Tanda Putera movie - a farce shameful waste of Malaysian taxpayers money!!!

Boycott Tanda Putera

August 29, 2013

After the general election, the government seems intent on polarising our society further by communalising issues. Tanda Putera seems to be set in this trend.

COMMENT

By Kua Kia Soong

I do not intend to pay to watch Tanda Putera since the government has already used part of our money to sponsor this film which seems intent on spreading untruths and enhancing polarisation instead of promoting truth and reconciliation.

My response to the film is based on published reviews of the film on the online press.

Who orchestrated the May 13 pogrom?

From the reviews of the film, the Chinese are depicted as the aggressors, insensitive to the extent of urinating on a flag pole outside the residence of the then state menteri besar Harun Idris, hurting the feelings of Malays and thus triggering the May 13 race riots.

The communists are also portrayed as having a hand in the troubles.

I am surprised that in spite of my having produced references in my 2007 title, the director insists on putting the blame on the communists:

“…as late as May 29 (the Tunku) was still voicing his conviction that communists had been behind the trouble… But on the same day, Tun Dr Ismail was admitting that he had been wrong to ascribe the riots to the communists, and during the New Zealand Defence Minister’s visit on May 30 and 31, the Tunku admitted that the earlier accusations had been incorrect. Three days later, Tan Sri Ghazali followed suit…” (Kua Kia Soong, May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian riots of 1969, 2007:51)

This can be easily corroborated by checking up on all the official wires on the dates I have quoted, a standard practice of any respectable scholar.

This film maker does not bother with such basic SOP of research. She (the director) is more interested in the “creative licence” (sic) to orchestrate the scene of the Chinese youth urinating on the flagpole outside the Selangor menteri besar’s residence.

After the 13th general election, the government seems intent on polarising our society further by communalising issues. It’s payback time, as some observers have also pointed out. Tanda Putera seems to be set in this trend.

Boycott the film

A government that is concerned about national rejuvenation would not shrink from setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to lay bare the truth once and for all without fear of retribution.

The new deputy ministers from the NGOs, Paul Low and P Waythamoorthy should call for transparency by declassifying all documents on the May 13 incident.

Let us also honour the victims by uncovering the names of all those who died or suffered injuries during that dark episode in our history.

For a start, truth seeking Malaysians should boycott the film.

We also call upon Finas (National Film Development Corporation) to justify to all taxpayers why their money should be used to spread untruths which are costly to national reconciliation.

Kua Kia Soong is Suaram advisor.

Elon Musk Announces Latest Invention: Gesture-Based 3D Printing

The Huffington Post  |  By Betsy Isaacson Posted: 08/26/2013 3:24 pm EDT  |  Updated: 08/27/2013 10:46 am EDT

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Entrepreneur Elon Musk this week promised to deliver on the latest round of life imitating art, announcing that he would soon unveil a system that lets users make rocket parts with the wave of a hand.

What this mean in its particulars is not quite clear. Musk hasn't demonstrated the manufacture of a gesture-designed rocket part yet: so far the public only has his tweeted promise that next week he'll post a video of himself "designing a rocket part with hand gestures & then immediately printing it in titanium."

Musk says his newest invention was inspired by the design process in "Iron Man": "We saw it in the movie and made it real," he tweeted to the film's director, Jon Favreau. The homage is not out of place, as Musk has been compared to Iron Man's alter ego, Tony Stark.

To the chagrin of fanboys everywhere, Musk said he has no plans to make himself an Iron Man suit.

But if Musk's gesture-based design system pans out, it's more than rocket parts and body armor that could benefit from the interface. For all the hype about 3D printing, original design is still a chore, since most printer software is complex and nonintuitive -- "about as user-friendly as MS-DOS was back in 1987," says CBS' Dave Johnson.

Currently, 3D printing's complexity restricts additive manufacturing to the tech saavy and determined. Gesture-based design systems could open the process to a wider field.

Still no word on the progress of any "super soldier serum" to bring us the real-life Captain America.

