It is after much deliberation that I decide to pen an open letter to you.
I have heard from reliable sources that you are offering RM100,000 per month for Malaysian bloggers to blog about sensitive issues in our country. Given that the monetary compensation offered by your prestigious organization is much higher than other organizations hiring Cyber Troopers, I would like to volunteer my blog and my blogging services for your operations.
I write comfortably in English, Chinese and Malay, and can also do basic Japanese conversation, if you so require.
I also understand and accept the inevitable annoyances and risks that come together with the job.
I'm counting on your resourceful intelligence to somehow locate this post. Please contact me at june.tan@gmail.com when you do, and then we'll talk business.
Regards,
Extremely Broke Student Willing to Blog For Money
Unlucky/Lucky
'Twas an unlucky week.
I opened a door too close to my toe and scraped some skin off. I got rejected by NUS (yeah, again, what's new?). My router modem went crazy and I failed to convince the warranty guy to take it back. I lost the security thingy of my mum's car so I got stranded in LowYat and had to be rescued. I almost hurtled down a flight of stairs and bruised my elbow while breaking the fall.
'Twas a lucky week.
The toe I scraped has the most ineffective bunch of nerve ends in my body. I now have an excuse to look for other exotic places (which, Singapore is not) to get a postgrad education. I have a great computer support guy who accepts steamboats as payment, and he has loaned me his spare router+modem and promised to manja the warranty guy until he agrees to fix my faulty modem. Despite being of great inconvenience to my parents and friends they still love me. Enough to uninstall me from LowYat at least.
Lastly, I am still in one piece and elbow bruises are apparently as negligible as toe scrapes. Guess I'm still lucky in a big scale. To the coming week of mishaps: Bring it!
I opened a door too close to my toe and scraped some skin off. I got rejected by NUS (yeah, again, what's new?). My router modem went crazy and I failed to convince the warranty guy to take it back. I lost the security thingy of my mum's car so I got stranded in LowYat and had to be rescued. I almost hurtled down a flight of stairs and bruised my elbow while breaking the fall.
'Twas a lucky week.
The toe I scraped has the most ineffective bunch of nerve ends in my body. I now have an excuse to look for other exotic places (which, Singapore is not) to get a postgrad education. I have a great computer support guy who accepts steamboats as payment, and he has loaned me his spare router+modem and promised to manja the warranty guy until he agrees to fix my faulty modem. Despite being of great inconvenience to my parents and friends they still love me. Enough to uninstall me from LowYat at least.
Lastly, I am still in one piece and elbow bruises are apparently as negligible as toe scrapes. Guess I'm still lucky in a big scale. To the coming week of mishaps: Bring it!
A quick one
Internet at home sucks. Am currently stealing Starbucks' high speed connection from Borders.
Check out Citizen Think Tank, which is a darn cool website that lets you rank and review your MPs.
Ok the lights in Borders are reflecting from my screen and hurting my eyes, and I have like ten thousand articles to read before my battery runs out, so have a good weekend y'all!
Check out Citizen Think Tank, which is a darn cool website that lets you rank and review your MPs.
Ok the lights in Borders are reflecting from my screen and hurting my eyes, and I have like ten thousand articles to read before my battery runs out, so have a good weekend y'all!
In the mood for ballroom dancing
Only in my head, of course. Outside of my head I am an impressive klutz who trips over her own feet. I am listening to "Emperor's Waltz" by Strauss as I rip classical music into my green Vaio baby.
These couple of days I have been stuck in a spiral of writer's block, as I have found out that the ability to blog in the bathroom does not equate the ability to spurn eloquent academic writing. The government is not helping by its zeal of curbing "cyber crimes" and showing remarkable efficiency in arresting bloggers by the droves. Not showing any consideration for poor old me perched on the bowl, trying to figure out the difference between "detention" and "arrest" and "abduction".
Anyway as I was saying, ballroom dancing, and I have in my head a glorious room aglow with merry laughter, twirling skirts and clinking champagne glasses. A dazzling chandelier above, squeaky parquette floors beneath.
I can't wait to be off to New Zealand. Not that that has anything to do with ballroom dancing.
These couple of days I have been stuck in a spiral of writer's block, as I have found out that the ability to blog in the bathroom does not equate the ability to spurn eloquent academic writing. The government is not helping by its zeal of curbing "cyber crimes" and showing remarkable efficiency in arresting bloggers by the droves. Not showing any consideration for poor old me perched on the bowl, trying to figure out the difference between "detention" and "arrest" and "abduction".
Anyway as I was saying, ballroom dancing, and I have in my head a glorious room aglow with merry laughter, twirling skirts and clinking champagne glasses. A dazzling chandelier above, squeaky parquette floors beneath.
I can't wait to be off to New Zealand. Not that that has anything to do with ballroom dancing.
