So Im back in the good city of Nottingham...

Well, as its typically me, this is a delayed post!
Well I planned to blog in dubai with my 4 hour transit n all that....didnt happen (sleepy/lazy)
Then I thought Id blog on the train from London to Nottingham...didnt happen (no wifi even though there was supposed to be)
Then I thought Id blog once I got back to my room. Well technically im doing that but its alrdy Monday night and I arrived on saturday evening.

So.... 2nd year is about to begin...*groan* its supposed to be ALOT more work than last year...and well with my brain rotting away for three months in Malaysia....NOT GOOD!!!

On the plus side...I finally managed to meet up with Hwee Yin!! Ya i know its been YEARS. Guess what we met up at London St Pancras. Dumb huh? we had 3 months to meet up in malaysia and it didnt happen. So i went for a BurgerKing with HY n her friends. Stupid thing was that I had to rush off after like 15 mins just after we started catching up (face to face for a change!) because my train was due to leave at 3.30. So at 5.10 i rush across the street back into STP and run all the way from the international terminal to the EastMidlandsTrains side.

I go to the ticketing counter...and get a ticket printed for 3.55pm instead!! LIKE WTF MAN>>> I finnaly meet up with Hwee Yin and have to rush off only to find out later I could have spent like half an hour more with her n her friends had I printed my ticket FIRST...BAH!! Anyway, she should be coming over for the Notts Games (like any other good malaysian in the UK would!) so well have more time to catch up then.

Still I was very happy with the train service. Very new very comfortable (nice bathroom too! >.<) and it still arrived at 5.30 in Notts.

Got to HuStu..n Steve the porter was there to greet me! Got david to help me lug my stuff up from the basement to my room. (belive me some of the stuff was HEAVY - I could not have done it without help). Then we headed over to the 'clubhouse' to chill for awhile.

I came back to my room bout 9.30pm and well just brushed my teeth and CRASHED! I didnt even put my sheets on. I was tired but not really sleepy. thought id just lie for a moment..n before i knew it i was asleep. Hey travelling for more than 24 hours + jetLag is goanna take a toll on you ya know!

I woke around 3am and started unpacking.....then I went back to bed around 7am as the sun was rising. but no I hadnt finished unpacking. In fact the last bits of unpacking have yet to be done even at the time of writing.

Let me see...what did I do on Sunday...hmmm leme see since i slept at 7 am it was only natural that I woke up around 1pm. Took a shower, and by then many of my new neighbours had started moving in. Got to know them. More like just introduce ourselves n chat a little. Im rubbish with names anyway!

Then took one of them to beeston for a subway (my lunch) and sainburys. Sorry cant remember his name...think it was mike :p

After that..more unpacking before dinner and the warden's address. Didnt bother going for the fresher's stuff after dinner. Headed over to the 'clubhouse' instead (if your wondering what the clubhouse is..ask me sometime and ill tell you ;)

Slept over there and came back this morning. been lazing and unpacking all day really. Went to the bank to get some stuff done and thats about it.

Oh yea! All the stuff i stored in the basement has a very funny smell. And alot of the organic stuff (clothes wooden spoones etc) are pretty moldy :S aigh. Looks like im gona have to wash some of my clothes even before Ive worn them. Oh well should have occured to me that it would happen when you put it in a very OLD basement for 3 months!!

So anyway..Im back in the good city of Nottingham...the land of Robin Hood, and life goes on.....

~Baron Out~

Stay Calm, Don't fall into their trap

You've probably been bombarded with this type of message ever since the ISA crackdowns, first on RPK, and then on the Sin Chew reporter Tan and Teresa Kok. No idea who else is on their hit list but rumors are of Haris Ibrahim and LKS. Anyway I cant repeat it enough STAY CALM and dont do anything stupid. Please please please spread this message around to as many people as you know.

Last I heard the situation at Bukit Mertajam was extreamely tense, im sure thats how it is in KL. The Poor Orang Asal couldnt go ahead with their march to the King's Palace (but we didnt actually expect it to be allowed did we??)

Anyway our protests and outbusrts go out in intelligent civilized ways:

1) SIGN THE PETITION ON THE JUDICIARY NOW!!!

