I have heard of cruelty of an authoritarian regimes in ill treating their fellow country men simply because these fellow country men do not agree with the authoritarians. Nonetheless, Reading the reported open letter of Shin Dong-hyuk, an ex-political prisoner of North Korea, to Dennis Rodman, a former NBA star, is an eye opener to me. I was shocked to know how badly he was treated in prison and the poor reason for his imprisonment. North Korea is perhaps a classic authoritarian regime on the extreme. You can find the full version of the open letter here.
This open letter has kept me thinking. When I recall all the incidences of how Malaysian political prisoners are being treated in jails, perhaps Malaysian political persecution is not that far from the extreme North Korea. Malaysian Government will arrest and detain you for the weakest imaginable allegation of wrongdoing under some draconian laws like ISA, sedition, etc.
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| Adam Adli |
Many students and opposition political leaders have served their time in Malaysian prisons. We can see the case of how Adam Adli was detained and charged.
The Allah issue is still a hot on-going discussion in Malaysia. Allah issue is big in Malaysia and it crops up every so often, especially when the ruling regime is facing some form of issues, be it impending election or price hike. You can follow this issue by clicking on the below links:
http://rt.com/op-edge/malaysia-bans-word-allah-368/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24516181
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/allah-row-a-non-issue-look-at-bigger-picture-say-experts
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http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303848104579308180235121604
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/390354/allah-row-thrusts-malaysian-priest-into-spotlight
There are more than just religious or political pitfalls in Malaysia. One can potentially be detained if he makes a joke of kangkung in Malaysia. A Malaysian must not get too creative with kangkung. A music remix on kangkung price going up and down may just get you questioned by the police in Malaysia, with an arrest probably follow suit.
Despite the perilous nature, it does not stop Malaysian creativity from popping up on the cyberspace:
Although Youtube might have terminated the above video clip, you can still find the video here:
http://video.malaysia.msn.com/watch/video/new-lenggang-kangkung-remix-ft-najib/2sl51msjf
Kangkung or Ipomoea aquatica is a common vegetable that can be found in Malaysian diet. It is after all a popular vegetable in tropical countries. It is also known as water morning glory, river spinach, water spinach or even swamp cabbage.
BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation has learned the perilous nature of kangkung in Malaysia recently. A piece of #BBCtrending news article posted on BBC website was blocked or filtered by the authority in Malaysia. The authority however denied such doing and apparently released the censor thereafter. You can see that piece of news here and the information on how the censorship had been done can be found here.
BBC TV News has subsequently made a short report on the kangkung gate in Malaysia. This is a must watch for a quick details of the matter. Click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25754548.
This kangkung affair has also been featured in BBC world service radio as reported by Yahoo:
The French has also taken an interest in Malaysian kangkung here:
Do you not think that Malaysian Govt is behaving more and more like North Korea? It is scary to think of that. All these terrible world class news are happening right on your own home ground.