3D Printing With Iron & Tungsten

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Ann R. Thryft, Senior Technical Editor, Materials & Assembly
8/26/2013   7 comments

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3D printing with metals is not new. But the range of metals that can be 3D printed is increasing quickly. We recently told you about a laboratory breakthrough that allows 3D printing of liquid metal structures at room temperature, something that makes many readers think of the film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Closer to immediate and useful reality, industrial 3D printer supplier ExOne has added iron infiltrated with bronze, and bonded tungsten, to the range of metal and ceramic powders that can be used with its multi-material M-Flex machines.

One of the main reasons the company has seen demand for using iron to 3D print parts instead of its existing stainless steel is its lower cost, Rick Lucas, ExOne’s CTO, told Design News in an interview. Iron costs about 25 percent as much as stainless steel. The cost ratio of materials to total part cost also depends on part size: When making parts smaller than the size of the human hand, materials cost is only about 10 to 15 percent of total part cost.

The range of metals that can be 3D printed is increasing quickly. ExOne has added iron infiltrated with bronze (shown here) and bonded tungsten to the range of metal and ceramic powders that can be used with its multi-material M-Flex machines. 
(Source: ExOne)

But as parts get larger, materials can be more than 30 percent of the cost. "That's significant," Lucas told us. "You won't find stainless steel in a lot of industrial applications like automotive parts, machine tools, heavy equipment, and support structures. That's where iron is needed, for both cost and strength." Instead, the main use for stainless parts now by ExOne's customers is impellers and abrasive-type pumping applications.
To develop bonded tungsten for 3D printing, ExOne collaborated with a contract design and manufacturing company called rapid prototype + manufacturing (rp+m). rp+m provides rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing, rapid manufacturing, and 3D printing and scanning in-house. In this project, the two companies focused on the design of 3D-printed products for use in protecting people and their environments from ionizing radiation. Along with its partner, Radiation Protection Technologies, rp+m produces these bonded tungsten products as bundled solutions that replace lead in medical imaging and aerospace.
ExOne is also offering two new binders, sodium silicate and phenolic, as alternatives to furan. Phenolic binder is used with ceramic sand for 3D printing molds and cores, used in the sand molding and casting industry. "Depending on the shape and geometry of the part, you may need something stronger than furan," said Lucas. Phenolic creates a higher strength mold or core, allows higher heat alloys to be cast, and reduces the amount of expansion of the mold or core, improving casting quality. Customers in the hydraulic equipment, heavy equipment, and pump industries, as well as aviation and automotive, requested this new binder material. The sodium silicate binder is a greener alternative to furan, reducing fumes and gas during casting.
All of ExOne's 3D printers, including M-Flex, employ a print head that distributes the binder via jetting it into beds of specially formulated materials. The M-Flex build chamber measures 400 mm x 250 mm x 250 mm (15.7 inch x 9.8 inch x 9.8 inch), and achieves speeds of up to 30 seconds per layer. It's designed for manufacturing either short runs or prototypes of metal parts.
Currently available materials for the M-Flex include silica sand, ceramic sand, stainless steel, glass, copper, iron, and tungsten. The goal is to make at least one new material class available every six months, Lucas told us.
The company's internal Material Applications Laboratory is currently working on several other materials in different stages of development. These include alumina, silicon carbide, chromite, titanium, graphite, zirconia, inconel, aluminum, tool steel, and magnesium. "We designed the M-Flex to print multiple materials, as well as let users change settings to optimize them for their specific needs," said Lucas.
ExOne was one of a few 3D printer makers, including Stratasys and 3D Systems, chosen as initial members of the US government-sponsored National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).

Altantuya gate

Altantuya changed everything

CT Ali | August 26, 2013

Why, you may ask, has this Razak Baginda-Altantuya affair not brought down Najib and caused the downfall of the Umno-led BN government?

COMMENT

Watergate resulted in the resignation of an American president and the indictment, trial, conviction and incarceration of a number of Nixon’s top administration officials. No sex, no corruption, no cronyism, no murder, no national security issues…just Nixon lying to the American people!

The Profumo Affair forced the resignation of Britain’s War Minister and ended 13 years of unbroken Conservative government rule. This was a tale of how the rich, famous and powerful indulged in sex, with suicide, intrigue and espionage thrown in for good measure.