Click Here to go to the petition site

As of 2.44pm 13/9/08 only as miserable 25334 people have signed. This is only HALF of the hoped 50,000 people!! Cummon! RPK has asked for 150,000 signatures! Go sign it if you havent and ask your family and friends to sign it. and MAKE SURE that they spread the word. Blog about it, and put it up on facebook even! You want to do sumthin meaningful? THEN DO THIS

2) ATTEND THE CANDLE-LIGHT VIGILS TONIGHT AND SPREAD THE WORD

DAP is holding a Candle-light vigil at the headquaters in PJ at 7.30pm tonight.

GMI (the Abolish ISA Movement) is holding a Candle-light Vigil infront of Bukit Aman police Headquaters at 8.30pm tonight.

A vigil will be organised in front of the Sin Chew Jit Poh office in Macalister Road, Penang from 2.00pm to 6.00pm today. The vigil is to express solidarity with the Sin Chew reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng, who was detained last night. Hopes are rising that she may be released soon.

I cant attend these, and if you cant either at least do this. Spread the following SMS around:

RPK, Teresa Kok and Sin Chew journalist Tan Hoon Cheng arrested under ISA. Join us tonight, 8.30pm at the entrance of Bukit Aman, in peaceful solidarity vigil for them. Let us be free from ISA. Please spread the word

RPK, Teresa Kok dan wartawan Sin Chew Tan Hoon Cheng ditahan bawah ISA. Datanglah ke pintu depan Bukit Aman pd 8.30mlm ini sbg tanda bersatu hati bersama mrk. Mari kita bebaskan diri dari ISA. Sila sebarkan SMS ini

You can also call a few friends and have your own small Candle light vigils at your padang or in your house. Whats the point of this? Its the spirit of the act - All of us coming together for that which is most important right now.

Finaly id like to refer you to The People's Parliament.

Thanks
~Baron Out~

ALIRAN's Statement on the RPK Arrest

RPK’s detention is unjust as it denies him his democratic right to defend himself. He should have been charged in open court in relation to the earlier charges made against him under the Sedition Act. By resorting to the ISA, his innocence can no longer be proven. This is indeed undemocratic, unjust and un-Islamic.


That is why we, other civil society groups and concerned Malaysians have opposed the use of undemocratic and unjust laws such as the ISA and the Sedition Act. Even individuals who express and do things that may cause anxiety and pain among the people and possibly inflame ethnic and religious sentiments should be accorded their right to natural justice and be allowed to defend themselves in an open court. They deserve this in any democratic society.

Moreover, the government’s drastic action makes us wonder whether this is a politically motivated prelude to a 1987-type of political clampdown, which involved mass detentions of innocent individuals most of whom were not even remotely involved in creating the supposed ethnic tension at that time.

The government’s latest moves reinforce the suspicion that these are desperate measures taken to undermine what is seen as the unstoppable Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat mounting a real challenge to the Barisan Nasional..

Whatever the case may be, we urge the government to release Raja Petra unconditionally and also retract the show cause letters issued to the three brave newspapers so that democracy can flourish and justice be served.

Aliran Executive Committee
12 September 2008

RPK arrested under the ISA!! (updated)

SOS!!!

At around 1.10 pm today, the Police showed up at Raja Petra's house in Sungai Buloh to arrest him under Section 73(1) of the Internal Security Act.

SPECULATIVE (meaning that its just what people say and that theres nothing to give any proof of truth) word on the net is that this is part of a wider plan by UMNO-BN to rile up people and trigger mass protests (and subsequently arrests...Ops Lalang II??) giving excuse for the government to declare Emergency Rule and Martial Law.

So please spread the word for all people to remain CALM but VIGILANT. Updates will be available on http://mt.m2day.org/ and http://www.malaysiakini.com/ as news trickles in.

update: Pakatan Rakyat is celebrating the anniversary of Malaysia Day on 15th September 2008 at Kelana Jaya Stadium. It starts at 8pm and all are invited to join. A show of solidarity is being organised at that event for RPK. At the very least please spread the following SMS around.

'RPK detained under ISA. Pls come to Kelana Jaya Stadium 8pm 15th September, 2008 to show solidarity for RPK. Plz forward.'

or

'RPK ditahan bwh ISA Tolong dtg Stadium Kelana Jaya 8pm 15 Sept 08 utk tunjuk dan beri sokongan kpd RPK Sila forward kpd kawan2'

currently unkown where RPK taken but he was removed from his house by around 1.50 pm. Police have also confisicated some books VCDs and his computer (again)

MORE IMPORTANLY: Id like to extract abit off the People's Parliament (http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com) emphasis is mine.

