Merry Foolproof Christmas

Dear Friends,

I heard on the grapevine, while imbibing the ‘nectar’ of its fruits wakakaka, that two F5E engines had been moved from Argentina to the Antarctic.

Apparently a fat bloke at the South Pole, who likes to dress in red, is in trouble with the RSPCA for alleged cruelty to some animals with antlers, one of which has a big red nose.

The RSPCA claimed Fattie had subjected those strange animals with enormous loads around this time of the year for the last several decades. They weren't able to nab him before because he has been changing address from South Pole to North Pole and then back, and to and fro, so on so forth.

They've finally succeeded, that is, in apprehending him. The animals have been taken away to a vet for examination, but Fattie is out on bail, claiming he has a vital ‘schedule’ to keep (it seems tonight) or he will suffer loss of reputation ... yadda yadda.

Anyway, being the innovative type, the impounding of his animals by RSPCA has not fazed him in the least. Bloke purchased the 2 F5E engines to fit on his sleigh.

However his missus told him it won’t be brilliant at all to visit Malaysia at this point in time with his reconfigured transportation. I heard he's likely to give the Peninsula a miss, but will still keep the date with Sabah and Sarawak.

So if Malaysian parents have a hard time tomorrow explaining to their lil’ sweet ones why their stockings aren’t filled, I suggest they dob in a local bloke by the name of Zahidi.

Wishing you all a happy and foolproof Christmas & a Safe New Year.

ho ho ho Wa ka ka ka ;-)

F5E engines theft - no traitor nor treason

First it happened.

Disbelief initially … no, surely there must be some mistake.

Then reality dawned.

Panic set in.

Cover up.

Attempts then made to trace the missing item … WTF … itemS?

You mean two of them?

No choice … have to report upwards.

WHAT?!!

Cover up again.

Wait … these are too f* big … no choice, report upwards.


WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You must be f* joking.

No, you’re not joking [sigh].

OK lah, sack them, but don’t break rice bowl of one-star. No no no, no criminal charges, we’d look bad too, just cover it up.

But even an egg will leak, what more with such a big organization with thousands of mouths and double that of ears.

And with that, agonising piece by piece, over a period of almost 3 years, the news leaked out, finally reaching the public ears.

Not that those top ar$eh%le$ were worried during that 3 years. Apa susah, we’ll sort it out when the peasants hear of it.

So now, cries of traitors, treachery, treason abound, just to protect the top ar$eh%le$’ ar$eh%le$ [note first ar$eh%le$ is in the possessive case].

What is treason?

Well, the good old dictionary tells us that treason is any attempt to overthrow the government or impair the well-being of a state to which one owes allegiance, or the crime of giving aid or comfort to the enemies of one's government.

Really, did any of that happen?

If you think the security of the nation depends on 2 mere engines, then we're in even deeper trouble than we realise.

An air force has spare engines, more than what would be required for the total number of aircraft of a certain type, because engines can go kaput or need to be periodically serviced, thus requiring timely replacements.

So don't give me the bullsh*t that by stealing the engines, those thieves had affected national security.There's no doubt they are thieves, but traitors who committed treason? Nonsense!

Bear in mind too that treason is a capital offence which carries the death penalty.

Even sedition, which is an act directed unlawfully against state authority, the government, or constitution, or calculated to bring it into contempt or to incite others to hostility, according to the dictionary, does not amount to treason and therefore is not a capital offense.

So how can plain old fashion theft amount to treason?

If fact, those gouging the public coffers, plundering the national wealth, allowing structures weakened by their policies and lack of due diligence to kill members of the public or lil' schoolgirls, complicit in enabling foreigners to assume roles as 1st class citizens which ought to be rightfully owned by those born here, have been far far more treasonous that some thieves of engines.

Those of us who criticise, condemn and crucify the PM (former Def Min), the current Def Min and the military No 1 chief must be careful not to let them avoid responsibilities by hiding behind the conjured-up traitors.

The consequences would be:

(a) ordinary thieves will unjustly receive the death sentences for treason, becoming sacrificial goats for the protection of the people at the top who have been also responsible, and

(b) those leaders evading their responsibility and accountability, and through (a) above, bizarrely become national heroes.

No, there are no traitors in the theft of the F5E engines, just avaricious staff who became thieves of public property, taking examples from above and exploiting a so-called foolproof system which had been abysmally lackadaisical in its structure, procedures, management and control.

The RMAF 'foolproof' logistic system

Yesterday I highlighted 2 characteristics of our world famous Malaysian malaise, namely:

(a) everyone wants to make a fast buck, more so after seeing their ‘leaders’ live in palatial mansion and having multi billion assets, despite the financial and mathematical improbabilities of such lifestyles given the leaders' earnings.

However, it so happens in Bolehland that there is in fact a way, and an easy way at that, by simply gouging the hapless Malaysian public and their collective property especially the tax money they pay, and

(b) when the sh*t hits the fan, only the ikan bilis get the rap on the knuckles. The favoured ones (those close to the political leadership) would be teflon-ised and even promoted.

I’m just about to tell you a third, which is quintessentially Malaysian. It has to do with the unpleasant reality that many of our political leaders don’t like to be questioned by the public, especially by their own supporters.

After bribing, bullsh*tting or begging the unsuspecting voters into electing them, once elected, suddenly these public representatives would forget how they become ministers but believe and act like they’ve been crowned Sultan Mansur Shah, he of the Hang Tuah infamy.

They'd look down patronising at their voters and expect the latter to toe the line silently like loyal subjects. After all, who are those voters to question 'royalty' - dei, siapa raja?

We get to see a glimpse of this in The Malaysian Insider’s Missing engines: Zahid confirms action against ‘traitors’ which reported:

Zahid warned bloggers not to sensationalise the incident, stressing that the government was committed to having a transparent investigation.

