No weathercock but against talking cock

Oh, you want rights. You want privileges. But you refuse to be accountable for abusing or misusing these privileges. Where got road one? That is not how it works. If you want to throw stones then show your hand. Admit that it was you who threw that stone. But if you do not dare do that, then don’t throw stones. Simple!

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

ARE YOU A WEATHERCOCK, PETE?‏

Dear Pete,

For all the respect and love we Malaysians hold for you, I am compelled to ask you that question: "Are you a weathercock, Pete?"

This relates to your website's changing rule in respect of "You must be logged in to post a comment". This ON and OFF requirement is depriving Malaysians who thought they had an avenue (your website) to vent their feelings and express their views without being hauled up under the ISA or OSA or whatever "A" (Act) the Govt is cooking up now.

For people like me, the Malaysians living overseas, always yearning for home news, Malaysia Today has been as you claim, "Your Source of Independent News". But with the latest about turn of having to register to post a comment, many of your readers are shying off I notice, and the present number of comments on each of the article posted, so far have not exceeded 10 in number. The present crop of remaining readers posting comments are old faithfuls like "albert.zacharia", "Loyal Malaysian", "alpha1", "Noble House", "flyer168", "syd", "SiHangChai", "kaneeneh".

I don't see the likes of "Li Xiang Lan" anymore, and I am sure many of your readers too miss her very much.

It is surely not for the pittance of registering fees you need to sustain your Blog, and I hope it is also not for reason that the BN Govt is concerned about the many revelations appearing in the "Comments" that you decided to be a "weathercock" which you are not.

So for Pete's sake, go back to status quo, and open up your window and let the sunshine in, will you?

Post it, man; post this mail of mine for all Malaysians to evaluate. Happy days are here again, Pete?

Jeffrey Ong

*********************************

That was the e-mail Jeffrey Ong sent to me a short while ago.

No, Jeff, it is not about the RM20. As you said: it is pittance.

When I first started Malaysia Today back in August 2004, it cost me about RM50,000 a year to host the site. By 2006, two years on, the cost increased to RM100,000 a year. Now, we are looking at more than RM200,000 a year. I am also in the process of switching the blog over from Joomla to Wordpress and the bill is going to come to about RM20,000.

So, do you honestly think your RM20 one-time, non-recurring payment is of concern to me? I will need 10,000 of you to pay me RM20 every year (not one-time, non-recurring) to cover Malaysia Today’s operational cost. Hence, the handful of you who register every month is neither here nor there.

I have no problems even to allow free registration if that is what you all want. If your RM20 is such a big deal then no need to send me any payment. Just send me an e-mail asking for free registration and I will agree to that. After all, I know how cheap most Malaysians are.

But why does everyone fear registering to comment in Malaysia Today?

Many people refuse to vote (or if they do vote they fear voting opposition) because they are scared that maybe their vote is not really as secret as what the government says and the government may find out whom they vote for. Hence, they refuse to vote, refuse to register to vote, or, if they do vote, they vote Barisan Nasional.

Do you know what is the greatest weapon the government has to use against Malaysians? Yes, fear! The fear factor amongst Malaysians is very high. Hence we must combat this fear factor. You have nothing to fear but fear itself: as Shakespeare said.

Did you see the video of the Penang anti-Lynas rally which Lim Guan Eng attended? Did you also see the Umno Indian-looking Malay members ganging up on that Chinese chap? What did the rest of the people do? They became mere spectators. They just stood and watch the group bashing up that one unfortunate chap.

That is a sign of a whole bunch of gutless people, all opposition supporters. They come in to Malaysia Todayand post very brave comments. They whack Umno. They whack the Malays. They whack Islam. In fact, they even whack me. But when one of their chaps is beaten up, all their choontois shrink and they just stand by to watch one of their members getting beaten up.

Do these people deserve the privilege of being allowed to post all their ‘brave’ comments in Malaysia Today? Fine, if they want to post comments, then register. And if you can’t afford to pay the RM20 then I can allow free registration. Why do they still refuse to register? It is because they are gutless. No choontoi!

And rest assured that many people will not be coming out to vote or will not vote Pakatan Rakyat for the same reason, because they have no choontois.

