BERSIH takes on Mr Clean

Photo from Jinggo's Fotopage

Read the spin in NST and STAR regarding Bersih’s massive Nov 10 rally, and you have a pretty good idea how PM Pak Lah deals with issues: deny, deny, deny. But first you preface your response with threats, threats, threats.

The fact is, dozens of websites, blogs and youtube posts are collectively telling the whole world how underdressed the emperor and his increasingly arrogant party are. Clearly the whole event – relatively incident-free and orderly – was a slap on the face of the coalition dominant partner, particularly its leader who faced down the rally with a “saya pantang cabar” challenge.

ILLEGAL GATHERING CAUSES TRAFFIC CHAOS IN CITY

KUALA LUMPUR: A crowd of about 4,000 gathered for an illegal march close to Dataran Merdeka yesterday, causing massive traffic jams across the city.

Police had to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstration, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih, a grouping of opposition parties and non-governmental organisations.

The crowd converged on Masjid Jamek and the National Mosque to march towards Dataran Merdeka but failed to do so when police cordoned off the area.

"Police had to resort to such actions because the protesters refused to disperse when ordered to do so," Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said.

He said 245 people were arrested and later released after their statements were taken.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, speaking to reporters in Pekan, Pahang, said those involved in the protest had caused difficulties to the people, especially traders and businessmen who had to close their shops and offices.

I say, were mainstream media reporting on some other protests when they put the figure at 4,000? And were these protestors the cause of the lock-down in the city? The truth is, the chaos arose because of police action to keep potential protestors away from the city centre. The use of tear gas and water canons on protestors at Masjid Jamek were totally uncalled for, but the intimidation and aggression on the part of police or FRUs distracted attention away from marchers who were converging at the Istana. While the cops were havimg their fun, thousands upon thousands were waiting for Bersih leaders to hand their petition over to the Agung's representative.

Inthe aftermath of what was probably the largest public demonstration in a decade since the Reformasi outbreak, PM Pak Lah changes his tune, while official numbers turn mysteriously from 4,000 to 10,000:

PM: RALLY A MOVE TO DRAW MONARCHY INTO POLITICS

PENAMPANG: The opposition-led illegal rally to deliver an election reform petition to the palace on Saturday was an attempt to force the Yang di-Pertuan Agong into taking sides, the prime minister said.

"Obviously, the action was tantamount to dragging the institution of the monarchy, and the king, into politics," Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said at a press conference after he opened the Parti Bersatu Sabah 22nd annual congress here.

A memorandum calling for changes to the electoral process was handed by opposition stalwarts Lim Kit Siang of the DAP, Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to an official at the gates of Istana Negara.

The king, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, was away in Terengganu.

The coalition of opposition parties and non-governmental organisations, calling itself Bersih, had organised a rally of some 10,000 people, according to an official police estimate, to march to the palace with the petition. Police had denied the assembly a permit.

"I believe the king is wise and mature and would not fall into their (the opposition's) political trap," Abdullah said.

Meanwhile Information Minister Zam gives his bumbling two sen when interviewed by Al-Jazeera on the phone here. "Protests are illegal because we have elections every 5 yrs - no point having protests –we are not like Myanmar, like other countries," said the erudite Minister. Right.

The rakyat is tired. We can't take it anymore. The time for words is over. It's time for "Mr Clean" to act before he is himself taken to the cleaners.

But the big question is, what is the Agung going to do with the petition?

Homeschool Centres and mom's breast milk

Just recently a learning centre asked for my permission to reproduce an article I wrote regarding our conviction to homeschool. My wife Sook Ching and I teach our own children, and our sons (now 17 and 15) know no other form of education except the one they receive at home. I was pleasantly surprised not only because the rather lengthy article came out in a Christian magazine in 2004, but also because few people actually think to ask the author or publisher permission to reprint published material.

Regrettably, I had to say no after finding out what it would be used for. I could not see how our experiences as parents who teach our own children at home could be used to promote institutions where children are taught by strangers. Particularly the type that is mushrooming in Malaysia, which is really nothing more than private schools, without glamourous facilities and faculty to boast about (and therefore very affordable).

More perplexing was this learning centre's misquoting Christopher Klicka's Homeschooling, The Right Choice as saying that schooling in a centre/institution and homeschool are the 'same.'

Let me say at the outset that I did not turn the request down on the relative merits of one or the other form of education. I fervently subscribe to education in all its modes traditional and alternative, whether it takes place at home or elsewhere in learning centres. In fact I also believe that when either mode of education is done well, our children benefit. What is necessary however is to help the public distinguish one from the other.

Homeschooling is the education of children usually by their own parents in their own home. When a child is primarily educated by tutors who are not her own parents in an institution that is not her own home, that is NOT homeschool. Whether "homeschool" or "international" curricula is used is beside the point.

At an education forum I participated in early this year, an executive from the Ministry of Education spoke up to say they were not 'against' homeschool in principle; what upset tthem were learning centres that passed themselves as homeschool. Well. Nice that the MOE has people who know more than we give them credit for.

Put bluntly, the current mix-up is akin to equating mom's breast milk at home with powdered milk in a nursery. Not-Mom's Mom's Breast Milk Center, anyone? I feel compelled to say this because there has been so much confusion over the concept of homeschool with the proliferation of learning centres all over the country, most of which have been touted as "homeschooling centres."

It does not help that arguments in favour of learning centers sometimes go like this:

"Public schools are seriously flawed. The merits of homeschool where parents teach their own children at home are well-supported by research. Our homeschool curricula from the US are also excellent in every way compared to the ones used in Malaysian public schools. Since you are unable to homeschool at home, we can homeschool your child at our "homeschool centre" using homeschool curriculum. It's a good alternative, offering the same if not better benefits."

Notice how 'homeschool' has been inexplicably expropriated midstream? There's probably no ill-intent but can we NOT say or suggest that a learning centre is homeschool or a version of homeschool, or even its alternative? To my mind a learning center is better described as an alternative to traditional public schools and tuition centres. Since these learning centers are presently almost always church-based it is all the more reason to be careful with definitions.

Perhaps I'm a stick-in-the-mud pedant, but I do believe it matters what we say and what we really mean. There are learning centres and there are homeschools. They are both legitimate modes of education, but different in form and function. I must admit my little objection isn't going to make a dent in the "homeschool centre" boom but there's my stand. Words have meaning, and everyone benefits when we make ourselves clear.

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Myanmar checkmate?

Hopes were dashed as the miltary cracked down on monks and civilians. It has been difficult following up on news - as I have been in preparation for an upcoming trip - only to see peaceful mass demonstrations end in blood. I am appalled. Has the junta won?


Where are all the monks? How many have been detained? How many are missing? How many killed? Who will speak up for Myanmar?

But even if the next stage of the struggle does not produce the results one is hoping for, there is no reason to despair. There is an enlightened principle in Buddhism which Aung San Suu Kyi - a person of impeccable dignity and incredible integrity - has alluded to in her writings that should guide the struggle for justice in Burma. She observes, “Just continue to do what you believe is right. Later on the fruits of what you do will become apparent on their own. One’s responsibility is to do the right thing.”

Chandra Muzaffar ( Letter to Malaysiakini)