“For your information, those involved have been identified and we have taken action internally. They won't escape from legal action. I don't want bloggers who will twist facts with various analyses and speculation. I would like to inform that the Prime Minister and I will monitor the investigation. Further action will also be revealed to the public from time to time,” he told reporters.

My dear Minister, in a democracy the public (and would you believe bloggers are members of the public as well) have the right to talk about a major loss of public property, to blooming question the government especially you. It's our constitutional rights and your accountable responsibilities.

Besides, how can we twist facts when there have been a total absence of facts about the engines for 2 years since their ‘disappearance’ (now apparently two engines, and not one as earlier suspected)?

Zahid also reiterated his belief that the RMAF's logistics system was foolproof. “I stress that the record and inventory system of all national services is satisfactory including the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

“But no matter, a traitor will always find a way to find loopholes in the procedures. We have confidence in the police and marshals in the Royal Malaysian Air Force to take the necessary legal action in the near future,” he said.

My dear Minister, please stop using the word ‘foolproof’ if you do not understand what the word means. Don’t show your stupidity.

And would you believe, Dumbo again contradicted himself in a new Malaysiakini news GONE: Not just jet engines, other equipment too where he revealed that "…Besides the two Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) F-5E fighter jet engines reported missing, other related equipment is [sic] also gone …".

Foolproof eh? Or does the Minister think ‘foolproof’ means the RMAF logistic system is proofed against fools only?

Also, the Minister should stop using the word ‘traitor’ since he obviously couldn’t distinguish between a thief and a traitor. But I fear our dear Minister won’t be listening to me on the incorrect use of the ‘traitor’ word, since The Malaysian Insider reported his overly generous employment of that word, as in:

Zahid vowed that the ‘traitors’ would pay a heavy price for their treachery.

“Traitors, they are everywhere and any form of treachery must be paid with a high price. The Defence Ministry has not only conducted an internal investigation but we have given this case to the police.

“It must be open to the public through the court. Datuk Seri Najib (Razak) and I feel that these actions of treachery must be punished heavily and we are open in this matter,” he explained.

Omigosh, “Traitors, they are everywhere …”! Maybe even in the cabinet?

Or has it been just the standard UMNO-ish clarion call, when they’re in damage control, to the heartland to marshal around his banner against ‘traitors’?

But there is a bright side as Tay Tian Yan wrote tongue-in-cheek in Sin Chew (extracts):

The Royal Malaysia Air Force discovered the missing of the engine within a few months and they found the suspects in only two years. What an extremely high efficiency! […]

Of course, we must be pleased that Malaysia does not have any nuclear bombs. Otherwise, it will be very easy for our talents to steal that too. […]

Even it is no big deal to lose an engine, but I’m curious whether they will lose something else in the future?

As long as the don’t let anyone steal the Defense Minister which would be really embarrassing.

From now on, the Royal Malaysia Air Force must pull themselves together to protect the Defense Minister.

But have no fear, as the Chief of the Defence Force (the 2007 Chief of the Air Force) informed us, and the rest of the world including our potential enemies, the RMAF has 16 F5E's where only 7 are tactically operational.

We can now sleep at night in peace because our potential enemies would have laughed themselves to death.

F5E RM50 million engine - stealthy loss but supersonic bullsh*t

Malaysiakini’s headlines today blared Missing jet engine: PM promises no cover-up...!

Now, much as we Malaysians have been used to hearing of multi billion ringgit waste or going ‘David Copperfield’, RM50 mil most certainly isn’t small lollie.

How did it happen?

Two days ago in another Mkini headline Defence Ministry to probe missing RM50 mil jet engine the Defence Minister had the bloody cheek to state "The investigations revealed RMAF's logistics system was full-proof. However, the shady activity might have been carried out staff in the lower rungs in cahoots with outsiders."

*… full-proof? Steve Gan should check his sub-editors' spelling more – ‘foolproof’ lah!

There are 3 issues involved here which the public needs to know:

(1) OK, what foolproof RMAF logistic system? Mana ada when a RM50 million engine walked out of the RMAF logistic depot to go samba-ing in South America? It's supersonic bullsh*t.

Then our amazing Def Min (or Daft Mini) contradicted himself by saying the armed forces had also reorganised its systems since the loss and more frequent monitoring on procedures, inventory, and control of assets had been put in place.

If the logistic system was foolproof why then the re-organization and the new process? He's really breaking the bullsh*t barrier.

(2) A theft of public property worth RM50 million has occurred. A police report had been made. When (If) the police eventually completes its investigation, criminal charges must be laid.

Therefore PM Najib had been incorrect in stating once the police authority has finalised its investigative report, it would be up to the air force and armed force's council to decide what action should be taken and against whom - see Mkini’s Missing jet engine: PM promises no cover-up...!

That's like saying citizen Ahmad who was robbed will decide what criminal charges to press and against whom once the police has completed its investigation into the robbery. We are now in a spin, an aircraft spin!

In the final analysis, the theft is symptomatic of our Malaysian malaise – everyone wants to get rich, and very fast. When you see the Bali Mansion and the Klang (private, not royal) Palace, both in Selangor, and hundreds of millions if not billions ending up in individuals’ pockets, it's hardly surprising that the ordinary mata mata or the RMAF airmen also want to 'emulate' those notorious examples of fast-track to wealth?

My uncle told me that once there was a Malaysian leader who promoted the concept of ‘leadership by example’. I am sure the latter didn’t mean this, that we live in a totally corrupt regime where everyone has an opportunity to gouge the public, like their 'leaders'.

Ok, we read of news that that police had arrested four individuals, including RMAF officers. An air force brigadier-general had to resign but with full benefits.

But where is the top leader’s responsibility in this shameful loss by the RMAF, when the 2007 chief of the air force has recently been promoted to become the chief of the three services (army, navy, air force)?

This is another character of our society's illness where only the ikan bilis get the rap on the knuckles. The favoured ones (those close to the political leadership) would be teflon-ised and even promoted.

