The following pictures may be too graphic for some. Viewer discretion is advised.

Now, how does one justify this event as being legal in any way. It must have been legal, for if not, the Royal Malaysian Police Force would have intervened and apprehended the perpetrators ever so stylishly, no? I bet our ever illustrious Home Minister will have something intelligent to say to us. I have confidence in this, as he has never let us down before. Pray tell, Syed Hamid Albar. Doesn’t this legal gathering stoke racial fires and cause unrest among the multiracial citizens of Malaysia? Doesn’t this constitute sedition? For what it’s worth, I’m convinced the peaceful demonstrators pictured above would have certainly obtained permits not only from the police but from the fire department as well. They burned effigies of pigs, for crying out loud!

This time around, the police has granted a permit for the PJ candlelight vigil but have imposed their 12 conditions, whereby if they’re not met, the permit applicant will be held responsible; in this case, Petaling Jaya city councillor Richard Yeoh. The 12 conditions are listed below:

• Organisers are responsible for the safety of the participants.

• Permission to use the venue is the responsibility of the organiser.

• Crowd must not spill onto the road and cause traffic obstruction.

• No form of political or racial speeches allowed.

• No use of fireworks or explosives, unless explicitly allowed by the police.

• No use of dangerous weapons.

• Organiser must ensure that there is no burning of candles to protest the ISA.

• Organiser must ensure that participants do not wear clothes which call for the abolishment of the ISA.

• Organiser must not hold any activities which show support for ISA detainees.

• Banners and fliers calling for the abolition of the ISA are forbidden.

• The police are free to make audio and video recordings of the event.

In my opinion, the police should have never drawn up certain conditions which are beyond their jurisdiction. For example, what the vigilers chose to wear and choose to say are none of their concern. This is indeed a gross violation of Article 10 of our Federal Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech. The police should only have imposed conditions to monitor the public’s general safety, traffic movements, etc. Who the hell do they think they are to tell us we can’t wear or say what we want? Do they forget or are they too stupid to realise that the taxpayers who pay them their undeserved salary and not their corrupt politicians are their masters? As human rights lawyer N. Surendran so rightly put it, handling a candle or wearing an anti-ISA shirt is not a security issue.

Now, when he was asked to comment, the issuer of the permit, Petaling Jaya police district deputy chief Mohd Shukor Sulong declined, saying that he wasn’t the right person to comment. Then why put your signature on the freaking permit, may I ask?? He went further to say that the right person to comment would be the Selangor police chief, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar (pictured above), a proven liar I should add. He was the one who blatantly lied about the police NOT arresting the vigilers while the national anthem was being sung; and when faced with evidence proving otherwise, did not have the balls to retract his lie or apologise. What kind of comment do you think we could expect from this man of little or no integrity? Be prepared for a Syed Hamid Albarian comment, no doubt!

Malaysians from all woks of life have collectively and strongly denounced the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and have called for the unconditional release of it’s detainees and the abolishment of the draconian law. Several members of the ruling BN coalition have also voiced their discontent and condemned the use of the ISA, the most prominent one being the de-facto law minister at that time, Zaid Ibrahim. He was initially brought into the BN cabinet to give our judiciary a much needed reform. His call also fell on deaf ears and the gentleman subsequently tendered his resignation. If the law minister himself thinks that the ISA needs to be abolished, I don’t think a stronger indication is needed to at least review the matter. ISA detainees remain in detention without trial. Many human right watchdog groups have also called for the abolishment of this inhumane law. ISA detainees still remain in detention without trial.

Malaysians have signed numerous petitions to the government demanding the release of all ISA detainees. Judging from the government’s reaction, it would not be unwise to suspect that those in the corridors of power might not have even read these petitions. We Malaysians are a peaceful and civilised lot. We want to be civil in making our pleas and demands. Instead of taking violently to the streets and bringing the country into unprecedented chaos, we have resorted to writing petitions to our so-called “leaders”. These petitions have been ignored.

Malaysians have, once again, resorted to peaceful protesting. This time around, we are sending emails directly to those we want to reach. In this latest show of support, emails will be sent to our Home Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Prime Minister and YM Raja Petra Kamarudin himself. This move has garnered amazing support thus far. More than 50,000 emails have been sent. All you have to do to lend your support to this noble cause is click here. You do not need to go through the hassle of writing a long email to get the message across. A letter has already been drafted. You just need to fill in your name and remember to click the “send” button for all four recipients. It’s as simple as that.

Let’s all do our part as good, decent and responsible Malaysians and send out these emails to the people out there who have the power to make these decisions. Once again, you can do so by clicking here. RPK and the HINDRAF five have sacrificed too much for us. I make this plea to one and all to show them that they are in our thoughts and prayers and that we are forever indebted to them for their role in the imminent reforms that Malaysia is about to undergo. Show them we care. Show them we are greatful. Show them they are not alone.

