A strike, a sodo-mi case, speculations, and Interpol

I read it fleetingly yesterday on Rocky’s Bru that he would be refraining from posting anything on his blog regarding the current political mess for the next couple of days. I had read before that on Marina Mahathir’s blog that she would be going on a self-proclaimed strike, and simply not write about the current political scene.

I didn’t pay much attention to it, because, well, what another blogger wants or wants NOT to do, is pretty much up to them. And for me, Marina’s “strike” was one I didn’t really understand anyway, because she’s been writing on pretty much everything BUT politics these days, presumably because of the circumstances.

I don’t want to question what other bloggers want to do with their blogs. And besides, for me, being fed-up with the current state of affairs was the thing that fuelled this drive for change, right?

Hence I was a little curious about the StarOnline article that mentioned something about Malaysian bloggers going on strike. My reaction, similar to that of Haris’: What strike?

But I guess, there’s a lot more to this than I initially thought. Susan has posted her view on this so-called strike, and so has Din Merican.

My view? Well, I’m Malaysian, a blogger, and NOT on strike. Should pretty much sum up my stand.

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Meanwhile, police have said that they have taken statements from 18 different people on the alleged sodomy case against Anwar. They have yet to get a statement from the man, but would have to soon.

Nothing new, in the world of investigations and taking down statements. But I find it frustrating that the police and “other people” go on repeating the same sentence again and again:

[The police officer] urged and warned the media to not speculate about the case as it could jeopardise police investigations.

Now, I’ve seen this word far too many times. So I’ve decided to go after it in the dictionary, not because I don’t know what it means, but so that we can get a universal understanding of it. The meaning of the word speculate, is:

..to consider the circumstances or possibilities regarding it..

I come to my own conclusion that to speculate, in the manner mentioned above, is human nature. We live every single day of our lives in search for knowledge, for the truth, to know what we don’t already know.

I personally THRIVE on possibilities. Certainly harmless speculation with no malicious intent should be alright?

But I digress.

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The search for Bala and his family have now gone up a couple of notches. They are pulling in Interpol.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 - Malaysian police today urged P Balasubramaniam’s to come forward and help them in their probe into his conflicting statutory declarations, saying they have sought Interpol help to find the missing private investigator. Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Bakri Zinin said police suspect that Balasubramaniam was either in hiding or being hidden by someone.

They have also not ruled out the possibility that he may have left the country, and have asked for the help of Interpol and authorities in neighbouring countries.

“I give a guarantee of his safety if he comes to meet us and he is free to bring his lawyer,” said Bakri at a press conference.

Full article here.

The StarOnline has more to add:

Police are looking at three likely possibilities for private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s dissapearance - he could be hiding out of fear, does not want to cooperate in investigations or has been forced to go into hiding by certain parties.

I’m glad that the police are not ruling out every possibility. But I’m not jumping for joy yet. Because we still don’t know what has happened to the guy. What I hope now is that they don’t practice double standards when they do find Bala and family. No hiding of the truth behind his disappearance.

Speculation/Analysis/Possibility: Bala and family have disappeared. 5 people in total. Disappeared after he made the second SD public, in which he was looking rather distraught. So it’s most probable that he has went into hiding, either he chose to himself, or someone else forced him to. But with his photo splashed all over the television news, newspapers, and even computer screens, there wouldn’t be many places within Malaysia that he can hide safely without anyone knowing who he is.

So then maybe he had to go overseas. Say someone paid him to make the second SD, or say he was forced to go overseas. So then his trip would be paid for. But there would be records of his leaving the country. But then again, it’s not impossible that the records have been erased, right? Because it’s not like it has never happened before.

When development comes to a standstill

Things do not look good in the realm of construction, when jobs received are being returned. In the 10 years that I’ve been following my dad around to construction sites, our conversations invariably circled around how construction works, not only to build homes and offices and 7-Elevens. We also talked about how construction plays a part in the development of a country.

Hence why if the construction sector isn’t doing well, it’s a clear sign that things are rough when it comes to national economy.

I read the following article from the StarOnline here. They have compared the prices of materials. I will add what I know to that comparison.

RISING prices of building materials have started a tsunami in the construction industry. At least 200 contractors have returned their government jobs as they are unable to bear the escalating costs.

A house that cost RM100,000 to build will now cost about RM130,000 with the prices of all types of building materials up by 15% to 30% across the board.

Steel Bars: Now RM4,100 per tonne compared to RM3,500 in June. (Approx. RM2,800 in 2003)

Cement: Now RM13.45 a bag compared to RM10.95 last month. (Approx. RM8 in 2003)

Bricks: RM0.245 each compared to RM0.22 previously. (Approx. RM 0.12 in 2003)

Ready mix concrete: RM190 per cubic metre compared to RM160 last month. (Approx. RM 120 in 2003)

Copper: RM28,275 per tonne now compared to RM3900 three years ago.

Prices of other building materials such as sand have also gone up by 25%, quarry products by 30% and tiles by 22%.

The increase is crazy.

Even during the economic slump of 1998, we did not hear of contractors returning jobs to governments or developers. At the worst of it, big companies went for small jobs, small companies then went for smaller jobs, and the smallest companies had to roll carpet. My dad, our family was part of that slump. It was the “get-up-and-go”.

It so happens, it was also during the economic slump of 1998 that Anwar’s alleged sodomy case was being publicised. Leads me to this question: Why is it that every time there is an economic slowdown, Malaysia’s political scene seems to be at its most colourful?

Is there a deliberate attempt to pull rugs over our eyes?

Malaysia Today up and running

I’ve been unable to get into the website these past few days, some of you may have been experiencing the same problem. Looks like they’ve got it rectified, but with a slight change in the URL. RPK’s website can now be found here.

