Wong Chun Wai Gasping For Air
I read with dismay and shock at The Star’s new Group Editor-in-Chief’s commentary on PAS yesterday. It shows BN’s desperation and fear for the head honcho of MCA’s PR outfit to write such a vile article which displays his lack of understanding of Islam and more so of his publicly professed religion, Christianity.
As a Christian, part of the way of life that PAS proposes is acceptable. Although under Christ, we are now under grace and saved from judgement from disobeying a law that we can never perfectly obey. Gambling (an addiction), adultery and drunkenness generally hampers a believer’s walk with God as He is holy. Let me emphasise it is not wrong — simply bad for our spiritual walk or growth. ‘Cos as Christians, we are under grace. It’s not a licence to sin but a new way of really living with God. I’ll deal with this more thoroughly later. I know many Christians may not agree with me. But let me explain later.
Again I must re-iterate that Islam and Christianity are very different belief systems. The most important difference is that Muslims believe that Jesus was just another prophet while Christians believe that He is the Son of God. When we say Son of God, we mean that He is God who took on human form to show us the Way back to Him and to redeem us as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
I want to say that although people in Arab garb and turbans frightened me before, I accept that it’s their way of life. Contrary to Wong’s assertion, PAS is not forcing us to wear Muslim clothes. Or tudung. That only applies to Muslims. Non-Muslims are free to carry on as they want. Although getting drunk, karaoke and clubbing are usually not advised by Christian leaders. Wong should know. He leads a Christian small group in his home.
I think generally Wong’s piece can be trashed.
It’s obvious that under Barisan Nasional, Islam is taking over our lives even if we are non-Muslims.
While clubbing at Zouk, JAWI can raid the premises any time. We all know that Malay Muslims hang out in Zouk in a big way. The biggest gay clubs in the city are mostly Malay. When the religious authorities raid these venues, non-Muslims are also affected but thank God not subjected to humiliating acts like some Malay Muslim girls are.
Then there are the body-snatching cases that the civil courts won’t even touch.
Malaysians should stop buying the crap that BN spews everytime to scare us. We should vote PAS just to tell BN that their stupid fear tactics don’t work anymore.
After elections, Muslim NGOs should do something to prevent such blatant slander and one-sided reporting.
So disgusting.
“It’s obvious that under Barisan Nasional, Islam is taking over our lives even if we are non-Muslims.”
VERY obvious! WCW is simply bankrupt of spins and C.M. has revealed his real self.
El desperado…Can’t believe he put such a cliche photo in the paper…So 1980s lah ah chun’s rhetoric…Even PAS is more sophisticated now..BN are dinosaurs.
hey check this out, unbelievable! but believe it!
http://badaisenja.blogspot.com/2008/03/bongkar-bongkar-usaha-terakhir-umno.html
BN or rather UMNO will do whatever it can to insult our intelligence. This time we wouldn’t buy that. Stand firm. Close your ears, eyes and even brain to UMNO trash.
Fear shouldn’t deter us from moving on to create a better Malaysia.
Courage. Courage comes. Courage comes from cultivating. Courage comes from cultivating the habit. Courage comes from cultivating the habit of refusing. Courage comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner
CLASSIC CHANDRA-WARA !
by Martin Jalleh
It is simply amazing how someone who was deemed “irrelevant” by the caretaker PM and of whom the mainstream media (MSM) chose to send into oblivion has now become the cover story of the MSM – for very obvious reasons of course!
“Who is Anwar? ” the PM had asked sarcastically. He is finished. His political career has folded up. But now, almost every other day Pak Lah answers his own question! Anwar’s “spirit” haunts, hounds and heckles him – even though Anwar is not eligible to stand!
Very evidently the script and sandiwara for the General Elections by the boys on the Fourth Floor have spun out of control. The sycophants surrounding the PM have been caught with their pants down.
In comes an eminent human rights advocate who would spew out an “intellectual” diatribe – Chandra Muzaffar – a man whom in elections of recent times (except when he was in the Opposition) the BN would unleash before the final curtain.
“If Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes Prime Minister, it will be an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for Malaysia. . . he is not the sort of leader the country needs as he is now singing a different tune from when he was in the Government, ” charged Chandra, the former deputy president of PKR.
