Anwar Ibrahim's Get Out of Jail Card

Prisons Department director-general Zulkifli Omar announced on Sunday that Anwar Ibrahim is to be released from prison on June 08, 2018. 

He reportedly said that this was based on the calculation of the days he spent in jail under his sentence in accordance with Section 44 of the Prison Act (1995) and Rule No. 43 (1)(a) of the Prisons Regulations. 

Zulkifli was quoted by The Sun as saying that the Act and the Regulations allow a one-third remission from the original sentencing to any inmate who has carried out his sentence for more than a month. 

Anwar’s actual release date falls on June 10, but as it is a Sunday and the preceding day a Saturday, he would be released two days earlier on Friday, a working day. 

Zulkifli also said that the prisons department and the Sungai Buloh Prison where Anwar is being held have not received any warrant or order from the government to change the release date. 

Anwar is serving a five-year jail term.

Missing Dog and Pig

Webpage http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/?p=859238

There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, but two of them are conspicously missing from a T-shirt sold at one hypermarket chain – and drawing reactions from Malaysians online. 

The T-shirt – designed for the Lunar New Year next month – has the image of all the animals EXCEPT the pig and dog, which are instead replaced with Chinese characters. 

The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year in a 12-year cycle. This year, it is the turn of the dog. 

A check at a Giant hypermarket outlet Valley shows the T-shirt comes in various sizes, and sold at a discounted price of RM10.88. 

It is not immediately clear why the two creatures are not pictured – but I don’t think I am wrong if I venture to suggest that this was done for religious and cultural reasons. 

After all, authorities have in the past banned or restricted materials depicting the dog and pig – animals which Malaysian Muslims consider as unclean. 

In 1995, Malaysia banned the comedy film “Babe” for portraying the main character of a pig, although a DVD release was approved years later. 

In 2016, the character of a pig was removed from promotional posters for Hong Kong blockbuster film, “The Monkey King 2”. 

They are only pictures, for heaven’s sake! 

And why should the Chinese be made to compromise their own culture for the sake of the effing zealots in this country? 

The country is becoming stupider and stupider!

D51 Annual Conference 2018: Where to Stay

The D51 AC2018 Organizing Committee are mindful that not all delegates attending the event may wish to put up at the Royale Chulan Damansara. 

Therefore, they have come up with alternative accommodation options that are likely to suit those with different budget considerations: 

Kindly note that the above are just an almost random selection. These are just suggestions!

#d51ac2018

Mobile Devices Dominate in 2017

Mobile web browsing outpaced desktop-based Internet use worldwide in 2017, according to the latest data from StatCounter.

The web analysis service cited that from the end of December 2017, 56.6 percent of global internet traffic came from mobile devices (52.3 percent smartphones and 4.3 percent tablets) compared to 43.4 percent from computers. 

When it comes to operating systems, web traffic from computers running Windows takes a clear lead (82.7 percent worldwide), far in front of Apple computers running OS X or macOS (13.1 percent worldwide). 

The market share of internet use from PCs on Linux remains under 2 percent. 

For smartphones, Android and iOS largely dominate the market, with Google’s operating system leading the way (73.5 percent worldwide). 

And according to StatCounter, the most frequently used web browser is Chrome (64.7 percent worldwide), which is far ahead of Microsoft’s tools (Internet Explorer or Edge) and Firefox. 

Duh, stating the obvious! 

One peruser who read my December 31, 2017 blogpost Unplugged Music: Datuk Yusni Hamid suggested that I give Hetty Koes Endang’s Kasih a listen!

So here it is:

BN To Retake Selangor With PAS Help

If think tank Institut Darul Ehsan are to be believed, GE14 will see BN recapturing Selangor. 

This follows the Election Commission's re-delineation exercise which was designed to allow BN to win the most seats in the state. 

The Selangor state government think tank’s chief executive Professor Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said based on 2013 voting trends, BN can be expected to win 20 seats, while PAS would win nine, DAP fifteen and PKR twelve. 

Of course, BN's twenty seats are not enough for them to form the state government on their own – but if PAS throw their unholy support behind UMNO – BN can then retake Selangor. 

Presently, Pakatan Harapan have 29 lawmakers in the Selangor legislative assembly, while PAS have 13 and BN, 12, with two independent representatives. PH's total comprises 14 from DAP, 13 from PKR and two from Amanah. 

Redzuan said 46 seats in Selangor would be redrawn if the redelineation was bulldozed through Parliament. 

Let us hope he is very wrong and PH are still in control of the state. We don’t want BN, not ever! 

I was at the Gamuda Toastmasters meeting on Wednesday – where I was an evaluator for an Advanced speech. 