And his first update under “The Corridors of Power” talks about the events that have taken place in the past week, concentrating on the allegations and accusations being thrown around wildly, but targetted sharply at both Anwar and Najib.

RPK, it seems, has proclaimed one man to be the winner in this recent spat:

I might not like Abdullah but I must certainly admire his skills. He looks stupid, he talks stupid, he acts stupid, but a man who can make you think he is stupid is actually cleverer than you.

Yes, it looks like Abdullah will still be Umno President and Prime Minister of Malaysia come Christmas. I would not have said this three weeks ago but today I say this with confidence. And while Najib and Anwar finish each other off, Abdullah is giggling in the background and choosing the Christmas tree that he will erect in Putrajaya come December.

Well done, Pak Lah. Brilliant moves. Now let’s see how Najib and Anwar extricate themselves from the mess they are currently in.

His entire take on it here.

Bala is now missing! (UPDATED)

UPDATE:

This is an excerpt I read on the StarOnline:

[Kumaresan] said neighbours told him that his aunt had broken her normal routine to pick up the neighbour’s children from school at noon which was very unusual.

Kumaresan also disclosed that on July 1 after his uncle had prepared first statutory declaration (two days before it was released at the PKR headquarters), his uncle had met and given the original copy to his brother for safekeeping.

“He asked my brother, Segar, to show it to me and asked us to just wait and see and watch the TV because he (Balasubramaniam) was going to give a press conference.”

Full article here.

Now, this is seriously becoming murkier and murkier. What has happened to him?

For his entire family to disappear is no small thing. Did he fear for his safety, and hence went into hiding? Kumaresan doesn’t think so.

If not, then has something happened to him? Or is he being held up somewhere else?

That the children were pruposely picked up from school early is something to take note of. Why were they in such a hurry? Where to?

And that Bala gave the original SD to his nephew, and also telling them to watch the TV is something worth pondering over. Would a man who made a false declaration under oath, under duress, hand over that piece of false declaration to someone else for “safekeeping”? I don’t think so. If he had been forced to sign papers he didn’t wish to, he wouldn’t have told his nephews to keep a look out for him on the television. You don’t advertise something you’re not proud of.

But for now, no matter whether he went into hiding himself, or was forced to take flight, I pray that him and his family are safe and not subjected to any sort of threat or abuse.

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Original post:

Seems like Bala has been in the news non-stop since the press conference on July 3rd.

FIrst, it was the explosive SD. And then another explosive retraction of the first SD by means of a second SD.

And now, Bala, his wife, and his three children are missing.

A family member, R. Kumaresan, lodged a report at the Brickfields police station this afternoon, saying that the private investigator, his wife and their three children have disappeared from their home in Rawang.

From the Malaysian Insider here.

Kumaresan, who is the nephew of Bala, said that Bala and family have not been seen since after the second Press Conference of the Second SD.

Dodgy..dodgy..

The Malaysian Insider article ends like this:

This latest twist is going to make an already messy situation worse and give credence to claims by the Opposition that Balasubramaniam felt compelled to revise his statutory declaration because he and his family had been threatened.

I would say I agree.

Even the police don’t know where he is.

We have no idea where he is and we appeal to anyone who knows of his whereabouts to contact us and this includes his lawyer who was last seen with him. - Deputy IGP

From the StarOnline here.

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My bets are that he was threatened after making the first SD to retract it, and make a second SD to say that he made the first one under duress. And my bets are also that after making the second SD, he was again threatened to “disappear” and not meet up with anyone who can possibly question his reasons for retracting the first SD, or to change his mind, or to find out about what was happening behind.

But, purely my bets. I will see what else there is in the newspapers tomorrow.

*I pray that Bala and his family are safe.

I am NOT a gullible idiot!

Guess what one of our Ministers had to say:

JAKARTA, July 4 (Bernama) — Malaysians abroad, including students, have been advised to be careful and not to be easily influenced by what is being written in blogs about the political development back home.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said many of the blog contents were mere allegations.

He said reading blogs just for the sake of obtaining information not reported by the mainstream media, could poison the mind as the many of the contents were not based on facts.

“They should also balance things out by reading websites of the mainstream media like Bernama and Utusan Malaysia which are reporting issues based on ethical writing,” he said at a meeting with staff of the Malaysian embassy here on Friday.

Full article here.

And you know what the irony of all this is? I didn’t even find out about this from Bernama, although it’s where I linked the article. I only found out that this Minister said something to this effect thanks to Mustafa K Anuar’s blog here.

But wait a minute.

You see, what this Minister has to say here is in direct relation to me. Because I happen to be overseas currently, and I also happen to be a student.

What exactly does he take us for? I’m not going to speak for everyone overseas, because I cannot. But I most definitely am going to speak up for myself.

Because I am not some gullible idiot who will take everything and anything thrown at me at face value. Give me some credit. Give US some credit. Don’t go insulting our intelligence, by implying that we wouldn’t know any better.

For the record, I get most of my “news sources” from The StarOnline. I’m assuming that it would be acceptable to our Minister here, because the Star would be considered one of the mainstream news portals, no?

But also for the record, I don’t go there to “balance things out”. On the contrary, I go there to see if they’re reporting as quickly as the blogs are, or as quickly as Malaysiakini is. Sometimes even the Malaysian Insider is faster at their news reports.

And the reason why I go to the StarOnline and not NST or Bernama or theSun is because the StarOnline uploads the quickest, and the format makes more sense to me.

I don’t even read Utusan Malaysia. Too biased for me. So what ethical writing are we talking about here?