YOU HAVE A CHOICE!

I was a bit saddened when the news came in today that Dr Wan Azizah, wife of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has sent in her resignation letter to step down as member of parliament for Permatang Pauh.

I know that it may be hard for her, and to her constituents which she really really cared for but she still did it. This is so that her husband could contest in a by-election.

What she did is true courage. I admire her spirit, her determination, her strength and her courage. She’s a true heroine of the millenium. She carried out her duties well, serving with sincerity, honesty and full of integrity.Not only that, she also  have a good rapport with her constituents. She’s a very soft spoken gentle lady and is well like and respected by all.

I wish her well as the Presiden of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

I was truely shock and saddened today when i read about the punishment meted out to Cpl Dave Teo regarding the offence he comitted. Yes, no doubt about it that he has comitted a very serious offence but come to think about it, at the end of the day, after knowing more about his unfortunate growing up years, can we blame him at all?

Does he deserve to be jailed for 9years and two months and receive 18 strokes of the cane on his butt? Does he really deserve to be sentence this harsh? Where is the compassion for this guy? The judge who sentence him says, "My heart hurts for you that so young a man will have to spend some of the best years of his life in prison and have to undergo so many strokes of the cane…" To this judge, stop being a hypocrite… Can you imagine, after serving this sentence, when he can finally be able to taste freedom once again, he might and will have to face trial again, this time by the military court! This guy, his future is totally ruin…. My sympathy for him. I’m truely saddened and angry by the harsh punishment meted out to him…

Where is the human being in us? Look at the circumstances. Look At his traumatic growing up years. What he need is moral and emotional support. He needs someone to talk to. Someone whom he is able to pour out all his feelings, his sufferings of all this years… Yes, he may be guilty as charge but i strongly believe in giving him a second chance. Give him time to change. Give him time to build up his confidence again. He don’t deserve the 18 strokes of the cane….

To the judge, I’m disappointed in you. You claim to be hurt for this young man but the sentence you mete out to him doesn’t show at all that you are hurt… What is to become of his future, may i ask? How is he going to reconstruct back his life when his future is already doom by your harsh punishment and maybe those of the military court! Where is your sense of compassion? Where is your heart, sir?

To Cpl Dave Teo, i hope that you’ll be strong enough to face all this obstacles and challenges facing you. Don’t easily give up hope, young man. Even though the society at large may look down on you, i just want you to know that you have my support. I hope that you’ll be a better man once this whole episode is over and be able to start over a new leaf…. My faith is in you, young man!

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Workers’ Party on its sucessful election of the new Central Executive Comittee recently.

Congratulations also to the 3 new fresh faces for being sucessfully elected into the Central Comittee. This show that the party is on the right path for leadership renewal and that it can hold free and fair elections… It truely shows how democratic the party is, with the organising members free to vote and decide who should sit in the comittee. Congrats to one and all.

Hopefully with the induction of the 3 new faces, it will help direct and move the party to achieve a greater height, more than just being a governtment watchdog. Hopefully too, the party will be strengthen and come out stronger for the next coming General Election and win more seats…

But one thing i fear is that the party will become more elitist in its views. I fear that it will become another PAP and that is the day i dread to think of. Negative thoughts aside….

I hope to see  that the party will be able to work with other opposition parties like the Reform Party, SDA and even with SDP. For me, opposition unity is very important. We can’t walk alone. Each parties may have different way of doing or handling things, but at the end of the day, unity and co-operation is very important if you want to succeed. I believe that the different approaches taken by the various parties will complement each other. And at the end of the day, its the opposition as a whole which will benefit.

Let us take a look at the Pakatan Rakyat. Even though they may have their differences in their approaches or views, they came together, form an alliance and see their fruits of labour… They manage to capture 5 states! I hope that the opposition parties in Singapore take notes of that.

Last but not least, i long to see a Singapore Opposition Alliance being form for the next coming election or after. I hope to see every single constituency and GRC’s being contested and hopefully too, more credible people will come forward to offer their help and service and even stand as candidates for the opposition. PAP is already out of touch with the people. Its time to teach them a lesson or two….

I was caught in a state of shock and surprise when i heard the news of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) being accuse of sodomising again… Well.. wats new yeah… This is dirty politics at its play…

Well frankly speaking, i’ll stand by DSAI, coz i believe in his innocence. I have followed all his cases all the way back in 1998 when he was first accused of the same thing… Hmm… It seems that  Pak Lah governtment has no more ideas and creativity to stop DSAI and to kill him off politically. Its really pathetic to see them using old stuffs again on DSAI.

No matter what, this incident has totally strengthen up my faith and believe in DSAI. I belive that Pakatan Rakyat will topple the Barisan Nasional in no time and DSAI will become the new legitimate Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Last but not least, I’ll always pray for the safety and well-being of DSAI and his alliance in the Pakatan Rakyat. May the REFORMASI flame burns bright and strong in the heart of every Malaysians…

HIDUP ANWAR! HIDUP PAKATAN RAKYAT! HIDUP REFORMASI!

