The expedition, estimated to cost close to RM200,000,
will be funded by the Selangor government, Youth and Sports Ministry,
Ex-Servicemen's Affairs Corporation and programme sponsors. In short, public
money will be involved.

It's another bid, which does not require much grey matter, to enter the
Malaysia Book of Records. Very much along the lines of making the longest satay
or buffet, which made many of us cringe in embarrassment.

It has been reported that team members, comprising trainers from the National
Service Training of Trainers Centre, will make the attempt to drape the 210m by
110m national flag and 57 other flags on the pyramid on May 18.

If many Malaysians are not amused by this hare-brained plan, the Egyptians are
fuming mad that we have the audacity to cover up their 4,600-year-old national
icon.

Last week, the chairman of the Egypt's supreme council of antiquities, the body
responsible for the Giza site, reportedly said that he would not allow the
pyramid to be draped.

Its chairman Zahi Hawass said he had rejected other requests to exploit the
Great Pyramid, so why he should allow the Malaysian expedition to carry out
their project.

The mission, according to the organisers, was in response to Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's call to the nation to produce "towering Malaysians" and
to raise the profile of the country.

The intention seems noble and even commendable but we can't help feeling that
the organisers appear to have missed the point. Surely the Prime Minister had
other things in mind when he spoke about "towering Malaysians"?

Abdullah, in fact, said Malays should stop wasting time and focus their efforts
on building themselves into "towering personalities" with developed high
intellect, a high-values system, a successful career, a good economic standing
and a well-respected culture and religion.

Making his speech at the Umno general assembly in February, he urged his
listeners to be constructive and to have an objective to better themselves,
adding that they should spend their time looking for great ideas.

Draping the Jalur Gemilang on the pyramid does not seem to cover, pardon the
pun, any of the qualities that fits the "towering Malaysians" which the Prime
Minister had wanted.

When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad first spoke about the Malaysia Boleh spirit, he
wanted to instil confidence and to motivate Malaysians to strive for bigger
things and purposes. The present leadership has used a new phrase, towering
Malaysians, to continue that push.

But over the last few years, we have seen how that spirit is reduced to aiming
for frivolous achievements such as tallest lantern or biggest ketupat. Granted
that not all Malaysians can be world-class achievers and that a little fun in
making it into the Malaysian Book of Records would not hurt, we still need to
set greater heights if we want to be noticed worldwide.

Some time in October 2004, I asked Tun how he felt that some Malaysians seemed
to have got the Malaysia Boleh spirit wrong. The former premier, however, was
more forgiving.

He said some Malaysians could not think of any remarkable feat to achieve, so
they had to settle for the frivolous records. But he commended those who had
faith in themselves, citing people like Azhar Mansur, who sailed solo around
the world, and Malik Mydin, who swam across the English Channel. He described
such courageous people as serious.

We do not know whether the organisers of the pyramid mission had sought the
permission before going ahead with the trip. 
Surely, that would be a basic requirement. If official permission has
been given, then they need to resolve the problem quick as the Egyptian
rejection has raised the Malaysian profile in a manner we surely can do without.

That aside, we need to be more cautious of proclaiming our achievements,
particularly when others do not view them in the manner that we do.  Recently, a university took a full-page
advertisement listing its many firsts.

While some of its achievements deserves our applause, we wonder whether
claiming credit to be the first university to confer an honorary doctorate on
Dr Mahathir and the late Datin Seri Paduka Endon Mahmood would help to elevate
the academic standing of the university. 
So is the claim to be the first university in Southeast Asia to sign a
memorandum of standing with the University de Bologna in Italy.

Malaysians, whether as individuals or organisations, need to be mindful of how
we blow our trumpets. The intentions may be genuinely good but we should not
end up being a laughing stock.

Neither does it make sense to take part in third-rate contests to win gold
medals where we make up the majority of participants while the rest of the
academic community cast doubts on it.

Let's do away with our sendiri syok mentality.

It is good to be confident but we should not be naive to assume that we are
tops in many things, especially when the world has become more competitive.

Let's make it our New Year resolution to be "towering Malaysians" by setting
our goals right in areas that matter and which will win us internationally
recognised accolades.

National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia secretary-general Wong Kin Kong, who had described the situation as serious, said he recorded a 25% error rate in the samplings he carried out on church members around the country.

