Dr Chua said he served as an executive council member and assemblyman in Johor when Muhyiddin was menteri besar.

“He is not anti-Chinese. In fact, when he was the menteri besar, he gave special allocations to Chinese schools, which continue in Johor until today.

“He also made it a point to visit all the MCA divisions in the state and would visit all the MCA leaders at their homes during Chinese New Year every year.”

He said Muhyiddin had always assisted the Chinese, both in rural and urban areas.

Dr Chua was asked to comment on allegations that Barisan Nasional had been discriminatory against Chinese schools. Such claims are veiled references to Muhyiddin, who is also education minister.

The MCA president had earlier closed a three-day MCA national leaders’ brainstorming camp here.

“Maybe he (Muhyiddin) doesn’t smile a lot. That’s because he has a serious face. These allegations are baseless and are manipulated by the opposition,” Dr Chua added.

He also urged the BN leadership to treat all component parties fairly and equally. It should also work as a team, with activities involving all component parties.

“No single decision should be made by one party, after which the rest simply have to follow. Such an act will not reveal the true BN spirit where cooperation and understanding among the component parties has always been the practice.

“MCA strongly supports calls by the prime minister and his deputy that BN undergo a transformation to show that it still represented the interests of all races and is relevant to the people.”

Dr Chua said the political scenario was changing and MCA could no longer remain as a party which fought only for the rights of the Chinese, but for universal values and those relating to Malaysians as a whole.

“We want to enhance the MCA’s publicity in the new media and will appoint a consultant to come up with a blueprint on how we can best counter and overcome the numerous allegations made by the opposition.”

On calls by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that BN leaders should not openly quarrel among each other, Dr Chua said this was sound advice.

“All BN leaders must respect and help each other. There are avenues for us to iron out our differences and this should be strictly adhered to.

“We must no longer single out issues and say that this must be handled by one particular component party. If it is an issue that affects a Malaysian, under our 1Malaysia concept, we must all work together to overcome it”

The message below is meant to update us on the current pandemic, H1N1 so that we can minimize the exposure to it for us as well as for those around us.  I suggest that all of us be familiar with this issue and address it accordingly and that we do not take this lightly.

1) Can we distinguish between regular and H1N1 flu, without a lab test?

No, the flu is the flu, but there are variations in presentation. Some symptoms such as cough, runny nose, fever, body aches, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea occur more or less in every flu patient, but may present differently by different people. Some infected people have very mild symptoms, some in between, and a small minority, probably less than 10 per cent, have severe features including the dangerous pneumonia.

However, from sentinel testing and surveillance by the Ministry of Health the last few weeks have shown that almost 95 per cent of all flu-like illness are now caused by the H1N1 virus. Earlier some months ago, seasonal flu variants caused by the B and other A virus were the main causes, the bug causing most flu these few days is the A(H1N1). This appears to be the case also in neighboring countries, meaning that the new virus is causing more havoc and symptomatic illness than previous types of flu (which are still in the community).

Because almost every flu-like illness (influenza-like illness or ILI) is due to H1N1, the MOH is now recommending that no testing to confirm this H1N1 will now be offered.

Treat as if this is H1N1 for ILI— symptom relief for mild symptoms (paracetamol, hydration, cough medicines, etc) and self-quarantine, social distancing, be alert for complications.

Most (70 per cent) do not need any anti-viral medications such as Tami-flu or Relenza. Only severe cases need to be referred to hospital for further treatment.

2) How should doctors decide if a person be given further specific treatment for H1N1?

If after 2-3 days, fever and cough symptoms do not improve, a recheck with the doctor is recommended, especially if there are features of difficulty breathing, severe weakness and giddiness, or, if the following risk factors are present:

1. obesity (fatter patients seem to have poorer outcome and more complications)

2. those with underlying diabetes, heart disease

3. those with asthma, or chronic lung disease

4. pregnant women

5. those with reduced immunity, cancer patients, etc

6. those with obvious pneumonia features

3) Many anxious people with flu-like symptoms want to be tested or treated for suspected H1N1, but are kept waiting or sent home, without being tested. Is this practice right?

There is no right or wrong practice as this outbreak is extensive and is stretching our resources to the limit. This is also the case not just here in Malaysia, but also elsewhere around the entire world!

The recommendation is now not to spend too much time and effort trying to get tested at designated hospitals or clinics — there is probably no need to do so. I have been informed that as many as 1,000 patients queue anxiously at SungaiBulohHospitalfor testing, due to fear of the H1N1 flu.

So the message must be made clear: Most flu illness do not require confirmatory testing, and are mild and self-limiting. More than 90 per cent will get better on their own, with symptomatic treatment — just watch out for possible complications, and risk factors as mentioned above.

Our resources are limited especially for testing. This is not just for Malaysia, but globally as well. The global demand for test kits and reagents for the H1N1 (PCR) is overextended and are rationed due to this extreme demand.

Some 200 million test kits have been deployed worldwide, but this supply is critically short because of excessive demand, so most countries have to ration testing to confirm only the worst cases, so as to monitor the pandemic better.

4) Are doctors confused as to what to do in this outbreak, especially when they do not have ready access to confirmatory lab tests?

Not really. Earlier on there was some confusion as to what to do next and who to test or who to refer for further testing and admission. Now the rules are clearer.

There is no need to do any testing to confirm the H1N1 virus for any ILI— just assume that this is the case in the majority of cases. Treat symptomatically when symptoms are mild, reassure the patients and ensure that these infected patients practice good personal hygiene, impose self-quarantine and social distancing, wear masks if their coughing or sneezing become troublesome, and keep a watchful eye on whether the infection is getting better or worse.

If there is difficulty breathing and gross weakness, then patients should quickly present themselves for admission. Understandably this phase of worsening is not always clear or easily understood by everyone… But there is not much more that we can do — otherwise we will be admitting too many patients and this will totally overwhelm our health services.

