Progressivsm

NGO's and political influence

2011-10-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

I'm happy that the role of civil society in shaping policies in this country is improving. More often NGO's have use their own way, whether it be street demonstration, complaining through the proper channel or somewhere in between to forward their objectives. The days of government knows best is coming to a close. New politics( Politik Baru), here we come.

I made this remark in observing the recent trend in our political landscape. Firstly, the claim by Malay-rights group Perkasa that they will be ''Kingmakers" in the next general election and that candidates that don't support their agenda will be defeated with their help.

Whether the statement is true or not is secondary, but of primary interest to me is that the role of a NGO is finally understood. NGO's are suppose to be pressure groups. Meaning that there are not suppose to bow down to the government when their agenda is at risk. Not just the government, any other parties for that matter. It is only by imposing their political clout that they can alter the political landscape favouring their agenda.

Any other ''weapons" at their disposal aside from political influence that can forward their agenda are welcomed. In the US, certain groups that are known to help in raising funds for politicians, use their financial clout in advancing their agendas. There are known as PAC( Public Action Committee) that at one time are used by the Republicans effectively. Now even President Obama is using it.

Even, PAGE( Parents Action Group for Education) and MTUC( Malaysia Trade Union Congress) have warned the government that they may lose votes if their demands are not met. PAGE is trying to convince the PM to change the policy regarding the teaching of Maths and Science in Malay to English whereas MTUC is fighting against government move to amened law(s) that they deemed as damaging to workers.

All of these organizations compromise the Rakyat but the only difference with others is that they are taking action in what they believe as good for the country or the groups they represent. This can only bring empowerment to the Rakyat in deciding their political fate.

Having said that however, some NGO's are still clueless about their role in society. I still think that the union for the civil servants, CUEPACS are not firm enough in fighting for civil servants. That they are perceived( at least by me) as kow towing to the government. They should have been more vocal on the death of Sarbani, a civil servant, and offer a helping hand for those who is fighting in his cause.

Maybe their are tough behind the scenes. I don't know. But there are many ''weak" NGO's to pick from. That are afraid to fight for the people they represent or simply are not interested to do so. Therefore they are no justice for the Rakyat when the system failed them.

As for politicians, they job is simply to engage and try to understand their position. Shutting them up like what the governmnet did to Bersih won't do any good. It is important to note that they represent the Rakyat, at as the saying goes '' Suara Rakyat, Suara Keramat". So listening to them is important to any government to remain close to the people. The same goes to the opposition. Try to engage Perkasa as they represent the Rakyat that are part of that NGO. Engaging doesn't mean compromising on your values. It just give you greater understanding of those who don't share your views.

In Conclusion, new politics demand that NGO's assert their authorities to the government and any other parties that stand in the way of their agendas. This trend should be encouraged as a way for politicians to gather feedback from the Rakyat. It's a form of people empowerment. That people, can, if they are willing to take action, decide on their fate. Fighting for self-determination is a right of all citizens, as long as it is done in a manner that is acceptable. Malaysia belongs to Malaysians, thus we should play a part in how Malaysia is governed. Kudos to all the NGO's...:)

Middle Malaysia or 1Malaysia, a Win for All

2011-09-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm somewhat optimistic about the direction that we are heading now. The pressure from both sides of the political divide have been enormous but our politicians showed political will. They showed that they will not bow to the pressure and the interest of ordinary Malaysians will come first.

Firstly, our Prime Minister showed tremendous political will in announcing the end of repressive and restrictive laws like the ISA, the need for renewal of permit for media and so on. He chose a grand occasion in announcing the such move, his Malaysia Day address to fellow Malaysians.

Let us hope that he will fulfil his promise and that the laws replacing those outdated acts will not be the same or worse than the current acts. Despite certain groups within his party that are calling for continuation of such acts, he showed the cynics and sceptics that transformation is indeed his agenda for this country. Hopefully it is transformation for the better.

On the other hand, the opposition too, was under pressure from from politically strong pressure groups within their respective parties. The recent row over Hudud, where the hardcore secular and Islamist group clashed with bravado over their respective beliefs, to the extent of threats to leave Pakatan Rakyat by some was defeated by level-headed leaders of Pakatan Rakyat.

Together they stood their ground and say it's okay to disagree, but Pakatan Rakat will only move with the consensus of all parties. This is similar in relationships where a good relationship is not that there is no disagreement at all, rather the ability to move beyond the disagreement and build consensus. DAP had in the past talked about Middle Malaysia, this is a clear indication that indeed there are seriuos about it.

This proves that Pakatan Rakyat is more than a marriage of convenience, but rather a romantic marriage with all the twist and turns, conflict and drama not forgetting the I'm going to leave you threat that is commonplace in relationships. Where else can you see a marriage between secularists and Islamists that can last this long, this is truly a Malaysian story. Malaysia Boleh!

With Perkasa running around shouting racist rhetoric, pressuring the government to be ethnocentric, and the conservatives whether in PAS or DAP that is imposing their way of doing things in the opposition, one wonder whether change can happen in this country. But with the way these leaders from both the government and opposition handle these pressure groups, I can say we are headed towards the right direction, whether it is Middle Malaysia or 1Malaysia...:)

In Conclusion, we must remember that Malaysia is a country that is diverse, therefore we cannot be dogmatic in our thoughts and actions. This country is successful and will only continue to be successful if we follow the footsteps of our forefathers that used the melting pot approach rather than create hegemony in this country.

Malaysia is a "rojak nation", a mixture of a little bit of everything. The same goes to all of us Malaysians. It is important that we remember that. We, the people of Malaysia must defend this Malaysian way, because this is the only way, this is our way....:)

The Right of Assembly As A Weapon Against Tyranny And Injustice

2011-07-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, sorry for not writing for quite sometime, been quite busy lately. Anyway, despite being busy with work and stuff, it is hard to ignore the heightened political tension now. The tension is caused by the BERSIH 2.0 rally not to mention Perkasa and UMNO Youth that will have similar counter-rally at the same place and time as BERSIH 2.0.

I'm not a fan of street demonstrations. I don't believe in demonstrating for the sake of demonstrating. However, I plan to take part in the BERSIH 2.0 rally. The reason being is that BERSIH 2.0 is a rally for democracy, a cause close to my heart.

However some quarters have demonise BERSIH to the extent of equating it to communism, foreign imperialism and what not. It is expected especially from the government seeking to continue their manipulation of the electoral system for the sake of their hold on power. It is not national security as much as it is maintaining political order and preservation of power. Draconian ways in the name of national security have been used to contain the rally including arresting those who are in any way associated with BERSIH ( eg wearing, selling or using BERSIH goods, promoting BERSIH).

It is funny how the ones accusing BERSIH of communism is practicing ways of the communist. Communism states are known to crash dissent using fear and torture and apparently, to a certain extent, the BN government seems keen to use the approach of communist states instead of the ones used in developed nation democracies that allow peaceful protests. We are behaving like a communist nation so much so that even wearing a BERSIH shirt warrants an arrest. Chin Peng must be laughing at us right now. Demokrasi acuan sendiri kan.

Despite the legitimacy of security issues, we must remember authoritarian nations tend to use this argument to crush dissent due to their own tyranny and unjust way of governing. I have seen it so many times. The Mubarak, Suharto, Mugabe and other autocratic regime have used the excuse of national security in legitimizing their unjust crackdown on those who are opposing them.

Even fear-gripped USA voted for Bush in 2004 due his national security agenda. Look what happened to the United States due to their decision, illegal detention of so called terrorist, the waging of expansive wars that resulted in lost of innocent human beings, cruel methods to gain information such as waterboarding and other atrocities never imagined possible, especially from the US. We must not lose our humanity in the presence of fear as the ultimate fear is losing our humanity. That is when injustice begun.

Finally, the use of assembly and demonstrations have brought down tyrant regimes like the regime of Suharto, Mubarak and many more throughout history.

The use of demonstrations also have managed to get the government to react in a positive manner. For example, in Malaysia, the last BERSIH rally managed to get the government to agree on few electoral reforms such as the use of transparent ballot box instead of the metal ones and the presence of independent officers during the counting of the ballot. The government even agreed on the indelible ink proposal but aborted in last minute due to technical issues. The election conducted by the government after BERSIH's first rally is cleaner compared to previous elections.

Even the Anti PPSMI( Pembelajaran dan pengajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris) movement managed to put pressure to the government to overturn the policy of teaching English in science and mathematics whether the move is right or wrong. The point is, sometimes the use of demonstrations are necessary to pressure the government to act accordingly and to bring down tyranny and unjust government.

In conclusion, the right of assembly in a peaceful manner should be protected as it can be used as a weapon by the people to ask the government to change their ways or to change the government itself. It is the manifestation of people power or Ketuanan Rakyat. Let me end this article with the famous quote in the movie V for Vendetta with the hope that we, malaysians demand the same from ourselves and our government '' The People Should Not Be Afraid of The Government, The Government Should be Afraid of The People".

Supporting Poltics of Merit and Values, Battling Slander Politics

2011-03-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

In embracing technology as a device for social change, I have sign up to blogspot to communicate my ideas and views on the need for reform in this country.

However, the advancement of technology also has a big downside as we recently witnessed in the supposedly Anwar sex video scandal. Technology is misused to create slander and spread lies. This development is certainly unhealthy for our democracy as the ability to reach an informed decision on who is the best to lead is imperative to a functioning democracy. With lies and slander at the forefront of our political space, blinding the masses with incorrect facts, one wonder how can the people reach the correct informed decision.

Even in a better functioning democracies like in the US and UK, where lies and slander can be countered by disseminating the correct information( as media is free there, unlike here), forget about lies and slander, even the tampering of fact led to Americans and Brits in endorsing leaders that brought them to two costly wars that people from both sides later regretted( Bush won in the 2004 reelection and Blair's Labour Party also won at the 2005 General Election).

Malaysians irrespective of political affiliation must denounce this act and call for politics that are based on merit and values where one ability to lead and values like integrity and honesty be the measuring stick for potential office bearers. For this to happen, all Malaysians must reject any politics that can impair the ability to judge the candidates merit and values like slander politics, race politics and many more.

Having said that, doesn't mean that we should ignore the claims of "Datuk T", rather we incorporate in speech and deed in ourselves and others the principle of justice like innocent until proven guilty and everyone has a right to defend themselves from any accusation in a court of law( I will also add outside too). Not forgetting another Important principle of justice, the concept of supremacy and rule of law meaning the law is below no one including the opposition leader. If found guilty fairly, he should step down from any posts and face the punishment accorded by law.

In echoing the stand by controverisal blogger, Raja Petra, "Datuk T" must not be prosecuted either as it is important that whistle blowers be protected by law so that other whistle blowers will not fear for the legal consequences if they reveal discrepancies of whatever sort. However, if the allegation is proven to be a lie, then they should be punished for their action of making false accusation and fabricating evidence against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Hopefully that in doing so, it will deter others in engaging in such acts, so that the honour of individuals will be respected in this country.

In conclusion, we should not support nor engage in slander politics and embrace merit and values politics. Anwar is shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty. It's time we drop the kind of politics that are practice by third world countries an adopt the development world kind of politics, in line with our aspiration to be a develop nation. Hopefully we can achieve that in full, physically, mentally, emotionally( I might add spiritually) and not just partially. Only then we can truly prosper and excel in the long run. Sent by DiGi from my BlackBerry® Smartphone

The Failure of US Foreign Policy.

2011-02-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

The recent upheaval in the Middle East recently that saw protests in that region especially Tunisia and Egypt are in part either partly caused and/or damaging to the US. The reason for that fact can be traced in US foreign policy towards nations in that region and the rest of the world.

Whether rightly or so, US world image has been further tarnished due to the protests as some people especially in that region have perceived that US somehow was involved in the streghtening of the unpopular dictators there like Egypt President Hosni Mubarak despite them being a contradiction to US values like freedom, democracy and so on.

The Middle East is obviously an important region to the US and the rest of the world. There lies most of the oil fields that if disrupted, can cause major economic unrest. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran being the world top oil producers( Saudi is no1 followed by Iraq at no2 ) are only a few nations in the Middle East being major oil producers.

Besides that, the major trading route, The Suez canal( no1 trading route) is also located there. Any disruption there will lead to a standstill in international trade causing also economic unrest.

Finally, the nation of Israel which is influential and important to the US due to the strenght of Jewish lobbyists is also located there. So it isn't surprising for world powers to meddle and have leaders in that region being subservient to their demands as their interests lie on the region being stable despite the leaders poor humanitarian records.

The US, the British and the French and others have had a hand in the region affairs while nicely closing one eye or even supporting the brutality of the regimes there so that they can continue to have leaders who are supportive of them and can take care of their interests.

This approach to foreign policy while pragmatic, is always damaging in the end as the unpopular regime will further inflame anti-American sentiments among the people and give rise to an alternative that is hostile to the US( case in point Cuba, closer to the Middle East is Iran) and its values.

Human rights, democracy and other US imports are deemed as the evil western ideologies that must be fought against despite its advantage in uplifting the individuals in that country. Anti-American sentiments trumps these important people empowering values as it's advocated by the US even though the action that created the ill-feeling is actually is in direct contradiction to the values.

The result will be the rise of extremism and violence( Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah being the example) and the creation of nation-states that uphold such beliefs( Cuba can be used as an example with its many political prisoners, and the popular support garnered by assertive leaders advocating war and terror like Benjamin Netanyahu and his party in Isreal, Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, whether the call is justified or not) which will bring the region on a state of turmoil eventually thus creating the economic unrest the US and the west feared so much.

So, the US must now change its foreign policy from the pragmatic one to the one base on it's values so that there is a consistency and clear representation of what and why there are trying to persuade the world to follow their lead. The US must stop supporting dictators just because the dictators supported them and their interests.

Rather, US must influence and persuade the nations there to follow the values they are advocating and US must respect the outcome of such move.( US decision not to support Hamas and Hezbollah despite those two movement through the practice of democracy are representing a large section of the population will only benefit undemocratic leaders and the exremists) If US are not happy about certain outcome, their only way to redress is to have a dialog with the democratically elected leaders.

Another way is to support and give the right amount of power to international bodies like the UN, WTO and so on to be either mediator or arbitrator to the problems between nations be it US or others.The US must not use violence and regime change to benefit their interests as these will lead to oppression and the US and her people will eventually be the target of the people's anger. The fight for important values against extremists like the fight for human rights and democracy that can benefit everybody will also be negatively affected as they are seen as the US or the west ideology.

Finally, it is time for the US to learn and respect other people's beliefs in how the should be governed as long as it is done through the democratic process and are not harmful to its citizens as the govern is legitimate due to the attainment of the mandate from the people and disrespecting it will mean challenging the sovereignty of the country and her people( The government of Iran is a great example).

The US should engage with different groups like the Islamist movement and the Oriental movement and hopefully through the engagement both sides can benefit from one another either through exchanges of practices and value systems or simply through understanding how the different groups can work together despite their differences for the benefit of all parties.

That is what plurality and diversity truly means. The US and west and should advocate such dialog as they believe in plurality and diversity, unless that is another of their many values and actions contradictions where they disguise hegemony as plurality. If that is the case, the one at the losing end is the US and all the people that stand to benefit from its values. It is worth nothing that the end of cold war where US is the only world superpower is over. The US will do well to note that if they want to continue to lead the world or if they will lose that position to China. Only time will tell.

Restore Our Parliament's Supremacy And Dignity

2010-12-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

I have to write this article after seeing the symbol and function of democracy here in Malaysia being attacked. It was attacked by madness, incompetence and abuse of power by the speaker and the majority. The speaker has suspended the Opposition Leader and 3 others from Parliament for 6 months. All of these started with the issue of Anwar exercising his rights by bringing up the link between APCO and the Israel regime.

The issue got worse with the handling of the case by The Special Rights and Privileges Committee chaired by the speaker himself which denied Anwar a chance to defend himself from the suspension. The decision was also made without evidence from the Opposition on the viability of Anwar's statement.

Firstly, this is not the first time that Parliament under the speaker, caused an uproar. MP from Puchong Gorbind Singh Deo was suspended in Parliament for 1 year for bringing the Altantuya murder case in Parliament. I believe that the Parliamentarians, as representatives of the people have the right to ask question they deemed important for the public. The case of APCO, which consults the government on enhancing its image and the murder of Altantuya, obvious these two cases are of public interest.

It is the duty of Parliamentarains to act as an representative amd indirect informer to the people about the ongoings of the country. But the government decided not only to keep it in the dark, they also punished severely those who talked about it even in the hallowed halls of Parliament. How can a government claimed itself to be transparent and accountability when we the people don't know what's going on and whose accountable?

Secondly, diverting from the APCO issue, our Parliament must be given independence from the executive branch. The Parliamentary allocation is given from the federal government to the Parliamentarians through the party branches instead of Parliament to the parliamentarians. This creates the current situation where constituencies under BN are given allocation while PR constituencies are left to fend for themselves.

Therefore, voters who voted for PR collectively in a constituency will be punished with no development at worst, while at best the PR elected representatives can't decide how the area is to be developed when federal agencies will do the development work themselves. This is mockery of our Democratic practice when voters will be punished for not voting the government.

I believe it is time Parliament is empowered with the right to disburse allocation to all MPs equally where they are given a fair amount of freedom to decide on how the money is to be spend.

Furthermore, the cabinet here in Malaysia is very powerful where they made most of the decision. This is in sharp contrast with the US where the President must even get the consent of the Congress on the choice of cabinet ministers to the Supreme Court Judge Leader.

The Congress can even have a committee hearing on the conduct of the President like the one that happen to President Clinton involving Monica Lewinski case and President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.Such hearing can even lead to the President being impeached.

It would be ideal for Malaysia to see the power of the cabinet limited by the giving more power to the people through the Parliament. As a result, Parliamentary Committee in Malaysia is either as powerful or slightly less powerful than those in the US.( The Parliamentary Committee should at least has a representative from the Opposition, if not equal representation for it to be fair)This will allow Parliament to curb excesses by the government, may it be excesses in executing its power or otherwise or even vice versa where the government is granted more power for a specific puropse.

Finally, it is desirable for the Parliamentarians not to be just legislators, but be involved indirectly in policy making instead of the current practice of the bureaucrats doing the policy work. They should at least be allowed to make contribution in any policy with the help of the bureaucrats. For example, the Senate Committee of Banking and Finance in US will call anybody it deemed necessary to testify on the bailout of the financial Sector due to the Economic Crisis in 2008 where recommendations will be made for serious consideration for the President and his team.

This should be advocated as the bureaucrats have no mandate from the people and are not answerable to the people. Here in Malaysia, some civil servants put too much loyalty to the government over the people, thus despite their incompetence, they are given top post in the government. If Parliament can rein in this practice by giving consent or rejecting the appointment of MACC Chief or Inspector General of Police, that will enhance their performance and loyalty to the people.( Again voices of the Opposition must be heard for this to work effectively).

In conclusion, is time the government add meaning to their Slogan of 1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan whcih means people and performance are of importance. One way this can be realised is giving power to the people and Parliament is where this power should be placed being the function and symbol of people sovereignty( Keadaulatan Rakyat).

Reform in our Parliamentary system must be carried out so the voices and aspiration of the people can be heard and realised and no one, including the speaker, should be allowed to stop it as only then can we, the people, be truly sovereign. Only then we will be treated in the manner that we deserve.HIDUP RAKYAT!

Real Ketuanan Melayu!

2010-12-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

The Ketuanan Melayu issue certainly got the headlines currently with a few quarters calling an end to it like for it to be'' di bakul sampahkan"(thrown in the thrash) while others defended it. There are various reasons for these people stating their stand but my view is that what's more important is not the slogan but rather the actual state of the Malays in this country.

I will let the opportunistic politicians to fight for Ketuanan Melayu for it to stay or be replaced as deep down I'm convince most of them are uninterested about the real issue here and the Malays must survive and thrive regardless.

Firstly, the reason I state that this slogan is irrelevant is because you can yell and shout this slogan all you want, but the malaise of the Malays stays. The Malays will still be drivers, sewage workers and other low-paying jobs with or without the slogan. So, if one truly care about the Malays, I will rather ask all of us to focus on solving the problem of the Malays as with "Ketauanan Melayu", we are still the lowest in terms of income compared to other races, highest drug addicts and many more things that will shake any illusions about us being ''tuan".

If one is to study history of the dominant races like the Greeks, Romans, Jews and so on, they all don't rely on slogans to be successful, some of them are even a minority in the country. What brought them there is through instilling of values like love of knowledge, hard work, curiosity, emphasis on one survival and so on.

For example,the Greeks, enquiry into nature brought them the gift of philosophy that created a comparative advantage for them against other races as they use philosophy to create better individuals, society and country. Therefore, their advantage lies in their minds, not sloganeering. The way they carry themselves and govern themselves brought the Greek civilisation as the best in the world at one time, and all of these are because of their minds.

So the Malays, for them to be uplifted, must be willing to change their behaviours and more importantly, their thinking and start to act like a ''tuan" by instilling some good values and behaviours instead of behaving like a ''tuan" wannabe but incapable of showing their worth as a ''tuan".

Secondly, the slogan has long been misused by certain quarters calling on for the Malays to be protected as ''tuan" with economic benefits while the same quarters work with their non-Malays counterpart to ''steal" the so-called economic benefits for themselves. Many of these Ali Baba businessesman make millions doing nothing just because he or she is a Malay with contacts to the powers that be that can give him or her lucrative contracts.

I believe that is unethical as the ones deserving that contracts are the hardworking Malays despite the lack of the right know-who. These heinous act is protected under the guise of ''Ketuanan Melayu" and Malay poverty but the rich Malays and their rich non-Malays partners are the ones that gains the most.

Furthermore, it has also been misused by politicians who yelled the''Ketuanan Melayu" slogan for their political gain while using that as a way to excuse their corrupt practices, abuse of power and incompetence in governing. Some of these politicians even sell out to the Malays when they themselves are Ali Baba businessman or acted in ways similar to it. The Malays deserve better politicians representing them, but their fear of the other race due to the influence of these politicians cause them to be shackled by these phony ''pejuang melayu".