The assurance by NRD director-general Datuk Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad is surely one of the best Christmas gifts for the Christian community, who had been concerned over the slow official reaction.

The matter was brought up at a Cabinet meeting after representations were made to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho and Home Affairs Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.

The issue goes beyond a simple act of inputing data wrongly as inaccurate statistics, even those involving minority groups, can have serious implications for any development plans, whether by the Government or private sector.

The bureaucratic delay in rectifying these errors is certainly unnecessary. But all's well that ends well.

The announcement by the NRD should not just remove any lingering doubts but reinforce our belief that the leadership, particularly the Prime Minister, believes in justice and fair play.

At the same time, we also pray that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would look into the concerns of Christians who face problems in setting up churches to meet the spiritual needs of the community.

In the past, mosques, temples and churches existed next to one another. It was never a problem because God-fearing Malaysians go to these places to pray for peace and good things.

So, it must be strange to hear bureaucrats at council and state level citing various reasons to hold back the construction of churches on open land. The result is that more and more Christians have to attend services in churches located at office blocks, shopping areas and even warehouses.

God is everywhere but the fact remains that Christians, like all worshippers, would surely want a proper sanctuary where the people can dedicate themselves to God.

Permission to build churches in Malaysia, it is not wrong to say, has now been fraught with many forms of obstacles, with numerous government agencies seemingly taking their time to approve them.

The policy of the Barisan Nasional Government is clear. So, is our Federal Constitution which states every person has the right to profess and practice his religion, which surely also means the right to carry out the observations and practice of the faith.

The Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, becomes a meaningless document if we do not respect and practise what our forefathers had decided.

Fortunately, the tolerance and mutual respect among ordinary Malaysians for one another's faith is still very strong, and this is something we are all proud of.

The Muslim call to prayer from mosques and suraus is a way of life for all of us. The loud Chinese operas during the Hungry Ghost Festival are not a problem to non-believers and similarly, everyone, including the huge Muslim population near Batu Caves, helps to make the Thaipusam a success every year by cooperating with the organisers.

Leave it to the ordinary people and race and religion have never been a problem.  When selfish politicians step in as self-appointed champions of their faith and their race, they become a problem and sometimes problems are simply imagined to allow them to hold on to their positions.

Let me just say thanks to Mega, Izatun, Nathan, Jahabar, Aeria, David Yeat, Zieman and my other fellow Malaysians who came to my house for Kayu's nasi kandar to usher in Christmas.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has correctly called for an independent commission of inquiry to find out exactly what has happened to show we do not cover up any allegations of abuse of power by the police.

By coming out clean, Malaysians would now be satisfied with the answers given from the open investigations.

The commission must also be commended for deciding to recall the woman to testify following complaints from the press and lawyer SN Nair over how the woman was identified on Tuesday, when she was seen only by commission members.

The move by the commission to protect her was understandable but it led to scepticism from the public and media. The feedback must have surely reached the commission.

The police had dropped hints earlier that the woman was not a China national but could be a Malaysian. It was reported in some newspapers but many members of the public did not want to believe it, more so when the reports were attributed to sources.

Meanwhile, there have also been disturbing remarks by certain politicians against opposition Members of Parliament who brought up the matter in Parliament. These individuals have subtly suggested that the opposition only raised the issue because it involved a possible China citizen. Some have cloaked their statements with side issues like race relations, national interest and a desire to protect the police force.

No one can deny the good job of the police force in making Malaysia safe, but the fact remains that there are policemen who are corrupt and who abuse their powers. You know, I know and the politicians know.

There is no reason to tie up this issue with the overall position of the force. If that is the case, then no one should complain about the police again because to do so would tarnish the police image and demoralise them.

Such baying of blood against politicians or the media runs against calls by the Prime Minister for transparency and greater accountability.

The press and the MPs did the right thing in exposing the  video clip issue.

In fact, MCA Public Complaints and Services Department chief Datuk Michael Chong took the trouble to bring the clip to the attention of the police first, asking them to act fast before it became an issue.

The urgency was obvious – there had been earlier allegations of harassment involving Chinese women by the police. Even the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had said so.

To be on the side of caution on matters involving China is wise because the emerging economic giant is a friendly partner of Malaysia and the economic side-effects from any fallout cannot be dismissed lightly. Let's get real.

