Chew Mei Fun a cherry blossom?

I'm afraid I'd have to leave Karpal Singh's case to people with legal knowledge to comment, or until I have more information. But I support Bhai as I always have, and as a layman and his supporter for years consider his charge of sedition as incompatible with his sterling quality of loyalty to King and Country. Instead I'll continue commenting on the pending Kajang by-election. 

MCA is in a sad sorry state, at least with respect to its standing among the Chinese Malaysian community. It is not only unwanted by them but also scorned and despised by them, supposedly their base support.

we're holding hands so as not to stab each other in the back

wakakaka

Mind you, this is a party far older than Malaysia herself, one with deep pockets and two newspapers (the English Star and the Chinese Nanyang Siang Pau) in its communication stable. Yet it saw its miserable 15 parliamentary seats in 2008 halved to a shameful 7 by 2013, thanks to its supposed Chinese support, or lack of.

With apologies to the Bible (2 Samuel 1:25) for my paraphrasing, its dirge has to be:

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan MCA, thou wast slain in thine high places.

The MCA is currently scorned and despised by the Chinese community because the party has been consistently (with few exceptions) seen to be kowtowing to UMNO's dictates even when those have been detrimental to the interests of the Chinese community and/or to their humiliation.

But this Chinese tragedy has been made worse by the community's perception that MCA has remained silent not so much because it has no voice but more because their leaders prefer to be dumb so as to be on board the BN gravy train.

And its internal party squabbles haven't helped its image, with the Chinese, influenced by their history or more probably the Hong Kong Canto TV soap operas (wakakaka), seeing it as a typically selfish fratricidal scrum for the family assets. And they haven't been exactly wrong too wakakaka.

image from The Ant Daily

Indeed, the MCA is so despised because the Chinese don't believe in its supposed aim to work within BN rather than outside the alliance and against it, in much the same way that many don't believe in Anwar's claim he (in lompat-ing from ABIM into UMNO) had wanted to work within UMNO rather than out of it, for the simple logical and undeniable reason they haven't seen or heard of him in his 16 glorious years in the cozy comfort of UMNO showing any sign of reformasi or even a rat-ass' whisker width from that, ... until he was expelled from UMNO.

So ... MCA knows it will be putting a candidate in the Kajang by-election as mere cannon fodder, to be slaughtered by those who despise the party, and that's almost all of the 41% of registered voters (Chinese) in the satay town. Nor is its candidate likely to win much of the 48% Malay and 10% Indian voters.

It's not impossible Chew Mei Fun may lose her deposit after the votes have been counted. Admiral Onishi, late of the Japanese 1st Tokko (Special Attack) group (kamikaze) could have written the following poem for her in her contest in Kajang:

Mei Fun? wakakaka

In blossom today,
Then scattered:
Life is so like
A delicate Flower.
How can one expect
The Fragrance to last forever?

O my dear delicate Mei Fun flower, you won't have much of a fragrance left when you're slaughtered kau kau in Kajang, wakakaka.

But wait, is there any possible strategy for her and BN to mitigate against (not prevent) such impending doom, if not to win then at least to go down blazing in glory as the kamikaze one-way-only flying bomb, by reducing Anwar Ibrahim's winning majority?

cherry blossom? wakakaka

And isn't it sad for the MCA that its candidate will likely be ignored by the Kajang Chinese voters ironically in favour of Anwar Ibrahim, a former UMNO minister who had had unpleasant relationship with the Chinese community in his hey days as a powerful and arrogant UMNO leader?

But it's also a truism that politicians and political parties don't get into power by winning elections but rather by the other side losing it. Sounds strange? This happens in virtually most Australian elections a la 'bloody time to go' (or 'to change') with respect to the incumbent but disliked party.

In 1969 Gerakan rose to power because Penangites wanted to vote out the corrupt Perikatan - poor Tunku who himself was quite 'clean' was shocked. Likewise in 2008, many Malaysians wanted to vote out BN in Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor. Yes, Gerakan and MCA suffered collateral damage for the arrogantly feral conduct of their UMNO boss, not that they weren't already disliked for their meek subservience to Taikoh, and thus deserve their near political annihilation.

[I'll leave Kelantan alone as it has a strong PAS base, and its wins in both 2008 and 2013 were a continuation and reflection of that strong base support]

2013 was but a continuation of the 2008 effort, but alamak, by then Ah Jib Gor, far more politically cunning than his predecessor AAB, had time to buttress his position one way or another.

pokoknya saya menang, nah nah nah

No doubt in May 2013 the majority of voters (52%?) wanted BN out but alas, due to our election system of the old British voting system of 'first-past-the-post' and the EC's absurd level of gerrymandering as in the obscenely unjust example of the Putrajaya versus Kapar contrast,

..... and of course UMNO's strategy to abandon hope of (and effort in securing) Chinese support and to opt heavily on the Heartland's support, BN remains in power - as the military would say, the 1st Principle of War is 'selection and maintenance of aim'.