Rhapsody in Blue
I was looking for a video of Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin, but found this video instead:
Local effort, nicely done. I love that dancing Lilo on the car dashboard. And the orgasmic flinging of hands. Just watch it.
*Update* More songs (no mtv though) to be found at Pete Teo's. This MTV is the effort of some MMU students.
*Update several days later* Found Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue after all. Am putting it on autoplay.
Local effort, nicely done. I love that dancing Lilo on the car dashboard. And the orgasmic flinging of hands. Just watch it.
*Update* More songs (no mtv though) to be found at Pete Teo's. This MTV is the effort of some MMU students.
*Update several days later* Found Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue after all. Am putting it on autoplay.
Apparently policemen are known as "cikgu" in jail.
Just back from Nat's forum and right after unloading almost 2 litres from my bloated bladder, here I am. OK so you didn't have to know about the bladder thing, but that's to illustrate my complete dedication to the matter at hand.
I took some interesting notes.
From Jeff: Nat was arrested but they were not sure of what code to charge him under. Therefore, and this is a darkly funny phrase, it was a "flippant arrest". Also from Jeff: Bloggers are warned that from now on until the next general election, there may be "planted commenters" leaving comments on blogs which may land blog owners in trouble.
Nat's account of what happened in jail. When Nat was following the police out, he received a call from his lawyer to refuse going with them. When he did, the police just said "tangkap sajalah" and handcuffed him, and that's how he was whisked away. He was brought back home where they ransacked his place and took his PCs, his monitor (wahahahaha) and some papers. Nat noted that they could have planted anything in his room if they wanted. (I've heard elsewhere that it's the oldest trick in the book)
As had been described in Eli's blog before (here and here), there had been attempts to thwart Nat's lawyers in appearing beside him in court. Nat was also questioned over and over and over again over same questions - in Nat's words: "different officers, same questionnaire" (yes, and some innocent pedestrian outside the lockup was probably being mugged while the officers sat inside asking questions like "siapa nama kau" and "umur berapa" over and over and over again. Lack of resources my foot lah.) in attempt to break (or frame?) him.
Why (was Nat arrested)? Ah this is interesting. Nat and his other conspiracy theorists have come up with three probable reasons on why he had to spend four days in lockup and, upon release, endure his new nickname as "Ikan Bilis".
First scenario: it may be due to the "complete ineptitude" of the police, more so the Cyber Crimes Unit. According to Nat, these people have no idea what blogs are. Go figure.
Second scenario: it may be due to the fact that Nat's affiliated with opposition politics. Hmmm...
Third scenario, a.k.a. Juicy Dirty Conspiracy Theory That Sounds Kinda Plausible: Nat's being therusa kancil between two pertempuran gajah-s. OK obviously you don't know what I'm talking about. Let me explain. Nat could be the sacrificial stone which was used to kill two big birds. Still don't get it?
OK. Enough with analogies.
What I mean is, what could have happened, according to Nat's theory, was that he may have been
a) used to blow up the doctored photo, like what I had mentioned before. Keeping Najib's (did he? did he not?) involvement in Altantuya's case a huge question mark imprinted in the rakyat's minds. Even a simple layperson like me could see that, so that's no big conspiracy theory.
b) the pawn to remind us all, that there may be something to the reports of Dep. Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum being corrupt. He had just recently been cleared of his allegations. Or else why under the Official Secrets Act? Doesn't that add credibility to the reports that were refuted previously? Incidentally there is bad blood between Johari and the Inspector-General of Police, Musa Hassan. Ooooohh...
c) both of the above.
And you wonder why they called him the Ikan Bilis.
I don't remember if Nat mentioned that it may be an attempt to scare bloggers. Did he?
Not anyone is as lucky as Nat to have had his network of NGO activists, opposition leaders and bloggers behind him. Tony had presented a case of a man named Tung Ket Ming (I hope I spelt his name correctly), whose face due to my total lack of ability to recognize faces, is etched to my memory as a blank face with a huge black patch on where his right eye is.
Mr. Tung was charged for armed robbery, but refused to plead guilty. To force him to plead guilty he was beat up, SEVERAL times in SEVERAL police stations. He was punched, kungfu-kicked, hose(Not typo. A hose was used.)-whipped, and finally relented to sign a statement which he did not understand (due to illiteracy), admitting to committing armed robbery. Was Mr. Tung guilty? We will never know, but the records say that he is.
[Edit some minutes later: Malaysiakini has the report on Mr. Tung. They spelt his surname as "Tong", but I distinctively remember "Tung" on Tony's slides.]
Friends who went to the forum, please point out if there are any errors in what I've recorded above. After all I was taking notes with an extremely full bladder.
...
Wow I can't believe I have blabbed this much. Anyway this is for the benefit of those who didn't make it to the forum, and also for my own documentation purposes.
