Nobody

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Don't be the next phone virus victim

Fri, Apr 03, 2009
AsiaOne

By Jasmine Osada

The next time you receive a message on your mobile phone asking you to download something, make sure the message is from a legitimate contact before pressing the "yes" button.

With more consumers adopting smartphones nowadays, mobile phone viruses are on the rise. Smartphones typically allow users to install applications, and this is where viruses and other malicious software can worm their way into the devices.

In January this year, security systems company Fortinet identified a mobile phone attack known as the "Curse of Silence". The attack involves sending a maliciously crafted SMS message which, upon receipt, cripples the affected device's SMS and MMS sending functions.

The attack was linked to the Symbian OS, an operating system used in a number of Nokia phones. However, the Finnish mobile phone maker said it does not believe the issues represent a significant risk to its devices.

But still, Nokia cautioned its users to be careful when receiving applications and messages from others.

A spokesman with the company said, "We also encourage consumers to help protect their mobile device against harmful applications by being careful about accepting applications sent via Bluetooth or when they open SMS or MMS attachments, as they might include software which could be harmful to your phone or PC."

AsiaOne spoke with Mr. Derek Manky, Cyber Security & Threat Researcher for Fortinet on the nature of mobile phone attacks and how users can prevent them:

What are the common mobile phone viruses/attacks found today?

Most attacks found today are denial of service or defacing, which comes from worms that spread through MMS, MMC memory cards and Bluetooth. These typically drain battery life rapidly, and can cause high usage bills due to outgoing SMS/MMS activity. Commercial spyware applications are available for various platforms that when installed, allow users to remotely view incoming/outgoing messages and calls.

Below are a few recent mobile threats that our FortiGuard Global Security Research Team has been keeping track of:

CommWarrior is a virus family affecting cell phones operating Symbian OS S60 2nd edition. The virus extracts numbers from the contact list of the infected phone, and sends a MMS carrying an infected installation file. This file usually poses as a recreation (game, ringtones, porn & etc) or utilitarian (antivirus, desktop manager & etc) application. The device will be infected once the target executes the application. Currently, CommWarrior is being reported in over 18 different countries around Asia, Europe and North America.
BeSeLo, a virus affecting cell phones operating Symbian OS S60 2nd edition. Unlike Commwarrior, BeSeLo not only extracts numbers from the contact list of the infected phone, but also generates some by itself. It then sends those numbers an MMS carrying an infected installation file.
Spyphone is a Trojan Horse that conducts various spying operations on the infected device (including monitoring incoming calls), on behalf of the individual who sent it to the victim. It does not have an automated infection routine: an attacker has to actively send it to the selected victim, on the form of an installation file. Upon execution of this file, the victim is prompted with the following message: "Install Sysapp? Yes / No". Selecting "Yes" will lead to the definitive infection.
Finally, a recent SMS/MMS denial of service known as the Curse of Silence/CurseSMS attack, involves sending a maliciously crafted SMS to potential targets, who then are unable to receive SMS/MMS messages.

Are these attacks are common in Singapore and the rest of Asia?

Mobile phone attacks are increasingly common, not only in Asia, but around the world as the adoption of mobile devices continues to increase.

As mentioned, most current attacks are destructive by nature. This is the same path that occurred with PC-based malware in the 1990s.

A recent attack has surfaced with SymbOS/Flocker. Aside from sending SMS messages to premium-rate numbers owned by cyber criminals, new variations are targeting Indonesian carriers that allow balance transfers from an infected phone to an account controlled by the malware authors.

Malicious activity on smart mobile devices like smart phones has been low to date, but the anticipated consumer adoption of 3G and the new and business models it enables will open up a huge market for cybercriminal activity.

3G enables network operators to offer a wider range of more advanced mobile services, such as real-time access to high-quality audio/video transmission, and greater network capacity. This increased scope of potential vulnerabilities calls for a focused approach in securing millions of active handheld devices today.

Shared components, new platforms like Google Android (in which we saw a recent vulnerability disclosure), and increasing functionality/complexity of smart devices combined with 3G and the roadmap to 4G bandwidth will be the next biggest threats to mobile security. There will certainly be a lot of movement on this front in 2009 and the coming years: we are already starting to see some in Indonesia / Asia as mentioned.

What would happen to victims of these attacks, and if they can potentially be victims of identity theft, credit card fraud, etc.?

Depending on the type of infections, victims may suffer inconvenience or minor losses.

Mobile attacks can potentially cause serious consequences whereby personal data or confidential information stored in mobile phones could be hacked or retrieved by cyber criminals, leading to the risk of identity theft and credit card fraud. In particular, commercial spyware can place the victim at the risk of identity theft.

Mobile security is at a tipping point with smart portable devices interoperating with networks flanked by the dynamic threatscape. New vulnerabilities and attacks place mobile device users open to attacks in this environment. Phishing, identity theft, credit card fraud and information pilferage have become reality.

While some viruses are driven to cause damage, others such as CommWarrior and BeSeLo (using Bluetooth as an alternative propagation method) cause victims to experience rapid battery power loss. A simple denial service attack with CurseSMS will cause inconvenience to the user as infected mobile phones will require a factory reset.

Frequent, unauthorized outgoing messages can lead to high bills and denial of service attacks can cause financial damages especially to smart devices intended for enterprise or business.

What are the steps we should take in preventing these attacks?

