Friday, October 05, 2012

Tacky wedding, timid Gerakan

Malaysiakini - Reveal cost of 'mega kenduri', Pakatan tells Ali


Ali Rustam's son and new daughter-in-law

What a lovely couple and very popular they seemed as guests totalling a humongous 130,000 turned up for their nuptials. Congratulations to the bride and bridegroom. And eat your hearts out, dear PM Najib, wouldn't you just love to have such a crowd at your functions, wakakaka?

Now, on to the dad of the bridegroom.

However, my story of Ali Rustam's generosity and deep pockets (or deep connections wakakaka) in feting 130,000 guests at his son's wedding, which earned him a note in the Malaysian Book of Records, has to start way back in ... ? ... anyway, way before our time, during Tunku's days.



I am about to indulge in what KL people termed as chong hei, or Penangites as t'ng k'ooi, which literally means 'long breath' or long-winded wakakaka. Tough, it's my blog so I'm entitled to do what I like ;-).

Yes, it's time for another uncle's story from kaytee, wakakaka.

But first, a wee explanation on a Penang Hokkien curse which Penang women frequently use, namely, 'eow siew teh mia', which means in simplified terms 'a short and cursed life to/for you', or what sweeties today would just exclaim in English as 'Die lah!' wakakaka.


Ayer Itam village

Mind, it's not as vicious as the evil and malicious genocidal 'harm-kar-ch'an', the favourite venomous malediction of a toothless lonely bitter old man who's beyond redemption for using such a terrible execrating curse.

Anyway, the key word in my t'ng k'ooi (or chong hei) is 'siew' which by itself means 'life', and which is also a common Penang name for both genders.

Now, in those early TAR-days, there were mainly two major political parties in competition in Penang, namely Perikatan (Alliance, BN's predecessor, comprising only UMNO, MCA and MIC) and Labour Party. Labour Party subsequently combined with Boestaman's PRM to form the short-lived Socialist Front - short lived only because most of its leaders were ISA-ed, in those Cold War and Konfrontasi days.



Ironically, the Labour Party was colloquially called 'goo t'au tong' or 'cow-head' party, a reference to Boestaman's PRM logo rather than its own logo of a pen (representing white collar workers) and a hoe (representing the farmers or peasants).



It could be said the two leading Labour Party Chinese politicians in Penang were the fiery Cambridge-trained orator, Lim Kean Siew, and the suave Ooi Thiam Siew (the latter at times Mayor of Georgetown).


Lim Kean Siew

In those days, apparently, pre-election campaigns whether for state, federal or Penang's city council seats were rather rambunctious, robust but rollicking affairs. Unc said the only police presence would be a couple of mata-mata in a black Landrover with huge tape recorder, and that was that, even in those Emergency days - compare that to the current 'no Emergency' times.

The campaign platform for the speakers would be surrounded by hawkers and spectators, adding to the colourful festive mood of the occasion. Young men would be prowling the site a la Chap Goh Meh to meet equally young women ;-).

Anyway, at one Perikatan rally, a MCA bloke, a guest speaker, got up on the makeshift stage to deliver his campaign speech in support of the candidate, and basically to attack the Labour Party, which in those days, as told by Unc, could even include sexist and racist attacks on the propriety and foreignness of Lim Kean Siew's American wife, a shameful precursor to Dr Mahathir's 'opinion' of western women.

Unc told me that original Mrs Lim (the American - Lim KS subsequently re-married a Chinese, Pamela Ong I believe?) could also be Farish Noor's university mentor or lecturer or friend/associate. Unc had once read Farish writing about visiting (presumably) the former Mrs Lim, having discussion on Palestine (she was like her former hubby Lim KS, an ardent socialist) and giving her a cartoon of cigarettes. Alas, like Lim Kean Siew, she has gone to a 'better place'.


Farish Noor

So anyway, back to that campaign speech - our MCA kampung jaguh started off his support speech by negatively attacking Lim Kean Siew and Ong Thiam Siew. Unfortunately, due to his cultural insensitivity a la Ibrahim Ali (in fact, worse than Ibrahim Ali because he was a Chinese while Ibrahim isn't) he thought he would be a smart-ass by referring insultingly to those two Labour leaders as Lim Eow Siew & Ooi Eow Siew, a cursed play on their respective Chinese names of Kean Siew and Thiam Siew.

Now, recall that Penang Hokkien female curse of 'eow siew'.

What the idiot did in front of hundreds if not thousands of Chinese spectators, right at the very start of his campaign speech, with his insulting Lim Eow Siew & Ooi Eow Siew was to effectively, insultingly and unforgivably curse the entire clans of Lim's and Ooi's, comprising not an inconsiderable number of Chinese in Penang.

With his unthinking too-smart-by-half words, he truly f* himself, MCA and the poor MCA candidate kau kau, well, at least as far as the Lim's and Ooi's and their friends and sympathizers were concerned.


Lim Kongsi (Clan House)

My Unc was staggered by the immediate withdrawal of a large section of the crowd, almost everyone save (probably) MCA members. Of course not all who left the scene were Lim's and Ooi's but the Chinese in Ayer Itam village were not only mortified but outraged by such a shocking vile condemnation of the Lim's and Ooi's to cursed short lives, and from a Chinese politician at that.

As mentioned, it was in many ways worse than Ibrahim Ali's insensitive peh-pows, where Ibrahim at least had the excuse of not being a Chinese, wakakaka.



By the guest speaker's insensitive choice of words, it became a case of MCA opening its big mouth and putting its own foot into it, and of course subsequently regretting that action which led to the immediate loss of many votes in that election. It was what Penangites described as 'ma-hwa ay tork kannon kau-giah gai' (very drastic ricocheting effect of MCAs vile venom, or 'MCA shooting its own foot').

Fast forward to Penang September 2012.

The Gerakan Party of Penang is in a political state of helpless Kafkaesque (wakakaka) desperation. GE-12 had seen the political party's gruesome demise wrought by a mighty political tsunami. Until then, Penang had been its stronghold for more than 40 years, and their members realize that GE-13 will be the cremation for an already decomposing corpse, a final action of closure which will forever consign the name 'Gerakan Party' to just a mere footnote in history books ... unless they do something ... but what?



In its desperate attempt to politically salvage itself, Gerakan unfortunately forgot how it had come to power in Penang in 1969 when it swept away MCA in an earlier Anwar-less Hindraf-less tsunami, wakakaka.

Basically it has forgotten the people of Penang and the might of their votes, and thus ignored the political necessity of convincing the voters of their continuing political relevance - though admittedly for Gerakan it will be a Sisyphean task because of its shameful subservient cringe to UMNO for the last 30 years or so.


Sisyphus' impossible task

Perhaps being aware of the Sisyphean task in a positive campaign, it decided instead to launch a negative campaign, specifically against the character of CM Lim Guan Eng, a personality it sees as the centre of gravity of Pakatan's credibility with Penangites.

So like an acolyte, it adopts UMNO negative strategy in the latter's various attempts to demon-ize Lim GE, via incessant harassments of the CM by rancid curry peddlers, fabricating outrageously salacious lies against Lim's son, wife and god-knows-what-or-who-else.

But alas, Gerakan has foolishly targeted Lim Guan Eng, believing in the saying that 'if one throws enough poo around, some might just stick' to the person of the Penang CM.

Wrong tactic, wrong target, wrong decision - after all, weren't they aware of Penangites' hero-worship of Lim Guan Eng, an admiration that PKR Mansor Othman had undiplomatically summarised as being that for a tokong. Thus, how can Gerakan unrealistically expect Penangites to believe Lim GE, a political leader they admire, adore and adulate for his integrity, honour, and righteousness, has been unscrupulously fiddling with his rental allowance.


Guan Yu, worshipped for integrity, honour, righteousness, brotherhood

Gerakan had alleged that Lim GE has been renting his own property, thus insinuating he pocketed the monthly 4 grand official rental allowance for the Penang CM - see The Malaysian Insider (TMI)'s Penang CM pays for own house rent, says aide.