Oh, and a tip from Haris Ibrahim, a human rights lawyer: empower yourselves with the little red book (download from The Malaysian Bar: full version (incl. all languages: BM BI BC BT), versi Bahasa Malaysia, English version or 中文版), which teaches you your rights when confronted with the police. Also, Haris mentioned that if faced with the worst case scenario ("tangkap sajalah"), it is worth being charged under obstruction of police and wait till one's legal counsel arrives. Food for thought.
...
[Another Edit: After writing the whole piece only I remembered that Nat had written a statement on his arrest. In English and BM somemore. Read it here.]
I took some interesting notes.
From Jeff: Nat was arrested but they were not sure of what code to charge him under. Therefore, and this is a darkly funny phrase, it was a "flippant arrest". Also from Jeff: Bloggers are warned that from now on until the next general election, there may be "planted commenters" leaving comments on blogs which may land blog owners in trouble.
Nat's account of what happened in jail. When Nat was following the police out, he received a call from his lawyer to refuse going with them. When he did, the police just said "tangkap sajalah" and handcuffed him, and that's how he was whisked away. He was brought back home where they ransacked his place and took his PCs, his monitor (wahahahaha) and some papers. Nat noted that they could have planted anything in his room if they wanted. (I've heard elsewhere that it's the oldest trick in the book)
As had been described in Eli's blog before (here and here), there had been attempts to thwart Nat's lawyers in appearing beside him in court. Nat was also questioned over and over and over again over same questions - in Nat's words: "different officers, same questionnaire" (yes, and some innocent pedestrian outside the lockup was probably being mugged while the officers sat inside asking questions like "siapa nama kau" and "umur berapa" over and over and over again. Lack of resources my foot lah.) in attempt to break (or frame?) him.
Why (was Nat arrested)? Ah this is interesting. Nat and his other conspiracy theorists have come up with three probable reasons on why he had to spend four days in lockup and, upon release, endure his new nickname as "Ikan Bilis".
First scenario: it may be due to the "complete ineptitude" of the police, more so the Cyber Crimes Unit. According to Nat, these people have no idea what blogs are. Go figure.
Second scenario: it may be due to the fact that Nat's affiliated with opposition politics. Hmmm...
Third scenario, a.k.a. Juicy Dirty Conspiracy Theory That Sounds Kinda Plausible: Nat's being the
OK. Enough with analogies.
What I mean is, what could have happened, according to Nat's theory, was that he may have been
a) used to blow up the doctored photo, like what I had mentioned before. Keeping Najib's (did he? did he not?) involvement in Altantuya's case a huge question mark imprinted in the rakyat's minds. Even a simple layperson like me could see that, so that's no big conspiracy theory.
b) the pawn to remind us all, that there may be something to the reports of Dep. Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum being corrupt. He had just recently been cleared of his allegations. Or else why under the Official Secrets Act? Doesn't that add credibility to the reports that were refuted previously? Incidentally there is bad blood between Johari and the Inspector-General of Police, Musa Hassan. Ooooohh...
c) both of the above.
And you wonder why they called him the Ikan Bilis.
I don't remember if Nat mentioned that it may be an attempt to scare bloggers. Did he?
Not anyone is as lucky as Nat to have had his network of NGO activists, opposition leaders and bloggers behind him. Tony had presented a case of a man named Tung Ket Ming (I hope I spelt his name correctly), whose face due to my total lack of ability to recognize faces, is etched to my memory as a blank face with a huge black patch on where his right eye is.
Mr. Tung was charged for armed robbery, but refused to plead guilty. To force him to plead guilty he was beat up, SEVERAL times in SEVERAL police stations. He was punched, kungfu-kicked, hose(Not typo. A hose was used.)-whipped, and finally relented to sign a statement which he did not understand (due to illiteracy), admitting to committing armed robbery. Was Mr. Tung guilty? We will never know, but the records say that he is.
[Edit some minutes later: Malaysiakini has the report on Mr. Tung. They spelt his surname as "Tong", but I distinctively remember "Tung" on Tony's slides.]
Friends who went to the forum, please point out if there are any errors in what I've recorded above. After all I was taking notes with an extremely full bladder.
...
Wow I can't believe I have blabbed this much. Anyway this is for the benefit of those who didn't make it to the forum, and also for my own documentation purposes.
Oh, and a tip from Haris Ibrahim, a human rights lawyer: empower yourselves with the little red book (download from The Malaysian Bar: full version (incl. all languages: BM BI BC BT), versi Bahasa Malaysia, English version or 中文版), which teaches you your rights when confronted with the police. Also, Haris mentioned that if faced with the worst case scenario ("tangkap sajalah"), it is worth being charged under obstruction of police and wait till one's legal counsel arrives. Food for thought.
...
[Another Edit: After writing the whole piece only I remembered that Nat had written a statement on his arrest. In English and BM somemore. Read it here.]