Now that same Malaysian leader also instructed us to 'Look East'. I'd certainly like to see the local leaders adopt the Japanese time-honoured ethics and etiquette of accepting responsibility for f*-ups in their organizations. Banzai!

Prediction for 2013

On Wednesday I posted Getting ready for next Perak State election? where I quoted Bernama’s report of the EC and Perak Pos’ joint effort to register people who are eligible to be voters.

I mentioned getting goose pimples (mor kooi ch’ang) all over.

Yesterday Malaysiakini published Umno to identify unregistered voters among members which said Umno vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal said the records indicated that 661,231 Umno members had yet to register as voters and that Sabah had the highest number among the states, of 129,925 such members.

I would not be 'surprised' to see UMNO-BN easily wins back the states of Perak, Selangor, Kedah in 2013, and comfortably retains Sabah (Najib's safety deposit), Terengganu. Penang may be more challenging for UMNO-BN but hey, even that is do-able.

The Court of Repeal

Once again the Court of Appeal has, PREDICTABLY, ruled in favour of the government and its apparatus. It brushed aside the ruling of the High Court for MACC not to interrogate witness right round the clock; the Appellate Court has just said it’s okay for MACC to do so.

Mind you, none of us were surprised. As Foo Wy Len, a writer to Malaysiakini Vox Populi said [extract]: The same story has repeated once too often. Why bother to have the High Court when even the bookie will never take any bet on the verdict by the Court of Appeal!

The Straits Times reported: Counsel Karpal Singh, who appeared for Tan, argued that the Parliament could not have intended the phrase ’day to day’ to mean round the clock.

“That would be the literal approach which would lead to absurdity and investigations of poor quality.”

He submitted that if Rule 20 of the Lock-Up Rules 1953 had strict application in relation to suspects, it could not be fathomed how witnesses could be questioned after office hours when suspects were beyond reach of interrogation between 6.30pm and 6.30am (the rest time for suspects).

“Witnesses should be entitled to more protection than suspects.”

“It is the reliable evidence of witnesses which ultimately succeeds in the conviction of suspects.”

More Vox Populi comments follow:

Chipmunk: "Day to day" means 'Occurring or done each day'. So Court of Appeal, how do you interpret section 30 (3)(a)? Unless you guys work on rotating shifts or office hours running 24/7, I suggest you stick with what the High Court has ruled. [...]

Multi Racial: Just look back this year. We don't have to look too far. Every case decided by the High Court judges that is not in favour of the government or Umno, is overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Some of them were done so fast with very short notice like the MB vs MB case in Perak. But when it is the other way around and the opposition appeals, it takes months and years, and it will be complete waste of time as the conclusion is already decided.

KayKay: Somebody should compile all the High Court decisions which went against the government and later overturned by the Court of Appeal. In fact, all these Court of Appeal rulings, few were written judgments.

The Mazu case is a good example. This is how they jam the wheels of justice. Without a written judgment from the Court of Appeal, it's not possible to proceed to the Federal Court.

Police provoking the 'tiger' in Indians

One of my uncles’ friends told us a story of May 13. Like two of my Unc’s, he was in the Malaysian military. A few days after May 13 exploded, he asked his good mate in one of the Malay Regiment battalions (whose soldiers were enforcing the KL-PJ curfew) what the hell was going on, with so many people killed and houses razed to the ground.

After the usual discussion on irresponsible politicians and provocative civilians (they were both military and, despite some soldiers being unprofessionally and emotionally 'involved', took pride in standing aloof from what they saw as a civilian racial conflict) his matey said some Chinese shop houses were burnt for no other reason than the arsonists wanting to erase their record of debts held by the business Chinamen.

In those cases in general there was neither hatred nor real racial prejudice. It was no more than a convenient opportunity to wipe the debtor slate clean ..... a yeehaa rumble but where the unfortunate outcomes in many cases were not only properties destroyed but some lives as well.

But in others there were genuine ethnic hostilities. In this latter category, he commented that the viciousness and recklessness of the rioting were in large part due to the belief by the perpetrators (via 'instigations') that their lot were so bad there was nothing more to lose.

When one was at rock bottom, the only way further had to be upwards. Therefore the outcome of their rioting surely would be an improvement.

In other words, they were desperados!

When I read Malaysiakini’s Man cleared of charges, but is beaten nevertheless, I was not only outraged by the unmitigated police abuses against S Isaikumar, but told myself that thread holding the Indians back is being further stretched, strained and stressed to almost breaking point.

Isaikumar was arrested on suspicion of sexual harassment but when the police discovered that the allegations were false, they continued to detain him for a bout of torture and abuses. WTF!

According to MKINI, the innocent man – mind you, found innocent by the police themselves - was tortured and beaten, for nine f* days after he was informed the sexual harassment allegation against him was baseless.

His lawyer, Surendran, said: "Isaikumar was slapped, abused and beaten with PVC pipes by a group of police officers."

Surendran revealed that even a female police officer had sat on Isaikumar's chest and inserted a shoe she was wearing into his mouth.

So those police sadists were equal opportunity arseholes and not limited to men only.

I won’t go into any more details on the torture, humiliation and deprivation the police inflicted on this innocent man but suffice to say they sickened me.

Two things stood out:

(a) despite police knowing he was innocent of the fabricated allegations, he was detained for an extra 9 days to be tortured, abused and humiliated in the most dangerous place in Malaysia, ye olde police station.

(b) it’s no coincidence he is an Indian Malaysian, a member of an unfortunate community, the primary target of police brutality.

Perhaps the police must have felt that no one bothers a f* about poor Indians, or as Penangites would say "Boe larng ay ch'oot t'au hor ee larng" (nobody will take up their cause; no one wants to be their champion).

