Penang Watch

Nakedness signify many things -eroticism is only 1 of the many. Some folks living in hardcore poor housing want to stage a naked protest aginst skyrocketting state run housing rental. The meaning is strong enough -to show that the folks have nothing left on their person. Instead of responding to their strong plea the State Government led by the `reform' Pakatan Rakyat coalition choosed to castigate them on `moral' grounds-but which morals are we talking about? The `moral' of stripping the poor naked or the poor showing their nakedness? From another perspective we can understand that the cash strapped state government need to economise on their welfare programs after they committed to some burdensome public stunts in the name of helping the poor eg giving 20 cubic m of free water, on top of some hand outs to the same target group. What is lacking is perhaps the practice of means test to apportion welfare-which cause a lot of leakage to undeserving types eg many in hardcore poor housing are car-owner-where the instalment payment of their car outstrip their housing rental! Why not do a means test to apportion aid according to need?

Straits Times Singapore
19 Nov 2008

Naked protest over rent hikes?

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN activists have threatened to stage a naked
protest over a sudden hike in rental rates for government housing,
drawing criticism from Muslim leaders and police on Tuesday.

Mr Ramlan Abu Bakar of the Malaysian People's Reform Movement said its
members were prepared to strip off outside the offices of the chief
minister of Selangor state, after it more than doubled the cost of
low-income housing.

'Protesting naked is our final act of desperation as the state
government is literally stealing the clothes off our backs with this
price increase,' Mr Ramlan told AFP.

'They are not helping the poor people here who barely make enough to
afford the present rental of 124 ringgit (S$52.50 per month) so how
can we afford to pay 250 ringgit?' he said.

The hardline Islamic party PAS, which is part of the opposition
alliance, criticised the plans, with its spiritual leader Nik Abdul
Aziz Nik Mat saying only 'uncivilised' people would resort to such an
act.

'Even an animal like a cow which is stark naked, God created a tail to
hide its genitals and here we are talking about human beings who have
been given a mind,' he told state news agency Bernama.

Mr Ramlan said his group would submit a memorandum to opposition
leader Anwar Ibrahim, whose alliance runs Selangor state, and that if
it failed to bring about any change they will push ahead with the nude
protest.

State police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said action will be taken against
anyone staging an illegal assembly.

'We will take firm action against any NGO (non-governmental
organisation) that holds a gathering without a permit, and even more
so if they are nude,' he told Bernama. -- AFP

++++++++
Group wants to show naked anger
November 18, 2008 Tuesday, 12:25 PM
Hazlin Hassan bares all on Malaysia's possible first naked protest.

A group of protesters in Malaysia wants to bare their anger.
Literally.

Naked protests are not unusual in countries like Spain, Britain and
the United States but one does not expect the concept to suddenly crop
up in mainly Muslim Malaysia.

A previously-unknown group said it was so outraged by a proposal by
the Selangor state government to double rental rates under a housing
scheme for the poor that it planned to stage a butt-naked protest in
front of the Menteri Besar's office.

The Gerakan Reformis Rakyat Malaysia, or Malaysian People's Reformist
Movement, said the nude protest is their "last resort".

They are asking for talks with Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid
Ibrahim but it is unclear if they have received any response.

Observers noted that if the nude protest really did take place, it
would be a first.

"We've seen many demonstrations before and after the 12th general
elections, including the Penguin Walk, the Yellow March, Hindraf and
the on-going anti-ISA vigils. None of them has done it naked,"
prominent blogger Ahiruddin Atan, or rockybru, wrote on his blog.

Some people are already cracking jokes, saying that it would be the
first protest that police would not have to bother with strip
searches.

Although the prospect remains highly unlikely, and perhaps even
surreal, the police are not taking any chances and have warned that
they will take firm action against anyone taking part in such an
assembly.

Politicians from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which rules
Selangor, have condemned the very idea of a nude protest as un-Islamic
and immature. The state Islamic enforcement department said it would
not hesitate to issue RM1,000 fines to anyone protesting naked in
public.

The Spiritual Leader of opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia, Nik Aziz
Nik Mat described such a demonstration as tilting towards someone with
no culture or perhaps for "monkeys".

"Even a cow, although it is totally naked, has a tail created by God
so that its private parts would be covered, what more humans who are
given brains," he was quoted as saying on Monday by Bernama news
agency.

In Malaysia, gatherings of more than four people are actually illegal
under the country's laws, yet the country is no stranger to
anti-government protests.

Since late last year especially, there have been a slew of protests
from the big Hindraf demonstration near the Petronas Twin Towers last
November to smaller-scale ones to protest inner-city vehicle tolls.

The Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI) have been organising regular
candlelight vigils to protest the harsh Internal Security Act, which
allows for detention without trial.

Protests in Malaysia tend to be peaceful and without any untoward
incident, but sometimes the police have taken action by arresting
those taking part or spraying water cannons at them. Once in a while,
teargas is brought out.

If Gerakan Reformis does indeed go ahead and bare more than their
souls, they will have to bear in mind that there will be nothing to
protect their skins from chemically-laced water if the riot police
take aim with their water cannons.

http://www.straitstimes.com/