Kaki tambak issues to be temporary on hold.

For the next two weeks, I will be concentrating on activities for Beng Hock's cause.

So kaki tambak related postings are to be temporary put on the shelves for now.

Regards,

Kaki Tambak

Memorandum Rakyat Negeri Johor - Menuntut Keadilan untuk TEOH BENG HOCK.

Memorandum Rakyat Negeri Johor - Menuntut Keadilan untuk TEOH BENG HOCK was launched yesterday at South Johor Press Club. Please visit SUARAM JB Blog regarding our Johor campaign. The memorandum will be sent to the Prime Minister when the signature campaign is completed.

At SUARAM JB Blog, you can download the memorandum statement for viewing. There are also signature form collection venue of major Johor towns where you can show your support by signing this petition.

There you can also find today's chinese newspaper clipings showing their coverage of the press conference to launch this campaign.

NST and The Star journalist was also to there to cover the press conference. However we have yet to locate any article in today's NST and The Star of our press conference. We will try again tomorrow with the use of a magnifying glass.

For those who have close friends and relatives in Johor area, please help to convey our request for their signature in support of seeking justice for Beng Hock.

Thank you,

Kaki Tambak

Pakatan Rakyat Ceramah at Taman Universiti, Skuadai

Attended the last part of PR ceramah last night at Taman U. Due to the police blockade, I had to limped about 150 meters. Caught only the portion by YB Lim Kit Siang. He as usual got the crowd growing. Other than that, it was your usual PR ceramah

But I was very dissapointed with the attendance. Excluding parties workers, it was at most 400 people. The 50 or so police personnel were just lazily wandering around and spatting mosquitoes throughout the ceramah.

You might say it is JB mah, what do you expect. The only reason to think that it was a OK turnout is because BN is still colonizing the minds of JB people.

The question is not whether to align ourselves to Pakatan. Its about rakyat showing unity in numbers. The least we can do is to show BN,PDRM,MACC etc that we mean business and keep them on their toes.

Do we honestly think that our angry kopitiam talk will actually put pressure on BN to the right thing? That things will eventually work out. That the opposition will do the dirty job for us.

Think again. If Pakatan Ralyat alone can force BN to reform then Beng Hock will be still alive and well. Like it or not PDRM, MACC and all civil servants work for UMNO and not the rakyat. So UMNO can bulldozed over anyone they wish and now they are out of control. Including you JB people who willingly voted for BN.

Fellow JB residents, even the mighty Sing Dollar you earned every month cannot saved this country. No matter how many Sing Dollars you earned, UMNO machineries and crony corporations will suck every cents of it.

So stop hibernating. Learn from your friends and families in Penang,Ipoh,KL,Kelantan and Selangor. Unite in numbers and fight.

For a start, you can sign "Memorandum Rakyat Negeri Johor Menuntut Keadilan untuk TEOH BENG HOCK" address to PM Najib. This memorandum was initiated by Suaram,PKR Johor and a few concerned citizens. And was later endorsed by other parties and NGOs in Johor. The target is 10,000 signature.

I will post the link to the memorandum asap.

Ceramah last night at Taman U.

Come on JB. We can do better than just a few hundred people.

Motorbike Skided on Expressway

I was involved in an accident this morning. My motorbike skidded on the expressway. Suddenly, I landed in the middle of the road with my bike on top of my right leg and couldn't move. Immediately I looked behind and prayed the tailing truck don't run over me. Fortunately it didn't and I am still here to write this post. The next thing I knew, some tambak riders appeared and whisked me(and motorbike) away to the road shoulders. Never managed to catch who they are. But I would really like to thanked them and also the EMAS personnel who help to push my bike to the nearby expressway exit. Somehow I manage to ride my bike to the nearest car park where my colleague came to fetch me to the nearest clinic. For no reason, my bike just skidded out of a sudden and I could not get it under control. I still had no idea why and how it happened. I mean I was just riding at 75km/h. Was not in a hurry. slept ok last night. Both my Michelin tires in good condition. Only slight drizzle not heavy rain. And I am a very careful and seasoned rider/driver. I still don't know why. It happened too fast(bing bang and it was over). Not even time to feel scared. Thakfully, this tambak rider lives on to fight another day No greater joy than to be still sitting at home watching my daughter play. Very lucky minor wounds only, no bones visible. Tear through my raincoat to my pants. After bandaged. After bandaged.

Pakatan Rakyat Ceramah/Dialogue Session at PAS Parkaz, Taman Universiti

I have been informed as follow by YB Dr Boo(Johor State Assemblyman) : "Pakatan Rakyat will do a Ceramah at PAS Parkaz, Taman Universiti, Skudai at 9pm 24th July Friday. YB Lim Kit Siang, Gobind Singh Deo, Myself, Zulkefle AHmad, Firdaus Ahmad, and others yet to be confirmed. It is meant to be a dialogue to infrom bascially the Malay and Indian commnunity what has happened, looking at the way Utusan Malaysia trying to racialise the issue again." Also from UMNO camp you can see efforts of stoking racial flames. e.grecent statements by Nazri Aziz and Dr M(The Chinese still are masters of the country).