So Transformers Sucked.
I don't care what everyone else says. It didn't work for me.
First and foremost I have learnt that my inability to recognize faces triples when it comes to robot mugs. Half the time I didn't know which side was which, so the battle of the century boiled down to screeching metal, flying debris and screaming humans. And a little bit of fire here and there. For 30mins or so.
I was bored. I glanced sideways at YKent and saw him suppressing a yawn. And that is why we are steamboat buddies. (Not 'coz he's perpetually sleepy, but 'coz we are steamboat-eating birds of a feather.)
Another major gripe, illustrating the ultra-cheesy script is that I don't get why the good robots were so nice to humans. I laughed out loud when Megatron flicked the "disgusting" human blocking the road, because that is exactly what I would do if I were him. Not because humans are disgusting per se, but because I am a ten-storey-high invincible chunk of metal, and cannot be expected to have compassion of a saint. Optimus Prime's stark contrast at refusing to harm any human at all (with no good reason except for having the compassion of a saint) is, sorry to all his fans, very pretentious.
Other movie-related questions and gripes I am willing to attribute to the reasons: that I drifted away half-way through due to boredom, and that I did not follow the original Transformers comics. Maybe that's why I don't get why The Cube had to be sent to dunnowho (why didn't Optimus and Co. take it and take off back to their home planet?) in a densely populated city instead of some nicely isolated wilderness.
The effects were good, no doubt. But effects are so commonplace nowadays that the really winning movies are those who move beyond effects, with good content and meaning. I have only this to say about Transformers: What a waste of a good two hours and RM7. Luckily today's Super Wednesday.
First and foremost I have learnt that my inability to recognize faces triples when it comes to robot mugs. Half the time I didn't know which side was which, so the battle of the century boiled down to screeching metal, flying debris and screaming humans. And a little bit of fire here and there. For 30mins or so.
I was bored. I glanced sideways at YKent and saw him suppressing a yawn. And that is why we are steamboat buddies. (Not 'coz he's perpetually sleepy, but 'coz we are steamboat-eating birds of a feather.)
Another major gripe, illustrating the ultra-cheesy script is that I don't get why the good robots were so nice to humans. I laughed out loud when Megatron flicked the "disgusting" human blocking the road, because that is exactly what I would do if I were him. Not because humans are disgusting per se, but because I am a ten-storey-high invincible chunk of metal, and cannot be expected to have compassion of a saint. Optimus Prime's stark contrast at refusing to harm any human at all (with no good reason except for having the compassion of a saint) is, sorry to all his fans, very pretentious.
Other movie-related questions and gripes I am willing to attribute to the reasons: that I drifted away half-way through due to boredom, and that I did not follow the original Transformers comics. Maybe that's why I don't get why The Cube had to be sent to dunnowho (why didn't Optimus and Co. take it and take off back to their home planet?) in a densely populated city instead of some nicely isolated wilderness.
The effects were good, no doubt. But effects are so commonplace nowadays that the really winning movies are those who move beyond effects, with good content and meaning. I have only this to say about Transformers: What a waste of a good two hours and RM7. Luckily today's Super Wednesday.
Nat's out.
Nat's freed today. That means that he'll be there for the forum "In Solidarity with Nat Tan":
The panel of Distinguished Speakers include:
Nat will be invited to speak about his ordeal. More details here at Tony Pua's.
Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Date: 19th July 2007 (Thursday)
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission is Free; Bring Friends
The panel of Distinguished Speakers include:
- Nathaniel Tan, Blogger & Aide to PKR Advisor*
- Jeff Ooi, Protem Vice-President, All Blogs Malaysia
- Harris Ibrahim, Lawyer & Founder of The People's Parliament
- Nurul Izzah Anwar, Special Assistant to PKR Advisor
- Lim Guan Eng, Secretary-General of DAP
- Tony Pua, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General
Nat will be invited to speak about his ordeal. More details here at Tony Pua's.
Profanities ahead.
I'm bloody angry now. Just did my morning rounds around the blogosphere and read Nat's sister's blog where she talks about Nat as a brother, and gives some details on the candlelight vigil held yesterday night.
Then dropped by Eli's where she highlights that SPR flushed out 24k registered voters because they don't have a MyKAD.
What for I go around and ask people to register as voters when at one sweep they can kick 24k people out??? Crime rates going up and they go and arrest innocent citizens. Good citizens.
And people, stop telling me that it happens in Malaysia. Malaysia boleh (with a sneer). Things like that. It really hurts. And it makes me so freaking MAD that people are more interested in resigning to "reality", AND bring down the rest of the people around them to think the same. Fuck you. And those who are even thinking of leaving a message that is of the above nature, FUCK you again.
Sign Nat's petition. It's the least anyone can do. A little bit more that you can do is to spread the message on the petition.
