Dearest friends,

Firstly, a real big thank you to whoever you are for reading this. An even bigger thank you if you’ve been coming to this site for a while :)

By way of background, I started this blog to see what would come out if I started writing about things I cared about. You’ve helped me gain some very precious insight.

Perhaps in a fit of arrogance, I think the time has come to take this a little more seriously. By that I mean getting my own site/domain, and doing it up properly. Hopefully then - and if I can attain some standards of content quality - I’d like to plant my own little flag in the Malaysian blogosphere and try to leave a teeny weeny mark in the development of our beloved home.

Anyway, blablablas aside, what that means is that I will probably have to take a break to concentrate on building said site. There’s a whoooole lotta ground to cover, as I’m sadly really not as tech savvy as I wish I were.

Learning all this is inconsistent with spending the time I have daily in writing, so not being the best multi-tasker in the world when it comes to concentrating on big projects, I probably can’t both write and learn web publishing at the same time :(

But! I plan to be back!! (famous last words eh? :) And I’ll be sure to leave a post here saying where I can be ‘found.’ Please feel free to leave an e-mail address if you’d like to be informed via that medium :)
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In the off chance there’s a Malaysian-based net-savvy techie out there with a lotta time on his hands, and a shares a vision with this blog, I’d REALLY appreciate any help :) I’ve actually also got a few other web projects that could benefit immeasurably from some high quality tech support - that’s basically what’s keeping many ideas of mine from getting off the ground.

Anyway, please do get in touch. For now, I can be reached at n at deepthought dot org (yah, just n@, gettit? hehe)

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Lastly, I’d LOVE to hear any feedback you might have on my humble 3 weeks of work. What would you like to see less of? more of? What are you dis/satisfied with? What direction would you like to see this blog go? All comments extremely welcome :)

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Ok then folks, thank you SO much once again :) My warmest wishes to you over this hiatus period. Wish me luck in getting the site running, and I’ll be sure to be in touch. Happy Merdeka!

Tags: Malaysian Politics by Nathaniel Tan
2 Comments »

Much has been said today, maybe I’ll only add this (hopefully not duplicating anyone).

Looked at one way, Merdeka can be thought to be a rather colonial-centric celebration, much like the academic discipline of post-colonialism.

Granted, born over 20 years after the fact, I am in quite a position to take for granted the freedoms that came with independence. With that caveat, I’d say that perhaps there are other - at least equally important - things to focus on, today and every day, with regards to defining moments of Malaysia.

First of all, a forum participant recently made a brilliant comment: “Sarawak and Sabah didn’t join Malaysia, we MADE Malaysia.” All too true :) so let’s not forget that fateful juncture as well.

A less comfortable source - Gen-M, the latest grassroots support for TDM’s cause - lends us another useful axiom: perjuangan belum tamat - the struggle is not over.

So alongside glorifying the day we threw off the yoke of our oppressors and all that, let’s take a moment to remember the things that continue to oppress us: corruption, racism, abuse of power, repression, poverty and unequal wealth distribution, ignorance.. the list goes on. All things I’d like to try and continue writing on.

These many things continue to subjugate Malaysia and all Malaysians, the only difference between these tyrannies and the evil colonials is the “white man.” At the end of the day I believe there is no real Independence without freedom from these afflictions.

The struggle is not yet over, but neither - I’d like to believe - is our fighting spirit. Hidup rakyat!

Tags: History by Nathaniel Tan
3 Comments »

hi all :) hope you’re enjoying this big day for malaysia..

may be a big (oklah, medium) day for this blog.. i will probably try to spend a bunch of time working on technical issues, so may be ‘down’ for a while. kindly bear with..

i will be sure to provide you with an update soon, as well as probably share a few teeny weeny merdeka thoughts and all :)

thanks, and happy holidays! :)

Tags: Malaysian Politics by Nathaniel Tan
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Pak Lah has a heard before call for unity.

Also, I heard twice today on the radio Pak Lah’s comments on ‘Sejenak Bersama Pak Lah’ (which I must say has a lovely jingle). Sadly, it went on and on about how precarious our situation was, and how we must never talk about ethnicity, religion, etc etc..

Pak Lah calls them really big problems, but defies logic when he says they must thus be swept under the carpet. May work for a little while, but I’m pretty darn sure our children will really suffer for it. I’d say I already suffer for it.

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Well, maybe we’ll have to look overseas for intelligent discourse? :( Blogger YB Lim Kit Siang points to a pretty good article in the Int’l Herald Tribune concerning a secular vs religious state in Malaysia.

Have a read for full content.

I learnt some things I didn’t know before: Negeri Sembilan is apparently the only state that ‘allows’ apostasy, and (according to lawyer Zulkifli Noordin) 18 people have managed to officially leave Islam in Malaysia.

