Totally consistent, totally to be expected, that he and his government would be anti-homosexual exactly as he is anti-Semitic. I have for quite some time been saying that the two go together, they are exactly parallel, the arguments are the same, they spring from the same mentality (e.g., see Buchanan). And, of course, the hypocrisy is the same: "We're not anti-Semitic, just critical of Israel's policies", "We don't hate gays and lesbians, we just want to protect marriage and the family"

I left out: Despicable

"In Malaysia, there is no equality before the law; no right to a fair and public trial; no presumption of innocence; no right to peaceful assembly; no freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and no freedom of opinion and expression."

Oh, yes. I couldn't agree more. One has only to read about the various trials involving government politicians that ended in them being found guilty and severely punished to know that there is no judicial freedom in Malaysia. Although the trial of former deputy PM Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim was given wide coverage both domestically and internationally, that is by no means a public trial, nor are the daily reports of court goings-on that can be found in the newspaper; all Malaysians are kept in the dark about what happens behind the courtroom doors.

The draconian laws imposed by the Malaysian government regarding public assembly have absolutely nothing to do with protecting the public peace and safety, and everything to do with ensuring the ruling coalition's hold on its power. I mean, look at the Reformasi gatherings in 1999, which involved general property destruction on a scale unseen since the May 1969 racial riots; hell yeah, those anti-asembly laws totally repress such peaceful gatherings by conscientious Malaysians.

I could go on and on along these lines regarding the rest of the paragraph, but in the interests of not taking up pages and pages of text, let me just summarize them by saying "Come to Malaysia and look around, and see just how 'repressive' and 'inhumane' we are".

On to the rest of the article...

The main reason I went on my initial sarcastic tirade is to show how wrong anti-Malaysian/anti-Mahathir thinkers can be and if they can get something as obvious as the actual real-life daily situation in Malaysia wrong, then one has to wonder as to how accurate the rest of their arguments are.

Now, while Mahathir says such things that are so blunt that they offend so many people, there is absolutely no way you can deny that there are truthful bases for his words. I will concede that sometimes the former PM does go a little over the top, but where the spin and bombast isn't so blindingly obvious you can see the kernel of truth.

You have to wonder why is it that every time someone rightfully criticises the Jewish community - Israeli or otherwise - the entire Western media and government goes berserk and accuses the criticiser of anti-Semitism - which is actually ironic considering that to be anti-Semitic you have to be anti-Jew AND anti-Arab, but that's irrelevant right now. Conversely, when someone spouts absolute untruth about, say, Islam or the developing world so few people stand up against that in said Western media and governments. Case in point: General Boykin (I think that's his name), who so wisely labels Islam as an idol religion and Muslims as Satanists. Where are the anti-defamation league spokespeople speaking out against that kind of hate on the international networks? Why doesn't the EC slap the US' hand for not publicly condemning the general, who is ironically enough a deputy in intelligence matters for the US armed forces?

Ditto Israel and Palestine.

Now I'm not saying that this is evidence that Jewish elements literally rule the world. But it is apparent to me that the Jewish lobby in the US and Europe hold undue influence that cannot be compared to whatever minor leverage the Muslim lobby or any other lobby has, and if you have such powerful influence over what is undeniably the world's sole superpower it essentially IS having the world in the palm of your hand.

Regarding homosexuality and the like: I'm not one, and I have a distaste for that kind of lifestyle, but I don't hold it against any practitioners and it doesn't cause me to hate them (except in the case of those noisy activists who shove their sexuality down everyone's throats... that would annoy anyone, pro-gay or not). I think you will find that this kind of view is the more prevalent view among Malaysians, though they would never admit it for fear of being teased as a queer (yes, peer pressure happens to us too).

However, one must be aware that Malaysia is a Muslim nation, and the teachings of Islam specifically condemn homosexuality in all forms. You cannot expect a government that rules with Islamic principles in mind to go ahead and legalise gay relationships without becoming hypocritical. And before anyone marks this as proof that Malaysia specifically and Islam as a whole is barbarous enough to kill homosexuals on sight and so on, let me make it clear that the first and usually only action taken is counselling and that happens only with Muslims - non-Muslims who are involved in gay relationships are generally left unmolested by the government.

So why bother boycotting Malaysia? Draconian laws, lousy human rights, outmoded moral codes, untruthful accusations... these arguments are all easily sunk if anyone bothers to look past the spin people with agendas wrap them in. But then, who is going to listen to me? I am, after all, a Malaysian who - according to said spin doctors - unable to think for myself and simply toe the government line.

Look past the spin in this article. Look past MY spin. Go dig around for the actual facts, and decide for yourselves.

- Jo is a Malaysian who stumbled upon this boycott call in his idle surfing, interested in finding out what other people think about Malaysia and its former PM. He uses only his nickname here because he has enough sense not to leave his full name in every single nook and cranny of the 'Net.