Lim had to resort to rented property because the CM's official residence, Sri Teratai, is not fit for occupancy due to bad condition and termites infestation, where repairs would cost more than half a million ringgit. Why the residence had come to such an appalling state, we'd have to ask the previous CM, Koh TK, but that's not for this post.

Ng Wei Aik, Lim's political secretary, shot down Gerakan’s allegation, saying Lim was renting a fully-furnished house for RM5000 a month, and clarified:

“As CM Chief Minister he is entitled to a monthly rental allowance of RM4000. It means that CM has to fork out another RM1000 from his own pocket to pay the rental.

“We have practised the highest degree of integrity all this while even to the extent of making public the tenancy agreement even though this is only CM’s rented property.”

“On Gerakan’s attacks on CM’s rented house, it seems that Lim Guan Eng is the only CM or MB in Malaysia who is asked to explain his renting a house to stay as compared to BN leaders who need not to explain even though they buy houses some like palace resort owned by Khir Toyo.”


Khir Toyo's palatial mansion

Gerakan's allegations have been so pathetic, implausible and distasteful that I cannot help but wonder who had been the muddled-headed strategist in Gerakan?

But wait, there's more, and worse to come for Gerakan.

Once the ownership of the rental property was known, Gerakan switched its attack formation towards alleging the owner of the rental property, a business woman by the name of Phang Li Koon, has untoward business connections with the CM, implying CM Lim is involved in corrupt practice. By default of its allegations, Phang Li Koon is allegedly also corrupt.



That triggered off an angry response from the Phee clan, with a threat of legal action for defamation against Phang, one of the clan's members.


40 of 100 Chinese surnames which account for 85% of Chinese

The surname Phang and Phee are the same in written Chinese, in the same way as Ooi is to Wang, Ng is to Wu, Beh is to Ma, Teoh is to Zhang or Cheung, Tan is to Chen or Chan, etc - just the wicked Chinese confusing non-Chinese wakakaka - no, seriously, it's a result of different regional pronunciations of the surnames. Sometimes the differences between the earlier Wades-Giles and the current mainland Chinese pinyin Romanized spelling systems also add to the confusion.

Clan advisor Phee Boon Poh warned Gerakan to cease and desist from libelling the character of an innocent business woman whose only 'sin' has been to legitimately rent her property to Lim GE.

Phee demanded that Gerakan stop imagining others are like BN in having dodgy 'business links' when in Phang's case and their allegations about the tender for Taman Manggis, it is clear they couldn't and can't find any evidence or substance, yet are still persisting in their wild allegations. For more, see TMI's Penang clan card played in row over Guan Eng’s house.


1000 surnames text

So aeons ago, the MCA in an attempt to attack its political opponents, had instead insulted the Lim and Ooi clans just prior to an election. And George Santayana had advised us: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

Indeed, today, we have a similar situation where Gerakan, in a desperate attempt to attack Lim GE, has instead unwittingly insulted another Chinese clan just prior to GE-13, through its reckless unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against Phang Li Koon and Lim GE.

Déjà vu!

Way to go, man. But wait wait, there's more, wakakaka.

Now, didn't we start off with Ali Rustam's 130,000 guests at his son's wedding, an affair that journalist Mariam Mokhtar has succinctly described as tacky! See Free Malaysia Today's The tackiest wedding of the year. I just love Mariam's delightful use of the word 'tacky'.



We don't have to go into the impropriety of government agencies being used to serve the CM in a private wedding, or the quantum of expenses incurred by a man who is supposedly living on the salary of a CM, but what we need to ask is, ... no, not about MACC, f* that agency, ...

... why has Gerakan been quiet as a mouse on this glaring issue, unlike the way they had without substance attacked Lim GE and poor Phang Li Koon?



But my dear Gerakan friends, your action, or lack of, in such blatant and arrogant ostentatious display of power and questionable opulence by Ali Rustam for his private event, his son's wedding, has not escaped the eyes and ears of Penang voters, especially when contrasted with your fierce actions against Lim GE.

What do Penangites now think of you as their representative?



For our dear Indian friends, reputed to have returned in droves to the BN banner, please be aware that Ali Rustam as an UMNO man has not been a pleasant person, if you recall how he in 2007 as the guest of honour at a PPP annual assembly publicly humiliated his host kau kau - see my 2007 post The total humiliation of PPP - a lesson for BN parties.

Ali Rustam's disgraceful discourteous disrespectful behaviour on that day of his infamy, as a guest of honour of PPP, a conduct so unbecoming and totally out of character with the old world courtesy of a Malay guest, had and still does raise the question on why (then PM) AAB and (then DPM) Najib did not offer a single word of consoling mollification to PPP, yes, let alone rebuked Ali Rustam!

PPP is essentially an Indian-based party and a member of BN. If UMNO allowed that gross and totally unacceptable humiliation to afflict its ally PPP, how would UMNO treat you, my dear Mama, Maa'mi, Aneh, Akka, Tambee and Tangechee?

95 comments:

  1. Just as we hear of news of people flocking back to BN, here comes a reminder or sample of the stuff that BN politicians.

    Good for you Ali, for the timely reminder. Just in time for the election.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ali is the quintessential UMNO man.

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  3. Ktemoc,
    Unfortunately you obviously haven't been back on the ground in Penang for eons.
    Lim Guan Eng is currently facing significant headwinds because of perceived arrogance and blindsights in his administration.

    BN is still most unlikely to win GE13 in Penang, but there is a good chance Gerakan, yes, Gerakan will win back a few seats from PKR ,even DAP.

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  4. There are lots of Malaysians who barely make RM600,000 in their lifetime.

    Why would Ali Rustam do something so foolish to attract adverse publicity just before the elections?

    The plausible explanation is that the party is so entrenched in the state that most of the politicians genuinely believe they and the state are one and the same.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What goes up
    It has to come down
    Along the way
    Be kind and humble

    The politicians
    They forget the simple rules
    They think they are god's children
    Elevated high on the stage

    The eyes full of glow
    The minds racing with words
    What come out betraying the rules
    They forget the people are the small lords

    They think looking down
    The people they can push around
    They can tell them what to do
    Along the way they forget the rules

    ReplyDelete
  6. aiya, gerakan is UMNO stooge.they will even sell their children away for some crumbs from UMNO. so what u expect, KT?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kaytee,what do you expect of Umnoputras aka the biggest "babaric rapers" of Malaysian civilisation.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is the era of The Ugly Malay in this country.

    Incredible greed, unbelievable biadapness, humongous ego, unblinking traitorous backstabbers, super hypocrisy, nauseating control-freaks, unrestrained envy and covetousness.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kaytee,to sum it all up easy and simple for the laymen to understand.

    1)Gerakan-boh lam par.Chau kow kah boh lan yeong,eh.Plain and simple.

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  10. Cut the story short. If you want to dig history then no way one should support Pakatan led Anwar. Everyone can pick selective history especially on Anwar. Ali said he's being sponsored. So did Anwar and bunch of pr leaders said on the use of private jet for campaigning. All are rubbish on corruption.

    If you're sincere of cutting out corruption you must ask for a shakeup of Political financing. Idris jala is proposing to change political financing but both bn and pr seemed reluctant. The root of our problem is political financing. Until you change the incentives and disincentives we get the same moral deficit leaders.
    And we get followers who then say its right or wrong depends on who does it even though the action is similar. Just like deficit budget gets us bankrupt. Ones deficit budget makes us bankrupt but their own deficit budget doesn't. In the end nobody presented balance or surplus budget. Isn't this stupid?

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  11. Isn't this Ali Rustam the one who was barred from participating in the deputy president's post during the Umno presidential elections.If he was not found guilty of money politics,he might have won the deputy presidents post and Muhyidin would not have been the DPM.Hehehe.

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  12. ellesse

    you back? dr blog is dormant now. coming to KT for comments. so, what say you about wedding? spending ok or not?