But it remains a mystery why no one had taken the trouble to come out on record that initial investigations had shown that it was a Malaysian woman.

Why let the matter drag on for weeks in the glare of bad publicity in East Asia and having our Malaysian envoy summoned by Beijing when there was already information in hand that it did not involve a Chinese national?

There would have been no need for the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid to be placed in a tight spot.

We have now been told that ear squats are an acceptable police procedure to ensure that suspects do not conceal prohibited items or weapons. Condoms filled with drugs have been found hidden in the rectum, the hearing was told.

The police, we must understand, have their duties to perform and we certainly want them to do so effectively.

It is also a standard practice to ask suspects to remove their clothes for body checks, let's all be clear about that.

At the same time, we have also learnt that holding the ears while doing squats does not have any bearing on expelling foreign objects hidden in the rectum. Holding the ears merely stabilises the person while doing the squats, according to the testimony of a witness.

There is a difference between performing the squats to check for hidden objects and doing the ear squats to humiliate the person. It's very much like when our teachers asked us to do ear squats when we were in schools – to punish and shame us.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil correctly stated that the fundamental issue from the public inquiry is that the dignity and integrity of detainees must be protected. Appropriate consideration on the procedures, she added, must be emphasised, regardless of race, religion and citizenship.

Malaysians appreciate sensible statements and it would be good if other politicians could emulate her instead of making brash and irrational remarks which reflect badly on them.

The commissioners led by Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah have certainly carried out their responsibilities professionally and have proven that no one, even the police, is above the law.

But let's not forget this – the woman in the video clip was the victim, the press was the messenger, while some MPs became whistle-blowers by bringing the attention to Parliament.

The ones to be punished are the culprits who humiliated her and filmed her on video, let there be no confusion. Let's fix the problem, not fix somebody.

The fact is that Myanmar has become an embarrassment. The years of so-called constructive engagement, in using the soft-approach, have fallen flat.

The ageing military leaders have ignored moves to open the country's doors. They have instead clammed up.

Even as their country continued to slide economically, they have turned a blind eye to the unhappiness at home and in the region.

But as the leaders of Asean gather in Kuala Lumpur for the grouping's 11th summit starting tomorrow, they must realise that the importance of a civil society should be addressed by all of them, not just Myanmar.

>From Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh to Brunei, they must wake up to the fact that they are facing a new generation of citizens who are exposed to the free flow of information on the Internet.

In this globally connected world – be it via the Internet, through SMS or MMS, or global 24-hour TV networks – no one in government should seriously expect to suppress information if he wishes to remain credible.

The people will not accept a sterile press and neither will they accept politicians and journalists who attempt to impose a tailored agenda on them.

It would be sheer hypocrisy if Asean leaders wax rhetoric about Myanmar when their own human rights records are questionable.

The human rights issue will be the main concern of the region and the people expect their governments to be more open and tolerant.

The floodgates opened long ago and Asean leaders should be able to see the trends ahead.

The public demand for answers on the controversial video clip of a woman who had to do ear-squats in the nude while in police custody is one example of how Malaysians have become more conscious of their democratic rights.

Many of our Members of Parliament, regardless of their political affiliation, have risen to the occasion by speaking up.

For the first time, we see MPs putting aside their political differences to jointly take up issues affecting the people.

It is certainly refreshing. It offers young Malaysians, cynical of the establishment, hope that their political future would be better.

Abdullah has responded well to the video clip issue with the prompt setting up of an independent committee to look into it.

For a civil society to work in any country,  there must be an end to nepotism and despotism, and non-governmental institutions must be allowed to flourish as they act as a form of check and balance against the state.

Democratic reforms, liberal values and civil society are not Western concepts. No one should even suggest that, in the name of nationalism, merely to hide their own intolerance, religious or even racial biases.

As leaders sit down tomorrow to push Myanmar for more democratic reforms, it would be good if they, too, also evaluate their own state of affairs.

The right to choose is a universal value. Democracy does not merely mean holding elections.

The fact is that there is still political lawlessness in some Asean countries.

The people of Asean long to see the day when there is one Asean civil society, and it is not too much to ask.

The next day, he devoted one hour stressing to his listeners how China as an economic powerhouse would affect the world as a market, competitor or partner.