As I’ve said, there is a limit, a line drawn in the sand, which if crossed, will release the wolf, or rather, tiger in the Indians. As the May 13 example revealed sadly to us, there will come a stage when the Indian become desperados too, feeling there is no longer anything to lose.

Then they will become ‘Tigers’.

Wikipedia tells us that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam … who during the height of their power possessed a well-developed militia, were notorious for recruiting child soldiers, for carrying out civilian massacres, suicide bombings and various other high profile attacks, including the assassinations of several high-ranking Sri Lankan and Indian politicians like Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.



Worse …

They invented the suicide belt and pioneered the use of suicide bombing as a tactic. They also pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks, and used light aircraft in some of their attacks.

Just recall how long it took us to deal with the CTs, who were in reality just a small band.

If the CTs had China and Russia to support them, be mindful that the Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers were devotedly and fanatically supported by the rich Tamil diaspora in Europe and North America, and Tamils in India. In fact, Australia was until very recently very concerned with the activities of the Tamils in Australia.

I hate to see the Indian Malaysians so driven into angry desperation that they take to the hills and become our nightmare ‘Tigers’. Then the slander of the former Home Affairs Minister may become a self fulfilling prophecy.

The vicious brutality which the Malaysian Police have inflicted upon the unfortunate Indian Malaysians with arrogant impunity are legendary. The case concerning Isaikumar and the unmitigated ill treatment of him by police has not only been outrageously over the top and unforgiveable, but cannot be left unchallenged.

This ill treatment of the Indians must stop! Those police officers must be brought to justice and, if their thuggish brutalities confirmed, severely punished, meaning both jail sentences and dismissals from the police force. No half way measure should be accepted.

Getting ready for next Perak State election?

From Bernama:

500,000 Eligible Voters In Perak Not Registered

IPOH, Dec 16

About 500,000 out of the 2.37 million eligible voters in Perak have not registered with the Election Commission (EC) as at April this year.

Perak EC director Ahmad Adli Abdullah said many of them were still unaware that they could register as voters and could change their addresses at the post-offices.

"They don't have to return to their hometown to discharge their duties as responsible voters if they have moved to other places," he told reporters after presenting the EC promotional banners to Pos Malaysia, here on Wednesday.

He said those who were above the age of 21 and eligible to vote should register as voters to fulfill their responsibilities for the country.

"It is sad when the level of public awareness on the importance of voting is still low because one vote can make a big difference in any election," he said.

Meanwhile, Perak Pos Malaysia general manager Mohd Azizi Mohd Sanusi said Pos Malaysia had always wanted to assist the government in fulfilling its social responsibility.

"Today, for example, Perak Pos Malaysia will help the EC to achieve its objective by offering voters' registration service at 84 post offices statewide," he added.

Hmmm … wonder why I get goose pimples all over …?

Footsies

Extract from Bernama:

10 Naked Men, 15 China Dolls Nabbed At Foot Reflexology Centre

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16

Reflexology centre, my foot!

Foot massage was probably the last thing on the mind of 10 men who were caught with their pants down at a foot reflexology centre here early on Wednesday.

In a raid at the centre in Jalan Kepong Prima, a police team also nabbed 15 China dolls who were employed illegally as massesses [sic].

Initial police investigations revealed that the masseuses, who did not even have passports, were into 'multi-tasking' at the centre which was operating for the past three years.

Foot massage aside, they provided full body massage for RM60; oral sex (RM80) and sexual intercourse (RM150) […]

I wonder how much a toe-suck costs? ;-)

Putrajaya - ze dream!

The Malaysian Insider published Putrajaya: Good move or a waste of money? (credited to The Straits Times) 3 days ago.

What caught my eye were the last 2 paragraphs, which states:

Wan Esuriyanti pointed out another problem. She decided to move out of Putrajaya and buy a property in a nearby suburb because she wanted her children to grow up in a racially balanced neighbourhood.

“Putrajaya is almost 100 per cent Malay,” she said. “I don't want my children to grow up not knowing about other races and cultures.”

I applaud Wan Esuriyanti’s values in wanting her children to grow up in a truly Malaysian environment.

But I wonder at the centre of the Malaysian government, Putrajaya, being described as “… almost 100 per cent Malay”.

Ze dream haf komme true for zommeone! ;-)

Racism, our constant companion

Virtually every pollie is now talking about race and racism, whilst almost every journalist is not far behind them.

Is racism new to Malaysia or for that matter, Malaya?

We have had the tragedy of May 13, and some months after that, the Sentul racial attacks. While the Chinese managed to avoid another drastic experience (notwithstanding the Chinese school incident leading to Ops Lallang, thanks to a former Education Minister, wakakaka), with only Lee Kim Sai suffering his datukship being stripped off him, wakakaka (and I hope he had the dignity and pride to refuse its reinstatement), alas, the Indians experienced another just some years ago, also in KL.

But way before May 13, Penangites used to have what they joked as their 'annual' riots, ranging from minor skirmishes hardly worth reporting to a major one in 1953 during the coronation celebration for Queen Elizabeth II, then sovereign ruler of British crown colony Penang.

For the Island of 'annual' riots, it was strangely tranquil during the May 13 period.

Penangites like my mum, aunties and their pals have become experts at preparing the household needs for curfews (brought about by racial riots) - water, rice, matches, salt, salted fish, salted eggs, preserved/salted veg (Teochew specialities), oil, rock-hard biscuits, candles, kerosene, maybe some coffee, tea and sugar.

In 1950, Maria Bertha Hertogh, who was a Catholic Dutch girl brought up by a Malay Muslim family after her parents were imprisoned by the Japanese during the Occupation became the cause célèbre invoking a racial riot in Singapore, where 16 were killed with hundreds injured.

The story is so well known that I won’t bother to repeat it here, other than to say the Malays were pissed off with the court decision favouring the Dutch parents. Court decisions seen to be biased have never been popular, even and especially today.