You appeared out of nowhere… Bringing surprises to me, bringing lots of love, joy and happiness back to me… Telling me and showing me what’s the meaning of true love, the meaning of life… You lead me and show me the way…

Masashi Hakada, you’re the first Japanese American i’ve known, and you have done what others couldn’t. I truly appreciate and treasure your presense in my life. I just felt that i’m born again into this world. You give me hope… You light up my life…

Thanks Masashi… Love and miss you always…

There’s been a lot of noises made recently when The Workers’ Party Organising Secretary, Mr Yaw Shin Leong, revealed in his blog that he had voted for a PAP candidate during GE 2006. There were some of those who supported his actions while others, critical.

Personally though, i’m a bit disappointed by his actions but he has his own personal reasons and he had explain and reason it out. We shall respect that. Isn’t this is what democracy is all about? Each and everyone of us have a choice. The WP battlecry for GE 2006 was, ‘YOU HAVE A CHOICE’. I believe that he had made his choice after taking in all the considerations, all the pros and cons of his decision.

Personally speaking, if i were to be in his shoes, i would just spoil my vote. Coz i wouldn’t want to vote for a candidate like Mr Ling neither would i vote for the PAP candidate.But to one, his own….. We shall leave it at that.

Back to GE 2006, i am glad that i have made the right choice. I voted according to my conscience, and my conscience tell me to vote for the Singapore Democratic Party team led by Ms Chee Siok Chin in Sembawang GRC. I do not want to simply give the PAP a blank cheque and let them abuse their power.

Deep in my heart, i know that the SDP is a party who will fight and stand up for the people. Even though there are some people out there who disagree or disapprove of their actions, i personally support it, though not all…  I strongly believe in freedom of speech, and the freedom of expression. I have personally attended a few of their activities and i find nothing wrong in that, in fact it enlightens me and expose to me the cruelty and the abuses of the ruling junta.

In my own personal opinion, SDP actually complements well the work done by the other moderate alternative parties like the WP or SDA. Even though SDP is a bit more radical and loud, it truely speaks for the people. It fights for the people’s right, and reveals all the dirty tactics of the ruling junta to shut the opposition down and make them the obedient dog of the ruling junta.

Well, enough said. I hope that come GE 2011, the SDP will contest again in Sembawang GRC and trust me, i will again vote according to my conscience, and that is to vote for SDP!

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Of Home Affairs, the honourable Mr Wong Kan Seng has given his Ministerial statement in Parliament regarding the escape of the JI terrorist, Mas Selamat Kastari from the detention centre.

After hearing  what he says, it suddenly hit me that the governtment, do indeed, is trying to hide something from the people. The 1001 excuses he gave throughout his 1 hr of speech in parliament is all a waste of time. Transparent, you may call it, but i believe my 6 yr old niece can do better than that!

The people should be let known the truth, nothing but the whole truth! The government should take full responsibility of it and Mr Wong Kan Seng should honourably resign from his post. He has failed as the Minister In charge to make Singapore a safe and secure country. He has failed in his duty of care, to the people of the Republic of Singapore. He has breach his duty of care, in which the people has place in him. He has put the lives of Singaporeans and Singapore as a whole at stake, due to his complacency!

So where is his integrity? He knows jolly well that he have failed in his job, to the people and to the country. He puts the blames on the guards, and blame every single person in the detention centre but why, why he never puts the blame on himself? Isn’t he, as the Minister of Home Affairs, the overall in charge of the security department? I’m deeply and truely disappointed by the turn of events.

Is this the kind of Minister we want to have in Singapore? Should we, the people, retain him and let him continue to lead us? Lead us into the path of disaster??? Lead us into the path of complacency?

The time has come. Its time for Wong Kan Seng to go. Dont give any more reasons or excuses. We have lost faith in him. We have lost faith in the system. If he’s an honourable man, then RESIGN!

Well, i believe that it has been more than a month Since the Commission Of Inquiry been set up to look into the escape of Mas Selamat, and yet till today, no report/outcome have come from them…. So, what happen? And why all this silence???

Maybe we should just remind all those in the ivory tower that the public have not forgotten… We still remember. We have the right to know. We won’t keep quiet about it. After all the hoo-haa, we will not just sit down and say, "What to do… It has happen."

The public demands answers to all the questions. The public deserves to know the truth. Heads should roll of those responsible for this unfortunate and shameful saga, and it should start from the top, that is, The Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng for being complacent…

Yesterday, 27th March 2008, my mum received a surprise visit from two SCDF officers who is there to personally hand deliver a letter to me, but as i was working during that time, my mum received it on my behalf.

She called me up, sounding very distress and panicky, asking me whether i have deserted from National Service! I was shock for a moment, trying to digest fully my mum’s words. What the hell? Since when have i deserted from National Service? After that conversation, i couldn’t concentrate fully on my job, feeling distress, confuse and in shock. What the hell is going on here?

When i get back home later that night, i quickly reach for the letter from the SCDF. Its headline was, "FINAL WARNING"! and the sub-headline was, " ABSENSE FROM IN-CAMP TRAINING".