But prudent caution would help to determine which seriously ill patients need more attention and more intensive care. Unfortunately however, there will be that odd patient who will progress unusually quickly and collapse even before anything can be planned — hopefully these will be few and far between.

A more important note is that all doctors and nursing personnel should be very aware that they too have to take precautions, and employ barrier contact practices, if there are patients with cough and cold during this period of H1N1 outbreak, which is expected to last a year or two. Carelessness can result in the physician or nurse or nurse-aide becoming infected!

5) Are there sufficient guidelines from the Ministry of Health to address this situation?

I think there are sufficient guidelines from the MOH. Although some politicians have blamed the MOH and the minister for being inept at handling this pandemic — in truth this is not the case.

It is useful to remember that this is an entirely new or novel virus, which no one previously had encountered before — thus its infectivity and contagiousness is quite high and almost no one is immune to this virus.

Perhaps, there will come a time when all the resources from both public and private sectors can be put to more efficient use. Some logistic problems will invariably occur, because human beings differ in their capacity to understand or follow directives, whatever the source or authority.

Also patient demands have been extraordinarily high and at times very difficult to meet — every patient necessarily feels that his flu is potentially the worst possible type and therefore requires the most stringent measures and testing…

Doctors are also unsure as to the seriousness or severity of this new ailment — and we are only now beginning to understand this better — so our less than reassuring style when encountering this new H1N1 flu is sometimes detected by an equally anxious patient and/or their relatives.

But there is only so much that we can do under such a pressure cooker of an outbreak which is spreading like wildfire! But nevertheless we should not panic, and remember that most (more than 90 per cent) of infected people will recover with very little after-effects. Possibly only one in 10 patients develop more serious problems which necessitate hospitalization.

6) Is limiting H1N1 testing only to those who have been admitted to hospital justifiable?

I have explained the worldwide shortage of such testing kits and reagents. Also it is near impossible to test everyone, the world over. Besides, knowing now that almost all the flu-like illness in the country is due to H1N1 makes it a moot point to want to test for this, especially when most are mild.

The rationale for testing only those who need hospitalization is to ensure that we are dealing with the true virus, and also help to isolate possible changes or mutations to this viral strain. The MOH is also constantly doing sentinel surveillance (random spot-testing at various sites around the country to determine more accurately the various virus types and spread that are causing ILI).

7) Are we short of anti-virul drugs (Tami-flu, Relenza)? Should I take Tami-flu?

These antiviral drugs were available to most doctors during the earlier scare of the bird flu virus, but now are severely restricted, although some orders are still entertained from individual doctors, clinics or hospitals. Remember that these have been block-booked by more than 167 countries which have been shown to have been penetrated by the H1N1 flu bug.

Our MOH has actually stockpiled some two million doses of the Tami-flu or its generic form. In the last inter-ministerial pandemic influenza task force meeting, this stockpile will be bumped up to 5.5 million doses to cover some possible 20 per cent of the population.

Right now there is no shortage in the country. It is just that it is not readily available on demand for anyone just yet. The MOH is still of the opinion that this antiviral drug be used prudently and would like to register every patient given this drug.

The private sector on the other hand would like to have a looser control over the use of this drug — but we acknowledge that we should be meticulously prudent in its use. There is a genuine fear that resistant strains to this drug may develop with indiscriminate and unnecessary use — then we will all be in trouble with a drug-resistant H1N1 virus run amok!

Drug-resistant strains have been detected in Mexico, border-towns in the US, Vietnam, Britain, Australiaeven. So we have to be vigilant and closely monitor the situation. Right now, the very limited usage of Tami-flu gives us good reason to be optimistic.

However, because of some unusual patterns of seemingly well people dying or having very critical infections, some people and doctors are wondering if these new strains have already reached our shores… or have we been too late in instituting proper treatment… ?

The rising number of deaths now is quite worrisome, but our health authorities are watching this development very closely and are also checking the virus strain to see if this has mutated. We can only hope that this is not the case, for now.

What are some of the problems faced by doctors in dealing with the H1N1 problem?

It would be good if every medical practitioner keeps a close tab on the H1N1 pandemic, and remain fully aware of the developments and changes, which are evolving daily. Every doctor has to be learning on the trot, so to speak, to keep up with the progress of this outbreak and its management, so that we can serve our patients better.

Logging in to the Internet regularly for more updated information will certainly help, instead of lamenting that not enough is being disseminated via the media thus far… Every doctor has to be more proactive and practice more responsible and cautious medicine during this trying period which is expected to run into at least one to two years. Importantly, look out for lung complications, and the above stated higher risk profiles, and refer these patients quickly for further care.

Easier access to antiviral drugs and their responsible use and monitoring would help allay public fears of delay in treatment, but this should be tempered with care and not over-exuberance to dish out to one and all, the precious antiviral drug, just for prevention — this may be a very bad move which can inadvertently create a worse outcome of drug-resistant bugs.

However, in the light of the very quick deterioration of some young patients who have died, it might be prudent to use antiviral treatment earlier and more aggressively.

We look forward to the specific H1N1 vaccine, when it does come our way, probably towards the end of the year. In the meantime, encouraging those in the front-line, heart or lung patients and frequent travellers to have the seasonal flu vaccination is a useful adjunct to help stem the usual problems from other flu types.

9) Are we doing everything that should or needs to be done?

Yes, if you check what other nations are doing, we are doing relatively well. We are not overstating the dangers and we have been quite transparent on the possibilities of this pandemic. Earlier, many agencies and even the public and doctors have accused us of exaggerating the pandemic, and our response was dismissed as being too much, even over the top! Unfortunately, it was only when some deaths occur that many are now decrying that we have done too little!

Also if you are quite honest about it, just compare with the countries globally, and you will notice that no one health or government authority has got this right, spot on.