As political scandals go, the Abdul Razak Baginda & Altantuya Shaariibuu affair has it all.

It’s a concocted tale of violence and murder, death, betrayal, greed, deceit, cover ups, illicit sex across many continents, corruption, cronyism, abuse of executive power and the peoples’ trust, massive abuse of public money, compromising our national security, shenanigans at the Immigration department, gutter politics, miscarriage of justice, covert operations by Unit Tndakan Khas (UTK) on behalf of the rich and powerful, theft of explosives from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), blackmail and the exposure of the lives of the rich, powerful and politically connected and not dismissing the likelihood of further escalation of diplomatic ‘tension’ involving Mongolia and France….and still counting!

In summary a drama of Shakespearean dimension! As of 2013 – another death – that of P Balasubramaniam, and the acquittal of Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, can now be added to its data base.

Yes, events can be manipulated, information suppressed and truth hidden but not indefinitely.

The Altantuya murder exposed what we suspected has been happening all along in the murky world of corruption, cronyism and abuse of executive power by Umno’s political elites and their cronies.

There has always been corruption in Mindef before but never on this scale and latitude.

There were those who actually managed to “persuade” the Barisan Nasional government to buy Scorpene submarines. The entire process from tendering, evaluation, logistics of equipment supply, training and right up to getting the submarine crew was manipulated just to ensure that the two Scorpenes will “selam”.

And it surely involved a tender committee, the Malaysian Cabinet, the Minister of Defence and (of course) Abdul Razak Baginda himself. Truly a cast of thousands and painfully paid for by the ignorant Malaysian public.

Commissions have been paid for questionable “services rendered” to brokers, middlemen and agents before but never so blatantly as to make even the most tolerant of us to ask “What services were rendered to warrant RM500 million payment?”

There have been abuses before by those tasked to purchase our defence equipment but awarding Abdul Razak in millions of our money is totally astounding.

Upon pocketing, Abdul Razak chose to embark on an escapade across continents in a Ferrari with his mistress. It is clearly an irresponsible behaviour on his part.

Did it ever occur to Abdul Razak that apart from cheating his wife and family, he was compromising our nation’s security and honor? Was it just to satisfy his personal needs –sex?

A matter of timing

Watergate and Christine Keeler brought down governments but in Malaysia the Abdul Razak and Altantuya affair only brought out the worst of our judiciary and the government.

The manner on how BN government handled the matter speaks for itself:-

1. Two UTK operatives have been found guilty of murdering Altantuya for reasons unknown to-date, and now they have been acquitted on appeal.

2. Abdul Razak is in exile and well cashed up and is free to do what he pleases, where he pleases.

3. The then minister of defence is today Prime Minister of Malaysia!

And the Malaysian public has been told that “justice will prevail” despite the obvious before our eyes.

Before the Altantuya saga, the accusations of mischief, corruption, cronyism and abuse of power hurled towards our ministers were brushed off as half-truths, gossips and innuendos.

Altantuya changed everything. The truth has surfaced. We have names, amount of money involved, the secret deals and much more today. Nevertheless, there is a lot more to be discovered.

Why, you may ask, has this Abdul Razak-Altantuya affair not brought down Najib and caused the downfall of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government?

It is simply a matter of convenience. The merit of a scandal has little or nothing to do in bringing down a government. It is a matter of timing.

When Muhyiddin Yassin or other forces within Umno are ready to move against Najib, then the Abdul Razak-Altantuya affair will be revisited and enough will be revealed to ‘persuade’ Najib to exit Umno with dignity or money!

There is ample of evidence to support this notion. It happened with Musa Hitam, Anwar Ibrahim, Ku Li and even Pak Lah during the Mahathir era. This phenomena will only stop until we do not demand excellence and meritocracy from those in public office.

Until such time, Altantuya will have to wait for justice.

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.

crime perception - endless possibilites

400 special policemen to tackle perception, or crime?

AUGUST 26, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: AUGUST 26, 2013 07:47 AM

Enough with this garbage about PERCEPTION.

When the public complained continually that law and order had broken down, Putrajaya rolled out dubious figures more than a year ago to say that this was only a PERCEPTION.