Pakatan will only become the new Malaysian government when the voters want to and are prepared to vote out BN kau kau. Leaving the machinations of the EC aside, that has to be dependent upon the political perception of the Heartland, including the fiefdom of the White (haired) Rajah of Sarawak.

Now I have even heard mention of more seats for Najib's 'fixed deposit' of Sarawak, when the current situation already over favours that state with an average of 40K voters for each federal parliamentary constituency in contrast to Peninsula's 75K per (Putrajaya being an absurd atrocious aberration).

Who knows, under Malaysian-style political science of creationism, wakakaka, perhaps Sarawak, at least its remote regions, will be turned into a cluster of Putrajaya's, wakakaka, giving a new meaning to that colourful American term, 'clusterf**k'.

Anyway, with parties & politicians being normally voted out, rather than for them to be voted in, the only way for BN (and the dear delicate Mei Fun flower, wakakaka) to win in Kajang is for voters, especially the Chinese constituting a hefty 41% of voters there, to vote out PKR and Anwar Ibrahim, rather than to dream of them voting in Chew Mei Fun.

Hence lately, BN has been airing lots of 'Hari ini dalam sejarah' episodes on Anwar Ibrahim in his UMNO ministers' role, wakakaka, as one example, his role in Ops Lalang (confirmed true), even a hint of his involvement in May 13 (I have no idea of this so can't comment on it), and so on so forth - see my previous post Will Kajang provide a surprise?

what started the ball rolling towards Ops Lalang

Even Ibrahim Ali has been assigned the task of airing the racially-tinted reminder that Lee Chin Cheh, a Chinese, was made a PKR sacrificial kambing for sembelih in surrendering his Kajang seat for Anwar, rather than for Azmin Ali, a Malay, to vacate his state seat of Bukit Antarabangsa to Anwar when he (Azmin) already holds the federal parliamentary seat of Gombak - see Malaysiakini's Why Chinese sacrificed in Kajang.

Obviously the strategy is to for the Kajang Chinese to be so revolted by Anwar Ibrahim for his past and whatever present sins and for them to vote him out, rather than for them (if under 'untreated' circumstances, impossibly) to vote Chew Mei Fun in, no matter how delicate a fragrant flower she may be, wakakaka.

Unfortunately for Anwar, he does have a lot of political baggage from his UMNO days, but whether the general hatred of the Chinese for UMNO can distract them from Anwar's past remains to be seen.

As some of Anwar's supporters have asserted, we have to forgive his UMNO past in order to defeat UMNO, ..... and presumably if I may finish the argument ..... to put UMNO under new labels into power, wakakaka.

I'm no longer UMNO, wakakaka

So in the midst of such BN campaigning, what do we hear from Anwar the World's Greatest 'Reformer' (wakakaka)?

Let's read TMI's Our fight is with Umno, not MCA, Anwar says ahead of Kajang polls to have a glimpse of Anwar's most recent and very highfalutin speech in Kajang yesterday:

Although he is facing an MCA candidate in the Kajang by-election, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said his fight was with Umno and its cheating ways.

The Pakatan Rakyat candidate said his main focus was to stop the corruption that is being practised by the family members of Umno leaders, even though Barisan Nasional (BN) had named an MCA candidate to contest the state seat.

"Yes the BN candidate is from MCA... but we are not fighting MCA. We are fighting Umno," Anwar told a crowd of 300 supporters in Kajang last night.

"Before I was from Umno. I don't hate Umno members. What I am against, and will fight, is their policy of corruption that continues to burden the people.

"Look at their children (of Umno leaders), (they earn) billions of ringgit. I cannot accept that. Living luxuriously... so wasteful," Anwar said.

But wait, what about the stories of corruption we have also heard allegedly associated with the internal PKR tussle in Selangor, but yet, not any PKR denial of them? Not by Anwar anyway.

keep f**king smiling just for another 10 seconds

The PKR silence in the midst of such allegations or accusations against the alleged frogological intent because of alleged stalled corruption worries many - see Haris Ibrahim's Kajang by-election : The beginning of the end? The kiss of death? For whom?

But obviously these haven't fazed or stopped Anwar from his highfalutin promises because he knows what Kajang Chinese want or love to hear, namely, the sins and iniquities of the much hated UMNO.

Far far more significantly, we note that in that speech in Kajang, Anwar took enormous strides to differentiate MCA from UMNO, as if only UMNO is corrupt, and how he carefully and cleverly distanced himself from his own UMNO past of 16 years.