So if have any Malay,Indian friends nearby, please encourage them to attend. Although the focus is on Malay/Indian community, it will also be good for others JB resident to have a look of how PAS is.

As it is held in a PAS venue and all the big guns are coming, there is no need to worry on the security issues of be fearful of PDRM/Rela intimidation.

Ceramah Address: Markaz PAS, Jalan Kebudayaan 12, Taman Universiti.

PS: I am non-partisan. I support this ceramah only with hope that it can help to counter UMNO racially divisive tactics.

Weeping Journalist at Beng Hock's Funeral

Sending Beng Hock on his final journey. Just came back from Beng Hock's funeral in the afternoon. Reached JB home at around 4pm. Did night work yesterday until 5am this morning, then left JB for Alor Gajah at 5.30am. Totally exhausted and 'pengsan' for a few hours. Anyway I am not going to talk about the proceedings or which leaders shows up or something like that. Those are already covered in the media. I want to share on how I was deeply touched by a female journalist. As she was taking notes of the eulogy, she was also weeping at continuously. She deeply felt every word of what was being said. At times the eulogy got more emotional, she too cried even harder. She had made a truly lasting impression on me. The teary eyed journalist. The teary eyed journalist.

Just when I think today will get worse? Then...

Just had a pretty rough day(18/07/09), trying to organize a peaceful candlelight vigil in JB for Beng Hock. Called DAP Johor HQ was polite but somewhat bureaucratic. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. We do know that DAP Johor are resource scarce and very busy. But your comrade has been cruelly sacrificed, so I expected more fire from DAP Johor. They last thing they need to be is to sound like Koh Tsu Koon the softy. Suaram was more responsive. I will try to make contact directly with Dr Boo Cheng Hau and maybe PAS tomorrow. For now, the idea of having a JB candlelight vigil is still floating on thin air. Nothing much was achieved today. My wife was actually to hoping we could light some candles tonight. I was very sorry to disappoint her, so I took the family to a nearI by shopping mall, Weird as it sounds we found something very meaningful there. Yes, a meaningful experience in a JB shopping mall. There was this brilliant exhibition(and expensive too) on display there. The title of the exhibition is "The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian)". Both are philanthropists who have contributed greatly to education in Malaysia,Singapore and China. Their warmth and love for all people, are for us to treasure: So my day ended with a uplifting note.

One Of The Darkest Day In Malaysian History

I am sure everyone has received the news of Teoh Hock Beng fell to his death at MACC HQ. Malaysia-Today and Tulang Besi has pointed to foul play. So far its just plain outrage towards Bee End(mah zai)on the internet. Instead of going for Multi-Billion Crooks, they would rather act like god to toy about with helpless innocent lives. They think their boss can get away with pulverizing his mistress, and their mere slip of hand is no big deal. This is how rotten Malaysia has become under Bee End. Its 3am. I am still unable to sleep. Its very disturbing that such blatant tactics contributed the death of this young man. I am going to DAP office at Taman Seri Orkid this Saturday to see how I can help. Its time for us ordinary Malaysians to fight back.

Tambak Rider

Just came up with a new term 'Tambak Rider' referring specifically to kaki tambaks who cross the causeways on motorcycles or bicycles.

Bus Captains of No. 170,160 and 950

Among the lesser known kaki tambak are the cross border bus captains of SBS Transit and SMRT Bus Service. They drive bus no 170,170x,160 and 950. As for CausewayLink(Malaysian cross-border bus operators), I will write about it in some other post. In Singapore bus driver are rebranded as bus captains to attract more Singaporean joining SBS and SMRT as drivers. But these two companies are finding it hard to attract Singaporean candidates. At the moment, at least half of SBS and SMRT bus captains are Malaysians. And the cross border routes which is the most arduous, almost all drivers are tambak riders. From my chat with some of them, these bus drivers either start work very early or end their work very late. For morning shift would be: a)Leave JB home at 4.00am and ride motorbikie to SG b)Reach SBS Bus Depot(Bukit Batok if I remember correctly) at around 4.45am to pick up their busses c)Then they need to reach Quenn Street or Kotaraya/Larkin by 5.30am For night shift it is something like: a)End of bus service at midnight b)Reach bus depot at 12.30am, proceed to wash and clean up the bus. c)Handover the bus at 1.15am, ride their motorbike back to JB. d)Reach home around 2am. Because of such odd hours, one of my mother friend's husband who drives 170 always relate how he fears being ambushed by motorcycles gang. Because these gangs not only rob but will definitely give you a good beating or might even kill you. Another of my mother friends relates how her husband suffering from hypertension dare not make medical claim anymore. He rather pay out of his own pocket instead of being singled out by his employer; thereby risking his work permit renewal. Due to the massive causeway jams, they are under great stress physically and mentally. Being stuck sometimes in the bus for 3 hours or more, they sometimes don't get to drink water or go to toilet like drivers of normal routes do. And you know lah with the SG culture, they also have to deal with complains on their punctuality,bus cleanliness etc. So fellow kaki tambaks, next time when you are on 170,160,950 or SJE . At least say thanks or give them these drivers a warm smile for our bus heroes to take home.