مهاتير محمد's Blog, page 56

LAHAD DATU

1. I visited Lahad Datu on March 17, to see the members of our security forces and get a short briefing as to what was happening.2. I was surprised to learn that the Felda palm oil plantation there is as big as the state of Melaka. There is a good-sized port at Lahad Datu equipped with modern cranes. I had expected to see forests there but the whole area has been opened up and Felda settlers live in large houses built by them. They are obviously well-off.

3. The security boys are in good spirit and seem prepared to do their duty despite the real danger of their being killed or wounded by the Kiram terrorists.

4. The situation there is very complex. The Felda settlers are Malaysian citizens of many tribal origins including Suluk. But there are also non-citizen Suluk living in the villages in the area.5. The non-citizens seem to have been allowed to cultivate oil palms. However, at least one of them was very aggressive and insisted that he owned the part of the Felda estate next to his. Apparently, he collected the fruits and sold them for high profits as the palm oil prices were very high. Nobody dared to take any action against him.

6. There were quite a lot of non-citizen Suluks living in the area and many of them seem to have relations in the Philippines. They seem to move in and out of Sabah freely. Some apparently cooperated with the terrorists, probably sheltering them and keeping weapons for them. It is most likely that the weapons for the terrorists had been smuggled in earlier and stored in the “water-village” which dot the Sabah coast.

7. It is noted that for some time now there were no police, immigration or customs personnel stationed in these water villages. It is easy for boats to come in and leave without any official knowing their movements. In any case the water-villages have rickety gangways of narrow planks, laid over loosely on trestles. The dwellings are very close together, making it very difficult to observe the whereabouts of the villagers. It is really dangerous for the police to enter the water villages as they could be shot from the houses abutting the narrow walkways or from underneath them.

8. In any plan for securing the area, the water villages have to be demolished and the people settled on land. Apart from posing security risks, they are a source of rubbish and they use the water underneath as their toilet. Often when the tide is low, the mud underneath is exposed, with all the filth and rubbish that had been thrown into the sea.

9. Children bathe in the water around the water-villages and they must be exposed to all kinds of water-borne diseases.

10. These water villages may be picturesque but they are an anachronism. It is time they are removed and the people settled in proper villages on land. As for the people living there, if they qualify they should be allowed to apply for Malaysian citizenship. Non-citizens should be sent back to their countries.

11. In the meantime the security situation have to be tightened. It will cost money but it will be money well spent. Armed incursions into Sabah must be stopped completely. There must be a thorough search for weapons of all kinds including the parang. The security of the people must be the responsibility of the police. This is not America where people have to carry guns to protect themselves.

12. I must pay tribute to the security forces for their dedication and steadfastness in carrying out their duty. Whatever the shortcomings, the Malaysian Police are still the guardians of the safety of Malaysians.

13. My condolences to the families of those who died in the line of duty. I thank also those who are wounded and those who put their lives at risk so we may live in peace and security.

SUBANG

1. I was sad when Subang International import was replaced by Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. I landed at Subang in a Government jet and saw the place deserted and quiet. No aircrafts were parked, taxiing, taking off or landing. Subang was a busy place from 1964 to 1998. But after the opening of KLIA at Sepang, Subang seemed to have been abandoned.

2. That was 1998. I despaired that it would ever be busy again; that it would regain its place as a major airport.

3. Well, it hasn’t. But Subang did not close down completely. Today Subang is once again busy. Today Subang is actually expanding.

4. New hangars are being built. The old Terminal 2 has been rebuilt to cater to the needs of Firefly’s turboprops and other local airlines. Two Fixed Based Operators, the Skypark and D’Nest handle a large number of private jets.

5. Airod, the former Aircraft Ordinance Depot of the RMAF, now operated as a private Company, accommodates a large number of passenger jets, which are serviced there. The old MAS engineering facilities are as busy as ever. MAS still do their engineering and servicing in the huge hangars there.

6. Foreign manufacturers of helicopters such as Eurocopter as well as Cessna general aviation have servicing and engineering facilities in Subang. Asian airlines often send their passenger jets for servicing by Malaysian aerospace companies.

7. New hangars and facilities are being built, necessitating expansion into the surrounding land. “Spirit” a well-known American composite manufacturer has a huge facility which will manufacture parts for the latest Boeing passenger jets.