But on the tables of the participants, over the two days of the seminar, were newspapers filled with reports of how we have muddled up over the controversial video clip of a Chinese-looking woman in a police lock-up.

With the exception of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, the approaches and comments made by certain officials have not been helpful .

Instead of calming down the situation, particularly towards China, these officials have caused further damage. In short, it was crisis management at its worst.

Taking swift action, the Prime Minister ordered the setting up of an independent committee of inquiry instead of leaving the probe to the police.

The logic is simple – the alleged culprits are a few police officers and to leave it to their peers to investigate would only invite criticism, if not suspicion. More so when seemingly defensive statements had been made by their superiors.

The controversy has taken a new twist with the police now saying that they have identified the woman in the video clip.

There were reports that the woman could be a Malaysian and not necessarily an ethnic Chinese, although the clip showed a fair-skinned person.

The findings of the police are expected to be handed over to the independent committee, which has been given a month to complete its task.

Despite public scepticism of the latest police findings, it is only fair that we keep an open mind.

It would be even better if the police can trace the woman to seek her cooperation for follow-up action.

Even if it is a Malaysian, the actions of the policewoman who conducted the strip-search and the person who filmed her can hardly be justified.

Be that as it may, it is best that the committee of inquiry be left to carry out its own investigations and to report promptly on its findings.

At the same time, it might be prudent for the police not to make statements suggesting that it would carry out an operation against the reported 50,000 missing Chinese nationals.

The figure has already been disputed and even Azmi and immigration director-general Datuk Jamal Kamdi had admitted the figures were inaccurate.

Newspaper editorials and comments by officials supporting such action would only add more confusion to the situation. Worse, it could even be misconstrued as a vendetta.

Our policy is clear – the country welcomes all tourists, regardless of their nationalities, but would act against any foreigner who overstays or violates conditions in the visit pass. There is no reason to single out Chinese nationals.

The statement made by Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Noh Omar that foreigners who were not happy could go back is a classic case of shooting ourselves in the foot.

He has been reprimanded although he pointed out that he did not mean what he said. His remarks were reported world-wide, much to the delight of our tourism competitors.

The top – that is our Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues – know the seriousness of the controversy but the downliners do not seem to grasp the effects of their actions.

They are not perturbed that the number of Chinese tourists has dropped by 45% during the first six months of this year, surely an alarming situation.

Yet the World Tourism Organisation estimates that the number of Chinese tourists overseas will expand 12.8% a year – triple the world rate – to about 100 million by 2020.

We must bear in mind that Chinese tourists are no longer just peasants with some extra money to spare but affluent consumers who can afford to buy Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo. Think, please.

This focus of the probe should include the superiors of
the policewoman who ordered and watched the ear squats as well as the person
who took the video clip, who could be a policeman.

The independent investigators must find out whether the person who took the
video clip from outside the locker room had passed the clip to others, because
there have been reports that a businessman from Negri Sembilan eventually
passed it to the press.

The point here is whether the person who took the video clip did it out of
perverted pleasure and had passed it via multimedia messaging to others before
it finally reached the businessman, who was so outraged that he probably wanted
to expose the despicable act to the media.

These are questions that Malaysians want to know, and we are pleased with the
assurances given by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that there will be no
cover-up. We have the fullest confidence in him.

Over the past 48 hours, the media have been inundated with calls from
Malaysians who were unhappy over what appeared to be police being more
interested in exposing the person who took the video clip of the naked
woman.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Musa Hassan had said that whoever
took the video clip would be charged under the Penal Code with outraging the
modesty of the woman or intruding.

He said it was the perpetrator behind the clip and not the policewoman that the
police were after, as the woman cop was only carrying out a routine
check.

But the proposed committee must be given the go-ahead to also investigate
whether such punishments were rampant, and whether such incidents have taken
place at entry points such as the KL International
Airport.

The committee members must also question the police and immigration officers
why certain nationals, such as those from China
and India, were
often targeted.

The video clip incident has led to more allegations from Chinese nationals. It
has been reported on the Internet that three Chinese nationals from Fujian,
southern China, have lodged reports of abuse with a local newspaper, Haixia
Dushi Bao (Straits Metro News), claiming that they had been arrested by
immigration officers and subjected to 14 days of ill treatment.