    ReplyDelete

  13. All this ho-ha boils down to a mismatch of values in different eras.

    In another era, Ali Rustam's display of humongous wealth would be considered a hero by the folks ie. the ordinary people is sated by the ritualistic display of their dear leader being well endowed with riches, enjoying pleasures to the maximum etc.

    Evidently Ali is in line with this thinking, as reflected in his comments that Pakatan is jealous or spiteful, and that it would be even more grand if it is his own wedding.

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  14. Ali is emulating the feat of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's foster son, V. Sudhakaran wedding in 7 September 1995. The event holds two Guinness World Records: one is for the most guests at a wedding and the other is for being the largest wedding banquet. (source : Wikipedia)

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  15. Folks,it is just plain simple.With a bit of figuring and common sense,it is the kickbacks Ali got from his cronies that is paying for the wedding.A pariah will always remain a pariah.A thieving crook will always be a thieving crook.Got it,Ellese.

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  16. Let's hope Ali is includedin Najib's list of 'winnable' candidates for GE13.

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  17. A hearty Welcome to refugees from other defunct blogs....

    Private political contributions are not automatically illegal or immoral. However, for transparency, the source and amount of large contributions should be declared.
    There is a large body of academic work which has been devoted to the issue in liberal democracies.
    In fact it can be argued that public and private political contributions provide a lot of benefits to liberal democracies, because they allow a wider range of people, other than the very wealthy or those incumbents already in power, to run for elected office.

    The same goes to sponsorship.
    It is neither automatically good or bad.
    PKR receiving sponsorship for transportation of its leadership group for political activity purposes to Sabah is not prima facie corruption, unless some other evidence of quid pro quo deal surfaces. As mentioned, for the sake of transparency, the source of the sponsorship should be revealed.
    The Prime Minister regularly uses the Government jet, funded by the taxpayer, for political trips.
    You don't see any issue ?

    The Chief Minister of a State, with executive authority over many areas of administration, receiving sponsorship, as well as (reportedly) using Government department facilities for his daughter's wedding is definitely skating on thin ice. There is definitely grounds for a corruption investigation.

    ReplyDelete
  18. well written monsterbaby, though I believe you've been too polite in the last paragraph - Ali Rustam has already dropped through the thin ice when it's clear his son's wedding had been a private event and has nothing to do at all with public interests or even Ali's personal politicking.

    Leaving aside 'sponsorships', tho' these have to be investigated, it can be said that using public resources to hold a private wedding event would definitely be against proper governance, and considered as corrupt (personal) use of public resources at public expenses.

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  19. According to the norms of BN-Umno practice, Ali Rustam have not even crossed into the thin ice! They believe they are on solid ground. This explains the blatant or obscene display of wealth and the nonchalant response to public reaction.

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  20. Anyone wanna bet our dear PM will again ignore this whole rusty affair just like he had so studiously ignore, buat tak tau je, all the other stuff where all the fat cats umno melayus carry on merrily their opulent lifestyle crossing whatever lines and skating on which ever thin ice....life to them is one huge raping party, all busily grabbing and stuffing themselves silly, with the occasional pause to put on their white loin cloth to make amends in mecca and then back again to continue with their plundering, all the while putting on a righteous face for the benefit of the heartlanders, warning them the chinese are stealing this country right under their very noses. What a rich life, hihihi.

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  21. Kaytee,you forgot to mention than Pam's father,Dr Ong was gunned down suppossedly by communist terrorists or hired killers,when they were teenagers.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Aiyah...its easy...their religion provides the solution.
    Like the PM, Sin and partake in as much corruption and wrong-doing as you like, then put on the white loin cloth and visit the Kaabah in Mekah.

    All will be forgiven, as clean as a new born baby....

    Like clothes, the washing cycle is repeatable as many times as you can afford it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Aiyah...its easy...their religion provides the solution.
    Like the PM, Sin and partake in as much corruption and wrong-doing as you like, then put on the white loin cloth and visit the Kaabah in Mekah.

    All will be forgiven, as clean as a new born baby....

    Like clothes, the washing cycle is repeatable as many times as you can afford it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anon of 4:16 AM, October 07, 2012, yes but Dr Ong was killed way back in 1948, ironically on 31 August (Merdeka Day). He was lured by the communist to Jelutong where he was assassinated.

    The CT were pissed off with him for his strong stand against Communism where he publicly told Chinese who were engaging in underground communist activities to return home to China.

    The cruel part of the affair was the communists luring him to his death on his compassionate nature, lying to him there was a sick patient in Jelutong. The conscientious doctor he was, true to his Hippocratic Oath, he went there immediately on his motorbike, then walked into a squatter area where the 'patient' was supposed to be. He was shot and killed there by unknown person(s) but probably the CT.

    He was a towering Malayan (way before Malaysia) who was a great social activist, and also remembered by Buddhists as the man responsible for making Wesak Day a public holiday in Malaya, even in British times.

    Lebuh Ong Ong Keng (between Lrg Kinta and Lrg Madras, sandwiched by Jln Burma and Jln Macalister) in Penang) is named after this great and good man.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Kaytee,I was living in Penang for almost 20 years and I never knew that there was a road name after Dr Ong.That is what people called 'suah par kow'.My mother knew all his daughters though.

    ReplyDelete
  26. wakakaka, you're too harsh on yourself - not everyone in Penang knows every lane, street or road lah.

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  27. My goodness monsterbaby, you think we all don't see how selangor government spends a lot on billboards promoting only PR reps and not elected bn reps. You don't think we see how Anwar n rafizi (supposed then to be full time) use the selangor offices to incur political expenses. You think we don't see that selangor funds are given to PR reps only. Worse I remember mb Khalid blatantly use selangor money to fund pr sarawak political campaign.

    All our politicians are screwed for the simple reason we have a structural political problem. And this problem is compounded by our blind partisanship which screws our value. We're totally lost here.

    We justify and assume good faith whom we support and bad faith those we don't like. Just like Ali's and Anwar's private jets case. In Ali, the wedding was held in a badminton hall and surrounding open area and it's unclear how the state fund this. Thus no report stated how the State funded this. But because of bad faith many assumed the state funded this. But on private jet many assumed good faith on using it despite knowing just like Ali's case no one in this world sponsors for free. These are funny arguments people raise.

    The crux of our issue is political funding. It seems it's wrong if your opponent does this but right if you do it. We can't have this. The issue is simple. We must make clear what money can and cannot be received. Make it accountable in party's books and we can see the outflow. No more behind screen who sponsor which individuals and then privately ask for payback time.

    In this case Ali and Anwar must be made accountable. Ali's and Anwars seemingly extravaganze wedding and jet must be explained and not hide behind the cloak of sponsorship by friends and acquaintance.

    There's a lot to write on this issue. If can we go deeper into the laws and values on overseas political funding. And I will explain why we need an overhaul of all our political parties be it bn and pr. Politicians are all the same. We must change the incentives and disincentives in politics to have any semblance of decent politics. Otherwise we get conned by both bn and pr sloganeering.

    ReplyDelete
  28. ellesse

    so,you have only bn and pr now. and between now and the next election, there aint gonna be change in politicAL funding.
    FUNNY, AINT IT.anwar took a private jet for campaigning, hmm it smells corruption. how ah, that really beats me and the last i heard the jet belongs to a private company. no different from using state resources for private wedding? no wonder you have MACC pontificating its ok for billions of assets given CM family so long he aint in the sitting when the award is given. also wonder why all the MPs are given thousands of acres.
    Great BN mentality, aint it?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Some new kid here is trying to pretend to treat both BN and PR as flawed, but all he/she/IT spends all ITs time attacking PR.

    Typical crooked BN operative.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Ellese talks just like Rais Yatim.
    All idiots from the same mould.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Why is it so wrong to ask Ali and Anwar to be accountable?
    Ali had a wedding and Anwar private jet. Prima facie there's nothing wrong.
    But Ali's 130000 people arise question of affordability. Anwar's private jet as well. Both say private sponsor. So why so wrong to make it accountable.
    Again a right or wrong cannot depend on the person. Similar action must have same value. So focus.