Mobile phone users should be extra cautious when opening attachments from all sources, as even a trusted connection might be infected without knowing it. Be cautious of file extensions as well, as we saw with the BeSeLo worm. If a media file such as a ".mp3" or ".jpg" extension prompts for application installation, a red flag should be raised.

Secondly, play safe. Always put your mobile phone in Bluetooth-disabled mode to prevent infection of a malicious file or virus propagated through Bluetooth. Additionally, mobile phone users are advised not to install unauthorized software in order to lower the chances of virus infection.

For enterprises, enforce policies for mobile devices which are introduced into the network as this bypasses many security mechanisms. Data encryption and gateway protection to protect mobile devices from the bridged threats mentioned earlier is recommended.

Now is the time to prepare before cyber criminals get more involved in this arms race, which is expected to accelerate, given the increasing reports of mobile malware. Cyber criminals have started to invest and establish their foothold in this area.

In the event of a mobile attack, users can recover their mobile phone by employing the new version of the FortiCleanUp tool released by FortiGuard Global Security Research Team. The FortiCleanUp tool automatically scans and removes malicious elements that prevent proper handset function.

Fortinet also offers the FortiClient Mobile Security which is available for Microsoft Windows Mobile and SymbianOS S60 operating systems.

Can attackers retrieve personal information from handsets, like they would a mobile phone, and if so, are services such as mobile banking safe?

Services such as mobile banking should be treated with the same caution as online banking from your desktop.

Phishing sites targeting popular banks can easily draw a mobile user in, for instance, with a URL supplied through an MMS message. Once credentials are entered, the account will be compromised.

A recent vulnerability with Windows Mobile Bluetooth FTP (Obex) allows an attacker to browse all system files, download any files such as personal information management (PIM) data, and upload files to arbitrary paths such as the system startup folder. While it has not yet occurred in the wild, theoretically this could be used to plant a Trojan on the device that would be used for further attacks.

Hishammuddin needs a history lesson

APRIL 2, 2009 — Umno's newly-minted vice-president and Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was unhappy with the contents of history books and wanted “better” history lessons.

Hishammuddin kicked up the fuss during his winding-up speech at the Umno general assembly when he said the party and the Malay Rulers were the only parties who fought for Malaysia's independence.

Obviously it wasn’t a brilliant statement. It got Umno’s ally MCA and other groups riled up, naturally. This also doesn’t augur well for Hishammuddin who by now should be a wiser person upon his graduation from the adolescent Umno Youth wing.

Hishammuddin is the one who needs history lessons. Being the son of Tun Hussein Onn and grandson of Datuk Onn Jaafar, Hishammuddin should have known better than to make ridiculous and unsubstantiated remarks.

What more when his grandfather Onn was the among the first patriots to fight for a multiracial and democratic government in this country; or should that fact be hidden from our history books now?

Onn founded Umno in 1946 during the campaign against the formation of the Malayan Union. Among a rather conservative Malay population, Onn promoted a view which was already popular at the time — “Raja itu Rakyat, Rakyat itu Raja” (The king is a citizen, and the citizens are king). It was a social contract of sorts upon which Umno was formed.

Together with his son Hussein, who was then Umno's secretary-general, Onn quit Umno in August 1951 due to irreconcilable differences with others in the leadership. Onn’s idea was ahead of his time — he wanted Umno to open its membership to non-Malays in an attempt to turn Umno into a multiracial organisation.

Onn went on to establish the multiracial Independent Malayan Party (IMP), and subsequently Malay-majority Parti Negara. Both parties failed to win majority support. Communal politics was strong then, as it is still prevalent now.

Perhaps Hishammuddin has forgotten that his grandfather Onn was not a member of Umno at the time Malaya achieved independence in 1957. The true Malayan patriot died a sad man in 1962.

One of the staunchest supporters of Onn was the then mentri besar of Perak, the Datuk Panglima Bukit Gantang Abdul Wahab Toh Muda Abdul Aziz. Perhaps the spirit of Bukit Gantang will remind certain people that history should never be re-written.

Hussein re-entered politics in 1968 at the invitation of his brother-in-law Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. He contested the 1969 election and won, subsequently being appointed the minister of education.

In August 1973, Hussein filled the post of deputy prime minister upon the demise of Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman. He was minister of finance between 1974 and 1976, tearfully sworn in as prime minister when Razak died in office in January 1976.

The crux of the problem with the learning of history in this country is partisanship. Hishammuddin’s latest view is just another sad addition to the problem, at the expense of a genuine understanding of the contribution of his father and grandfather to the nation, outside of Umno.

A case in point is the Tun Hussein Onn Memorial. Opened in February 2006 after a RM30 million makeover of the old Prime Minister’s Department building in Kuala Lumpur, the memorial failed to deal with the period of Hussein’s life when he fought against Umno.

There was no mention of Hussein’s departure from Umno in 1951 or Hussein’s role in helping the opposition, especially Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s Semangat 46, against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Umno Baru in the late 1980s in the aftermath of Umno’s deregistration.

When Hussein died in May 1990, he was not a member of Umno. Significantly, all Umno presidents — Tunku Abdul Rahman, Hussein and Dr Mahathir — quit the party in retirement; although the latter is expected to rejoin the party.