8. Clearly a lot of investments are going into the reactivating of Subang. It reflects the growth of the aerospace industries in Malaysia, which contributes toward Malaysia’s economic growth.

9. On the north side of the runway the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base has been joined by the newly established Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. The new service operates fixed-wing aircrafts and helicopters including two Bombardier fire-fighting amphibian aircrafts.

10. Malaysia’s economic growth is real. Only the blind and the deaf will maintain that it is not real.

GUERRILLA WAR

1. When in 1990 I first met Nelson Mandela upon his release, the first thing he asked was how Malaysia defeated the guerrillas. He said when he was being trained in Yugoslavia and Libya he was told that guerrillas could not be defeated. So how did Malaysia defeat the guerrillas?

2. I explained that two things helped in the defeat of the Malaysian guerrillas.

3. Firstly was the decision to move out all the people living at the fringe of the thick Malaysian jungle and located them in protected new villages. Secondly was the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the people.

4. Perhaps Jamalul Kiram knows nothing about how Malaysia dealt with the guerrillas. His suggestion about conducting a guerrilla war in Malaysia seems to be based on ignorance. Yes, in the Philippines the Moros conducted a guerrilla war for decades. While it harassed the Philippine Government it did not result in attaining independence for the south. In the end common sense prevailed and the MILF decided on autonomy for the region.

5. Malaysia followed the Moro fight very closely and is well aware that guerrillas can be disruptive. It can render Malaysia less stable and secure. But the situation today is much better for Malaysia to defeat any attempt at guerrilla war by the Kiram and Suluks.

6. In the first place the people’s hearts and minds are already with the Government. True there are some, including leaders of the political opposition who are not with the Government but they are not able to influence the minds and hearts of the vast majority of the people.

7. We know about relocating people who may be terrorised into supporting the invaders and we have the money to do it.

8. And most importantly we have the forces to fight any guerrillas who may be persuaded to risk their lives for a useless adventure.

9. The soldiers and police who are currently participating in the fight against the terrorist in Lahad Datu are well-trained and well equipped. The Malaysian forces have inherited the knowledge and the skills in fighting anti-guerrilla wars. The spirits of the Malaysian security forces are very good and the attempt to frighten them by mutilating the bodies of their comrades has not worked. If at all it has made our security personnel very angry and more determine to defeat the enemy. It has become almost a personal war for them.

10. Malaysians must be thankful to our boys for their willingness to die for the country. It is not a sandiwara (stage play). It is real. The deaths and the wounding are real. If we are safe and secure, if we are stable and free from fear of guerrilla attacks it is because our soldiers and police are ready to die for us.

11. If they are not, what happens in the Philippines can happen here also. We will not be able to go about our daily lives without the certainty we take for granted that nothing will happen to us.

12. Peace and stability do not just happen. They have to be worked at. They depend on our awareness and our not taking things for granted. Look around us. Look at the Middle East or South Asia or Africa or Latin America. Look also at the economic and financial problem of America and Europe.

13. Then relook at our country. I think there is much for us to be grateful about and to say thank you to the people who secure our peace and stability.

A CITIZEN’S RIGHT

1. It would seem that some people are unhappy over my continued involvement in politics. As a retiree I should just retire.

2. I did in fact plan to retire in 1998. But events at that time forced me to defer. When the conditions in Malaysia had been stabilised after the currency crisis, I announced my retirement in 2002. But I gave the assurance that I would continue to support the party at all times as my elevation to the highest office in the country was due to the support of the party. To me it is payback time.

3. Unfortunately, under the policy and practices of the Government which followed, the healthy growth of the country was hampered. The effect is still felt today. More seriously the attempts to reduce the economic disparities between the races have been neglected. Although the election of 2004 resulted in overwhelming victory of the governing BN party, there were clear signs that the popularity of the Party was deteriorating after the 2004 elections.

4. The 2008 Election resulted in heavy losses by the BN. The Government it formed was very weak and the opposition took advantage by raising racist and religious issues. Where before there was relative harmony between the races, now there is open confrontation. Affirmative action was viciously attacked by the opposition and the Government had to give in. And now religious issues are being even more politicised.

5. Clearly the opposition parties are bent on doing away with the attempt to achieve fair economic participation between the races. Without affirmative action the disparities would increase. This will not be good for Malaysian stability or economic progress.

