From the Selangor Times Issue 16, 18-20 March 2011. Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok where all your profound, abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite, sagacious, and other thesaurus-described queries are answered!

This week, Ask Lord Bobo tells all about the LoyarBurok Rakyat Centre, and UndiMalaysia.

ALB16

I have been hearing of the @pusatrakyatlb & @undimalaysia campaigns. What are these, pray tell? @angeline_tung, via Twitter

It’s like this. A mosque is a place where faithful Muslims congregate. Likewise, a church is where faithful Christians congregate. Pusat Rakyat LoyarBurok, or the LoyarBurok Rakyat Centre (LBRC) is a place where rakyat of any faith congregate in one common belief — that Malaysia is home, and it can be a better place for all.

Lord Bobo has felt the time was right for a physical manifestation of LoyarBurokness on earth and play a larger role in the nation’s drive towards being a civilized society. Aside from being a base of operations, LBRC hopes to provide space for today’s youth to constructively engage, discuss and educate themselves about political, social and cultural issues as well as providing a platform and/or catalyst for other beneficial rakyat oriented initiatives.

If you are a rakyat who wants to see Malaysia as a country governed by core values such as human (and animal as well; let’s not forget them, please) rights, justice, democracy and the rule of law, and wonder whether there is something you can do, then LBRC is the place for you.

LBRC does not seek to claim that all these goals will be achieved overnight, but it believes in building a stronghold of rakyat who are willing to participate in realising these goals. It is important to note that LBRC is politically non-partisan, although we love a party, son.

For a start, LBRC will focus on creating awareness on important issues that affect the rakyat through its blawg, training and resource centre. At the same time, it will launch its first voter education project aka “Undi Malaysia”.

Undi Malaysia is a bit like American Idol without the glitz and glamour. And oh, no idols too. And, come to think of it, nothing American either. Er. But the idea is there.

We want to help Malaysia vote for the best election candidate in their respective constituencies through grassroots voter education activities. Through this campaign, LoyarBurok intends to develop its offline presence in an inimitable, politically and socially relevant, yet rakyat-oriented approach. Undi Malaysia is a voter education initiative that is designed to empower citizens to take ownership of their own country instead of leaving it to the negligence, despotism and corruption of their representatives.

Its goal is to provide information and issues that would assist the rakyat in deciding whom and why they choose someone or which party to represent them. Crucial to this is to also provide useful information regarding the political institutions such as the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary and their roles and responsibilities. By empowering, we hope that citizens would come to understand that demanding accountability and transparency from their representatives is not privilege or a blessing, but a Constitutionally-enshrined right that they can and are encouraged to exercise reasonably and bona fide.

A wise guy by the name of Edmund Burke (not Edmund Bon; don’t misquote) once said, “All that is needed in order for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.” LBRC aspires to build an army of rakyat who will do something.

To find out more about what LBRC does, please come to the official launch (codename “Ops PISANG” — People’s Initiatives for Social Activation and New Governance) on Saturday, 19 March 2011, from 3pm to 6pm at 3-4, 4th Floor, Jalan Bangsar Utama 3, Bangsar Utama. For more details, go to www.LoyarBurok.com. Come on down. Bring your friends. Bring your enemies. Become a LoyarBurokker. Touch a LoyarBurokker. There will be fun. Music. Prizes. Chat. You don’t need to be a lawyer to be a LoyarBurokker.

See you there.

Although Lord Bobo already knows your question before you even knew you had a question, as a practical display of your true desire to have your query answered, His Supreme Eminenceness has graciously allowed you to communicate your questions by –

  • emailing [email protected], stating your full name, and a pseudonym if you wish the question to be published anonymously (and a good reason for anonymity).
  • tweeting your questions by mentioning @LoyarBurok and using the hashtag #asklordbobo.

The first 100 questions published will receive LoyarBurok’s ONLY merchandise you ever need (worth a lot for humankind) courtesy of Selangor Times. Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Hear This and Tremblingly Obey (although trembling is optional if you are somewhere very warm)! Liberavi Animam Meam! I Have Freed My Spirit!

Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok where all your profound, abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite, sagacious, and other thesaurus-described queries are answered! It is the ONLY place that...

2 replies on “Ask Lord Bobo: Centre For The Rakyat”

  1. For too long we have been silent on the many injustice,racism and corruption that has spill right infront our faces and feel so helpless alone !

    Brave Rosa Parks peaceful lone action in US during the racist days of segregation is much admired.

    We all want Good Governance but it wont come on a plate. Individually we can all play our some part-join an interest group, support it , write ,comment on issues and join or volunteer service in any good governance movement.

    Syabas to Loyarburok centre.

  2. A singular centre should not be needed, as ALL LAWYER'S offices should be Centres for the Rakyat. This is what makes the legal profession respected,. protection and charity to the Rakyat, and to strike fear in the abusive MPs or government. No ambivalence, so run for candidacy, there are 15,000 lawyers, and all we need are 111 *GOOD* MPs to kick out bad MPs in BN or PR. Run during GE13 against all creeps who won't lower 15,000 candidacy deposits to 15.00. Also don't forget :

    1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism

    2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy.

    3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution.

    You haven't freed YOUR spirit if you havent made up your minds to run for candidacy given the pathetic state of the government. So don't imagine freeing the spirit of others by not running.

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