Chandra changed?
A member of the public named “Amar” who wrote to the editor of Malaysiakini pointed out that the “examples he (Chandra) quotes in the report were events that happened way before Anwar lost Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s patronage and interestingly, these were events that took place before Anwar’s reformasi movement commenced. ”
“On what basis did Chandra join PKR as deputy president given that he had reservations over Anwar’s past decisions? ” he quite appropriately asked.
In a similar vein respected journalist and former MP James Wong Wing On quotes a retired academician who attended the forum during which “Chandra Muzaffar had ‘really succeeded’ in damaging or even destroying his own credibility by re-launching ‘a very bitter and vindictive’ attack on Anwar Ibrahim’s ‘past records’ in the BN government”:
“If Chandra Muzaffar had always known Anwar’s “past records” in BN…why did he continue to support Anwar in the period from 1998 to 1999 and also became Parti Keadilan Nasional’s deputy president and its parliamentary candidate in the 1999 general election? ”
A “Aril Mikhail” wrote to Malaysiakini highlighting the irony that “Chandra is ‘coming clean’ and saying all this of Anwar now, when he himself appears to be doing the exact opposite of what he was doing when in Aliran and PKR. Before, he consistently argued against the BN having a two-thirds majority and the need for a strong opposition. ”
“Now, on the eve of the elections, he seemingly dismisses the opposition and asserts that, despite its flaws, there is no other viable coalition beyond the BN. How fortuitous. I guess when you’ve been offered a cushy position in a state university for two years, you tend to ‘change’ somewhat.
“Dear Chandra, selling out is fine. But becoming a willing tool of a corrupt, arrogant and racist regime at this critical juncture devalues, indeed destroys, whatever good work you may have done thus far. May God guide you, ” was Mikhail’s parting blessing!
In other words, it appears Chandra is also singing a different tune?
Chandra Confused?
In their response to Chandra’s cutting criticism of Anwar, the Malaysian Media Monitors’ Diary, a joint project of Charter 2000-Aliran, the Centre for Independent Journalism and the Writers Alliance for Media Independence, along with independent volunteers, showed how confused Chandra was:
“Chandra also expressed his fear of serious polarisation in the country: ‘My fear is that this coming election will reinforce and aggravate the ethnic polarisation if a large number of non-Malays vote for the Opposition, and worse if a large percentage of Malays vote for the Opposition. This will cause Umno to be very cautious in making any changes to the ethnic question and addressing issues related to religion. ’
“Such an argument only raises further questions: in the first place, isn’t the increase in polarisation due to ethnic-based policies and practices of the past Umno-led administrations, as alluded to by Chandra himself? If so, how on earth could Umno be relied upon to make meaningful changes that could redress problems related to ethnicity and religion?
“And why was there an emergence of amorphous groups such as Hindraf that articulate legitimate grievances (to a large extent) from a particular ethnic community?
“Secondly, how can ethnic polarisation worsen if both the non-Malays and the Malays vote for the Opposition? If anything, a multi-ethnic ruling coalition and a multi-ethnic opposition would lessen polarisation and ensure that issues raised are debated in the interests of all Malaysians. Is it the only the Barisan Nasional that can resolve ethnic issues and polarisation. The record indicates otherwise. ”
Chandra Consistent?
Chandra also said “the most important quality of a leader in a multi-ethnic country was honesty and when a leader spoke on sensitive ethnic issues, he must say the same thing to non-Malays as to the Malays…You cannot play games because it is very dangerous. ”
There could be no better response to this than that provided by the Malaysian Media Monitors’ Diary: ”If, as rightly pointed out by Chandra, the issue of trust and honesty is vital, then shouldn’t we, or rather forum moderator Wong Chun Wai, also ask whether leaders such as keris-wielding Hishamuddin can be trusted to be one of the country’s leaders.
“After all, didn’t Hishamuddin change his political stance pertaining to the issue of Chinese and Tamil schools in the country in the run-up to the general election? Isn’t that political expedience of the highest degree?
