Speaking of rights, the upcoming Malay Dignity Congress, says its organiser, is easy to understand.
 
The goal is, first and foremost, national unity. However, the main reason the gathering is being held is as a response to certain quarters who’ve not only challenged the rights and position of the Malays, but belittled them too.
 
Prof Zainal Kling, the event’s secretariat chief executive, says the challenges have come in the form of questions on Bumiputera rights, the position of the royalty, Islam, and the national language. As such, there is a dire need to address the issues in an intellectual manner.
 
So far so okay, yeah? 

Unfortunately, the professor’s confirmation that he meant “certain non-Malays” when he said “certain quarters” does little to hide the fact the congress isn't about Malaysian unity but something else.

Thing is, we're not sure it's even about Malay-Muslim unity. 
 
Umno’s Puad Zarkashi and Khaled Nordin are two fellas who believe the gathering, set for Oct 6 at Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam, is nothing more than an attempt by PM Mahathir Mohamad’s Bersatu to win favour with the Malays following Pas and Umno’s marriage. And you know, there could be truth to that.
 
Political analysts had predicted stronger racial undertones following the inking of the Pas-Umno co-op charter, and this congress could be one of the first signs that Mahathir's Bersatu wants in on the action.
 
Bersatu isn’t listed as one of organisers of the congress, of course. But that matters little considering the prominent role the party’s main man – who’s also the PM for all Malaysians, we should add – will play at the event.

It's not a good look for a PM whose coalition has promised to move beyond the old, racial way of doing things to be part of something like this, in whatever capacity. As PM, one doesn't get the luxury of separating oneself from the job.

And one more thing - non-Malays asking for more rights and better laws and governance, be it adopting ICERD or the Rome Statute, isn't the same as asking for Malays to be denied theirs. That's false equivalence. And the worst part is we all know why it's done: it's because dividing and conquering is the best kind of political weapon out there. 

It’s been Jho Low this, that and the other since Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial began, and Monday in the High Court was no different.
 
On his fifth day on the stand, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, the sovereign fund’s ex-CEO, testified that the fugitive financier was at the heart of the all 1MDB’s shady dealings. From advice on engaging the services of Goldman Sachs to arranging the dodgy takeover of a power company (Tanjung Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd), it was all Jho Low, all the time.
 
Jibby’s lead dog handler defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has claimed numerous times in the past that Low was the “rascal” behind 1MDB, and Shahrol’s witness statements so far have kinda corroborated that. However, the ex-CEO did note yesterday that not once during their dealings did the Jibster contradict the (alleged) fraudster over his actions. Yes, not even when a shitload of moolah was being raised for the ruling Barisan Nasional for GE13.
 
A fat lot of good all that cash did though what with Najib faring even worse than his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi!
 
Incidentally, a US report claims the slithery Low has been seen livin' it up in Los Angeles. However, who’s to say the partying dude spotted in Hollywood was Jho and not this photog chappie, who’s been mistaken before for the fugitive financier?

Every time there’s a water pollution incident, someone moots tougher penalties for polluters. But what’s so bloody annoying is that NOTHING CHANGES!
 
National Water Services Commission (SPAN) boss Charles Santiago is right, though. Something needs to be done to make sure Malaysians don’t keep getting hit by water cuts every couple of months. But what and how it should be done isn't quite clear.
 
We get it, it’s impossible to monitor and police every inch of our rivers. But perhaps the time has come to not just declare our water sources as protected areas, but to look at water management, including the management of catchment areas and their surroundings, holistically. And the reason for that is that while the planned Water Resources Bill may be able fix some of the issues we currently face, questions persist as to whether it will be able to solve problems like factories and sewage treatment facilities operating in close proximity to water treatment plants.
 
Also, we’re not sure about this one, but should the bill also cover dufuses like these who purposely make life difficult for people? Yeah, we know, bathing in a residential area's water tank isn’t quite the same as dumping waste into a river. But hey, somebody's bulu in your tap water is still pollution, k!

As usual, there were some other things that happened yesterday that are worthy of attention. And here they are:

• Dinner Minister Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman loves having people over from grub. And this time, Makan Bro is inviting Foodpanda riders to his home for dinner to hear their grouses over a new payment scheme. No word on whether he asked them to bring over the food. Or if he ordered via Grab.
• A bounty of RM20,000 has been offered for info that leads to the arrest of the poachers responsible for the brutal killing of a pygmy elephant in Sabah. The animal was found dead having been shot 70 times. Poaching is as big a threat to the pygmy elephant's existence as it is the Malayan tiger and Sumatran Rhino. Do check out our original pieces on these endangered creatures (here and here) if you haven’t already.
• A woman whose car ploughed through a barrier at the KL Standard Chartered Marathon and injured two people has been arrested. Cops say she tested positive for drugs.
• Police have hauled up seven activists from NGO Sarawak for Sarawakians for allegedly not standing up for the Negaraku during a fundraising dinner. The seven could now face charges under the National Anthem Act 1968 for knowingly showing disrespect to the national anthem in a public place.