6. Although the Opposition also have a lot of Malays, it has been amply demonstrated that they cannot handle even the administration, much less the complex resolution of the disparities between the races.

7. Some would say that as long as Malaysians do well, it does not matter what race they belong to. Unfortunately in Malaysia we all insist on becoming identified by our race. We all want to preserve our languages, our schools, our culture and even the environment we live in. If the Malaysians who do well are of one race and the poor are of another race, the race which is less fortunate will resent the economic disparity between them. This can lead to disunity and tensions between races. It may even lead to violence.

8. As a citizen I have every right to voice my criticism or to support action by political parties. When I find that the opposition rejects the NEP, I feel a need to voice my fears for the future of this, my beloved country.

9. As much as my detractors have a right to object to my continued involvement in politics, I have a right to hold a different view.

HUMPTY DUMPTY

1. I don’t know whether our schools today acquaint the children with Humpty-Dumpty but I am sure older Malaysians are familiar with the character, and know the following ditty

“Humpty-Dumpty sat on the wall

Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall”

2. For those who are not acquainted with this ditty I would like to explain that Humpty-Dumpty is an egg, a great big imaginary egg and it sat on a wall.

3. Then this great egg had a fall.

4. We all know what happens when an egg falls. It breaks into innumerable pieces of shell, spilling out yolk and egg white. And the ditty went on to say that all the king’s soldiers and all the king’s men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again.

5. Somehow I am reminded of the currency crisis experienced by Europe today. Try as they might they have not been able to recover the great financial wealth which Europe had been enjoying all these many years. Trying to put the European economy and finance back into the great thing that they were is like trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

6. The Europeans seem to think that they can restore their wealth to its former self by some kind of financial juggling. And because they think so, they refuse to recognise that their economy is beyond repair. They are actually in a state of denial.

7. The fact is that their economy was not sound in the first place. They believed that their wealth was real but it was not. It was really make believe wealth created by trickery. Their so-called wealth was created through tricks in valuation. Share prices for example were increased not because the businesses were making profits but because of the demand for the shares. And very often the demands were artificial, cleverly manipulated by the market players.

8. The money they use for all those wealth-creating tricks were not real either. The banks lent money which they did not have. The banks created the money out of nothing. The money lent is then regarded as the asset of the bank. The more they lent, the bigger the bank’s asset. It was alright as long as they did not abuse this money creation too much. But they became greedy and created too much. This non-existent money is then invested in the shares of companies which were incapable of producing anything substantial, too much which were not profitable. They were invested in houses which did not exist or were not even built. But on paper, in their book these non-existent things were given values.

9. The money created is also lent for the purchase of non-existent currencies which only appear in the books of the banks. When this non-existent money was bought or sold the only thing that happened was the transfer of the ownership of the figures in the banks to the new owner, the so-called buyer. Somehow the owner of this non-existent money was able to buy things with it as if the money is real. This money takes the form of cheques, credit cards and entries in bank books. The owner is seemingly rich. Hundreds of thousands of these seemingly rich people push up the per capita income and GDP of the nation. The nation is then considered to be a developed nation based on figures collected of the GDP, and the per capita.

10. And there are many other financial products which do not really exist but which can be invested in to give huge profits.

11. But then the balloons burst. The borrowers failed to make even the nominal profits and returns and could not repay the loans which had been registered in the books of the banks. For a while it was possible to hide with imaginative accounting. But the amounts became so huge, running into tens and hundreds of billions that even smart accounting could not hide the losses. The great banks failed and went bankrupt.

12. When banks go bankrupt they drag down everyone with them. The so-called financial institutions collapsed. There is a recession and the financial crisis that we are seeing today.

13. What this means is that all involved, the banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies hedge funds etc…etc… lost money, huge sums of money. Now, when one loses money one becomes poor. But the Europeans do not want to admit that they are poor, that Humpty-Dumpty had fallen off the wall. They want to believe that they are still rich, that the wealth they owned before would somehow come back. That the wealth was not real did not bother them. Somehow through some kind of magic the wealth would return. Somehow Humpty-Dumpty would become whole again, like when you reverse a movie film.

14. Some even believe that they are actually still as rich as before and can continue to live the life they were used to. They rebelled against austerity measures, they go on strike, holding demonstrations because of high cost of living and unemployment. All these only worsen their situation. They refuse to accept that their country can be bankrupt.