Bung you're looking good - And you too

happier days of no-reformasi, wakakaka

We have to speculate his words had been carefully cherry-picked and craftily crafted to strike a chord with the Chinese voters there. But it's all politics!

Beautifully ugly, ain't it, this stuff called politics!

An ode to bullFROG politics

ok ok sayang, jangan lompat okay?

We were told of 12 frogs unwell
A dwarf plus 11 wants to jump
To the original cesspool to swell
The ranks of brothers, & then some

So Mr Manmanlai hung faitee lah
To appease dwarf’s unhappiness
So bullpoo were flung near & far
Giving us the usual dodginess

Hop-a-Long Cassidy was a hero
No jumping but lots of shooting
By contrast De Facto's just a zero
To the dwarf he again caves-in

Invincible Achilles has his heel
The dwarf strike at this point
Giving Brahma an ‘or else’ deal
Thus He surrenders to his Anoint

Please add on where you can, wakakaka.

For reference, see Haris Ibrahim's Kajang by-election : The beginning of the end? The kiss of death? For whom?

Will Kajang provide a surprise?

TMI - BN boleh menang DUN Kajang, kata Pak Lah

you know, in 1987 he was on winning Team A while I was in Team B
16 years later I became PM while he .. heh heh .. ta'usah sebutlah ... heh heh
I'm NOT as sleepy as you may think .. heh heh heh

Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi berkata Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bukanlah halangan besar untuk Barisan Nasional (BN) menawan kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kajang pada pilihan raya kecil 23 Mac itu.

Katanya, BN boleh memenanginya jika berjaya menjelaskan isu semasa yang dibangkitkan terutama daripada pembangkang.

Good lord (wakakaka), can it be true that Anwar Ibrahim bukanlah halangan besar untuk BN menawan kerusi DUN Kajang pada pilihan raya kecil 23 Mac itu? [not a major obstacle to BN winning the Kajang state seat in the by-election?]

But everyone is assuming it'll be a walkover for Mr Manmanlai. Even RPK has in his post The Palace Power Play written:

Anwar Ibrahim is going to win 80% of the votes in Kajang, says the Pekida veteran, a hardcore Datuk Harun Idris man since way back before 1969.

Considering that almost 50% of the Kajang voters are Malays, 40% Chinese and 10% Indians, this prediction may be true after all. With the Chinese mobilised behind the Dong Zong and the Indians recharged by Waytha Moorthy’s recent resignation from the government and his condemnation of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, it appears that Anwar may be able to sail in with a much larger majority than what CC Lee won in May 2013.

Is it possible the unthinkable may happen?

Of late, Anwar Ibrahim has been accused of Ops Lalang. Technically that's not true as Dr Mahathir (then PM and Home Minister) was the person who okay-ed the police launching the pre-emptive sapu-semua-masuk-lokap dragnet but only after MCA Minister Lee Kim Sai was coincidentally away in Australia for holidays, wakakaka.

Lee's then-bete noire, Ah Jib 'Tee' (at that time not yet 'Gor', wakakaka) was of course UMNO-teflon-ized and needn't take any holiday leave abroad, wakakaka.

hello there, isn't that Chandra Muzaffar 2nd from left?

But it must be truthfully said that Anwar was the man who started the education ball rolling towards its acrimonious fiery climax resulting in the draconian Ops Lalang when he as Education Minister initiated a policy that, in the perception of worried Chinese parents and teachers [correct or otherwise], threatened vernacular education and thus the future of their children.

Thus it could be said he or his ministerial policy brought the Chinese together, wakakaka, achieving the unheard of 'Chinese unity' for an elusive illusory moment of glory but which turned out to be substantially ill-fated for quite a few people, wakakaka.

All political parties that had vast interests or investments in the Chinese community, like MCA, Gerakan, SUPP, DAP and other Chinese-based parties saw no alternative but to congregate together with Dong Jiao Zong* at the Shaolin (wakakaka) Hainanese Association Building, beside the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur, to protest against what they saw as the vile policy of then-Education Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

* comprises both Jiao Zong (The United Chinese Schools Teachers' Association) and Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees' Association)

the humble Shaolin Temple
 the one not razed by Manchu troops
(there were 2)

Mind you, today Dong Zong wants Anwar to (as reported by FMT) "... help to resolve the issue involving the donation of a 100-acre campus land in Sepang to New Era University College which has been delayed for 14-years.

Yap also hoped that Anwar would allocate land of at least five acres for the reinstatement of the Yu Hua Chinese secondary school, and ensure that higher education institutions under the Selangor state government would recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) of Malaysian Independent Chinese secondary schools."

Do you think Anwar will say 'yes' or 'manmanlai'? wakakaka.

After Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and poor Chandra Muzaffar plus many others were served free nasi kari kosong in Kem Kamunting, Dr Mahathir explained the necessity of Ops Lalang as (words to the effect) Chinese history had shown that it bode no good when Chinese parties gathered together at a temple to protest against the government.

the not so humble Thean Hou Temple in KL
Malaysia memang Boleh lah, wakakaka

Though the Chinese political parties and Dong Jiao Zong had actually gathered at the Hainanese Association Building, it was the Thean Hou Temple next door that was seen as symbolic of Chinese rebellion.

Dr Mahathir was of course referring to the Shaolin Temple as a centre of rebellion (or sanctuary for rebels) during Qing (Manchu) dynastic rule. Hmmm, I wonder whether in saying that he was a kungfu movie aficionado or a well-advised PM, wakakaka.

Okay, the BN campaign to discredit Anwar Ibrahim in the eyes of the Chinese voters in Kajang continued with stories of his involvement in the May 13 incident. Though I'm well aware of him being the UMNO Education Minister whose education policy lit the fire that led to Ops Lalang, I have to admit I haven't heard of his involvement in the May 13 incident before, therefore I have nothing to say on this.

But if this story were to find traction with the Kajang Chinese, especially the middle age and elderly group, then he could be in trouble ... at least with the more senior Chinese.

From all these stories about Anwar and his past relationship with the Chinese now emanating from BN, the crucial element for victory in the by-election seems to be the key Chinese voters, who once again find themselves in an awkward kingmaker's role, one which they dread and don't want (for fear of annoying one old man and the 'apa-lagi-Cina-mahu' group, wakakaka).

Whatever, BN has now thrown the kitchen sink at him as well, in the unlikely person of Ibrahim Ali.

Ibrahim Ali claiming he was speaking in his personal capacity and not as the Perkasa Chief has not only voiced his support for MCA's Chew Mei Fun but played on Chinese feelings as can be perceived in the following Malaysiakini report Why Chinese sacrificed in Kajang:

I like Chinese lah ... er ... during my off office hours
or Boss will be marah one

wakakaka

According to the former Pasir Mas MP, a Chinese candidate was “used” by PKR to trigger the by-election to solve the party's internal issue when there are other Malay candidates who could have stepped forward. 

“The question is, why was (Kajang incumbent) Lee Chin Cheh the one chosen to resign (to pave way for a by-election)? Why not Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson Azmin Ali?

“Why sacrifice the Chinese as tools? Azmin is also a state assemblyperson and he is also (PKR de facto leader) Anwar Ibrahim's strongman. Why didn't he make the sacrifice?” Ibrahim asked.

Actually I have to admit I had asked that question myself more than two weeks ago in my post The ‘Kajang Betrayal' and Princess Diana (also as a letter to Malaysiakini) though it wasn't so much about a Chinese giving way to a Malay, but more about Azmin Ali sitting pretty comfortable in BOTH his Gombak and Bukit Antarabangsa seats for all his big talk about the imperative of someone in PKR making way for Anwar to gain access into the Selangor DUN. I posed it in a wakakaka way as follows:

NGO Bersih has criticised the Kajang Betrayal, and so has its former chairperson, Ambiga Sreenevasan. Human Rights lawyer Edward Bon has been incensed by it. PAS Youth was livid with rage and earlier on vowed not to support Anwar’s candidacy in Kajang, while Selangor PAS has started to stake out their claims on the MB post. 

The list of unhappiness over the Kajang Betrayal goes on, while constitutional lawyers have their days discussing, dissecting and displaying their knowledge on the federal and Selangor state constitutions.

Now consider an alternative scene which would have avoided all the brouhaha: PKR consulted PAS and DAP. The resignation was announced at a Pakatan (and not PKR) press conference immediately following a PKR assemblyperson’s resignation.

The PKR assemblyperson who had volunteered to resign was Azmin Ali of the Bukit Antarabangsa state seat. Azmin Ali explained his noble self-sacrificing decision as only giving up a state seat while still remaining a federal member of Parliament (MP) for Gombak and where he would continue serving the people of Bukit Antarabangsa in his capacity of MP. Lee Chin Cheh would not have been required to abandon the people of Kajang!

Alas, that was not to be. I wonder why? [admittedly writing this with a smile].

But it does tell us, nay, remind us of the way PKR acts unilaterally and then would label those actions as being of Pakatan Rakyat provenance, presenting both DAP and PAS with fait accompli they dare not reject for fear of a disunited coalition.

Today the ‘Kajang betrayal’ is only about a state constituency and probably the MB position of Selangor. What happens tomorrow when Pakatan Rakyat does eventually rule in Putrajaya?

BTW, has anyone in Kajang receive an 4-Ekor from Princess Diana, say, like 916? wakakaka

cuba 916, okay?