For Hishammuddin and his supporters, they should remember that a nation is only mature when history is studied in a less partisan way.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

ON THE EVE OF 3RD APRIL

2 Apr, 2009

On the eve of 3rd April 2009, let us take a trip down memory lane and recap what Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal said on 1st July 2008. I spent six hours with him the day he signed his Statutory Declaration and I can confirm he did not sign it under duress. In fact, he was quite disappointed that my SD had come out a couple of weeks earlier, so that made his SD the second instead of the first. He said he would have liked his to be the first.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

STATUTORY DECLARATION

I, Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal a Malaysian Citizen of full age and residing at [deleted] do solemly and sincerely declare as follows :-

1. I have been a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police Force having jointed as a constable in 1981 attached to the Police Field Force. I was then promoted to the rank of lance Corporal and finally resigned from the Police Force in 1998 when I was with the Special Branch.

2. I have been working as a free lance Private Investigator since I left the Police Force.

3. Sometime in June or July 2006, I was employed by Abdul Razak Baginda for a period of 10 days to look after him at his office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang between the hours of 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m each working day as apparently he was experiencing disturbances from a third party.

4. I resigned from this job after 2 ½ days as I was not receiving any proper instructions.

5. I was however re-employed by Abdul Razak Baginda on the 05-10-2006 as he had apparently received a harassing phone call from a Chinese man calling himself ASP Tan who had threatened him to pay his debts. I later found out this gentleman was in fact a private investigator called Ang who was employed by a Mongolian woman called Altantuya Shaaribuu.

6. Abdul Razak Baginda was concerned that a person by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, a Mongolian woman, was behind this threat and that she would be arriving in Malaysia very soon to try and contact him.

7. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that he was concerned by this as he had been advised that Altantuya Shaaribuu had been given some powers by a Mongolian ‘bomoh’ and that he could never look her in the face because of this.

8. When I enquired as to who this Mongolian woman was, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that she was a friend of his who had been introduced to him by a VIP and who asked him to look after her financially.

9. I advised him to lodge a police report concerning the threatening phone call he had received from the Chinese man known as ASP Tan but he refused to do so as he informed me there were some high profile people involved.

10. Abdul Razak Baginda further told me that Altantuya Shaaribuu was a great liar and good in convincing people. She was supposed to have been very demanding financially and that he had even financed a property for her in Mongolia.

11. Abdul Razak Baginda then let me listen to some voice messages on his handphone asking him to pay what was due otherwise he would be harmed and his daughter harassed.

12. I was therefore supposed to protect his daughter Rowena as well.

13. On the 09.10.2006 I received a phone call from Abdul Razak Baginda at about 9.30 a.m. informing me that Altantuya was in his office and he wanted me there immediately. As I was in the midst of a surveillance, I sent my assistant Suras to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office and I followed a little later. Suras managed to control the situation and had persuaded Altantuya and her two friends to leave the premises. However Altantuya left a note written on some Hotel Malaya note paper, in English, asking Abdul Razak Baginda to call her on her handphone (number given) and wrote down her room number as well.

14. Altantuya had introduced herself to Suras as ‘Aminah’ and had informed Suras she was there to see her boyfriend Abdul Razak Baginda.

15. These 3 Mongolian girls however returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang again, the next day at about 12.00 noon. They did not enter the building but again informed Suras that they wanted to meet Aminah’s boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda.

16. On the 11.10.2006, Aminah returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office on her own and gave me a note to pass to him, which I did. Abdul Razak Baginda showed me the note which basically asked him to call her urgently.

17. I suggested to Abdul Razak Baginda that perhaps it may be wise to arrange for Aminah to be arrested if she harassed him further, but he declined as he felt she would have to return to Mongolia as soon as her cash ran out.

18. In the meantime I had arranged for Suras to perform surveillance on Hotel Malaya to monitor the movements of these 3 Mongolian girls, but they recognized him. Apparently they become friends with Suras after that and he ended up spending a few nights in their hotel room.

19. When Abdul Razak Baginda discovered Suras was becoming close to Aminah he asked me to pull him out from Hotel Malaya.

20. On the 14.10.2006, Aminah turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights when I was not there. Abdul Razak Baginda called me on my handphone to inform me of this so I rushed back to his house. As I arrived, I noticed Aminah outside the front gates shouting “Razak, bastard, come out from the house”. I tried to calm her down but couldn’t so I called the police who arrived in 2 patrol cars. I explained the situation to the police, who took her away to the Brickfields police station.

21. I followed the patrol cars to Brickfields police station in a taxi. I called Abdul Razak Baginda and his lawyer Dirren to lodge a police report but they refused.

22. When I was at the Brickfields police station, Aminah’s own Private Investigator, one Mr. Ang arrived and we had a discussion. I was told to deliver a demand to Abdul Razak Baginda for USD$500,000.00 and 3 tickets to Mongolia, apparently as commission owed to Aminah from a deal in Paris.

23. As Aminah had calmed down at this stage, a policewoman at the Brickfields police station advised me to leave and settle the matter amicably.

24. I duly informed Abdul Razak Baginda of the demands Aminah had made and told him I was disappointed that no one wanted to back me up in lodging a police report. We had a long discussion about the situation when I expressed a desire to pull out of this assignment.

25. During this discussion and in an attempt to persuade me to continue my employment with him, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that :-

25.1 He had been introduced to Aminah by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.

25.2 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak informed Abdul Razak Baginda that he had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that [deleted by nat out of respect to the family of the deceased].

25.3 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wanted Abdul Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the Deputy Prime Minister.

25.4 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had all been together at a dinner in Paris.

25.5 Aminah wanted money from him as she felt she was entitled to a USD$500,000.00 commission on a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris.