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  32. Anon 4:32 and 4:46,

    Your write is pure personal without substance. I can reply in kind but refraIning for the time being. If you don't agree counter it. Please remember if you persist unfairly, I have no choice but to resort to the same manner. Scorn with scorn. Disdain with disdain.

    ReplyDelete
  33. LC is unfit to carry out any political discussion here.

    Correction - Anwar did not have a private jet for private usage.
    The PKR leadership accepted a private sponsor to transport the group to Sabah for political activity.

    Ali Rustam used sponsorship as well as Malaysian government facilities (PAS has provided photo graphs of the proof)for his son's private wedding.

    IT doesn't even know the difference between the two activities.

    IT is unfit to carry out any form of political discussion.

    BN-head saja lah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who are you to say I cannot carry out discussion here?. Are you denying my freedom of expression? Isn't this blog for exchange of views? No one can criticize pr here ke? Your attitude are just like Umno politicians. Cannot be criticized and having egg shell skin.

      You're a funny intolerant person with skewered values. Do you teach your child it's good to accept money so long it's for political reason? So it's ok if someone buys a politician a car say Mercedes Benz to use for political purpose? It's okay for someone to sponsor to renovate a politicians house so that more constituency can come and visit him? It's okay for someone to buy/ lease a private jet for a politician who wants to go campaigning? Baguslah. Kalau cam ni confirm PR kalah

      Yang betul disalahkan. Yang Salah dibetulkan.

      On the pas proof please show it. Kit siang alleged 13 million budget. Mahfouz asked for details. Other pas mps also asked for details and accountability. You look at kit siang statement. He questioned source of income for Ali. How come he and other Pr mps can question that and I can't.

      Ps. Please give a deeper thought in questioning. A partisan view can easily be overcome by quoting various inconsistent stand of supported politicians. Then you cant questioned coz your supported leader took the stand. So Think logical. There's a bigger issue on political financing. Our politicians needs money to undertake their political work. They are sponsored big time and when in power of course this politician is indebted and expect to pay back which they don't have money.

      This is a value which has been the same as long as man exists. People play this game of power. There are books on this. So in the US eg they restrict individual and corporate contribution for political funding so that every one has equal say on the politician. Why is this principle not acceptable? A right or wrong is not determined by who you support.

      Delete
  34. I don't know where newcomer Ellese is coming from, but from what he had commented here so far, I sokong lah.

    ".... we need an overhaul of all our political parties be it bn and pr. Politicians are all the same. We must change the incentives and disincentives in politics to have any semblance of decent politics. Otherwise we get conned by both bn and pr sloganeering"...said Ellese

    By countering with name callings like " idiots" and "crooked operatives" just don't cut it.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Ellese, there is a leaked document of govt agencies being used for the private wedding :

    http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/210669


    and some have blogged on it, eg http://malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/10/malacca-state-agencies-sponsored-mega.html

    ReplyDelete
  36. Ktemoc's blog seems to have a tendency to attract individuals who have been banned from other blogs (with very good reason).

    First it was Monsterball ( Susan Loone, Lim Kit Siang )

    Now its Ellese ( Dr Raffick, Dr. Hsu, Din Merican )

    ReplyDelete
  37. Ellese got kicked out from other blogs?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Maybe the Ali Rustam mega wedding is part of UMNO internal one-up-manship (to Najib's Raya crowd).

    It's not meant for PR consumption, hence the surprised reaction.

    That explains the nonchalant or cavalier response from Ali.

    ReplyDelete
  39. It is silly, and I call it crooked thinking to adopt an all or nothing position on political funding to prove the point.
    In reality its a continuum , ranging from the innocuous and praiseworthy at one end to the corrupt and rancid to the other.

    Would I tell a child that its OK for a political party or a politician's electoral campaign to accept contributions from the public ?

    YES, when the child is old enough to also receive an education in concepts of freedom of expression, freedom of association, transparency, and the democratic process.
    Political contributions by the public are a form of freedom of expression and freedom of association.

    Frankly, I support PKR and DAP's political platform, and I have contributed hard-earned Ringgit to their political campaign funds. Admittedly, the amounts from me run to no more than 3 digits, but I see it as my right to peaceful freedom of expression. Who can tell me it is wrong ?

    Transparency requires that large amounts of contributions should be declared, and those large contributors are identifiable. I mentioned before, PKR should declare who contributed the private jet costs and how much was it worth.

    The analogy of someone buying a Mercedes for a politician I consider a deliberate extreme position. My example is more commonplace.

    Somebody or a political interest group consisting of Malaysian voters contributes money to purchase a bus for a political party's campaign. It is legitimate and legal.

    The democratic process requires funding. Donations from private individuals are legitimate.
    Without access to such funding , running for elected office would be restricted to participation by the rich or those already in power.
    Oh yes, I'm sure BN/UMNO would love that.

    It should not receive TOO much money, as it would distort the process , as the US electoral system arguably has become.
    Political parties should be required publish their financial position and the source of funds, and areas of expenditure.

    Whether a person or political party becomes beholden to the donor is a theoretical question. Ethical and legal failures would have to be addressed on specific events.

    The Multi-Billion ringgit MRT principal contract being awarded to the PM's golfing partner - now that's an ethical and possibly legal offence which ought to be investigated , but isn't.

    In the particular Chief Minister's case, usage of government tents, tables and other facilities for his son's wedding is definitely an abuse of power. In another country with higher standards of accountability, he would by now have resigned, been sacked, and under police investigation.

    Same moral, ethical and legal issues with a Chief Minister receiving sponsorship for a private occasion.

    ReplyDelete
  40. i think monsterbaby argument is sensible n realistic, he did demand transparency from pr as well. concept wise ellese raise an interesting point wrt political financing and incentive, but i am not sure how this can solve the issue that opposition lack funding, maybe he should elaborate more.

    correct me if i am wrong, most that on the jet is without any government portfolio or position.

    i dun read kt view on the private jet issue, is it bec dap member were on board?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Has the Malacca State Development Corporation (PKNM) admitted or denied the authenticity of the leaked document (which purportedly documents the misuse of state resources for a private function)?

    ReplyDelete
  42. Government departments leak like a sieve these days, because there are some civil servants , even quite senior ones who are fed up with the abuse of power by the political upper-class.

    Rosmah's ring, Najib's use of PM department facilities for his daughter's wedding, Scorpene-gate , Cow-gate, all surfaced through genuine leaked documents and computer screen shots.

    The authorities don't even bother to deny it anymore.
    Just buat tak tahu, and hope Malaysians have a short memory, or will remember the RM 500 handout instead, which they actually do.

    ReplyDelete
  43. From the discussions here, it is agreed that political parties need funding to defray the costs of carrying out the work, such as manpower, equipment, activities etc.

    However, the funds are made to the PARTY and not the individual, and are meant for party purposes, not personal events.

    In Ali Rustam's case, it is a personal event, nothing to do with party work (despite the 1Malaysia logo on the trishaw).

    Furthermore, state resources for organisation, logistics, clean-up etc were used free-of-charge.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Ellese,

    Sorry I have to assumed that you are a boy in a girl's clothing by your name and the way you comment.Am I correct to judge you in this way.Please respond to give us a better idea of yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Why the big hoo-ha over Ali's son wedding? Come on man, even people in Kampung Datuk Keramat and Kampung Baru too have grand-weddings.
    I have been to many such weddings. It's so common now. And don't talk about our artistes who have all sponsored weddings.
    If two-bit artistes wedding can be sponsored, sure people are ever too willing to sponsor Al's son wedding.
    And you all did not know the extravagance of children of Anwar's wedding. Of course that fella will always hide it. Mr number one hypocrite.
    I agree with his former private secretary's statement on TV3 tonight.
    SPRM is so quick to investigate Ali and other BN leaders when a report is made of alleged corruption.
    But when it involved Pakatan, they dragged their feet.
    Case in point is the Talam issue. Same as LGE's many shady deals like Bayan Mutiara and that hotel cum hospital land.
    Talam was brought up months ago and SPM is only now starting the probe.
    So stop this accusations of SPM being unfair and biased.