Then we are told by none other than the Royal MB, Khalid Ibrahim, in the Malay Mail Online that Leaderless Selangor BN no threat to Pakatan, where he said the BN "... is still licking its wounds from the general election and unlikely put up a strong fight in Kajang."

"At the moment Datuk Seri Noh Omar is still struggling to get his team together. At the moment I do not see leadership.”

Political analysts said Khalid with these words has written off any possible challenge in Selangor by BN. 

Now, doesn't this just whip the rug mightily off from under Anwar's feet, effectively undermining the excuse given by Mr Manmanlai and his inner coterie, namely the Razzler-Dazzler Embellisher and the Disquieting Døkkálfar Dwarf, that the Kajang Betrayal was vital to forestalling a pending UMNO ferocious takeover of the State Government.

And it might have also put paid to the preposterous warning raised by Mr Henny-Penny from DAP who informed us: 'Goodness gracious me! If Anwar doesn't win in Kajang, the sky's a-going to fall down on Pakatan; I must go and tell the king.' Wakakaka.

But seriously speaking, does AAB have grounds to be so confident that Anwar can be stopped in Kajang?

Let's look at fz.com's Does Zaid have secret backers in PKR? Why don't you read this up yourself, wakakaka.

Now, some pro PKR media and my visitor looes74 have of course excoriated poor Zaid Ibrahim for his wish to stand as a candidate in the Kajang by-election. But Jong a reader of The Ant has written in to support him and has succinctly pinpointed the real reason behind PKR's Kajang Betrayal in his letter Silly to suggest Zaid is looking to ‘kill’ Anwar in Kajang. I take pleasure wakakaka in reproducing his letter to The Ant here in full:

I disagree with your statement that Zaid's looking to "kill" Anwar and "…hoping to please the BN, and perhaps gaining tenure and stipend in the armies of the ruling coalition…" You sound silly and ridiculously dramatic!

Whilst I defend Zaid Ibrahim's right to contest in the Kajang by-election, I don't take him seriously other than for the attention and an opportunity to a platform to be heard, to speak his mind on the many issues that had upset him for many years. We recall he was sabotaged in the 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election and the PKR party election allegedly by arsonists from within.

After Zaid left the party, Azmin Ali successfully managed the deputy president post and has since been gearing to root out Khalid Ibrahim from the MB seat which he had been eyeing for a long many years. Anwar recently confirmed he had never promised Azmin the MB seat. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

Like many, Zaid wants to prevent this happening the best he can, to make sure Azmin does not get his way again with the help of Anwar who has not been decently kind towards the MB even in full public view.

For Zaid to take this role upon himself in a “comeback” in favour of Khalid Ibrahim, shall we call that -- A friend in need is a friend indeed? Politics -- it's so unpredictable, isn't it? They say in war you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times!

Kajangites/Selangorians going to the polls must make sure "a vote for Anwar is not a nod to remove Khalid Ibrahim from the MB seat", or to be construed as such?

The people's mandate must not be taken advantage of, to twist and to favour some blue-eyed boy's political ambition!

Døkkálfar Dwarf, wakakaka

Aha, Blue-eyed boy! Hmmm, I wonder whether I can claim credit for being the first Malaysian blogger to label a certain someone, wakakaka, AI's 'blue-eyed boy' in the way someone once told me I was probably the first to use the term 'cybertrooper', wakakaka. Well, if not, I know I can claim another as a first, to wit, the Døkkálfar Dwarf, wakakaka!

But once again seriously speaking (or writing), is Anwar now in trouble with his prospects of being elected as the ADUN for Kajang?

And as I had written earlier, this might have been the reason why the EC had dragged its feet in announcing both the nomination and the election dates for the by-election, an unusual EC action which brought severe criticisms from Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Time after all is required to discredit a popular candidate but one who carries too much baggage from his UMNO days.

So desu ne

Malaysiakini - Don't blame PM for your failure, KJ slams Waytha

Khairy Jamaluddin has come to the defence of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak following the attacks from former senator and deputy minister P Waythamoorthy.

The Umno Youth chief said it was unfair for Waythamoorthy to blame the prime minister for the Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PHM) chief’s failures to effect changes.

“He was not a team player and wasn’t effective in advocating his cause,” said Khairy in a series of Twitterpostings (left) today.

The sports and youth minister also claimed that Waythamoorthy had demanded that all government allocation for the Indian community be parked under the latter’s discretion.

“That’s not how the government operates. Waythamoorthy wanted to control the money, bypassing ministries and agencies.

was

wants


wakakaka

“When he didn’t get this, he quit and blames the PM,” Khairy tweeted. [...]

In a letter of apology issued yesterday, Waythamoorthy said that he had been under the impression that his department would be allocated the funds to implement the programmes.