Real Ketuanan Melayu can only happen when the shackle is broken and the Malays are truly free from them and their patronage. For that to happen, Malays must first start to be independent and stop the dependency on the entitlements that they give to gain the support of the Malays as the entitlements as a whole pale in comparison to the riches, influence and power they receive.

Finally, I have never been a fan of symbols, illusions and superficiality. I prefer functionality as it is real and long lasting. The Malays are known for their obsession for symbols. Why else there are so much fuss about the waving of the keris being questioned or the fact that some suggest ''Ketuanan Melayu" to be deposed.

History can show how the colonial master made use of the Sultans in ceremonial function to trick the Malays into the illusion of power when in fact the colonial powers are the ones who have the real power. The Sultans acted merely as a symbol for the Malays to feel good. Hundreds of years later, one can wonder whether we truly has change as based on many events on how the Malays behave, the answer is unfortunately, no.

In conclusion, let us ignore these polemic of ''Ketuanan Melayu" and focus on solving the problem the Malays truly has like rampant corruption among the politicians, lack of economic power and so on. Values also must be instilled for the Malays. In my view, the most important value is making education important in the Malay mentality beside from the usual hard work, perseverance and so on.

If we are focus in solving our problems and instilling good values, then maybe we can truly live the ''Ketuanan Melayu" slogan no matter who is ruling the country or no matter where we are in the world without kidding to ourselves as the ''Ketauanan Melayu" in us are not superficial, rather they are real ''Ketuanan".

The Lack of Dignity and Honor Among Present Leaders

2010-11-24T01:04:00.000-08:00

Great leaders are important to the development of nations and its people. Therefore it is essential that Malaysians are wary of the lack of quality leadership here in this country especially among the Malays.

One can wonder what happened to the golden age of Malaysia where Malaysia is filled with great leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng lock, Tun V. Sambathan and other giant personalities of Malaysian where their places are waiting to be filed be other capable leaders. Unfortunately, presently, the same can’t be said.

One possible reason for the lack of good leaders presently is the lack of good virtues among the present leaders that used to be the hallmark of leaders in Pre-Independent leaders. One of the virtues that I would like to touch is showing dignity and honor in ones conduct. Present leaders trade dignity for power and positions where as the older generation leaders tend to be more mindful of dignity and honor as it reflect their self-worth.

One example would be the corruption case of former Selangor Menteri Besar Dato Harun Idris corruption case where despite being offered to be sent to UN to escape from the charge, Dato Harun insisted on facing the trial as it is the honorable thing to do that resulted him being jailed. He made a mistake and accepted responsibility for it as that what leaders with dignity and honor will do.

Presently however, despite some leaders being caught for corruption red handed, they refused to take responsibility for it and serve the punishment. Just look at the corruption cases involving the last UMNO elections where certain personalities caught for money politics remained in their positions without doing the right thing like what Dato Harun did. They are more concerned about power and positions instead of honor and dignity.

Another example is the unfair sacking of Tun Salleh Abbas, where some of his colleagues like Supreme Court judge, the late Tan Sri Azmi Kamaruddin, show great honor and dignity and defended their boss despite the circumstances they face as they where later suspended. They are willing to risk their positions for the sake of upholding justice in which they are entrusted to do as judges. Upholding their oath and duty as judges are more important than their positions.

The same can’t be said with the current judiciary with the Linggam Tape scandal, not to mention the public perception of the judiciary being corrupt. Some of the personalities involved in the Linggam Tape scandal including judges that even serve as Chief Justice didn’t even apologize or show remorse publicly for their actions. They should at least preserve whatever dignity and honor they have left and apologize for the injustice that occurred due to their action.

In developed countries like US and Japan, public official who don’t perform or they were involved in an unethical act will step down for the sake of preserving their honor and dignity. For example, even the President of USA, Richard Nixon step down as President after the Watergate scandal involving a break in of his political party rival office by Republicans.

In Japan, a lot of ministers even Prime Ministers have step down to preserve their honor and dignity. Japan former finance minister even step down just because he appeared drunk in one press conference eventhough he actually was affected by medicine he took.

Here in Malaysia however, many underperforming ministers are still unashamed with their incompetence and unethical act, even worst, they will get upset if they are dropped from the cabinet. They don’t care about other things except their power and positions despite them being there are detrimental to the people well being.

Finally, the current leaders want positions but not the responsibility that comes with it. Older generation leaders are the ones who what we call ‘’Leaders Without Title” as they don’t care about position but instead focus on enhancing the well-being of the people by serving them.

Ghaffar Baba, the former Deputy Prime Minister is great example where he served the people despite not been given an important ministerial position before becoming Deputy Prime Minister( even then his portfolio is still not that important compared to other Deputy Prime Miniters) despite being elected as Vice-President of UMNO with the highest votes at one time.

That never deterred him from serving the people as his duty id to serve other not his self-interests as it an honor to serve the ‘’rakyat” compared to serving one-self. This important leadership trait is absent in the current leadership and most probably future leadership if nothing is done to instill in them such a trait.

In conclusion, we as Malaysian must instill in others and ourselves especially our leaders to take care of our dignity and honor above anything else. We must make it part of Malaysian culture just like the Japanese where the person dignity and honor is worth that person life, not power of positions.

The Malaysian public must be willing to think and act likewise in their everyday dealings especially in their voting exercise as by doing so can Malaysia be clean of politicians who are unhonorable that have no dignity despite their race, political affiliation and others. When we can carry that out only we will good leaders that we deserve. Remember, ‘’People Get The Leaders They Deserve”.

Merdeka, National Integration and Polarization.

2010-09-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Last month, our beloved nation turned 53 years old. The watershed date of August 31st marked the occasion where on that very date, 53 years ago, our nation achieved it’s independence from the British.

It was an important event for our nation however, aside from having a free nation, our nation building stalled there as many of the problems facing us as a nation then remained with us now at best, at worst things are actually better of than compared to now, economic consideration aside. One of the main hindrance of national integration in our country is the state of polarization among the races that persisted from pre-independence until now, 53 years later.

Most of the way things were then, remained now despite we achieving independence like the social order that caused polarization during the colonial time due to the divide and rule policy they used against us. It's ironic then that now, the same policy is still in force and are administrated by our own government now claiming it as ''acuan sendiri".

An example of such problem in national integration among the different ethnic groups, we remain as divided as a nation despite being together for a long time. The Malays, Chinese, Indians and East Malaysians have their own communal interests at heart instead of having the Malaysian interest. Efforts in integration have been hampered by those yelling racial supremacy and racial togetherness.

Our Deputy Prime Minister Muhyidin Yassin himself led the charge of ethnicity over nation when he proclaimed he is a Malay first, Malaysian second. Many of our top leaders when press whether they are Malaysians first, either decline to comment or claim that they identify with their race first. That shows what we are having here is not nation building but ethnic ‘’building’’ within these nation which is not the effective way to go.

Having touched the issue of separation among the races among the leaders, let us look at among the common people. We remain as polarized as ever as we can see we are separated in different sector or groups.

The public sector consist of mainly Malays and the private sector is dominated by the non-Malays. In education, many Malays will go to national schools while the non-Malays will go to their respective vernacular schools and when they go to pursue higher education, majority of the Malays will be in public universities or colleges and most non-Malays will be in private ones. There are also specific industries which are race-dominated like the Chinese in the car workshop business.

Even when we are born, we are already divided into the Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera with each group having different benefits from the other. So it’s difficult to have a common interest and values, an essential ingredient for nation building, when we are polarized like this.

Furthermore, our political and social system are designed to ensure the continuation of such polarization as any effort to change the way things work by any means will most likely have serious consequences on the individual or group that are doing so. We have laws such as the Seditious Act and Internal Security Act to stop anyone from preaching against the current norm as they are deemed to sensitive and can disrupt the harmony among the races.

So we swept the problem of national integration under the carpet and assume ignorantly that there is no conflict among the races despite the writing on the wall such as the Namewee video clip, the Hindraf condemnation of the Malays and the “pendatang” tag given to the non-Malays by the Malays. Anyone caught questioning it will be incarcerated so the norm with it’s many problems persists.

We live in a nation of make believe where national integration is only manifested in the many commercials where we ‘’makan’’ together despite mentally and emotionally there is some serious discontent among us and there is now way of solving it as we are deemed to sensitive based on the absolute discretion of the powers that be.

In conclusion, as stated above, we are independent but we have not build our nation state(Negara Bangsa) of Malaysia where we our salience and loyalty is to the nation and not race, instead we have in Malaysia, many states with different interests competing with each other, each placing their interests above the interest of the nation as a whole. What we have is instead, a ‘’ state-nation”.

Therefore in conjunction with the 53 years of our nation’s independence, let us ‘’ask not what our nation has done for us, but ask instead what we have done for our nation”. That famous remark by President Kennedy is the cure to our cancer as many of our leaders are asking what their community deserves from the nation as being the sons of the soil ( Bumiputera), being a small minority, being the largest economic contributor and what not, instead of what the communities should do for the nation as a whole.

Let us change our paradigm and think as a Malaysian and what we can do for our nation so that we can put our past and self-prescribed sensitivities behind and begin the construction of our nation state where we all belong irrespective of our differences. That is my dream, and I think it should be part of the still non- existent Malaysian dream.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY MALAYSIA!...:)

Stop Race Politics!

2010-08-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am deeply disappointed by the actions of some politicians and the mainstream media in politicizing in a racial manner the Friday prayer sermon in Penang which some quarters claimed that the name of the Yang Dipertuan Agong had been replaced with that of the CM Lim Guang Eng. The state government has deny this allegation but the issue is still being politicised.

In this holy month of Ramadhan, why are there individuals who are miss using the sanctity of religion for their political gain. Statement made by Datuk Zahid Hamidi is uncalled for as instead of investigating the matter, some quarters prefer to politicised it out of proportion.

It must be remembered by Malaysians especially Muslims that slander in Islam is worst than murder, therefore, if the allegation happens to be untrue, one is committing a sin worst than murder. This allegation if not properly handled, might lead to religious and racial uproar in this mentally-induced racial and religious hyper-sensitive nation that can disrupt the harmony between the races.

This is not the first time such racialisation of an issue is being done nor will it be the last if we continue to reward race politics and racist politicians. This issue is worst as aside from race, it also involved religion.The issue of Hindraf, the cow head protest and so on is the result of practising race politics

The only way to move beyond all this is by the electorate to reject race politics as it does more harm than good, it creates disunity and takes our attention away from the real issues of the day like the menace of corruption, the inequity in economic distribution between the rich and the poor and so on.

If this trend continues, then there is the possibility that another May 13 might create havoc in this beloved nation of ours. Let us be responsible Malaysians and reject any politicians with such tendencies in all elections, be it national elections or party ones.

Failure to do so, as a result will lead to extremist force taking over the country. Look at the public support of Perkasa among the Malays, and how politicians for both side of the divide that is empty content wise but due to wilingness to be ''pejuang bangsa"(race warrior, in other words, racist to an extreme) is going up the ranks.

We certainly don't want such people to lead or be influential in managing this nation, thus before it's to late, let us do something. Moderates politicians that are trying to bridge the divide like Zaid Ibrahim( Malay-Non Malays) and Khalid Samad( Muslims-Non Muslims) require our strongest support as they are being attacked by Ultra Malays and Muslim conservatives respectively. We need such politicians to lead and influence the direction of this nation, not racist demagogues in Perkasa and so on.

The sanctity of religion and race must be protected and not be miss used as a divisive tool to enhance one's salience to a political party so that votes can be gained. The practice of such politics is irresponsible. A more humane alternative is to vote based on humanistic values such as empathy towards the ''others" and try to understand their rights, religion and culture. Lets us create a Malaysian society where one can live in harmony, individually and collectively where one is not punished because of his or her identity.

Let us strive for Martin Luther King's speech where he talked about his dream for his nation,
'' I have a dream, that my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by their colour, but by the content of their character".

Here in Malaysia, such word such echo in our hearts and mind as here, we are not judged by our content of character, but by our colour instead. Let us stand up and be counted to stop such practices, let us vote based on character and not colour.

Let us vote for the party that have the right values to guide our nation forward in a way that will not dampen our spirits and not the party that fight for narrow racial interests that create a society that is racist instead of a humanist society. Let us vote for the party with the best ideas for the nation and the ability to implement it well, not the party that talks of race supremacy or race solidarity.

In conclusion, we must demand the end of racial politics and ask instead for real issues-based ones-politics based on things that truly matter for our nation like the nation economic state,(sharing fairly of our nation wealth),social state(the polarisation among the races) , education state( is our education system producing the right human capital to steer this country in the 21st century) and many more.

The first step is for Malaysians to demand for such practice by at least using the ballot box, other measures that can help is the public advocation of such politics and for research on the subject to be conducted and information gained to be disseminated to the general public. We can only clean up our country if we clean up our politics and so let the'' Gotong Royong" begin for a cleaner politics that will lead us to a cleaner Malaysia.

A New Dawn for Malaysia's War Against Corruption?

2010-07-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

The PKFZ(Port Klang Free Trade Zone) project fiasco continues to dominate the headlines when former MCA President and Transport Minister, Tun Ling Liong Sik was charged in court for misleading the cabinet about the said project. Personally I'm shocked that the government is taking such action but obviously they did and congratulations to them in having the guts to do so. For the first time in a long time, a big wig is charged in court for something, by Malaysian standards, it's a revolution indeed( a Tun some more). We all know that corruption is Malaysia's number 1 enemy, so this is our biggest attempt in attacking this enemy.

However, before we jubilate and celebrate this milestone in the battle against corruption that, thus far has been won by the corrupt over the people of Malaysia until this happened, I would like to remind all of us that the battle is not over yet, let alone the war. Past battles had shown us that the corrupt are not so easily defeated to warrant a premature celebration. Memories of the Lingam and the judiciary case, Eric Chia and Pewaja case and many more that the prosecution and justice system failed to nail should remind us of how the battle is far from over.

Just like Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo who mistook a group of army approaching the battlefield as his reinforcement, which in actual fact happened to be his enemy Blucher leading the Prussian army, we should also be wary and not be disillusioned by this case until it is truly over and those guilty is charged.

I would not like to think the government of BN-prosecution team as an ally in the war against graft until they prove that they are worthy of being so as they might be reinforcement for the corrupt to blind Malaysians into thinking that the war is turning in our favour when it's not, worst is the opposite,just look at what happened to Napoleon( with the help of Blucher, Wellington defeated Napoleon in that battle that completely ended Napoleon's career and his dream of conquering Europe).

Excuse me for being cynical but after so much hope are dashed in the past, one will naturally behave in that manner. Nonetheless, I'm still hopeful that this might not be the'' same old, same old" story, but until the outcome of the case is determined, let us focus on other battles in this war against corruption.

Firstly,they are many corrupt individuals in government as we speak. One good example is Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam who the UMNO Discipline Council found guilty of money politics in the last UMNO General Assembly Election. So while the trial of Ling proceeds, we the public should increase the pressure on the government to act against such people and not be satisfied until corruption is at the minimum level in this country(if possible zero-corruption).

Besides that, to ensure continuation and acceleration of such act against graft, the public should demand the MACC, the country graft busting agency, to be fully independent from the control of government to avoid the interference of political power in the war against graft.

It will be tough for the agency to fight graft effectively if the government can decide the fate of it's agents and bosses, so by doing what is said, the political constrains that the body faces will be lightened as they don't need to answer to anybody except the people, thus enabling them to arrest, prosecute and charged anybody involve in corruption despite their political power or influence.

Furthermore, Malaysians must also ensure that the system that this country uses such as the government way of awarding contracts are corruption prove as at this moment, there are still many discrepancies in the way they do so such as the Defense Ministry way of paying commissions on equipment purchases( I'm not asking the ministry to divulge the military intelligence, just the tender process and whether there is a need for a middle man, if so, the selection process of such middle man) and so on as according to the Auditors General Report on the government, more than a billion are lost in government operations that shouldn't be lost.

In conclusion, as we observe the outcome of this case, our mind must not lose it's focus on other corrupt activities at large irrespective of who is committing it and how large it is, as corruption is corruption no matter how large the sum involved. One must remember the wise word from scholar Syed Hussein Alatas that" corruption is the mother of all sins as it is the enabler of other sins",thus corruption shouldn't be taken lightly.

The battle rages on in this war against corruption, some have suffered in the war while others are still suffering but I call on Malaysians not to rest until the war is over and winning a battle is not winning the war, but winning the war itself.

There are many battles ahead that must be won in order for Malaysians to finally slay corruption and win the war against corruption for the sake of a just and fair Malaysia that corruption inhibits for us and the future generation. As one of the famous saying in World War 2
"Your Country Needs You", are Malaysians responsible enough to answer the call? Time will tell.

The Real Anwar Ibrahim

2010-07-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

Of late, the blogersphere has been buzzing about the so called ''chameleon", on how he is an American agent, Islamist radical, martian and what not. I think that Anwar is missunderstood, locally and internationally, of course the local mainstream media bias against him is one factor, coupled with the western media cynicism about him due to his Islamist ties, what we have is a man with great intentions but missunderstood by many.

Firstly, Anwar is not an blind ally of the west, we can see it from his support of the western-perceived terrorist group Hamas. In the west, Hamas is labeled as a terrorist organization where as in the Muslim world, Hamas is seen as a group of freedom fighters fighting for their rights as Palestinians to reclaim their lost land that the Israeli regime occupies currently.

Besides that, respected counter-terrorist expert Ilan Weinglass claimed that Anwar has ties with the Muslim brotherhood which is said to have members like fame Ulama Yusof Qardhawi which of course is an Islamist. Anwar even supports Iranian nuclear ambitions which the west and the Isrealis are vehemently against.

Anwar is also a close friend and supports Turkish PM Erdrogran who himself has attacked Israel a few times recently. So, from the above arguments an many more, he is not a an American puppet or agent as some politician claimed as branding Anwar as such is only a political ploy by his detractors to cut his appeal among voters especially Malay Muslim.

Having said that however, he is not an Islamist cup of tea either, as he also has ties with a few ''non-friendly" to the Islamists allies in the west. The architect of the Iraq war, the neo-conservative Paul Wolfowitz is a good example that will send shivers to his Islamist allies. He worked with Wolfowitz as Chairman of the Foundation of the Future where he served as chairman. The foundation is created to promote democracy, transparency and popular political participation( I didn't like the sound of the last one) in the middle east.

He was also involved in other bodies like the NED( national endowment for democracy) and International Crisis Group which in some cases can be viewed by the Islamist conservatives as an attempt to realign the Islamic values that accept liberal western concepts like secularism, freedom and so on thus a treat to conservative Islam( in the west it can also be called extremist Islam or radical Islam). So calling him a radical or extremist wouldn't fit in the picture too, as his above work contradicts the extremist and radical beliefs thus how can one call him as such when obviously he clearly is not.

My analysis of Anwar and a sentiment shared by many including the Foreign Policy Magazine is that he is a unique moderate individual who is able to bridge the gap between Islam and the west, even the east and the west. Many leaders seemed to prefer to play it safe by choosing one side and demonising the other, as they say, those in the middle will only get trampled by two fighting sides, but Anwar showed courage in this case by trying to be the mediator of the two worlds.

Not many leaders in this world have an understanding of Islamic principles and Western principles or Western principles and eastern principles which Anwar has, so he is in a position to be the bridge between the two civilisations, thus creating not a world in which one dominates with hegemony, but a world with the two civilisation living side-by side enlightening each other, creating the best of both worlds so to speak.

Thus he is accorded a ranking in the 30s by the magazine of world thinkers that is shaping foreign policy and world affairs. A clash of the two civilisations will only create disasters for both sides as can be seen in Bush war on terror where innocent civilians end up becoming the victim, so Anwar has a unique leadership role in this world to prevent such clash from occurring.

That is why he continues to be courted by western leaders and Islamist leaders alike, despite what is said about him by people suspicious of him, from Western nations to eastern ones as he can offer them the other side of the story like how the Islamic countries should embrace democracy and how the west should not fear Islam( Islamophobia) as the religion is peaceful in nature.

In conclusion, while Anwar's work should be commended as a great commitment for the future of this planet, it must be noted that despite all that, some in the west and in the Islamic world might not be to fond of the two worlds co-existing thus he might end up failing to prevent the clash of civilisations. Worst than that, he might unknowingly be missused by some extremists and western imperialists for the race to create a new world order in which winner takes all.

Anwar must be cautious of such event occurring as failure to do so will lead to the sancity of Islam as religion and sovereignty of nations to be destroyed or it will lead to extremists elements taking over the moderates ones on this earth thus creating havoc to mankind. His success will lead to a greater world where as his failure will lead to a destroyed one.

I wish him the best in his pursuit and may Allah S.W.T guide him on his journey which filled with trials and tribulations at home and abroad, of course, all great struggles will involve such elements, but the task of a great leader is to lead fellow man through such trials and tribulations so that they can create a greater world for all man.

Links
Him being an extremist or a radical-http://newledger.com/2010/07/unholy-alliance/
Him being an American agent or involved in western activities-http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2596&Itemid=178
(ps, there are many such links, type Anwar and NED and googled it for example, I just picked a few that have been making headlines in the blogersphere.)

Malay Unity?

2010-07-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, many quarters are calling for Malay unity among the largest race in Malaysia, citing failure to do so might lead to the Malays being weak and vulnerable, thus allowing ''others" to take advantage of them. This siege mentality, from my point of view, is the very reason why the Malays are left in the current state that they are suffering from. It is this mentality of the Malays, that they are under siege, that they justify the act of their''protector" despite it being unjust or unlawful.

First of all, for the sake of discussion, for Malay unity to come to fruition, they must be an underlying value(s) that unites and binds all of us, this value(s) must be able to precede other values including political ideologies and so on. With no doubt is better if it is a positive value rather than a negative one. Now in our present state, the Malays lack this much needed value. Assuming that PAS and UMNO unites and creates another entity, without values, the combined entity is useless as history had shown in the 70s when the two joined hands under the BN. It was a failure.

The secular nationalist and the Islamist values that UMNO and PAS holds respectively pitted one against another and that coupled with distrust and so on lead to the break up. Furthermore, their core voters consist of the same group, the Malays, thus fueling further competition.