Talking about today, post March 2008, there are forces in UMNO who still believe racial polemics remain the best formula to both intimidate their non-Malay opponents and marshal the heartland (including even part of PAS and no doubt PKR) to its banner.

Amidst this, Indian leaders are so selfishly and self-centredly split up that one can only cry for the marginalized poverty-stricken Indians. Those so-called leaders have been leading them to nowhere. But it hasn't stopped (sadly enough) some of these Indian leaders from promoting the racist line.

As for the Chinese, the MCA is now in a similar position to MIC, and the Gerakan is nothing more than more than a zombie under the voodoo control of UMNO. The dead don’t make very good racists, but no doubt would still try when the opportunity arises, unless of course it's against them like the recent resurrection of Ahmad Ismail of UMNO Penang. Poor Koh TK - it's like UMNO smacking him in his face.

DAP! ;-) They have been accused of being Chinese racists which must have deeply offended Karpal Singh and sons, Kula, Sivakumar and a host of Indian, Eurasian and even Malay leaders and members.

But nonetheless they need to keep one step ahead of the ‘label’ that UMNO has been desperately (and in some cases, successfully) attempting to pin on them. UMNO has been particular worried about the Malay support that DAP has slowly attracted, especially by Teresa Kok and Lim GE.

I won’t say a word about PKR because surely you can read today’s headlines yourselves.

Racism beats Communism hands down

My good blogger matey Dr Hsu Dar Ren (Darren Hsu) wrote a penetrating piece in The Malaysian Insider titled Isn’t racism as dangerous as communism?

He invited us to compare the double-standard absurdity of UMNO’s legal ostracization* of 80-year old Chin Peng (also known as Ong Boon Hwa) against UMNO's shameless political rehabilitation of Ahmad Ismail, by lifting his 3-year suspension from UMNO after just a year.

* despite an international treaty agreeing to his return to Malaysia which has been verified and supported by two former IGPs

Ahmad Ismail was merely suspended during PM AAB’s time for uttering BTN-ish racist remarks against Chinese Malaysians when he should have been expelled from his party. As if that cosmetic punishment was not light enough, UMNO has just removed his suspension.

Though Darren is a member of the Gerakan Party I applaud him for stating without fear and favour (extracts only): A top leader of Gerakan was quoted, according to a report in Malaysiakini’s Chinese website, as asking reporters when pressed about the lifting of Ahmad’s suspension: "Is this issue important?" […]

I would only say that in this issue, a few considerations are in order:

Firstly, anything or anyone who stirs racial emotion in a multiracial society is serious and important matter. Anyone doing so, just like anyone committing any crime big or small, must answer to the laws of the country no matter how high or low his position is in society. Under the law, every man is supposed to be equal.

Secondly, politics is about perception. If you are perceived to not even be able to stand up to a second-tier leader of the dominant party, then what would the people think of you and what would the voters think of you? Especially when this bully has uttered racially sensitive words that have hurt the feelings not only of a person but of an entire ethnic group?

Thirdly, to a political party, support from the people is everything. That is why it is important to fight for the interest of the people and with that, support shall come naturally. But what will happen when you are perceived to not even able to stand up to a person who has uttered words that hurt the very people who form your support base?

Lastly, as a result of the third consideration, how are the candidates from this party who have been so belittled going to face the voters come the next general election?

Without the support of the people and the voters, any political party will become irrelevant, and if this party becomes irrelevant, logic and past experience will tell us that the dominant party, Umno, will just chuck the party aside, no matter how subservient and how obedient this party is to Umno.

In politics, it is not about how subservient you are, but rather how useful you are to the dominant party. If you are of no more use (meaning, you no longer enjoy the support of the people), then no matter how diligent or obedient you are, you will be irrelevant.

The experience of PPP is a glaring example. This is a party which used to dominate the whole Kinta Valley, and had four MPs when it joined Barisan Nasional in 1974. What has become of it now? It has lost its relevance and hence it can only take the crumbs or leftovers at the pleasure of the master.

Well said, but when the leader of the Gerakan Party is like the Emperor of Manchukuo, what can we do?

Back to the double standards of UMNO in the Chin Peng vs Ahmad Ismail treatment, which was why Darren asked: Isn’t racism as dangerous as communism?

Apparently not, as in Malaysia, racism is equated to patriotism, 'social contract', ketuanan Melayu, and what have you. As a matter of fact the return to Malaysia of some Malay communists (Chin Peng’s colleagues), while Chin Peng remains barred from Malaysia, has amply demonstrated that difference.

And we also recall that the Home Affairs Minister lamented his missed opportunity to rehabilitate the most notorious killer Noordin Top, S.E. Asia’s most cold blooded indiscriminate mass murderer.

Hishamuddin can still enjoy the opportunity to rehabilitate Chin Peng … that is, if he wants to.

Judge rejected Anwar Ibrahim's appeal on language grounds; Karpal calls for official promotion of English language

The Edge - Karpal: Time for English to be second official language.

Short summary - Anwar sued Dr Mahathir 3 years ago for alleged libel. He lost suit. He engaged Karpal Singh to appeal. Justice Abdul Malek Ishak dismissed Anwar Ibrahim’s case.

Why?

The appeal was not drafted in Bahasa Malaysia. It was in English.

Karpal Singh sighed that points of submissions and arguments in the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court proceedings are still done in English, and most ironically of all, Justice Abdul Malek, who dismissed the case on a language technicality, wrote his 30-page judgment in English.

Karpal left a parting shot at Justice Abdul Malek, stating: "I would have thought there was more than a need for him to have written his judgment in Bahasa Malaysia in view of the strong language he uses in support of it."

Wakakaka -sometimes the best we can do is just to laugh at the situation, as we can do buggerall, at least until the next general election.

Leaving that aside, I have personally found that of the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia, the Indians have been the ones not only the most fluent with English but who feel completely at home with its usage. In other words, to many Indians, English is virtually their ‘mother tongue’.