    P.S. Ali is a genial guy liked by many and he will be chosen and will win in the coming GE.
    Put Anwar to contest against him and he will pull through comfortably.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Hello Buttercup. Long time no hear. Missed you. Or you have metamorph to Ellese. You are a guy with a girlie name. And Ellese is also a guy with a feminine name. I suspect you are one and the same person. Ellese is unwanted in so many blogs. She/he has no choice but to come here.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anyone has any idea at all of the obscenely astronimical amount that Umno Party had secretly ferreted in its treasury the last 30 years ? Only the diam diam diminutive guy and that old diarhea mouth who's now the power behind the throne and a handful of other shadowny figures really know the exact figures of the umno treasury funds now.

    A friend let us on one true story of how an umno datuk ( this datuk is not holding any political position, just an ordinary member but very active in biz and often brushed shoulders with the umno political bigwigs ) claimed to have a case against Bank Bumiputra ( now defunct ) for "pulling the rug under his feet", thus causing him to incur substantial loses, so he demanded compensation to the tune of rm 12 million, which was quite a huge sum many years ago. His case had a very slim chance of success, practically zero, but in the end, he won the case nevertheless, and it was revealed that he won because he agreed to donate a big percentage to the Umno treasury fund. That's how the rakyat is being cheated.

    Lots of sh*t will spill out of the dark hole of umno if sunlight is allowed to shine in. So umno must prevail at all cost this GE13.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Again you guys are funny. Rather than tackling the issue you call me names like refugees, boy in girls clothinglah and cast aspersions on my name.

    I'm warning you. I believe in integrity and will protect my name. I'm short tempered and will reply in kind. If the blog owner allows this to continue this puerile comments please do not expect me to sit back.

    First I've been censored by many blogs for my contrarian view. Full stop. No other reasons. Almost all are unable to counter the points and went personal. I've documented this in writing at hakbersuara.wordpress.com and even allowed these blog owner to response. Let me give you an example at din Merican.I write like the above and question the value in the write. One of din crony like some here became upset and start animal name calling. I don't take this kindly and reply in kind. So din was upset with me attacking his crony and he then deleted all my comments but left his crony comments in. What bull. His crony can use animal name calling and I can't. He practices cronyism selective persecution and discrimination all at once. Worse he and includes almost all other bloggers are pure hypocrites. Call for freedom of expression and free media but when unable to answer contrarian view censorship at their whims and fancies. These are all rubbish and I told that straight.

    So the anons who are besmirching me above. I tell you are lying when you negatively and falsely impress and juxtapose me being censored with due reasons. Give me an instance I'm not fair and I tell you why these are the worse bunch of hypocrites (save doc Rafick). I will tell you in your face you are bloody liars for insinuating me. Bullshit. You perpetrate falsehood. I'm being unfairly treated and yet you call youRself a believer in freedom of expression and justice. If I ever hear and read you scream for freedom of expression and media I will tell you off to go fly kite. You are rubbish. Sampah masyarakat


    And there's one bloody ridiculous anon who demands me to reveal more about myself when he himself used the cloak of anonimity. Utter rubbish this joker.

    I've given enough notice and will reply in kind after this. Scorn with scorn. Disdain with disdain. You think you're the only one who can write like that ke?

    Ps I'm not buttercups you stupid anon. Don't make false accusation ikut sedap hati. Proof it lah. If Like that I can also call You many things like a corrupt imbecile anon.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anon 8.05,

    Thank you for the referral. I don't have access to mkini. But mmkth blog write must be taken as a pinch of salt. If you read carefully it's just a mere allegation. Perhaps you can elaborate the evidence available.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Dear monsterbaby,

    I dont think we're far apart save that you seemed oblivious to pakatans fault. I replied to you obvious practices of pr which would tantamount to your definition of corruption but you seemed blinded by partisanship.

    Please note the laws in political funding in us uk Germany France etc have various degrees of restriction on political contribution even from private. The US in particular has a ceiling amount and the rationale is that everyone should have more or less the same say.

    The disclosure requirement is utmost important failing which the contribution is illegal. This essentially is to avoid corruption. This is part of the clean money campaign and expenditure is made known. This also ensures that politicians have less reliant on small group of wealthy people than the masses.

    In fact the laws have moved to ensure public funding is available upon reaching a number of Political contribution quota. Meaning that The laws provide a matching of contribution obtained from the public. This ensure fair playing fields.

    What were facing here is no less different. Ali of course has to account. And as you say so too Anwar. The failure to account is a corrupt practice by itself. And in this we must push all our politicians to account. If they do comply with it to my mind our whole political landscape structure will change. It will
    allow Ali to think twice of having sponsors for wedding and Anwar using other peoples private jet. They will do things within their affordability limits. Otherwise they will have to declare and public can know whether they have received benefits in other transactions with the states they govern.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Ellese at 12:20 AM, very well put.

    But it will be a herculean task just to clean up all the years after years of muck that's been built up layer upon layer which had been hardened worse than compact concrete. One could hardly know where to begin. Some here would like to say that first we need to get rid of the current evil power and let the new force to start the clean up. Well and fine....but see who's the new ones coming in with the soap and broom...the ex Umno bunch with their Umno genes fully intact !

    If PR forms the next new government, will it ( or rather will anwar and its umno-genes comrades in PKR ) allow an independent judiciary as per the following case in India :

    "On June 12, 1975 Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices. Sinha declared the election verdict in the Rae Bareilly constituency "null and void," and barred Indira from holding elected office for six years.[2][3][4][1] While Sinha had dismissed charges of bribery, he had found Indira guilty of misusing government machinery as a government employee herself.[1] The court order gave the Congress (R) twenty days to make arrangements to replace Indira in her official posts. Indira appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court of India, which granted a conditional stay of execution on the ruling on June 24, 1975.[1] On November 7, 1975 the Supreme Court of India formally overturned the conviction.[6]"



    ReplyDelete
  52. Anon 9.06 am o.8 ellese and monsterball are commenting at all the blogs you said they are banned.
    Why do you take pleasure to tell lies and a busybody?

    ReplyDelete
  53. "Why do you take pleasure to tell lies and a busybody?"

    Becoz....he/she thought nobody will really go check, hahaha. But it is true that the mulut-busuk monsterball was banned once from a particular blog, hehe. But let's not even mention that monster anymore here....the jinx might pop right back here ! 90% of us here are just so thankful and glad to see the back of him......

    ReplyDelete
  54. Its farcical when someone here tries to make light of Ali Rustam's infraction.
    Its ridiculous to equate the case of a state Chief Minister, with so much power, accepting sponsorship for a personal event (still don't see the conflict of interest ?) with the wedding of a performing artist (no executive power- just an individual with a famous voice or face ).
    No wonder this country is getting more corrupt by the day. The whole UMNO needs to go back to Ethics kindergaten.

    The Talam deal ? For years BN/UMNO could not or did not want to resolve the problem because it would have cost its favoured crony dearly

    Khalid Ibrahim's team deserves accolades for solving the problem in a financially sound way.
    Its in fact a very good example of integrative negotiations. In plain language, you win some, lose some. You split the deal up into smaller packages, you gain on some, you may lose on others, its acceptable if the overall deal is good.
    Its not a method you want to use unless normal head-to-head negotiations have failed. Its complex, needs skilled negotiators, and you need to be careful the final deal is sensible - which it looks that way in the Talam case.

    A good businessman or experienced diplomat would understand what it is, but it is obviously beyond a lousy accountant like Kiddo Chua.
    Remember the Rm 1 billion number he bandied around in the early days ?

    Both Selangor and Penang are providing excellent examples of how a state government not beholden to cronies can resolve long standing "hard-case" issues.
    They were hard cases earlier only because BN/UMNO puts cronies first.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Anon 3:13 am
    Albert Einstein was quoted as saying Insanity is doing the same failed things again and again.