We are all learning about this novel flu pandemic, and each country’s response is coloured by its past experiences. In Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Singaporeand Malaysiawe have had the SARS outbreak, so we are necessarily more paranoid! Also here the experience is that flu does not usually cause death in our community, unlike the west where seasonal flu kills some hundreds of thousands every year!

So the fear factor for this H1N1 flu is not nearly as great in the West, although it is slowly sinking in that its contagiousness and infectivity is far greater, and fears of its reassortment to a more virulent mutant form are growing, into the so-called second and/or third wave of this pandemic, but we will not know until a year or so down the line.

10) Is the public in general doing enough to help in controlling the outbreak?

I think the public is now reasonably well-informed as to this H1N1 pandemic. Perhaps, they are too well-informed, that they have a fearful approach to this virus. But the proper thing is not too over-react and to panic, although I know this does sound easier said than done.

It is almost a certainty that this flu will spread within the community — in schools, universities, academies, factories, work places, offices, etc. WHO has projected that possibly some 20-30 per cent of the population worldwide will become infected by this novel flu bug, after studying various models of spread of past infections — the huge and very rapid spread worldwide is mainly due to air travel. While older flu pandemics took six months to extend to so many countries, this H1N1 flu did so in less than six weeks!

In the worst-case scenarios of course, this outbreak will be alarming — hospitalizations may be required for 100,000 up to 500,000 Malaysians, with perhaps as many as 5,000 to 27,000 infected patients (depending on the case fatality rate or either 0.1 to 0.5 per cent) succumbing to this illness.

But because we have been monitoring closely and containing the outbreak thus far, with heightened awareness and greater social responsibility, it is possible to ameliorate the infectivity, spread and fatality that will unfortunately accompany this pandemic… Just how successful we will be in limiting these adverse outcomes remains to be seen, but we can be hopeful.

How can the public help? First learn and acquire good personal hygiene. If sick, please be responsible and stay at home, even in your own room where possible, wear a face mask (a cheap three-ply surgical mask will do, because large droplet spread is the main danger). Do not go out, practice what is now known as social distancing (about three meters from anyone), and be socially responsible, don’t go to public places and infect others — for young people this would be hard, but absolutely necessary — the spread is most rampant in this age group between 16 and 25 years.

When the illness does not go away after a few days or when you are deteriorating, get to the nearest hospital. Most importantly, be very aware and responsible!

Finally, keep abreast of all new developments, because these are evolving all the time. With keen awareness, prudent care, early detection and social responsibility, correct and prompt use of antiviral and other support medical care, and later mass specific vaccination, we can overcome this novel H1N1 flu! But it will take time, patience, public cooperation, much concerted effort and consume great resources.

Here is how it sounds like:-

KOTA KINABALU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has dismissed speculation that he and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held talks when they attended a Maulidur Rasul event in Hulu Langat in Selangor on Tuesday.

He said he was invited by Ustaz Sheikh Mahmud Al-Mazjub to celebrate the event as well as to mark the end of the spiritual leader’s 40-year spiritual development.

“There was no discussion between me and Anwar. There is nothing more about it.

“I was having lunch with Sheikh Mahmud when Anwar came. We listened as Sheikh Mahmud talked during the lunch.

“Sheikh Mahmud had brought up various matters and Anwar and I listened to him. There was no discussion between us,” he said in dismissing bloggers’ speculations of political implications to the transition following the surprise lunch meeting.

Abdullah was speaking to reporters yesterday after visiting the Sepangar naval base about 35km from here.

Asked if a date has been set for the transition of power from him to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Abdullah replied: “I will be making a formal announcement soon. Najib and I discuss various issues whenever we meet.”

Asked if he had a date in mind for the transition of power, Abdullah replied: “Of course there must be a date.”

There was intense speculation in news websites and political portals over the chance lunch meeting, with many assuming political movements between Abdullah and the Opposition ahead of the power transition plan.

On the absence of many Opposition MPs from Parliament when Najib tabled the mini-Budget, Abdullah said the Opposition was more interested in political play-acting.

“The people are fed-up with politics and want the economy strengthened so that the country can withstand the global financial crisis,” he said.

Abdullah, who is also the Defence Minister, said preparations for submarine facility were on track and should be completed by June, and that Malaysia’s first Scorpene submarine would dock at the Sepangar base in July.

In Kuala Lumpur, Najib urged the people not to delve into speculations over the lunch meeting between Abdullah and Anwar

“Don’t read too much into it,” he said with a laugh and did not comment when asked on his opinion on the meeting apart from saying: “No, no, no.”

He had earlier witnessed the signing of a water restructuring deal between Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad and Johor.

When met at Parliament, Anwar said the luncheon with Abdullah was a mere “coincidence” and that both of them talked about their families and health.

Asked whether he had been informed that Abdullah was also attending, Anwar replied:

“Can the Prime Minister with his entourage not be noticed?”

Abdullah had reportedly arrived about 20 minutes before Anwar and his wife Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Ismail.

Nama kedua-dua pensyarah dari universiti yang sama itu disebut dalam butiran peribadi blog Anna, 27, seorang wanita kelahiran Pantai Timur yang dilabelkan sebagai ‘Sufiah Malaysia‘.

Gayanya mempromosikan diri menggunakan Internet itu menyamai apa yang dilakukan oleh Sufiah Yusuff, pelajar pintar Matematik di Britain yang berdarah campuran Melayu-Pakistan.

Kosmo! berjaya mengesan seorang daripada pensyarah itu yang mengakui hubungannya dengan Anna agak rapat tetapi bukan sebagai sugar daddy.

“Saya menjadi penyelia dia sewaktu dia mengikuti pengajian ijazah sarjana,” katanya ketika dihubungi Kosmo! semalam.