Now, before Indians or non-Indians start jumping on me, I need to qualify what Indians I have in mind.

Indian Malaysians aren’t a homogenous group – the common ethnic groups are the Punjabis like Karpal Singh (a minority in Malaysia), the mamaks (meaning ‘uncles’, a common appellation for Indian Muslims), Tamils including the Sri Lanka variety (the majority group, and I was told, the latter would look down on the former as socio-cultural inferiors), Malayalams, Telugus, etc.

Socially there are the highly marginalised groups like labourers, rubber tappers and poor, and the very very rich like Ananda Krishnan and MIC leaders, and lamentably caste-wise, the Brahmins at one end and the Dalits at the other.

Then there are the majority Hindus, a significant Muslim population, Bahais and some Christians but very rarely Buddhists (unless they’re Singhalese which mean they would refuse to be classified as Indians in the first place).

So on so forth …

The Indians I have in mind are the urban educated middle-class, regardless of ethnic origins – dads or/and mums are usually doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, teachers, academicians, businessmen, etc. They and their families are more likely to be speaking English at home (possibly except with their servants), unlike their social equivalents in the Chinese and Malay communities who would usually lapse into their 'mother tongue' once at home.

Why is this so?

For those English speaking Indians, could it be a traditional hangover from the British Raj days, both in India and colonial Malaya, where English has become so deeply embedded in their professional, social and personal lives that it has become their unacknowledged ‘mother tongue’?

Could it be because they are not motivated to talk in Indian (Tamil or Telugu or Punjabi, etc), as there are far too many languages, a different one for each Indian ethnic group?

Though Chinese also have various ethnic languages, most Chinese can converse across the dialectal divides; despite the dialectal differences there are many common terms/words which are near-sounding enough for their meanings to be guessed at and imitated; best of all (if Chinese educated) the common written form can be read without any trouble or difficulty regardless of its dialectal origin.

It’s not just the English language alone; I observe that most Indians are more at home with English culture – tea and cucumber sandwiches, English literature, poetry, plays, lifestyle, etc. Obviously assimilating English cultural mores and habits help enhance language proficiency.

When I was in India I visited the home of an Indian Brigadier General (someone took me there). I found our host to be nothing less than the perfect English country squire, in dressing, mannerisms and domestic practice.

Dressed impeccably in country tweeds and boots, which you would expect of a gentleman owning a Sussex or Cotswald country estate or farm, he was seated beside the fireplace with a black Labrador dog at his feet (it was winter in Northern Indian then). Shotguns, stuffed deer heads complete with antlers, college or regimental colours lined the walls of the cosy sitting room.

Though his wife and two beautiful daughters wore sarees, if you close your eyes, you would think they were English, speaking in perfect English with only a slight trace of Northern Indian accent.

Naturally we had pre-dinner drinks, dry sherry for the men and sweet ones for the sweeties. A platoon of male servants in magnificent Indian traditional gear served and pampered us.

Oh, dinner was properly announced by the chef (cook?) and semi-formal in the European style. We had the standard chicken soup, grilled pheasants (I was informed by one of the daughters that her dad had shot them gulp), venison (dared not asked whether it was also shot by the General), veg, wine, desserts, etc.

Of course we had port and brandy with our coffee. I was also offered a cigar but I politely declined.

‘Twas all a jolly good show old boy – indeed, rippling old top. God save the Queen ;-)

Thanks to Ahmad Said’s family

Former MACC chief commissioner Ahmad Said is a father with, unfortunately, an infamous son, Ahmad Shauqi.

Junior, a MAS copilot, was arrested in Australia, handcuffed and taken before the Adelaide Magistrates Court, where he was convicted and fined for the disgraceful sleazy act of bringing child pornography into Australia on his laptop.

Child pornography! Ughhhh!

Hardly surprising when Australian magistrate Simon Smart ruled that "this material is repugnant and abhorrent – any decent minded person would be so affected by it".

Repugnant and abhorrent!

Strangely, the immigration official who said that Fatine, a hermaphrodite facing deportation from Britain, had brought 'shame' to Malaysia, was deafeningly silent then.

If Ahmad Shauqi's conviction in a foreign country for a repugnant and abhorrent act was not a case of shame to Malaysia, what would be then?

For more, I recommend reading Marina Mahathir’s take on the double standard of that immigration person in The Star's Oh, the shame of it all.

Incidentally, has Immigration taken away the passport of Ahmad Shauqi as they threatened to do with Fatine's? Did his court conviction lose him his job at MAS?

Malaysia Boleh!

But let’s get on to his father. Ahmad Said defended his son’s conviction, rejecting that child pornography was involved. He even had the gall to wager that those repugnant and abhorrent material found on his son's laptop was "… something that you will find on most men’s hand phones."

Repulsive as we might have considered this man's (a Muslim) equally shameless argument, we grudingly acknowledge that yes, he was but a father defending his son whom he undoubtedly love.

Now, Teoh Beng Hock was also someone’s son. His father moaned his untimely and unexplained death in a MACC building, and from what we last heard, a case of probable homicide, meaning he was murdered.

Mr Teoh Senior, like all fathers including Ahmad Said, loves his son.

So what would you say to Ahmad Said dismissing the death of Beng Hock (another father's son) as unimportant?

Someone's young son died under mysterious circumstances, and Ahmad Said considered that as unimportant?

He stated of Beng Hock’s death: "Teoh Beng Hock's case is nothing. It's a very small case."

As my matey Dean Jones lambasted Ahmad Said’s callous comment of a young life lost under the MACC’s lack of due diligence: As if it wasn't shameful enough to serve as the figurehead of Umno/BN's latest fake corruption-fighting body, Said has further personally and professionally disgraced himself with this crass attempt to make light of a case of suspected murder by his MACC henchmen.

For more see Dean’s column in Malaysiakini titled Small case, sick joke.

Ahmad Said has sickened me as no other person could.