    There are no guarantees in life. The world is full of new solutions which may or may not work.
    But we know what doesn't work in Malaysia, and it is a collective act of insanity that Malaysians keep reelecting the same putrid Ruling party time and again, steadily going downwards.

    There are plenty of people, even in PKR who are not UMNO clones.
    I can confidently say that, as I am not of PKR, but I have interaction with their grassroots

    Continuing Barisan Nasional rule isn't going to lead to a developed nation in 2020. Its going to preside over a more and more heavily indebted nation, with a declining education system and declining real income.

    The whole of human progress is build up from people who, along the way, have taken calculated risks. Many failed, obviously some succeeded, otherwise we would still be living in caves or riding bullock carts.
    We may not go back there, but we are definitely heading downward if we keep reelecting BN/UMNO.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Can I have a bit , just a little bit of government sponsorship for my son's upcoming wedding ?

    I promise my whole family will vote BN if we get some help...

    ReplyDelete
  57. I came across this nice piece of satire in FMT.

    http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/10/09/why-are-the-malays-running-away/

    Hidup UMNO
    hehehehehe...

    ReplyDelete
  58. Ellese, to add to Anon 8.05 (later 10.36) , the issue was brought up in Parliament on 3rd Oct. Extract from the Hansard p 65 :
    " ... Jadi saya minta bahawa ini kadang-kadang kita seronok orang pergi Mekah ini pun tidak tahu kata baca di sana baguslah, dapat RM500 ini kita balik. Tahu-tahu tengok orang lain dapat sampai beratus-ratus ribu dan sebagainya. Mereka tidak tahu kata Ketua Menteri Melaka ini, Ketua Menteri Melaka punya jamuan ini. Anak beranak kahwin, kahwin anak dia. Hari ini
    Pegawai Khas mengakui bahawa semua jamuan itu RM10 satu kepala semua disponsor. Kita hendak tahu siapa dia? SPR kena masuk. SPRM. Ini saya hendak katakan bahawa ini logistik.
    Kertas kerja logistik. [Sambil menunjukkan dokumen yang berkenaan] Mesyuarat logistik berkaitan kenduri rumah Ketua Menteri Melaka yang dikendalikan oleh Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Melaka. CEO dia sendiri yang chair meeting kenduri. Kenduri ini kenduri personal,
    menikah anak. [Disampuk]
    Ini, Datuk Yusuf bin Haji Jantan, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Melaka. Ini semua jabatan, semua agensi, sebut pula dalam minit ini. “Jangan tuntut
    atau hantar bil kepada Yang Amat Berhormat. Semua ini diberi percuma.” Dia hendak hubungi
    tentera, hendak libatkan tentera. Disebut ini hendak tentera ini, hendak khidmat tentera supaya
    kebersihan...."

    You can download the Hansard at http://www.parlimen.gov.my/files/hindex/pdf/DR-03102012.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  59. Ellese

    Syabas to you for discarding old crone Din Merican's blog. He is just a pariah to me.
    An old has-been nobody who flip-flops all the time proud to be finally a Dato' in his twilight years. Perasan, syiok sendiri whom even his idol Anwar Ibrahim have rejected him.
    His blog is nothing but to portray him and new dentist wife. Really shameful to see them, grandpa and grand-pa acting like young punks in the first throes of love.
    How he loves him when his lickers call him and wife Dato' and Datin. Haha, that's what he wants.
    He loves how Kathy who knows nothing pander to him like he's God.
    Yeah, there were lots of name-calling there. Long before you there were Ilham, Pak Abu who is a millionaire Dato', Jeff a boy, La-di-La, Rocky, Makchik and assorted others who are all pro-Najib/BN. Their comments were all deleted. But he allows the comments from his lickers condemning them.
    I was a silent reader and now I longer read his blog. Notice he has no modal now knowing Pakatan is losing. So has to resort on some world news.
    That old fart has lost his credibility many, many times.Most times tried to ampu Najib but when his fans criticized him for doing that, he will go apologetic and flip-flop.
    The one incident which made me cheesed off with him was his unkindest treatment of La-di-la.
    That guy is a diplomat's son whose father old fart seems to know. After realizing that the guy is proBN he started deleting his comments.
    But the worse thing was he wrote several comments purporting to be La-di-la. Wrote as though la-di-la is supporting Anwar and Keadilan. It seems it was written by his wife under a pseudonym.This was brought to the attention of Rocky.
    It's your right to delete comments you dont like. But to write a comment as though that person has changed his stance and supporting you, is lowest of the low.
    He was embarassed when Mr Bean remarked is this really La-di-la who have gone mad in support of Anwar.
    His bluff has been exposed.
    Malunya. Mana nak taruk muka. If I were him I would have closed my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  60. I don't find anything wrong with Din Merican's blog. His blog is mainly an article aggregator, collecting various items which interest him.

    He personally does not write much, just snippets of comments, but his editorial line, if I would call it that, is reflected by his choice of articles, which are mostly of good quality. He's had some articles on foreign relations issues right from day 1, so why do you fault him for commenting on world news ?

    Its a good quality blog, I would say, pro-Pakatan Rakyat for sure.

    If you have been following the blog, you should know the writer and his wife have only been married a few years. So I would give them leeway to behave like newly married couples, which they are, their mature age notwithstanding. The Mrs. is a very attractive, stylish and well educated woman, I'm not surprised he adores her.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Ktemoc's dig at PPP seems to have been ignored by all the comments, in the midst of all the anxiety over what is proper or improper sponsorship for a private wedding or private jet trip. Ahemmm...

    On to PPP. During my father's days, the PPP was a big deal in the Kinta valley. The Seenivasagam brothers were the hottest politicians in Ipoh, and outshone the then Alliance. It attracted a multi-racial membership and following. Sadly, after the demise of the Seenivasagams, PPP chose to join BN, and become just an appandage of the corrupt ruling party. Over time it became a platform for Refugees from MIC who couldn't stand MIC's leadership (you know who). So it became an Indian party. My father was one of the last non-Indian PPP members in his area, and finally quit in disgust.

    Very sad ending for a once great party. Kayveas is an unworthy successor to the wonderful D.R. Seenivasagam

    ReplyDelete
  62. Ipoh boy said...
    "Ktemoc's dig at PPP seems to have been ignored by all the comments, in the midst of all the anxiety over what is proper or improper sponsorship for a private wedding or private jet trip..."

    Actually, the main theme of KT's post is the case of Ali Rustam's son mega-wedding, and he added the case of the outrageous humiliation of PPP as side story.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Najib absolutely does not want to go down history as the last BN Prime Minister.
    He's pulling every trick in his dirty book to avoid that fate.
    That's why he still cannot call the General Elections.
    Malaysian PM's usually call the elections with ample time to spare before the end of their mandate.
    This one will go right down to the last legal day and let Parliament automatically dissolve.

    ReplyDelete
  64. There were two Seenivasagam brothers, the elder and quiet SP and the younger but fiery orator DR, the brains and principal force behind PPP's popularity in Ipoh and surrounding areas.

    DR was also known as "King of Ipoh", not unlike Lee Lam Thye in Bukit Bintang - no one could have a snowflake chance in hell of politically dethroning DR in Ipoh.

    Ipoh Boy, just one small correction to your excellent comment - PPP joined BN after DR died, but SP was then still alive and was the PPP leader who took the party into BN.

    SP was never the fiery politician. If DR had been alive PPP would not have joined BN like DAP, staying away from what PPP and DAP saw as a corrupt Perikatan/BN.

    DR's political philosophy, policies were very much like DAP politicians'. If he was alive for an extra few more years I would not be surprised if PPP and DAP were to merge.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anon of 4:21 PM, October 09, 2012, not quite correct. The Westminster parliamentary system allows the PM to decide when to recommend to the Head of State to dissolve parliament and call for an election. Obviously he/she would do that when it suits his/her party.

    Julia Guillard, PM of Australia, is likely to draw out her 3-year term. In Australia, under some circumstances the 3-year term can be exceeded by a couple of weeks.