The report said that the incidents took place in Penang
in September and involved 32 female tourists, 19 of whom were from Fujian.

To be fair to the authorities, it is not uncommon for immigration officers to
question, even deport, tourists whom they have reason to be suspicious
of.

But the issue here is not just about the naked Chinese woman but the abuse of
power by the police. The practice of suspects being asked to do the ketuk
ketampi (squats) naked was brought up to the Royal Commission to Enhance the
Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

In one case, a complainant said she was asked to undress and do the squats
despite her protest. She was freed after six days in detention, without being
charged.

The commission, in its report, said there were guidelines on body examination
but police officers carried them out differently, according to the common
practice at each police station.

Malaysians are realistic, they do not expect criminals to be treated with kid's
gloves. We are thankful to the police force for keeping our streets safe but
the corrupt and those who strip people of their dignity and rights should be
kicked out.

The preliminary details have emerged: we now know that the incident happened at the changing room of the Petaling Jaya police station and that the woman in uniform is a police constable.

Although we should not prejudge the case, we also need to highlight some basic facets of proper human behaviour.

In the one-minute video clip, now widely circulated on the Internet and mobile phones, the woman is shown standing naked in a room with some lockers.

After doing 10 ear squats, the woman is seen putting her bra back on and looking disturbed as she appears to be aware that someone else was watching. It is likely that the recording was made by someone with a cellphone outside the room through a grilled window.

It does not matter whether the victim had been arrested for vice or had violated immigration rules. The bottom line is that no one should be subjected to such humiliation.

If she had committed an offence, she should have been deported or charged in court. It is not the business of the police or immigration to order her to do ear squats.

If it can happen to this woman, it can happen to any one of us, including our sisters and daughters.

The timing of the video is certainly bad as the media in China have, of late, been telling their people to avoid Malaysia as a tourist destination. From crimes to poor treatment of Chinese visitors at airports, Malaysia has found itself at the wrong end of bad press.

Complaints by three Chinese women that they were forced to strip and then ogled at by male officers were deemed serious enough to be brought to the Cabinet's attention.

What was more unfortunate was that the police did not stop there – they allegedly harassed the women by going to their apartments at 2 in the morning purportedly to check whether they were with their husbands and living at the addresses provided.

To make matters worse, there were also newspaper reports that 50,000 Chinese nationals who entered Malaysia this year had apparently failed to leave the country, based on the shortfall in entry cards returned upon the visitors' departure.

The reports claimed that those missing may be working illegally, are involved in vice, or have moved on to a third country with a forged passport.

The figures have now been challenged. A cursory look at the statistics of foreign arrivals and departures available on the immigration website showed wide discrepancies in arrival/departure figures for all nationalities, and not just the Chinese nationals.

The Government has taken these developments seriously as the Cabinet is aware that if the matter is not properly handled, it can lead to a diplomatic problem with serious implications.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has responded quickly by sending Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid to China to clear any misconception that Malaysian authorities have been targeting Chinese nationals, especially women, coming to Malaysia.

There is no doubt that many Chinese women have entered Malaysia for vice activities. This year alone, Chinese women accounted for half the 4,900 foreign women nabbed for vice.

Malaysian housewives have even complained to the Wanita MCA to act against these women, saying marriages had been broken when their husbands fell for these Chinese nationals.

Traders have also complained of poor enforcement by the municipal councils against their Chinese competitors who set up stalls to sell their wares openly at various spots in major towns with predominant Chinese populations.

Given a population of more than one billion, there are bound to be such "tourists" that we can do without. As Pak Lah said, the immigration can ask them logical questions but they should not be hurtful. In short, don't lump them in one basket.

The fact is that there are plenty of affluent Chinese tourists who now stay at five-star hotels and shop at expensive shops. Malaysia wants to attract these upmarket tourists, who spent an estimated RM1.33bil in the country last year, the third largest exchange contributors after Singaporeans and Thais.

But the bad press about their purported ill-treatment in Malaysia has resulted in the number of Chinese tourists dropping drastically. Only 202,620 Chinese tourists arrived here between January and August this year, compared with more than 387,000 in the same period last year. This drop of 47.8% is expected to decline further.

On Oct 2, I wrote in my column that Malaysia was trailing badly in the competition to attract the Chinese nationals and the dipping statistics were a cause for concern. One major source of unhappiness was the hassle these tourists had to face at immigration including at the KL International Airport.

