The Tree of Life
There is a family of squirrels that has built its home in the dense foliage of the three creepers that cover our house and keep it cool in summer. They consider all the flowers and fruits on the various plants and trees in our house to be their property. Consequently whenever other birds too come to feast on these luscious foodstuffs a lovely orchestra of sounds starts off. The squirrels chirp in anger at the birds for trespassing on their preserve. The birds too not to be outdone respond with their own chirping. Yesterday there was a squirrel on one of the top branches of the drumstick tree chirping away in anger continuously. There was a lovely little black and blue coloured bird with a long beak which could fit into my palm on one of the lower branches which was sipping the nectar from the flowers and in between giving a fitting reply to the squirrel.
IPOH: The state government has criticised the naming of a raintree as the Tree of Democracy after an emergency “sitting” of the state assembly was held under it. Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the tree might be “a tree of democracy” for Pakatan Rakyat, but he considered it a symbol of treason and contempt for royalty.“They know that what they did was without royal consent, and even the court has decided on the position.“Their actions clearly show their contempt for the Sultan and the royal institution,” he told reporters after the state-level Maulidur Rasul celebration at the State Secretariat building here yesterday. Dr Zambry was commenting on Perak Pakatan naming the raintree and the planting of five trees to commemorate the emergency “sitting” and the first anniversary of Pakatan’s rule in the state. He said the rakyat should by now be able to see through the tricks played by Pakatan on them. He took a swipe at former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin for equalling the under-the-raintree sitting to the Hudaibiyah Agreement (a peace agreement between Prophet Muhammad and the Quraisy people). “It is another example of deviation by him,” Dr Zambry said. When asked whether instructions had been given to remove the plaque and uproot the trees, he said: “I don’t want to answer your question.” However, he said the trees were planted on road reserve, which was under the Ipoh City Council’s jurisdiction. (Suara keADILan) - Perak Umno leader Zambry Kadir has threatened to chop down Malaysia’s Tree of Democracy - a sprawling decades-old raintree - and five saplings newly planted around it by his political rivals from the Pakatan Rakyat. Located in downtown Ipoh, the by-now famous Tree of Democracy has become a symbol of Malaysian courage and spirit in the face of a web of conspiratorial deceit and injustice. Said Zambry: “Have they asked for permission? They know that what they did was without royal consent, and even the court has decided on the position. Their actions clearly show their contempt for the Sultan and the royal institution. It is the height of treason.” Trampling on the wishes of the majority However, Zambry’s views were unshared by the majority of the Perak people.(Suara kEADILan) - The Selangor Sultan advised that democracy was the most important principle because it allowed the people to take charge of their own destiny. Opening the second term of the 12th Selangor legislative assembly, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah warned against distorting the federal and state constitutions for personal and political motives. “I urged all parties, especially the people of Selangor to fully respect and follow the constitutions,” the Ruler said. “The views of the people are the best indicator on the success or failure of the administration of any state.” Sultan Sharafuddin also called on the different races to unite and not participate in street protests that disrupted peace and racial harmony. “I urge all parties to stop actions which will affect Malaysia’s image and focus instead on fostering stronger ties among all races.” Weighed down by a huge constitutional and political crisis following the Umno-BN’s unpopular power grab on Feb 5, that sadly, was also controversially sanctioned by their Sultan, Perakians are eager to have their democratic rights returned to them. Most believe that only fresh election can pull their state out from its current doldrums. The legal fraternity too has been vocal, expressing grave concern over the “sham” justice meted out to Perak Pakatan leaders by courts influenced by Zambry and his boss Deputy Premier Najib Abdul Razak. Meanwhile, Malaysians continue to watch with bated breath the unfolding crisis in Perak, the peninsula’s second largest state. They applauded when Perak Pakatan’s 28 elected representatives in the state refused to buckle despite the intense pressure mounted by Najib and Zambry on March 3, 2009. Led by coalition seniors such as Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin, Speaker V Sivakumar, Ngeh Koo Ham, Nga Kor Ming, M Kulasegaran, the lawmakers took in stride a police blockade denying them access to the legislative assembly hall. Against all odds and perforce, they convened their historic emergency sitting under that Tree of Democracy, defending in the process the democratic rights of Perakians and expanding by another notch the gateway for all Malaysians to evolve socially and economically unfettered by corruption and oppression. Four days later to commemorate that event and that of the first anniversary of another watershed date - March 8, 2008 - Pakatan leaders planted five saplings around that precious Tree. Justice, Integrity, Transparency, Trustworthiness and Welfare will now keep Democracy company. May they grow tall and strong to shield the nation from corruption and oppression. Let us not allow them to be chopped down - whether physically, symbolically or spiritually.
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| NOTHER APPEAL TO SULTAN BY NGOS |  |  |  |
| (NST) IPOH: Poultry farmers, butchers, bloggers, old boys and various Muslim groups were among those who have called for the Perak state assembly to be dissolved and snap elections to be held to restore political stability in the state. ”Right now everything is in disarray. The state administration is not functioning. It keeps going to the courts. The biggest group to lose out is the people of Perak,” said Mohd Nazri Sahat, a spokesman for the Perak Muslim Concerns group of non-governmental organisations (Kumpulan Prihatin Pertubuhan Islam Bukan Kerajaan Perak).Business and social interests were stalled due to the political crisis, he said. The group comprising 25 Muslim NGOs was among 28 non-governmental groups which issued a joint press statement yesterday, urging that a fresh mandate be obtained from the people so that the political crisis would not drag on. “We don’t mind if the Sultan of Perak changes his mind by dissolving the state assembly. I believe the whole of Perak will strongly support the sultan. “There is no bias for any political group. This is purely a call from non-governmental organisations,” Nazri said. He claimed that some 10,000 Perak folk had signed a petition for snap elections and that the signatures and a memorandum were presented to Sultan Azlan Shah on Feb 19. Perak Islamic NGO Network deputy chairman Zulkifly Ibrahim also appealed to the sultan to order all government agencies and machinery to carry out their duties as instructed by the “legal state government” and order security forces to conduct themselves professionally and not act violently or unreasonably towards the public. |
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