Aha! so desu ne, wakakaka


Malay Mail Online - Najib wants Tamil schools to handle upgrades directly

nah nah nah pordah thambi

Datuk Seri Najib Razak today proposed giving Tamil schools direct access to development funds for upgrades, after red tape slowed allocations of RM560 million from efficiently reaching the schools.

The prime minister suggested that the school boards of the 523 Tamil vernacular schools nationwide take over the responsibility of tendering out projects, which is currently under the purview of the Education Ministry.

Wakakaka.

Will Top Gun be shot down by friendly fire?

I’m going to be unpopular with this one, wakakaka!

TMI - Air force pilot pays the price for speaking up

When Maj Zaidi Ahmad lodged a police report after the indelible ink on his finger washed off only hours after voting in the 13th general election last year, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) pilot did not expect to face a court martial and up to at least two years in jail.

He is facing a military court on multiple charges of violating Malaysian Armed Forces Council orders, making statements to the media without the Defence Ministry's authorisation, and sending two text messages which were deemed political in nature.

The 45-year-old jet pilot, who has served the air force for 25 years, was shocked that he has landed in trouble instead of the supplier of the ink and the Election Commission facing the music.

“I knew there would be repercussions but I was surprised that the supplier and EC got away just like that while I am the one in trouble,” Zaidi told The Malaysian Insider in an email interview.

I'm going to look at above from two perspectives, the political and mainly the apolitical military, and will base my reasoning specifically on Major Zaidi's statements as have been reported in the media.

Please note the stress on military as APOLITICAL which means ‘not involved or interested in politics’, the very opposite meaning of ‘being political’.

In a democracy, especially of the Westminster or western type, the civil service and military are strictly apolitical. The individual civil servant (including a policeman) and military personnel may of course vote in a general or state election as his/her due rights as a citizen but may NOT participate actively in politics nor campaign for any political party. I appreciate there have been significant lapses in the observation of this apolitical rule in Malaysia but these don't hide nor diminish the set apolitical ideology especially of our military.

Pranab Mukherjee is the 13th (current) President of India

I am however not very clear whether a civil servant can be a member of a political party of, say, UMNO wakakaka, but a military personnel certainly cannot.

Years ago when I was in Indonesia, my Indonesian friends lamented that their military, unlike Malaysia's, not only wanted to participate in politics but to enjoy a special position in their equivalent of the Dewan Rakyat, like having a reserved un-elected 20% block (one-fifth) of the total parliamentary seats exclusively for military members as nominated by the military authorities. The unusual inclusion of the un-elected military in its ‘parliament’ started with Sukarno and continued with (even enhanced by) Suharto.

One of the arguments I heard from some military officers was that the soldiers were the ones (specifically the Angkatan 45) who fought against the Dutch for independence, therefore the soldiers should have a permanent and significant say in the administration of the nation which they had brought about due to their armed and sacrificial struggles, and not just surrender the entire national decision-making to those civilians who only stood on the side watching their struggles.

While I could understand their argument on the basis of their historical struggle for independence and even sympathize with it, I didn't and still don’t support such an approach because that wouldn't be democracy, as it’s a narrow-minded approach which would/will adversely affect the future of their nation and future Indonesians.

However, in late 2004 the Indon military were finally excluded from participation in politics in a revamp of the nation's political structure.

Now, why should the military in a democracy be apolitical (note not ‘political’)?

Rather than provide a long winded explanation, I suggest we look at our neighbour Thailand where the Army, the real political power in that country, can and has on several occasions deposed elected governments to install one they preferred whenever they had felt like doing so ….. as may possibly happen to sweetie Yingluck’s government.

there's something so yummy about a woman in uniform

Would you like that to happen here?

Surely not! So stop politicizing our armed forces or condoning the political participation of their personnel (regardless of which side of politics they may desire to be aligned to) or making military issues into political ones unless there’s clear cut lawless abuse of any individual. And we’ll come to that shortly.

Back at home but some 45 years ago, immediately after the tragic May 13 riots, it was said that the then-DPM, Tun Razak, (but effectively the PM after elbowing poor Tunku aside) thought of imposing military rule as a means to postpone resumption of parliament.

But fortuitously for all of us, Lt General Hamid, then the Chief of General Staff (CGS), an earlier British-style (and more euphemistic) title for Chief of Army, advised Razak against that, for fear that the military (his military) after having had a taste of ruling the country and the power that went with it, might not want to vacate its position of rule when the time for it to do so, as in the eventual resumption of parliament.

That was an exemplary example of the superior standard a Malaysian military man then possessed, understanding and recognizing the supremacy of civilian rule in a Westminster style democracy, and the military’s need to be completely apolitical.

People like the previous Defence Minister (and current Home Minister) with his lamentable mentality wouldn't be considered fit to serve Lt General Hamid as a batman.