A second assumption I would like to make is that if the two party joined hands again, it will create a political context in which the largely Malays( UMNO and PAS), VS the largely Non-Malays( PKR and DAP), this will only lead to a hegemony in our political space and extremist in both group will prosper which is not good for Malaysians in the long run. Malay supremacy can be pushed to an extent where is damaging for the country race relations as there is no way MCA or MIC can stand up to UMNO and PAS no matter how strong they are.

A hegemony political space will lead to the creation of a hegemony government that will implement policies that are hegemony in nature. Plural Malaysia will not prosper if a hegemony Malaysia emerges, rather the effect is rather destructive than a constructive if one is to use the Malaysia's point of view than a Malay one.

Furthermore, in an event that this new combination is not performing in the interest of the Malays as the propagators of Malay unity hope it would, they will no check and balance from the microscopic context of Malay politics. The Malays will be trapped and be forced to support this new entity irrespective of whether they are performing or not( look at the state of reliance of the Malays to UMNO now, the reliance will be bigger if the party will merge or join hands with PAS) with no alternative for the Malays.

To me it is not upliftement of the Malays if UMNO merges with PAS, rather it is the opposite. I would prefer the Malays unite not under a combination of political parties, rather unite under common values and principles irrespective of political inclination( like in the west how they unite in upholding principles of freedom, human rights and democracy).

The Malays will be better of that way as politicians can't misuse Malay unity for the sake of personal or political gain not to mention it will lead to a well served Malays as politicians from both side of the divide will compete to serve the Malays for votes thus leading to a better served Malays.

In conclusion, I would encourage for the Malays to dissemble the siege mentality and think progressively about this PAS-UMNO merger of sort as it will not really help the Malays, rather it will only make the problem worse. In my opinion, for the Malays to be uplifted, the Malays themselves must take action that uplift themselves, than the politicians will must likely follow suit.

As reminded many times here, real change happens from the bottom-up and not the other way around thus for the Malays to be better of, we must look at ourselves and make improvements on us rather than rely solely on the politicians who most of them have their own political agendas to fulfill.

Remember what history had taught us before, when the Malays rely solely on the the Sultans or other leaders, we end up losing more than we gain( many states in Malaysia were lost this way, just look at Perak) but when we as a people unite, even the mighty British concurred with us( the rejection of Malayan Union), please remember that when considering UMNO-PAS unity and Malay unity.

Genuine or Cosmetic Change?

2010-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm have no idea what proper tittle should be given for this article so I decided to simply write Genuine or Cosmetic change as the title for this article as from my point of view, many of the so called ''change" advocated by the politicians in these country are cosmetic in nature and not genuine change which Malaysians really need right now.

I would like to comment on the effort of Malaysia's political parties, in trying to win votes from voters, have done some pretty remarkable things considering their past histories and so on in changing themselves.

Firstly, the fact that PAS is considering to field a non-Muslim in an election is pretty remarkable. This move is testament to PAS effort to reach out to the non-Muslims voters, further distancing themselves from the hardline Islamic image that they have been perceived by many non-Muslims voters. This should add meaning to PAS creation of the PAS supporters Club which they establish to bring PAS closer to the non-Muslims voters as members now may be chosen to contest for office despite the fact that the club has no full membership status and are not allow to vote in party election.

Then there is the effort by DAP to invite Malays to join the party. The party had set up a new exclusively Malay branches and they are also trying to recruit them in existing branches. The appointment of Tunku Abdul Aziz, the former head of Transparency International Malaysia as the party's vice chairman is testament to DAP's effort in bringing the party closer to the Malays after long being perceived as a Chinese chauvinist party.

Despite all that, the party must do more to shed it's anti-Malay image and the appointment of Tunku Abdul Aziz as Vice Chairman of the party while it helps, will not bring much change of perception among Malays of DAP as Tunku is not rely an influential Malay figure that can help court the Malays to join or vote DAP.

Finally,there's the recent move by UMNO in publicizing the entrance of 40 young Ulama's into the party in which Najib, the UMNO President himself was there to receive their memberships. The move can be seen as UMNO's way of boosting is Islamic image after long being seen as a secular party especially to the Islamist. Even former Perlis Mufti, Dr Asri name appeared although he didn't enter UMNO. This will probably help UMNO steal some votes from is traditional nemesis PAS especially the moderate Islamic-conscious Malays.

In conclusion, I would like to remind all parties that although these changes are a welcoming sign, I am also fully aware that our politicians are masters at making cosmetic changes in order to gain votes. I am not implying that these changes are cosmetic in nature as these moves are a good first step for the respective party. The benefits that awaits them are huge, the political gains aside.

PAS can formulate policies that are Islamic while taking into account the non-Malays feedback and ideas, not to mention a perfect way to have a two-way communication between PAS and the non-Malays in explaining issues associated with the party like the extremist image and so on.

We can learn from Prophet Muhammad S.A.W never alienates the non-Muslims in his administration as they views and concerns are always taken account to in his administration thus creating an inclusive society that unites all Muslims and non-Muslims alike, so there is no reason for PAS not to try to emulate Prophet Muhammad S.A.W in their approach in handling the non-Muslims.

DAP can be really aspire for Malaysian Malaysia with the inclusion of the Malays in it's party struggle rather than judging by the current make up of the party of non-Malays Malaysia or worst, Chinese-Malaysia. The party can push the concept and it's democratic socialist principles higher if the Malays are in DAP so that the party can be more inclusive thus hopefully can be accepted by the Malays at least to a certain extent.( I would like to add that I am against communal politics as it's overshadowing progressive politics where issues that bring us progress like economy, education and so on are at the forefront not race.)

Finally, UMNO can certainly gain by the influx of Ulama in the party as they can suggest how to incorporate Islamic principles in it's political struggle and the administration of the state and federal government. UMNO can be Islamic to the core( not being an extremist, but truly practicing Islam) and not simply pretending to be Islamic as some of it's politicians are trying to do.

The incorporation of Islamic principles can hopefully help UMNO tackle corruption, fund mismanagement, lack of integrity and many moral issues the party and the government that the party led are having problem in solving.

It's struggle to up lift the Malays can also be boosted by applying Islamic principles and values like amar marauf nahi mungkar( the Malays are not criticism friendly as it's often regarded as "biadap'' nor are the Malays the type to offer criticism as it will be called "jaga tepi kain orang" despite the criticism is to invite to do good deeds and avoid evil ones.) and many others.

The developments are certainly a positive one, let us see whether it is purely cosmetic change for political gains or a genuine reform for the betterment of the party's ability to serve the people. They can fool us once, but not twice, unless we are fools, if that is the case, I will offer my deepest regret and sympathy to our fate as a people of a nation where, despite being fools we are either unaware of how foolish we are or simply too ignorant to enlightened ourselves. May God help us if that is the case as fools are powerless to create positive changes for themselves, let alone for society as a whole, so God is our only hope then.

A Reformist

2010-06-22T03:41:00.001-07:00

I'm called to write this as recent and past events had shown me that the word reformist is often misused by certain quarters to gain political popularity for their own political agenda. The event, the recent one where UMNO's Youth Chief Khairy Jamaludin claimed that he and Prime Minister Najib are reformist which strucked me as a surprise as how can the prestigious tag ''reformist'' bestowed by history to man and women who change the course of civilization, the likes of Lenin, Gandhi,Jefferson, Elanor, Catherine The Great be simply referred to any Tom, Dick or Khairy( or is it Larry?).

First of all, reformist must bring about real change in a society that, the change itself so powerful that it can overcome a political or economical structure lasting for thousand of years, it can inspire people to throw away common beliefs and wisdoms and accept and new way of thinking and behaving, thus rewriting the social and political landscape.

Lenin is an example of a man who achieved this feat. He overturned the thousand years old Tsar regime which before this is an institutional structure of the Russian society, the old established economic structure of peasants who worked for aristocratic landowners or later capital owners for as long as the Russian society existed also didn't escaped his reforms where they were finally freed from the chain that locked them to the aristocrats as the nation strive for a society without class. Calling Lenin a refomist might be an undersatement as the proper tag should be a revolutioner, as some may consider a reformist as tame if compared to revolutioner, but from my thinking, one must be a reformist first then move on to the next level of revolutioner, thus there's a refomist in Lenin before he move up to being a revolutioner that he is. Khairy, who is a smart guy can evaluate whether such feat is comparable to Khairy, who is a smart guy can evaluate whether such feat is comparable to his or Najib's achievement, but my view is that both of their work combined can match Lenin's feat.

Mahatma Gandhi is another reformist. Before him there's an India, divided along the lines of religion, race, language and so on and then there's the empirial British who colonized them benefiting from this division which they manipulated well by using the divide and rule way of administration. Beside the already prevalent division, there exists a mental barrier inside all Indians at that time that independence is impossible as the British is unbeatable. Despite all that, Gandhi managed to unite the nation, against all odds, introduce a concept of non-violence resistance which is a revolutionary concept used by other great leaders like Marthin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. He managed to discard the commonly held beliefs at that time that the British are unbeatable and India can't gain independence from them which by discarding such beliefs lead to the independence of India movement where although the other nationalists of the time are calling for the picking up of arms and riffles to fight against the colonialist, Gandhi insisted in non-violence resistance thus going against the tide of the time.

Unfortunately for the self described reformist Khairy and his boss, not only they are advocating more of the same, like they are advocating the continuation of the social order that existed during the British colonial period here with policies that divides rather than unite us, but they are doing so by way of force, manipulation, deceit, using sedition to scare the different races and so on, thus automatically tarnishing the word'' reformist'' by describing himself and his boss as one.

Finally, there’s an act of changing the social landscape to a positive one. That, to my thinking is the major aim of a reformist. In both the example given, there's a change in the social landscape, for Russia, it ended the aristocratic grab of the wealth of the nation where all Russians can better enjoy the wealth of the rich country irrespective of class and for India, despite their differences, they all unite as Indians and gained independence, but nothing can compare to the feat that Nelson Mandela achieved when he ended apartheid in South Africa. Years of slavery and colonialism didn't stop the country that he lead to embrace the whites as their own where together they are joining hands to build a better nation for all of them so that the next generation can enjoy the effort of their forefathers irrespective of their race. The dark past are buried as they toiled for a brighter future.

Here in Malaysia, the past still haunts us, just look at the May 13 incidence as a case in point where instead of burying the dark past and working together for a brighter future like the South Africans are doing, we are living in the dark past, denying ourselves a brighter future thus passing the darkness to future generations. Real reformist will not sit down and let this happen, but UMNO which the party that Najib leads and Khairy belongs are ensuring that the dark past is forever with us so that their party will continue to be relevant to Malays who are scared that the siege by the ''others" will lead them in a state of diaspora thus ensuring the continuation of the party's rule of this country.

In conclusion, it's best that Khairy reexamined his statement and make correction to it as by my thinking, there's absolutely no way that he and his boss can be called a reformist, however for Khairy, he is still young and is not too late for him to change his ways and work towards reforming this country so that he can be called a reformist by his countrymen and who knows, maybe by mankind themselves just like the likes of the heroes mentioned above. Only time will tell if that will happen or not.

Real and Rhetorical Change

2010-06-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

The theme of change seems to be the main ethos in the Malaysian political landscape since the March 8 General Election Tsunami. I am of the view that although once popular from Barack Obama's campaign slogan of '' Change'' to Pakatan Rakyat's reformasi, the credibility of the word has since diminished. We can see that in the US today despite some major changes, there are still partisan politics not by-partisan politics that Obama advocated, lobbyists and wall street remained influential over main street and so on. The campaign glitter had somewhat faded, and Americans are now facing reality once again.

Malaysia political landscape also was mesmerised by this word. Anwar mobilised the masses into believing that the Pakatan Rakyat is the agent for change with Reformasi being the theme of the opposition thus leading the opposition to it's best General Election performance.

UMNO, realising the power of that word also joined the bandwagon with slogans like UMNO Mampu Berubah and so on. The government itself introduced the Government Transformation plan and so on indicating change. But lets face it, after more than 2 years can we still believe in the word ''change"?

The reality is much of our politics are still the same. Despite the introduction of 1Malaysia, race still dominates the political landscscape. Just look at how issues are played by both side of the political divide, we will see the dominance of race. Just to prove my point, just pick up a copy of Utusan, the newspaper which is UMNO controlled and you will see how everything is racialised.

Look at what certain statement by non-Malays Opposition members and you will noticed immediately how race was the reason for such statement. So the change that many hope for, the change that wll bring an end to communal politics seems to be nothing more than an empty hope.

Then we look at cronyism and nepotism, are they getting worse or better, well whatever the answer may be, they are still alive and well, both in the ruling and opposition sides. Just look at the Selangor state government owned sand mining company KSSB where there's a discrepancies involving it's management of funds. So the knight in the shining armour in the opposition that the people who voted for them saw turned out to be a disappointment for them.

The issue of corruption remains prevalent. Despite the fact that MACC was given much needed power boost by the government, until it's a fully independent body, it will not be an effective graft busting agency. Just look at it's handling of the PKFZ Scandal, Lingam case and so on.

In conclusion, the real change that the people yearned are not coming anytime soon based on current trend. The reality is just as President Obama said during his campaign, real change occurs from the bottom up and not the other way around. So, if we want real change,the people must be involved irrespective of political leanings and so on. We have seen how the NGO movement in Malaysia has created change for what they represent. Just look at Hindraf and Perkasa to name a few. It's time Malaysians take part in the way the country is governed as only that can make real change happen and not just ''change'' as a mere political rhetoric.

The Jewish Factor

2010-03-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

I was surprised by the recent development in Malaysian politics involving our politicians and the Jews. Who would have thought that despite our nation's stand against the the Jews-Zionist network and Israel, our politicians from both side of the political divide seem to be well linked to them despite they themselves claiming the other of either being close to the Jews or being a Jewish agent.

Firstly, we look at the opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Jewish link which include Paul Wolfowitz among others, the architect of the Iraq war, not to mention he also close with many American politicians whom we can't fully trust due to their believe in the American agenda such as free-trade and Pro-Secular stand not to mention their own personal links with the Jews.

This stand and many others propagated by America are not necessarily bad, but it must be done by ourselves as a sovereign nation that we are, molding such values and principles based on our culture and capabilities as our survival is at stake, so such move require deliberate design so as it can co-exist with our nation's core values and so on. We have seen the fate of countries who embrace democracy and free-trade blindly that cause damage rather than progress to nation such as Russia after the collapse of Soviet Union and so on.

Then we have our Prime Minister whose association with the firm that have links to the Jews, APCO, that created a stir in Parliament when the opposition leader raise this issue that lead to some quarters calling him to be referred to the Parliament's special rights and privileges committee for him to be suspended. APCO is said to be link with the Jews helping dictators improve their image so that their abuse towards the people won't affect their image among their people and the international community.

Don't get me wrong, but if they are efficient at doing their jobs, then go ahead, hire them, as rightly or wrongly, human nature is as such that image counts, it' true in economics, politics and so on. So the move will benefit the country with improve confidence in our economy and government from local and foreign investors, than I don't really see the problem as long as our stand on the Palestinian occupation by Israel stays.

Now, is it wrong for them to befriend or hire personalities or firms with links to the Jews? I think it's okay if we have the right intentions to do so. Again, our hatred and skepticism of the Jews and the western figures that are linked to them or simply attached to the western agenda have been used by our politicians to forward their political agenda.In the end, real issues like corruption and incompetence will be buried under the issue that is least important to our nation's progress like ties to the Jews and west. Of course we must be wary of them and their imperialist agenda, but not to the extent of xenophobia.

The reality is that we are using and consuming a lot of Jewish or Jewish link items such as McDonald's itself. We are using their know-how like ideas in economics, management and so on. We must remember that they(Jews and whites) are willing to embrace other ideas and ideals such as during the Islamic Civilisation when they without shame studied our ideas and ideals whilst improving it along the way. They are willing to work with us, use our institutions to forward their ideals. So now we must do the same so that we can progress just as they did then.

In conclusion, Malaysians especially the Malays must be willing to learn from the Jews and the west. Look at their positive traits, apply it appropriately and improve it, that's how we progress unless we are happy and being backward until the end of time, which, will make it easier for the reasons we fear them to become the reality of the day, so the only answer is to learn from the outside world to strenghten our economy, politics, culture, military and so on to avoid the said fear from becoming a reality.

Morality and Politics

2010-03-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

The recent events unfolding in our political landscape serve as a clear indication of lack of morality among all quarters in our political circle. Morality while varies in it's importance to individuals as morality is subjective to the respective individual such as what can be perceived as an immoral acts to some like the issue of abortion and gender change may seem like a norm or human rights to others.

Having said that however, the importance of moral values, or a moral compass to be exact in individuals especially those eyeing public office cannot be misconstrued as unimportant as this should guide the individual and the public in assessing his or her character in the performance of the duties entrusted to them by us.

The first big event that shock me to a certain extent is the MCA Presidency victory by former Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek despite him being involved in a sex scandal which video was an eye sore to some and entertainment to many speaking with candour if I may as that the reality we are dealing with here.

It surprises me as I believed that Ong Ka Ting should be the winner as despite claims of cronyism which involve his brother, Ong Ka Chuan and the fact that he's the leader in MCA when MCA suffered a massive loss of Parliamentary seat in the last General Election which can't be blame solely on him rather the behaviour of UMNO, which I think was the major reason MCA suffered such loss and not so much of Ong Ka Ting's failure to steer the party. Nonetheless public figures like Dr Mahthir all call for the results to respected as the delegates have chosen their man despite it being a reflection of how they feel about Dr Chua's immoral act.

The second event regards the Hulu Selangor's by election where some in UMNO Selangor made a suggestion in nominating former MB Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib which again surprises me as he was involved in a case involving currency irregularities amounting to 3.8 million in Australia. He's was found innocent simply because he claimed he didn't understand English and so couldn't understand the rules and regulations. Then he lied to his royal highness the Sultan of Selangor about his marriage with his highness daughter.

So with such a character of his, it surprises me as to why some in UMNO Selangor is suggeting him rather than someone with better character and moral values not to mention possibly younger except possibly that he can probably guarantee and win for UMNO. So, now winning is indeed everything even though you put crocks and criminals in office or the state legislative assembly.

To be fair however, such act is nothing new in Malaysians politics as a whole, as we can see from the case of Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong whose pictures and videos of her sleeping wearing only some sort of gown circulated on the web believed to be taken by his boyfriend which happened to be in her bedroom while she's asleep despite the fact that they're not married. PKR didn't take any action so the precedence in morality failed to be set up as there's nothing much PKR or Pakatan can say about Dr Chua when they themselves failed to act on Elizabeth Wong.

In conclusion, it's up to the public now to enforce moral values to our politicians by punishing them through rejection of not only the individuals, but also the party so that they will get the message that Malaysians want a morality based society and we demand them to give it to us eventhough it means political liability for them as only with morality in center stage in our government can it be spread across to other sectors in Malaysia and since politicians control the government, it's with them that this morality issue should begin with. If we the public act, we can give birth to a Malaysia that is a moral based society that we can all be proud of.

The Truth in Politics

2010-03-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

The recent revelation by the independent MPs, namely Zahrain Mohd Hashim from Bayan Baru and Zukifli Noordin from Kulim have shown Malaysian that how dirty our politics can be and why we need to clean up our politics as such unethical political maneuvering by our politicians will only cause damage in the long run for our country.

Claims recently made by Zukifli that he had been offered a reward enough to shake one faith to implicate our Prime Minister and his wife with the murder of Altantuya and to link the son of a minister for murder should be taken seriously.

Irrespective of who's right, we can know for a fact that one side, whether opposition, the government or Zukifli Noordin himself is maneuvering this malicious act. Some quarters claim that Zulkifli was paid by BN to divulge such false information to discredit Anwar and the opposition while some assumed that such act did take place and the opposition like should be reprimanded, while others might assume that Zukifli himself is doing this malicious act. Only God knows which one is true and which one is false.

As a concerned citizen however, I believe that such remarks shouldn't be taken lightly by either side of the political divide, especially the opposition as this could really damage their credibility, as some opportunist just want to use it as a political ammunition without really having any interest in finding the truth and fixing it accordingly as mere politicking about it won't solve anything, only by having an investigation and taking stern action will it benefit the nation in the long run.

Why should such act be taken seriously?, some might ask as this is part and parcel of politics and it's the job of politicians to defend themselves against such attacks.

Well to answer this question will require us to delve into human nature where we are prone to believe the sensational albeit untrue facts rather than the ones that are true but plain, so the law must take corrective measure in not allowing the wrong information to cloud the judgement of the people by preventing and punishing quarters who are spreading them in the first place.

Secondly, such move may invite more of such malicious attacks against individuals or groups and this will unjustly damage their credibility not to mention we are possibly politically rewarding the mastermind of such move instead of punishing them as a deterrence to others. This will lead to a state where making malicious statement will be a norm in our politics which will only create a political atmosphere full of such sinful act that will in the end precedes real issues that require our attention like poverty, unemployment and so on.

My only way as a normal citizen to rectify this sinful act is by promoting the need by Malaysians to embrace a new kind of politics where we demand the truth and any force trying to deny us such truth should be eliminated as it's our right as a citizen to know the truth. The first step would be to allow independent inquiry about all the cases and scandals that are full of discrepancies such as the Altantuya murder, the Anwar sodomy case, Kugan case and so on.

The reality is despite going to the court, the public trust on our courts are low thus whatever the judgement, the truth will not surface, rather more discrepancies will surface such as government meddling in court affairs and so on. Even in developed countries, such inquiry is a norm, so it should be the same here if we aspire to be one. Laws that are preventing such information to be publicise must also be reformed to allow a certain degree of it to be publicise for the sake of public interest.

In conclusion, Malaysians must now make the tough decision of which story to believe out of no real concrete facts, just mere hearsay from dubious press be it new or old as the real truth is conceal from us. Only when the truth is revealed, only then can we make informed decisions and demand the right action to be taken against the individuals involved in spreading malicious lies so that our politics will be less evil than it is now clean from malice that are preventing us from tackling real issues.

To achieve that we must free and empower the bodies that play a huge role in allowing the truth to reach the public mainly the media and courts not to mention other bodies like the NGO Transparency International and so on from the shackles that prevent them from doing their job effectively. Just as the saying goes " the truth will set you free", the same goes for a nation" the truth will also set a nation free".

