Boleh “participate” in space only
Now here is damning evidence that the anjing kerajaan monkey that was recently sent into space was exactly just that…an anjing kerajaan monkey. So its pretty much official that there goes my father’s tax money on yet another useless “ego-project”, i.e. in space. Instead of repeating what I have said before that vindicates my position, I’ll lay down the evidence where you can form your own conclusions from it.
Evidence 1:
From the caption in the NASA website.
The Expedition 16 crew members pose for a portrait at the Johnson Space Center. From the left (front row) are Russia’s Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer and Soyuz commander; astronaut Peggy Whitson, commander; and Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. From the left (back row) are European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Léopold Eyharts, astronaut Garrett Reisman and astronaut Dan Tani, all flight engineers.
Evidence 2:
Definition of “spaceflight participant” from Wikipedia.
Spaceflight participant is a term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA) for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew. The term serves to distinguish the tourists and other special travelers from the career astronauts.
Conclusion:
Form your own conclusions. If this is not an ego project, I do not know what is!