Thank you for your support and prayers!

On behalf of DAP Negeri Sembilan, I would like to thank all of you who have showed your support, sympathy and solidarity with Sdri Teresa Kok during her 7-days detention under the draconian ISA. Your support and prayers have definitely helped her for an early release though she should not be detained in the first place. I am very touched by the support by the public who have turned up at our various candle-light vigil organized by DAP NS whether in Seremban, Tampin or Lukut in the span of one week.

Although Teresa have been released now, the campaign to abolish the draconian ISA must go on. There are still many detainees incarcerated including Raja Petra, the HINDRAF 5 and many others. We should never let the Barisan Nasional regime to continue to use ISA as a tool to protect their political dynasty and ensure their own survival.

Lets continue to stand up against injustices and our rights for a better Malaysia!

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Candle light vigil to support Teresa Kok!

Attended a thousand-people dinner organized by our Tampin branch last night at the compound of our Repah's assemblyman service center at Taman Indah, Tampin. We sold more than 100 tables and it was the largest dinner ever held by DAP in Tampin. The dinner crowd were very supportive and attentive. They stayed to listen to all speeches till 11 p.m.

To show our support, sympathy and solidarity to Sdri Teresa Kok and other ISA detainees we held a candle-light vigil during the dinner. The venue was lit up by more than 1000 candles. It was a very touching moment. I captured the above image from the stage. Although it was just a simple act together, it was very meaningful to express our support.

DAP Negeri Sembilan will be holding another candle-light vigil ceremony as part of our nation-wide Support, Sympathy and Support Teresa Kok campaign. The details as follows:

Date: 18th September (Thursday)
Time: 7.00 p.m.
Venue: In front of DAP NS state headquarters (near Lobak junction)
Contact: 06-763 4525

I urge supporters and sympathizers in Seremban to turn up tomorrow night to show your support. Our peaceful gathering and silent support is strong enough to show the regime that we are strongly against injustices and the use of ISA against civilians.
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Protect Media Freedom!

Together with other state DAP leaders, I went to the Sin Chew Daily office in Seremban this afternoon to show our support and solidarity with our media friends. The arrest of Tan Hoon Cheng under the ISA although for only less than 24 hours was a black mark in our democracy. Media freedom and democracy goes hand in hand.

Media is the soul of the society. Without a free media, it is like a soulless society. Therefore, we must protect our rights to information and media freedom. DAP is committed in preserving the independence of the media and we vow that if PAKATAN takes over the federal government, abolishment of the ISA and other draconian laws are high on our agenda.

Although Hoon Cheng already freed from ISA, lets not forget that there are still many innocent citizens who are in ISA detention. Teresa Kok and Raja Petra are still inside and we shall never forget the HINDRAF 5 who are in Kamunting. Please continue to show your support and solidarity with them. Please continue to stand up to be counted to call for a more democratic and freer society in our beloved country. . Read more!

Dilemma!

Today is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. It is the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival. It is the second most important festival for the Chinese community. I attended a religious event in a Buddhist Temple in Temiang this morning. In my brief speech, i said i don't have any festive mood today over what had happened in the last 48 hours. And especially one of my comrade Sdri Teresa Kok lost her freedom temporarily. Worst still, she can't even have mooncake with her aged parents tonight! Can you imagine how her parents feel?

Many people asked; why Teresa Kok? Teresa is a well-liked politician not only among DAP fraternity but also among BN and UMNO politicians. You can always see her talking and discussing matters with BN Ministers in the Parliament lounge. Can someone like her be a threat to national security?

It all started by a nasty accusation by Khir Toyo which was picked up by Utusan Malaysia. They accused Teresa of protesting against the Azan in a mosque in Puchong and claimed that Teresa ordered the mosque management not to use PA system for Azan (Islamic call for Muslims in the vicinity to pray in the morning). Teresa had immediately denied the accusation and the mosque committee came out with a statement to clarify the matter.
What happened was a group of residents signed a petition to the mosque to lower the volume for the loudspeaker during their religious ceramah session. The petition was sent before the last election which Teresa was not elected as ADUN for Kinrara yet. It is usual that petitions sent by residents to the BN elected reps always fall on deaf ears.

This incident reminds me of my own dilemma of a similar issue in a residential area in Seremban. The representative of the residents sent me a copy of the signed petition to protest against the use of loudspeaker in a temporary surau located in a house (the proper surau in that area is not built yet) during the election campaign. I promised them to look into the matter after the election. They are not against the surau or the Azan but they hope the temporary surau do not use the loudspeaker during ceramah session and lower the volume during Azan.

On the day of my swearing-in as ADUN, I spoke to the Menteri Besar regarding the issue and asked him what is the state's policy on surau located at houses. He told me firmly that no surau is allowed to operate in a house and claimed that the surau might be operated by members of the opposition and asked me to talk to them instead.
Till today, i have never went to talk the surau committee as i know that my presence will be misconstrued as confronting a religious issue and deepen the misunderstandings among Muslims and non-Muslims in that area. I do not want that to happen. I took other approaches to deal with the matter.

I have asked my Muslim colleagues in Pakatan to talk to the committee. I know they faced dilemma too as they can be accused of compromising their own religion. I went to the State Majlis Agama Islam twice and discussed the issue with the Director and plead him to mediate the issue among residents there. I do not want the issue to be prolonged. I am not sure what is the outcome yet.