Pardon the language but I'm really too fed up now. Book's going full speed ahead.
Then dropped by Eli's where she highlights that SPR flushed out 24k registered voters because they don't have a MyKAD.
What for I go around and ask people to register as voters when at one sweep they can kick 24k people out??? Crime rates going up and they go and arrest innocent citizens. Good citizens.
And people, stop telling me that it happens in Malaysia. Malaysia boleh (with a sneer). Things like that. It really hurts. And it makes me so freaking MAD that people are more interested in resigning to "reality", AND bring down the rest of the people around them to think the same. Fuck you. And those who are even thinking of leaving a message that is of the above nature, FUCK you again.
Sign Nat's petition. It's the least anyone can do. A little bit more that you can do is to spread the message on the petition.
Pardon the language but I'm really too fed up now. Book's going full speed ahead.
Continuing sokong of Nat
Nat's being remanded for 4 days. Under the OSA over allegation of possession of documents pertaining to Johari Baharum's alleged involvement in corruption. Jeff has the story.
I looked it up and remand means: A prisoner who is remanded into custody is sent back to prison subsequent to a preliminary hearing before a tribunal or magistrate until the hearing is resumed, or the trial is commenced.
My Internet connection's merajuking. I've moved the modem into my parents' room where it's working now. Awfully tired due to lack of sleep. I'm going to the workshop for electoral reporting tomorrow. Have to turn in early tonight.
I looked it up and remand means: A prisoner who is remanded into custody is sent back to prison subsequent to a preliminary hearing before a tribunal or magistrate until the hearing is resumed, or the trial is commenced.
My Internet connection's merajuking. I've moved the modem into my parents' room where it's working now. Awfully tired due to lack of sleep. I'm going to the workshop for electoral reporting tomorrow. Have to turn in early tonight.
FreeNatNow
I'm up already at 7:30am, although I slept at almost 5. And of course my plan to de-dehydrate my skin is out of the window.
Updates on Nat's case: Here's Eli's furious account of what happened in the Police Station and all, and some questions that she raised. A chronological description of what happened yesterday and pictures from the gathering of solidarity outside Bukit Aman, by Bob K.
The police will either free him by 4.30 pm or, a magistrate will be brought in / or he will be brought to a magistrate where Nat could be remanded up to 10 days.Here's what you can do to help.
Nat was arrested at 4:45pm but the police only confirmed that they had him at 10pm. That's like five hours of Nat being missing. He was whisked away by the cops, those who are supposed to protect us instead of abduct us. You arrest mar arrest lah, but why the secretiveness?
Nat was arrested due to "a comment left on one of his blog posts, which put the link pointing to a website which reported on the deputy minister for Internal Security".
I hate it when my dad tells me that I should work towards a PR elsewhere. I hate it more when I am unable to refute him, which is increasingly the case lately.
Previous posting of Nat's case here.
*Update* Sinchew says that the arrest is connected to the doctored photo of "French dinner for 3", first seen in Tian Chua's blog. Looks like some people are determined to blow the photo up. Big time. For Propaganda.
Nat detained at Bukit Aman
Nathaniel Tan who blogs at jelas.info and who is the founder of Bangkit.net, a civil society blog that gives exposure to NGOs for their statements and events, is being detained in Bukit Aman, with matters pertaining to OSA.
I have known Nat through the Net for a few months (through my research and some volunteering through Bangkit.net) and I have met him in person once. He's a really nice guy, very passionate about what he does. Not only in politics but in civil society movements as well. I hope no harm befalls him.
More info:
(For stingies who don't subscribe to Malaysiakini, here's the report:
From his sister Cheryl's blog with constant updates: *Click*
From his girlfriend Soon Li Tsin: *Click*
From John Lee, his colleague: *Click*
From Rocky: *Click*
From Jed Yoong, at FreeLunch2020: *Click*
From Susan Loone: *Click*
An email thread is going around and Nat's case is being circulated to Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders and possibly other NGOs.
I'm actually quite disturbed about this. Hope that Nat will be ok.
I have known Nat through the Net for a few months (through my research and some volunteering through Bangkit.net) and I have met him in person once. He's a really nice guy, very passionate about what he does. Not only in politics but in civil society movements as well. I hope no harm befalls him.
More info:
(For stingies who don't subscribe to Malaysiakini, here's the report:
OSA probe: Police detains PKR webmasterA PKR information bureau staff, who helps maintain the opposition party website, was taken for questioning by three plainclothes police officers this afternoon.
Nathaniel Tan, 26, was picked up from the office of a non-governmental organisation Yayasan Aman in Petaling Jaya.
According to witnesses, the policemen did not provide any reasons as to why Tan was asked to go with them.
They said the policemen entered the office at about 4.45pm and requested for Tan to follow them to the Bukit Aman police headquarters for questioning.