Yes, sure, many people have challenged me to come back to Malaysia if I have the guts. They say I am a coward for ‘hiding’ in the UK. What happens if I do go back to Malaysia? What will they say then? Oh, he came back because he made a deal with the government.

Okay, then I go back to Malaysia and I get arrested and get sent to jail. What will they say then? Oh, it is part of the deal. He comes back, gets arrested, and spends a few days in jail. That is all part of the deal. That is justmain wayang.

Okay, then I don’t go to jail for a few days. Instead, they send me to jail for two years. What will they say now? Oh, of course they have to jail him for at least two years. It is all wayang. If he goes to jail for just a few days it would be too obvious that a deal has been made. Anwar Ibrahim went to jail for six years. So what is a mere two years?

Okay, then they send me to jail for six years, just like Anwar Ibrahim. What will they say then? He is stupid. He knows the government wants to get him. What is he trying to prove? He is trying to be a hero or what? Serves him right for being so stupid and for trying to act like a hero.

That is the Malaysian mentality. They mock me and they cabar me. They call me a coward for refusing to come back and go to jail. But they refuse to register to comment in Malaysia Today because they are scared that this may expose them to risk. What happens if they register and the government or Special Branch gets their e-mail address? What happens if from their e-mail address the government or Special Branch gets to track them down?

They would rather not post any comments in Malaysia Today if they have to register, than register and run the risk of being detected.

Do you think I have respect for such people? These are people who say all sorts of things about others as long as they can do so incognito or anonymously. If they need to run any risks they would rather just keep quiet. They want to throw stones only as long as they can hide their hands. If they need to show their hands then theirchoontios will shrink.

It is time Malaysians stood up to be counted. If you are gutless and a coward, then I do not need you as my reader. Never mind if Malaysia Today’s readership drops from more than 500,000 to a mere 200,000. I am not trying to play the numbers game. This is not about how many people I can gather in a crowd. It is about quality, not quantity.

I have seen countless crowds in my 35 years of involvement in politics. Crowds do not translate votes.

Sanggang was a crowd. It was so big a crowd that even the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, commented about it. But the opposition lost that by-election.

Indera Kayangang was a crowd. It was so big a crowd that the then Menteri Besar, Shahidan Kassim, had to cancel the ceramah in his house out of embarrassment. But the opposition lost that by-election.

And so on and so forth, the same story all over Malaysia since 1998.

I do not need crowds. Crowds do not translate to votes. I need people with guts, people with commitment, people who dare to stand up to be counted, people who are prepared to sacrifice and face risks to do the right thing, not people who demand that they be given the right to whack left, right and centre, as long as they are safe and no one knows who they are.

Jeff, you said: This ON and OFF requirement is depriving Malaysians who thought they had an avenue (your website) to vent their feelings and express their views without being hauled up under the ISA or OSA or whatever "A" (Act) the Govt is cooking up now.

Malaysia Today is not the place, as you said, ‘to vent their feelings’. If you want to do that then go see a psychiatrist. And if they want, also as you said, to ‘express their views without being hauled up under the ISA or OSA or whatever’, then too bad. If you are scared of the OSA, ISA, Sedition Act, criminal defamation, etc., then don’t comment anything. Just stay quiet. Read and don’t say anything.

I wish to remind you, you have no rights in Malaysia Today, even if you pay RM20. You only have privileges. And you cannot demand any privileges if you don’t dare to be accountable for what you do.

Oh, you want rights. You want privileges. But you refuse to be accountable for abusing or misusing these privileges. Where got road one? That is not how it works. If you want to throw stones then show your hand. Admit that it was you who threw that stone. But if you do not dare do that, then don’t throw stones. Simple!

How can you say: This ON and OFF requirement is depriving Malaysians….? I am not depriving Malaysians of anything. Malaysians are free to speak. They can comment. They can criticise. They can offer their views. What I am denying them is a platform to insult, mock, vilify, slander, pass racist comments, indulge in religion bashing, and whatnot. In England, you get sent to jail for such crimes. Why should it be any different for Malaysia?

Malays say: macam beri bunga kepada kera (like giving a flower to a monkey). A flower is a beautiful thing. So is freedom of speech. However, just as monkeys do not appreciate the beauty of a flower, many Malaysians also do not appreciate the beauty of free speech. Hence, until they do, I will not give them space in Malaysia Today, just like I will not give a flower to a monkey.