26. On the 19.10.2006, I arrived at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights to begin my night duty. I had parked my car outside as usual. I saw a yellow proton perdana taxi pass by with 3 ladies inside, one of whom was Aminah. The taxi did a U-turn and stopped in front of the house where these ladies rolled down the window and wished me ‘Happy Deepavali’. The taxi then left.

27. About 20 minutes later the taxi returned with only Aminah in it. She got out of the taxi and walked towards me and started talking to me. I sent an SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda informing him “Aminah was here”. I received an SMS from Razak instructing me “To delay her until my man comes”.

28. Whist I was talking to Aminah, she informed me of the following :-

28.1 That she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Singapore with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

28.2 That she had also met Abdul Razak Baginda and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a dinner in Paris.

28.3 That she was promised a sum of USD$500,000.00 as commission for assisting in a Submarine deal in Paris.

28.4 That Abdul Razak Baginda had bought her a house in Mongolia but her brother had refinanced it and she needed money to redeem it.

28.5 That her mother was ill and she needed money to pay for her treatment.

6. That Abdul Razak Baginda had married her in Korea as her mother is Korean whilst her father was a Mongolian/Chinese mix.

28.7 That if I wouldn’t allow her to see Abdul Razak Baginda, would I be able to arrange for her to see Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

29. After talking to Aminah for about 15 minutes, a red proton aeroback arrived with a woman and two men. I now know the woman to be Lance Corporal Rohaniza and the men, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azahar. They were all in plain clothes. Azilah walked towards me while the other two stayed in the car.

30. Azilah asked me whether the woman was Aminah and I said ‘Yes’. He then walked off and made a few calls on his handphone. After 10 minutes another vehicle, a blue proton saga, driven by a Malay man, passed by slowly. The drivers window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.

31. Azilah then informed me they would be taking Aminah away. I informed Aminah they were arresting her. The other two persons then got out of the red proton and exchanged seats so that Lance Corporal Rohaniza and Aminah were in the back while the two men were in the front. They drove off and that is the last I ever saw of Aminah.

32. Abdul Razak Baginda was not at home when all this occurred.

33. After the 19.10.2006, I continued to work for Abdul Razak Baginda at his house in Damansara Heights from 7.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. the next morning, as he had been receiving threatening text messages from a woman called ‘Amy’ who was apparently ‘Aminah’s’ cousin in Mongolia.

34. On the night of the 20.10.2006, both of Aminah’s girl friends turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house enquiring where Aminah was. I informed them she had been arrested the night before.

35. A couple of nights later, these two Mongolian girls, Mr. Ang and another Mongolian girl called ‘Amy’ turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house looking for Aminah as they appeared to be convinced she was being held in the house.

36. A commotion began so I called the police who arrived shortly thereafter in a patrol car. Another patrol car arrived a short while later in which was the investigating officer from the Dang Wangi Police Station who was in charge of the missing persons report lodged by one of the Mongolians girls, I believe was Amy.

37. I called Abdul Razak Baginda who was at home to inform him of the events taking place at his front gate. He then called DSP Musa Safri and called me back informing me that Musa Safri would be calling handphone and I was to pass the phone to the Inspector from Dang Wangi Police Station.

38. I then received a call on my handphone from Musa Safri and duly handed the phone to the Dang Wangi Inspector. The conversation lasted 3 – 4 minutes after which he told the girls to disperse and to go to see him the next day.

39. On or about the 24.10.2006, Abdul Razak Baginda instructed me to accompany him to the Brickfields police station as he had been advised to lodge a police report about the harassment he was receiving from these Mongolian girls.

40. Before this, Amy had sent me an SMS informing me she was going to Thailand to lodge a report with the Mongolian consulate there regarding Aminah’s disappearance. Apparently she had sent the same SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda. This is why he told me he had been advised to lodge a police report.

41. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that DPS Musa Safri had introduced him to one DSP Idris, the head of the Criminal division, Brickfields police station, and that Idris had referred him to ASP Tonny.

42. When Abdul Razak Baginda had lodged his police report at Brickfields police station, in front of ASP Tonny, he was asked to make a statement but he refused as he said he was leaving for overseas. He did however promise to prepare a statement and hand ASP Tonny a thumb drive. I know that this was not done as ASP Tonny told me.

43. However ASP Tonny asked me the next day to provide my statement instead and so I did.

44. I stopped working for Abdul Razak Baginda on the 26.10.2006 as this was the day he left for Hong Kong on his own.

45. In mid November 2006, I received a phone call from ASP Tonny from the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah asking me to see him regarding Aminah’s case. When I arrived there I was immediately arrested under S.506 of the Penal Code for Criminal intimidation.

46. I was then placed in the lock up and remanded for 5 days. On the third day I was released on police bail.

47. At the end of November 2006, the D9 department of the IPK sent a detective to my house to escort me to the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah. When I arrived, I was told I was being arrested under S.302 of the Penal Code for murder. I was put in the lock up and remanded for 7 days.

48. I was transported to Bukit Aman where I was interrogated and questioned about an SMS I had received from Abdul Razak Baginda on the 19.10.2006 which read “delay her until my man arrives”. They had apparently retrieved this message from Abdul Razak Baginda’s handphone.

49. They then proceeded to record my statement from 8.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. everyday for 7 consecutive days. I told them all I knew including everything Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had told me about their relationships with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak but when I came to sign my statement, these details had been left out.

50. I have given evidence in the trial of Azilah, Sirul and Abdul Razak Baginda at the Shah Alam High Court. The prosecutor did not ask me any questions in respect of Aminah’s relationship with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or of the phone call I received from DSP Musa Safri, whom I believe was the ADC for Datuk Seri Najib Razak and/or his wife.