“Hasn’t his tune changed? Wasn’t it in Umno that you had a few politicians talking of unsheathing the keris and threatening to bathe it with Chinese blood? Did this escape Wong’s (or Chandra’s) memory? ”
Yes, what about the “honesty” of caretaker deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak who in 1987, as UMNO Youth Chief, vowed to bathe the keris with Chinese blood, and who now never fails to spew out a verbal diarrhea of multi-racial mutterings?
As for consistency, did the caretaker PM not preach to the gathering of Christians at the Plenary Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches at the beginning of his premiership on “Dialogue The Key To Unity Of Multireligious, Multiethnic And Multicultural Societies” and yet, four years later ban the Building Bridges Conference, a inter-religious seminar meant to bring together Christian and Muslim scholars of international repute?
Alas, Chandra seems so out of tune! Even the Aliran Executive Committee feels so. In a statement today they provide two examples: “It is odd, (therefore, ) that Chandra should be so concerned about the problem of money politics in PKR per se. At the same time, he has not said much of late about the money politics which has always been associated with the BN. ”
”Chandra also has highlighted the supposedly racial scare tactics used by PKR during the Lunas by-election. For us, such dirty tricks have been resorted to by all parties especially the BN. Again, all forms of racial baiting by all parties should be condemned. ”
Chandra’s chicanery?
In recent years, Anwar has in fact addressed what Chandra has accused him off. As Aril Mikhail has put it quite succinctly: “The gist of Chandra’s personal attack is that Anwar is saying things now that are the opposite of what he said and did when he was high up in Umno. This, of course, is nothing new and Anwar himself has addressed these criticisms often enough. ”
Indeed quite recently Anwar has met head-on criticisms and the portrayal of him as a political chameleon (especially by the MCA). When asked to respond to a 4-page leaflet by the MCA entitled “Disclosing the true face of Anwar”, Anwar said:
“The notion that I’m a political chameleon misses things by a mile…Nothing I did and said in the language and cultural spheres were not standard BN-Umno policy and nowhere did I take my championing of any issue to the extent that I waved a keris and called for bloodletting, stirring crowds to emotive outbursts”
(Malaysiakini).
Anwar was referring to the October 1987 Umno Youth-led demonstration in Kuala Lumpur where a band of Malay leaders, including present Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, harangued the crowd with inflammatory rhetoric.
At that time, the posting of non-Mandarin speaking administrators to government-aided Chinese schools ratcheted up racial tension in the country: “Those were fraught times and I hold that the distinction one ought to make between a responsible and a chauvinistic leader in that context lay in how you argued your point without inflaming public sentiment.
“I stood on the sane side of that divide while there were others in power today who breached that line with impunity, ” he said.
In early February this year, Anwar subjected himself to a rigorous examination of his stances on religious issues in the presence of about 200 Christian clerics and lay activists and appeared to have emerged intact (Malaysiakini).
There was no variance between his public pronouncements and his private assurances to his inquisitors, said an observer at the closed-door dialogue held in Petaling Jaya, organised by the Christian Federation of Malaysia.
Chandra’s Condemnation
There also remains the hopeful reality that politicians do and can change for the better through time and circumstance. James Wong quotes a good Christian friend who also attended the forum wherein Chandra spoke:
“…whatever his “past records” in the BN government, Anwar has ‘cleansed’ himself by his willingness to suffer grave injustices and tortures from 1998 to 2004, and also by working hard now to oppose BN’s unjust policies. Seen in this light, Anwar is definitely a better person than those in the BN who still refuse to make amends for the better. ”
“Has Dr. Chandra Muzaafar himself changed for the better or worse? ” asked James Wong
By portraying Anwar as untrustworthy and unprincipled Chandra is pronouncing the “death sentence” on the man who has already paid a very costly price for challenging the head of a hegemony who was capable of the most heinous!
Chandra also confounded the whole country when he said that although BN was “flawed”, there was no other coalition in the country. In its statement Aliran stated that it “does not share Chandra’s recent remarks vis-à-vis Anwar Ibrahim and PKR. Neither do we share his views that the BN despite its flaws is a better choice. Indeed, we are rather perturbed by his apparently emotional outburst. ”
Asked why he was breaking his silence now, Chandra said it appeared that people were being deceived by Anwar and (i)t is something for which I am prepared to go on record now so that people will not be deceived”.