15. Still their Governments and their experts try to think up of ways to restore their wealth without having to work for it. They still believe they can conjure a return to prosperity without doing any real business of producing goods, of trading and of providing services.

16. If before they could enrich themselves by financial manipulations, they believe they can somehow recover through the same kind of manipulation and financial tricks.

17. But the fact is that Humpty-Dumpty just cannot be put together again. So it is with the false wealth that they had created. The wealth cannot be recreated and put together in some magical way.

18. But the wealth can really come back. It will need a lot of real work – the kind of work which originally created their wealth. Real money has to be invested to produce goods at competitive prices and to sell them in the market to make real profits. With the technological knowhow they possess it would not be difficult to return to manufacturing and providing services.

19. To be competitive they must accept lower wages and lower profit margins. They can no longer give themselves huge bonuses. They must pay taxes so their Government can provide needed infrastructure. They should forsake tax havens.

20. Lifestyle will have to be changed radically. High wages for workers together with shorter working hours as well as the lavish perks will have to be revised downwards. Workers must work hard and be productive. Increases in wages must be accompanied with higher productivity. Working hours and working days must be revised.

21. Management and executives must also expect to be paid less based on their productivity and profits. Bonuses should not be automatic. Even when deserved they should not be ridiculously high.

22. It will take time. But it would not be as long as when they built their original wealth.

23. It is galling. To go back to being poor, to have to work hard to produce real things, to learn to sell in a fiercely competitive market, it will be painful. But it will be real wealth. It will be cash in the banks and not merely numbers.

24. The banks can still create money to lend but the amounts will have to be limited and the loans prudent. Leveraging must not be excessive.

25. One thing the Europeans must learn is to give up is their belligerent ways and their huge budgets on weapons. They must give up their idea that they are responsible for spreading their philosophy and systems to every country in the world. They must not resort to war because it will bankrupt them and prevent recovery.

26. I am not extending gratuitous advice to the Europeans. I am aiming this at countries which have somehow escaped the financial tsunami. Don’t copy the Europeans. If your systems are doing well, continue with them. Europeans don’t have a monopoly of wisdom.

XENOPHON

1. Among the comments in my blog is a reference to Malaysia’s ban against the visit of the Australian Senator Xenophon.

2. I agree with this comment that despite my nasty comments on the US and Britain, I was never banned from visiting those countries. However, I would like to relate an incident in which a friend of mine, now deceased, who was handcuffed and taken away in a truck full of common criminals and even his request to have his diabetic injection was rejected. The reason for this treatment was because the immigration officers at the airport in New York did not like his answers to their questions. He was subsequently released.

3. It is well-known that hundreds of people have been arrested and detained without trial in the US and a few were subsequently released without explanation. At the detention place there are reports of torture and humiliation of the detainees.

4. People are also detained in the UK accused of planning acts of terrorism. This is preventive detention without trial.

5. There have been many allegations of US agents assassinating leaders. Currently the debate is about US drones rocketing or bombing countries not at war with the US, killing according to a US senator, as many as 4700 people, some of whom are described as innocent.

6. I must admit that on the two occasions I visited the US after I retired, I have nothing to complain. But as a Muslim I worry because one of my friends was thoroughly searched as he was thought to be a Muslim. He was not.

7. Incidentally President Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Bashir of Sudan would be arrested if they were to visit the US.

8. What happened to YB Xenophon of Australia is nothing.

FITNAH

1. Anwar Ibrahim menuduh saya, sebagai penasihat Petronas telah terlibat dalam pemberian kontrak Petronas kepada anak saya.

2. Bagi Anwar inilah yang biasa dilakukan olehnya jika ia berkuasa. Semasa menjadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan memang pun banyak kontrak diberi olehnya kepada penyokong politiknya dan keluarganya.

3. Kementerian telah pamerkan semasa mesyuarat agong UMNO senarai orang yang mendapat kontrak semasa ia berkuasa. Terdapat dalam senarai nama-nama penyokongnya dan keluarganya. Tidak ada satupun dari anak saya yang tersenarai.

4. Semasa saya menjadi Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan tidak ada satu pun daripada anak saya yang mendapat tempat dalam Kerajaan atau dalam parti. Beberapa kali nama mereka di calon tapi saya tidak benar sehingga saya bersara. Juga tidak ada kontrak Kerajaan yang terdapat oleh mereka.

