Magic

The most amazing magic trick I've ever seen. Check out the burger, after he takes a bite at it. Introducing : Cyril Takayama

The Malaysian Ku-Klux-Klan?

"Its proven historically that this is Tanah Melayu. Others are categorised as second class citizens," Ahmad Mahayuddin Abd Manaf told reporters.

What a wonderful phrase above. The above is a quote from Malaysian Insider, quoting Ahmad, who is one of the 6 charged for the now infamous cow-head incident.

Let us study this phrase carefully. It seems to me this person is using history to back up his claim for racial supremacy. His foundation is that this land was once known as 'Tanah Melayu', and on that logic, as a Malay, he claims supremacy. He suggests that all other races being migrants, are 2nd class.

I would like to quote the website of www.sabrizain.org, where that website is quoted to state:-

"Anthropologists trace the home of the malay race to the Northwest part of Yunan, in China".

So, if that is the history of the Malay race in Tanah Melayu, it only means that the Malays are actually, Chinese. If the Malays are actually Chinese, that would make all my malay friends, my long distance relative.

Wow, what a revelation.

So, how does one claim racial supremacy over other migrants, when one is also a migrant?

It is also obvious that this Ahmad chap is relying on 'I-came-to-this-land-before-you' argument to lay claim as the supreme race of the Land. But it is an acceptable truth that the Orang Asli were here before the Malays. If that is the case, using the logic of Ahmad, of who come first is supreme, how did that make the Malays a supreme race in Malaysia? The Orang Asli has to be the supreme race in Malaysia then?

I would submit that the tirade by Ahmad above is the very reason why Malaysia must move away from this racial issues in Malaysia. These issues are illogical and unacceptable in the modern day Malaysia.

But, I will concede that the Constitution of Malaysia preserves the rights of the Malay race. I would accept that as part of the Law, as I respect and accept the Federal Constitution as the supreme law in Malaysia.

I would, however, not accept that our Federal Constitution was drafted to bred racism.

We do not and should not have a Ku-Klux-Klan attitude in our Country.

Experiments at the Duta Court

Whilst most lawyers are trying to complete their work with the impending year-end holidays in the horizon, a small but significant group of lawyers have been battling their way in the Lower Courts for the last 1 month.

Since the introduction of the Tracking system at the Lower Courts (Session & Magistrates Courts), scenes at the newly created Managing Judge zones in the Court complex resembles a refugee camp, of people lining up trying to get out of the country.

For those who dont understand what this tracking system is, please allow me to explain.

There are about 10 Civil Magistrate Courts and Session Courts. The Lower Courts also have specialised Courts to hear Criminal matters, but that division is not affected by the Tracking system (yet?).

Every single Civil Lower Court would have it's own Session Court President (the Judge) or a Magistrate. Each President/Magistrate would have about 10,000 to 50,000 files to go through every year. Mostly small claims and mostly cases which can be disposed off fairly quickly. The President/Magistrate would manage the Court and fix cases for Hearings/Trials. Admittedly, some Courts are slower than the other; but eventually, matters move.

It would be ideal to tweak that system, instead of just replacing the entire system to the current Tracking system.

So, what is this Tracking system?

In this system, ALL files from ALL Courts are managed by a central unit, referred to the 'Managing Judge Unit' (MJU). The Magistrate and Session Courts have their respective MJU. Every day now at the Duta Court complex a group of about 200 to 500 lawyers, mostly younger lawyers, trying to find their way in the MJU areas. Recently, the Session Court's MJU moved from the Basement to Level 3, whilst the Magistrate MJU remains in the Basement floor.

What happens there; is unfortunate and depressing. Lawyers are made to queue for hours to find out about their files. What use to take about 20-30 minutes in the old system, now take an average of an hour to 2 to sort out. Some lawyers will be at Court for about 2 hours to sort out just 1 file.

Instead of quickening the system, it has costs massive waste of legal time for the lawyers. Every minute away from the office for these lawyers would mean the lost of opportunity to serve other clients. Of course, this would adversely affect the incomes of the Legal Firms too.

This is not a conducive method to dispense Justice and the experiment at the Lower Courts must be either stopped or held back (and re-done) before re-implementing the system. Ideally the Courts Administrators ought to think things through first, before implementing any system.