In his comment, Syahrizal maintained that race-based politics is also rampant in Pakatan Rakyat as opposed to Barisan Nasional. Furthermore, he implied that BN is not a “racist” party if their continued success in the history of Malaysian GEs is anything to go by. By his logic, if BN was a “racist” party and Malaysians have always voted for BN to be in power, that makes all Malaysians racists. Read his comment and my subsequent reply to his comment here.

I am not offended by his comment by any means. In fact, as I mentioned in my reply to his comment, I am honoured that he had made the time to comment on my supposedly “biased” article. In fact, it is exactly this kind of open discussion and objective and constructive criticism that we bloggers wish to indulge in at any given time. Ironically, this is also something that the current BN goverment does not condone wholeheartedly. They’re policies are far too evident with their constant chastising of bloggers who re perceived as “anti-BN”.

To Syahrizal and all other bloggers and visitors to my blog, I wish to say I may be wrong and that I will stand to be corrected. That is the whole point, we must not fail to see. Everyone should be open to comments and brickbats just the same. Most bloggers reserve the right to moderate the comments shown on their blogs. However, some bloggers fail to approve negative comments on their blogs and this should certainly not be the case. Take for instance, Tun Dr Mahathir’s blog. You will never find a comment made against his views. This is the case with many bloggers, sad to say. Forgive me for singling out Dr M but his blog comes to mind at this point of time.

For me, it is very simple. Live and let live. Blog and let blog. Just as is the case in most developed democracies, freedom of speech should be enshrined in our constitution. Malaysia should look towards the West and adopt this attitude. The attitude of the ruling government must change, for a better Malaysia. As for all the bloggers, we are set in our collective attitude. With the right amount of pressure and patience, we will realise this Malaysian dream. A Malaysia for all. A Malaysia for Bangsa Malaysia.

Sheih Kickdefella is also well endeared by the great majority of Malaysian bloggers who share similar ideals. Among other noteworthy contributions, he was instrumental in coming up with the “Bloggers United” logo that you see on many local blogs including mine.

These arrests may be BN’s way of threatening the questioning voices of Malaysians into submission. Little do they know that such tactics have gone stale. We are called “Bloggers United” for a reason. The government will undoubtedly have lost even more ground with these rash acts of terrorism. Every thing BN does smells of desperation and arrogance. Let it be known that Mahathirism isn’t the order of the day anymore. The latest crackdown on bloggers and other dissenting voices will not have anyone shaking in their boots, let alone these brave bloggers. BN should seriously prepare for a massive blogger backlash! Their days are numbered, and no one knows more so than BN themselves…

Teresa Kok was wrongfully accused of stirring up racial sentiments by instigating members of the public to petition against mosques in Kinrara and Kota Damansara to lower their speaker volumes. These allegations were played up by the former Meneteri Besar of Selangor, Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and the local daily Utusan Malaysia. They were clearly unfounded and deragatory of Teresa Kok, who therefore decided to sue Khir Toyo and Utusan Malaysia. To further establish Teresa’s case and make Khir Toyo look the part of the racial bigot that he truly is, the administrators of both these mosques have defended the fact that Teresa was never involved in the said events which were actually a result of a faulty PA System.

Under such circumstances, you would expect Khir Toyo to be asked to provide an explanation for his malicious attempt to incriminate Teresa Kok who is clearly devoid of any fault. Instead, our moronic government decides that Teresa is a major threat to national security and that UMNO member Khir Toyo is perhaps seen as a great asset to the Malaysian people. As a result, Teresa Kok is arrested under the ISA.

For all of us out here who see these recent events as pathetically unjust and strong-arm tactics of a very desperate and corrupt BN government, let’s do our part in voicing our discontent and disgust with their actions. Call for the immediate release of Teresa Kok and the abolishment of the Internal Security Act so no other being should be detained without trial. This, my friends, is nothing more than the BN government blatantly denying us our basic right as humans and as citizens of this great country. This petition is found on Teresa Kok’s website as well as on many other prominent blogs and websites. The current number of signatures stands at 5710.

It is up to us to make the right noise. Show the government what is meant by “People Power”. Sign the petition and call for the immediate and unconditional release of Teresa Kok and all others so wrongfully detained under the ISA. Call for abolition of this draconian law that makes it possible for our corrupt government to arrest anyone without trial who stands in the way of their twisted ambitions. Call for an immediate repeal in this practice which grossly violates human rights and our fundamental liberties as Malaysians. Sign the petition for a much needed change…

Earlier in the afternoon, controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) was detained under ISA, as many would have already expected. What took the nation by surprise, however, was the subsequent arrests of Sin Chew daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng in Bukit Mertajam at 8.30pm and charismatic Seputeh MP Teresa Kok in Kuala Lumpur at 11.18pm on similar charges. All three arrests were made under Section 73(1) of the infamous Internal Security Act.