The government's love affair with PERCEPTION was recently taken to new heights by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said two special teams of policemen had been formed to tackle crime. They were to report directly to Bukit Aman and not to state or district police contingents.

"It was created to manage perception... that all cops are involved in bribery," he said at a forum on Friday. That word PERCEPTION again.

It is assuring that 400 handpicked policemen have now been given the task of ending the festival of crime in Malaysia. But honesty is always refreshing, so instead of spinning, Zahid should have called it as it is: that bribery is endemic among the men in blue, making it necessary to create two special squads.

There is no PERCEPTION problem. Malaysians know the score. They know that the brazen and wanton actions of gangs 04, 08 and what have you did not happen overnight. The crime bosses did not just wake up one day and have a fleet of Ferraris, mountains of cash to burn and 20,000 soldiers under them.

They were allowed to grow to the size of an army by politicians and cops who were either partners or who chose to look the other way.

But it is comforting that finally the Barisan Nasional government is coming to grips with the reality that our streets are no longer safe and that even living in a gated community with security guards is not the deterrent it used to be.

Even some of the lawmakers who mumbled about PERCEPTION, the chorus of the lame, have stopped it, but only when they themselves became victims of crime. Then, they started mumbling about how Malaysia was not as safe as before.

Just ask Umno bigwig Isa Samad. His guards were overpowered and his family members put through a harrowing time by robbers only a few days ago.

The robbers carted away cash and valuables amounting to RM90,000. And for the record, they were not Indian gangsters just released from Simpang Renggam. They were Indonesians of the same variety who terrorise most of our neighbourhoods.

So spare Malaysians the mumbo-jumbo. Just tackle crime and make the streets safe again.

And leave PERCEPTION alone. Ordinary Malaysians are way ahead of the curve; PERCEPTION is no longer in our daily lexicon. We only deal with REAL SITUATIONS.

And this is the reality.

We know that there is a breakdown of law and order in the country. We know that many cops have handcuffs, guns and batons. What they lack is a moral compass.

We know one other thing too now... by echoing what the everyday man had been saying for between 12 and 18 months earlier about a breakdown in law, the Cabinet ministers, MPs and state assemblymen are only confirming another feature: that the average Malaysian is more intelligent than the people they voted into power. – August 26, 2013.

Zeus 3D Printer By AIO Robotics Has A Twist

 

Zeus 3D Printer By AIO Robotics Has A Twist By Edwin Kee on 08/22/2013

Filed in Homepage > Gadgets > 3d printer > kickstarter > zeus We have seen our fair share of 3D printers in the past, and the most recent one which has something to do with 3D printing would be the swissPen, but this time around, here is something which you might want to consider since it does have its own merits. “Not just another 3D printer” should have been its mantra, especially when you consider how the Zeus from AIO Robotics works. The Zeus is a 3D printer that not only prints out 3D objects when you feed it the correct file, it is also capable of scanning and transmitting objects, now how sweet is that? This all-in-one machine is basically magical enough to be able to duplicate 3D objects, even when they are not anywhere near you. Of course, it goes without saying that something like this will need to test the consumer market waters first, which is why it has made an appearance as a Kickstarter project that is all set to debut this coming September 4th. Apart from functioning as a traditional all-in-one printer, it also boasts of the ability to transmit and scan objects, making it a tantalizing project to invest in. Do you think that you would want to drop some coin on this particular bad boy?: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/08/zeus-3d-printer-by-aio-robotics-has-a-twist/

3D Printed Cast by New Zealander

3D Printing: New Zealander Wins Major Design Award with a 3D Printed Cast [PHOTO]

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By Reissa Su | August 23, 2013 2:59 PM EST

Having broken bones has never been this cool and stylish thanks to the winning design of a 21-year-old New Zealander Jake Evill.  The James Dyson Award in New Zealand went to Mr Evill for his lightweight, non-itch cast made out of nylon for broken bones.  The 3D printed cast was designed to replace the traditional plaster cast. 

Mr Evill came up with the idea to design the 3D printed cast when he felt frustrated of wearing a plaster cast when he broke his hand.  He said it was archaic to a fractured or broken arm in a heavy, smelly and itchy plaster.