The policemen also requested that Tan bring his notebook computer with him. It is believed that he is being questioned on matters relating to certain postings on the Internet.
Tan, a Harvard University graduate, has been involved in the maintenance of the opposition party’s website and is also a prominent blogger.
According to a press statement by PKR, Tan also works in the Foundation for the Future as the secretary to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim who chairs the foundation.
'Intimidation tactics'His lawyer Latheefa Koya told malaysiakini that according to a special branch officer known only as inspector William, there were no records of Tan being brought to Bukit Aman.
“We have also checked with Malaysian Control Centre (MCC) which is under the Bukit Aman to no avail. Instead, they advised us to make a police report,” she said.
In an immediate response, PKR information chief Tian Chua said the incident was an attempt to intimidate party workers.
“This is very shocking and incredible that they are using this sort of intimidation tactics. We are extremely outraged,” said Tian Chua, who is Tan's boss.
Tian Chua is currently being investigated for a blog posting, which was claimed to have violated the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
The posting contained a photo montage purportedly depicting Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak dining with his political advisor Abdul Razak Baginda and slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
A police report has been filed on Tan's "kidnapping" this evening.
Police confirm Tan's detentionAt 10pm, more than six hours after Tan's disappearance, the police finally confirmed that he was indeed being held at Bukit Aman.
His family and a group of 20 supporters have gathered outside the police headquarters to press for his release. A number of them were seen holding 'Free Nathaniel' placards.
According to the police, Tan will be held for 24 hours by the Cyber Crime Unit in Jalan Dato Onn to facilite investigation under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
Tan was later transferred to Kuala Lumpur's Dang Wangi police station and is expected to be brought before a magistrate for further remand at 4.30pm tomorrow.
His supporters are holding a vigil outside the police station. Tian Chua, who was present tonight, lambasted the government of abusing its powers to curb freedom of speech.
It is not known exactly what OSA offence Tan is being investigated for. The police have also earlier gone to Tan's house to seize his desktop computer.
Anyone found guilty of committing an offence under the Act is punished with a mandatory jail sentence of least one year to a maximum of seven years. imprisonment.According to international rights group Amnesty International, the OSA provides "vaguely worded definitions" of what constitutes an official secret.
"It gives the authorities wide powers to curb and impose penalties on the unauthorised publication of any information in the hands of the government, no matter how insignificant or whether such information is already in the public domain."
From his sister Cheryl's blog with constant updates: *Click*
From his girlfriend Soon Li Tsin: *Click*
From John Lee, his colleague: *Click*
From Rocky: *Click*
From Jed Yoong, at FreeLunch2020: *Click*
From Susan Loone: *Click*
An email thread is going around and Nat's case is being circulated to Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders and possibly other NGOs.
I'm actually quite disturbed about this. Hope that Nat will be ok.
Shopping then Police Station
So Jen Hui and I went shopping today. I paid RM30 for a bunch of Estee Lauder samples from the kind lady at the counter - much less than what I had expected to spend. A small part of me feels that I shouldn't be paying for samples with "Not for Individual Sale" printed on them, but I've got dry patches on my face and am desperate to de-dehydrate them. And I'm unwilling to fork out RM90 to gamble that their cleanser is that good. (RM165 for the moisturizer! *faint*)
And I got an absolutely adorable jumper from Zara which has blue cats printed all over it! My dad says that it looks like a kid's pyjama but mum, in a midst of a busy phone conversation shook her head absently when I asked her if it was so. I choose to believe her. The jumper cost RM130 (Original price RM160). Ahem.
*hypnotizes self that I haven't been shopping lately hence the expenditure is justifiable*
*still feels guilty*
*tells self: KJ has got a pair of much-envied 8GB iPhones and a 2-year subscription with AT&T! And he's jobless, on top of that has a baby coming soon!*
*feels a bit better*
Halfway through our shopping expedition JenHui found that she had lost her phone. It was apparent when we tried to connect to it using my phone that it was turned off. It was really too bad. Therefore at 5pm we found ourselves to be at the Damansara police station to lodge a report for JenHui to retrieve her number.
While waiting for JenHui as she poured out her woes to the friendly neighbourhood policeman, I entertained myself by looking at a huge stain at the ceiling probably caused by a leak. The police station was awfully stuffy and quite small. Half way through my daydreaming I noticed an officer bringing in two pairs of handcuffs. He headed into a room with tinted windows (but I found that if I looked carefully I could actually see the people inside).
The woman sitting beside me who was totally motionless previously, stood up to talk to the officer. There were two officers inside the room and a couple. I witnessed the handcuffing of the couple. This is the first time that I've seen handcuffs in real life. Thick, metallic and cold. It must be terrifying to have one of those binding my hands.