Press Release by the Malaysian Bar

Press Release: Move towards transparent and accountable investigations

Contributed by Ragunath Kesavan

Tuesday, 01 December 2009 05:14pm

We refer to Syed Nadzri’s column in today’s New Straits Times, entitled “When common sense goes out the window”, in respect of the High Court’s recent ruling that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission can only question witnesses between 8.30am and 5.30pm. The Malaysian Bar is of the view that the interpretation of the High Court’s decision that is articulated in that editorial is inaccurate. We restate our position on this matter, as expressed in our press release dated 30 November 2009, which includes the following principles. Witnesses who aid law enforcement agencies in investigations should surely, at a minimum, be accorded the same protection and rights as accused persons. However, there is a fundamental distinction between witnesses and accused persons, which must be highlighted. Accused persons can be remanded because they are implicated in the alleged offence, whereas witnesses are integral in assisting the investigation and prosecution process. It is essential that witnesses, whose testimonies are important in court hearings, not face any actual or perceived intimidation, pressure or coercion during the interrogation process. The High Court decision relates to the MAAC’s practice of compelling witnesses to appear and be questioned, including for long periods of time that stretch beyond office hours, with no option for them to decline. We reiterate that if witnesses volunteer to be interrogated outside of office hours, and attend the interview with their legal counsel, any allegation of impropriety or abuse would be immediately dispelled. Such respect for the Constitutionally-enshrined right to counsel of one’s choice, and adherence to the High Court ruling, will, in the long run, promote transparency and accountability. Furthermore, witnesses would be encouraged to be forthcoming in assisting with investigations, as they would have no reason to fear the interrogation process or dread being unduly detained for long and unreasonable hours. Ragunath Kesavan President Malaysian Bar 1 December 2009

The Ship Sails

The ship sails,

It has sailed for over 3 decades,

Almost 4 in fact.

The ship is old, been broken before,

Not as strong as it use to be,

But it continues to sail.

It looks for a port to dock,

A port to call Home,

To Park itself, hopefully for life.

The captain will see the port,

Ensure that the ship should anchor there,

Absolutely sure, before it docks.

But the ship has stopped at ports,

which wont receive the ship,

Wont let it dock.

The ship once saw this port,

Perfect place to land,

And the captain was 100% sure it is the place to land.

But the port refuse the ship,

And turn it away,

And with a broken mass, the ship sailed again.

This ship wont just dock,

Until it is absolutely sure,

That the port is the right one.

Now, the ship has found another new port,

Another perfect port,

A port, to call Home.

But it does not look like its gonna happen,

This new port will not accept this ship,

This new port will shoo the ship away.

With sadness,

With disappointment,

The ship sails, again..

Mind Your Language

Welcome to the new MIND YOUR LANGUAGE CLASS. Today's lesson is translation from the make-you-feel-weird English to the Malay Language.

(please read story at the link)

To avoid feeling weird in office & to avoid polluting our culture (by using English), we should use the Malay Language

Translation :-

Untuk mengelakkan perasaan pelik di pejabat dan untuk mengelakkan pencemaran tradisi kami (dengan penggunaan Bahasa Inggeris), kita patut menggunakan Bahasa Melayu.

The Language which makes you feel weird:-

"The hardware and software support for facebook and twitter must be made simpler to the point we can plug and play immediately"

Translation to the Malay Language:-

"Barang Keras dan Barang Lembut yang menyokong BukuMuka dan Kecipan-Burung mesti disenangkan sehingga sampai titik kita boleh terus cucuk dan main."

Thank you for attending the first class. More will come.

Regards,

Mr Brown

aka Encik Cokolat

Our Children. Our Hope. Our Future.

a project by the Human Rights Committee of Bar Council

It’s that time of the year again when the Bar Council, Malaysia puts together an annual event to commemorate International Human Rights Day.

This year’s theme is “Our Children. Our Hope. Our Future”, in recognition of our role not merely as custodians of society but also as those who shape its values. We believe that every child has economic, social and cultural rights, related to the conditions necessary to meet his or her basic human needs such as food, shelter, education and healthcare.

Therefore, we are holding a Children’s Homes Fundraising Dinner this year, whereby proceeds will go to seven children’s homes - Desa Amal Jireh, The Pure Life Society, Gurpuri Foundation, Rumah Solehah, An-Najjah, All Ethnic Group Refugee Children Education Centre and Rumah Sayangan.

Donations received will help to maintain and improve the conditions of the homes and create a better environment for the children, some of whom are orphans or living with HIV/AIDS and other forms of terminal disease and disability.

Please come and support this important and meaningful event because it is up to all of us to make it right for our children.

“Our Children. Our Hope. Our Future” Children’s Homes Fundraising Dinner

Grand Ballroom, Sunway Hotel, Resort and Spa

10 December 2009, 6:30pm

Dinner ticket @ RM200 per ticket/ RM2, 000 per table

Dress code: Formal

We welcome individual donations, in cash or in kind, and corporate sponsorship.

For tickets and further information, please contact Lim Ka Ea at 03-2031 3003, ext. 127, email: kaea@malaysianbar.org.my, or Siti Kasim at 012-223 3371, email: sitikasim@gmail.com.