a malaysian abroad

Yesterday, I was puzzled to see this status message on Facebook:

why would a man, on the morning of his wedding, curl up and go to sleep on the sofa of the office where he was interrogated for ten hours, and then wake up to throw himself out the window, without even a suicide note? and why was his trousers torn in such a suspicious way? was someone holding him by the seat of his trousers, dangling him out the window as rpk says? does any of macc’s explanations make any sense?

rpk = Raja Petra Kamarudin
macc = Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission

Actually, my heart sunk to the pit of my stomach is more like it: more “funny business” going on in Malaysia!  And let me tell you, my heart has been aching ever since, as I proceeded to visit some of the Malaysian political commentary blogs out there to find out what happened.

In short, the MACC were supposedly carrying out an investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds by state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.  His political aide, 30 year old Teoh Beng Hock, was ‘invited to assist in the investigation’ by reporting to the MACC headquarters in the late afternoon, where he was then interviewed (interrogated?) until — get this — 3:45am.  Since when did the MACC act like the police, or worse?  It gets “better” — supposedly, the young man was too tired to leave (but he had his car there, and I don’t know about you, but me? I’d get the heck out of there!), so he decided to take a nap on a sofa within the room? floor? building?  Supposedly he was sighted asleep on said couch at 6am.  Then next thing we know, his body was found on the top of a neighbouring building around 1:30pm.  And from the photos of the body, the seat of his pants seem ripped.  Very very strange.

Among other things, the MACC is supposed to police the policemen.  But with such a death while in their custody (never mind that Teoh was “free to go” at 3:45 am), one can’t help but wonder, who polices those who police the policemen? Indeed, who watches the Watchmen?

To read more, you could check out Justice for Beng Hock, a freshly created blog; or invoke Big Brother Google and see what search results you get.  Here is RPK’s take on the whole thing.

… and then … and then comes the news of the Jakarta bombings.  I’m not even going to type about it, I’m sure this event is all over the news everywhere.

It’s a sad sad state of affairs in Malaysia and Indonesia today.

Candle by m_a_essam

My condolences to the families and loved ones of Beng Hock and of the bombings.

Have a …safe… weekend, everyone.

As of noon-ish on January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama is now the 43rd person* to lead the United States of America since 1789. Congratulations, President Barack Hussein Obama! May you lead this country back on to a healthy, healing path.

Barack Obama Originally uploaded by Llima

Chosen every four years, President of the United States is the highest political office in the USA, and is both Head of Government and Head of State.  He is the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.  He gets to grant pardons and reprieves, and is able to veto bills even if they have been passed by both houses of the Senate.  I can’t help thinking of Spiderman: with great power comes great responsibility.

* Obama is the 44th President, but 43rd person to have that title. Grover Cleveland is “counted twice”, having been both the 22nd and 24th Presidents since he served non-consecutive terms. Neat piece of trivia, ainnit?

Did you know that if you were the President of the Swiss Confederation, on the other hand, you wouldn’t have any difference in powers than any other members of the 7-member Swiss Federal Council?  In fact, there is no Head of State per se in Switzerland: it is the Federal Council, collectively, that is considered the Head of State.  Only if the Council is tied on a vote does the President cast the deciding vote.  The President’s term only lasts a year, and is usually replaced by the previous year’s Vice President.  The 2009 President of the Confederation is Hans-Rudolf Merz, who, if I count correctly, is the 161st President since the creation of this office in 1848 (if you want to include the Heads of the Swiss Diet , well, let’s just say Herr Merz is the latest in a VERY long succession of leaders!).

Coat of Arms of Malaysia source: wikipedia

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the Head of State and Head of Government are two entirely different offices:

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (loosely equated to King) is a largely ceremonial Head of State, elected from the Sultans who themselves are the ceremonial heads of individual states of Malaysia.  His Majesty is commander-in-chief of Malaysia’s armed forces, but his main role is to officially appoint many high-ranking office holders, usually on the advice of the Prime Minister.  He is also the Head of Islam for the country.  The current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the Sultan of Terengganu.

Malaysia’s Head of Government is the Prime Minister. While formally appointed by the Agong, the Prime Minister has invariably been the head of the ruling party within the House of Representatives whose appointment by the King is truly just a formality.  Most people will remember Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who held the post for 22 years.  Currently, the incumbent is Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

By the way, did you know that there is a prophecy about the succession of Malaysia’s Prime Ministers?  When independence was granted in 1957, the Head of State was Tuanku Abdul Rahman, and the Head of Government was Tunku Abdul Rahman (the source of much confusion for the uninformed!).  Perhaps it was the overlap of names that “caused” R A H M A N to become the blueprint for leaders to come:

R: Rahman, the first Prime Minster in 1957, who was succeeded in 1970 by
A: Abdul Razak, who was succeeded in 1976 by
H: Hussein Onn, who was succeeded in 1981 by
M: Mahathir Mohamad, who handed over the reins of power in 2003 to
A: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has indicated that he will be replaced by
N: (Abdul) Najib Abdul Razak in March 2009.

So, what happens after we reach our 6th Prime Minister? Will the “Rahman” pattern start over? Will it spell the end of Malaysia as we know it? Will Anwar, he who was supposed to be the second “A”, step in and create a brand new pattern?  Only time will tell!