the law abroad, let alone be accused of smuggling drugs, although once, Australian immigration, without asking why I travelled so much, assumed all the many immigration chops I had in my passport MUST mean I was a drug smuggler.

Many women, like me, have to travel abroad alone for work and sometimes for holidays. Why should it be assumed that we are prime targets for drug smugglers and other criminals? Surely what women need is the education about making travel abroad safe. And that's already available. Those of us who are savvy enough know better than to agree to carry things for strangers in our luggage. Or even for friends without asking what is in the parcel. Sometimes friends may not be aware that you can't take food into certain countries. So any smart traveller will know.

Sometimes my family travels ahead of me or later than me so I have to travel alone to join them somewhere. In some families, spouses prefer not to travel on the same flights. There are always occasions when women have to travel alone.

The point is to educate our people to be smarter. But no, we want, as always to take the easy way out. Are women the only people who have been duped? Have we looked at the profile of the women who have been caught in these unfortunate situations? Are they women who have not travelled abroad much, are not savvy about situations overseas, sometimes without the requisite language skills?

When we travel, our families will usually know about it. We sms before we take off and we sms as soon as we land. We leave our hotel numbers with our spouses. That's normal behaviour.

But to have to ask for consent? What if some women have the sort of spouse who thinks that this is a good excuse to keep her at home, even though she has to travel for work? All he has to do is refuse to give consent and that would be it. And certainly he will bring religion into it.

What if I were travelling to a religious conference only for women as I have done before? Am I suppose to tell my hosts that I can't go because my government thinks I might be duped into smuggling drugs just because I am female?

The assumption is that women are like children who need to be protected for their own good. They cannot be relied on to take responsibility for themselves. Thousands of Malaysian women travel abroad on their own every year and return safely. Should we not emphasise that, rather than the relative few who get into trouble? Of course we must help these women but we can prevent more of these incidents happening by simply educating women.

And I must say, the best protection for women all round is to raise their awareness that they have rights, that they don't have to depend on men, that they don't have to be duped by people bearing promises of easy money.

How different is this proposal from the Taliban barring women from going out alone 'for their own protection'? It means that we simply accept that there are crooks out there and they are allowed to run wild. Surely the problem is that there are drug smugglers out there looking for ways to transport drugs and young innocent women are just one of the ways they found? If young male students were the next convenient conduit for them, will we now ban young boys from travelling abroad?

Cancelling the Experiment

UPDATE:

At 4.44pm, I got this from Star News Alert:

Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek confirms that Cabinet has decided to continue with half hour live telecasts of Parliament proceedings/STAR.


Well....! Aren't we decisive! And while the Boss is away too!

My little piece of advice: next time, go talk quietly to a lot of people, think it over habis-habis, THEN announce your decision. Don't just air every single reaction and then do a complete turnaround. Makes you (and the Boss) look a bit silly, no?

ORIGINAL POST:
Whenever anyone conducts an experiment, they have to give it time to achieve the results. Cancelling the live telecast of Parliament after only one day is hardly giving it time. OK, so people were acting up a bit but they'll soon know from the public reaction that this is not what people voted them in for and they'll settle down soon enough and behave properly.

In fact the MPs themselves don't want the telecast to be cancelled including some of the main culprits. So if they are not worried, why be ashamed?

As it is, the 30 minutes is far from adequate. When there are important bills being discussed, they should extend the coverage so that people can follow the entire debate. It's not a matter of the press being to cover it or that anyone can go and listen. Who has the luxury of travelling all the way to KL just to sit in Parliament?

PM: Cancel Telecast in Dewan Rakyat


KUWAIT: The Prime Minister said he was ashamed at what had transpired in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday and agreed that live telecast of the proceedings should be scrapped.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was in the Dewan at the time, adding what happened was just “too much.”

“I felt ashamed if people watched television and saw what was happening in our Dewan. In my heart, I also felt that all this happened because there was a live broadcast at that time. (I'm wondering whether the word 'ashamed' is a translation of 'malu' which in this context means 'embarassed', rather than 'ashamed'. Why would he be ashamed of the behaviour of Opposition MPs?)

“Each (MP) wanted to make himself or herself seen debating or ‘aksi’ (acting) in the Dewan. That was how I felt,” he told reporters yesterday after a brief visit here to attend the 4th World Islamic Economic Forum closing session.

To a question, he said that if Information Minister Datuk Shabery Cheek decided to cancel the live telecast, he would agree.

He said the question of transparency of what went on during proceedings should not arise because sessions were open to all, noting that the media was free to cover the proceedings and report on whatever happened.

The public, too, were free to come to the Dewan to follow the proceedings, he added.

“There are no closed sessions. People can go in anytime the Dewan sits. That’s transparency. Whoever is interested to see if their MPs are talking in the Dewan or not also can come to KL when Parliament is meeting,” he said.

Abdullah also took to task MPs who used words like ‘Big Foot’ and ‘Big Monkey’ in the august House, saying that “words like that should not be used.”

He said that according to decorum, when an MP wanted to raise

a point of order or ask for clarification, he has to get up and wait

for the Speaker to acknowledge him.

“He or she cannot just speak whenever he or she pleases or shout. We have high quality microphones. Even when you speak softly into it, people can hear what is being said (so there is no need to shout),” he remarked.

Abdullah said if an MP who was speaking at a particular time refused to “bagi jalan” (give way) to another, it was not right to pick a quarrel.

“But there was all this quarrelling, accusations – and just no decorum.

Everyone wanted to talk at the same time. That is not right. I have been an MP for a long time and I know what has been (the practice),” he added.

On whether he still had confidence in new Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia to handle the proceedings, Abdullah said: “Give him a chance.” (So , should also give live telecasts a chance...)

He said Pandikar Amin was not someone without experience. Pandikar Amin has served as Speaker at the Sabah state assembly.

The Prime Minister later left for Mecca yesterday evening to perform his umrah. (Now? While Parliament is in session?)