It is far from surprising however that few others who were as deeply involved as those mentioned above have been ignored in this crackdown. Bukit Bendera UMNO chief Ahmad Ismail who was at the epicenter of racial tensions following his Chinese-bashing speech in Permatang Pauh did not suffer the same fate as the journalist who reported the matter in the first place. Ironic? Get a load of this: Former Selangor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo who obviously started publicly accusing Teresa Kok of racial manipulation was also conveniently left out of this exercise.

History beckons. It takes us back to a time of similar fortunes. 27th October 1987. Ops Lalang was carried out by the Malaysian police to crack down on opposition leaders and social activists. The operation saw the infamous arrest of 106 persons under the ISA and the revoking of the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star and Watan. Among the prominent figureheads who were detained are Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Kua Kia Soong, Chandra Muzaffar, Halim Arshat, Irene Xavier and Hilmy Noor.

Many Malaysians believe these recent events mark the beginning of “Ops Lalang II”. This is no doubt the sign of a very desperate BN government’s final attempt to salvage it’s interests. It will be interesting to see the reaction by the rakyat in General, for this time around, it’s a totally different ball game. Malaysians have shown signs of awakening from their slumber. Racial politics by BN no longer has the desired effect of these crooked politicians. This day marks the beginning of the end for a government which has overstayed its welcome in the eyes of the public in general. Subsequent events leading up to the imminent takeover by Pakatan Rakyat wields the impossible, and BN knows that for sure. It is only a matter of time before Malaysia gets what she truly deserves. Yes, this is a sad day indeed for Malaysia; but remember, it is always darkest before the break of a new dawn…

Many of us, I’m sure, have by now already heard of RPK’s detention under ISA and have been deeply disturbed and perhaps angered by this latest of the government’s ridiculously pathetic and unlawful moves. I’m also convinced that Malaysians from all walks of life will be readily in arms at a single moment’s notice to take to the streets in protest of RPK’s detention. However, doing exactly that will be nothing more than playing into the dirty hands of BN’s manipulations. That is certainly what they want. Another street protest will subsequently lead to riots and end up in a declared state of emergency. Do justice to RPK. If you have read his latest article on Malaysia Today, he has written of the undisputed turth behind May 13 and has forewarned all of us that the government will be banking on a repeat of these events in their favour.

We have to be very tactful in dealing with matters this time around. Even the most peaceful street protest will be exploited by the government rendering it impossible for the Pakatan Rakyat to seize control. Let’s do this intelligently and be very shrewd about the whole thing. We all feel strongly about RPK’s misfortune. We feel for him and his family. We are saddened by this latest turn of events and we will not rest until all wrongs have been righted.

Let’s do this the right way, though. Let us all show our support for RPK at Pakatan Rakyat’s Malaysia Day Celebration on Sept 15th 2008 at 8pm at the Kelana Jaya Stadium. At this event, we will show solidarity for RPK. Don’t come alone. Bring your family and friends. It is but a small favour I ask of you on behalf of a great man who is on the verge of losing everything for what he believes in. He has fought this battle for you and for me. Let’s do this for him, for a change…

It is a sad day indeed for all Malaysians. The BN government has hit a new low with its decision to detain him under the ISA. Needless to say, this move by the partisan government will bring rise to drastic repercussions in a time of great political instability in Malaysia. Merely a day has passed since the ban on RPK’s controversial website, Malaysia Today, waslifted by the government. This move was met with some well-placed suspicion by RPK himself. In his own words, “I’m always suspicious of their next move. There is always a hidden agenda.” How right he was.

The irony of it all, in my opinion, is the fact that Ahmad Ismail was handed just a 3 year ban from all UMNO positions and dealings. The bigot who openly made discriminatory remarks against the Chinese while campaigning in Permatang Pauh is clearly unrepentant. To add fuel to the fire, he has embarked on a road show to defend himself and instigate the minorities even more by defending his actions as the right thing to do. Now, if this isn’t a threat to internal security, I don’t know what is! I, for one, was against the idea of using the ISA against Ahmad Ismail because I felt it will be hypocritical of me to condone the use of the draconian law, regardless of who it is being used against. Many others shared my viewpoint, including Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, President of the National Human Rigts Society (HAKAM). Somehow or rather, it makes you wonder if it is worth being the better man and taking a more neutral standpoint in such matters. The fact that the government decided that RPK is a bigger threat than Ahmad Ismail is something that baffles me, and I’m  sure I’m not alone in taking this stance.

RPK has repeatedly said he has nothing to lose. However, we Malaysians have lost too much for words with the improper detention of RPK. We have lost a great man who fears no one in his quest for justice and a better nation. This very day, as I implied earlier, marks a black spot in Malaysian history. While the country is at its turning point, the BN government in its last days in power has resorted to blatantly cheap and dirty tactics once again to silence its critics. This time, I suspect, it will not go unquestioned. This may just be the straw that broke the camel’s back. RPK’s best bet now is to hope Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim seizes political power as promised. For all those out there who still feel that BN parliamentarian crossover are unethical, I guess this justifies the morality of it all. Someone needs to do the dirty job, and Anwar it is. BN has just breathed its last. Rest In Peace…