I’ve received sms’s asking if we are going to take to the streets.
People, do not play into the hands of the authorities.
Let’s not knee-jerk.
If we are going to do any vigils or peaceful demonstrations, let these be planned.
Will keep you posted on these, if any.

The following incidents have lead me to believe the speculations stated above:

1. A band of PKR fellows heading over to Taiwan today to meet the BN prospective crossovers
2. Racial Sentiments being flared up by U-Must-Noe-whO
3. Army General coming out with a warning recently
4. Show Cause letters sent by Ministry of (mis)Information to Sin Chiew, theSun, and SuaraKeadilan

I cant further emphasise the significance of these turn of events and therefore the ever increasing importance of signing the "Save the Judiciary" Petition to the DYMM Yang Di-Pertuan Agong. PLEASE.

ON THE LEFT YOU WILL SEE A NEW PRANGE POSTER FOR THE "SAVE THE JUDICIARY" PETITION. CLICKING ON IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE WEBSITE OF THE PETITION WHERE YOU CAN READ IT AND SIGN IT.

Please spread the word to your family and friends. Ask the to ask people to stay calm and to sign the petition.

At the very least DO THIS FOR RPK. P-L-E-A-S-E

Joint Press Statement by National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs) and Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)

SOS on Raja Petra Kamarudin to Fellow Malaysians

During the last few days there has been an ominous and increasing crescendo of messages – written and verbal – indicating the imminent arrest and detention of fellow blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

We hope that the Government is not contemplating this action. To alleviate the widespread public uproar and concern – national and international – that this shortsighted action will precipitate, we call on the authorities that may be planning this action to take heed of this SOS; to immediately cease all targeting of Raja Petra through the ISA or any other repressive measure; and to come out instead with an assurance that

1. no such ISA order is being envisaged to be served on Raja Petra
2. Raja Petra is free to continue his writings on the vital matters affecting the country
3. the draconian legislation of the ISA will not be used on Raja Petra or any other Malaysian blogger to punish them for their dissenting views and opinions.

In our view - and if the Government should care to undertake an independent survey, in the view of the great majority of Malaysians and non-Malaysians - Raja Petra in no way poses a threat to the country’s peace and security. Rather, he poses a threat to those individuals and organizations that he perceives as engaging in unconscionable and dastardly acts and activities that are bringing ruin to the nation. Many Malaysians too are of the opinion that his website contains some of the most incisive analysis on the ills that beset our nation. Further attempts to take down his website or to shackle his freedom of expression is not only an attack on a fearless, principled and ethical patriot but they will also be construed as an attempt to restrict our freedom of information and expression, a move that will take the country further down the road of authoritarianism.

While we respect the right to freedom of speech and information, we also advise all Bloggers and other online writers to exercise the same high ethical standards expected of journalists in the traditional media. We do not condone lies and malice in the Internet and should not only stand by what we write - we must be able to defend the truth of what we write.
We emphasise that in our view the current laws pertaining to Sedition and Defamation apply equally to print and online media and should be deterrent enough to check "irresponsible" writings. Hence we urge that there be no resort to a draconian law such as the Internal Security Act to hold peace-loving Malaysian writers to ransom."

A democratic government should not for one moment entertain - let alone pursue - the charges that have been leveled against Raja Petra. To isolate those forces in the system that are bent on using the repressive instruments of the state against various opponents for their own benefit, we call on

1. all fair-minded and honest leaders from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat parties to speak out - privately and publicly - against any attempt to use the ISA against Raja Petra;
2. component parties of the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to publicly oppose any intended incarceration of Raja Petra under the ISA;
3. civil society, professional and other organizations and private individuals to demand that the Government guarantees Raja Petra’s freedom of expression and undertakes not to use the ISA against him now or in the future.

We hope that good sense will prevail in our country’s leadership. Any act of repression against Raja Petra especially at this particular time will not go unquestioned or unanswered. We are confident that hundreds of thousands - if not millions of Malaysians – will stand firmly to make their dissenting views known should the Government choose to silence Raja Petra through the use of the ISA.

Statement released by:
Ahirudin Attan -Interim President, National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs)
Dr Lim Teck Ghee- Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives.
Kuala Lumpur, 9 September 2008