    Najib is doing the same, to only recommend to HM the Agong to dissolve parliament when the timing suits him (but not beyond 5 years max), probably at the end of the 5-year term. It's all constitutionally legitimate and within his prime ministerial rights.

    ReplyDelete
  66. "If he was alive for an extra few more years I would not be surprised if PPP and DAP were to merge."

    no surprise at all, the merged parties were named dap and leader is lks.

    ReplyDelete
  67. "Its ridiculous to equate the case of a state Chief Minister, with so much power, accepting sponsorship for a personal event (still don't see the conflict of interest ?) with the wedding of a performing artist (no executive power- just an individual with a famous voice or face ).
    No wonder this country is getting more corrupt by the day. The whole UMNO needs to go back to Ethics kindergaten." ...rocket man

    Well put Rocket Man - I could not put it any better myself. These diehard fanatical supporters of the corrupt BN ( especially of UMNO ) are either so brainwashed that they see no wrong at all in their obviously corrupt-to-core leaders or they are fully cognizant of their leaders' gaping flaws but just wilfully, cunningly refuse to admit and give in even an inch, even in the face of glaringly obvious evidence surfacing. Another word for such extreme partisanship is fanaticism.

    Your explanation of the Talam case is spot on too. But alas, many just would not be bothered to delve and scrutinize into the finer details which will reveal the truth......that's the general malaysians for you..... see the case of the kampung buah pulau in Penang, the indians there just allowed themselves be bulldozed by the lying BN media and politicians and are now endlessly heboh-ing and screaming blue murder and felt done in by DAP, unjustifiable as it is. No amount of explanation will placate them.....so not surprising to see DAP giving up on them, it's like hitting your head on the cement wall.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Ellese

    You are welcome here. I like you.
    KT is not Din Merican who shut people who have differing views from him.
    He only deletes people like Monsterball who screams profanities.

    ReplyDelete
  69. dear Anon 12.20:

    We have no choice. All our politicians are rubbish. And the way PR is pushing does not give much hope otherwise. It should not push for hate politics but focus what they can bring. The reason this cannot be done by them is simply I think we have structural problems. We have problems at the root of political structruing and internal elections.

    The incentives and disincentives makes PR play the same game. Please note its not only pkr but the rest as well. Let me take an instance on the most revered person in PR. Nik Aziz himself has no issue and qualm to accept an expensive haj package (can be worth of up to 100k per person) for his family given by state concessionaires. What does it tell us. We are screwed.

    This is the most difficult area to reform. Both BN and PR are reluctant on this. Ive written like this for quite a while but as you will see most are interested only attacking the opposite party and can accept if their supported parties does it.



    ReplyDelete
  70. Anon 8.05

    Thank you for your reference. I have followed your reference and was able to click on mkini report but not the other reference. Normally I dont rely on one source to verify authenticity. Mkini purports to have the mimutes but for reason best known to them it was not published in full and shown partly. I have never taken any of our media (MSM and AM) including mkini and tmi as fair balance and accurate. However in this case unless proven otherwise I will take the letter as authentic for the time being. Based on this alone prima facie the state is funding the event. Ali is wrong in this case for the abuse. Full stop.

    However, we should not stop. We must make him accountable for the event. there are reported 130000 people and if the food cost for one is 10rm its already 1.3 million. In this regard, Pr is correct to request for accountabilty though LKS seems outlandish:

    "Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have questioned how the wedding was funded, and the revelation of sponsors will spark more questions about the appropriateness of accepting money from businesses to pay for the wedding.

    PR lawmakers said that even at RM10 a head, the wedding banquet would cost RM1.3 million for food and beverages alone, far more than the long-serving chief minister’s salary.

    DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang used his Twitter account to speculate further on the cost of the wedding, saying the banquet appeared to cost RM100 a person or potentially RM13 million just for the food."

    Ali must account for this too.

    We must make our politicians account for their money irrespective of bn or pr.

    ReplyDelete
  71. To those who are supporting din merican,

    Please note din is a person who proclaims to believe in freedom of expression and free media but censors contrarian views and deny others the right of reply.

    This is utter hypocrite.

    Anybody who supports this have no right to claim and condemn any media whatsoever. And monsterbaby we all note your stand.

    ReplyDelete
  72. And to the anons who make senseless remarks against me, go fly kite.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Anon 1.01

    Can you write this din story on my blog at hakbersuara.wordpress.com. Let the world know who din is. Let it be recorded.

    ReplyDelete
  74. there is no absolute fos hence i dont equal censor n delete comment to not uphold freedom of expression, for instance i think rafick is fair in his approach, he delete and ban both that engage in flame war to evade any unnecessary disruption to other readers who wish to read something more meaningful. what annoy me is when the host delete n ban one and let the other to continue when both debate in more or less the same manner, or delete comment that disagree (not the senseless type) with the host.

    i think most commeters in din blog is commendable especially bean save the host. another host that shd deserve the same 'praise' is the evolved petra.

    ReplyDelete
  75. A blog is short form for a Weblog. It is a personal space. The Weblog author owns that personal space.
    95% of all blogs in Blogger and Wordpress have nothing to do with politics.

    The technology allows comment feedback, but a blog is not, repeat not public media.
    The web owner has a right to be open minded, less-than-open, or closed minded. Some blog owners don't even allow comments.
    That's their right.

    Its is nonsensical to equate a Blog owner's moderation policy (or lack of) to accountability of news media.

    News media are publications , paid or unpaid, which claim to provide news and journalism to a mass public. NST, Star, TV3, Malaysiakini, Malaysian Insider are news media.
    Din Merican's blog, and Ktemoc's blog are not news media, even if they talk about issues in the news.
    My brother has a fairly popular blog, where he writes about tech gizmos, cars and sometimes, politics. He moderates his comments area. Its definitely not news media.

    A series of US court cases have upheld that Blogs are Not news media, and have the status of private publications - its a double edged sword because US laws provide both protection and restrictions to news media.

    I'm perfectly comfortable continuing to exercise my right to criticise News media, especially restrictions on their reporting and biased reporting, and at the same time maintaining my high regard for Din Merican's blog and his right to moderate comments on his blog.
    The same with Ktemoc's blog.

    ReplyDelete
  76. monsterbaby, what u did in your blog do reflect your values and what you truly believe in. i think that is what ellese trying to tell.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Ellese 6.36am

    Agree with your comments on Ali's alleged abuse of state resources.

    To be fair, perhaps those depts named should come out and explain or deny their role : PKNM chief executive officer Yusof Jantan,
    Works Department, Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd , the Development and Coordination Committee of the State Legislative Assembly , state National Cultural and Department... etc?

    So far I don't think any of them have denied or defended their actions.


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  78. Monsterbaby

    I beg to differ. Din Merican sucks.
    He deletes comments not pleasing to his and his suckers ears.
    And he is proclaiming he's a liberal tolerant and democratic blogger. Sic.
    Why delete the comments but permit the comments condemning the deleted commentators.
    This is the problem with most Pakatan bloggers including Sakmongkol.
    There they go condemning MSM as BN lapdogs.
    At least MSM do publish Pakatan stories with some censorship.
    Give me MSM anytime. They get news straight from the source.
    They don't spin second-hand stories. Din and other cyber news like Mkini, MToday etc picked up the MSM and spin the stories to tailor to the opposition slant.
    That is why I read only certain blogs and MSM.
    Din cant write except to print Terence Netto's writing which are full of verbosity and naught else.

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  79. "Din and other cyber news like Mkini, MToday etc picked up the MSM and spin the stories to tailor to the opposition slant."

    this is y we dun label them mainstream, our(reader) expectation is difference, tmi, mt mkini never claim they r objective n we never expect them to be. dont conflate.

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  80. Buttercup said... "...Give me MSM anytime. They get news straight from the source. They don't spin second-hand stories. ... That is why I read only certain blogs and MSM..."

    For fair reporting it is not enough just to get news straight without spinning etc. A newspaper can report certain facts and omit unpleasant facts to give a different impression of the event being reported.