I also asked the developer to help the committee to build a proper surau asap. Some residents blamed the developer for not informing them about the location of the surau and demanded the developer to buy back their houses.

Now, as an elected representative, what should i do? At one hand, some residents are talking about the effects to their daily life. On the other, it is a religious obligation. How do we strike a balance? This is the biggest challenge faced by elected reps in mixed constituency. I don't have an answer. I really hope someone can enlighten me on this.

In my speech this morning, i urge the Buddhist monks to educate Buddhists of how to handle this kind of situation. Wisdom is very important in such a situation. I believe every religion teaches their believers to be a good human being and be peace-loving. However, inter-religious understanding in our society is yet to mature and really needs to be strengthened.

I am sure 916, ISA and Teresa Kok will be hot topics in conversations in many family reunions tonight. Put that aside awhile, lets look up to the moon and enjoy a piece of mooncake tonight. Double yolk "lian yong" and "Kam Tui" from Kam Lun Tai are my all-time favourites! I helped my parents to sell mooncake in my teenage years. We were agent for Kam Lun Tai in Seremban those days.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

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Condemn ISA arrest!

Kenyataan media oleh Pengerusi DAP Negeri Sembilan merangkap Ahli Parlimen Rasah Loke Siew Fook pada 13 September 2008 di Seremban.

DAP Negeri Sembilan mengutuk dengan sekeras-kerasnya penyalahgunaan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri ke atas blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, wartawan Sin Chew Daily Tan Hoon Cheng dan Setiausaha Organisasi Kebangsaan DAP Sdri Teresa Kok

DAP Negeri Sembilan dengan sekeras-kerasnya mengutuk dan mengecam tindakan rejim Barisan Nasional yang sekali lagi menyalahgunakan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) ke atas tiga individu semalam iaitu blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, wartawan Sin Chew Daily Tan Hoon Cheng dan Setiausaha Organisasi Kebangsaan DAP Sdri Teresa Kok yang juga merupakan EXCO Kanan Selangor dan Ahli Parlimen Seputeh.

Tindakan rejim Barisan Nasional menggunakan ISA menunjukkan mereka semakin terdesak dengan tuntutan perubahan oleh rakyat dan pergolakan yang semakin meruncing dalam krisis kepimpinan UMNO. Penangkapan ISA ini merupakan satu langkah untuk mengaburi mata rakyat dan memesongkan penumpuan rakyat daripada masalah peralihan kuasa dalam UMNO kepada isu yang lain.

Apakah yang telah dilakukan oleh ketiga-tiga tahanan tersebut yang dikatakan mengancam keselamatan dan kestabilan Negara? Seorang ialah blogger yang hanya menulis dalam portalnya, seorang ialah wartawan yang tugasnya melaporkan apa yang diperkatakan oleh orang politik dan seorang lagi ialah pemimpin kanan sebuah kerajaan negeri. Kami cukup kesal dengan penahanan wartawan yang melaporkan isu Ahmad Ismail yang mengeluarkan kata-kata yang menyinggung perasaan kaum lain. Beliau hanya melaporkan apa yang berlaku tetapi ditahan manakala orang yang mengeluarkan kata-kata tersebut masih bebas. Dimanakah Keadilan?

DAP Negeri Sembilan mendesak Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi supaya segera membebaskan ketiga-tiga tahanan ini dan semua tahanan ISA yang lain dengan serta-merta tanpa syarat. Sebagai seorang pemimpin Negara, beliau tidak seharusnya mengheret dan memangsakan orang lain untuk menyelamatakan karier politinya. Beliau sepatutnya bertindak mengikut kehendak rakyat dan ahli-ahli parti beliau. Sekiranya beliau sudah tidak mendapat sokongan, langkah yang paling bijak untuk beliau ialah berundur.

DAP Negeri Sembilan meminta seluruh rakyat supaya bertenang dan tidak sesekali bertindak secara emosi. Kita perlu menangani isu ini secara aman dan tenang. Kita tidak boleh sama sekali terjatuh dalam perangkap dan provokasi Barisan Nasional.
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Crackdown begins?

It was reported in many news websites that prominent Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) was arrested under the ISA at around 1 pm this afternoon at his home in Sungai Buloh. The arrest was made after 3 press namely Sin Chew Daily, The Sun and Suara Keadilan were given show cause letters to reply.

The Home Minister alleged that RPK is a "threat" to national security. As far as i know, RPK's "weapon" is only a keyboard to blog his views on his Malaysia Today website. Are bloggers or writers in Malaysia very dangerous to the society? They posed security threat?

I cannot discount the possibility that the arrest of RPK is the beginning of a crackdown on dissidents and opposition leaders to derail the plan for September 16.
I hope it will not. Read more!

Ahmad Ismail suspended from UMNO!

Ahmad suspended for 3 years
Sep 10, 08 5:27pm

Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail has been suspended for three years from the party over his racial rants.
MCPX

This was announced by party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after an emergency supreme council meeting which lasted about three hours this afternoon.

"The supreme council's opinion in this matter is that the statement and actions of Ahmad had caused tension and raised objections and we view this seriously," said Abdullah.

[Full report to follow] excerpt from Malaysiakini Read more!