I would love to know more about these things.

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Back to the matter of free speech, Jeff Ooi posts today on the outcome of his run-in with writer P. Gunasegaram and Nexnews; there’s additional commentary regarding freedom of speech on the internet too, which sparked quite a debate. theSun, which is owned and run by Nexnews, publishes a somewhat disappointing frontpager.

Nonetheless, Jeff appears to be taking the relatively higher ground.

In the post which published the ‘offending’ commenter’s apology, I commented the following:

Dear IImran,

I just wanted to say well done for writing that e-mail. You’ve probably really helped strengthen Jeff’s position in all of this.

Also, you’ve provided an excellent example in the art of appologising. It’s painfully and frustratingly baffling why politicians simply cannot get the hang of it (see Jerlun).

If we say something that’s taken the wrong way, what’s wrong with appologizing? Is the word ’sorry’ so ridiculously humiliating?

People might say that an ‘unreserved appology’ lessens your credibility - I want to state strongly that it has increased your credibility in my eyes, and further encouraged me to take your opinions as that of a sincere and honorable person.

(that said, I think TDM has had a really realllly sketchy pastlah, heh… but true enough, the Pak Lah administration ain’t doing a whole lot better).

Anyway, that’s besides the point :) just wanted to say good job! I think you’ve set a good example that will do a lot for us in the online community :)

Posted by: nat August 30, 2006 11:09 AM

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Tags: Religious Affairs, Responsible Free Speech by Nathaniel Tan
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Three policemen have been suspended indefinitely for the video recorded beatings at the Putra Heights police station.

This move is a welcome sign that the police are serious about cleaning up their force. I hope they see that these efforts can exist side by side with, rather than in lieu of the IPCMC.

Also, if this is the effect a video recording has - why not install more CCTV’s in police stations?

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The lady in the nude squat case, meanwhile, has filed a RM250,000 suit against the government.

Again, the lack of an IPCMC would expose the police to innumerably more suits and more importantly, episodes that give rise to such suits.

Tags: Law Enforcement by Nathaniel Tan
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Some quick notes on parliament.

The PM and DPM order a hush-hush on the Customs-Parliamentarians spat. I appreciate them trying to bring order to this out of control feud, but asking people to shut up (altogether too common a practice these days), doesn’t seem all that convincing a way to menangani the situation?

Chief instigator, Jasin MP YB Datuk Mohd Said obliges, however, and promises not to bring it up any more.

Opposition leader YB Lim Kit Siang weighs in from cyberspace.

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The FTA with America is rousingly defended in parliament, but I’m still a little hesitant. More on this later, I hope.

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Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor gets all defensive about his suggestion to keep nightspots open later:

“I was merely conveying the recommendation made by tour operators. It was not my own recommendation. I did not specify nightclub operators. I asked whether entrepreneurs in our country, specifically those located in certain areas where nightspots and shopping complexes are located, could be allowed to operate beyond the closing time of 10pm,” he explained.

Less than inspiring words for a Minister. Clarifications are ok, but I can’t help but feel that this is being evasive and trying to shift blame? Maybe it’s just me.

Tags: Government Policies, Economy, Integrity, Responsible Free Speech, Malaysian Politics by Nathaniel Tan
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Today’s big news is of course the RM10b to be spent on the LRT. I confess to not currently being in the best position to analyze and comment on projects like these, but I do hope it really improves public transport and weans us off our dependence on cars and petrol.

Worth highlighting: theSun carries an article about organizations of disabled peoples calling for more attention to be placed on their needs when designing and planning public transport systems. I couldn’t agree more.

Also, RapidKL apparently gets good marks from commuters.

I understand the new lines are planned to go nearer my house in Taman Tun - if that comes to pass, woo hoo! Always wondered why Damansara - such a densely populated area - had so few train stations nearby.

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Consumerism activist Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal says civil society can be a superpower influence in governmental decision making. I hope he’s right!

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Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop advises the rakyat not to take money out of EPF. Fair enough, but I’d take this advice a lot more seriously if it wasn’t coming from someone so closely involved in the ’97-’98 financial crisis.

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Singer Jamal Abdillah reaches out to patients at a drug rehabilitation center. Himself a recovering drug addict, he took time to share experiences and sing a few songs in the hopes of inspiring hope. Never heard of him, but well done!

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While LRT’s are planned, expect an increase in tolls :P The NST is more vague, whereas the Star seems to have more details on this.

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The government’s latest effort to deal with low cost housing is ‘core homes,’ simple one room buildings where extra land is allotted for extensions can be made as the resident’s developing financial abilities allow. Negeri Sembilan will see the pilot projects launched. I’m no expert on these things, but I hope this initiative bodes well.

Tags: little points, Government Appropriation, Economy by Nathaniel Tan
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