"Dari kecil sampai besar dia tak pernah curi," pleaded the lady who talked to the officer. She was objecting to the use of handcuffs. The officer was sympathetic and gentle as he told her that it was a standard procedure. I kept my eyes down while catching bits of the conversation. She was the sister of the girl who got caught. Judging by the Jusco plastic bags by the door, I deduce that that was the crime scene.
"Kamu adik dia juga?" The officer asked me. I shook my head bashfully and clarified that I was accompanying JenHui. At that juncture JenHui finally finished her reporting and we left the police station.
The handcuffs are still lingering in my mind. I wonder where the girl would be sent to. I wonder why she did what she did. She doesn't look like the type who has sticky hands. Was it an act of desperation? Was she a kleptomaniac? Was she influenced by her boyfriend? Or vice versa? And why did they look so calm when the cops cuffed them?
Anyway, it was an eventful day. I'm exhausted from all the walking under the sun - two times to and fro from the farthest end of the Dataran Parking beside Giant, to Giant! Going to bed early tonight.
And I got an absolutely adorable jumper from Zara which has blue cats printed all over it! My dad says that it looks like a kid's pyjama but mum, in a midst of a busy phone conversation shook her head absently when I asked her if it was so. I choose to believe her. The jumper cost RM130 (Original price RM160). Ahem.
*hypnotizes self that I haven't been shopping lately hence the expenditure is justifiable*
*still feels guilty*
*tells self: KJ has got a pair of much-envied 8GB iPhones and a 2-year subscription with AT&T! And he's jobless, on top of that has a baby coming soon!*
*feels a bit better*
Halfway through our shopping expedition JenHui found that she had lost her phone. It was apparent when we tried to connect to it using my phone that it was turned off. It was really too bad. Therefore at 5pm we found ourselves to be at the Damansara police station to lodge a report for JenHui to retrieve her number.
While waiting for JenHui as she poured out her woes to the friendly neighbourhood policeman, I entertained myself by looking at a huge stain at the ceiling probably caused by a leak. The police station was awfully stuffy and quite small. Half way through my daydreaming I noticed an officer bringing in two pairs of handcuffs. He headed into a room with tinted windows (but I found that if I looked carefully I could actually see the people inside).
The woman sitting beside me who was totally motionless previously, stood up to talk to the officer. There were two officers inside the room and a couple. I witnessed the handcuffing of the couple. This is the first time that I've seen handcuffs in real life. Thick, metallic and cold. It must be terrifying to have one of those binding my hands.
"Dari kecil sampai besar dia tak pernah curi," pleaded the lady who talked to the officer. She was objecting to the use of handcuffs. The officer was sympathetic and gentle as he told her that it was a standard procedure. I kept my eyes down while catching bits of the conversation. She was the sister of the girl who got caught. Judging by the Jusco plastic bags by the door, I deduce that that was the crime scene.
"Kamu adik dia juga?" The officer asked me. I shook my head bashfully and clarified that I was accompanying JenHui. At that juncture JenHui finally finished her reporting and we left the police station.
The handcuffs are still lingering in my mind. I wonder where the girl would be sent to. I wonder why she did what she did. She doesn't look like the type who has sticky hands. Was it an act of desperation? Was she a kleptomaniac? Was she influenced by her boyfriend? Or vice versa? And why did they look so calm when the cops cuffed them?
Anyway, it was an eventful day. I'm exhausted from all the walking under the sun - two times to and fro from the farthest end of the Dataran Parking beside Giant, to Giant! Going to bed early tonight.
Randomness
I've finished the first chapter but so far it looks pretty boring to me. Sigh. It's difficult! It's difficult to explain academic stuff in a non-academic way, and to compound the problem I really don't have much time to give it an interesting twist (NZ hails). I'm reusing some of the stuff in my thesis, so it's important that I keep the style consistent. So there. *moves on to second chapter*
So "Jaded" means:
I still don't know which (of 1, 2 or 3) exactly I am.
YKent and I went for a breather yesterday to watch Transformers. Tickets for the 9pm session were sold out at Jusco Kepong, TGV 1Utama and GSC 1Utama! So we bought a pack of popcorn and coke for the glum journey home.
On the personal care front: I have been adjusting my bed time and pleasantly discovered that found that it is the only visible cure to my dry face. I have also had 3 inches of my hair chopped off and got a new fringe. I am still trying to decide whether I like it or not, as my natural hair is temperamental.
YJ's new song is blaring through my inbuilt PC speaker in an endless loop. Makes me a little wistful to listen to it. Probably that's why this post is not interesting. I tend to write better when I'm in a good mood. Or maybe it's all the academic writing! It's sucking out the fun in me!
Well okies... Looks like this post isn't going to get better at this point so I'd better sign off. Chapter 2 awaits.
So "Jaded" means:
- Worn out; wearied: “My father's words had left me jaded and depressed” (William Styron).
- Dulled by surfeit; sated: “the sickeningly sweet life of the amoral, jaded, bored upper classes” (John Simon).