Chandra should keep in mind what he had once declared: “Malaysians are not idiots or imbeciles. ”
Apparently Aliran was not satisfied with the answer given by its former president and so it stated and asked: “The most disturbing aspect of this episode is how Dr Chandra Muzaffar has wittingly or unwittingly lent himself to be a part of the BN propaganda machine. It is sad that a prominent intellectual and long-time activist of his standing has such a blinkered view of the issue at hand. We wonder why he did not make these alleged goings-on public earlier and follow up on them conclusively given his public stance on integrity and accountability. Why only now? ”
Alas, Chandra should not allow himself to be a hydra of the BN!
Martin Jalleh
5 March 2008
http://lucialai.org/2008/03/06/a-classis-chanra-wara/
Journalist are supposed to be unbiased and write a balance article for the readers to make their own judgement. Learn to appreciate the values that are being put forward by PAS and it is trying to be moderate where ever possible but there are some facts that cannot be distorted.
In the case of our editor he writes what the BN things and wants us to believe. We are in a fast moving world and if you do not write the truth there are are others who will disseminate the truth. As you know truth cannot be supressed and it will surface one find day. As long as the Barisan is in power people like Wong Chun Whai will survive and mislead the poor people. Find other sources for the real time info.
No choice but to call WCW an idiot. His paper itself has been in the forefront selling the idea that `Malaysia is an islamic state`. Now he gives us this rubbish.
Jeepers! he`s either smoking funny stuff, or totally brain damaged from over consuming magic mushrooms.
“He leads a Christian small group in his home.”
Aiyah, that`s not good news at all. That makes more WCWs floating around. MCA members for sure.
WCW lists just a few ‘controversial’ remarks by PAS. Shouldn’t he also include some UMNO utterances for fair comparison? (And these are not just inter-Ummah spats.)
“Ah Pek, sit down and keep quiet!”
“I’m talking about Muslims, not keling.”
“Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his keris, waved his keris, kissed his keris. We want to ask Datuk Hisham when is he going to use it?”
“Force must be used against those who refused to abide by the social contract.”
“Malays will kill Chinese, Chinese will kill Malays, Indians will kill everybody else.”
“Burn down the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.”
“Revoke the citizenship of those who opposed the Malay rulers.”
“May 13 has begun.”
“Soak it (the keris) with Malaysian Chinese blood.”
http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/police-warn-against-race-baiting-in-2008-general-election-like-thats-gonna-stop-umno/
he calls himself a christain and preach from the high moral ground. for goodness sake , wong, stop bringing the religion into disrepute with your hypocrisy. go ahead, enjoy the trappings of life that come with your position but its hypocrisy that i detest.
If he has a conscience, he will know that what he reaps (or writes), he will sow…
And when he meets his Maker, it will be said to him ‘who are you, I do not know you?’
Read this: “As for a journalist, he is deemed CREDIBLE, COURAGEOUS and objective when he takes a swipe at the leadership and backs the Opposition”
Wong Chun Wai, INCREDIBLE, whoops I mean your remarks are incredible to me? Let me think whether it makes sense or otherwise. Hahahahaha. Oh yeah, journalist that got Datuk-ship for one-sided biased reporting is NOT COURAGEOUS in my opinion. Sounds familiar doesn’t it, Wong Chun Wai?
That’s a good one. That is a very bad way of stereotyping journalist ya know. Wong Chun Wai, if that is how you stereotype journalism, I would like to encourage you to quit your job. You are not welcome.
Jed Yoong, I hereby give you the credibility award because you swipe at the Ruling Coalition and Opposition fairly when they do mistakes. You are credible and I mean it.
Aww…How sweet. I give you an award too — for being so brave and defending Malaysians in this repressive (though WCW calls it “liberal” - ??) environment.
Ermm, Wong Chun Wai, my sixth sense tells me that you read blogs.