5. Jika mereka berjaya samada dalam perniagaan atau politik, ini adalah atas usaha mereka sendiri. Dan ini semua berlaku selepas saya letak jawatan Perdana Menteri.

6. Petronas tidak memberi peluang kepada anak saya sahaja apabila saya menjadi penasihatnya. Orang lain juga mendapat peluang jika mereka ada kemampuan.

7. Sebenarnya tidak ada kontrak yang diberi Petronas kepada anak saya sehinggalah perusahaannya maju kerana kerja-kerja yang diberi oleh pihak lain.

8. Walaupun saya digelar sebagai penasihat Petronas, saya tidak memberi apa-apa nasihat. Petronas diletak di bawah Perdana Menteri dan P.M.lah yang memberi arahan kepada Petronas. Semasa saya jadi Perdana Menteri pun saya tidak memberi apa-apa bantuan kepada anak-anak saya.

9. Berkenaan dengan kontrak yang baru yang diberi kepada anak saya, Presiden Petronas cuma memberitahu saya selepas kontrak diberi. Saya tidak sama sekali terlibat dengan keputusan yang dibuat. Saya sanggup bersumpah di dalam masjid dengan menjunjung Quran bahawa saya tidak ambil bahagian sama sekali dengan pemberian kontrak kepada anak saya.

10. Sebaliknya Anwar, apabila menubuh partinya melantik isterinya sebagai Presiden. Kemudian dia juga yang pilih isterinya sebagai calon di Permatang Pauh. Kemudian dia sendiri yang menyuruh isterinya lepas kawasan untuk ditandingi olehnya.

11. Tidak ada bukti adanya pertandingan untuk jawatan penasihat parti yang disandang olehnya. Dia juga yang memilih anaknya untuk menjadi calon dalam pilihanraya. Sekarang isterinya jadi presiden parti dan anaknya jadi naib presiden parti. Kawannya juga jadi timbalan.

12. Parti Keadilan adalah milik Anwar Ibrahim.

13. Jika ia jadi Perdana Menteri sudah tentu Kabinet akan diisi dengan keluarga dan kawannya sebagai Menteri. Mudahlah nak buat apa pun.

14. Anak saya Mirzan juga dijadikan sasaran fitnah Anwar. Benar dahulu dia menjadi pengarah San Miguel. Tetapi San Miguel Filipina bukan syarikat bir sahaja tetapi semakin banyak terlibat dalam industri makanan dan petroliam.

15. Setelah fitnah dilempar kepadanya, anak saya letak jawatan. Sekarang dia hanya menjadi pengarah dalam syarikat minyak Petron. Dahulu syarikat ini dikenali sebagai Exxon Mobil dan telah menjadi pembekal minyak ke pesawat terbang di KLIA.

16. Apabila Exxon Mobil diambil alih oleh San Miguel, ia diletak dibawah Petron. Anak saya dilantik sebagai pengarah Petron. Kontrak membekal minyak Exxon Mobil di KLIA diwarisi oleh Petron.

17. Jika anak dan isteri Anwar boleh menjadi politikus, apakah anak saya tak boleh berniaga sendiri tanpa difitnah oleh Anwar? Dah tak ada modal politik dah ke?

18. Kenapa begitu takut bersumpah jika jenayah liwat tidak dilakukan. Berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah – demikian pepatah Melayu.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT

1. We have now abolished the ISA on the grounds that it is not right to detain a person without trial. This is an injustice and a violation of human rights.

2. The opposition is particularly strong on this issue. They are very concerned that we respect human rights and principles of justice. They believe that we should accept the liberal views of the great western civilisations particularly the United States of America.

3. In war of course you can kill anyone you designate as the enemy. The war against terrorism which many countries led by the US is fighting is not a war against any country. It is a war against terrorists.

4. But who are the terrorists. Generally in the eyes of the US they are the Muslims, but specifically the Al Qaeda, led initially by Osama bin Laden. Who determined who is a member of the Al Qaeda? Not Al Qaeda but the CIA and the US Government.

5. If the US says a person is an Al Qaeda terrorist then no one should dispute this identification. The US Government categorisation cannot be questioned in a court of law.

6. Once the US classifies the person to be a terrorist, then he is the enemy and he can be considered as an imminent threat to the US. He is considered as planning to kill Americans. As an imminent threat it is justified to kill him.