Dean succinctly reminded us that "…as every law officer should know, there's no statute of limitations in cases of murder, or any amnesty either, for that matter, and this applies not just to the actual killers but also to their accomplices and accessories."

Should the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock’s death eventually pass the verdict of homicide, I would like to see Ahmad Said being called to account for a murder which had occurred under his command.

Dean quoted Lim Kit Siang's blog where Uncle scourged Ahmad Said's statement as "heartless and grossly insensitive", especially following his earlier and equally outrageous comment that "if people investigated could not withstand the pressure and jumped from the building, there was nothing that MACC could do".

Said has been more than just heartless and grossly insensitive; he's an arsehole!

As a co-called anti corruption chief, Said has been an abysmal abhorrent abject failure, but he worsened his uselessness beyond redemption by his f* mouth.

Just read Tay Tian Yan’s article Thanks to Ahmad Said’s family to have an idea of his derelict incompetent non performing leadership of MACC.

Tay’s article was brimming with acerbic sarcasm, stating: We really have to thank the family of Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan because, finally, they have made him retire early.

I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies.

Tay reminded us that this man was given more funds and more manpower than ever, not forgetting a higher salary, yet under his directorship of MACC, Malaysia's ranking in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) plummeted shamefully from 37 to 47 ….. and that's not even inclusive of a probable murder occurring under his watch and in the premise of his MACC.

Not one major case was solved by his commission in the last 30 months – no, not the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, the V.K. Lingam video clip case, the financially unexplained palatial mansion of former Selangor MB Mohd Khir Toyo, nor the abuse of funds revealed by the Auditor-General's Report.

No doubt Ahmad Said would have said (if he was still around) that all these cases are nothing. There are just very small cases.

Only his son’s conviction alone would merit his declaration that it’s no crime as it’s something normal for men.

I say again, Ahmad Said disgusts me like nobody can.

And GMPS president Jais Abdul Karim and his men, who have lodged a police report against Ipoh Barat MP Kulasegaran over the latter's alleged questioning of Malays' supremacy, should tell us how this so-called Malay supremacy has been demonstrated by Ahmad Said's performance as former MACC Commissioner.

Once were warriors, Malaysian fashion

In Malaysiakini’s Break shackles of racism, free the civil service we get to hear our dear Uthayakumar lamenting the loss of Indian dominance of the senior echelon in the Malaysian Civil Service, where once 50% of the service’s top postings (division A and B) were Indians.

As for the Armed Forces, Uthayakumar recalled that the first Malaysian navy chief was an Indian, rear admiral K Tanabalasingam.

This is surprising news for me, so I rang up one of my uncles (a sweetie once remarked I have many uncles wakakaka) who once served in the Armed Forces, to confirm Uthayakumar’s assertion.

Unc agreed with Uthayakumar, both in that fact that Tanabalasingam was the first Malaysian to be the nation’s naval chief, and Uthayakumar’s cry that "No Indian Malaysian however capable will ever get to this position ever again."

Unc also asserted that neither would ever a Chinese Malaysian.

However he reckoned (though he couldn't be sure) that Tanabalasingam only reached the rank of Commodore (one-star) and not Rear Admiral (two-star) before he retired. [update-note: yes, he was promoted to Rear Admiral before he retired]

Unc said that relatively the Indians had done far better than the Chinese in the Armed Forces, despite there being 4 times more Chinese Malaysians than Indian ones.

He remembered that during his time there were more Indian than Chinese generals in the army and navy. The first non-Malay air force general was also an Indian.

He can’t be sure but he reckoned the Indians also had more 2-star generals than the Chinese.

Despite the population ratio, the Indians had fared far far better than the Chinese in the senior ranks. My Unc’s personal opinion is that in the armed forces the Indians were more trusted or liked than the Chinese.

The exception in the ‘trust’ category for the Chinese was the Police (in his days), where the top SB man would be a Chinese. The rationale, inherited from the British, was to use a Chinese (SB policeman) to catch a Chinese (communist).

Incidentally the two men who virtually crippled the MCP and silently won the war for Malaysia against the insurgency were two police officers, Paul Kiong and Sia Boon Chee. Both were awarded Malaysia’s highest bravery award, the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa in 1983, but they weren’t generals. Kiong eventually reached the rank SP (roughly equivalent to the military Colonel) whilst Sia retired as a DSP (= Lt Colonel).

So, all in all, in the 52 years of Malayan/Malaysian independence, the Indians had performed remarkably well in the senior ranks of the armed forces when compared to the Chinese. At least they enjoyed having an Indian become a Service Chief.

I believe that was the case too in the senior positions of the Civil Service.

On Tanabalasingam, a Tamil whose family were of Sri Lanka extract, Unc added a bit of juicy gossip, that by the time he became Navy boss and a Commodore Rear Admiral (twoone-star general), he found it impossible to marry as the dowry for a person of his status would have been frighteningly astronomical, way beyond the reach of any Malaysian Tamil parents (of Sri Lankan heritage).

Besides, according to Unc, the (most eligible) bachelor Commodore Rear Admiral was seen dating only non-tangachees ;-)

I wonder whether he was eventually married. Just imagine the convoy of trucks (or ships) carrying his dowry wakakaka!

Childish Malaysian politics

DAP stepping on froggie posters.

PKR moaning Altantuyaa with sack cloth, joss sticks and prayers (rituals which those hau-lum moaners would deny their neighbours or close relatives).

PAS cursing Najib ;-) [hi PM, any tummy rumble yet? wakakaka]

UMNO aiming to be taller by stepping on a cow’s head, burning photos of Lim GE or ripping apart posters of Koh TK [BTW, which one is worse?]

PKR barging into Bar Council’s forum like a thug from Lum Ch’an Nar (Carnarvon Street).

DAP’s SMS-ing debacle.

All f* childish!