Badminton and Malaysia

2010-03-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

First of all, congratulations is in order for Datuk Lee Chong Wei in his success at winning the prestigious All-England Championship, a tittle that's usually compared to the Wimbledon crown in tennis. Malaysians of all races and religion should celebrate and savour this moment as that victory truly add to the meaning ''Malaysia Boleh!" that has been a mere slogan for sometime except in the squash arena, thanks to another Datuk, Datuk Nicol Ann David. With the win, I hope that it will rejuvenate the slogan to be more than a mere slogan, a slogan that will spur Malaysians irrespective of what field to go for the distance for the sake of our country.

Badminton has been the sport for Malaysia even before Merdeka when Malaya won the inaugural Thomas Cup back in 1948. Since then, Malaysia has won the tittle 4 times the last being in our own country in 1992. I am a passionate believer that this sport can play a vital role in nation building if it is treated as more than just a sport, rather an integral part of being Malaysian just like Football to the Brazilian and Baseball to the Americans( called the great American past time there).

First of all, Badminton, or any other sports for that matter, is good for the participants as it promotes good health and can build a person character and traits like teamwork and the fighting spirit that sports cultivate in the participants. Badminton and other sports can be used also as a weapon against the many social ills afflicting our youths like vandalism, being ''Mat Rempit" and so on.

Having a healthy nation that have good traits is good for the country, so sports especially Badminton should be encouraged by the government. Redirecting the youths to more meaningful activities are central to creating a world class youths for nation building and this can be achieved through sports like Badminton.

Besides that, Badminton has been our nation's way at internationalising the name Malaysia in the global stage. With greater success in the sport, Malaysia's name will be better known and this will always beat the unusually expensive promotions that the government conducts to make Malaysia world known by hiring top Public Relations consultants to boost our image in the world, not to say we shouldn't engage them at all but rather we should also use our athletes to be our ambassador to the world.

Furthermore, Badminton can also be used as a tool to integrate the races in our country together as our nation has produced Badminton great from all races such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei who is a Chinese, Misbun Sidek a Malay and Punch Gunalan an Indian, but all of them compete under one flag and that's the Malaysian flag and they all work together either as team mates or as a coach. This can be prime example of all the races working together for the sake of our country, overcoming obstacles together.

It must be remember that all the races played an important part in our nation success in the Thomas Cup either as a player, coach or supporters, but we all cheered and supported our team through thick and thin, the success in 1992 lay proof of that as one can see in the stadium where all Malaysians disregard their colour and unite to support our national team to win the tittle.

Finally, Badminton can also teach it's citizens the meaning of being patriotic to the country. The players in the 1992 gave their best for the country, although they were all handsomely rewarded in the end, it must be remembered that Badminton unlike Tennis or Golf, is not a high paying sport but our team continue to serve their nation despite the low pay and at times difficult moments like overcoming from an injury and all.

In the end of the day, what the players want are the opportunity to sing the national anthem as they put their hand on their chest as the Malaysian flag is being hoisted above other flags as they have done the nation proud by becoming the champ representing the country, that's all that matters. For the supporters, all we want to see is that our country emerge the champ beating other nation, having the bragging rights to call our country Malaysia the best. That's all.

We can also learn from the patriotism from other countries such as how the China Badminton team and it's citizens will always stand up and sing patriotically to their national anthem but the same can't be said for Malaysians. So we inculcate that same spirit shown by the Chinese in all Malaysians as the patriotic spirit towards one country is key for the nation sovereignty.

In conclusion, BAM must play their role not only to develop the sport but rather integrate the sport into nation building with the government cooperation of course. By doing so, not only that Malaysian will have more success in the sport but Malaysia will also gain in other ways like enhance racial unity, stronger patriotic feeling of Malaysians and so on. My final wish is that more success will come for Malaysian in Badminton or any other sports for that matter so that we can all be proud of these nations of ours. MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Independent MPs

2010-03-14T12:38:00.001-07:00

I'm writing commenting on recent events where few PKR MP's left PKR and declared themselves independent MPs. I'm not happy with that particular development,however they say every cloud has a silver lining, I think I might be seeing the silver lining here even though preferably, I would like if they join back PKR as they have been elected on that particular party banner in the first place.

It's good for democracy when we have voices not being blocked by any party guidelines and so on, so I'm hoping that these independent MP's( there're 5 of them not linked to any party), can play that role of being the unfiltered voice of the people in Parliament as that role couldn't be played by other MP's due to constraints put forth by their political masters.

Some of these people can be considered a political maverick such as the fiery Datuk Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Nordin, and Zahrain Hashim who we should expect to be vocal on may issues affecting the rakyat albeit it may be restricted to their narrow political beliefs like Ibrahim Ali on his position of Ultra Malay or Zukifli Nordin on his conservative Islam stand.

I'm calling on these people to bring up all issues, rather it's the government wrongdoings or the opposition as only then can Parliament inform the people adequately on which side is better to govern. The media from both side should listen to them although it might be painful especially for PKR and Pakatan Rakyat's media but they can offer both side a wealth of information regarding the weaknesses of both the government and opposition, just like the revelation of Zukifli Nordin on the role and power of these little pharaohs in PKR that's undermining the democracy within the party.

This feedback can be used to rectify the weaknesses of BN and PR coalition, whether it concern party matters or state-national issues not to mention an independent barometer by the public to measure the two coalitions.

They can also be the voices of NGO's, Think Tanks or academic institutions whose information concerning Malaysia may not make it to the Parliament due to lack of political connections, they have findings going against the political masters or parties and so on. I heard that Zukifli Nordin is mulling the move of associating himself with an NGO whereas Ibrahim Ali is already the head of a Pro-Malay NGO called PERKASA.

This will allow greater participation of the people in the democratic space which will allow more ideas and suggestion to flow unfiltered to be considered by Parliament which if done properly without restriction from both sides, will be good for the country.

In conclusion, I hope that despite it being sad for me to see that our elected representatives have such a disrespect towards the trust given to them by the voters, I believe that if their are sincere in their justification of leaving the party for reasons that they feel are intolerable, then they should strive to better serve the people now since there's nothing to hinder them from doing so right now, no party restrictions and so on, they are free to do whatever necessary for their constituents, their values or beliefs and the country.

The people will know whether they are real fighters or mere talkers, it's time for them to be subjected by the ''talk the talk, walk the walk'' test as if you want to talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk. So to those independents MP's, I've heard a lot of talk, now's time to walk. So independents MP's, you all better start walking.

Fianlly, I would expect Zahrain and Tan Tee Beng to fight and contribute in the battle against dictatorship and abuse of power in Malaysia just like they did with Lim Guang Eng in Penang, Zukifli Nordin to fight for Islam and Ibrahim Ali, to fight for Malay rights irrespective of which party is doing the misdeed on those issues. I'll expect them being vocal, taking necessary action, contributing to these cause beyond just mere lip service and shouting slogans so on. It might be a blessing in disguise for everybody these MP's left( Ibrahim Ali is an independent from the very beginning), I don't know, only time will tell.

Ku Li And The Opposition

2010-02-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, from my point of view, is suffering from a mental condition called nostalgia, so to speak. He said recently that he remained loyal towards the party struggles despite his many criticisms leveled at the government.

I empathise with him, as only he knows how painful it's having spent his whole lifetime contributing to UMNO and it's struggle, sacrificing a lot of things along the way, only to see the party deviates from it's original struggle when the party was formed in 1946.

Despite offers for him to join the opposition rank, he refused, believing that UMNO might one day change and be the UMNO it once was, so he stuck his believe with the party despite incredible odds stacked against his believe. First let me say here and now, the old UMNO is not coming back. The old UMNO for the average Malays, the farmers, teachers and other noble but underpaid and under respected jobs have been replaced by the new UMNO, the professionals UMNO, more notably elite Malays UMNO.

The desire to serve the Malay interests that is the main reason for the party formation, are gone, exchanging such interest is monetary gain and so on. What's left is the symbols and their slogans about Malay struggle and so on, but the true meaning of such symbols and slogans are long gone inside the hearts and minds of many of UMNO's party members.

So, for Ku Li, who wanted a party to serve the average Malays, the best equivalent is PKR or PAS, although they don't chant Ketuanan Melayu or other similar Malay struggle chants, they are helping ordinary Malays and Malaysians in their struggle by giving them a voice that they lost. For example, PKR social welfare programmes such as the giving of monetary aides to university students and so on are proof of my claim.

While BN and UMNO are busy enriching their cronies with tenders and projects, it's this two party that's going down to the people and giving their rightful stake towards the richness of the the country and state which benefit the majority Malays without sacrificing the rights of other races. Case in point the privatisation of SYABAS in Selangor, where only a few cronies benefit from it, PKR together with PAS and DAP are correcting this inequity by subsidising the water and even offering to nationalise SYABAS so that the people of all races in the state can enjoy lower water price. The average Malays benefited from low water price without affecting the non-Malays, not to mention even the non-Malays are enjoying such benefit.

Aside from that, the Malays are now not the same Malays pre-Malayan Union that warranted the establishment of UMNO, Malaysia is not the same as Malaya then too. Many of the problems facing our country require for all the races to sit down together and reach common ground. The old way of separating like that of BN will not work anymore as such practice will only be a fertile ground for race and religious extremist as such system will surely reward them compared to a multi-racial party like PKR and DAP.

Simply giving the Malays more help and aide won't work anymore, rather it will only bring the Malays down into a state of complacency and entitlement like where the Malays are right now, while the Malays deprive the non-Malays of an opportunity to further advance themselves. UMNO forte along the years was just that, give the Malays more help and more aides which in the economic sector primarily benefited their cronies, but know it requires a different more comprehensive kind of a solution.So Ku Li should know that for him to serve the Malay and Malaysian interests simultaneously, the opposition is the right platform for him.

Finally, in addition to that, as a modern society, we Malays and Malaysians alike require more openness and freedom that UMNO, due to it's conservative stand, may not be willing to give. Such freedom like the freedom of speech and association have been long been deprived by the government in order that their political ideology remains the ruling and accepted ideology.

Rules such as ISA had been misused to make sure such freedom is curtailed. Malaysians want to be included in the shaping and creating of our national agenda, thus we must be allowed to speak up and associate ourselves with groups in order to better advance their views and beliefs although it may go against the government agenda and political stand.

Pakatan Rakyat seemed more incline to give us such rights, but UMNO so far have been supporting for restriction of them. So it is wise for Ku Li to adhere to this societal demand and to do so means him joining the Pakatan fold.

In conclusion, would like to join in the fray of many opposition supporters in reinviting Ku Li to the opposition side where his ideals and that of Malays and Malaysians can be better served so that his experience and values will further strenghten the opposition in their ability to serve the people and nation, and hopefully form the government and undue the many wrongs of the current government for the sake of all Malaysians, past, present and future generations.

Illusions and Politics.

2010-02-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

Of late, the BN camp had use the large turnout of the people to the open houses that the party organize as a barometer that the people have return to their fold. As a personal observation, this may or may not be true but one thing for sure the turnout cannot be a trustworthy indication of public support as many factors could be concluded for the turnout, one being that Malaysians love food, especially free ones( hahahahaha).

Trying to create a parallel between public support of the government and number of people attending such open houses will only create an illusion that will bring not only the government into a state of disillusion, the people too are also beginning to be disillusioned by this and more.

Besides the open houses, the mainstream media had feed us with among others, the tea party with the PM which including to NST attracted more than 1500 people, creating a state of illusion that the PM is popular and is close to the Rakyat.

Well nothing wrong with the invitation I guess, but assuming that the PM is popular and is listening to us will only be known by future events like the General Election or in a smaller scale, by-elections and whether he's truly close to the rakyat will be determine by the subsequent policies he will introduce, whether or not it is people or political friendly. By policies, I mean real policies not mere slogans like 1Malaysia which is not back thus far by a real change in policies governing our country.

Then we have the invitation to write a letter to the PM on racial unity in these country which again might create the illusion that the PM is actually listening to us and value our feed back.

Again, we can only find out whether or not the PM truly treasure our opinions if there's a significant shift in our policy concerning racial unity as one can truly speculate the contents of such letters will surely include the need to reduce or stop completely racial politicking which is an essential element of UMNO poltical amno, the need to curtail the misuse of religion to political mileage which as recent development clearly shows, another UMNO modus operandi when it's Youth Wing organise protests nationwide on the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims to paint itself as the true fighter and protector of Islam and to stop mainstream media such as Utusan to incite racial hatred of the Malays towards their non-Malays countrymen.

Only when the PM actually put a stop towards all these practices or at least try to incorporate some of our more realistic feedback in these practices, then he's listening to us as if not, then the PM action in inviting us to write to him is only a public relations practice aimed at giving the impression that he's listening to us, when in actual fact he's not, deceiving us all the way.

Finally, with the PR coalition in shambles due to infighting, misunderstanding and disrespect towards each other, some UMNO and BN supporters have assumed that the people are tired of these and will automatically go back in supporting the BN, it might be true but not to the extent that they believe as most of opposition supporters are staying put and claim that such infighting is part and parcel of politics and that will not effect their determination to see a more democratic, inclusive,racial blind Malaysia that is govern by corrupt-free, transparent and accountable government as advocated by the opposition if they are elected to govern Malaysia with some state governments run by opposition showing just that.

In the end of the day, what counts is the performance of BN against Pakatan Rakyat, that will be the deciding factor by the people on who to vote for.

In conclusion, it's wise for the government to learn form the Pak Lah administration failure of separating between the reality and the illusion created by Pak Lah political team that used the media to create such an illusion that it tricked the creator of the illusion themselves into believing that their own illusion aimed at deceiving the public was indeed the reality when in fact it was mere news spinning and media propaganda all the way. They woke up in March8 the hard way, they say history repeats, well I'm banking on that adage to be true so that BN and UMNO will wake up from their dreams to shockingly find out that they're in Pakatan Rakyat ruled Malaysia.

Justice For Everyone And Everywhere Is The Responsibility Of All

2010-02-19T02:36:00.000-08:00

As the tittle stated above clearly shows, this article is about justice, not the typical notion of justice which involves courts, jurisdiction, laws and so on but it refers to justice in itself. Justice is beyond courts,jurisdiction and laws although they have a role to play in the delivering justice to the people.

Having said that however, we Malaysians must be aware that in the process of delivering justice, the system that ensure such delivery takes place is often tampered with by invisible hands that have their own agenda. Past cases can back my claim such as the unfair sacking of the then Chief Justice Tun Salleh Abas and the Linggam scandal that our judicial system is a mess and cannot be relied upon to deliver justice.

So, we as Malaysians should take heed on the admonition of the Chairman of The US Senate Foreign Committee, Senator John Kerry that Malaysia must ensure a fair trial for Anwar which he is entitled to as a Malaysians and a human being. The same goes with the issue of 50 Australian MPs who decried that Anwars trial is a mere political ploy to bring about his downfall, a sentiment shared by many including Malaysians, me myself included.

However the opposite happened when a group of people led by Khairy BN Youth and Ibrahim Ali Perkasa when amok infront of the Australian High Commissioner, telling them to respect our laws and not interfere with Malaysians internal matters.

In should be reminded as "Melayu Mudah Lupa'', that Malaysia had partake in many issues outside of our internal sphere like the Palestinian cause, Myanmar Military Junta atrocities and even cut diplomatic ties with South Africa due to their Apartheid policy. We did it because we want to have a foreign policy that are based on good conscience and moral values that we hope to spread in the international community whether or not the role we played was big or small nor did it brought the desired outcome or not.

We aspire to be a good member of the international community so when we see injustice, we act in whatever way possible to mitigate the injustice suffered by our fellow man and woman despite it being in some other country outside of our border as it is the right thing to do as a fellow human being.

So, Malaysians shouldn't buy into the argument that this foreign countries are meddling in our internal affairs, trying to challenge our sovereignty and if one is jingoistic trying to colonise us, rather we should evaluate the logic of their move as a concerned global citizen and put ourselves in their shoes as their action towards us is also our action towards other nation suffering from injustice. We should know that their action was simply a friendly advice.

We should protect our sovereignty however we must first know what is sovereignty in the first place and do not mix them up with international community playing a role in the spread of justice for everyone everywhere.

In conclusion, Malaysians must ensure that our government give a fair trial towards Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and that the court is impartial to the fact that he is the opposition leader. At stake is not only our international stature in the world eyes, but more importantly the already damaged credibility of our justice system that many Malaysians believed is bias and is a weapon used by the government to ensure that their rule continues by hook or by crook that in their of the day will only deny Malaysians their entitlement towards justice and fairness that are necessities for a society to function in a civilised manner that we Malaysians deserve to have. It's a basic right and not a privilege, thus we are denied that right, it's within our rights as humans to fight for it at all cause until that right is given, not only for the present but also future generation.

Pakatan Rakyat and Criticism

2010-01-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this with the feeling that my belief that there's an alternative politics in Malaysia might be just an idealistic thinking based on empty hope with no concrete chance of materialising in the near future. That's as optimistic as I can be without being naive. Why the sudden feeling is caused by recent events unfolding in the Pakatan camp that's showing signs that probably there's no "good politics", just bad ones, that Pakatan are just like BN with another name.

Firstly, I will touch on PAS and the developments in Kelantan. The recent resignation of Ariffahmi from kelantan Menteri Besar Incorporated as CEO after criticism on the handling of project Bazar To Guru which cause the state to pay compensation amounting to RM23 Million to a private company showed me that nepotism, cronyism and incompetence are alive and well in Pakatan.

It's to be noted that Ariffahmi is the son-in-law of the Menteri Besar Nik Aziz,( isn't that nepotism)so what's the difference with that of Khairy Jamaludin during Pak Lah's tenure as PM, the opposition did used him to highlight nepotism in the BN camp. Then, there's the cronyism part when someone by the name of Nudin Awang who is said to be a company director which gained from Timber contracts from the state, that he supposedly almost sponsor a Haj trip for Nik Aziz.

Isn't just like the days of Pak Lah where those close to him will benefit economically, so what is Pakatan doing to differentiate themselves from BN, so far from their actions they are showing that they are just like BN.

Then we'll go to DAP and access Lim Guang Eng's stewardship of the state. It's learnt to my dismay that he's chairing the tender board in the state, therefore he will have plenty of say which company receives what projects. Isn't that the same with BN, when the minister or some big guns have a say on which company receives what projects. To make it worst, he's has shown a lack of openness as any criticism will be followed by denial and branding of ''UMNO mentality" and so on.

If I remember correctly that is painfully similar to how UMNO reacts to criticism. Where's the change?

Finally, to PKR, Anuar inability to silence Zukifli is because of his political value to the party was similar to the act of UMNO not taking tough action against Ali Rustam and fielding Isa Samad in the Bangan Pinang by-election. PKR claimed lack of political will on behalf of UMNO to take such action and now, are they going to do the same thing, are they lacking the much needed political will as they seemed to shout reform and reform requires a lot of political will as backlash from those comfortable with the status quo is expected.

So if they are the same with UMNO in their level of political will, can they bring the much needed reform? I doubt it.

In conclusion, all the component parties in Pakatan must buck up or face the possibility of being a '' one term wonder" as Lim Kit Siang puts it. Focus now must be differentiating themselves from BN which requires them to behave differently in a positive manner. They must show the willingness to risk political backlash for the sake of the country not to mention except personal pain especially when it comes to dealing with family and friends in politics.

Only when they can show me that willingness, then I can believe that this is indeed ''Change We Can Believe In" quoting from Obama's campaign slogan. I'm an Optimist, I believe that one day I'll be writing to say that " Yes We Can"( again Obama's slogan), until then, good luck my beloved country.

Purification of PKR

2010-01-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

Recently, as a PKR supporter, one cannot help to notice that PKR is in no shape to head the coalition that governs the country. The party seems to be in a state of disarray, confused and losing confidence in the leadership and the party's struggle. Recent outburst by it's MPs like Zukifli Noordin and Zahrain Hashim is prime example of the state PKR is in right now. Rumours have it that later is said to have some MPs to back him in supporting BN so that the BN will regained the 2/3 majority in Parliament allowing them to make constitutional amendments as it pleased.

Based on my personal observation, the main reason for the party current state may be because of the mixed political struggle that the members are carrying out. As we know, PKR mainly consist of UMNO, ABIM( Angkatan belia Islam Malaysia), PRM( Parti Rakyat Malaysia) former members and the liberal/reform minded individuals.

The wide array of political ideologies in PKR can be seen as UMNO beliefs in Malay agenda, ABIM beliefs in an Islamic agenda, PRM beliefs in Socialist agenda and of course the liberals/reformist belief in liberal and reform agenda. So the former members are bringing their former party's struggle inside PKR causing such friction to take place which lead to PKR's current state of disarray causing confusion on what PKR trully stands for.

My suggestion is that PKR purify itself by firstly:

1)Informing all members at all levels about what PKR truly stands for. It's primary objective must be communicated to it's members so the will know where PKR is taking them.
2)The struggle of their former party should be discarded and replaced with that of PKR. Failure to do so will lead to punishment.
3)Candidates that represent the party struggle should be fielded in elections, not the individuals that still carry their former party's ideology.
4)Just like a corporation must have a corporate culture, PKR should strive for one as the party's lack of it is causing cultures from their members former parties to take hold causing PKR to behave like UMNO and the rest, rather than having a distinctive code of behaviour that can be indentifiable and represents the party.
5) New members must be informed of what PKR stands for before admission and trained mentally and emotionally to breath the struggle of PKR.
6)Members who refuse to adhere to the party's struggle should be sidelined or kicked out.

That's the only way PKR can produce leaders that can carry out the party's struggle. Simply saying PKR is for reform is not enough anymore. Reform is such a subjective word. It has many meanings such as reform to a more hardcore malay nationalistic stand, Islamist reform and so on. So elaborating on what reforms PKR is fighting for will be essential for the party as it gives leaders, members and voters a sense of direction by identifying themselves to the party.

However, it's essential that PKR remain a party that beliefs in diversity in thought and action, meaning that despite your ideological leaning being difference from that of PKR, the party will still welcome you and value your input but you must respect the position of PKR as a whole so that PKR will not be heavily bias towards it's struggle to the extent that they become a radical party such as UMNO and their Malay Supremacy struggle.