- Cynically or pretentiously callous.
I still don't know which (of 1, 2 or 3) exactly I am.
YKent and I went for a breather yesterday to watch Transformers. Tickets for the 9pm session were sold out at Jusco Kepong, TGV 1Utama and GSC 1Utama! So we bought a pack of popcorn and coke for the glum journey home.
On the personal care front: I have been adjusting my bed time and pleasantly discovered that found that it is the only visible cure to my dry face. I have also had 3 inches of my hair chopped off and got a new fringe. I am still trying to decide whether I like it or not, as my natural hair is temperamental.
YJ's new song is blaring through my inbuilt PC speaker in an endless loop. Makes me a little wistful to listen to it. Probably that's why this post is not interesting. I tend to write better when I'm in a good mood. Or maybe it's all the academic writing! It's sucking out the fun in me!
Well okies... Looks like this post isn't going to get better at this point so I'd better sign off. Chapter 2 awaits.
Showing Malaysia Off
I've got an idea! I've got an IDEA!!
*sticks cork into gushing adrenal gland*
I'm going to design a pocket-sized photo book (using the product by homegrown company Pixart) titled, "I come from Malaysia". And inside the book I'll be showcasing what it's like to live in Malaysia, me and my friends and family and the beautiful country that is Malaysia.
Wouldn't it be cool? I mean, there'll be no excuse whatsoever for any kiwi or backpacker I meet on the road to EVER believe that we live on trees, because I'd be showing them our malls and highways and the Twin Jagungs. Temples and churches and mosques. Local fruits. Brands we have here. Signages. Bloody election flags. National Day processions. MAS. Mamak stalls. Heck all types of makan.
*pop goes the cork*
It'd be fun to work on as I'll ajak a few friends to go roam around and take pictures. And make them do silly poses to show off to the world. When I'm in NZ it'd be great to cure homesickness and good for a conversation piece. ("Yes. These toilets cost RM400,000 (NZD150,000) each, and they automatically clean themselves, and the best part is - the doors open automatically after you've been inside for 15 minutes!")
Yay! So back to work.
*sticks cork into gushing adrenal gland*
I'm going to design a pocket-sized photo book (using the product by homegrown company Pixart) titled, "I come from Malaysia". And inside the book I'll be showcasing what it's like to live in Malaysia, me and my friends and family and the beautiful country that is Malaysia.
Wouldn't it be cool? I mean, there'll be no excuse whatsoever for any kiwi or backpacker I meet on the road to EVER believe that we live on trees, because I'd be showing them our malls and highways and the Twin Jagungs. Temples and churches and mosques. Local fruits. Brands we have here. Signages. Bloody election flags. National Day processions. MAS. Mamak stalls. Heck all types of makan.
*pop goes the cork*
It'd be fun to work on as I'll ajak a few friends to go roam around and take pictures. And make them do silly poses to show off to the world. When I'm in NZ it'd be great to cure homesickness and good for a conversation piece. ("Yes. These toilets cost RM400,000 (NZD150,000) each, and they automatically clean themselves, and the best part is - the doors open automatically after you've been inside for 15 minutes!")
Yay! So back to work.
Internet connection is erratic lately.
The title has got nothing to do with the rest of the post.
I am writing a book. Rather, I am adapting my thesis into a book that hopefully some publisher would be interested in.
Reason I'm doing it: To prove that I can. And to get rid of the nagging guilt of slacking at home and sleeping till 11am (muahaha take that you work slaves! *Zewt are you reading this?*) on weekdays.
Reason I'm telling you all this: So that you can play an active role in jumpstarting my career in academia. Yup, all of you. Even my detractors. In fact, especially my detractors. I am telling you this so that you and your watchful eyes and flair for writing biting one-liners can kick my ass bigtime if I fail.
Therefore, I invite you cordially to participate in an orgy of hurling insults and rubbing salt into my open bleeding wounds in the event that I a) give up on the project or b) get my book rejected.
Project has to be done (written, edited) before I go to New Zealand end of September.
Game?
I am writing a book. Rather, I am adapting my thesis into a book that hopefully some publisher would be interested in.
Reason I'm doing it: To prove that I can. And to get rid of the nagging guilt of slacking at home and sleeping till 11am (muahaha take that you work slaves! *Zewt are you reading this?*) on weekdays.
Reason I'm telling you all this: So that you can play an active role in jumpstarting my career in academia. Yup, all of you. Even my detractors. In fact, especially my detractors. I am telling you this so that you and your watchful eyes and flair for writing biting one-liners can kick my ass bigtime if I fail.
Therefore, I invite you cordially to participate in an orgy of hurling insults and rubbing salt into my open bleeding wounds in the event that I a) give up on the project or b) get my book rejected.
Project has to be done (written, edited) before I go to New Zealand end of September.
Game?
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