51. On the day Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested, I was with him at his lawyers office at 6.30 a.m. Abdul Razak Baginda informed us that he had sent Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak an SMS the evening before as he refused to believe he was to be arrested, but had not received a response.

52. Shortly thereafter, at about 7.30 a.m., Abdul Razak Baginda received an SMS from Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and showed, this message to both myself and his lawyer. This message read as follows :- “ I am seeing IGP at 11.00 a.m. today …… matter will be solved … be cool”.

53. I have been made to understand that Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested the same morning at his office in the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang.

54. The purpose of this Statutory declaration is to :-

54.1 State my disappointment at the standard of investigations conducted by the authorities into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.

54.2 Bring to the notice of the relevant authorities the strong possibility that there are individuals other than the 3 accused who must have played a role in the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.

54.3 Persuade the relevant authorities to reopen their investigations into this case immediately so that any fresh evidence may be presented to the Court prior to submissions at the end of the prosecutions case.

54.4 Emphasize the fact that having been a member of the Royal Malaysian Police Force for 17 years I am absolutely certain no police officer would shoot someone in the head and blow up their body without receiving specific instructions from their superiors first.

54.5. Express my concern that should the defence not be called in the said murder trial, the accused, Azilah and Sirul will not have to swear on oath and testify as to the instructions they received and from whom they were given.

55. And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act 1960.

SUBCRIBED and solemnly )

declared by the abovenamed )

Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal ]

this 1st day of July 2008 )

Before me,

………………………………….

Commissioner for Oath

Kuala Lumpur

THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER

THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
1 April, 2009

Forget about whether it was the Malays or the Chinese who first went to London. Forget about whether it was Umno or MCA who first mooted the idea of Merdeka in their meetings with the British. Instead, remember all those who did not go to London but died all the same so that we can inherit this nation we now call Malaysia

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

PM: Malays started fight for independence
The Star, 31 March 2009

It is historically true that nationalism and the struggle for independence was first started by the Malays, says the Prime Minister.

However, the country gained independence after the Malays, Chinese and Indian communities united to fight to free the country from British rule, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Commenting on Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein’s statement on the role of the Malays in the country’s Independence that has caused some unhappiness among other races, Abdullah said “it’s a fact” and true that the Malays, led by Datuk Onn Jaafar, initiated the struggle for Independence.

Saying that “history cannot be forgotten and erased”, he added that Tunku Abdul Rahman took over Umno’s leadership from Datuk Onn and formed an alliance – Perikatan – with MCA and MIC, which eventually saw the country gaining its Independence.

Abdullah said as there were also other races in the country, Tunku Abdul Rahman had the wisdom to bring all together in the struggle.

“Because all the races came together and were united in the cause, the British had no chance to divide and rule. They granted Independence,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the country continued to be governed by the Barisan Nasional under the concept of the people’s participation through the parties that represented all the races.

Meanwhile, Hishammuddin has denied he excluded the involvement of the MCA and MIC when he talked about the process of attaining the country’s independence, saying that several vernacular newspapers had quoted him out of context.

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Independence Fighters & Nation Builders
Khoo Kay Peng, 31 March 2009
(http://khookaypeng.blogspot.com/)

Outgoing PM Abdullah Badawi said, "It is historically true that nationalism and the struggle for independence was first started by the Malays." He added that, "the country gained independence after the Malays, Chinese and Indian communities united to fight to free the country from British rule."

There are two factual points, which need to be elaborated and explained. After the world war two, it was clear that the British Empire had lost its invincibility. Due to the devastation of war against the Nazis in Europe, the empire had to focus on reconstruction in Europe. Many of their colonies were set free. There was a plan in London to eventually grant independence to Malaya.

However, it was the people's alliance, which had successfully got together social movements from all races, which pushed the British to speed up independence for Malaya. The HARTAL was a demonstration of people's power. The movement led by several social activists had called for nationalisation of all British assets and companies in Malaya.

The treat was so real that the British had to use a dirty tactic to brand them as Communist conspirators and sympathizers. Most of the movement's leaders were detained under the Internal Security Act. Their detention was able to slow the movement's momentum. At the same time, the British began to look out "friendly" parties to hand the reign of government to.

Hence, the British administration began to court the leaders of UMNO, MCA and MIC. UMNO led by Tunku Abdul Rahman was given the task to lead a delegation to London to negotiate for a peaceful handover of power with a few important caveats. The most important is the protection of colonial interests in the country. Before leaving, the British sold land and other properties in the straits states to private owners.

Hence, we got our freedom not through a nationalistic struggle but through mutual agreement to safeguard the British concessions in the country. Most of the Alliance leaders were Western educated, bourgeois and pro-British.

Second, while the fight for independence was noble, it is equally important for the nation to recognise those who had helped and contributed to build the nation. Nation builders belonged to Malaysians of all ethnicity and creed. A great number of them had helped to transform this nation from an under developed agricultural nation to a successful manufacturing nation. Many of them who worked in the plantations had helped to earn hard cash for this country and put food on the table for thousands of families.

It was the Chinese community leaders and members who started the urbanisation of Malaya. They had poured in their wealth to build town centres and cities, which are still visible today -- e.g. Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Taiping and others.

For UMNO, especially Abdullah, Najib and Hishammuddin, to learn how to appreciate the other races they must recognise the role and contributions of these nation builders. Not just their 'keris' waving members and leaders.