By weighing in different views and courses of action, PKR will remain a party that strive for moderation despite having an ideology as a guideline to the party's struggle so that it's beliefs, actions and policies can be accepted by all Malaysians regardless of political beliefs and social positions.

Fianlly, I hope that PKR can settle this major problem besetting them so that the confidence of the members and voters not only in PKR but also Pakatan Rakyat can be restored. Only then can PKR talk about genuine reform in a clear cut manner without subjecting themselves to inhibition due to the concern of possible reactions from members and voters as members and voters know what to expect from the party. The call of Reformasi must go on nonetheless, as touted by many PKR and Pakatan Rakyat leaders ''Perjuangan Mesti Diteruskan", and by that I hope that indeed that is the truth.

Everyone Wants To Be a Hero

2010-01-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

Since the recent national outburst over the usage of the word ''Allah" for non-Muslims, many opportunistic individuals especially politicians decided to take this golden opportunity to be a hero despite the fact that their action was damaging to the state of security of our nation.

UMNO via one of it's wings decided to host a nationwide protest in mosques and so on to protest this decision, why not, this is the time for the party to show it's core supporter, the Malays,who are mainly Muslims who is the true defender of Islam, not PAS who is working for DAP to undermine Malays and Islam, UMNO is the one, true defender of Malay interests which includes the position of Islam in this country.

Their action was no surprise to me, as they are expected to do so as that is their official stand is that the word ''Allah" can only be use for Muslims as not doing so may cause confusion among Muslims and being a political party that UMNO is, of course they must show how they are willing to fight for their stand.

However what came as a surprise was the spat between PKR Kulim MP Zuklifle Nordin and PAS Shah Alam MP over the issue, more so the action of Zuklifle who went against the party's official stand which the word''Allah'' can be used but must not be misused, not to mention the official stand of Pakatan Rakyat as a whole. He wants to show he is a hero so much that he actually made a police report against his Pakatan comrade despite the many reports already been made by some NGO's, despite the fact that his action went against the coalition common framework policy that strive for unity when it comes to support of such issue.

Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers must strive to be a team player, not only inter-party but at the same time intra-party between it's coalition partners. This was Barisan Nasional strenght. One must remember how with the spirit of give and take, UMNO sat down with MCA and MIC to form this beloved nation of ours despite the political rhetoric such as Ketuanan Melayu and so on.

Therefore it is wise for Pakatan to adopt such practice, although this fact seems obvious to the top leadership to a certain extent, it remains illusive among grassroots members, thus this must be incultivated among the grassroots members so that the cohesiveness of the coalition can be accomplished.

Back to the being a hero part of the equation, the ''heroic" act of some lead to the burning of places of worship in many parts of this country that threatens peace and stability of this nation. The right course of action may not be heroic, but it is the right one that is to remain calm and propagate the use of reason and inclusive debate to achieve a consensus as only by doing that the nation can remain peaceful at the physical and emotional level.

In conclusion, Malaysians must resist the temptation to be a hero. Let the experts decide on the issue as only by doing so can we arrive at the right decision and not the emotional one while rejecting extremist behaviours in any form that can undermine the harmony of the various races in this country so that we can all live peacefully and bury the racial and religious ghost that have been haunting us that is worsening the polarisation of the people of Malaysia so that we can return back to the golden days in terms of race relations pre- May 13. Doing so with no doubt will benefit all of us, irrespective of race and religion. That is the real heroic thing to do.

Malaysian Maverick

2009-12-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

Mahathir Mohamad is a maverick indeed, just like the title of Barry Wein's book suggests, the book that was seized by the government reportedly to study the suitability of the books contents. The book in question is The Malaysian Maverick:Mahathir Mohamad in turbulent times. The controversial book claims that among other things, Mahathir worked with American government in allowing them to conduct training in Johore and burned billions of dollars during his tenure as Prime Minister.

My view on this is the same as the Maverick himself, release the book so that it can be made available to the public so that we, the public who worked our buts out earning money that the government conveniently tax us that the book claimed to be mismanaged, be the judge and not those officials in the Home Ministry as it's in the interest of the public too know what happened to their money. Withholding the book won't help, rather it will lead to speculation on the contents of the book by the netizens in the web as can be seen in many blog writings and social networking sites.

This speculation whether true or not can only be dispelled only by the contents of the book be made available and Mahathir himself must be made to answer those allegations, the final verdict will be decided by the public who will have the chance to hear from both sides, then and only then will the verdict by the public be fair and conclusive.

Not doing so will only do unjust for Mahthir's reputation as in Malaysia, rumours ruled the day as we can't trust the mainstream media as it's superbly bias nor that we can use our reasoning to arrive at the truth as that requires the excess to all information which in this case happens to be in the book. So making the book available for scrutiny will allow Mahathir to defend his reputation and if necessary take legal action against the author if the book is a bunch of lies written on a Pro-Western sentiments rather than undisputed facts and figures.

If proven to be accurate then an investigation should be done to find out where the billions went to and whether they're individuals that deserve to be punished because of involvement in the disappearance of billions. I'm not suggesting this for pure resentment rather the move will deter others in the future not to be involved in such scandalous projects that don't follow proper procedures or face the fury of the law.

Nonetheless no matter what the truth is, I still believe that it will not dent Mahathir's contribution towards this country from a backwater nation to a metropolitan, rather it will only serve us as a lesson on what the current lack of accountability and transparency can do to a nation, without knowing we are losing billions and helping US army whose immoral deed in the middle east means that we are a part of it's evil not to mention the risk it pose to our sovereignty as US military are known to be moles, informing to their government on possible weakness in the country they are operating in to take advantage of it to further the US interest. I'm not being anti-American here rather just spelling out the facts.

In conclusion it's high time the government adopts the policy of free information to the public as in the information age, the public must make informed decisions that requires free-flow of information so that they can reach to an informed decision on issues like politics, economics and so on. This will free us from and ignorant society that we are to an informed one that can act in accordance to their values and truth rather than simply accepting conventional wisdom disseminated by the government owned media that cannot hold water, making it tough for the people to make the correct informed decisions and necessary corrective actions as a society that is progressive is the society that embraces the truth and act accordingly no matter how painful it may be for them to do so in an effort to progress further and beyond.

The PAS Dilemma

2009-12-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this a day after some 20 people protested in front of the Selangor PAS Headquarters demanding that PAS pull out from the state government in Selangor stating that PAS is better of on its own and that in Pakatan Rakyat PAS are being dominated by it's partners which are PKR and DAP. Of course PAS and Pakatan blamed UMNO for the incident claiming that the protest is the work of UMNO and not PAS which UMNO has denied. Whatever the truth is, with no doubt that PAS is indeed in a dilemma and needs to solve this dilemma quickly and properly.

The dilemma is obviously should the party stay on with Pakatan Rakyat or should they leave either being independent, join UMNO or be a party within BN like they did in the 70s. At stake here is the ideological struggle that PAS has been fighting since it's formation as a splinter party from UMNO, which is the Islamic state struggle, the main agenda of PAS. Let's consider the options here.

First is the stay with Pakatan option. This option is probably the most politically rewarding move on behalf of PAS as can be seen by the electoral gains the party made by capturing Kedah and for a while heading the executive branch of the Perak state government before it's collapse, not to mention an involvement in the running of Selangor and Penang state government.

This all will not be possible without the non-Malays vote that it received courtesy of it's coalition partners especially DAP( the capture of Kedah is a prime example as Mat Sabu stated that the lack of non-Malays vote is the only reason behind the party failure to capture the state all this years), the vote that remains elusive to the party due to the image by the non-Malays that Islamic state means the curtailing of their religious rights and lifestyles( the later is probably justified) unless PAS is prepared to follow a lenient Hudud law which might not be popular with some of the fundamentalists within the party establishment.

The second option is to leave Pakatan and join UMNO or BN, if done properly, this may be the most politically rewarding move by PAS,however there are inherent risks that history can show PAS if it decides to do so. One can remember what happened to PAS when it joined BN in the 70s, not only that they were ignored by UMNO and BN once UMNO and BN managed to undo the damage of the 1969 General Election when the won big in the 1974 General Election, the party was split into many waring factions when the party left the BN in eventually few years later and it took them years to recover, 14 years to be exact when with the now defunct Semangat 46 they took control of the Kelantan state government.

Of course on the upside there's the possibility of being in the ruling government which will lead to more rewards in the form of monetary reward for PAS MPs and state assemblymens, more federal allocation to PAS ruled states and so on, political reward such as ministerial posts for PAS top leadership and PAS can probably control a few national or state agencies like Felda when Asri Muda was the Minister of Land in the 70s.

So despite the risks, there are rewards but either way PAS will play second fiddle to UMNO, just like in the 70s, toe the line or leave BN as UMNO will not bow down to any other positions but as the political masters and to please the other BN partners, like MCA who's oppose to the Islamic state concept, in BN PAS can forget about its main political agenda of turning Malaysia into an Islamic state.

Finally there's the least politically rewarding option of becoming independent. Well PAS will lose the non-Malays vote and that might cause them the state of Kedah, not to mention losing a chance of being part of the Selangor and Penang state government, of course they can keep their option open by opting to work with either Pakatan or BN and leaving at their wimps and fancies while gaining either the rewards from Pakatan or BN along the way.

Certainly a viable way to move forward while keeping their Islamic state agenda struggle, however this can only be done when either coalition is desperately in need of PAS like BN in 1972 and Pakatan now as without the need there's no reason for Pakatan nor BN to except a party that is not committed to the respective coalition cause not to mention PAS will also get less of the rewards if either coalition governs the country or state as their lack of commitment may cause a feeling of distrust by the coalition thus strategic posts might not be awarded to PAS because of that.

Now the PAS leadership must do some deep soul-searching to find which path they want to take and neither path is filled with roses rather there're filled with sacrifices and compromise(thorns to be a little bit symbolic), and the decision that they arrived at will have profound impact on the Malaysia political landscape and the Malaysian people at large so it's understandable that the writer is keeping an eye(without blinking so to speak) on this national and public interest decision as there's to much at stake for all parties not to ignore the final outcome of the climatic moment that begun with the historical March 8 2008 General Election( mother of all elections).

When Everything is Political

2009-12-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

Malaysia must surely be one of the most political country in the world as everything is constrained by politics from language to location of temples and so on. It's tough the be a progressive nation when we are inhibited to make the most effective decision for the progress of the nation due to political reasons,thus the political decisions that sometimes are not for the benefit of the nation at large are being adopted due to the importance place on political decisions.

We can see from the recent controversy surrounding the National Civics Bureau(BiroTatanegara) where the Selangor state government banned it's employees and students in state-owned learning institutions from attending this course due to reported racial and political propaganda that the course is propagating. The question is why the government is spending more than 60 million for such programme? Well the answer seemed obvious, for political reasons of course.

By instilling racism(Malay nationalism),UMNO will benefit politically eventhough what the country needs right now is not citizens who identify themselves strongly by race, rather we need citizens who identify themselves being Malaysians first rather than their respective race. So again political interest seems to be place of higher importance than national interest. I believe than the course should be revamp to instill the feeling of patriotism, tolerance and national understanding rather than racist garbage.

Then there's the royalty claim by the Kelantan state government. Again the political interest of the federal government takes precedence when it refused to give the royalty, rather the government will give Wang Ehsan and channelled the rest to federal projects there. This so called projects beneficiary will not be the average Kelantanese,rather UMNO Kelantan cronies will benefit and we all know what the Wang Ehsan did to the Terengganu state government ruled by PAS, it ended it's rein and it's wise for Kelantan to learn from history and not make the same mistake.

So as we can see, the Wang Ehsan and federal projects there will benefit UMNO rather than the Kelantanese people at large, so again political interest was placed higher than the interest of the Kelantanese people.

Finally,even the event where DAP leaders stepped on the picture of the frogs of Perak(Jamaludin and Osman) while missing Hee(another frog), was politicised by certain quarters with a racial element added. What matters here is that these people betrayed the trust of the Perak voters, all of them, they betrayed Malay voters,Chinese voters, Indian voters,Perak voters,so there's no need to politicised or racialised the poster stepping event as I as a Malay will personally would like to join in irrespective of whose face in the poster I stepped as I believe their action is regressive towards the state of democracy in this country and I'm for progress of our democracy not the other way around.

In conclusion, Malaysians must always demand that the interest of the nation at large be placed of higher importance than any other interest so that the nation can progress and Malaysian,all Malaysians can benefit together irrespective of race,religion,class or political beliefs so that the progress achieved is holistic and sustainable and not the overnight progress that we achieved in the 90s which left out some quarters and was destroyed(some of it) overnight due to the economic and social instability due to the Asian Financial Crisis and the sacking and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim which cause massive street protest and eventual political instability. It's time for us to enjoy development without sacrificing the future generation by ensuring a holistic and sustainable progress and rejecting the pursuit of political interest by the government.

Conservatives VS Reformist

2009-10-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

The recent outburst of PAS spiritual leader calling for an EGM to replace what he described as "Problematic Leaders" so that once and for all PAS will know the direction it's heading shows how the friction between the conservatives and reformist has gotten worst. The outcome of this rift will determine the fate of the Islamist Party that it's past had shown various political positions from being a left-wing socialist during the Dr Burhanudin era to the nationalist era led by the late Ustaz Asri Muda,to the current Islamist stand or the Kepimpinan Ulama which engulfed the party in the 80's.

However looking from the Pakatan Rakyat's point of view,it is in the best interest of the pact to have a conservative PAS as it's partner as this will enable PAS to compete directly with UMNO for the Malay conservative votes.With PKR already well position,even to a certain extent monopolising the liberal Malay votes,having PAS compete in the Malay conservative votes is crucial as there are probably more Malays who are conservatives than those who are liberals,thus allowing Pakatan to garner a sizable Malay votes,ensuring them to be competitive in the rural Malay areas while maintaining the urban Malay areas the pact won in the 12th General Election.

The lost in Bagan Pinang is part of the cause of the outburst as one academician from International Islamic University,Dr Aziz Bari attributed the lost due to the the action of PAS Selangor chief in trying to ban alcohol sale and criticising the SELCAT initiative in Selangor as part of the reason for the lost,I beg to differ as many PAS supporters are angered by the fact that PAS seemed to be making more compromises than it should,and the Malay conservatives that are fed up with UMNO who supported PAS are disappointed as PAS which is the second largest Malay party seemed to abandon the Malay agenda central to most Malay conservatives,so the action of Dr Hassan Ali is much needed to assured those parties that PAS is serving them,thus ensuring their continuous support.

As long as the clandestine unity government talk is well explained or the issue close completely and trust among the Pakatan partners assured,the conservatives faction can play a significant role in the fight for the the Malay conservative votes which are central to UMNO's strenght,denying UMNO a strong showing in that voter section might weaken or destroy UMNO forever and place PAS as the dominant party representing both Islamic and Malay interest within Pakatan.

This potential for PAS must be exploited for the sake of Pakatan Rakyat chances to form the next federal government.The countdown till the next general election just got more interesting as the game has already begun.

The Battle to Control Selangor

2009-09-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

The state of Selangor is a grand prize for Pakatan Rakyat especially PKR. Now, the state will be the battlefield between two political parties and at stake is the most developed state in Malaysia. Datuk Seri Najib, the leader of Barisan Nasional had said earlier that do whatever that is necessary to get the state back into it's fold.

Barisan Nasional had fired the first shot by using MACC and so on to rattle the state government. A lot of Pakatan Rakyat officials has been charge with corruption as it's MB in the car and cows case, it's EXCO accused of underworld connections while the other accused of graft not to mention the death of Teoh and rumours of massive defections to topple the state government. However despite all that, the state government on the surface appears to be doing well.

On the defensive the state government offense has been so far disappointing, of course it will be tough for them as they are not given a level playing field to do battle with BN, but of course this is politics an assuming that things are going to be fair is like assuming that a hungry tiger will not eat you just because you don't have four legs, so unable to run fairly away from the tiger.

However this scenario might be advantageous for Pakatan as they can paint themselves as the victim and BN is like the devil, thus must be destroyed just like what happened in Perak that's good fo Pakatan Rakyat in the Bukit Gantang by-election,so utilizing that strategy well without being accused of incompetence for blaming BN for Pakatan's failure might work out well for Pakatan in the short run but success in the long run will be base on actual performance despite the circumstances,thus Tan Sri Khalid must figure out how to developed Selangor despite the disturbance from BN as it's imperative for Pakatan to keep this golden state whatever the circumstances are.

Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan dan Berpuasa

2009-08-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Saya ingin mengucapkan selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan dan berpuasa. Moga rahmat bulan yang mulia ini dapat diperolehi oleh umat Islam, kerana harus dihargai oleh umat Islam sejagat kerana diberi nikmat untuk menghadapi bulan Ramadhan sekali lagi kerana nikmat tersebut tidak sampai kepada arwah yang telah pergi dahulu. Jadi saya menyarankan agar umat Islam mengambil peluang daripada nikmat ini dengan berlumba-lumba menjalankan ibadah wajib mahupun sunat agar mendapat kelebihan yang ditawarkan oleh Allah S.W.T kepada umat Islam pada bulan Ramadhan iaitu gandaan pahala bulan yang mulia ini. Dengan itu,adalah satu pembaziran jika peluang keemasan ini tidak diambil oleh kita. Jadi sekali lagi saya ingin mengucapkan selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan dan berpuasa kepada seluruh umat Islam.

1Malaysia

2009-08-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

It is annoying for me,every time I am listening to the radio,watching television,reading the newspaper or even enjoying the scenery of Malaysia,I end up stumbling upon this 1Malaysia advertisement 24/7. It is understandable that each motto or concept must be well communicated so that it can take of however that's only half the requirement for this concept to be a success,the other half is the actual implementation of policies that will make the concept a reality.

At the present state,there is no real policies implemented to make 1Malaysia a success. Without any significant change in policies,the massive advertisement of 1Malaysia will be a waste of money not to mention an apparent attempt by the government to distort reality and perception of the people or brainwashing. Of course brainwashing will work if Malaysia is a underdeveloped country,but unfortunately for Najib,Malaysians will not be fooled as although our mentality are not on par with those of the developed nation,we are certainly developing the mentality necessary to dissect the right from wrong which is a necessity for us to contribute to the development of our country.

Such policies which are missing to make 1Malaysia a success are the integration of our education system for starters. "Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya" is a wise proverb in which to instill racial harmony and understanding,it must start when one is still young,thus the importance of the role in which a school plays to national integration must not be neglected.

Besides that,a law should be implemented to make racial discrimination or even behaviour a crime.This will deter Malaysians especially politicians from using race to gather support but might upset the delicate social fabric if a race riot was to occur.Such law will ensure national integration and will create an environment of trust between the races as any act deemed racial discrimination can brought to court and action will be taken.

Of course beside the ones mention above,there are many more changes required to make 1Malaysia a success such as a political system that is not based on communal politics and so on. But right now, I will advice the PM to tone down on the annoying adverts and make an attempt to create substantive change by implementing necessary changes to make 1Malaysia a success,as that is where the focus such lie,not creating another 1Malaysia song that is painful to the ear and heart.

The Future Direction of this country.

2009-07-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here and wondering in a state of loneliness, in all the politicking that had happened thus far since March8, are we forgetting something while we bicker about issues such as the medium of teaching for Science and Mathematics, the innocence of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and so on, that our future generation has been forgotten in this debate as we get to fixated with the present.

It has been said that a politician is the one that thinks on how to win the next election, a statesman however thinks about the future generation. Therefore it is essential for Malaysians to call for it's politicians to behave in a statesmen manner.

A lot of populist policies have been advocated by politicians across the political divide that sound good on the short term but are damaging the country in the long-term. Such actions to my view are the liberalisation of the economy and the scraping of the use of English language in the teaching of Maths and Science. The move of course will please some section of the society but in the long run the country overall will suffer, as the language nationalist and others jubilate their victory.

I think that Malaysians must equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to begin the necessary scrutiny of such populist policies before we are misslead by emotions that witheld us from making compelling changes that is beneficial for the country in the long-run, so that our children and grand-children can benefit from our decision. As the problem facing our country get increasingly complex, the deep understanding of the issues affecting or country is the one way we can become good citizens and help this country overcome it's problem whether actively or passively.The future generation is counting on us, and just like the past generations that have given us so much, we must now do the same.

On a final note I hope the voters in Manek Urai can identify sincerity of the ruling coalition on their claims that their welfare is their out most concern. If that is the case, then the ruling party shouldn't stop investment from flowing into the state and help the poor in Kelantan by giving them the necessary aid, and not punish the people of Kelantan for being loyal to the opposition by letting it suffer from poverty and lack of development just because they exercise their democratic right as citizens by voting against the ruling coalition.

So the wisdom of the voters in Manek Urai will be watched closely. I certainly will.Let hope that the rural people of Maneek Urai will show that they are mature enough to make the right decision and surprise those who underestimate their maturity and judgement.

2009-07-09T20:52:00.001-07:00

Pembangunan berlandaskan Al-Quran dan Sunnah
Al-Quran dan Sunnah merupakan sumber utama yang digunakan oleh para pemerintah Islam sejak beribu tahun dahulu semasa pembentukan tamadun Islam. Malah Rasulullah S.A.W sendiri semasa menjadi pemerintah di Madinah menggunakan Al-Quran serta Sunnah sebagai rujukan dalam melaksanakan pentadbiran. Hal ini kerana Al-Quran dan Sunnah mempunyai pelbagai perkara yang melibatkan hal duniawi dan akhirat. Contohnya perkara yang melibatkan pentadbiran, Al-Quran sendiri secara terang menjelaskan undang-undang yang wajar dan fleksible untuk dilaksanakan. Bukan itu sahaja, etika mengenai nilai-nilai yang harus diterapkan dalam membentuk pembangunan juga disebut di dalam Al-Quran dan Sunnah. Selain itu, pembentukan sistem politik yang bermoral dapat dibuat oleh tamadun Islam yang menggunakan sumber Islam yang agung ini. Ekonomi yang seimbang dapat dihasilkan menerusi sumber-sumber ini. Sistem sosial yang bebas dari pengaruh fikiran manusia yang mempunyai agenda sendiri dapat dibentuk. Di sini kita dapat melihat bahawa Al-Quran dan Sunnah merupakan sumber yang paling lengkap dan sempurna dari aspek politik,ekonomi serta sosial kerana dalam membentuk pembangunan sesebuah negara.
Jika menurut prespektif Islam Al-Quran dan Sunnah merupakan rujukan yang unggul tetapi berlainan pula bagi barat. Menurut prespektif barat, mereka lebih cenderung dalam menggunakan akal fikiran semata-semata. Malah ramai cerdik pandai,cendekiawan serta sarjana barat yang merupakan penasihat kepada pemerintah barat menolak menggunakan sumber dari kitab mereka sendiri sebagai rujukan kerana mereka beranggapan kitab hanya menekankan aspek agama semata-semata. Hal ini disebabkan mereka lebih mempercayai idea-idea sarjana dan pemikir seperti Karl Marx dan Adam Smith dalam aspek politik,ekonomi serta sosial. Mengambil contoh Karl Marx misalnya, beliau merupakan pengasas komunis yang berasal dari Jerman di mana kita dapat melihat pada hari ini negara barat seperti Rusia yang mengamalkan sistem komunis.