7. According to the US the person need not be told of his classification as a terrorist. He need not be charged in a court of law. He can be taken out i.e. executed by the agents of the US.

8. And so today, even as the US condemns detention without trial, it executes just about anyone without trial. It considers executing individuals who do not even know they are classified as terrorist or that they constitute imminent threats to the US as right and proper. The US Government need not explain why the person is a terrorist and what kind of imminent threat he poses the US.

9. In 2011 an American citizen of Yemeni origin was killed with weapons mounted on a drone flying in Yemeni airspace. Many other US citizens have been similarly assassinated using drones. Of course there are any number of foreign citizens who have been assassinated in foreign countries without trial.

10. The Governments of these countries may or may not be informed. Their permission is not needed. They may be deemed unable or unwilling to kill the designated terrorists. Then the US has the right to violate their air space, their sovereignty and send their drones or unmanned aerial vehicles to kill the person concerned. In the process other people, innocent people, will also be killed. That’s too bad. They are collaterals.

11. I wonder what Malaysians who object to detention without trial think of execution without trial. So far, they have not commented on this issue.

12. Maybe they think killing without trial is not as bad as detention without trial. Maybe this is what they would do if they govern this country.

13. I wonder.

THE ALTERNATIVE MEDIA

1. In the days of the print and electronic media Governments were able to exercise some control through licensing and laws. Liberal people condemn these controls because they deny freedom of the press. Freedom of the press is one of the fundamentals of democracy.

2. Then came the alternative media via the Internet. Governments not only find themselves almost incapable of controlling but the belief now rejects any attempt at control by the authorities. Actually there was always control by the owners, editors and even sub-editors.

3. In the alternative media just about anyone can put anything they like to say on the internet directly, with no managers, editors or sub-editors changing any of the contents. The freedom is almost total. This is the essence of democracy?

4. The first people to exercise this freedom are the purveyors of pornography. They promote their dirty pictures and blue films in the most explicit way. There is no censorship. And so children and young people now have access to this filth.

5. The effect is to undermine their moral completely. There can be no doubt that the increase in sex crimes such as rapes, child abuse, extramarital sex among young people, pregnancies, and illegal abortions, getting rid of unwanted babies by dumping them in rubbish heaps are partly due to access to pornography.

6. An unmarried couple put on the you-tube video clips of them having sex. They feel so proud of their shameful act. The Internet is also used to threaten ex-girlfriends with nude pictures of them.

7. Abusive language and racist remarks have also caused increased tension within society. Allegations of all kinds are made without any bases.

8. Now we are seeing doctored video clips being put on You Tube. A short video clip recently showed the PM asking the audience in Penang whether they were ready for the BN. They were loud cries of “No” from the crowd.

9. Now it has been found that this was engineered by bringing a group into the crowd, equipping them with video camera and microphones. When the PM asked “are you ready for BN” this group shouted “No” in response. It seem that the whole audience shouted “No”. Actually only the special group shouted “No” into their microphones. The “Yes from the big crowd was not recorded and not included in the video on You Tube.

10. Immediately this particular recording was put on You Tube and it went viral even though the video recording by others showing the crowd raising their hands and saying “Yes” was later put on You Tube, many do not bother to see it. They continue to believe in the fake video clips.

11. This is the direct result of the freedom offered by the alternative media. Lies can be made to seem to be the truth.

12. But the truth can also be made to look like lies. After an opposition leader was shown with a girl obviously having some kind of sexual relations, it was made to be a lie by showing how a video clip can be doctored.

13. A picture of President Obama is shown speaking at some kind of press conference. After finishing he was shown to walk off and he kicked violently at the door to open it.

14. Then a picture is shown of Obama speaking and then he walked off the stage through a door, which opened, without his kicking it. This was what really happened.

15. The purpose is to show how video clips can be altered. Therefore the opposition leader can claim that the pictures of him with the girl was actually not what happened, that it was doctored.

16. Thus truth can be made to look like a lie.

17. The new software available can alter movies and still pictures in any way one wants to. In the movie the “Life of Pi” there were numerous scenes of a fierce tiger on a small boat in the ocean with Pi.

18. Pi was real but the tiger was created through the magic of computer animation. It looks very real, growling and roaring and threatening the man. If one is not told one must be amazed at the scenes shown on the movies. Of course the picture “Avatar” is all computer animation, as are all the cartoons and the human/animal or human/caricature interactions.