Mr Evill designed his 3D printed cast using X-ray data and a 3D scan of a patient's broken arm to make a custom-designed cast. 

The Cortex deisgned by Jake Evill (Reuters)

The cast was named Cortex and Mr Evill used a 3D printer to bring his design to life.  Unlike most plastic casts, the Cortex has a breathable and snug fit.  It has a membrane that looks like a spider's web.  The Cortex is waterproof and can be reinforced to protect the area of the arm where the bone was broken. 

The judges of the James Dyson Award in New Zealand unanimously chose Mr Evill's design.  Head judge David Lovegrove said the Cortex was the embodiment of the whole design competition.  Mr Lovegrove said that this year's competition has been the toughest but the Cortex had a marginal lead because of its relevance and benefit to people's lives. 

The 3D printed cast of Mr Evill may become the most revolutionary product to treating broken bones of the human body.  Mr Lovegrove said that the Cortex is a remake of the traditional plaster cast.  It was a different take on digital manufacturing and the way bones are treated in the future. 

Mr Evill's 3D printed cast has earned him the chance to show his design at the London Design Festival. His prize package includes $3,000 for accommodation and travelling expenses.  He will also get to meet and talk to the members of the British design community.

Mr Evill's Web site explains "The Cortex exoskeletal cast provides a highly technical and trauma zone localised support system that is fully ventilated, super light, shower friendly, hygienic, recyclable and stylish.'' The 3D printed cast could just be the answer to prevent the discomfort of treating broken bones.   

To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.com

Murder in Malaysia: AG has failed Altantuya, say lawyers

In court of public opinion, AG has failed Altantuya too, say lawyers

BY V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
AUGUST 23, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: AUGUST 24, 2013 07:25 AM

The Attorney-General's Chambers should explain to Malaysians its conduct in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial which saw all three accused being acquitted, said criminal lawyers.

They pointed out that besides the taxpayers’ money used on this high-profile case, and the failure to secure convictions, this case also put the administration of justice in a negative light especially because it involved the murder of a foreigner.

"The perception among the public was that the trial was a sham," said lawyer Fahri Azzat.

"The public knew the two policemen would be acquitted on appeal and they were proved correct today. Even at the High Court stage the public was cynical about the way the prosecution conducted the case," Fahri said.

He questioned why material witnesses were not called to testify and documentary evidence not tendered in court.

Fahri said the public's suspicions were reinforced when political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, charged with abetting the cops, was acquitted without his defence being called.

He said that when the AG did not appeal that decision, it raised eyebrows.

"Public funds were spent over the high-profile case and the public was left wondering over the way the prosecution conducted the case," he said.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said the defence took advantage of the defects in the prosecution’s case and the trial judge’s ruling to secure the acquittal of the two policemen, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar.

Amer said the defence raised valid and relevant issues which any defence counsel familiar with criminal procedure and law of evidence would have done.

"There was a material gap in the prosecution's case and they took advantage of that before the Court of Appeal," he said.

Amer said it is elementary for the prosecution to present material evidence to prove its case but this was not done.

Senior criminal lawyer Gurbachan Singh said today's judgment was valid.

"There was no judicial appreciation by the trial judge. He should have considered these issues and decided upon it," he said, adding that the appellate court was right in rendering the conviction unsafe due to the trial judge’s misdirection.

However, Gurbachan said the Court of Appeal was not saying that the two former policemen were innocent, but that the prosecution had not done enough to prove its case.

"Ultimately, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the accused.

"To be fair to the prosecution, the material gaps were the misdirection by the judge.

"Perhaps, the only mistake the prosecution committed was their failure to call DSP Musa Safri to the stand," added Gurbachan.

Former chief inspector Azilah managed to create doubt that he was not at the crime scene. He had also given the prosecution a notice of alibi, a requirement under the law.

In the case of former corporal Sirul, counsel Kamarul  Hisham Kamaruddin said the failure of the prosecution to call Musa, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's former aide-de-camp, left a "material gap" in the prosecution's case. – August 23, 2013.