MCA public services and complaints department chief Datuk Michael Chong said he had received many complaints of bona fide Chinese visitors including investors encountering difficulties.

One Chinese businessman threatened to close down his KL branch office which employed over 200 Malaysian workers after suffering "loss of face" from alleged harsh treatment by immigration officers while a Chinese shipper, one of the biggest in the world, was outraged when his 60-year-old wife was denied entry.

So serious was the matter that it was referred to a Cabinet minister for action.

As Minister in the Prime Minister's Depart- ment Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said, the video clip proved what several Chinese women had previously alleged was true and not made up.

Malaysia now faces an uphill task in competing with new destinations, particularly European countries, which have stepped up their campaign to woo them.

Like the Arab tourists, who now shun the United States and Europe because they have been profiled as undesirable visitors, we have to try harder to win the Chinese tourists back.

Even Malaysian Muslims have found themselves discriminated against in many Western countries because of their names, giving the perception that they are considered terrorist suspects.

Tourist ringgit aside, we must make sure there is no economic and political fallout from continuous negative reports in China. We need China's huge market much more than they need us.

Any retaliation, even in the mildest form, will have serious effects on us.

Azmi has correctly proposed hiring immigration officers who can speak Mandarin on contract basis at the KLIA and the decision to use Mandarin to announce flight details is in the right direction. It will certainly help if a Deputy Tourism Minister who can speak the language is appointed.

Meantime, Malaysians want to see swift action taken against the culprits in the naked ear squats episode. They must not be allowed to slip away from their shameful act.

That special relationship between the two men led to China-born Chan and his family moving to Malaysia, where he eventually became a citizen. It was Chan who helped several Malaysian footballers, such as Chow Chee Keong and Lim Fung Kee, when they turned professional in Hong Kong during the 1970s .

A well-connected man, with links to political and business circles in southern China, his passions are football and food. He talked fondly of the Merdeka soccer tournament, which he used to be involved in, but is sad that the tournament has lost its shine.

"You must try the shark's fin soup in this restaurant, they don't use monosodium glutamate," said the health-conscious sifu, who reminded me of the late actor Kuan Tak Heng, who played the legendary kungfu master Wong Fei Hoong in the movie classics.

I am often told that shark's fin soup is tasteless without the MSG. Well, leave it to the best chefs in Hong Kong and they can prove the critics of this culinary delight wrong.

In Hong Kong, as in many Asian countries, food is a serious subject. It can even become emotional if the subject turns to shark's fin soup, particularly among traditionalist Chinese food lovers.

Last week, the subject was a major item in Hong Kong newspapers in yet another spat between conservationists and shark's fin traders and food lovers.

The former said Hong Kong's efforts to control the shipment of shark's fins had fallen short, especially the white shark, great white shark and basking shark, all of which are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

The three species face extinction from what conservationists estimate is a 100 million sharks a year cull to meet the demand for shark's fin soup, with local conservationist Brian Darvell pushing for laws to restrict the trade.

The debate has taken an interesting twist because Chiu Ching Cheung, the chairman of the Shark's Fin Trade Merchants Association, has dismissed the allegation. "Basking sharks, whale sharks and great white sharks … their fins are too big and, therefore, not very popular in the market. Their fins are also not very tasty," he said, adding that the conservationists did not seem to know this.

He also dismissed the argument that fishermen only slash the fins of the sharks before they were dumped overboard, saying every part of the shark was used in typical Chinese fashion.

Chiu is upset that environmental groups were allegedly presenting misleading information to make traders look bad, saying extinction was not determined by environmentalists but experts with real figures.

But in a highly competitive city, where consumerism is king, the campaign by the conservationists is an uphill battle. The older Chinese in Hong Kong even see the campaign as interference from white busybodies.

They snubbed the decision of Hong Kong Disneyland not to serve shark's fin soup at its restaurants following pressure from the conservationists even as its competitor Sea World reportedly allowed the dish to be served at its place.

The theme parks have waged a price war for wedding packages, with Sea World offering couples the opportunity to take pictures with dolphins. The more adventurous can even take underwater photos with the sharks but the punch line is they can swim with the sharks and eat the shark's fins too, not necessarily the ones there.