UMNO leaders were not the only true independent fighters or national heroes. Normal, silent and low profile Malaysians, our forefathers, who had contributed significantly to this nation - building roads, schools, towns, economy, etc. - were heroes too.

***************************************

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, led a delegation of Malayans to London to negotiate Merdeka. In that delegation were the first president and founder of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA), Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock (photo above), and the fifth President of the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), Tun V.T. Sambanthan.

We must remember; Umno was the first delegation to London. But they went to London only to oppose the formation of theMalayan Union, not to negotiate Merdeka. This resulted in the British abandoning the idea of the Malayan Union in favour of the formation of The Federation of Malaya.

The second delegation to London was by MCA. MCA’s purpose of going to London was to negotiate Merdeka for Malaya. But the British rejected the proposal. It was the third Umno-MCA-MIC joint-delegation to London that the “Alliance” proposal for Merdeka was really discussed and agreed.

In that sense, who was the first to negotiate Merdeka? According to history, it was MCA. But the British refused to consider MCA’s proposal for Merdeka unless all three races united and jointly negotiated Merdeka. So the second delegation by MCA actually failed. It was the third joint Umno-MCA-MIC delegation that eventually succeeded in getting an agreement from the British.

Okay, that is what history tells us. But that is not really the issue here. Whether it was an Umno, or a MCA, or an Umno-MCA-MIC effort that resulted in Merdeka is just one issue and an issue that the Malays, Chinese and Indians will argue till the cows come home -- as each will want to claim that it was it who was the one who was instrumental in Merdeka. What we must not forget is that all Malayans contributed towards Merdeka, not just the elite from amongst the Malays, Chinese and Indians, as what they are trying to suggest.

An army fights on its stomach. This means two things. One is that the soldier must crawl on the ground when under fire or else his head will be shot off. Most importantly, though, a soldier must eat to be able to fight. A soldier that has not eaten for days will be too weak to fight. So, an army fights on its stomach.

In that sense, the mobile kitchen is very important in any war. If the mobile kitchen and the cooks do not reach the battlefront, then the army is doomed. To force an army to surrender you starve it. This was done in the olden days. That was why the Dutch almost lost Melaka to the Bugis. The Bugis surrounded Melaka and starved the Dutch army. The Dutch eventually had to call for a truce and made a treaty with the Bugis to end the siege.

Many overlook the importance of the simple and most unimportant cook. They shower praises on the brave soldiers and pin medals on their chest. But the poor cook who made sure that the soldiers ate, and therefore were able to continue fighting, are never mentioned. Have you ever seen cooks honoured at the heroes’ tomb? No, it is always that brave soldier who died in the line of fire, never the cook who cooked meals for the soldiers so that they could fight on a full stomach.

Sure, Tunku Rahman, Cheng Lock, and Sambanthan led the joint-delegation to London to negotiate Merdeka. Never mind whether it was the Tunku or Cheng Lock who went first. Let us agree that all three went together -- so all the three races share the honour, equally. But there are many unsung heroes in the fight for Merdeka.

There was the police constable who died. The private who died. The planter who died. The government surveyor who died. The land office clerk who died. The rubber-tapper who died. The postman who died. The driver who died. The waiter who died. The member of the Royal Family who died. The school teacher who died. The Australian who died. The Englishman who died. The New Zealander who died. The Nepalese who died. The Sikh who died. The Indian who died. The Chinese who died. The Eurasian who died.

The list is just so long I would need pages upon pages to honour everyone who died in the service of this nation. No, they did not go to London. They are not honoured with a mention in our history books. But they died, nevertheless, in the service of this nation.

And because they died, today, we have a nation called Malaysia. And many of us were born in this nation called Malaysia because there is a nation to be born into. And there is a nation to be born into because many Malayans, all those who did not go to London, died in the service of this nation.

Forget about whether it was the Malays or the Chinese who first went to London. Forget about whether it was Umno or MCA who first mooted the idea of Merdeka in their meetings with the British. Instead, remember all those who did not go to London, but died just the same, so that we can inherit this nation we now call Malaysia.

I want to call these people The Unknown Soldier. Some of these people were in the army. But not all were soldiers. Many were simple Malayans who served this nation and died in the service of this nation. We do not know who they are. In fact, we don’t seem to care who they are. But these Unknown Soldiers were the proverbial cooks who made sure that the army could fight on its stomach, failing which, the army would have grown weak and would have lost its will to fight.

MADE IN MALAYSIA

MADE IN MALAYSIA
1 APR, 2009

What do foreign investors face when they come to Malaysia? How do they overcome the government bureaucracy and the many rules imposed on foreign investors? Imagine this typical scene in a government department when a movie producer tries to get approval to shoot a documentary in Malaysia.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Excuse me, but I’m wondering if you could help me.

Tengok itu. (The officer points to a sign on the wall that says: GUNAKAN BAHASA MALAYSIA).

I’m sorry. I don’t understand.

Mesti guna Bahasa Malaysia.

I’m sorry, but I’m an American. I don’t understand the local language.

Must use Bahasa Malaysia. Not American language. I cannot speak American.

But we don’t have an American language. We speak English.

Oh. Why don’t you get your Bumiputera partner to come if you cannot speak Bahasa Malaysia?

I don’t have a Bumiputera partner.

How can? All foreign companies that do business in Malaysia must have Bumiputera partner.

But we are not doing business in Malaysia. We do business in America. I am here to find out how to get a permit to shoot a documentary in Malaysia. We are a movie company.

