www.wansaiful.com

If you do, click here.

Malaysia Think Tank London and the City Circle invite you to the London launch of Who Needs an Islamic State?

Speaker: Dr Abdelwahab El-Affendi
Date: Friday, 6 June 2008.
Time: 6.45pm - 8.45pm.
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, off Edgware Road (nearest tube station is Edgware Road)

Visit www.my-islamic-state.com for further information.

The Undergraduate ParliaMentors Programme is now accepting applications. This is a unique initiative aiming to nurture future politicians and community leaders from the three Abrahamic Faiths. Nine MPs from all three major parties each mentor a group of three students - one Christian, one Jewish and one Muslim - meeting with them on a monthly basis. With advice from their mentors, students develop projects focussing on themes such as political engagement and identity, whilst supported by key political NGOs and think tanks.

The programme
- Provides politics students from Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities with advice and support appropriate for a career in politics.
- Facilitates dialogue and joint working between young people of the three faith communities.
- Provides the participants with purposeful contact with the political world.
- Gives parliamentarians the chance to engage in depth with young people from faith communities.
- Establishes an alumni network of participants of the three faiths studying in the political field.
- Give future leaders the opportunity to understand their role in the political process.
(more…)

In September 2004, in his closing speech at UMNO’s general assembly, Datuk Seri Abdullah said “They wanted to know that since Tunku Abdul Rahman has been given the title of ‘Bapa Kemerdekaan’ (Father of Independence), Tun Razak ‘Bapa Pembangunan’ (Father of Development), Tun Hussein Onn ‘Bapa Perpaduan’ (Father of Unity), Dr Mahathir ‘Bapa Pemodenanan’ (Father of Modernisation), what title is to be given to Pak Lah? Pak Lah wants only to be known as Pak Lah. I will carry on my own way,”

I have a different suggestion here: www.malaysiathinktank.org

Pasca Pilihanraya Umum 2008

Maklumat lanjut boleh didapati dari:
http://www.freewebs.com/events-malaysia
Email: events.malaysia@yahoo.co.uk
Telefon: 07883009293

Found above the entrance to one of the rooms in the Capitol:

Big sign in front of the Newseum in DC (The first ammendment):

A quote from Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln Memorial). Malaysian who still cannot get rid of their ethnically divisive mentality have a lot to learn:

Martin Luther King’s tomb in Atlanta:

And, if you go Atlanta, you really have to try the Sundial Restaurant on the 72nd floor of the Westin Peachtree Plaza. The cocktail is wonderful!

And the view is spectacular. Seen here is the 1996 Olympic Centennial Park, which is in front of the CNN HQ.

And this is a view of Atlanta’s Downtown and Mid-town from Sundial:

The Islamic Centre on Embassy Row in DC:

And the Mosque on Atlanta’s 14th Street (I was driven to the mosque by Prof Abdullahi An-Naim):

.

This Malaysiakini report (plus many others) makes make me think about the role Malaysian royals in public affairs.

In principle, I am happy that Malaysian royals are playing their role as one of the check and balance institutions. But this can only be done if they accept that they too are not immune from criticism.

So, respected Royal Highnesses, by all means please do get involved in public affairs. But do remember that if you want to criticise, be ready to be criticised. Attempts to hide behind the cloak of royal immunity will eventually invite people to start deliberating about republicanism.

***

I also want to add that, if the Royals want to be more active in public life, they must be open to public scrutiny on their expenses. They must be willing to disclose how much it costs the public to help them sustain their lifestyle. I don’t mean just a simple disclosure to state or federal government. I mean proper public disclosure. In short, what I am asking is, can they prove publicly that they are worth the public money spent on them?

There is also one big question of how to justify spending taxpayers money collected from a multi-ethnic population to support an institution that protects the debated “sovereignty” of one race and one religion.

To that effect, if there are any laws that prevent the public and the media from openly debating and questioning the roles and the actions of the Rulers and their family members must be removed.

The British monarchy can be an initial source of reference, prior to developing our own model of royal accountability See here.

Source: BBC

Looks like Boris’ donut ring strategy worked.

Tonight is a historic night. Boris is Mayor of London!!! His victory speech was spectacular. He was charmingly gracious to Ken Livingstone despite the ferocity of the campaign.

This is a great night for London. The victory makes the leafleting and campaigning I did around the East London Mosque area really worth it.

Labour’s defeat, not just in the mayoralty contest but also in many councils nationally, shows how Labour as a party has become so distanced from the common, real people. The policies they are introducing are as if they live in a different planet.

This morning marks a new dawn. A great, great, optimistic dawn, not just for London, but also for the country.

Well done, Mayor Boris. You are now the second most important person in the Conservative party!

Amazingly, within minutes, the official website of the Mayor of London was updated. There’s still a small glitch, I know. But the speed at which they change it is amazing (unlike the change process in some states in Malaysia)

I have been meaning to write more about the Atlas Liberty Forum and, to complete my posts about the trip to DC and Atlanta. Now that I have been back in the UK for a few days and am back at work, it looks unlikely.

But I do want to mention about my meeting with Professor Abdullahi An-Naim of Emory University. He picked me up from Sheraton Atlanta and kindly took me for a short tour around the city. And then we went for dinner a the Red Snapper restaurant near Buckhead. Now, Professor An-Naim is a man with very interesting ideas, which he summarised in his monumental book “Islam and the Secular State”. We discussed some of the main ideas he presented in the book during our 4 hour meeting, but I am afraid I cannot say much more until I finish reading it. So, maybe more comments in a few weeks time.