Okay, let’s return to Major Zaidi who was reported by TMI as saying “I knew there would be repercussions but I was surprised that the supplier and EC got away just like that while I am the one in trouble.”

Let’s leave aside for a moment his quite correct observation that ‘the supplier and EC got away just like that’ regarding the highly delible indelible ink, and the serial bullshit that the EC peddled out unashamedly as excuses.

Let’s examine his “I knew there would be repercussions” vis-a-vis violating Malaysian Armed Forces Council Instructions or Orders, such as making statements to the media without the Defence Ministry's authorization, and sending two text messages which were deemed political in nature.

Which military officer, past and present, dares to say he/she isn't/wasn't aware of firstly, the apolitical requirements demanded of a military officer, and secondly, the Armed Forces Council Instructions (AFCI), specifically about making unauthorized statements to the media or making political statements (or messages by whichever media means)?

In fact, Major Zaidi himself hasn't denied so, as may be seen by his own admission that his actions would bring about ‘repercussions’.

This means he knew what would be in store for him for his unauthorized actions. It was only his expectations that he won’t be treated so severely (eg. being subjected to a court martial).

Maybe he had expected just a reprimand and a light tap on his wrist for being ‘naughty’ or at worst, a loss in seniority, which by itself is a severe career-affecting punishment. Well, with the advantage of hindsight we could say his expectations were wrong!

So knowing he would face 'repercussions', he now claims he has been shocked with the court martial charges? But then, whatever his expectations or unrealistic hopes might have been, surely as a military man, hadn't he considered that a court martial could be a possibility for those actions he undertook which allegedly have been against AFCI?

Is he arguing he should be exempted because the EC didn't face any punishment?

Maybe he is, who knows?

But then, unlike him a military officer, the EC isn't a military organization, and wasn't/isn't subordinated to the AFCI, nor is it prevented from making statements to the press.

Yes, the failure of the EC's so-called indelible ink has been a black mark on its performance, but OTOH the alleged failure of Major Zaidi as a military man to observe the AFCI, only if proven in the court martial, would have been a direct breach/violation of clearly defined military conduct and discipline.

Some peculiarities in the military may be seen in its laws on ‘desertion’. A military deserter if so found guilty (of desertion) by a court martial can go to prison on long sentences, unlike a civilian ‘deserter’ from his/her job who would get either the sack or be sued for breach of working contract [and if unable to pay up, presumably to declare bankrupt and no imprisonment will be involved].

Another extreme form of military law relates to both cowardice and refusal to obey operational orders during wartime in the field, where the offender may even be summarily executed by the officer in charge.

Hence a military person is subjected to laws and disciplines very unlike those normally for civilians. Thus we should be aware of this, and be less emotional or political, and not automatically accuse the military authorities for being politically vindictive in charging Major Zaidi for allegedly violating AFCI in making alleged unauthorized media statements or sending messages via sms allegedly of a political nature.

The AFCI have been in existence for years since the early days of the Armed Forces, and there have been personnel before Major Zaidi who were charged for violating some of those Instructions. So is Major Zaidi been vindictively charged under some recently created* military laws and rules specifically for a supposedly political-malicious purpose?

* there is irony in this phrase 'recently created' as we'll discover when we come soon to the PKR-linked NGO Pahlawan.

Additionally, Major Zaidi has only been charged and yet to be found guilty. The laws say an accused is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty. It may well be that the court martial may eventually find him not guilty of most if not all of the charges. Let's hope for that!

Now, why have I been prepared to be highly unpopular with this posting wakakaka, which you may observe hasn't been all that sympathetic with Major Zaidi, not that I dare claim he'll be found guilty of all charges. As a matter of fact, I don't know, for example, what he sent in his sms other than what I've read in the news, let alone what will be the outcome of his court martial!

As stated 2 paragraphs above, he has only been charged and yet to be found guilty, and it may well be that the court martial may eventually find him not guilty of most if not all of the charges.

I'm only posting this against the increasing politicization of the issue which I fear may prove to be counter productive to Major Zaidi in the current major challenge he's now facing.

In recent years, there has arisen an unhealthy political doctrine of ‘either you’re with us or against us’ within Pakatan as well as BN (both politicians and supporters), where the actions of one would be attacked regardless of their correctness or value for the nation and variations of this - read my previous post Faustian-ish?

I don't like this one wee bit and will speak out against the lamentable blind-as-bat Myrmidon-istic Bush-ism our politics have been dastardly infected with!

I would venture to say Major Zaidi might have been a wee naive to believe he would just get a light tap on his wrist for his alleged un-military and alleged political actions just because he saw the EC was not punished for its pissed poor performance regarding the ink in the last general elections. He has wrongly compared his military apple-ness to the EC's civilian orangey status.

IMHO, I reckon the best defence he can rely upon is to prove that his sms messages were NOT political in nature, and that's something he has to do since he is a military officer and there's no excuse for being political.