Namun persoalan sama ada blog itu dibuat oleh wanita itu sendiri atau diwujudkan oleh pihak ketiga yang sengaja mensabotaj mangsa masih menjadi tanda tanya.
l
Lagi berita anjut mengenai anna di sini..

Proton Edar’s Proton Exora teaser page reveals how the Exora’s seats and seating configuration looks like. The seats are in the typical three-row MPV 2-3-2 order for 7 seats, and Proton claims them to be suitable for full adult seating.

From the looks of it every seat (wrapped with leather) has its own headrest, and Proton says there are also individual air conditioning blowers for each row. From the details revealed at the Proton Technology Week, it is revealed that the dedicated air conditioning vents for the 2nd and 3rd rows will be located at the ceiling of the Proton Exora MPV. The 2nd and 3rd row of the Proton Exora can also be folded in 6 flexible configurations, and it looks like the 2nd row’s middle seat can be folded down as an armrest. There will be a total of 10 cupholders in the MPV, which is more than 1 for each seat, so there should be more than enough space to keep one’s drinks on a road trip.

As previously revealed, the steering wheel will feature audio controls but there is no mention yet on what the phone button is for. The Proton Exora will have an overhead LCD player that can read VCDs and DVDs along with a variety of other storage devices such as devices using USB input, and a memory card slot that supports SD and MMC. This will likely be available only in the high spec model.

Speaking of specification levels, Proton has also revealed tentative prices for the Proton Exora on its booking page. The tentative pricing are RM 72,000 for the M-Line model with an automatic transmission, and RM 76,000 for the H-Line model with an automatic transmission. This is well under the RM 80,000 maximum figure previously quoted. So far only prices for automatic transmission models have been revealed but if the automatic M-Line is 72K, a manual transmission M-Line could go under RM70k if Proton decides to make such a model available. But I feel manual is a must for the Proton buyer segment, and I am pretty sure their product team knows this too.

Bookings for the Proton Exora just opened yesterday and Proton Edar reported over 350 bookings. Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal hopes to achieve between 4,000 to 5,000 bookings before the April launch date, which gives them roughly over a month to go.

There have also been other details on the Exora revealed over the past few months, please read our previous coverage on the Proton Exora to find out more exclusive details!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Fine, I am a nationalist but who in the right mind approved of this vehicle? Has anyone ever wondered can a 1.6 litre engine pull of a task similar to a Japanese MPV which actually utilises a minimum 2 litre engine!

The people at Proton really lives up to the Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can Do It) motto huh? I can’t wait to hear the first batch of the Exoras to be recalled for some ‘technical’ error like most of Proton’s earlier models.

Don’t get me wrong, I support local products but a 1.6 Campro engine will not suffice. At first when all the hype about Proton will be producing an MPV, rumour says it will run on a 1.6 turbo charged Campro. Now that is something else. A friend of mine installed a turbo kit on his Gen-2 and achieved 168 brake horsepower and generating 260Nm of torque. THAT can work on an Exora!

Then there was another rumour of it will be produced with a 1.8 litre Campro. That may help a little if not much. I wonder, when will Proton actually produce vehicles worth our hard earned money? Or will Perodua come to our rescue? I wonder…

This message could lead you to the Koobface virus, say security experts.

Hey, I have this hilarious video of you dancing. Your face is so red. You should check it out.

If you’ve received a message like that through Facebook or MySpace, you may have been exposed to the “Koobface” virus. “Koobface” comes through an e-mail sent by one of your social networking site friends inviting you to scope out a video.

Once the URL is clicked, “Koobface” prompts you to update your Flash player before the video can be displayed. Therein lies the virus, cloaked in a “flash_player.exe” file. According to the Kaspersky Lab, an antivirus organization working closely with Facebook, “the worms transform victim machines into zombie computers to form botnets.”

The McAfee Security Blog explains that when “Koobface” infects your computer, it prompts a downloaded service named Security Accounts Manager (SamSs) to load on start-up. SamSs then proxies all HTTP traffic, stealing results from popular search engines and hijacking them to lesser-known search sites.

A clear eye for fraud will help you avoid this mess. You can usually spot phony e-mails by their titles. Kaspersky found the following: Paris Hilton Tosses Dwarf On The Street; Examiners Caught Downloading Grades From The Internet; You must see it!!! LOL. My friend catched you on hidden cam; Is it really celebrity? Funny Moments. My own “Koobface” attack came in an e-mail entitled, lool, yoour blushingg afce is so funny! Checkk out. Obviously, Paris Hilton never threw dwarves, and in all likelihood, my 26-year-old friend knows how to spell more than two words. These are clear indicators you’re being attacked.

Facebook has posted instructions about how to remove the “Koobface” virus: give your computer an antivirus scrub-down and change your Facebook password.

This attack on the world’s most popular social networking site and its 120 million users comes just weeks after Facebook won an $873 million lawsuit against several people accused of hacking user accounts and spreading spam.

Before:

After:

High-performance models are nothing new to the PDRM and even as far back as the 1970s, the force had a fleet of 2-litre Alfa Romeo Alfettas, the first police force outside Italy to use the Italian cars. Marketed by City Motors at that time, they were assembled at the Swedish Motor Assemblies plant in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Later on, during the 1980s, the police also purchased a small fleet of Ford TX3s which were used for undercover operations. The cars were unmarked and little was known about them other than that they existed. Around that time, other government agencies like the Customs also used models like the Citroen BX and BMW 318i in order to pursue criminals who had fast machines.

In the 1990s, the Highway Patrol got the powerful Volvo 850 T5 stationwagons which were ideal for use on the North-South Highway. The station wagons served for some time but today, the Highway Patrol uses Mitsubishi Pajeros, Nissan X-Trails and some Proton Satria GTIs.

The PDRM will be sending its Evo drivers for special training courses so that they will be able to make full use of the car’s performance so illegal racers had better think twice before trying to accelerate away when they see flashing blue lights behind them. The police also say that the cars may have other roles that require high-speed escorts.