Oh. You want to make a movie in Malaysia. Very good. Malaysia has plenty of history and culture. Good place to make a movie. You must show the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in your movie.

No, it is not that kind of documentary. We are making a documentary about the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Aiyah! Cannot mention that name. That name banned.

Banned?

Yes. Government ban anyone mentioning the name Altantuya.

Oh. Then how do we address that?

I don’t know her address. Maybe you ask the Mongolian Embassy.

No, I don’t mean her address. How do we solve the problem of her name?

Altantuya Shaariibuu can’t be used. But you can use Aminah Abdullah. That name not banned by government.

Okay then. I want to make a documentary about the brutal murder of Aminah Abdullah.

That one okay. Government can approve. But you must also show the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in your movie.

But those have nothing to do with the documentary. The documentary is about the murder of Altan…..

Ah, ah, ah….

Sorry, I mean Aminah Abdullah.

Why you can’t also show the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in your movie?

Okay, maybe I can show some clips of the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in the documentary.

Good. But must show the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur okay? Cannot show in Melaka like that Sean Connery movie, Entrapment. Our PM was very angry. He said the foreigners distort the truth.

Okay. The Twin Towers will be shown in KL.

And also the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region.

Okay, I will also show the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in KL.

No, the Penang Bridge is in Penang and the Iskandar Development Region is in Johor.

Okay, I will take note of that.

And what about the songs?

Songs?

Yes, must show some local songs.

But this is a documentary about the murder of Al…….

Ah, ah, ah.

……Aminah Abdullah.

But can still show some local songs even if the story is about a murder. You must show Siti Nurhaliza singing. At least two songs.

Okay, we shall show City what’s her name….

Siti Nurhaliza.

……City Nurlaziha singing……

Nurhaliza.

Nurhaliza singing two songs.

Good, good. And what about Umno history?

Umno history?

Yes, must show Umno history and how Umno fought for Merdeka from the British.

But what’s that got to do with the murder?

You must show Umno history and how Umno fought for Merdeka. If not government can’t approve.

Okay, I shall show the Umno history and how Umno fought for….fought for….

Merdeka.

….Merdeka from the British.

Good. And don’t forget to also include the new PM’s speech.

New PM’s speech?

Yes, Najib Tun Razak.

What has his speech got to do with the movie?

Must show. Must show new PM declare he never met that Mongolian woman.

You mean Aminah Abdullah?

No, PM just said he never met that Mongolian woman. He never mention any name. Must show that speech in the movie.

Okay, we will show that as well. Do I take it if I agree to all those terms I can get permission from the Malaysian government to shoot the documentary in Malaysia?

You got Bumiputera partner?

No.

Must have Bumiputera partner. See list here. You must choose one Bumiputera partner from this list.

Okay, I will choose a Bumiputera partner from this list.

And must give 70% contract to local Bumiputera companies.

I don’t understand. What contracts?

70% of your work must be done by Bumiputera companies.

But we don’t need local participation. We shall be bringing our entire crew from the States.

But make sure not from Pakatan states. That one government can’t approve.

Pakatan states?

Yes. Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan.

No, I mean our entire crew will be brought in from the United States of America.

Cannot. Must have 70% local. Only 30% from America.

Okay, I will try to squeeze that requirement in.

And which state you want Datuk?

Excuse me. I don’t get that.

You make movie about Malaysia you can get Datuk. Which state you want? Can choose.

Oh, I don’t think I’m interested in Datuk, whatever that is.

Aiyah, people pay RM250,000 for Datuk. Why you don’t want? You make movie on Malaysia can get Datuk free. No need pay RM250,000.

Okay, throw in the Datuk for free then.

Okay, we will arrange Melaka Datuk for you. Where you shoot the movie?

In Selangor.

Aiyah, Selangor cannot. That is Pakatan state. Choose another state.

But the murder happened in Selangor so we need to shoot the documentary where the murder happened.

Selangor cannot. If Pakatan state, government cannot approve. You shoot in Melaka. Melaka very historical.

Okay, okay, we’ll go along with what you want. Is there anything else I need to know?

When you launch movie the First Lady must be invited.

The Queen?

No, not Queen. Rosmah Mansor.

Will she come to the premier?

Of course. If Shahrukh Khan go, she will go.

But Shahrukh Khan is not in the documentary.

Why not? He is very popular in Malaysia and First Lady like him. He also got Melaka Datuk like you. Must show him in movie.

Look, can I come back to you on that? We shall have to decide whether we still want to shoot this documentary in Malaysia.

No problem. When you already decide you come again to see me. We welcome all movie companies to Malaysia and will extend our cooperation and help you. Foreigners always welcome in Malaysia.

Computer exercise helps stroke victims "see" again

Computer exercise helps stroke victims "see" again
Apr 01, 2009
Reuters

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON - Millie Sauer did not even know she had suffered a stroke until she tried to read a book as she recovered from surgery and saw only a gray blur for part of the page.

Hours or even days had passed since the stroke had damaged part of her brain responsible for vision and Sauer, 69, was far past the point for any effective treatment.

"I was told I would have to live with my situation," Sauer, who lives in Sun City West, Arizona, said in a telephone interview.

But an experimental computer-based program has helped Sauer regain some sight and given her hope of further recovery.

"We were very surprised when we saw the results from our first patients," said Krystel Huxlin of the University of Rochester Eye Institute in New York, who tested the system with seven stroke patients.

"This is a type of brain damage that clinicians and scientists have long believed you simply can't recover from. It's devastating, and patients are usually sent home to somehow deal with it the best they can."

Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience, Huxlin and colleagues said their approach used so-called blindsight -- when a person with vision loss senses something they cannot actually see.

"It is interesting that if you forced them to guess ... they can sometimes guess correctly. This is a phenomenon termed blindsight," Huxlin said.

Sauer and some other patients can drive, shop and live near-normal lives. "I think I have been able to live a pretty fulfilling life," Sauer said.

But it took months of staring at a computer screen to do so.

Strokes damage various parts of the brain and when the visual cortex is affected, the basic machinery involved in sight remains intact. The eye is taking in images -- but the brain is incapable of processing them correctly.

"A lot of neurologists and clinical practitioners are not aware that it is possible to regain vision after stroke," Huxlin said.

Patients with partial paralysis after a stroke are sent to physical therapy and can train new areas of the brain to control movement. Huxlin saw no reason why that could not be done with vision.

The exercise consists of focusing the damaged area of vision at a computer screen. A field of dots appears, moving like a school of fish or a flock of birds in one direction. The patient must decide the direction the dots are moving.

To Sauer, the improvement is subtle. To Huxlin, it is surprisingly substantial.

"The patients can't see the dots, but they're aware that there is something happening that they can't quite see. They might say, 'I know that there's something there, but I can't make any sense of it,'" said Huxlin.

Eventually, they learn to make use of this "blindsight" although it has yet to become vision in the way most people think of it.

She said the success rate went from 50 percent at first, which is what might be expected from random guessing, to 80 or 90 percent. For some of the patients, this meant they could resume driving and shopping, Huxlin said.

-Reuters

Are we all becoming voyeurs?

Tue, Mar 31, 2009
AsiaOne

By Chew Hui Min

Public censure could not restrain them, the disapproving stares of onlookers did not curb their passion.

But camera phones and the Internet seem to have effectively deterred couples from public displays of affection (PDA).

The latest photos to have hit Stomp were of a couple who were behaving extremely intimately in the swimming pool of their condominium in Bukit Timah.

The reader who took their pictures on Mar 27 said in an email to Stomp:

"The couple seems to be enjoying their daytime making out in the pool. They thought that everyone would be busy at work or school, and that no one would be around to catch them in the act.

"Well...you should think again before you do such things in a public area.

"And some advice, try to do it away from the CCTV."

Good advice perhaps.

Eight in 10 fear being filmed in public

After a slew of explicit videos on the Internet filmed in places ranging from playgrounds, condo pools to East Coast breakwaters, eight out of 10 couples interviewed by Lianhe Wanbao said that they would think twice before being affectionate in public.

In addition, some said that they were more wary of being caught eating in the MRT train, not giving up their seats or unwittingly 'exposing themselves'.

Ms Ang, a 28-year-old admin executive said she did not dare pick up the phone when she drove because she did not want to be caught talking on the phone while driving.

"We should have rights to our own images, or privacy laws to protect us," she told Wanbao.

Then there are those who happily expose themselves, upload clips and boast of their exploits in blogs and forums, like Gary Ng - Singapore's "Edison Chen".

The speed at which his posts have spread is mind-boggling on one hand, and yet so predictable - because it is simply human nature.

Do most of us really want to see amateurish videos and badly taken photos of normal, naked people in unsavoury positions? Perhaps not that much.

But google and ogle we did, because it was just one or two clicks away.

In one Singlish word, it's called being "kaypoh" - and now that information is practically ubiquitous, we can all indulge our curiosity in private, and with much greater ease.

Netizens react

While some bemoan such "immoral" behaviour, readers have also written in our forums to say that there's nothing wrong with behaving intimately in public places.

Some question the motives of the readers who uploaded these videos, warning the ladies to "beware of Peeping Toms", and there are even those who complain that the photos are not explicit enough.

So, will you click here to see the photos of the indiscreet couple in the pool?

Whichever type of voyeur you are, or even if you are not one at all, you probably have company.

China's rich get richer

Even with the global financial crisis, more people are getting richer in China.

By the end of this year, 320,000 people will each possess at least 10 million yuan ($2.2 million) of assets, up 6 percent from last year, according to a report on private wealth released on Monday by China Merchants Bank and consultancy Bain & Company.

The total assets covered in the report, including cash, stocks, funds, securities and real estate investments, are expected to surpass 9 trillion yuan ($2 trillion) this year, up 7 percent from 2008.

The 3-month survey, which started in late December on the mainland, polled 700 respondents through face-to-face interviews or questionnaires. All the interviewees had assets of at least 10 million yuan.

Guangdong province had the largest number of wealthy people, with 46,000, or 15 percent of the country's richest, last year. It was followed by Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The results of the survey did not surprise Ma Hua, who counts the rich among his friends.

"The current crisis has had no impact on them because most of them are conservative investors," said Ma, deputy director of CCTV.com's R&D center.

Ma said his friends made their fortunes by investing prudently in stocks. "Since they create wealth, and have not inherited it, they tend to be conservative in how to use it."

The report found that 80 percent of the interviewees prefer investment with medium or low risk, contrary to previous assumptions that the rich prefer risky ventures.

Liu Zhishuo, an angel investor in high technology, describes himself as a conservative investor. "I don't do short-term. I care about long-term value. I invest if a company's value can increase progressively in 10 to 20 years," said Liu, who did not reveal his wealth.

He observed that the odds of becoming rich quickly are getting thin. "You needs years of experience to grasp opportunities, not luck."