But I wonder how he is going to circumvent his alleged unauthorized statements to the media which he allegedly made publicly in front of a police station after he lodged his complaint about the delibility of the indelible EC ink.

I suspect he might have gotten away with only making the police report about the EC ink and NOT the unauthorized media statements. IMHO, the latter might have been too much of an in-your-face two-fingers salute to the military authorities.

I also don’t believe it’s helpful to Major Zaidi’s cause for the PKR-linked NGO Pahlawan to make too much noise in his defence, and unwittingly turning his case into one where he may be unfortunately identified with one side of politics, when he has already claimed he isn't aligned to any side other than that of Allah swt.

And I am amazed that Pahlawan could bring itself to say that ‘it found it illogical that the army had used a 40-year-old military law to fault the pilot for his police report’.

How recent must a law be to be referred to? 39 years or less? Is there such a rule? Then if Pahlawan considers 40 years would be too old for a law to be used, perhaps all our civil laws should not be ever used again and be thrown out of the window [no doubt much to the delight of pro-hudud supporters, wakakaka].

As to be expected, the politicians are now swarming over the issue with their anti-government motive and thus by default, pro Major Zaidi - later in this post we shall see a different example, wakakaka.

Anwar Ibrahim has said (fz.com report) Pakatan must stand by and defend Major Zaidi where his case will be discussed at a Pakatan leadership council meeting soon, while Lim Kit Siang has been reported by TMI as follows:

Lim said when Zaidi lodged a police report over the indelible ink fiasco, he was acting in his capacity as a Malaysian voter and citizen.

"He was not lodging a police report in his capacity as a RMAF pilot," Lim pointed out.

"Which has the higher calling, loyalty to the Federal Constitution or to the bureaucratic rules and regulations of the military services?"

Much as I respect and adore Uncle Lim, I'm compelled to say he has been wrong in above statements. IMHO, Major Zaidi has not only lodged his police report as a citizen-voter but also issued statements to the media in front of the police station (self admitted) and sent sms messages allegedly of a political nature (yet to be proven).

In fact Major Zaidi himself admitted he made those statements in his professional capacity, stating (see TMI report):

"To me, it is haram (illegal) for a Muslim to be an accomplice in cheating. What more if it involves something as important as an election to choose the country’s top leaders."

"As a civil servant whose salary comes from taxpayers' money, I have a duty to inform the people of the truth, which is that the indelible ink is actually delible," he said.

OK, he is technically a military personnel but we accept his 'civil servant' means the same. But effectively he has declared he made the police report as a RMAF officer (or 'civil servant').

But I'll not discuss here whether he has been right to believe it was his duty as a 'civil servant' (RMAF officer) to inform the people of the truth of the delibility of the EC ink. 

"I am not aligned to any political party. I'm only aligned to the truth."

His wife Shafinah Abdul Hamid and a RMAF technician had also lodged police reports over the indelible ink along with Zaidi.

"Like I said, as a Muslim, I should speak the truth even if I face action (from my superiors). The punishment in the afterlife will be worse if I had lied compared with any punishment in this world.”

Aren't those the statements of a RMAF officer?

Note that the military has NOT charged his wife Shafinah, also a RMAF personnel, for lodging a police report. As I mentioned earlier, I suspect that is because she didn't make any statement to the media.

And incidentally, Uncle Lim, those so-called 'bureaucratic rules and regulations of the military services' are part and parcel of the Laws of Malaysia and thus part of the Federal Constitution. They do NOT exist in isolation. Please do not insult the military institutions including its military laws. They're there for a good reason, as they are too in the armed forces of many western democracies like Britain, Australia, NZ, etc.

I urge Pakatan politicians not to make matters worse for Major Zaidi, nor to unfairly insult our armed forces.

To end this somewhat unhappy post, I like to remind everyone of an event about 10 years ago on (as best as I can recall) 04 April 2004 where Pakatan or its component parties' reactions were then completely different.

Then, General Abdullah Ahmad as Chief of the RMAF was retiring from the air force. On his last day in service, in a farewell speech at (I think) RMAF Kinrara, with all of his being virtually a civilian with perhaps just a symbolic toe left inside of the RMAF door, he said words which effectively encourage the airmen to vote BN which he said was his preferred political party.

He was loudly and resoundingly condemned by the opposition for violating public service codes for taking a political stand. And mind you, that was a man who was then virtually 99.9% civilian in status.

I wonder whether those who now support Major Zaidi (100% military man) in his alleged violation of the Armed Forces Council Instructions on an issue (EC ink), which through no fault of his was already heavily imbued with political overtones, have forgotten that incident, or have now regretted making those condemnations against General Abdullah Ahmad (then 99.9% civilian)?