But the most childish of all has been the federal government’s infantile denial of funds (for maintenance of Penang’s heritage listing) to be paid directly to the State government but instead channeling it to its investment arm, and oil royalties for Kelantan. Plain puerile pariah parliamentary politics.

Now, all of you, go wash yourself with soap, and f* grow up!

Muhyiddin - butt out of MCA affairs

Malaysiakini - Muhyiddin wants MCA polls held quickly.

****************************

Dear YB DPM,

Please stop interfering in MCA’s affair. The BN is only a coalition and not a single party where you rule the entire roost as No 2. Please treat MCA leaders like partners, not subordinates. So stop your "I want MCA to do this, I want MCA to do that."

Your constant campaigning on MCA affairs has also filled many with dismay as you seem to be promoting only the viewpoints of someone the majority of MCA members in fact don’t want – just a coincidence no doubt, but please be mindful of your seeming bias.

Kindly back off and stop meddling in the internal politics of a sovereign party.

If you feel the MCA has lost the confidence of the Chinese Malaysians you are probably right but don’t just stop there. Ask yourself why such a sad affair exists for the MCA - yup, indeed ask yourself why the MCA has come to such a dreadful position, but most of all, don’t forget to ask what has been UMNO’s culpability in all these.

Just kick MCA out of BN if you don’t like the way the Chinese based party has been dealing with its own internal affairs. Koh TK will definitely back you fully on this wakakaka!

And do ask yourself, how would you feel if MCA members were to intrude into UMNO internal politics?

Instead go sort out public issues like the BTN.

Yours respectfully,

Irritated Chinese Malaysian

US$100 billion squandered?

I must say I enjoy the earlier articles of my matey Dean Johns, Malaysiakini columnist par excellent, more than his recent ones.

He was then cheeky and humorous. Nowadays I observe he’s strident, impatient and angry in his writing, basically pretty pissed off with the nefarious conduct of the BN-led authorities … their pilfering, plundering and subversion of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, including that so-called anti-corruption bullsh*t.

Thus today, I was immensely delighted to detect a glimpse of his old self amidst his outrage against the usual suspects in Attack of the killer kleptoids, where he wrote about the BN bandits, as follows:

It's just the tip of the iceberg. Or should I make that 'heistberg'?

and

And now, having skinned the Malaysians alive in every conceivable fashion from financial to spiritual, they've had the hide to introduce a goods and services tax ...

Dean had been delightfully famous for his cheeky play on words, and I am glad to see a wee bit of his old self.

... but not so with his revelation (of economist Daniel Lian of Morgan Stanley Singpore estimates in Time magazine) that over a period of two and a half decades the government had squandered (from the public purse) a staggering US$100 billion – yes, not in local currency but $100 billion in American dollars.

My mind has been gobsmack f*-ed by the virtually unbelievable idea of such squandering, or to use the Penangite word, sng kare huoi.

I believe a karn neen nare is called for.

The breakdown of that squandered sum is as follows:

• Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) swindle: US$1 billion.
• Bank Negara foreign-exchange fiasco: RM20 billion.
• Extra BMF bailouts: US$600 million.
• Perwaja Steel bankruptcy: US$800 million.
• Maminco tin market manipulation: US$500 million.
• Bank Islam non-performing loans scam: RM2.2 billion.
• Highway concessionaire bailouts: RM38.5 billion.
• Mirzan Mahathir's MISC rescue: RM600 million.
• Port Klang Free Zone scandal: RM12 billion.

The above red-highlighted three have really shaken me up badly. That’s a Godzilla-ish RM70+ billion.

I believe another karn neen nare is called for.

Was Anwar as the UMNO Finance Minister involved in the Bank Negara foreign exchange fiasco? Can someone enlighten me?

And the causes for the last two?

Crass crony corruption!

karn neen nare.

Sodomy II

What is sodomy?

The dictionary says it’s an act of copulation with a member of the same sex [I’m ignoring the definition where a member of the opposite sex is involved].

If that is the case, the following questions probably beg to be asked:

(1) Is/was Anwar Ibrahim a sodomist?
(2) Did Anwar Ibrahim sodomize Saiful Bukhari Azlan?
(3) Will Anwar Ibrahim receive a fair trial?

On the first question, personally I don’t give two hoots. So what if he is a sodomist!

And quite frankly I don't know ... I haven't bothered to ferret out the information, though from reading the various Malaysiakini articles surrounding this issue, I do have a few questions that I could ask but won't bother to ...

But no doubt the Muslim community sees it differently, and hence we see the issue going before the Malaysian court.

On the second question, Saiful claimed he was ... by Anwar, though there is no medical evidence thus far to support that. But the prosecution claimed he has DNA swab taken from Saiful's anus to prove the bloke was sodomized.

It would be interesting to find out when that DNA swab was taken, and who it belongs to?

We could, also from Saiful’s lodging of the police report, assume the alleged act of sodomy was non-consensual.

On the third question, I regret to say Anwar Ibrahim is unlikely to receive a fair trial. We have a f* gunny sack full of government toadies (not frogs this time), right from the police to the judiciary, with many others in a number of government institutions in between, who lack integrity and professional ethics to conduct their duties impartially, without fear or favour.

Anwar Ibrahim is as good as ‘guilty’.

Much as I personally dislike Anwar Ibrahim, I find the odds stacked against him not only very disturbing but insidiously evil.

Of course it's all political. Yes, I have to say this time it’s a political frameup [I have to admit I didn’t bother to follow Sodomy I as then I wasn’t interested].

I do not see the need for UMNO to conduct this act of overkill to get rid of Anwar politically.

If Anwar is found guilty, as I predict he will be, the Malaysian body politic, especially for the Malays, will be fatally poisoned.

UMNO leaders who have been pulling all the strings on Sodomy II should think carefully. There’s still time to have one of the few honest judges preside over the trial. That would be a face-saving retreat from what everyone knows is an evil frameup.