As these are government vehicles, the cost would be about half the showroom price of RM324,000 since they are purchased tax-free. Also, the Evo’s 295 bhp engine is a thirsty power plant but since the police also get tax-free petrol, that should not be a worry either! ~ Motor Trader dot com.

WoW! Just what we need in our times of financial difficulties! Spend our money on cars that is unnecessary so that we can show off to our neighbors that we too can use some muscle when chasing criminals and illegal racers in Malaysia!

Not that I feel we do not need fast patrol cars, but just imagine this scenario, here you are in an Evo 10 patrol car patrolling the North-South Highway and suddenly one Lamborghini Gallardo and one Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M with our neighbor’s license plates on them zoomed towards Kuala Lumpur, anyone with the right state of mind knows that no matter how or what you put in the Evo 10 can actually chase these supercars!

Ok, I may have been a bit extreme. Let’s just say a Nissan Skyline R-34 GTR V-SPEC and a BMW M5 owned by friends of mine are illegally racing down the Sepang highway, you think with 600 plus horses under each hood are a match for the Evos?

I remembered I think it was somewhere last year somewhere near the second link where our boys organized illegal races you see similar in the Fast & Furious franchise. All the Cops did was blocked each end of the highway with trailers and buses and they had nowhere to run. There, you didn’t need any fast cars then and you guys need 25 of them now?

For what is my question?

To escort our VVIPS? In which earlier this year just because some VVIP is accessing the private road with an entourage, a man lost his live just because he was startled and slammed the brakes when he was ordered to the side of the road? Sometime it makes me wonder, why all the precautions? Has any political or corporate figures been assassinated in public roads before? Were there any car bombs placed by the roadside to bomb some VVIP? I guess its just for show right? I believe Malaysians do not resort to violence unless provoked. Oh, let’s get back to the topic.

Yes, until I find some explanation on why do we need Evo 10s as patrol cars, I shall always wonder why are we just wasting tax payers money. Just like the Scorpene submarines we bought. Are we using them to scare the Abu Sayaf pirates of Sabah and Sarawak’s shores? Are we at war with Singapore so we can sneak up and fire torpedos so that Singapore sink faster? Are we even prepared to lose our boys as submarine accidents do happen. Look at the US, they even lose nuclear subs whenever problem arises under sea and are the Scorpenes any match to the nuclear subs?

Let us ponder….

UPDATES : 05 March 2009

view the latest pictures of RMP Highway Eagle (evo10)

“As the Arabs see the Jews”
His Majesty King Abdullah,

The American Magazine
November, 1947

I am especially delighted to address an American audience, for the tragic problem of Palestine will never be solved without American understanding, American sympathy, American support.

So many billions of words have been written about Palestine—perhaps more than on any other subject in history—that I hesitate to add to them. Yet I am compelled to do so, for I am reluctantly convinced that the world in general, and America in particular, knows almost nothing of the true case for the Arabs.

We Arabs follow, perhaps far more than you think, the press of America. We are frankly disturbed to find that for every word printed on the Arab side, a thousand are printed on the Zionist side.

There are many reasons for this. You have many millions of Jewish citizens interested in this question. They are highly vocal and wise in the ways of publicity. There are few Arab citizens in America, and we are as yet unskilled in the technique of modern propaganda.

The results have been alarming for us. In your press we see a horrible caricature and are told it is our true portrait. In all justice, we cannot let this pass by default.

Our case is quite simple: For nearly 2,000 years Palestine has been almost 100 per cent Arab. It is still preponderantly Arab today, in spite of enormous Jewish immigration. But if this immigration continues we shall soon be outnumbered—a minority in our home.

Palestine is a small and very poor country, about the size of your state of Vermont. Its Arab population is only about 1,200,000. Already we have had forced on us, against our will, some 600,000 Zionist Jews. We are threatened with many hundreds of thousands more.

Our position is so simple and natural that we are amazed it should even be questioned. It is exactly the same position you in America take in regard to the unhappy European Jews. You are sorry for them, but you do not want them in your country.

We do not want them in ours, either. Not because they are Jews, but because they are foreigners. We would not want hundreds of thousands of foreigners in our country, be they Englishmen or Norwegians or Brazilians or whatever.

Think for a moment: In the last 25 years we have had one third of our entire population forced upon us. In America that would be the equivalent of 45,000,000 complete strangers admitted to your country, over your violent protest, since 1921. How would you have reacted to that?

Because of our perfectly natural dislike of being overwhelmed in our own homeland, we are called blind nationalists and heartless anti-Semites. This charge would be ludicrous were it not so dangerous.

No people on earth have been less “anti-Semitic” than the Arabs. The persecution of the Jews has been confined almost entirely to the Christian nations of the West. Jews, themselves, will admit that never since the Great Dispersion did Jews develop so freely and reach such importance as in Spain when it was an Arab possession. With very minor exceptions, Jews have lived for many centuries in the Middle East, in complete peace and friendliness with their Arab neighbors.

Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut and other Arab centers have always contained large and prosperous Jewish colonies. Until the Zionist invasion of Palestine began, these Jews received the most generous treatment—far, far better than in Christian Europe. Now, unhappily, for the first time in history, these Jews are beginning to feel the effects of Arab resistance to the Zionist assault.. Most of them are as anxious as Arabs to stop it. Most of these Jews who have found happy homes among us resent, as we do, the coming of these strangers.

I was puzzled for a long time about the odd belief which apparently persists in America that Palestine has somehow “always been a Jewish land.” Recently an American I talked to cleared up this mystery. He pointed out that the only things most Americans know about Palestine are what they read in the Bible. It was a Jewish land in those days, they reason, and they assume it has always remained so.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is absurd to reach so far back into the mists of history to argue about who should have Palestine today, and I apologize for it. Yet the Jews do this, and I must reply to their “historic claim.” I wonder if the world has ever seen a stranger sight than a group of people seriously pretending to claim a land because their ancestors lived there some 2,000 years ago!