In a symbolic move, Hong Kong University has banned shark's fin dishes on its campus and said it would not reimburse staff for the delicacy consumed at official banquets.

A green group, meanwhile, has asked telecommunications company PCCW to withdraw shark's fin from its promotional gifts following a complaint against the city's largest fixed-line telephone service provider.

PCCW is offering gift packs, including shark's fin and fried mushrooms, to customers who sign up for its fixed-line services for 12 months. A company spokesman has declined to say whether it plans to withdraw the package, nor would it say if it would ban it at company business banquets.

Even the Hong Kong government has been dragged into the debate with the World Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong, lambasting the government for its failure to ban shark's fin as the city is the leading consumer in the world of this product.

Aware of the sensitivity, a coral reef specialist Paul Hodgson said he did not want the people of Hong Kong to stop eating shark's fin and that his activism did not come from a distaste for Chinese culinary tradition.

"I will fight for a person's right to eat shark's fin – as long as it's sustainable," he said.

As I prepared to leave Hong Kong for home, a friend telephoned to invite me for a breakfast of dim sum, saying I should try the yee chee siew mai, or shark's fin dumpling. Looks like it's going to be tough for the conservationists.

Religious zealots who claim they are carrying out God's orders are not confined to Muslims, although the Western media has given extensive coverage to this group of people.

In the 1980s, there was a group of Christian fanatics who stockpiled firearms and cyanide with the aim of poisoning major city water supplies in the United States. Their targets were homosexuals, blacks and Jews. Ten years later, there was another group which plotted to bomb the Oklahoma City Federal Building.

In both instances, these fanatics also talked about bringing down the "Zionist-occupied" government and multilateral institutions and replacing them with Christian ones.

Strangely, the al-Qaeda also used the Zionist conspiracy theory to win support while their sympathisers see a Jewish hand behind every decision made by the Western powers.

In her book, Terror in The Name of God, Harvard University terrorism expert Jessica Stern spoke to Christian, Islamic and Jewish extremists to find out why religious militants killed.

The author wanted to know why people, who spend all their time reading religious books which emphasise love, peace and forgiveness, could end up becoming evil people who kill in the name of their faith.

These are supposed to be do-gooders who know their religious books better than many of us and live a morally upright way of life but yet they end up as devils.

There seems to be some common pattern, even if their faiths differ. All want to get rid of the world's secularism, humanism, materialism, the Jews, the blacks, gays and liberals. Their logic is simple – get rid of them and there will be peace. If necessary, use force.

People who do not subscribe to their interpretations of their religions are either infidels or sinners. In their eyes, their faiths are being threatened and their actions are justified to purify the world of these corrupting influences.

In the case of the Christian terrorists, Stern spoke to a former terrorist who has been released from prison and who now lives in a trailer park. He spends a lot of time in meditation and prayer.

He is an accomplished student of the Scriptures and is obsessed with good and evil. But he once was involved in a shoot-out with federal agents in a rural compound in Arkansas.

In the case of the Muslim terrorists, she found that these terrorists argued that they found the US-led new world order "humiliating" to Muslims and that their faith was under attack.

One Hezbollah militant told Stern that America's way of life was motivated by evil and overly materialistic.

The use of religion, however, is not confined to terrorists but also politicians to win votes and, in many ways, to prevent themselves from being criticised by voters and supporters.

I remember attending a ceramah of an opposition party in a small village in Terengganu some years back and the fiery speaker told his listeners that they would go to hell if they gave their vote to the other side.

Intimidation and pressure in the name of religion and even race are used by these zealots to exert their influence. Not many of us are prepared to face these threats, let alone speak up against them.

For minorities, it is even more difficult when their voices are not heard or, worse, denied.

Religion is such a potent force that many prefer to conform and, in a democracy, few politicians dare to take up those in religious clothing for fear that they would lose votes. While some prefer to keep silent, some try to outdo their opponents religiously, which is even worse.

When US president George Bush attacked Iraq and Afghanistan, he, too, reportedly claimed he was asked by God to do so. In a new BBC documentary, Bush reportedly told Palestinian leaders in 2003 that God told him to end the tyranny in Iraq.

Although the White House subsequently denied that Bush ever made such a claim, there is no denying that the president's support base includes the Christian Right, especially those in the Midwest and southern states.