The Politics of Sincerity

2009-06-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our Prime Minister talked about starting a merit-based scholarship next year. Of course they are many political rewards Barisan Nasional stands to gain if this move is implemented, and although they might be a political backlash from the Malay community, in the current political landscape obviously the Malays has no where else to go as both side of the political divide are offering the same promise, therefore the backlash is expected to be minor in nature.

Now we go to the sincerity expect of politics, that is, the same party that promise to upheld the Malay rights till their last drop of blood seems to be abandoning that very cause with it's Presidents latest offering. What happen to the the spirit of Ketuanan Melayu that that they shout and scream and promise to fight for since UMNO was founded back in 1946. Apparently the political context has changed since the March8 General Election and the values of the nation are also shifting. Remaining with the old ideology might speed their downfall so they have adopted a more liberal approach by introducing the 1Malaysia concept and of course this merit-based scholarship further reinforce that UMNO has indeed abandon their old ideology.

So as the above paragraph shows, indeed in times of crisis, a political party will indeed abandon it's ideology for their survival, however how about the trust that the voters had given to UMNO to protect the interest of Malays since independence, are they betrayed by the very party that their trust was given, the rural- older generation Malays that put UMNO in their hearts and minds, the many grassroots that worked tirelessly for the party, are they betrayed, well the answer is yes they are betrayed and they have it coming.

As we are all aware, UMNO like any other institution or organization will have to change with the demand of the time so they can't be what they are Pre- Malayan Union today as they demands of time is different. Pre -March8, there is no viable opposition to UMNO and Barisan Nasional but since the rise of Pakatan Rakyat, Barisan Nasional must now compete with a pact that had broken their winning formula time and time again, so change is mandatory if they want to remain relevant.

The Malays,which is the core voters of UMNO and now even BN, are facing different problems then that of the past and the many problems seem to be universal rather than racial in nature such as corruption, education and the people's welfare that requires concrete solution no just abstract Malay nationalistic slogans to solve and unfortunately for UMNO and BN Pakatan seems to offer the concrete solutions such as open tender for projects and welfare aid for the needy.

As for those who have been putting their trust blindly on UMNO they have been warned, the Malays must change themselves and not depend on any political party entirely as the main objective of a political party is to win elections and not fight for you till the end of time as once the cause is not profitable to pursue, they will abandon the cause and those reliant on the cause will either move on and fight their way to free themselves from the reliance or perish.

So on a final note, Malaysians especially Malays must now learn to stand independently without any help from whoever or whatever so that we can be truly independent from any form of colonisation be it the colonisation of the mind,body and soul whether from foreign bodies or the local ones.

My Future at This Momment

2009-06-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well looking at the present is said to be an indication for what's coming in the future, so I ponder on the present to have a glance on the crystal ball what's in store for me in the future, so he we go. Firstly, a brief introduction about myself to determine the context I'm now in, I'm single, considers myself average in academic endeavour, my physique is also average , in exception for my bulging tummy, I'm unknown in my college and I love business and politics.

So judging by my present context bearing any changes, while I'm listening to Taylor Swift's Love Story, I foresee that I will graduate in an average university or probably a reasonably good one, then I will get a reasonable job, and live a reasonably normal live, hmmm BORING, then things take a 360 degrees change, I will start my business and after struggling for a few years, make it big time. Now my life is unique in the sense that in my 20s or 30s I'm already a multi-millionaire,wow that's is exactly what I wanted, hmmm I guess I will accomplish one of my dream. Of course because I'm totally absorbed with running my business, I'm still single, so satisfy my lust for women, I'll become a playboy, that easy as a lot of touchy-touchy but no commitment and you can get more than one woman, get it, with a lot of money, that will be no problem.

Now, in my mid-30s I will try to achieve success in politics, so I will join a political party, most likely an opposition party as in current context I'm leaning towards them. With wealth, I simply donate some of my wealth to the party, and that put me in good terms with party leaders and the grassroots, so I rise quickly in the party becoming the senior party leader and of course an MP for Serdang in which my hometown of Bandar Baru Bangi is part of. The opposition in one of the General Election nearly topple the government, however just by a few seats they failed to do so. In retaliation and to preserve their hold on power the opposition leaders is accused of various crime, and charged in court. Of course the charge is politically motivated and as an opposition senior leader, I did not escape the wrath of injustice either.

I will be accused of corruption and because of my playboy ways during my younger years, they also accused my of rape although in did not do such a thing. I was of course charged and sent to prison were I'm am tortured, my business is nationalised after the government conspired with other shareholder and management to do so. So here I am late-30s, in prison all alone, emotionally destroyed, physically just like the Malay proverb "nak hidup segan, nak mati tak mahu", all the things that I worked for disappeared in to thin air nothing to live or die for.

When everything seem to be falling apart and I'm holding on to a thin cloth to continue my survival, I will meet a woman, that will inject the necessary determination to live on in my heart. She happens to be my friend from the past who is my faithful supporter, that I helped a lot in my capacity as a YB and businessman. I will fall in love with her as with nothing in live left, love is the only thing I've got. The feeling is mutual it seemed after she kissed me and ask me to fight on. We of course got married and even though we can only see each other during visiting hours, our relationship flourished.

It is then I figured that I must fight in whatever ways possible to free myself and have a family with her while recommitting to the cause of justice after feeling the pain of injustice. Wow that all for now, as the present thought of a law test coming up brought me back to my present life, as a student in INTI college, not some political warrior fighting for justice for my countrymen. Well on a final note even though I'll end up that way, I will still be happy as I dared to chase my dreams no matter what, how many people can lay claim to such a statement, not many, so I guess I'm unique in a way, and who knows a happy ending may just be around the corner. What a live, I'm looking forward for that, well not so much the prison part but the business, politics and of course love when that's the only thing that you have in the end, it will become the purest of love. Can't wait for me to be in that future, certainly more interesting than where I'm now.

The Politics of the Unity Government

2009-06-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

The subject of forming a unity government is a hot topic discussed by the majority of people who are interested in this proposal, naively thinking this will reduce the political bickering that is ongoing in our country, well allow me to rebuke such claim, that lurking around the corner, this concept is filled with politics that will lead to more bickering.

Let's discuss, firstly, should PAS decides to join this unity government, what will be the position of it's party president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, in the 70's, when PAS joined BN the then President Asri Muda was given the ministerial post of Minister of Land, so of course there will be something in store for the President. What will PAS demand be for their President, well if I'm Hadi I will ask for a senior position in the cabinet or at least the post of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of religious affair. That way I can use my power to strenghten PAS by implementing policies in line with PAS aspiration to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state. I wonder what the MCA,MIC and other BN component parties will think of that, there will be of course bickering between them and PAS.

Then, there is the business of kicking out or controlling those people within PAS that are against the idea of the unity government, names such as the PAS spiritual adviser Dato Nik Abdul Aziz and his faithful supporters. I doubt that Nik Aziz is just going to keep quite if PAS is to join BN, therefore there will be politicking between the pro-UMNO and pro-Pakatan within PAS, and should the merger occurs, then this faction will be absorbed in BN, thus making it a BN problem. The bickering will of course escalate.

Finally, imagine the giving out of government contracts, of course PAS wants some of them for their supporters. But how about the BN and UMNO contract beneficiary, do you think that they will just sit silently as this outsiders siphoned away their wealth, of course not. There will be more bickering, and what's worst is that BN will be powerful with the inclusion of PAS thus making in harder for PKR and DAP to initiate the check and balance necessary to keep tab on government wastage and inefficiency.

As noted above, the unity government is anything but the end of political bickering therefore it should not exceed discussions on the pressing issues face by the government that PAS is best suited to contribute. Anything more than that will spell disaster for all parties involved and it is the rakyat that will suffer the most eventually. Therefore it is important for all parties to really do their homework before moving foward on this promosing at the same time dangerous proposal for a unity government.

The Unity Government Proposal

2009-06-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

It was a shock for me, I felt like falling off a mountain when I heard PAS President Ustaz Hadi Awang made statement after statement advocating the unity government with UMNO concept. The underlying concept is not the problem as the nation's most pressing issues require a by-partisan approach to solve them. What troubled me was the fact that the concept threatens the solidarity of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition viability to challenge the Barisan Nasional dominance in the Malaysian political scene as the issue was not properly communicated and many PAS and Pakatan Rakyat leaders made conflicting statements confusing supporters and giving room for BN to exploit the issue to further the pace of destruction for the young coalition.

I will not speak on behalf of Hadi so I will not touch on the unity government concept, however what is more important is the consequences of the miscommunication on the future of PAS and Pakatan Rakyat, not to mention the country as a whole. Firstly, the effect on PAS, it must be noted that PAS experimentation with the BN in the past didn't go so well as PAS took years to regain their footing after the party splits into many factions after the failure of PAS move into BN. Therefore using history as a reference it is not impossible that PAS will indeed spilt again this time around if they decide to join BN as they are many within the party that disagree staunchly with the proposal, and this time around it is uncertain whether PAS can come back from the dead as in the past they are no strong Malay opposition party when PAS was in a state of diaspora, so PAS was the place for the Malays who disagree with UMNO to voice their dissent. However currently there's PKR so PAS might not be so lucky this time.

For Pakatan Rakyat, of course losing it's major partner will be a blow to the coalition which has not managed to get a solid footing on the ground as they are plagued by inexperience politicians and the difference in ideologies among them made matters worst. Pakatan Rakyat will of course risk losing control of some of the state they are currently governing if PAS is to join UMNO. PAS is important component of Pakatan as they are the one's with the ability to challenge UMNO foothold of the Malay heartlands thus spliting this core supporter of UMNO without which UMNO and BN will not be able to form the government, especially the Malay-rural voters.

Finally, for the country, losing a good opposition due to PAS departure from the opposition will enhance UMNO political power thus making them arrogant and overly powerful, bringing back the ghost of pre-March 8 where UMNO can do whatever they like with the country, even when such actions is bad for the country as there is no proper check-and-balance by the opposition as the opposition was to weak then.

So, I urged PAS to move cautiously and resist the temptations of being in power for the greater good of the country. It will be a great betrayal on the part of PAS if they are to join BN to the voters who wanted a strong opposition not to mention to PAS members itself who openly expressed their strong disagreement to the idea.

Malaysia a Police State

2009-05-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Forget about the traditional theory of separation of power between the Executive branch, Legislative and the judiciary, there is a new sheriff in town called the police force, that's right the police. The police is now a force to be reckoned with as the political instability has caused both the legislative branch to be weakened as without the two-third majority, passing a bill is tougher now then pre- March8. Then the many scandals in the executive branch has caused the branch to be reliant on the police for cover ups and assistance, thus propelling the police as the real power in Malaysia.

As we can see in Perak, the police can just carry the speaker and throw him out of the state assembly even though he is the rightful speaker until he is voted out in the assembly which had been done with the help of the police. Then, the hunger strike, again it is the police that interrupted the planed strike to commemorate the death of democracy in Perak, what's wrong with Nizar and gang fasting, it is good for them health wise, and with Zambry confident that he is the rightful Mentei Besar and asking people to decide for themselves which one is right, so why is the need to stop the hunger strike?

Besides that, the candle light vigil, peaceful I might add, was also invaded by police arresting an MP and assemblywoman, just because of they are protesting about what occurred in Perak, so much for Najib's 1Malaysia concept which he recently said that social justice is one of the main thrust of that concept. The police force had also, according to Anwar, fabricated evidence against him in the sodomy case back in the 90's, so they are more powerful then the then Deputy Prime Minister, let alone some politicians.

A key contributing factor has been the declining of law and order here in Malaysia. The courts must be revive back to the glory days pre-the judicial crisis in the 90's, where the likes of Tun Suffian is credible enough to be chief judge not the likes of those chief judges involved in the Lingam tape scandal.

Besides that the media must be free and fair so that the police brutality can be known by the public at large. There had been bias reporting in the mainstream media justifying the police crackdown on the opposition when their action is against human rights as as stated in the Geneva convention every individuals has the freedom to their political beliefs and has the right to express it in the form of action, speech and other communication methods.

Finally, democracy must be allowed to bloom so that the people with power is directly accountable to the electorate, unlike the police who is accountable to their political masters who reward them not in their capability to protect the citizens from harm but by their loyalty in executing politically motivated actions that will preserve their political masters and cronies positions and interests and so on. One way we can achieve this is by setting up a committee in Parliament that compromise both side of the political divide whose responsibility is solely to manage the police force, so that any shortcomings must be bared by the committee members.

Towards the establishment of a police force that will keep us from harms way, it should be the ideal of all Malaysians as security according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs is one of our basic need.

Hunger Strike.

2009-05-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well it seems that having exhausted all options the Perak Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers is fasting in protest over the death of democracy in the silver state. Of course beside protesting about the death of democracy, why not kill two birds with one stone as this fast will be a good way for the lawmakers to lose weight and stay healthy especially with the stress that they have to put up with losing the state of Perak. Of course that all that they will gain not to mention delighting the BN lawmakers who will be enjoying themselves, eating the delicious Ikan Keli( Cat Fish) while laughing and enjoying the misery of their opposition counterpart.

If I may offer my 2 cents worth of advice, stop being dramatic and pathetic and start being a damn good opposition, while hoping that the federal court will serve justice is just like the Saharan dwellers hoping that it will rain there, might as well they be realistic and start to prepare for the next General Election, whilst becoming a damn good opposition so that Zambry and Co. cannot fool and short changed the people of Perak. He can smile and laugh and he wants, but a gentle reminder is in order, he who laugh last laugh the loudest ( sorry if I you don't understand this, is not might fault you learn the English language in Malay.)

The first think they should do is try to bring down the frogs of Jelapang, Behrang and Jangkat Jering, especially the two frogs charged in court for corruption, make sure the case don't suddenly disappear into thin air or mysteriously settled like the Lingam case. If possible try to find evidence that they are indeed corrupt so that we can force a by-election and well reclaim Perak in style without withholding the urge to purge on those delicious roti canai and so on. Another matter worth investigating was whether or not they we entice to jump by offers of cash and their acquittal from the corruption charge, if we can add the involvement of a certain someone who was said to be instrumental in the Perak takeover, that would be the perfect icing on the cake.

Secondly, by being a good opposition Pakatan can take the opportunity to strenghten their cohesiveness whilst checking their own party for potential defects especially PKR, which selected dubious and incompetent candidates for the election. In case of the DAP, the Ngeh and Nga dominance of the Perak DAP must be investigated as the frogs site them as part of the reason in their decision to switch side. This problem must be address once and for all. In the case of PAS, the party holds the key in how the opposition will fare in the next general election as PAS in the best suited to compete with UMNO for the votes of the rural Malays and if PAS succeeds in winning the key demography it will greatly weaken the final fortress of BN in Perak as UMNO is the largest party in Perak in terms of the number of state and Parliamentary seats it currently holds.

Finally, on the national level the respect for Pakatan Rakyat will grow as they can impress the people by showing their maturity, and pictured BN as the ruthless law breaking party. Sivakumar decision to expel Zambry and his EXCO drew criticism as his action clearly demonsrates abuse of power and doing whatever it takes to hang on to power as this is normally associated with BN so it is imperative that Pakatan Rakyat doesn't get associated with that image. It is wise for Pakatan not to get suck up on the present as it is essential to prepare for the future, like they say they can win the battle, but we must win the war for a better more democratic and just society in Malaysia.

Aminah bribery allegation

2009-05-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently our politicians simply love to play the money game, can't blame them since who among us who want to take the road less travelled, the treacherous road filled with obstacles and hardship, albeit at the end lies the satisfaction of reaching the destination with your values and pride intact, where as the other frequently travelled road is filled with everything but hardship and obstacles but the trade of is your values and pride. Politicians seem to favour the frequently travelled road, names like Isa Samad , Khairy Jamaludin, Ali Rustam and others seem to surface in our minds, however they somehow got stuck before reaching their destination.

Unfortunately if the allegation made by Aminah, the former PKR Penang women chief who is running in the Penanti by-election as an independent is true, then this touch n' go culture will rear it's ugly head in yet another party. Apparently this corruption culture is more contagious than the H1N1 Influenza virus as it has a global presence and spreads faster than the H1n1 virus. UMNO and BN used to be the only casualty as it's leader failed to administer the required antibiotics causing the disease to engulf the party until it received the wake-up call in March8 last year that the disease might caused the party to deceased.

Just last week the disease seems to strike the supposedly incorruptible party, the party that has the most superior antibody available to man, the antibody of absolute faith to religion, but that seems to falter to when accusation was made by an influential PAS leader that corruption has made it's way inside the party. Of course a sigh of relief is in order as they is yet prove to this accusation, it may well be a false alarm or misdiagnosis, whatever it is, we hope that the prophecy remains just that, a prophecy.

The hope that we will emerge victorious in our struggle against corruption have reached the climax and as the Pakatan Rakyat component party is fighting with this deadly disease we Malaysian can only hope and pray that the final line of defence will not falter leaving Malaysian defenceless to the dangers corruption can pose to society. Case studies of this can be seen in Mexico, Indonesia and other countries struggling to find it's way back to the overall development bandwagon. This cause it's worth dying for as the current generation of the above countries found out the hard way when their countries are being colonised by the have and the have not's are in a state of diaspora in their own country serving reluctantly their colonial masters.

Finally I called all Malaysian to reject corruption no matter what our race, religion and political beliefs are as the political parties in Malaysia is fighting a losing battle against it. Reinforcement is needed and it is no more the responsibility of the political parties and government to fight corruption as the disease had dismantle their defence and they are left vulnerable, they simply are not strong enough to fight alone, we have to join the fight and if we can stand united and stand our ground, we can obliterate corruption once and for all so that it's disastrous power will not turn our developing society into anarchy and forever destroy our people this generation and beyond. Let leave a clean and developed society to the next generation so that they will be proud of us.

The Penanti by-election

2009-05-18T22:00:00.001-07:00

As we are all aware, BN have officially announced that they will not contest the by-election in Penanti citing that they don't want to fall into the trap of political gamesmanship supposedly played by the opposition says BN's chief Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Well firstly a political party suppose to play the political games as that is their purpose, so whose Najib's fooling here, or he thinks that we are stupid like many other politicians but we taught them a lesson in the last general election and the many by-elections that succeeded it. Secondly, I don't know what the BN has against elections as BN seems to hate it allot.

Of course I would not get into the speculating business as to why the decision was made, some say that the many by-election defeats is the reason, while others claimed that unnecessary by-election is a was of public money and so on. Well I don't why they make such claims as it is an intelligent move not to contest what ever the reason may be, as going by their track record since the last year general election, the unpopularity of BN has plummeted to an all time low(subjective in nature this claim may be, but going by the exit poll in the subsequent by-elections my view may not be far off the mark), so it makes perfect sense not to participate. What is the rational of spending resources for an election knowing that you are going to lose in the first place.

It is better to keep your war chest for future battles where the odds are not against you. However the future in this case depends entirely on how Najib performs as a Prime Minister. The tide may change if he performs, but failure to do so will mean that BN will be overpowered by the second wave tsunami that is waiting to erupt after the first one nearly change the course of history for Malaysia. BN barely survived when the fist one hit, now still wounded by the first tsunami, the second one will be a knockout blow for BN unless they can someway redirect the tsunami towards the opposition, either way one them will feel the devastation so is a question of who.

Back to the by-election don't expect BN absence to be a blessing, as BN shadow looms large in the by-election as they can help the opponent of the opposition to win. That will be a blow to the opposition if that is to occur.

Besides that, they could be planning to observe the opposition ways of doing things so it is best that the opposition lay low and just campaign modestly, enough to defeat the opponent while keeping an eye on BN's plans and activities. Doing so will establish clearly the real reason for BN's the decision not to contest. The Machiavelli in Najib must be a reminder for the opposition leaders not to keep their guard down and refrain from thinking that the war has been won when in actual fact it is just a battle.

Finally I wish the best for the candidates in Penanti and is waiting in anticipation forBN's tactics in bringing down the opposition. I assume they will be surprises, so I hope that both the opposition and the ruling coalition will not let me down. I aspect thins to get down and dirty in this by-election.

Anifah Aman for Deputy Prime Minister or something like that

2009-05-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well recently our foreign minister met the US secretary of state Hilliary Clinton and claimed to be offered the post of equivalent to the deputy Prime Minister post by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to entice him to cross-over to the opposition side so that the ruling coalition government will fall and opposition can form the government.

There' something wrong with that idea firstly, there is no equivalent post to the deputy prime minister post so Anwar must think that Anifah Aman(the foreign minister) is stupid by implying that he will be offered a post that is like the deputy premiership. Well damn Anwar for offering such an important non-existence post to who he thinks is a stupid person. Why Anwar doesn't offer the post to who he thinks is intelligence? Is he risking Malaysia well being for the sake of his dream of becoming a Prime Minister?

Besides that, how can the new government function properly if Anwar simply chooses anybody to be his deputy or likewise? This man that he thinks is stupid might become the next Prime Minister if anything is to happen to Anwar God forbids, is Anwar nuts. The only way to solve this issue is to sue Anwar in court for having an intention to put Malaysia in a state of incompetence, that way this mistake won't happen again.