If you suggest that I am biased, I invite you to read any sound history of the period and verify the facts.

Such fragmentary records as we have indicate that the Jews were wandering nomads from Iraq who moved to southern Turkey, came south to Palestine, stayed there a short time, and then passed to Egypt, where they remained about 400 years. About 1300 BC (according to your calendar) they left Egypt and gradually conquered most—but not all—of the inhabitants of Palestine.

It is significant that the Philistines—not the Jews—gave their name to the country: “Palestine” is merely the Greek form of “Philistia.”

Only once, during the empire of David and Solomon, did the Jews ever control nearly—but not all—the land which is today Palestine. This empire lasted only 70 years, ending in 926 BC. Only 250 years later the Kingdom of Judah had shrunk to a small province around Jerusalem, barely a quarter of modern Palestine.

In 63 BC the Jews were conquered by Roman Pompey, and never again had even the vestige of independence. The Roman Emperor Hadrian finally wiped them out about 135 AD. He utterly destroyed Jerusalem, rebuilt under another name, and for hundreds of years no Jew was permitted to enter it. A handful of Jews remained in Palestine but the vast majority were killed or scattered to other countries, in the Diaspora, or the Great Dispersion. From that time Palestine ceased to be a Jewish country, in any conceivable sense.

This was 1,815 years ago, and yet the Jews solemnly pretend they still own Palestine! If such fantasy were allowed, how the map of the world would dance about!

Italians might claim England, which the Romans held so long. England might claim France, “homeland” of the conquering Normans. And the French Normans might claim Norway, where their ancestors originated. And incidentally, we Arabs might claim Spain, which we held for 700 years.

Many Mexicans might claim Spain, “homeland” of their forefathers. They might even claim Texas, which was Mexican until 100 years ago. And suppose the American Indians claimed the “homeland” of which they were the sole, native, and ancient occupants until only some 450 years ago!

I am not being facetious. All these claims are just as valid—or just as fantastic—as the Jewish “historic connection” with Palestine. Most are more valid.

In any event, the great Moslem expansion about 650 AD finally settled things. It dominated Palestine completely. From that day on, Palestine was solidly Arabic in population, language, and religion. When British armies entered the country during the last war, they found 500,000 Arabs and only 65,000 Jews.

If solid, uninterrupted Arab occupation for nearly 1,300 years does not make a country “Arab”, what does?

The Jews say, and rightly, that Palestine is the home of their religion. It is likewise the birthplace of Christianity, but would any Christian nation claim it on that account? In passing, let me say that the Christian Arabs—and there are many hundreds of thousands of them in the Arab World—are in absolute agreement with all other Arabs in opposing the Zionist invasion of Palestine.

May I also point out that Jerusalem is, after Mecca and Medina, the holiest place in Islam. In fact, in the early days of our religion, Moslems prayed toward Jerusalem instead of Mecca.

The Jewish “religious claim” to Palestine is as absurd as the “historic claim.” The Holy Places, sacred to three great religions, must be open to all, the monopoly of none. Let us not confuse religion and politics.

We are told that we are inhumane and heartless because do not accept with open arms the perhaps 200,000 Jews in Europe who suffered so frightfully under Nazi cruelty, and who even now—almost three years after war’s end—still languish in cold, depressing camps.

Let me underline several facts. The unimaginable persecution of the Jews was not done by the Arabs: it was done by a Christian nation in the West. The war which ruined Europe and made it almost impossible for these Jews to rehabilitate themselves was fought by the Christian nations of the West.. The rich and empty portions of the earth belong, not to the Arabs, but to the Christian nations of the West.

And yet, to ease their consciences, these Christian nations of the West are asking Palestine—a poor and tiny Moslem country of the East—to accept the entire burden. “We have hurt these people terribly,” cries the West to the East. “Won’t you please take care of them for us?”

We find neither logic nor justice in this. Are we therefore “cruel and heartless nationalists”?

We are a generous people: we are proud that “Arab hospitality” is a phrase famous throughout the world. We are a humane people: no one was shocked more than we by the Hitlerite terror. No one pities the present plight of the desperate European Jews more than we.

But we say that Palestine has already sheltered 600,000 refugees. We believe that is enough to expect of us—even too much. We believe it is now the turn of the rest of the world to accept some of them.

I will be entirely frank with you. There is one thing the Arab world simply cannot understand. Of all the nations of the earth, America is most insistent that something be done for these suffering Jews of Europe. This feeling does credit to the humanity for which America is famous, and to that glorious inscription on your Statue of Liberty.

And yet this same America—the richest, greatest, most powerful nation the world has ever known—refuses to accept more than a token handful of these same Jews herself!

I hope you will not think I am being bitter about this. I have tried hard to understand that mysterious paradox, and I confess I cannot. Nor can any other Arab.

Perhaps you have been informed that “the Jews in Europe want to go to no other place except Palestine.”

This myth is one of the greatest propaganda triumphs of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, the organization which promotes with fanatic zeal the emigration to Palestine. It is a subtle half-truth, thus doubly dangerous.

The astounding truth is that nobody on earth really knows where these unfortunate Jews really want to go!

You would think that in so grave a problem, the American, British, and other authorities responsible for the European Jews would have made a very careful survey, probably by vote, to find out where each Jew actually wants to go. Amazingly enough this has never been done! The Jewish Agency has prevented it.

Some time ago the American Military Governor in Germany was asked at a press conference how he was so certain that all Jews there wanted to go to Palestine. His answer was simple: “My Jewish advisors tell me so.” He admitted no poll had ever been made. Preparations were indeed begun for one, but the Jewish Agency stepped in to stop it.