Now see this. I am not saying you are biased but why is it that the article only include such things about PAS but not about UMNO. Things like Keris waving and stuff, May 13 remarks, burn down Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall that kind of thing. Whoops, that is not biased, one-sided reporting? Oh well.. hmmn.. ok
Yeah. Maybe keris-waving is the more “modern” and “liberal” pursuits of UMNO. Body-snatching too must be another “pluralistic” past-time to the BN. WCW represents a narrow race-based party. So he should really examine MCA’s “liberties” before taking such a badly researched and bias piece on PAS.
Let’s cut to the chase shall we or as it used to be said in another time: let’s call a spade, a spade!
The Muslim/Islam community merely believes that if anyone is not of their religion, they are infidels and all infidels are to forced to be converted or killed out of hand.
It is the oldest game in God’s creation - God’s children (those redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ) vs Satan’s children (everyone who rejects Jesus Christ as the only Savior of the world.
I wish we could all say the same thing when we talk about the Muslim/Islamic believers. Every person without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - is out to killl those of us who do!
The child of God will eventually either die and natural death at his/her appropriate time (which God alone knows) or he/she will die a martyr’s death!
Christians be aware - Muslim/Islam and all the world is out to kill you!
God said it and I believe it!
Hello. Pls try to mingle with more Muslims and see if they want to kill you. No one wanted to kill me in Kota Bahru. They were all very friendly…….This is what happens when you don’t try to live beyond your cocoon…
This WCW is gutless and a coward. Any one of you ever heard him make a criticism on the Prime Minister? It is not just those who dared took swipes at the Government and back the Oppositions are deemed credible, courageous and objective. They need to be telling the truth to be deemed credible, courageous and objective.
On the other hand, what you call those who only kisses the government butt and praise the “habitual liar” Pak Liar but a gutless, self-serving cowards?
He wrote “PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat told his listeners at Nikko Hotel that those who vote for PAS would go to heaven. I guess that will not include many non-believers like me.” What a fool. Of course in the Islam worldview, you are going to hell lah. Do you know what awaits those who rejects the Son of God, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life?
When it comes to Christian worldview, there is no middle ground also. Even the Catholic Pope has pronounced anathema on the Protestants. But let’s not talk about religion here. All the views though can be understood but can never be reconciled.
The welfare of our country is more than just “gender segregation in supermarket checkout lines, concerts and, of course, at swimming pools.”
You think having a preffered checkout lines, concert and swimming pools are of bigger concerns than the billions of ringgit corrupted, lives ruined by indefinite ISA detention, mis-using of public funds, distortion of facts by mainstream media (of which you are part of), VK Linggam issues and many more?
And to the author of thinks that all the Muslim are out to kill Christians, don’t be a fool. If you are a Christian, then don’t worry. God said that too.. so believe it.
Don’t know. Maybe he is reading the Apocrypha….I don’t see how check-out lines or cinemas are pressing issues when crime is at 40 per cent. And violent crimes against women is at an all time high….Anyway, he always writes this to “scare” us about PAS. Just like how BN is now trying to “scare” us with May 13 etc…
After having read briefly the Apocrypha in the past, I don’t recall anything from it that might be blamed for what WCW is. It is quite an interesting collection that throws some light on the Bible that a non Christian may gain further insight from and is one collection of books which a non Christian is not preconditioned by any sense of guilt as may unconsciously beset an orthodox Christian in reading them.
LOL
No, he’s not reading the Apocrypha… If he really read the Apocrypha, he still wouldn’t be this dumb. God is light, truth, and freedom… WCW is either bound or stuck in the opposite of all 3.
OUCH. To be frank, I’ve not read the Apocrypha. WCW is very intelligent actually. So I don’t know…Maybe he wrote his own version? Ha ha ha. Bless HIM. We should pray for him, after all, it’s Easter.
Well of course, he’s definitely no nong. You’ve got to admit, the man’s use of English is impeccable. And yes, I would definitely like to pray for him that he will be finally be free if political clutches and be able to use his gifts to write the truth, not BN’s version of the truth. Perhaps that should be his “Easter renewal”. Oh yes, maybe we need to pray for him that he would not write only with his head, but his heart and possibly, balls.
And as for the Apocrypha, there are some non-Catholic bibles which have them included and are for sale at Borders. In fact, the Bible Society would have some. Even if it’s not meant to establish doctrine, its still a good read for Christian living nonetheless. Heck, that was what Luther said I think.