However think about it, having an East Malaysian as something equivalent as the deputy Prime Minister is a great opportunity to foster unity among the peninsula and east Malaysian, after all it is also a tradition in BN to include everybody in the administration of the country no matter how stupid, corrupt or many other no so admirable qualities our ministers have, so they should be no problem if Anwar follows suit. While we are at it, why not hire the first minor to be the finance minister as this could bridge the gap between minors and non-minors, don't forget mat rempit, we can pick one of them to be the home or defence minister, as they claimed that their pursuit are misunderstood by the normal people who like a normal adrenalin flow compared to the mat rempit preference for the adrenalin to pump until the adrenalin gland explode. That way we can understand and foster unity with them.

On a serious note Anwar has threaten Anifah with a defamation charge if he does not retract his statement within 24 hours. We don't need a lose cannon as a foreign minister just because he can speak well, as the content of the words are also important. Until then we can advice young Malaysians to do law as they will be many defamation suit to come as Malaysia has many lose cannon politicians, worse come to worse they can join in the profit rush made by lawyers in Perak or who knows, as long as they are frogs among us lawyers services are needed.

I hope that Malaysians realises about the antics their politicians are trying to play. The best way to solve this problem is never to vote for them in the first place. If we can achieve that then vision 2020 is not unreachable as first taught.

The Perak Crisis

2009-05-16T02:39:00.000-07:00

I believe that the best way to solve this debacle is to give power to the people to solve their own problem. By calling for the dissolution of the assembly to make way for a state-wide election is the only way the people can do so.

The People of Perak have a good chance to judge which government is best for them as they went through both Pakatan and Barisan administration, thus they will be able to judge which one is best for them. Both side of the political divide should do the honourable thing and advice the Sultan to dissolve the assembly and call for election. Both side seem to claim as the people champion with Pakatan Rakyat's Ketuanan Rakyat, Makhal Sakhti(people's power) and BN's One Malaysia, People first, and so on. But only one side is calling for the sate election to return the power to the people, the other seems to be avoiding it at all cost, hanging to power by hook or by crock.

It is unprofessional of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to say that the state election is an option but not a necessity as it is up to the Sultan to call the dissolution of the assembly as this statement seems to suggest that he is hiding behind the sultan in actual fact his side is uncommitted towards the state election being called, understandably so as his side has everything to lose while Pakatan has nothing to lose, but of course if BN truly put people first then let the people decide, or else it's motto is nothing more than an empty motto at best a lie at worst. We can excuse Najib if he's willing to met the Sultan and persuade him to call for a state election, after that it is all up to the sultan to do whatever he sees fit.

It is a sad they if the court will decide whose the rightful Menteri Besar and not the people of Perak. We claim to be a democracy but we seem not to practice it's ideal of "Government of the people, by the people, for the people". That 's the fundamental tenants of democracyin which without it our claim to be a democratic nation is a baseless claim as we have violated is fudamental principle.

I stand by many Malaysians especially Perakians in their call to return what is rightful to them that is the right to chose their government, the right that had been stolen from them when the trust to uphold their choice had been broken by the frogs that don't deserve to be called Yang Berhormat as nothing to hormat or respect from their evil deed of crossing over to the other side despite being chosen as a Pakatan assemblymen by the people. Let pray together that in Perak, that the legitimate government chosen by the people will emerge victorious over anything else that is stopping the real government chosen by the people.

The economic liberalisation

2009-05-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

I feel that these issue must be commented on as this decision is part of Najib's reform agenda, so let's asses whether it had been done in a proper manner or ad hoc in nature. First I will say I'm not an economist so the use of economics theories is minimal to none, as these thought goes out to the common people, meaning what it means for everyday people.

Taking into consideration the economic crisis, liberating the financial sector is imperative if one wants to see the disdain economic condition improve. The opening of the sector means that more foreign capital can now flow into Malaysia. This will benefit the business community as the availability of capital is key for a business to expand, thus promoting overall economic growth.

However one must wonder whether enough thoughts have been given by the government on the banking sector of this country. Local banks have enjoyed protection from government thus the sudden opening of the industry can result in local bank losing their hold in the local banking sector. This may result in reduce profit for local banks which will stun their phenomenal growth.

The presence of foreign banks mean that the Malaysians who deposits their money to these banks may end up exposing their deposit to risk associated to western made derivatives such as the sub-prime mortgage that cause the global economic meltdown. This means that Malaysian economy may be expose to these unsafe securities, although Bank Negara it's said to keep an eye on these foreign bank, sometimes the central bank may miss danger signs due to the bureaucracy of the Central bank, just like what happened in the Asian Financial crisis when Bank Negara failed to detect the currency bubble that is happening to the RM due to intense speculation, which resulted in the bubble bursting, plunging Malaysia into economic crisis.

Nonetheless, Malaysia must start to scrap economic protectionism policies in order to encourage competition that will spur innovation that will eventually benefit the consumers. Malaysian companies must be trained to compete so that they can participate in the global economy as they can stand to gain more profit due to the size of the global market. However reform in the structure of the Malaysian economy is key so that Malaysia will be able to absorb the risk associated with the integrated global economy, besides having a blueprint in handling economic crisis. The local businessman must be carefully prepared to compete in the global market, once they are equip with the know how, then we can safely liberate our economy in line with the demands of globalisation.

The Dream and Parti Keadilan Rakyat

2009-04-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

I just want my readers to understand what PKR stands for and that the destruction of PKR will be the destruction of the dream of creating a Malaysia that is fair, just, free while attaining economic progress. Read Nurul Izzah Anwar and Nik's article here:http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/24593-working-for-malaysias-future

It is because of that I reiterate my stand that for change to come, it is not coming from UMNO or BN, it is coming from this party,PKR. The youth's there are empowered compared to other political parties, ideas are accepted and debates are encourage and differences in opinions are not punished rather it is encouraged.

That is the recipe for a more vibrant Malaysian democracy, and then we will achieve the dream as people are empowered through this new democracy, from there the government will work with the civil society to build a Malaysia that embodies the dream.

Towards making the dream a reality, all the best to the dream warriors who is fighting to make the dream a reality irrespective of political beliefs.

The Divisiveness of Politics and The Dream

2009-04-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

I am quite disappointed recently with the world of politics especially Pakatan Rakyat politics. It was obvious to me that real change can't be achieved if this trend continues. Just a year ago, on March 8 we bear witness to the rise of hope and the prospect of change seems certain. It is not a question of whether or not it will happen, but when.

But now reality knocked me and I realise that the faithful day may just be a random event in the Malaysian political history. As we can see the major players of the political tsunami that changed the political landscape in Malaysian politics, the coalition of PKR,PAS and DAP are not the same before March8. They are united then, to the cause of justice,equality,freedom and people empowerment but now they have fallen to the political trap Central to human nature that is the trap of human lust or in Malay NAFSU.

The lust for power,money and popularity has taken center stage,overtaking along the way the noble beliefs that held the coalitions together and the people they pledge to serve and fight for.

Today I went to one of the opposition blog, in the commentary section the commenter's who are supporters of the DAP and PKR and at each others throat, accusing one another of being a party that practices cronyism, nepotism and so on. The spark occurred due to the war of words between DAP's MP Tony Pua and PKR's MP Wee Choo Keong over the resignation of Penang's Deputy CM Fairus

You see, we have forgotten the fact that Pakatan Rakyat lost the last election although they manage to deny BN the two-thirds majority in parliament and 5 states manage to be captured, which is unprecedented in Malaysia's political history. Well, to wake the Pakatan Rakyat supporters, the reason Perak is lost to the BN is because of Pakatan's own self doing. So with Pakatan's self doing Pakatan and their faithful suppoters might lose it all.

Then, Pakatan is not facing Abdullah weak BN and UMNO. Najib will be a stronger foe for Pakatan. Look at the 1Malaysia concept, it is demolishing Pakatan's message to the voters in 2008 that they champion equality. Last year it was UMNO and BN who is disunited. The Mahathir faction is fighting the Pak Lah faction.

Now, thus far the Najib administration is working well with both factions, and BN and UMNO seem to be working cohesively, the same however can't be said for Pakatan Rakyat, in PAS there are two factions the pro-Anwar faction or Edrogran faction lead by Husam Musa the party's vice president, the blue eye boy of Spiritual leader Nik Aziz and the conservative section led by party president Hadi Awang.

So the supporter's are fighting for each other, the leaders are fighting with each other, even in inter-party the leaders and supporters are fighting with each other, so who are fighting for the people, if it is the BN then Pakatan is doomed.

Just a friendly reminder to keep the dream alive. The dream of ending communal politics and politics which empowers the people will live on but it does not belong to BN or Pakatan Rakyat, it belongs to the voters. So serve them well, keep the dream alive so that one day, the day that will overshadow May13 or March8, the day that will be remember by all Malaysians, the day that will be the hallmark of the history of politics in Malaysia, the day the dream becomes a reality, that day belongs to Pakatan Rakyat. The day will come, the question is when, and who will rise on that faithful day.

The Problem With Pakatan Rakyat

2009-04-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

I am sick with the politicking between the Pakatan Rakyat coalition parties and some of it's members. Firstly it is the debacle in Penang where the are war of words between some top PKR and DAP members. The issue revolve around the resignation of Fairus the deputy chief minister of Penang that necessiate a by-election in Penanti his constituency.

Anyway, Lim Guang Eng the chief minister frankly said to the media that he is disappointed over the resignation as he was not inform about it.Then a few PKR members criticise Lim leading a backlash from Tony Pua a DAP member.

This is the behaviour of the BN coalition party when they wanted support they will criticise and fake a fight with the other component party to gain support,to show that they are a fighter for their respective party. I hope that this practice will not start in Pakatan Rakyat as remember the BN is a race-based party and valueless in the sense that they don't have a proper ideological beliefs,they only fight for their race so it's important to been seen as fighter, to be seen as someone who can fight for their race that they represents needs and wants.

In the Pakatan Rakyat we belief in the welfare of the people,that is our ideology,so they is no need to fight with each other as we should unite to fight for the welfare of the people irrespective our race,religion or political beliefs.

So, I urge the Pakatan Rakyat to reconcile and resolve issues based on consensus that way,only then can they lead Malaysia to a better place a Malaysia that is build on the philosophy of tolerance,consensus and unity. A Malaysia that we all build,all the races,together.

The Generation Gap

2009-04-13T00:21:00.000-07:00

Right now Malaysia is at a crossroad, a major crossroad. There is the debate on going now about the generation debate. What is it? Well it is debate about the direction that Malaysia has to take for a better Malaysian to emerge. There are two sides, one side is the status quo side, the side that side the government policies that are crafted and implemented after independence must be continued as Malaysianis not ready for major change, the other side is the change side, the side that is calling for change in Malaysia's policies even the sensitive one's.

I think it is imperative that we engage ourselves actively in this debate as this concern the direction of Malaysia meaning our fate lies in this debate outcome, which side will the Malaysian choose? Well let's discuss. Firstly in the debate is the role of UMNO and other race-based parties in Malaysia, the older generation is convince that without them in will spell the doom for the race there are representing, especially UMNO and the malay community which believe that the malay party fate is interwined with the Malay race, meaning without UMNO the malay race is finished as the malays can survive on their own

Secondly is the current state of race relations in Malaysia, the older generation believe that it is best that it remain the same that equality that is demanded by some political parties should best be avoided. The younger generation, is calling for equality and the unification of the races that will be called the Bangsa Malaysia. The issues in this part is the most sensitive of them all as the older generation says: How come the Bumiputeras is put on the same level as the bumiputeras, that is absurd, that will cause another May13, and frankly the younger generation is still in the dark on this issue so they can't find a viable alternative on this issue that can satisfy all the races.

Then, is the government economic policies, that had make the younger generation especially malays to be richer,more educated and have a better standard of living compared to the older generation. Surprisingly is the younger generation that is calling for a change in the economic policy as they claim that the economic policy create disunity,inequality and it has been abuse by politician to enrich their relatives and cronies in the name of affirmative action. The older generation says that it is that economic policy that brought us here, a stable developing nation.

Finally, there is the government domestic policies that claims to protect national security(internal) such as the ISA, the Press and Printing act, the University and University College act and so on. The younger generation is calling for the scrapping of these laws saying it abuse the civil rights of Malaysians and that it has been used for political mileage by the government. The older generation says no to that idea as their memories of the many race riots that happened in Malaysia in the 60's are still fresh and they don't want a repetition of the race riots now especially after progress had been made.

So, there you go, the debate that is still ongoing and the many issues raised will be the issues in the next general election that will decide the fate of this nation. While waiting for that day Malaysian should immersed themselves about the issues so that they can become an informed voter. I would like readers to take up the issues and if possible write them in their respective blogs so that the debate can take place by the masses rather than in open houses or functions as I said before this debate outcome is a matter of national importance as it will lead us to a new Malaysia no matter which side that we choose and once there it will be tough to turn back so choose wisely.

The Changing Process of Malaysia

2009-04-10T00:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I quite disappointed with the current situation in the blogsphere. I don't know, maybe how the passion has warn of or there is not much fire anymore(in the exception of Malaysia Today, but that also has a slight reduction) in the Malaysian political blogs. I welcome any thoughts on this but let me have a say first.

Firstly, I think that the political blogs have stop defending the people, rather they are defending their political masters or their favourite politicians to a sickening extent. A lot have been said on these, the argument between real blogger and the paid one so there is no need for me to elaborate further. However there is the tendency for this bloggers to twist the facts and create lies and false accusation that may mislead the readers, which is of course uncalled for.

Then there is the fact that the changing of the guard in UMNO and the government has make some among us bloggers who are passionate reformers turn to well, like a bunch of losers hoping for change from this leadership transition. To them I wish good luck! But let me remind them that nothing has truly change,only now we have the new Prime Minister and his cabinet which most of them are part of the old cabinet. The ruling party is still the same, the philosophy on which they rule is still the same, the attitude of their rule is still the same. Just look at TV3 coverage of the by-elections , the strategy the ruling party uses in that election and you will know what I mean.

So what is real change then?, for starters let have a new party to rule this country, if not at least the old ruling party change it's philosophy of racial supremacy to the people sovereignty. What is the people sovereignty, it's where the people must be involved in the decision making of the government. We cannot be silenced by acts such as the Press and Printing act and others. These acts are a sign that the government don't want our input in certain matters they deem sensitive. The right to information and the right to speak must be upheld in the concept of The People Sovereignty.

Then there is the need to give more freedom to Parliament to in certain cases to over rule the Prime minister and the Cabinet. The parliament is a symbol of people power as it's members in the Dewan Rakyat are chose by the people. The cabinet is not chosen by the people, it's the sole prerogative of the PM. Yes the PM is also in certain ways chosen by the people but he is an individual representing his interest, where as the Parliament suppose to be the people's representor.

Furthermore a more equal distribution of wealth is needed as the people have a right to it as the economic activities financed by the government is in actual fact bankrolled by the people through to taxes.

Finally, our social rights such as the right to be treated fairly by the police or any other government agencies or institutions(such as the judiciary in Malaysia). No more Kugan's case. No more FRU units firing teargas at peace full protest and so forth. If all of the above and more all fulfilled then we have a real change.MALAYSIA HAS CHANGE. Until then, don't be blinded by politicians who claim to champion change but in reality it is a mere gimmick. No political allegiance is more important than the cause of justice,freedom,quality and peace. These values are the foundations of the PEOPLE SOVEREIGNTY THAT WE MUST CHAMPION AND FIGHT FOR SO THAT A NEW MALAYSIA WILL EMERGE WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE SOVEREIGN.

The victories

2009-04-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

The recent triple by-elections have shown us on thing, that is the political paradigm in Malaysia has shift from the old race-based to the unknown realm of voters sentiments.The reason being is that the normal voting patterns have change, reinforcing the call for change made in the 2008 General Election.The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition claim that the result in the last general election is the result of protest votes because of the dissatisfaction of the weak Abdullah premiership has been debunked as Abdullah is no longer the Prime Minister.Now more than ever the UMNO leadership must admit their mistakes and face reality.

We can look at two things first the non-malays votes.As we can see in the Bukit Gantang by-election PAS actually gained the majority of the votes.This is not the normal case as normally the non-malays votes tend to go to Barisan Nasional especially when the opponent in the other side is PAS,well not this time.It seems that Nizar brief stint as the Perak MB has convince the Chinese of the PAS capabilities in solving their outstanding problems such as the land title issue that Nizar settled,at least in the case of politicians from PAS that are professionals.

Then we can looked at the Malays voting patterns.The normal Malay voting pattern are normally effected by traditional sentiments but this time despite the claim that Nizar is a Chinese stooge and a traitor for disobeying the sultan by the BN, PAS secured considerable amount of Malay votes to eventually win the election.

This new paradigm offers hope to the improvement of our racially tainted democracy that we will one day transcend racial politics and would instead fight for justice, fairness,freedom,good governance and other good values that transcend race,religion and culture.Meanwhile we the voters have the obligation to maintain this kind of politics by not endorsing or responding positively to politicians who play by the old race-based politics.We should fight them to the end,and make sure their political carrers will be gone if the politiciand refuse to repent.ARE YOU VOTERS UP TO THE CHALLENGE OGF CHANGING MALAYSIAN POLITICS FOREVER?

Independents,independents,independents.

2009-03-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

In the Bukit Selambau by-election,there will be 15 candidates,where13 are independents,is history making indeed,as this is unprecedented,13 candidates independents WOW! Either the people are tired of both BN and PR and thinking that they might better off without a party,or they are just power crazy as some of them are the candidates not chosen by PKR.

Anyway this is good development for Malaysian politics as being independent mean that your agenda can and should be 100% the people's agenda and not the party's agenda.This way,it's easier to raise issues concerning the people especially in their constituency without being tied by party rules and agenda.This is a step forward for Malaysian democracy that is diminishing day-by-day beginning with the Perak takeover by BN where the fate and the wishes of the people was betrayed by few individuals.

Furthermore,the independent,if elected can chose workers and helpers that want to contribute irrespective of party affiliation,maybe starting a standard to the political parties to stop the practice of political discrimination.We can disagree on certain things but in the end of the day,if we are mature,we don't to discriminate the other party such as putting them behind bars,not allowing them to held ceramahs and other political discriminatory practices.

Besides that,the example set by these independents hopefully can inspire more Malaysians to that are dissatisfied with their representative whether parliamentary level or state,to make things right(with whatever they are dissatisfied with) and stand for election,campaign and maybe win.This empowerment will great way to encourage active citizenry in Malaysia,where if something is not right,fix it,not deepend on the politicians or NGO's wholeheartly.

Finally,a final message to these independents,you must be sincere in your decision to stand in the by-election,sincere to serve the people,not for money,power,or to show dissatisfaction to the party for whatever reasons.Try to bring positive chang to the livelihood of the people in your constituency and beyond.Use the advantages you gain as an independent,advantages suchas having the power to serve the people without being tied by political agenda and party rules.If not,you are just destroying the chances of those candidates who are truly interested to improve the livelihood of the people and bring positive changes along the way.Remember,you can always tell and demand the truth as sometime these political parties will try to fool us.Good luck independents!

Change that we can believe in

2009-03-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

Can UMNO change,well here I outline few reasons why they can't and can base on UMNO history,current situation and the just concluded UMNO general assembly.

WHY THE CAN:
1)The newly elected UMNO office bearers are of better caliber than the last one.Such names are Zahid Hamidi(VP),Saifudin Abdullah,Mustapha Muhammad,Dr Puad Zarkashi,Noh Omar(all supreme council members accept stated otherwise) and the corruption aside Khairy Jamaludin(youth head).So these names can bring effective change due to the intellectual capability (Mustapha and Saifudin),the political will(khairy Jamaludin).

2)UMNO members know that the stakes are high and the only way to stay out of the museum is to reform themselves.So these leaders can use the survival card to gain support for change.

3)With Mahathir coming to UMNO,Mahathir can give meaningful advice to UMNO about how to change.Mahathir had changed UMNO before,remember from teacher-based party to professionals and technocrats,from feudalistic and culture-based to pragmatic and progress based.So Mahathir should be able to change UMNO again this time around.

However,why they can't
1)UMNO is still in denial.They haven't accepted responsibility that the BN poor showing in the last General Election is due to UMNO's arrogance,rudeness,ego and other negative traits.

2)Their ideology of Malay supremacy had been their ideology since it's founding,thus the need to attack other races will be needed to prove your loyalty to the ideology.As long as that happens the opposition,with a good strategy,can retain the massive non-malays vote in the general election,causing UMNO to become more radical in their views to assure they will win the Malay votes necessary for their stay in power and survival.

3)The behaviour of the UMNO grassroots and leaders(branch leaders and so on) may cause some difficulty as their support is necessary forUMNO politicians to prosper in UMNO,so these politicians might have to sing their tunes and please them.So far based on what these leaders said,they have not changed and it will be tough for them to do so.

So,they you go,there's my view,to find out more we must observe whether they are changes or not,meaningful changes not some plaster job.Anyway if they don't change we will have the honour of changing them,hopefully they will still be around after the people change job is completed and not end up in some museum and history text book completely gone in the present time.

Raja Petra and his choice for PM?

2009-03-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

I was reading MalaysiaToday article titled "My Name is RPK and I'm no Prostitute",and I was left wondering about one thing:who would he like to be Malaysia's PM.He seems to be in favour of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, then a press statement quoted him as saying he and other PR leaders should step down.Anyway in that article he mention that he had found respect for Mahathir and Mahathir called him his boy.Furthermore in the book March8:The day Malaysia woke up,he said that he would picked Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as his choice for PM.

This is interesting as he got a lot of adoring fans,reading MalaysiaToday,searching for answer to Malaysia's most pressing problems are probably wondering and confused by his many statement.They want to support who Raja Petra supports but they seem to be kept on the dark about this issue.So what is the problem then,decide yourselflah,however they seem to want to be involved in Raja Petra movement for change,but he is not running for PM(I recommend he form a party and compete in the political scene),so who he feels fit to be the PM in this movement of his as we need a leader to led the country and he is not offering himself will be in the minds of his supporters(Bodoh punya Raja Petra,siapa dia sokng pun tak nak beritahu,sampai penyokong dia semua ble) as they want to elect as PM the individual whom the movement endorsed.