I also promoted my D51 AC2018 and hopefully, I can expect a couple of conference package sales.

Bersih 2.0 Can Mobilize Voters in GE14

DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago has highlighted electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0’s importance in the days leading up to GE14. 

Speaking to Free Malaysia Today, Santiago said he believed Bersih 2.0 could persuade voters to come out on polling day and “vote for change”. 

“Over the years, Bersih has successfully mobilised people by the thousands so (they have) a following. If (they) set out to mobilise, people might follow (their) direction and advice”, he said. 

He added that what Bersih 2.0 wanted was in line with what Pakatan Harapan wanted and that’s the reason they are Pakatan-friendly. 

“They want free and fair elections which means an independent Election Commission (EC) and a level playing field between parties. That’s what Pakatan (are) promising”. 

Fortunate Liverpool earned three points when they beat Burnley 2-1 in the EPL match on Monday. 

Sadio Mane produced a superb shot from the edge of the area in the sixty-first minute to give the Reds’ the lead before Johann Gudmundsson equalized twenty-six minutes later. Then Ragnar Klavan gave Liverpool victory when he headed home from almost on the goalline – his first league goal for his team since he joined in July 2016.

Parliament and the King's Assent

Anwar Ibrahim wants the Federal Court to declare null and void the Federal Constitution provision that allows bills to be automatically passed as law in 30 days, without the King’s assent. 

PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who represented her husband, Anwar, in filing his case at the Federal Court registry on Tuesday, said that this is Anwar’s bid to restore constitutional democracy and fundamental rights. 

Anwar is adamant that power does not rest solely with Parliament to pass amendments – as this removes the mandatory proviso of royal assent. He maintained that the royal assent forms the basic structure of the Federal Constitution. 

Therefore, he is seeking leave under Article 4(4) of the Federal Constitution from the Federal Court to question the validity of a few amendments made in 1983, 1984, and 1994 that removes the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong’s powers to give the final approval for bills passed by the Dewan Rakyat. 

By that token, Anwar also wants the courts to declare that the National Security Council Act, which became law in June 2016 without a royal assent, is invalid. He named the government as the sole respondent in this direct challenge. 

Previously, he had filed a lawsuit to strike down the National Security Council Act. He had claimed that Article 66(4A) which allows a parliamentary bill to automatically become law 30 days after it is presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong regardless of whether he assents to it or not, was unconstitutional. 

However, his lawsuit was dismissed by the High Court in October 2016 and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision last year. In dismissing Anwar’s appeal, the appeals court had said he should have gone straight to the Federal Court as he was challenging the competency of Parliament to pass the law. 

The controversial NSC Act was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on December 03, 2015 and the Dewan Negara nineteen days later. 

The law, gazetted in June 2016, allows the prime minister to chair the National Security Council to declare a state of emergency without having to go through the King. 

Anwar's suit is timely because the last time I checked, we are still a constitutional monarchy. 

Liverpool pulled off another victory when they beat Leicester 2-1 in the EPL game on Saturday. 

Jamie Vardy gave his team a third-minute goal but Mohamed Salah's double (52, 76) helped the Reds come from behind to win at Anfield. 

Manager Jurgen Klopp described it as the "best I've ever seen".

Tech Firms Must Deal with Terror Threats

Internet companies should face a tax punishment for failing to deal with the threat of terrorism in the UK, the country’s security minister Ben Wallace had said. 

Wallace said firms such as Facebook, Google and YouTube are too slow to remove radical content online, forcing the government to act instead. 

In fact, in an interview with UK’s Sunday Times, he said his government is spending millions policing the web. 

He added: "We should stop pretending that because they sit on beanbags in T-shirts they are not ruthless profiteers”. 

And emphasizing that "they will ruthlessly sell our details to loans and soft-porn companies but not give it to our democratically elected government". 

In September, UK Prime Minister Theresa May had called on tech giants to end the "safe spaces" she said terrorists enjoyed online. 

IS have shown their ability to reach out to people online and radicalize, recruit and even instruct them on how to carry out deadly acts of violence. Already, a report from the think tank Policy Exchange said the UK is the world's fifth biggest audience for extremist material. 

In any case, it is not just about taking down content, but tech companies should tackle the bigger concern – the presence of extremist groups on their platforms and how they use social media to engage directly with people and communicate with them. 

I know tech companies can do much more. These companies have some of the best brains in the world. They should really be focusing on what matters, which is stopping the spread of terrorism and violence. 

The ball is in their court.

Happy New Year 2018

Image credit: http://www.happynewyearselfie.com/2017/01/new-year-2018-best-inspiring-quotes-greetings-wishes-messages.html 

There’s no better way to start 2018 than with humor! Believe me, we all need laughter in our lives!