In point 1, it ask me to refer to the letter that was served to me dated 07/01/2008 and says that they have yet to hear from me despite the reminder.

In point 2, they says that they have consider me as having deserted from National Service and that upon conviction, i am liable to serve imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

In point 3, it stated that they are still prepared to take a lighter view of my offence if i respond to the letter immediately by contacting the unit, which is SCDF HQ 4th CD Division.

The letter was signed personally by the Officer In Charge of NSPAC, LTA Foo See Kum of the HQ 4th CD Division.

Well, of course when i have read through the letter, not once, not twice but over and over again, i really feel disgusted and angry with SCDF, for accusing me of something which i have not done! At the same time, there’s also fear in me, and i’m not in the right state of mind, feeling extremely confused and distressed! I keep asking myself of what is going on, what is happening and that night, i did not have a peaceful sleep.

This morning, i woke up early to call the cd division. A staff answered, and when i asked to speak to LTA Foo, the staff replied back that he’s in Civil defence Academy. Jolly well, as i was feeling extremely angry that time, i spoke to this staff of the letter which they hand delivered. The staff replied that i did not attend my In-camp training in December 2007! Hearing that, i immediately "exploded" at him. I also told him that i did not receive any letter from them  dated 07/01/2008.

Yes its true, i was to attend my reservist training in late December 2007. But as luck would have it, i had a foot infection and the doctor excuse me from wearing any boots/shoes for a week. On the very first day of the December reservist, i reported back to Civil Defence Academy and showed my excuse letter to the officers in charge. He then advice me to go back to the 4th CD Division to submit my excuse letter and reschedule my reservist date.  So i did that and my reservist training was reschedule to February 2008, which i attended. The staff then check my ic and then he admitted that there is a mistake. I was furious. I demanded for LTA Foo to get back to me.

LTA Foo eventually called and i reprimanded him and give him a piece of my mind. He admit about the mistake and apologise over the phone and gave 1001 excuses but i demanded that i want an apology letter in black and white and asked it to be hand delivered personally and for them to apologise to my family personally for the distress and alarm caused. This is a very serious matter as it had caused a lot of distress to my family. For me being accused of deserting from National Service duty is already a very serious matter. I also asked him for disciplinary action to be taken to those who cause this mess. what is worse, he signed the warning letter personally himself without any counter check!

I’m now planning to write in to the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding this unfortunate incident to ensure that action will be taken and that this kind of thing won’t happen again in the future.

Is this the kind of standard of a world class organisation which Singapore is proud of? Frankly speaking, i have totally lost my faith and trust in SCDF! Never ever in my life, from very now onwards…

I stayed up late this morning till about 4am just to wait and watch for the results of the 12th Malaysian General Election. Frankly speaking, i’ve been praying and hoping hard that the Barisan Alternatif, consisting of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Democratic Action Party (DAP) will do some big damage to the ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional (BN).

And true enough, they do not disappoint! Not only they do some big damage, by retaining the state of Kelantan, and winning the states of Kedah, Perak, Penang and Selangor but they also denies the ruling coalition of the 2/3 majority in Parliament! Its a history in the making in Malaysian elections, some sort of political Tsunami, a revolution, People Power!There’s the wind of change, and the making of a new Malaysia…

Initially, i was a bit fearful that the state of Kelantan might fall back to BN, due to the promises made by the ruling coalition for the development of Kelantan,but as the result trickle out, i was fully overjoyed and relieve! Thank God, the people of Kelantan has not been swayed, in fact, PAS has become much more stronger winning 38 seats, PKR one seat,out of 45 seats in the state!This is the power of God! Semoga Kelantan sentiasa maju dibawah kepimpinan Ulama! Insyallah!

I was extremely happy and delighted as results came out that PKR has won quite a number of Parliamentary and state seats in the GE. In fact, it has improve its lots and shows that this multi- racial party, led by former Deputy Prime Minister, Yang Berbahagia, Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim is making it big. Especially so when his wife, Datin Sri Wan Azizah Aziz manage to retain her Parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh and his daughter, Nurul Izzah, winning the Parliamentary seat of Lembah Pantai, knocking out the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is the incumbent. Heartiest Congratulations!

Not forgetting too the DAP, who has manage the form the Governtment in the state of Penang. Congratulations to one and all…

The people have spoken, the voices heard… Whatever unhappiness the people have with BN, they have spoken out loud through the ballot box. Hope that this will be a lesson to them. Abdullah Badawi is walking on a tight rope. He may not continue his term as the Prime Minister and i predict Najib will take over. Whatever it is, all the best.

Last but not least, what i want to say is that the results are already out. It is truely a humbling experience for both the winners and the losers. Hope that something valuable can be learnt from this GE. To the Barisan Alternatif, the people have given you and entrust you with the power to govern. Make sure that you govern with full of honesty and sincerity, free of corruption and cronyism and with the people interests always at heart. Dont ever ever be strayed and go the way of BN…

MAJULAH BARISAN ALTERNATIF!