    For example, in the recent court apology from Utusan & Chamil Wariya to Teresa Kok, Chamil delivered also a damning indictment of Utusan's unprofessionalism in altering the short story , accusing Utusan of mala fide etc.

    If you read NST, you won't get to see this part of the apology. Of course, don't expect Utusan to report fairly all the facts at all.

    When it comes to blogs, would you trust the one that accused LGE's son of sexual harassment and printed a chess champion's picture as the 'victim'?

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  81. "That is why I read only certain blogs and MSM..."

    Good on you ! Congratulations !
    Hahahaha...

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  82. ""That is why I read only certain blogs and MSM..."

    That is WHY buttercup could not see the difference between a state CM accepting sponsorships for his own personal event and those of a performing artist accepting sponsorships.

    Enuf said.

    [Shudder....there are miliions and millions of malaysians having these sort of thinking and attitude, 'educated' as they were ]

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  83. Ellese (6.30am) said...

    "... We have no choice. All our politicians are rubbish..."

    Ellese, I think you meant that there are rubbish in both BN & PR (but not all are rubbish). There are some ok ones on either side.

    However, what can we citizens do? We can wait forever for perfection on both sides, and so far are there viable alternatives (3rd parties)?

    We still need each to check & balance the other. An imperfect solution in an imperfect world, knowing the stuff politicians are made of.

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  84. Monsterbaby

    Youre really a funny person. Its not about the blogs ke atau news media ke. Nor is it about legal culpability or legal consequence.

    Its about a person who condemns ours media for not publishing his views complaining he has a right to free speech and expression and then at the same time censor and not publish views which are contrarian to his. Apa jadah punya manusia macam ni? Thats bahasa pasar. In internet lingo its widely interpreted as WTF man?

    Din censored my comments for giving contrarian view. He deleted my response to his crony but allowed the crony to continue to comment against me without giving me a right of reply. He want to leave a bad impression on me on his blog.

    From the above, apart from being a hypocrite and a non believer in freedom of speech and expression, he practiced cronyism and selective unfair summary "persecution". Why the heck youre supporting this buffoon. Unless of course you believe in cronysim, unfair and selective "persecution", hypocrisy and repression of freedom of speech. If thats what you are its fine but dont write in the future anything about this becoz I remember. As it is I already formed a judgement that you dont believe in corruption. To you if bn use public fund for personal or political reason its abuse of power and corruption. But if PR does this like the examples I gave above you're okay with it (since you skirted the issue).

    So I'm already forming an opinion that youre like DIn. Probably one or more writes by you you will prove me right. I do hope youre better than this. Move on. Be principled; unless of course youre a politician in which case you should be showered with vituperations.

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  85. Ellese,
    You are a nobody.
    On top of being a nothing newbie here.
    Don't think you can patronise me.

    I'm getting a good idea why Din Merican and even the very tolerant Dr. Raffick banned you.

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  86. The problem with Ellese is she comes here to pass judgements on other commentators.
    She comes here to pick quarrels with other commentators.

    I come here to express my opinions, sometimes cross swords with other commentators ideas.
    I'm a nobody here, you are a nobody here.
    I make judgements on ideas. I don't care to make judgements on people here, unless they start getting nasty, which your already are borderline - and its just your 2nd day here.

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  87. On media let me state my stand. TMI and utusan is of the same level. Both are rubbish. I think Star is probably the most reliable among msm and Am. Mkini I dont subscribe to but with what I have read I position it between star and Utusan/ TMI. Of course a better reliability would be the business papers. Ive not included all such as sinar etc. Nor the chinese/ tamil papers.

    My stand on media is that we as a Nation need an objective, fair. accurate and balance media. Our media right now are too left or right that we cant get any common ground. Everything must be decided by politics. We need to move beyond this.

    The standards of reporting can be seen everyday from western based reputable papers like NYT, British broadsheets etc. They can be biased or leans to a position but all maintain certain standard of reporting. This standard can be found eg at US SPJ website.

    Our MSM and AM mixed facts and opinions. Report half truth. Skew the views. Distort news. All these are rubbish. Then we get many unthinking readers who cant differentiate between the facts and falsity. For everyone's comparison, just look at the standards of western reporting and what our msm and am are doing:
    The journalists are to:
    — Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
    — Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
    — Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
    — Make certain that headlines, news teases, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
    — Never distort the content of news photos or video. — Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

    These are some of them. If want more you can go to the website. Then compare MSM and AM. Rubbish isn't it? Next time you red any report apply the standards and see how they con us.

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  88. Monsterbaby,

    Cut the chase man. Someone here commented derogatorily Ive been banned by din. I told them I defend my repute and explained why din unjustifiably banned me explaining the facts and surrounding circumstances. Ive recorded this in writing. Then one fine sunday suddenly this one monsterbaby totally disregarded the facts and started defending din to the hilt. I recap back what transpired and he now complaining im patronizing him while saying hes a long time senior commentator and Im a newbie.

    Cut the crap. We go back to the issue. You purposely responded and retorted my write. I explained my arguments and find you skirting the issue. Similarly with Din. You could easily have said hes wrong in my case but think hes blog is fine. But no. You want to show hes a good blogger because he supports PR. Huh?? Crap. Now trying to lead an argument its fine to ban me. This goes against the whole premise of my write.

    Check yourself. You come with moral high ground against corruption etc. If you want that defend your position. Otherwise just say your piece and dont argue Im a newbie and youre a senior. And since youre a senior you need to be protected just like Din's crony ke? Man Ive seen this too many times. You see the above comments. Some commented against me purely without basis tau? Some with name calling like you calling me refugee. And you dont even complain or have qualm about this. Come on. Dont patronise me. Do remember the first reply by you to me above was an uncalled condescending name calling.

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  89. Woah....war between Ellese and Monsterbaby oredy ?

    Here's my first take..... so far, what Ellese said so far about fair and balanced media reporting sounds reasonable, although it is of course doubtful we will see anything of that sort anytime soon in this good old malaysia, hehe, not even Star, far from it....its ommission of certain news, its telling of only part of the news is just as telling. And let's not even go to Utusan...that so-called news media is only good for barfing....that awang selamat langsung tak selamat untuk negara kita ! hehe

    Monsterbaby gave some pretty good comments ocassionally here....so please don't spoil it by giving craps ( yes, craps !) like bringing in stupid issue like 'newbie' commentators....as though just coz someone who decided to comment here at a later date has a less valid reason to voice their opinions or pass judgement.

    So that's my first take, hehe. Continue on your wrangling guys, then i could weigh later with my second take :)

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  90. many well known western media outlets are bias if we subscribe to the view of non global mainstream outlets like al jazeera and china global times. however what make the noticeable difference is most western countries government dont have control over what is being reported and who did the reporting, and this freedom allow their media outlets to become a relatively objective and reputable media. in fact i think we all know the answer and solution.

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  91. Ellese (10:31 PM, October 10, 2012) said ".... TMI and utusan is of the same level. Both are rubbish. I think Star is probably the most reliable among msm and Am..."

    No, I think Utusan is far far worse, practising gutter journalism blatantly, and and now lawsuits pending.

    About the Star, Helen Ang (KT's sweetie) said that it actualy the DAP's Rocket in disguise! http://helenang.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/senior-citizen-bullied-but-the-star-badmouths-victim-instead/

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  92. Utusan and TMI are the same. Its that they are at the extreme end. Why not we take through. We can go through the currently hot issue on political financing. But we need a standard. And on this we use the US SPJ ethical standards. Amacam? You read it and I will highlight the rules on distortions and lies (untruth).

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  93. Ellese, agree that US SPJ is the ideals that all media personnel should adhere to.

    That includes not only journalists, but their editors, censors, owners etc.

    What can we do in Malaysia wher the media is highly polarised ?

    Sometimes we got to read both sides to get a complete picture.

    For example, do you know that law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz used the F-word in a press conference in Parliament over his son's use of the Hummer? I read a cop of the Mkini transcript here : (scroll down) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beritamalaysia/message/123600

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