Playing the religious card has helped his political career.

I remember, at the height of the attack against Iraq, a preacher appeared on CNN and quoted verses from the Bible to justify the US invasion. A black Methodist pastor who took a different line ended up in trouble, it was reported.

Quoting verses from holy books in a distorted way to suit one's political or religious agenda is not confined to any faith. The overall context is often ignored and not many dare to rise to the occasion to challenge because of our inadequacies.

But as Stern found out in her extensive research, while religion is used as a front, what is often not talked about is human greed and political power.

Take away the cloak of morality, the terrorists, too, want to keep their power of leadership.

The point is that all of us have to watch out for the religious zealots who attempt to impose their version of the faith on us. They need not be in religious clothes, as in the case of Azahari who never wore a skull cap or jubah, but who made bombs to kill people.

In a democracy, everyone is free to choose, and their rights, as stated in the Constitution, must be respected. The religious and cultural rights of everyone should be protected.

In Malaysia, the leadership's emphasis on moderation has been a key success in governing our plural society. The police, in particular, must be praised for their constant vigilance for political and religious extremists.

The fear of God, rather than the fear of men, should be our constant reminder.

The Datuk Bandar of Kuala Lumpur is a much sought after job. It has prestige, glamour and more important, power. It is a hot seat and recent developments prove there is no shortage of ambitious people who cannot wait to see him fall.

Just a year ago, Datuk Mohamed Shaid Mohd Taufik ended his term in a most unceremonious way, after just three years.  He found out about it from the press, several hours after the Federal Territories Ministry issued a statement announcing his director-general Ruslin as successor.

At a press conference to announce City Hall's 2004 Budget, Mohd Shaid told newsmen that he did not know about his termination and that no one had called to inform him.

But he must have known it was coming. He had rubbed certain powerful politicians up the wrong way and his relationship with then FT Minister Tan Sri Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad was said to be bad.

According to supporters of Mohd Shaid, he, too, was a victim of a plot to oust him using political pressure. What has happened to Ruslin is certainly the result of a power struggle in City Hall.

Interestingly, Isa has also quit from the Cabinet following his suspension from Umno after he was found guilty of money politics in the party elections.

In 1992, the media-savvy mayor Tan Sri Elyas Omar stepped down after a controversy whereby it was revealed that City Hall planned to buy a fleet of 22 Volvos for its department heads at a cost of RM2.3mil.

The problem was that only the director-general was entitled to a Volvo, so the knives were drawn when the other department heads got to enjoy the same model. The situation was made worse because the cars were turbo-charged automatic models costing RM8,000 more than the normal ones.

Just months earlier, Elyas found himself in the soup when he was questioned for leading a 100-member delegation to Casablanca on a trip which cost ratepayers RM800,000. But Elyas maintained it was only RM240,000.

Elyas was also accused by the media of using a doctorate from a non-existent university, to which he retorted that it was the media which had used the Dr title. But the powers-that-be already had had enough of Elyas. In the end, he was dumped too.

Ruslin has admitted that "there must have been those who were unhappy with changes and decisions implemented over the past seven months since I assumed office".

The fact is that the rumblings of dissatisfaction have been heard along the corridors of DBKL and soon various rumours began circulating.

The hottest was the allegation that a police report had been filed about a nurse being fondled by a senior DBKL official. But police said there was no such report.

Ruslin, it is said, was once put in "cold storage" for eight years by his rivals who gave him the unglamorous position of coordinating waste collection in Cheras. But he managed to work his way back to the top.

Now, Malaysians have learned through news reports that a group of senior officials, known as the Group of Seven, could be linked to the conspiracy to topple Ruslin. The plot certainly gets thicker.

But Malaysians also want to know whether the Anti-Corruption Agency will dig deeper into the allegations of corruption in the DBKL, irrespective of the level of officials involved.

The ACA has taken the first step of investigating the allotment of temporary licences for the fasting month in Jalan Mesjid India.

One newspaper reported rumours of DBKL officials demanding rental from Sri Hartamas traders.

The authorities should not just dismiss this as hearsay but to check with the traders there.

From the way events have unfolded in City Hall, things are not going well. A big clean-up must be undertaken and Malaysians hope the ACA will be allowed to do its job, without fear or favour.