The truth is that the Jews in German camps are now subjected to a Zionist pressure campaign which learned much from the Nazi terror. It is dangerous for a Jew to say that he would rather go to some other country, not Palestine. Such dissenters have been severely beaten, and worse.

Not long ago, in Palestine, nearly 1,000 Austrian Jews informed the international refugee organization that they would like to go back to Austria, and plans were made to repatriate them.

The Jewish Agency heard of this, and exerted enough political pressure to stop it. It would be bad propaganda for Zionism if Jews began leaving Palestine. The nearly 1,000 Austrian are still there, against their will.

The fact is that most of the European Jews are Western in culture and outlook, entirely urban in experience and habits. They cannot really have their hearts set on becoming pioneers in the barren, arid, cramped land which is Palestine.

One thing, however, is undoubtedly true. As matters stand now, most refugee Jews in Europe would, indeed, vote for Palestine, simply because they know no other country will have them.

If you or I were given a choice between a near-prison camp for the rest of our lives—or Palestine—we would both choose Palestine, too.

But open up any other alternative to them—give them any other choice, and see what happens!

No poll, however, will be worth anything unless the nations of the earth are willing to open their doors—just a little—to the Jews. In other words, if in such a poll a Jew says he wants to go to Sweden, Sweden must be willing to accept him. If he votes for America, you must let him come in.

Any other kind of poll would be a farce. For the desperate Jew, this is no idle testing of opinion: this is a grave matter of life or death. Unless he is absolutely sure that his vote means something, he will always vote for Palestine, so as not to risk his bird in the hand for one in the bush.

In any event, Palestine can accept no more. The 65,000 Jews in Palestine in 1918 have jumped to 600,000 today. We Arabs have increased, too, but not by immigration. The Jews were then a mere 11 per cent of our population.. Today they are one third of it.

The rate of increase has been terrifying. In a few more years—unless stopped now—it will overwhelm us, and we shall be an important minority in our own home.

Surely the rest of the wide world is rich enough and generous enough to find a place for 200,000 Jews—about one third the number that tiny, poor Palestine has already sheltered. For the rest of the world, it is hardly a drop in the bucket. For us it means national suicide.

We are sometimes told that since the Jews came to Palestine, the Arab standard of living has improved. This is a most complicated question. But let us even assume, for the argument, that it is true. We would rather be a bit poorer, and masters of our own home. Is this unnatural?

The sorry story of the so-called “Balfour Declaration,” which started Zionist immigration into Palestine, is too complicated to repeat here in detail. It is grounded in broken promises to the Arabs—promises made in cold print which admit no denying.

We utterly deny its validity. We utterly deny the right of Great Britain to give away Arab land for a “national home” for an entirely foreign people.

Even the League of Nations sanction does not alter this. At the time, not a single Arab state was a member of the League. We were not allowed to say a word in our own defense.

I must point out, again in friendly frankness, that America was nearly as responsible as Britain for this Balfour Declaration. President Wilson approved it before it was issued, and the American Congress adopted it word for word in a joint resolution on 30th June, 1922.

In the 1920s, Arabs were annoyed and insulted by Zionist immigration, but not alarmed by it. It was steady, but fairly small, as even the Zionist founders thought it would remain. Indeed for some years, more Jews left Palestine than entered it—in 1927 almost twice as many.

But two new factors, entirely unforeseen by Britain or the League or America or the most fervent Zionist, arose in the early thirties to raise the immigration to undreamed heights. One was the World Depression; the second the rise of Hitler.

In 1932, the year before Hitler came to power, only 9,500 Jews came to Palestine. We did not welcome them, but we were not afraid that, at that rate, our solid Arab majority would ever be in danger.

But the next year—the year of Hitler—it jumped to 30,000! In 1934 it was 42,000! In 1935 it reached 61,000!

It was no longer the orderly arrival of idealist Zionists. Rather, all Europe was pouring its frightened Jews upon us. Then, at last, we, too, became frightened. We knew that unless this enormous influx stopped, we were, as Arabs, doomed in our Palestine homeland. And we have not changed our minds.

I have the impression that many Americans believe the trouble in Palestine is very remote from them, that America had little to do with it, and that your only interest now is that of a humane bystander.

I believe that you do not realize how directly you are, as a nation, responsible in general for the whole Zionist move and specifically for the present terrorism. I call this to your attention because I am certain that if you realize your responsibility you will act fairly to admit it and assume it.

Quite aside from official American support for the “National Home” of the Balfour Declaration, the Zionist settlements in Palestine would have been almost impossible, on anything like the current scale, without American money. This was contributed by American Jewry in an idealistic effort to help their fellows.

The motive was worthy: the result were disastrous. The contributions were by private individuals, but they were almost entirely Americans, and, as a nation, only America can answer for it.

The present catastrophe may be laid almost entirely at your door. Your government, almost alone in the world, is insisting on the immediate admission of 100,000 more Jews into Palestine—to be followed by countless additional ones. This will have the most frightful consequences in bloody chaos beyond anything ever hinted at in Palestine before.

It is your press and political leadership, almost alone in the world, who press this demand. It is almost entirely American money which hires or buys the “refugee ships” that steam illegally toward Palestine: American money which pays their crews. The illegal immigration from Europe is arranged by the Jewish Agency, supported almost entirely by American funds. It is American dollars which support the terrorists, which buy the bullets and pistols that kill British soldiers—your allies—and Arab citizens—your friends.

We in the Arab world were stunned to hear that you permit open advertisements in newspapers asking for money to finance these terrorists, to arm them openly and deliberately for murder. We could not believe this could really happen in the modern world. Now we must believe it: we have seen the advertisements with our own eyes.

I point out these things because nothing less than complete frankness will be of use. The crisis is too stark for mere polite vagueness which means nothing.