Now let us be hypothetical a little bit,assuming he endorsed Anwar as PM then total undividded support must be given by him so that it is clear to the supporters who he is supporting so that the intergration between Anwar-led Pakatan Rakyat can joint forces with Raja Petra to fight against a stronger UMNO and BN under in coming PM Dato Seri Najib Abdul Razak.But lately he has been condemning the Pakatan Rakyat and that does not augur well with Pakatan Rakyat supporters who is wondering whose side is he on?

Then,there is Mahathir.Well he is to old to be PM but not the de facto PM,the one running the show behind the scene(or at least telling or advising Najib what to do) as rumours persist that Najib will hire him as adviser to help the government.In must be noted that this is exactly what is going on in Singapore with Lee Kuan Yew.Despite being the PM, Goh Chock Tong was ask to step down as PM to make way for Lee's son who is the current PM,even though Lee is not the PM although he held a post in the government(maybe it was the minister mentor).Will Raja Petra like that,well he is a stauch supporter of Anwar during his disposal as Deputy PM and a critic of mahathir,but time will heal all wounds,hmmmm.

After that,there is Tengku Razaleigh,whom he said is his favourite pick to be PM as he has no baggage,he claimed.However there is a problem with that idea,Ku Li(as he is fondly called) is an UMNO member,the party in which Raja Petra is totally against(it is my perception from his writtings as he had never personally or publicly told his supporters which party he supports),so the only way for the movement to make Ku Li the PM is to for the supporters of the movement to join UMNO,get yourself chosen to be the delegates,and in the next general assembly elect and help Ku Li win the presidency(least likely to happen)or we can depend on the rumours that Najib will not be chosen as PM, instead a unity government will be formed and Ku Li will be the choice to lead the government.Where is the new government going to dump Anwar then,he's the opposition leader and his party has the most MP seat among the opposition.Well just don't tell Anwar about that plan shhhh.

Finally,maybe Raja Petra got other plans,I don't know,formed a new party and stand in the election,join UMNO and challenge Najib for the presidency,join PKR and challenge Anwar for the presidency,cooperate with other opposition parties to elect him as the new opposition leader(he must be an MP first,but we can figure out what to do later,look at Anwar,at first he was not a MP at first that did not stop him)or other plan that he got under his sleeve.

Anyway,hypothetical aside it is time that Raja Petra make clear his plans to bring his supporters out of the dark as he is an important figure of the movement.His support will make or break the individual mention or at least make their life tougher.Raja Petra support is important to make Malaysia a better place there must be clarity on the movement what is to be done to achieve the movement objectives.Without that the movement(I think it is the people's movement,People's party whatever) is just a blind movement that will destroy the chances of the individuals trying to make real change, to make this country the best that it can be for all Malaysians and the future generation.

Malaysian Partisan Politics.

2009-03-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

In Malaysia, nothing separates us like politics.The division among us is huge as can be seen in the blogs and other form of media.In the blogs there are two type of blogs,the pro-government or anti-government.In the newspaper the government run newspapers are always superbly bias towards the government and in the opposition papers there are superbly bias towards the opposition.So for those in the middle who are representing your voice?In the UK there is the Independent newspaper that is considered not biased towards the government or opposition,so the people there can make an informed decision as voters on which who should govern the country,how about Malaysia?Constantly we are feed with news that the political parties want us to hear,so we are incapable to judge between right or wrong.The agenda is not the people agenda,but the political parties agenda.Action that are morally wrong like corruption and street protest are justified by these political parties through their newspapers,and the story are told in such a way to justify their act and demonised the others.

In the blogs,Malaysia final line on freedom of expression the blogsphere(which is diminishing day by day) has been effected to by this.The supporters of political parties blindly supported the actions of their chosen parties whether the actions are right or wrong,and those who stood in their way will get tramped by nasty comments,sometimes the individual will be insulted and the insult is promoted by the blog owners.I'm sure that whatever we disagree with,there are common ground that we can find.No matter what,corruption is never right and supporters of whatever political parties should condemned the practice,whoever is practicing them.Street protest is not good for the country,as it will effect the stability of the nation therefore it should be condemned to by all Malaysians no matter who commits them.So the blogs that are operated by supporters of these political parties shouldn't justify these acts blindly.Ideas that are deemed to be siding a political party over the other will be bombasted by nasty comments ridiculing the idea although the idea is a good one,where as the idea propagated by the political parties or it's supporters that are seem disastrous to the nation are supported blindly by other supporters and there is no room for disagreement,either you are with us or against us,no cooperation what so ever.I think we should keep our mind open to any ideas so they are good for the well being of the Malaysian people,irrespective of where the idea comes from or which political parties it benefit.

Finally,I believe that it is time for us to propagate what is best for Malaysia,not what is best for political parties as these country belong to all Malaysians irrespective of political ideologies or leanings.It is time that both of these political parties to work together for the benefit of all Malaysians.We can start by bringing these political parties together to talk about how can Malaysia face these economic crisis so that we can emerge unharmed and unscratched from it.I suggest that both side of the media to invite the other side representatative so taht the other side of the story can be haerd.Forums should include both political parties representatives so that we can together discuss issues that are affecting Malaysian such as the rising crime rate and others and together we will find solutions to these problems,we implemented it together and achieve success for Malaysia together,isn't that a beautiful thing to achieve for the sake of our beloved country Malaysia.
(PS as you can see from my blog articles,I'm not by-partisan either,so these call is for me and the rest of us who are to passionate about the ideals that our political parties are bringing, that we tend to forget about the Malaysia's ideal).

UMNO and corruption

2009-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

I'm shocked to what happened in the run up to the UMNO general assymbly which this year will feature the party election.Firstly,UMNO vice president Ali Rustam,had been bared by the UMNO disciplinary council for allegedly money politics.I'm not shocked that he was involve(although indirectly) in money politics as there has been persistent rumour that he is a corrupt leader.However the shocking part is that UMNO has finally taken the first step to combat corruption after so long that corruption has been assimilated to the system in UMNO.Congratulations to UMNO especially the disciplinary board lead by Tengku Rithaudeen for a job well done.However the question of fairness must be asked.How come Khairy only received a warning where as Ali Rustam was barred from contesting the UMNO election when the committed the same crime.Although explanation was given that the degree of crime was different,but to me,no matter how corrupt you are,you are still corrupt no matter what degree the corruption is.

Then there is the clearance of Khir Toyo,whose track record of running the Selangor state government was filled with corruption(according to the current Selangor administration by Pakatan Rakyat) and malpractice.I don't need to tell what he committed as you can refer to my article Anwar Ibrahim's message to find out a few of the corrupt practices and malpractice.I wonder whether a complete investigation on all affairs,not just party affairs was done.These is important as people like Khir Toyo who is (according to the PR led Selangor government) corrupt shouldn't be in the political world as Malaysia need clean politicians to lead not corrupt ones.It just shows UMNO's lack of political will to say no to any form of corruption whether it is committed inside or outside UMNO(eg government,corporationNGO'S or etc).This will effect their chances of true reform as just like cancer,the whole cancerous tumour must be removed not just the parts that have reached dangerous level as the cancer may return if done otherwise.The same principle applies to UMNO,it must get rid of all corrupt leaders,not just these level of corruption and not that.

Finally,there is the unshamefull act of returning to UMNO and contesting high post of corrupt individuals after being found guilty of money politics such as the deputy president candidate,Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib and vice presidential candidateTan Sri Isa Samad.These people should not returned to politics as they are just like a tumour being removed being placed back in the cancer patient.It is stupid that UMNO should accept them let alone support them in their bid for top post.UMNO shouldn't accept them and other political parties should also do the same unless they can prove their innocence.These people will kill UMNO just like the returning tumour killed the cancer patient,so make sure they don't returned unless you want UMNO to be dead,which is a good news for the long time opposition parties.

I would like to see how our incoming PM Dato Sri Najib Razak seriousness in combating corruption beginning with the cabinet selection.Corrupt individuals should not be made Minister or deputy Ministers,so I'm hoping that the names mentioned above and other corrupt individuals will not be seen in the cabinet lineups,even deputy minister included.If the names can be seen,then it is the obligation of all Malaysians to kick out UMNO and BN during the next general election as we Malaysians have no compromise in integrity because we want Malaysia to move forward corruption free and be proud to pass this corrupt free country to the next generation that will share our proudness to the whole world.

The Democracy of Malaysia.(Altantuya murder case)

2009-03-17T00:18:00.000-07:00

The member of Parliament of Puchong Gobind Singh Deo had been suspended by Parliament yesterday by a voice vote.The reason is for calling the Deputy Prime Minister,Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak a Murderer,alleging that the murder of a mongolian women has something to do with Najib.Well, I am a believer of the concept of "Innocent until Proven Guilty",so I am not going to accuse Najib of having an involvement with the murder,however,there are certain things that remains unanswered to the public.One of them is the statuary declaration made by a private investigator that was letter retracted.That first declaration claimmed that Najib was involved in the murder.He claimed that the declaration was made under duress,so that why he retracted it later.Of course that happened after he mysteriously disappear so who " kidnapped" him?The government,the opposition,Who?

Besides, that,there is the allege involvement of Najib's adviser,Razak Baginda in that murder case.It was a known case that the mongolian women was involved with the military dealings of the Malaysian government(Najib was then the defence minister) ,then,according to rumours,the two have a close relationship(Razak and the mongolian women),and the claim by the murdered women father,that the only Malaysian that her daughter knows is Razak Baginda.So that brings us to the next question,what is the motive of the two police officers,that prompted the murder of the women as they do not know each other?Question2,what about her role in the dealings,how much money that she suppose to receive,and did she receive it(there are claims that she asked Razak for money?).

Then,there is the fact that according to rumours,the bomb used in the murder was the C4 bomb,allegedly from the ministry of defence.Question3,how that the two police personnel got hold of the bomb,when it is suppose to be for the military not policemen.And again,there is the ministry of defence connection,Najib as the then defence minister should answer this question in parliment and to the public at large.

Finally,there had been blog postings that claimmed a french newspaper Libertarian(I'm not sure about the spelling) story that Najib was indeed involved in the murder case(although indirectly).Question4,why didn't Najib sue this newspaper?I will if some paper accuse me of something I did not do,unless I did do it or have something to hide.

So,as the incoming PM,I believe Najib has an obligation to explain this allegation to the public.The action to suspend Gobind is a blow for Najib as he can use that momment to explain everything,suspending Gobin has now been perceive by me,maybe indeed Najib have something to hide,as the suspension for one year is to harsh if the reason is mere harsh word(murderer) unless there is that fear that he might used the MP immunity to demand that Najib answer his question,that will lead to the truth being revealled.The Parliament is the place where you can find the answers as there is that immunity,democracy means freedom of information-freedom to know the truth.So the rakyat must demand the truth as an innocent man might be hanged,the justice for a slain woman lost and the reputation of the Malaysian people is at stake if indeed our incoming premier is involved in the murder case,Malaysian would be seen as a people who didn't mine that they are lead by a murderer or involved in one.I hope that Najib will answer the questions so that he can be a PM we all can be proud with.

The Realpolitics of Malaysia

2009-03-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

As we all know,the by-election is coming so amid the economic crisis the political heat is on. As we can see from the banners in Perak(sorry, I don't have any pictures but you can go to other blogs to see the banners),the opposition is trying to use the takeover of Perak as an excuse that the voters should reject BN due to their dirty techniques on buying over the PR assymblemen. On the BN side one of the asymblemen that jumped over Osman Jailu had been used by the BN to tell why he left the government explaining that there was a political tussle between DAP and PAS and that there are only interested on their personal gains(news from NSTP) where as he and his other friend Jamaludin had been sidelined.The biggest political statement from him is that he jumped over because of the Malays,saying that he didn't want to be involved in the state action that is deemed to sidetrack the malay cause.This statement may carry political milleage on the by-election in Bukit Gantang as the majority of the voters are malays,and seing the PR government there as a puppet to DAP and trying to forgo their rights may cause and emotional factor that will be a massive boost for BN eventhough this is a parlimentary by-election not a state one.Of course that's the BN's story,according to the PR story,the assymblemens that jumped ship,including Osman,are corrupt individuals and they are paid millions by the BN to conspire to crush the PR government in Perak.Now for political purposesses,BN might as well used them.I must say,I admire Najib political skill,and I think he will give Anwar a tough fight compared to Pak Lah.Look at the BN strategy using Malay insecurity on other races,especially the chinese,to gain votes(DAP is a perdominantly chinese party and it's Malaysian Malaysia concept is hated by malays generally,especially the less informed rural area in which Bukit Gantang is from my point of view) and the PR has not yet except for the corruption thing,retaliate to the BN claims.I'm not being racist here but the fact that here in Malaysia,nothing has helped to gain votes then to talk about race,religion,culture and other sensitive issues.It has been used by the opposition to especially PAS and DAP(the attack on teching english in science and mathematics by PAS leaders is one example) and it has helped this parties go to the distance,so I don't think that in the interest of UMNO,that they to not play this game.After all,it is the voters fault as they are colonized by the politics of fear played by the political parties,as they are not brave enough to let their insecurities go and demand a new politics from the political parties in which constructive issues be debated such as the country's economy,education or social system that are currently on a mess rather than talked about petty issues such as racial issues or the keris,come on both this issues are not going to help us buil a better Malaysia.So let us all,demand from our political parties and politicians WE WANT A NEW POLITICS TO TAKE PLACE,A BETTER POLITICS,WE WANT CHANGE,A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.(ps the reason I don't touch much on the PR political strategy is because so far there isn't much to talk about,I guess because their machinery is not in full gear yet.)

Anwar Ibrahim message(part 1)

2009-02-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Today, Anwar told the PKR representative that they must reflect whether they have done enough to fulfill the promises the party made during the last general election.Now, let us discuss, have they? Well let us look at PKR model state Selangor first. The transparency of the state,has certainly increased as the findings on the maintainence of the MB'sLexus, the MB personal car but in which the money used to maintain it is the state money was made public.There is also admission by the MB that that incident actually took place,so accontability has also increased.Bravo, Tan Sri Khalid,however there is still some problems that are not solved, for example, the state government plan to acquire Syabas,the company which is holding the watwer concession in Selangor.It is essential that the acquasition takes place as only then the state and is people would not be burden by high water bill.Right now the state rakyat has to pay ridiculusly high price for water when water is abundence in Selangor.Then there is Indah Water which is in charge of supplying us clean water by cleaning our waste disposal which is dumped in the sewer.But why the people still need water purification then,so the guys in both Syabas and Indah Water are not doing a good job supplying the people of Selangor with clean water so it is important that the water works of Selangor be taken over by the Selangor state government so that the people welfare are taken care of.Secondly, the promise of a cleaner government must be uphold.Although the current situation is better than the past Selangor administration,the Selangor government must do more in this part as some state officials are still the same UMNO people,which recent news suggest was involved in financial irregularities.So a fair hearing is in order and if found guilty, they must be sacked and charged.Finally, more public relations and marketing are needed to highlight the many benefits introduced by the Selangor government for example the entitlement of cash for the selangor people who is planning to further their studies.All in all,this are going well,but remember to keep up the great work for the sake of the rakyat and eventually the party itself.

Misssuse of federal agencies.

2009-02-23T23:44:00.000-08:00

First of all I will like to say congratulations to Tan Sri Khalid for showing courage by admiting that the car and cows irregularities do indeed took place. That shows the honesty of the guy which is lacking in the former MB. Right I hope that if the action is indeed wrong then the practice should stop. It shows that the PKR led government is commited to running the state in a transparent manner in line with their manifesto promise. Unfortunately the federal agencies run by the federal government are not as transparent as the Selangor state government. Not only that they are not transparent they are also used as a political tool by the BN. The seperation of politics from the function of these bodies must be done.
I would like to highlight the MACC action in revealing that they have strong case against Tan Sri Khalid. It is unprofessional as it prove the double standard of the commision. The wrong doings of the past Selangor adminisration such as the arwah Mat Deros palacial mansion is just treated with a blind eye. Although it is a past case, the Rakyat rights have been taken away. What about the documents that when missing, how about that, or the case of land suppose to be for the ordinary citzens, given to VIPs. Justice must prevail , so I want the MACC to have a case against the past Selangor government. It is impossible if no wrong doing is found as there is a lot of malpractice by the past government. Just go to the PKNS officers and you will know what I mean. Check the past land transfer or land status of supposedly PKNS land which is meant for ordinary people and you will know what I mean.
Then the is the missuse of the police force. The rally which is suppose to be peaceful was greeted by FRU personel where as UMNO's many racist rally, were not. To me the UMNO rally that called on the malays to fight against those who are challenging their rights when the real fact is no one is challenging the Malay rights should be dem malicious and seditious therefore in all fairness those involve should be detained under the ISA. Such case is the recent Karpal Singh declaring that he would sue the sultan which led to such UMNO rally. First of all Kapal is merely excersising his rights as the constitution allows it. Who amend the constitution to allow such act, it was UMNO remember. I personally disagreed with Karpal's action as the Perak state constitution clearly states that it was based on the sultan discretion that the asembly be disolve or not and the sultan acted by not allowing the disolutions of the assembly as requested by the MB which is clearly the sultan right to do so. However the amendment of the constitution allows Karpal Singh to do so. The ISA had been used to detained the leader of HINDRAF for being seditious but not the many UMNO racist statements that is more than seditious.
Finally it is time for the Rakyat to oppose this practice as the welfare of the Rakyat are on the line. Any government missdoings can be cover up but not the opposition. The rakyat deserve to know where the government is taking them to, destruction or prosperity. Therfore I'm calling for the people to demand the separation of this agencies from politics and for the government to be more transparent in the running of this agencies. These agencies are meant for the welfare of the Rakyat not as a tool to crush opposition to gain political milleage. If the people make such call and impose it's will on the government, then Malaysia will be a far better place than it is now.

THE YOUTH DILEMMA

2009-01-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

Youth life is challenging.As a youth myself the challenge of youth ranges from economical, social, educational and despite in small number, politics. With some many challenges, youth is facing a dilemma. I begin with economical dilemma. Most youths will attend college therefore their is an oppourtinity cost that is lost as that time in college could be used as time to work an earn a living. But wait a minute, what about the future as at least a degree is needed to find a resonable job. So that the first dilemma. More so when you are not acedamicaly inclined so you will struggle in college. There should be a recognition that a degree is not everything but it is only onething. Then there is the uphill task of finding a job. Many youth despite having a degree is still unemployed so the youth that in that situation will have a tougher dilemma. Then there is the car loan to pay and thoose who started a family will even have to buy a house, so the will have to pay the house mortgage, so natuaralythere will struggle financially. Then there is the education dilemma.l Which path should I take, should I take the path of doing a diploma or A- levels. Hmmm what to do, since we youth don't have a crystall ball the effect of that life deciding decision can't be known. Will we make the right decision or will we make the the wrong decision. Then there is the important decision of what subjectsdegree to pursue, business or enginering, which university should I go. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Futhermore, there is also the academic pressure."YOU MUST GET ALL A's" that conversation is a common one for youth whon parents are exam centric.Soon the Malaysian society will come the understanding of the importance of a well round individual. The effect of over emphasizezing in academic can be seen. Such an example is the fall of the standard of leadership here in Malaysia. We used to have great leaders as the education system then cultivate leadership and social skills as students are encourage to take part on activities such as scouts and sports. Finally ther is the social dilemma. This dilemma is caused by the thing called peer pressure that is commonly present in youth. Peer pressure caused the youth to challenge the ways of their parents or the society. To be specific that caused youth to break family laws or society laws as they want to follow their friends just to fit in, however the friends ways may not necessary are in line with the parents laws or society laws for example curfew hours and doing drugs. In conclusion the youth is an interesting and challenging time as we are establishing our place in society. It's important to tressure the momment by making the right decisions and avoiding wrong one's.

RACIAL UNITY AND PROGRESS OF A NATION

2009-01-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

Progress. A word that is central to who we are as humans. Well maybe some of you might say animals evolve to however the progress they made are unrivalled by human progress. The progress we made from the days of tribes and superstitions are replace by the human reasoning that ushered in a new dawn of sciencetific discoveries thus changing the way mankind live. Tribal practices that doesn't comply with reason have been replaced by a more purposeful way of doing things. From politics to commerce to society itself we have created a philosophy in which any assault on resoning should not be compremise. However in Malaysia progess in the political and social mindsent some way somehow stalled. If we look at Malaysian society today and compared it with malayan society during the colonial times nothing seems to change except for the infrastructure of the country. We can see know as we can see then that the races that compremise the peninsula are still suspicious of each other just like in the 60s. Efforts to unite the races are strongly oppose by the old guardian that indoctrinated the old believe of the 1940s-1960sto the youth therefore ensuring the continuation of the old belive although they are well aware that we are living in the year 2009. Other socieities from different country such as the US have abandoned their racial past past and embrace the future. The election of president Obama an african american minority is the best example. Then their is the institutions that incorparate that old believe most prominent is none other than the rulling party of Malaysia the Nationalf Front lead by UMNO a political party founded on the philosophy of racial sumpremacy despite the fact that in world war2 fasciscsm an extreme level of racial supremacy was defeated by the allied forces which ushured in the value of universality,equality,freedom and the spirit of appreciating for plurarity. The blanket of fear and mistrust causeses this positive values to be blocked. Therefore as the whole world move foward Malaysia remain in the nostalgic era ot the mid 50s. Why you say should we change well fist of foremost the racial division among us in the 60s cause many race riots that caused our economy to stagnate as which investor in ther right mind would want to invest in a country plunged in a racial turmoil. Then a nation that is not cohessive will not prosper as other countries which have a dominant race will have and advantage over us as their citizens are united to uphold their nation's interest where as Malaysians will uphold racial interests thus creating conflict not to mention loss of focus due the fact of confusion on thre part of the direction that the country is going. Futhermore, the world is now integreated so is a nation. Not caring about other races will only create problem as the problem of the other race will become the nation's problem for example the Hindaft issue which effect us economically as uncertainty of the stability of the country cause the market to plumet as other regional burses posted huge gains. The market dosen't judge so if you have money inthe stock market wheter your are malays,chinese or indians chances are you lost money in the market. Finally we can draw each race strenght to create a prosperus Malaysia. That is way the national unity is important for our country. Once thr issue of race has been settled we can now talk about how to create a progessive nation withould the interuption of petty issues cause by racial view of things.