19. While the alternative media gives everyone freedom to publicise whatever, the hackers and others can also block out the entrees of whomever they chose to. So far I have to change five sites for my blogs as somehow or other they were tampered with. People could not access my blog and effectively I was silenced. I lost the freedom of the media even more than when Government could deprive me of my freedom.

20. Frankly I would rather have the Government censoring me. The Government of this country is elected. If I don’t like what the Government is doing I can work for the rejection of the party which forms the Government. But there is nothing I can do to stop people who may wish to deprive me of my freedom through the alternative media.

SIAPA TIPU SIAPA

1. Nik Aziz dilapor telah menjelaskan kenapa PAS tidak boleh bersama UMNO dalam usaha untuk menyatupadu orang Melayu. Katanya PAS telah ditipu oleh UMNO semasa PAS berada dalam Barisan Nasional. Bagaimana UMNO menipu PAS tidak dijelaskan dengan terang.

2. Saya berada sebagai menteri dalam kabinet Tun Hussein di waktu mana PAS keluar dari Barisan Nasional. Saya juga ada dalam kabinet Tun Razak bersama Dato Asri Muda dan Hassan Adli semasa PAS menyertai Barisan Nasional.

3. Dato Asri diberi jawatan Menteri Tanah dan Galian. Ini bermakna dia bertanggung jawab terhadap FELDA.

4. Setelah beberapa bulan PAS berada dalam Barisan Nasional ahli-ahli UMNO Johor membuat komplen kepada Tun Razak dalam majlis makan malam dikediaman Tun sempena mesyuarat agong UMNO bahawa Dato Asri giat mempromosikan PAS di kalangan peserta FELDA. Saya berada di sisi Tun pada ketika itu.

5. Secara kebetulan hampir semua peserta FELDA terdiri daripada penyokong kuat UMNO. Selepas Dato Asri bertanggungjawab keatas FELDA, hampir semua peserta FELDA menjadi penyokong kuat PAS dan menolak UMNO.

6. Ahli-ahli UMNO di seluruh negara berpendapat bahawa penyertaan PAS dalam Barisan Nasional tidak menolong Barisan Nasional. Ia hanya untuk memberi peluang kepada PAS mengembangkan pengaruh di kalangan ahli UMNO dan orang Melayu.

7. Di waktu itu timbul sengketa antara Dato Asri sebagai ketua PAS dengan Dato Mohd Nasir yang sebagai Menteri Besar untuk ganti Dato Asri. Dato Mohd Nasir mendakwa dia telah kesan banyak penyelewengan yang dilakukan oleh Dato Asri semasa dia menjadi Menteri Besar Kelantan.

8. Dato Asri cuba menyingkir Dato Mohd Nasir melalui undi tidak percaya. Walaupun kalah Dato Mohd Nasir enggan meletak jawatan.

9. Ramai ahli PAS memihak kepada Dato Mohd Nasir. Mereka mengadakan tunjuk perasaan secara besar-besaran menentang Dato Asri.

10. Kerana PAS berpecah Kerajaan Barisan Nasional Kelantan tidak dapat berfungsi. Darurat terpaksa diisytihar dan seorang pegawai kanan dilantik untuk memangku jawatan Ketua Pentadbir Kelantan.

11. Pada Mac 1978, pilihanraya peringkat negeri diadakan di Kelantan. Dato Mohd Nasir menubuh parti Berjasa yang bertanding melawan PAS. Sokongan kepada Berjasa begitu kuat sehingga ia memenangi 11 kerusi. PAS memenangi hanya 2 kerusi.

12. Perpecahan dalam PAS bukan kerana UMNO tetapi kerana Dato Mohd Nasir mencabar kepimpinan Dato Asri. Kekalahan PAS menyebabkan PAS keluar dari Barisan Nasional. Tidak ada penipuan oleh UMNO.

13. Walau apapun yang terjadi dahulu, jika seruan dibuat supaya berdamai orang Islam disuruh oleh agama Islam supaya menyambut seruan kedamaian dari musuh. Orang Islam disuruh bersatupadu, menganggap semua orang Islam sebagai saudara. Penolakan perpaduan sesama orang Islam tidak menepati ajaran Islam. Janganlah orang Islam menolak usaha menyatupadu untuk memperkuatkan orang Islam dengan membuat tuduhan yang tidak berasas.