I have the most complete confidence in the fair-mindedness and generosity of the American public. We Arabs ask no favours. We ask only that you know the full truth, not half of it. We ask only that when you judge the Palestine question, you put yourselves in our place.

What would your answer be if some outside agency told you that you must accept in America many millions of utter strangers in your midst—enough to dominate your country—merely because they insisted on going to America, and because their forefathers had once lived there some 2,000 years ago?

Our answer is the same.

And what would be your action if, in spite of your refusal, this outside agency began forcing them on you?

Ours will be the same.

====================================================
Present Check:
1967 Israel has occupied East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza. Israel only withdrawal in Gaza in 2005 with economic sanction and closed borders.

As of May 2006, of Israel’s 7 million people, 77% were Jews, 18.5% Arabs, and 4.3% others. The West Bank is inhabited by approximately 2.4 million Palestinians and the Gaza Strip by another 1.4 million.

As of 2007, 360,000 Israeli settlers live in a hundred scattered settlements with connecting corridors INSIDE the West Bank.

2007, Israel, Gaza Strip and West Bank

An Israeli Apache helicopter launches a missile during an attack inside the northern Gaza Strip on December 29, 2008 as seen from the Israeli-Gaza border. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Smoke rises above Gaza after another Israeli air strike on a Hamas target, December 29, 2008 along Israel’s side of the Gaza border. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Wounded Palestinians are treated on the floor of crowded Kamal Edwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on December 29, 2008, following an Israeli air strike on the nearby Jabalia refugee camp. Israeli tanks massed at the Gaza border today as warplanes continued pounding Hamas targets in the densely populated enclave. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Samera Baalusha (34) (right) sits with her daughter Eman (15) and surviving son Mohamad (15 months) while waiting to see the body of her 4-year-old daughter Jawaher Baalusha during the funeral held for Jawher and her four other sisters who were all killed in an Israeli missile strike, on December 29, 2008 in the Jebaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip. Jawher Baalusha and her sisters were killed during an Israeli air raid while they were sleeping together in their bedroom. Medics stated that the raid had targeted a mosque near their home in Jabalia. (Abid Katib/Getty Images)

Smoke billows from a targeted location in the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli air raid, as seen from the Israeli-Gaza border on December 30, 2008. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Many bodies lie outside the Hamas police headquarters following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on December 27, 2008. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish flames at a medical warehouse after an Israeli airstrike targeted at a fuel tank nearby in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008. Israel widened its deadliest-ever air offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers Sunday, pounding Hamas targets, smugglers’ tunnels and a central prison. (AP Photo/Xinhua)

Israelis take cover during a rocket warning siren in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, Monday Dec. 29, 2008. (AP Photo / Tsafrir Abayov)

Smoke rises after an Israel air strike in Gaza Strip December 28, 2008. Israel launched air strikes on Gaza for a second successive day on Sunday, piling pressure on Hamas. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

A wounded Palestinian girl is carried into the Al-Shifa hospital on December 28, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Abid Katib/Getty Images)

A Palestinian man gestures, as smokes is seen from a burning building after an Israeli missile strike in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Hatem Omar)

Palestinian rescue workers carry a wounded prisoner past a fire, as another lays under the rubble in the central security headquarters and prison, known as the Saraya, after it was hit in an Israeli missile strike in in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Majed Hamdan)

Smoke from three days of Israeli air strikes against Hamas militants blends with brewing storm clouds to create a dramatic sunset over the Palestinian territory on December 29, 2008 viewed from Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. (David Silverman/Getty Images)

A Palestinian man looks out towards destroyed Hamas government buildings following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft dropped at least 16 bombs on five Hamas government buildings in a Gaza City complex, destroying them, setting fires and sending rubble flying for hundreds of yards, witnesses said. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Mangled cars lie buried under rubble at the site of the Hamas ministry buildings compound, which was destroyed during an Israeli airstrike on December 30, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. (Abid Katib/Getty Images)

A medic crouches over the body of an Israeli man after he was killed in a rocket attack launched from the Gaza Strip and hit the southern Israeli town of Netivot on December 27, 2008 following Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian costal strip. The rocket attack killed one man and wounded four others, according to the Magen David Adom, Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross. (HAIM HORENSTEIN/AFP/ Getty Images)

Palestinians inspect a crater caused by an Israeli air strike at a police station in Gaza City on December 29, 2008. (MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

A wounded child awaits medical attention at the Shifa hospital on December 27, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Abid Katib/Getty Images)

Scores of Israeli army tanks and armored personnel carriers are massed on December 29, 2008 near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. (David Silverman/Getty Images)

An Israeli police officer kneels over a dog that was badly injured after a rocket landed in the southern town of Sderot, Israel on December 30, 2008. (GIL COHEN MAGEN/Reuters)

Mahmoud Tark, an nine-year-old injured Palestinian boy, is transported by Red Crescent officials on an ambulance at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to a hospital in Al-Arish December 30, 2008. Palestinians wounded in the Israeli attack on Gaza trickled into Egypt on Monday after a day and a half of confusion and disagreement between the Hamas and the Egyptian government. (REUTERS/Amr Dalsh (EGYPT)

Israelis sit in a bomb shelter in the southern city of Ashkelon December 31, 2008. Hamas rockets had hit the major Israeli city of Beersheba earlier, on Wednesday. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL)

Palestinian men bury the body of 4-year-old Lama Hamdan at Beit Hanoun cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip December 30, 2008. Lama and her sister were reportedly riding a donkey cart Tuesday near a rocket-launching site that was targeted by Israel. (MOHAMMED SALEM/Reuters)

A detained Palestinian stands blindfolded and handcuffed in his underwear next to an Israeli army vehicle, after a pipe bomb was found in his belongings, at Beit Iba checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Nablus, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

None of us like to kill each other. None can justify the worth of each human lives, of Palestinians and Jews misery. End this war. And we all should understand the conflict before we do want to stop the war.